synesign - the intersection of synaesthesia & design

Post on 17-May-2015

3.390 Views

Category:

Design

1 Downloads

Preview:

Click to see full reader

DESCRIPTION

I stand at the crossroads of design and creativity. I am not a natural synesthete, but it's my job to form new interaction patterns, metaphors, and ways of design thinking. When I approach design synesthetically, even associationally, it opens up wider design opportunities and modes of thought for me. And this led me to Synesign, the intersection of synesthesia + design.

TRANSCRIPT

Syne+sign!THE INTERSECTION OF SYNAESTHESIA & DESIGN

Speaker’sNotes:

First,asimpleexperiment…Everyonecloseyoureyes.Canyouimaginewhatthele@erAlookslikeinyourmind?canyouhearthesoundAmakesinyourhead?CanyouimaginehowAfeelsinyourhand?CanyousmellA?Ifyoucan’t,youjustneedtoopenyoureye

Speaker’sNotes:

Synaesthesialiterallymeans“unionofthesenses.”Basically,whentwoormoresensesareconjoined.Forexample,whenapersonhearsmusicandseescolor,tasteapieceofchickenandfeelsashape,orsmellswords..

“ABILITYTOPERCEIVEUNCOMMONMULTI‐SENSORYGESTALTS

INTHEPHYSICALENVIRONMENT”

Speaker’sNotes:

NeuroscienVstsbelieveweallhavesynesthesiawhenweareborn,butaswelearnmoreabouttheworld,oursensesseparate.Foraluckyfew,thisneverhappens.Synesthesiahasbeendescribedasthe“abilitytoperceiveuncommonmulVsensorygestaltsinthephysicalenvironment.”Pa.ernfindinginawayweneverthoughtpossible..

Speaker’sNotes:

AtoneVmeitwasbelievedtooccurmostlyinleXhandedwomenandasfewas1in200,000people;nowit’sbelievedtohappentoanyoneandasmanyas1in20people.Thatmeans16ofyoumighthavesynesthesia..

Speaker’sNotes:

Imagine,foramoment,beingblind.Youcanguess‐butcan’tknow‐howthevisualworldlooksYet,sightiscompletelynaturaltomostofus.Now,imaginethesightI’mtalkingaboutissynesthesia

–wearenowtheoneswhoareblind.Synesthesiaisnolessrealornatural,butit’sashardtounderstand.

Speaker’sNotes:

Whyissynesthesiaimportant?Itisbelievedtobethebasisformetaphor,forcreaVvityandforrecognizingmanyofthepa@ernsaroundus.Considerthisexample:whichoftheseshapesiskikiandwhichisbooboo?98%ofthegeneralpopulaVonchosethepointyoneaskiki.Didyou?

Speaker’sNotes:

Synesthesiaisbestunderstoodthroughtheeyesofthepeoplewhoexperienceit.TakearVstCarolSteen.Carolhaspain>colorsynesthesiaandexperiencescolorsandpa@ernsinresponsetopain.ThispainVngistheresultofwhatshesawduringacupuncture.

Speaker’sNotes:

IhavehadnumerousandongoingconversaVonswithsynesthetes,includingBrendan.Brendanisagrapheme>colorsynesthete,whichmeansheseesle@ersandnumbersinhisownuniquecolors,likehispersonalalphabetshownhere.Brendan’sgrandmothercrochetssynestheVcpa@ernsandhismotherorganizesconceptsbycolor.

Speaker’sNotes:

AndthisisreflecVonist,MarciaSmileck.ShephotographsreflecVonsonmovingwater,whenevershehearsachordofcolororfeelsatexture.MarciaItookthepicturewhentheredroofturnedtovelvetagainstherskinandthewhiteshinglesfeltasso=asSanta’sbeard.

Speaker’sNotes:

ThisisanotheroneofMarcia’sphotographs–sheheardthesoundofacelloonthewaterandtooktheshot.Aneuro‐scienVsttoldhershehadcapturedonfilmtheexactsinewavesproducedbythesoundofcellostrings.Marciacanalsoplaytheseamsofadressandshehearsmusicinmountains.

Speaker’sNotes:

IstandatthecrossroadsofdesignandcreaVvity.Iamnotanaturalsynesthete,butit'smyjobtoformnewinteracVonpa@erns,metaphors,andwaysofdesignthinking.WhenIapproachdesignsynestheVcally,evenassociaVonally,itopensupwiderdesignopportuniVesandmodesofthoughtforme.AndthisledmetoSynesign,theintersecVonofsynesthesia+design.

Speaker’sNotes:MyfirstexposuretosynestheVcthinkingcamewhenIwasresearchingtheideaofmeasuringemoVonthroughsound.WhatyouseehereistheemoVonengine,whichwasdesignedtocaptureaperson’semo@onalresponsetoaproductover@me.Thedial,inthelowerleXcorner,couldbemanipulatedbetweenamajorandminorchordtoexpressaperson’semoVonalresponse.

Speaker’sNotes:ConsiderdesignerJonathanHarriswhospentsevendaysonawhalehuntwithEskimosinAlaskaandcapturedtheenVreexperiencebasedonhisheartbeat.

Hetookphotosat15minuteintervals,increasingthefrequencywhenhisheartspedup,likeduringthebutcheringofthewhales.

Speaker’sNotes:ConsiderthismemorialinGermanycalledTouchedEcho.Whenaspectatorgraspstherails,heistakenbackinVmetotheterribleairraidof1945asthesoundofWWIIbombersfillshisears.Whileitlooksasiftheyareshunngtheirearsfromthenoise,thesoundisactuallycarriedthroughboneconducVon.Likesynesthesia,it’sauniquelypersonalandunseenexperience.

Speaker’sNotes:ConsiderCharlesIves,calledthegreatestAmericancomposer.Hewouldgooutinthunderstorms,listentothewindandtherainandthechurchbellsclangingandwouldthenracebackinsidedesperatetocapturethesoundsonhispiano.Whenhecouldn’t,hestartedplayingthe“cracks”betweenthepianokeys,whichbecamethemicrotonesofmodernmusic.

Whatdoyouhear?

Speaker’sNotes:

Andconsiderthissound…whatdoyouthinkyouhear?

Speaker’sNotes:Didanyoneguessthesoundofurineanalysis?Dr.CharlesSweeleyatMinnesotaState,foundthathecouldbe@erdeterminediseasesinurinesamplesbyhearingwhathiseyescouldnotsee.Visually,wecanonlyscanonelineataVme,butaurallywecanhearacompletesongorthe57uniqueinstrumentsthatmaymakeupthesong.ThishasalsobeendoneforDNA.

Speaker’sNotes:

ThisisyourcuetounwraptheTCHOchocolate.Putitinyourmouthnowtoletitwarmup,butdonotbiteintoit.Atthestartofthenextslide,Iwantyoutocloseyoureyesanddrawaslow,conVnuouslineofwhatyoufeelyoutasteasyouletthechocolatedissolveinyourmouth.

Speaker’sNotes:

Startdrawingnow.

Thankyou.

Speaker’sNotes:WhenItriedchocolateyataconference,Iclosedmyeyesanddrewawavyline.WhenIopenedmyeyesthepresentersaid,“Thefounderlikestocallthisonearollercoasterride.”Doeschocolatehaveaheartbeat?Andwouldwehaveanevendeeperunderstandingofourlanguageifwecouldsmellit?Ithinktheanswerisyes.

top related