http://cargocollective.com William Frohn MDP Fri, 17 May 2013 11:58:33 +0000 http://cargocollective.com en http://cargocollective.com/williamfrohnmdp/QuickRead-ebook http://cargocollective.com/williamfrohnmdp/following/williamfrohnmdp/QuickRead-ebook Fri, 17 May 2013 11:58:33 +0000 William Frohn MDP 2474388 QuickRead is an ebook that allows people who enjoy continuing to learn and discuss the written word post formal education to have a platform where they can access media, and see and discuss insights with others. It gives people the context of the current global media landscape. Users can view trending media around the world and get insights into the perspectives of people in those specific localities. The system makes it easy reference words, to see what others think about passages, and to leave one's own thoughts for others to see. One of the most valuable aspects of language is its ability to engage the reader and activate a discussion. Quickread seeks to empower the user by providing a platform for dialogue and interaction. Emphasizing the social engagement of reading, quickread goes beyond the initial layer of comprehension and provides the user a platform to share and critique both the visual and aural environment in which they encounter stimulating (or at times, seemingly mundane) moments of communication. Reading and comprehending media has become increasingly social, while the indivudal understanding is important, it is the shared experience over media that creates an even broader comprehension of the world. <img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474388/large_girls.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474388/large_girls_o.jpg" data-mid="12473391" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474388/second_device.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474388/second_device_o.jpg" data-mid="12473384" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474388/eric_large.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474388/eric_large_o.jpg" data-mid="12473404" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474388/s_01.jpeg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474388/s_01_o.jpeg" data-mid="12473393" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474388/s_02.jpeg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474388/s_02_o.jpeg" data-mid="12473394" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474388/s_03.jpeg" width="640" height="480" width_o="640" height_o="480" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474388/s_03_o.jpeg" data-mid="12473395" border="0" align="left"/> Previously, I had thought of an ebook as merely an electronic version of a book, with maybe some videos to enhance it. Throughout the design process, I discovered nearly anything was possible, especially at this stage. There are no publishers or printers telling us what can and can't be done. So long as there is a budget to create what we think of, it can be done. It's a wide open platform with few restraints. An ebook could redefine the way we learn. For me, this project was about taking the familiar conventions within reading and studying and try to push our interactions and expectations of what we can do with that information. This project was an advancement of a personal line of inquiry, which is how can design enhance our ability to learn in our own personal ways. A tool like this would have really helped me in my personal learning style throughout school. An adaptive learning tool where information is at our finger tips, where we can see what others have to say about something, and discuss ideas with others would be a great learning tool. I also think the portability is an important aspect of it. To see our complete project go copy this into your browser: http://people.artcenter.edu/sneedham1/eBook/welcome/ QuickRead is an ebook that allows people who enjoy continuing to learn and discuss the written word post formal education to have a platform where they can access... http://cargocollective.com/williamfrohnmdp/The-Time-Machine http://cargocollective.com/williamfrohnmdp/following/williamfrohnmdp/The-Time-Machine Wed, 18 Apr 2012 18:10:33 +0000 William Frohn MDP 3233714 <img src="http://payload46.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/3233714/TimeMachine01.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload46.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/3233714/TimeMachine01_o.jpg" data-mid="16592553" border="0" align="left"/> As humans, we tend to disconnect our minute by minute or hour by hour activities from it's cumulative effect upon our lives. We try to compartmentalize our lives. This is particularly true of those of us using media in the context of entertainment, news, internet usage. There is a cumulative effect from all of that time spent in front of media and it affects our world view, expectations, values, sensitivities, political agendas, ideology. In this project, I began by attempting to bring awareness to children, youth, and their parents of the vast amount of time we expose ourselves to the ideology of the media, and to get the two parties to have a conversation regarding personal media saturation. Television is in competition with everything else in our lives that isn't television. It seeks to compete with reading, eating dinner as a family, hiking, study, sports, sleeping, anything that takes you away from the television. In general, Broadcast companies don't seek viewers because they want an audience to view their creative expressions, they have an agenda; they want an audience to advertise to. This is the reason why television and broadcast companies exist. Networks are really ad companies. They are no different than Clearchannel selling billboard space. But they are more subtle. Their job is to provide an audience for advertisers and to put viewers in a state where they are receptive to listening and buying. They want viewers to be passive. They will use whatever means necessary to keep us watching. Their goal is to keep us ever watching in order to inculcate with ideals about who to trust, where to buy things, what things are acceptable, inadequacy, where we can draw confidence from, etc. This is a force I am calling the Idealogical Media Apparatus, a term I borrowed and altered from Ann Allison's book, “Permitted and Prohibited Desires: Mothers, Comics, and Censorship in Japan.” Allison was referring to it in the context of the school environment in Japan. Allison stated, “The ISA's (Ideological State Apparatus) exert power not primarily through repression but through ideology. Designed and accepted as having another purpose-to educate (the school system), entertain (film industry), or inform (new media)- the ISA serve not only their stated objective but also an unstated one, that of indoctrinating people into seeing the world a certain way and accepting certain identities as their own within that world.” “We are influenced less by the threat of force and more by the devices that present and inform us of the world we live in and the subjectivities that world demands; thus knowledge and ideology become fused and education emerges as the apparatus for pedagogical and ideological indoctrination.” The media seeks to instigate certain discussions within families, typically about buying something; I wanted to instigate discussions that questioned the reach of media within the home and to bring attention to broader range of effects it has on one's life. I sought to create a designed machine that would serve as a catalyst for discussion around the topic of the long-term effects of media on one's