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INTRODUCTION - LOOK AHEAD
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schedule: April 19, 11:30-11:40
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CLOSING - NUMER ACTIONS
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schedule: April 21, 20:10-20:30 |
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THE CONFERENCE SESSIONS ARE AT THE HEART OF NUMER.02. IT IS A PLACE FOR WORDS, INVENTION, AND COMMUNICATION. IT IS THE CROSSROADS OF THEORY AND PRACTICE. IT IS THE SHARING GROUNDS OF EXPERIENCES, QUESTIONS AND INSIGHTS. |
PROCESS AND ADEQUACY
| schedule: April 19, 11:40-18:00
presentation : Multimedia production teams are faced daily with recurrent questions:
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BEYOND THE SCREEN
| schedule: April 21, 18:00-20:00
presentation : Interaction, in the use we make of this word here today, relates entirely to the realm of the computer. But almost any physical object is interactive, and many of them offer a much richer experience for senses and gestures than the traditional appendages of the computer: mouse, keyboard, display, speakers or headphones — sometimes the microphone, the joystick, the stylus. There is still a lot to do with these existing means but the feeling is rapidly spreading that the computer, in its current form, constrains the scope of interaction design more than it should.The answer, most probably, doesn’t lie towards the dematerialization of the machine itself but, rather, through making it more friendly, more mobile, less heavy, more sensitive and more adaptable. Could the gap between virtuality and materiality be replaced a continuous, bipolar axis? This insight seems to emerge as such from the hybridation space between industrial design and interaction design — talks of digital design can be overheard... The perspectives for the future, in this field, seem infinite — and bring about a few questions. How will the traditional crafts of interaction apply to these new issues? What new usages will be spawned by these new objects? Also, will not the growing infiltration of the computer in our daily life contribute to our further disembodiment?
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CREATIVITY AND FORMALIZATION
| schedule: April 20, 11:30-18:00
presentation : Interactivity is the place of complexity. With the advent of computers, for the first time in the history of mankind we can wield processes that resemble those of nervous systems. Now, it so happens that our own cognitive capacities are nervous-system-based, and it is precisely when the limits of these capacities are felt that one gets to speak — from a very subjective standpoint — of complexity.Computer based objects can be very complex, hence the necessity to unwind their various components, to flatten them in verifiable and communicable ways so as to formalize their structure and, foremost, their dynamics. Computer programming is the most usual formalization of interactive processes, but it is not the only one. Can this necessary rigour be compatible with the spontaneity and plasticity which are at stake in creation? Is a programmer inspired? Is she or he an artist? Does one have to be a programmer to master the complexity of combinatorial interaction? Finally, complexity is not merely a constraint: it is a means to simulate life, to create an animated cosmogony, or to invent new organic behaviours even. But how can we undertake these issues? With what tools? How to share them between the various trades involved in interaction? How to teach them? And, once we have mastered an even broader range of cognitive complexity that will even allow us to tame natural languages, to put the story-teller — rather than the story — in the computer, will we still speak of design? of creativity?
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SPATIALITY
| schedule: April 20, 18:10-20:00
presentation : The temptation of 3-D, as one could call it, has touched interaction design a while ago — as illustrated by the works of Muriel Cooper at MIT around 1995, or, earlier still, the data visualization experiences from XEROX PARC.This approach is aesthetically attractive and well in tune with the technological context, but what sets many designers dreaming is the hope to simplify the manipulation of complex information structures through the use of the spatial metaphor. In particular, there were many attempts to transpose graphically a set of interrelated terms-concepts in virtual space, with the purpose of unravelling visually all dimensions of a network of semantic binds. 3-D layouts are also frequently used to add a degree of freedom to the act of navigating within a given corpus. And thus, we all had many opportunities to see and experience interactive 3-D representations. What can we say about this approach today? Can we measure its efficiency as a design strategy? Doesn't it often demonstrate a preference for aesthetics over function? However, although many 3D interfaces only achieve unproductive playfulness, it is clear that spatiality can usefully simplify access to complexity. Let us not forget that 3-D rendering technologies are becoming more and more common while they offer many technical advantages compared to traditional visualization methods.
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CULTURE AND CRITIC
| schedule: April 21, 11:30-18:00
presentation : Computer representation compares to nothing we have known before. It is intrinsically different from any historical support for writing: it transforms itself, it unravels in time. We've known for forty years that this new type of representation calls for a new way of writing. We realize today that we will also have to reconsider the way we articulate our ideas because our traditional thinking schemes are not adapted to this new realm of possibilities. By this token, the end of the XXth century will mark the end of pre-digital history — just like the advent of writing marked, 5000 years ago, the end of prehistory.We are thus at the dawn of a cultural mutation that will re-orient definitively the evolution of our civilizations. Is it so surprising to find that the public and the professionals, both creators and critics, all demonstrate a conspicuous poverty of judgement when faced with the first products of this new culture? Given the lack of perspective, how could it be otherwise? Therefore, we must accept this state of things with philosophy — but not necessarily with resignation. First, it is imperative to define the foundations for an adequate teaching framework, allowing for youth to better learn the new trades, and at the same time to take over the lead of exploration from the grasp of their elders, simmering in the remnants of our romantic culture. We also have to lay down analytical bearings so as to appreciate productions indepently from the shortcomings of markets, clients, and consumers. Finally, it is necessary to expose the public to the process of design if we want to educate its judgement.
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INTERACTIVE CINEMA
| schedule: April 19, 18:00-20:30
presentation : However, we can imagine various forms of interactive cinema, which makes the issue a bit more complex: variation of the points of view, identification to a character, interactive unfolding, game master, etc. The use of generativity — as opposed to precalculated sequences — is also a determining factor. Finally, given the relatively heavy resources required by this type of production, tools and technologies should also be considered.
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