Thesis Proposal
Below is my thesis proposal:
PROPOSED TOPIC OF RESEARCH
I am proposing to research and create an interactive design piece, which would allow a viewer (in an gallery, public space, or elsewhere) to be able to manipulate the design through a natural user interface. Additionally, I plan to explore how the user’s interaction with the visual medium could affect a secondary medium, such as sound. A subsection of this thesis topic would be the notion of authorship from an art history/criticism point of view, sense it is impossible for the designer to see or know every possible visual outcome, due to the human interaction variable.
PROPOSED CONTEXT OF RESEARCH
One aspect of my project that will include several areas of research is the study of natural user interface (NUI), which is defined as a user interface that is invisible to it’s users and is seen by some as successor to a graphical user interface, which uses a metaphorically based design. These NUIs can range from the more common “multi-touch” devices or more complex devices, such as the Xbox Kinect, which uses spatial gestures and no physical touch with any device. While I won’t limit myself to this direction from the beginning, I am fascinated by and plan to explore the spatial gestures aspect of NUI within my project and the Kinect can be hacked to work interface with Flash, MIDI and wide range of other computer interfaces—a process that I have already begun. The research element of NUIs, will focus on both the history of all types of user interfaces, as well as the technical requirements required to create and/or use such technique.
The critical theme behind the project focuses on the notion of authorship within interactive designs. The theories of Walter Benjamin and Roland Barthes’ mechanical reproduction will be compared to modern digital practices and how these theories of authorship apply today in an ever-changing digital world.
If I choose to include sounds or music as subset of the design component, the sounds would be a directly influenced by the user’s interaction with the design and originally existed to create an additional level of interest. While researching have found several interesting connections between music and design (iconography) and music and mathematics, which serves as the foundation of computer programming and vector based artwork—such combinations could be further explored and tied into the overall research. One particular artist that works with both is Brian Eno.
In addition to, or instead of, using sound, the natural user interface design’s purpose could for anything from a fine-art “gallery” piece to a commercial and advertising design, and could even be used for accessibility for those who cannot interface with a computer mouse.
PROPOSED MEDIA
My thesis project will be digital-media based, displayed either by projection or on a monitor. Due to the dynamic nature of the project, the software driving the graphics will most likely be Adobe Flash, but I will research additional options to find the most suitable solution.