How is New Media designed and
deployed? Is it art or engineering?
Introduction
Nowadays design is around us. This
word people are using in different contexts. Design can be noun or verb and
consist of different definitions. People are used to discuss about design in
general. Especially, when they are started to speak about design in new media.
Through variety of articles I become to interesting survey and interested in
the question which I would like to explore in my essay – how is New Media
designed and deployed and is it art or engineering?
Main part
A bit from history the new media
design and imaging programme was created in response to the growing demand for
college graduates with strong digital imaging skills, highly refined design
sensitivities, and the ability to visualize concepts in two- and
three-dimensional motion graphics and interactive projects.
New media design is also explore
gaming, entertainment multimedia, virtual reality, and other facets of new
media. If to speak about meaning of design in new media I can say some – that
design as a noun is specification of object, manifested by agent, intended to
accomplish goals and using a set of primitive components. If describe design as
a verb very shortly could be said that this is the way to create design in
environment.
Actually, there is a lot of different
meanings what does it mean the design in New Media. Very close to my own point
of view is the opinion from Addison-Wesley book “Design for New Media”. There
is going comparing design in new media with puzzle, because of a combination of
different skills and media. “They know all about the pieces, but the biggest
problem is putting them all together to get the “big picture” of new media
design” – said the author in his book.
Design for New Media gives a unified approach to looking at the area,
covering both the separate elements, and putting them in the context of new
media design as a whole.
What is more, some professionals’
think that New Media design is a leading just web design and graphic design. By
myself I think that design has connotations in different fields and could be different
in new media. In my opinion, mostly new media is deployed and designed with
using the interaction design. Nowadays this is the most actual ways of
disseminate information – to make it interaction.
Interaction
design
What we know about interaction design? Is
it art or engineering?
That to go to explore the created
question about interaction design at the beginning I would like to find the
appropriate definition interaction in general. There is a big variety of
different opinions from different specialists in this area.
Interaction, from the encyclopaedia
WIKIPEDIA – is a kind of action that occurs as two or more objects have an
effect upon one another. The idea of a two-way effect is essential in the
concept of interaction, as opposed to a one-way causal effect. A closely
related term is interconnectivity, which deals with the interactions of
interactions within systems: combinations of many simple interactions can lead
to surprising emergent phenomena. Interaction has different tailored meanings
in various sciences.
The one of million definitions of
interaction design, in my opinion the most suitable for my essay is that – an approaches
the design of products from an understanding of how and why people desire to use
them.
ART
If in a Google system I am trying to
find Interaction Design as an art, there is coming a lot of interesting results
and outcomes. For example, MICA's Interaction Design and Art students are
prepared to become productive, engaged artist/designers in the interaction
design field. They implementing professional methodologies, the curriculum
gives specific attention to interface design, user experience design,
interactive exhibit design, and physical computing. All of these processes and technologies are
applicable to those who choose to pursue one of the many career paths in this
field, as well as to those who choose a career as an exhibiting fine artist,
following in the footsteps of professional artists whose interactive works are
expressed in such areas as installation, telematics art, performance,
responsive objects, and alternative reality games (ARGs). (according to link http://www.mica.edu/browse_art/interaction_design_and_art_student_artwork.html).
Another example, which tells me that
the interaction design is an art is Royal College of Art. In this college the
students are deeply working with Design Interactions. In their school they very
often use design as an art in their projects, which are often speculative and
critical, aim to inspire debate about the human consequences of different
technological futures – both positive and negative. Project outcomes are
expressed through a variety of media including prototypes, performance, video
and photography.
These examples are proving that the
Interaction design could be an art.
ENGINEERING
Let’s take a look to another part. Is
interaction design is engineering? When I typed this question in the Google I
found relevant information about it. There were a lot of different document
which show me interactive systems as engineering. The first an example is
Wikipedia which gave me a description about interactive systems: Interactive
systems engineering is considered as an interdisciplinary field with computer
engineering, systems engineering, interaction design, software development,
aesthetic, ethnography, psychology and usability factors involved.
So, there was a part of interaction
design also, which means that interaction design also consist engineering.
Another example is come from Interaction
Design Engineering Class which is working with interaction design. “Learning
interaction design is like learning to dance. It's all about communication”. There was a suggestion to participate in
course which consist interaction design as engineering.
Conclusion
To sum up the written material I can
say that I answered for two questions which I made up before. According to
gained material I found out that new media design can be very different but the
most common is interaction design. Interaction is in general very huge and strong
word, which includes a lot of definitions. As a choosing the interaction design
as a way how in my opinion New Media is designed and deployed, I made the
research, is this design art or engineering. The result and answer came from
different examples and material from Internet. Interaction design could be art
and engineering, the main thing how you as a creator or designer will use it.
In which way you would like to go and which direction to use.
References:
·
Interaction Designers – PDF from Dropbox
·
http://www.mica.edu/browse_art/interaction_design_and_art_student_artwork.html - interaction design as an art
I would advice to read through the essay very carefully as I found it very difficult to understand what you were writing about. I would suggest you to focus more as at the moment you are jumping from one thought to another.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely do not consider Wikipedia as a reliable source for academic paper.
You have concluded with the sentence which answers the question of your essay
Interaction design could be art and engineering, the main thing how you as a creator or designer will use it. In which way you would like to go and which direction to use
However your final conclusion is not supported by the body of the essay and therefore I as a reader can not understand how did you come to this kind of conclusion.
I agree with Dagmar - Wikipedia is not a good source for information while writing an academic paper. Since it's a part of interactive media where every one of us can contribute in, the information there can be someones own interpretation and that's more of an "opinion" rather than "a fact".
ReplyDeleteWhat I think was not covered is the user-based creation and design of new media. Yes, there are authors that really design new media, create environments etc. But then again there are users that through the process of using new media design it and give new media a whole different point of view. For instance: backgrounds of blogs. Yours has a bookshelf for probably a nicer overall image, mine has plain colors for easier browsing and less disturbance. Is is art or engineering? :)
Taavi Karotamm
Dasha, you have chosen very interesting area to write about, however your topic seems a bit unclear to me and it doesn't get well-developed after reading through the essay. Yet I do understand it is a sketch and you will probably polish and add some additional data to the essay. :)
ReplyDeleteI would recommend to add quotes when you are referring to someones opinion, like in this phrase "some professionals’ think that New Media design is a leading just web design and graphic design." it would be beneficial to your paper if you could reflect a bit more on who are those professional people, why did you take them as a reliable source etc.
I would also tried to be less specific and more general in some paragraphs.
I am aware that some things might seem obvious to you because you are engaged with this topic more deeply then people who will read essay for the first time, but it still worth to mention those obvious things in order to make your paper understandable and easier to read.
To sum it up I will add my voice to the choir of people who recommend you not to use Wiki as a trustworthy source.
Good luck with finishing your essay!
"Nowadays design is around us"... Hasn't it been since ever? As for your question on how is new media designed and deployed, I would definitely recommend you to break your endeavour into two quests addressing first the design of new media (and there is so much to say here) and the its deployment (although it might be to much to address both parts of the question in just one essay). Needless to say, I subscribe to your colleagues' comments on the clarity of your discourse and the soundness of your sources. Would still like to point out that Wikipedia is in fact a good source of initial information (it is not only peer-produced but also peer-critiqued) but that you should then proceed towards the formal sources listed in many wikipedia articles. Looking forward for the final text :)
ReplyDeletethank you for your comments and feedback. I will pay attention to that recommends and correct my essay in a good way.
ReplyDelete