I really resonated with design principles 7.3 and 7.6, especially as a musician. When I am testing out new instruments or music technology, I always want to feel like I am in control of the creation and that I am not fumbling around trying to figure out how to use the tech. I also want to feel like I can be playing the instrument with anyone and vibing/ jamming effortlessly, without too much set up and tech requirements getting in the way. As a creator, especially during my live shows, I always want to design a live show that encourages participation - whether it means singing along, clapping, thinking, sharing, reacting. It keeps the viewer engaged and active, rather than assuming I will do all the work for them. I want them feeling like they were really present in an immersive and positive experience that maybe I was able to foster, but that they were able to take ownership of and want to share with other people. And while my live show is not a piece of technology, we can still apply the same design principles for experiences like a live show or live interaction.
To experience these design principles in action, I visited the Japanese art installation “Continuity” by Teamlab at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco.
As the viewer walks through the dark world of video projections of nature scenes, they touch the walls and the images interactively move toward the viewer. When I walked through the exhibit, I remember touching the wall, and a series of projections of butterflies whirled towards where I had placed my hand. It was a beautiful and sensual feeling that I would not be able to experience in nature to that extent.
I have been to many audio visual immersive experiences having lived in both NYC and LA. But I had never been to an exhibit where I could interact with the projections on such an intricate level. This was a clear example of the designers “valuing participation” as a core principle of their design.
In another room of the installation, there was a half dome ceiling shape, with curved walls for the viewers to lie their backs against. As I lay in that dark room with other people, video projections of space imagery whirled around all of us paired with nature and planetary sound design. It reminded me of the notion of tech getting out of the way of human interaction - it was the thing that brought us together, but for me the main event was the feeling of being surrounded by other relaxing humans in this huge museum. It reminded me of when I was a kid and my mom took us for “night at the museum” where we got to spend the night at the Natural History Museum in NYC. It felt sublime after being in a pandemic for two years and not being deeply connected to other bodies in the way we had all been so used to.
Chapter 7 concludes with, “whatever you do, do it with authenticity.” It felt beautiful to see how much of the designers’ culture felt built in to the experience - artifacts of Japanese calligraphy, nature elements and simplicity felt unique to Teamlab that you would not necessarily find in visual exhibits from another culture.
