Four months into my masters degree have gone by in a breeze however my effort, focus and determination has been consistently distributed. There has been academic fluidity when comparing my research proposal to the current state of my research. Countless endless nights at the library, hazy afternoons learning the umpteenth architecture software in the digital lab or speed sketching around London. My excitement for my research has fully taken over my life. At times this excitement tends to spiral into borderline delusional utopian thinking where Im eager to fix all the problems of the world.
In reality there are specific issues I believe we all face on a daily basis, there exist subconscious stressors all around us and I propose an attempt at minimizing pain points in hopes of an optimistic tomorrow.
The “How” research questions remains in a state of paralysis as its appropriate relation to the research is ever changing which has made this process strenuous.
Balancing between ambiguous conceptualism or a confidently aggressive specificity has proved to be a difficult task.
I don’t want to be limited to the scope of what Im trying to achieve however, in order to begin one must just start.
How can data driven principles of psycho-geography converge with design?
My Journal Entry from January 25th speaks on the various texts I had borrowed from the library, mostly surrounding the topic of psychogeography. To my understanding there exists relational truths that I’d like to include in relation to the principles of psychogeography, however i feel at times that area of study limits the goal and intention of my research, which is to study and improve upon our emotional relation with design. The limits of geography has made it difficult to fully commit to a research on psychogeography. After to attempting to read and listen to Merlin Coverley psychogeography countless times I struggled to feel immersed enough in the text.
I resorted to researching articles and studies on emotional based design.
I have made note to a dozen quotes from the various texts I’ve been reading that follow the concept I’m trying to realize.
“psychogeography describes ‘The study of the specific effects of the geo- graphical environment, consciously organized or not, on the emotions and behavior of individuals’ ”
“As I came to understand how symbolic spaces such as the tower, forest, labyrinth, or cave are deeply set in the human psyche, I tried to recreate those experiences in architecture.” – John M Johansen
“In conclusion, this study has demonstrated that the curvilinear forms/lines in the environment do influence people’s feelings of pleasure in that space.” – S-Dazkir 2009
“Note that the present paper does not intend to cover all theories and all issues to tackle but to offer a useful and robust guide to designing for emotions through an overview of relevant challenges, and a discussion of its opportunities and the way forward in the available literature.” – Yoon, J. et al. (2021)
After the first showcase I had created data driven renders of environments that followed curvilinear paths in the attempt and expressing how data can be manipulated and expressed in a way that follow principles of emotional based design. This renders used a perlin noise algorithm which also used to make a responsive audio visualizer. This was my valid and clear expression at demonstrating the use of data as a design tool.
The European press prize has a category of innovation where the definition states:
Innovation – Celebrating Data Journalism, challenging the boundaries of journalism
My goal with the pitch was to encapsulate a project that met this ambitious yet challenging standard.
After the first draft pitch I realized that my project pitch was still very much in the abstraction stage and required further fine tuning. The feedback from my tutor and the nerves from presenting motivated me to create a clearer narrative for the final pitch.
Reflection from the final pitch
The final pitch presentation started at 8am when I managed to get my original pitch down to 2:58 seconds. The process consisted of writing a tightly detailed script and practicing the presentation countless times. I felt ready to present later that afternoon and overall was able to follow the pace i set for my script.
The negatives of the original pitch were that I included too many redundant side projects that felt unnecessary for the quick pitch. I decided to remove these samples to keep a clear vision for the whole piece.
Another complaint I got from group members was that the theory I expressed was too complex and difficult to follow therefore real feedback wasn’t possible, therefore I made sure to explain keywords and topics as best as I can that would allow a wider range of audience (aka press prize) to follow without issue.
My tutor mark provided some great insight after the final pitch presentation. The idea that the algorithms parameters could be customizable depending on a users preference for design, this would make the project outcome the innovative assistive design tool that it’s pitched to be. It will definitely be added to the requirements of the algorithm and I will try my best to implement this idea. I will begin the next stage of research by gaining insight into multiple perspectives that can aid in giving a more versatile detection algorithm.
After what felt like a confident positive pitch I felt enticed to contact Georgia Lupi, the artist behind the art piece “Bruises” which I mentioned midway through the pitch. Her work as a data visualizer may prove to be very helpful and opportunities may arise in reaching out. She has also coined the term “data humanism” which is mainly centered around the idea of personifying data and representing numbers in an intelligible and poetic manner. It can also be interpreted as altering data to reflect the complexity of the human experience instead of the current status quo where data is presented as an omnipresent untouchable intelligence
Bibliography
Seda, S. (2009). AN ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS OF
Title: Emotional Effect of Curvilinear vs. Rectilinear Forms of Furniture in Interior Settings.
[online] Available at: https://ir.library.oregonstate.edu/downloads/wp988n19b
Coverley, M. (2012). Psychogeography. New York: Oldcastle Books.
Tuan, Y.-F. (1977). Space and place: the Perspective of Experience.
[online] Minneapolis, Mn: University of Minnesota Press.
Available at: https://www.academia.edu/19846369/Yi_Fu_Tuan_Space_and_Place.
Yoon, J. et al. (2021) ‘Designing for Positive Emotions: Issues and Emerging Research Directions’, The Design Journal, 24(2), pp. 167–187. doi: 10.1080/14606925.2020.1845434.
Herzog, T.R., Colleen, Maguire, P. and Nebel, M.B. (2003).
Assessing the restorative components of environments. Journal of Environmental Psychology,
[online] 23(2), pp.159–170. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/S0272-4944(02)00113-5.