New Brief: Interactive

This week the class were given our second brief. To summarise we are being asked to design and develop an interactive project that explores the below concepts:

“…Design boundaries can be thought of as very elaborate systems of control”.
“The users of new media are becoming the content of the form.” (P. Marshall, 2004, New Media Cultures, Arnold Press: London Pp.18)

The process of interactivity, whether on a personal or sociological level, remains an integral part in the way in which we lead our lives. Many theorists suggest that it is interactivity that separates the new media from the old. With regard to computers interactivity is the dialogue that occurs between a human and a machine. Interactive media offer us new forms of empowerment - in the ability to control our experiences; but there is always a tension between these new media forms and concepts of interactivity. Although to some extent the ability to be both author and navigator of a text is an inherent property of interactivity, much of this is implied control; as we are merely operating within the bounds of constructed environments. Whether the process of mediation between the designer and the intended audience is for the purpose of instruction, storytelling and entertainment or purely for the purpose of information, the ‘language’ as defined by the visual, auditory and technical means by which this is achieved is crucial to the success of the audiences ‘experience’. Although there are some highly technical methods of providing audience engagement and interactivity, low tech methods can sometimes be just as effective.