life. My focus was on children and youth, and their parents. I wanted parents to realize the long-term effect of plopping their kids down in front of the television, and I wanted youth to begin to consider the issue. My goal was to instigate people to analyze whether their desire touches their reality. In my sketching and researching, I stumbled upon and was inspired by automaton clocks. They draw attention to the mundane task of watching a clock, and there's just something mesmerizing and intriguing about watching all of the simple mechanisms working together to create a physical animation. Understanding and materially seeing the cumulative effect of our hour by hour activities makes an undeniable argument that media affects the viewer/user. I created “The Time Machine.” The machine is simple but fascinating to watch. The user dials in the amount of hours she spends doing something, such as watching television, the machine then begins rotating with the end of the chain being an earth that revolves around the sun. Each revolution is a 24 hour day in the year that the participant does the specific activity. When we can see our seemingly mundane activities in terms of days per year, or even years per life, we can see how our simple activities make up who we are and what we will accomplish. Seeing it materially is somehow almost shocking. The purpose of "The Time Machine" is to get children and parents to reflect together upon the packets of time that children sit in front of television. When those daily packets of time are added together for the length of a year it becomes powerfully apparent the impact that media can have in a child's life. 2 hours of television viewing per day becomes 30 24 hour days a year in front of the television. Time usage/management issues aside, the real concern, in my opinion, is the influence of the media upon someone who is so susceptible to outside influences. The machine is intended to incite reflection upon overall impact of these daily seemingly trivial spans of time on children, or on self, in the long-term. The materiality of the machine itself embodies our concept of time; it is made-up, and mechanical. Society invented our current time for purposes of business synchronization. The machine shows our physical relationship to something that is invisible. The device is a kind of faux science project, with "scientific" input, but the real point of the machine is very much about connecting with people and and having them think about who they are. Deployment <img src="http://payload46.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/3233714/TimeMachine02.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload46.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/3233714/TimeMachine02_o.jpg" data-mid="16592627" border="0" align="left"/> I found my best audience for "The Time Machine" at the local library. The librarians were more than receptive of the idea, and suggested making the whole thing into an event. Unfortunately, time and the advent of the local spring break did not permit this to happen. But I still had a number of positive interactions at the library. Of course the little children were mainly interested in the spectacle of the machine, but parents seemed to genuinely consider the proposed dialogue, and often seemed notably moved by the accumulation of time spent watching television of the course of the year. The conversation would almost invariably progress to a more encompassing view of how one spends their time and whether it is in dialogue with his or her goals for self or for his or her children. Unfortunately, I was not able to take photos of participants or collect data in the library. Reflections The de-rarefication of my work was a critical development. Building something that wasn't meant to live in a gallery for the design elite, or for production purposes was a leap for me. I was forced to actually connect with a community and try to communicate with them and open a dialogue. My notions of community and audience/participant scale was also challenged. I had previously imagined my audience to be much larger. I realized over the course of the project that the audience could just be one person or a few people. Actually getting out and deploying my project and ideas was challenging as I often dealt with feelings of doubt, and was not sure how things were going to work out. Of course it was a relief to see things so well received. I learned much about people and their concerns upon the proposed topic, and I also was able to understand how people actually perceive and interact with the work. Future Investigations I have felt all along that the project needs greater scale, not just in terms of size but also in terms of interaction points. I would like the reflection process to be built into the machinery and how one interacts with it rather than having me stand there leading the person verbally. I think this would allow for the user to make connections personally and thus have a greater impact. We have all heard of various studies about children watching so many hours of television per day on average, and we've read numerous articles, it's not a new subject, yet it still continues. I think that helping people to see direct impact in their or their children's lives is critical in motivating change. Further concepts I'd like to explore is time or space blending. In our virtual age, I can be at home sitting with my children, but it doesn't mean I am present. I believe presence is an important issue of our day with all of the media distractions that allow us to be anywhere and with anyone and still access media and communication. The blending of time adds another dimension to the discussion that makes more difficult to compartmentalize our time packets. I'm also interested in learning how people individually understand time. I'd like to explore other methods for keeping time, and possibly build an automaton clock that corresponds to alternate time framing. I'm also interested in experimenting with scale, and making more of a show out of the whole thing. In terms of continuing with the media theme, I could see an edit of just commercials that a child would see over the course of the year; take out all of the other content. Or I could see editing together the total murders an older child or teenager might see on television, or non-committal sexual encounters they witness, or some other thing a parent would not want to expose his or her child to. All of these seemingly quick viewings have a total impact upon one's views and expectations in life. As humans, we tend to disconnect our minute by minute or hour by hour activities from it's cumulative effect upon our lives. We try to compartmentalize our... http://cargocollective.com/williamfrohnmdp/Parallel-Narratives-Proposal http://cargocollective.com/williamfrohnmdp/following/williamfrohnmdp/Parallel-Narratives-Proposal Wed, 18 Apr 2012 18:08:21 +0000 William Frohn MDP 3233707 Ktown Parallel Narratives is a proposal for a geographic information system that would serve as a platform developing a history and creating neighbor awareness in a highly diversified area where people tend to not be in dialogue with the neighboring cultures. Cities play host to many ironies. One of the most ironic issues that I find of interest is that one can be surrounded by thousands or millions of people, yet still avoid speaking to or interacting with the people outside his or her own circle. There tend to be pockets of cities where people with a strong cultural or ethnic background live insularly within their specific neighborhood or city forming a microcosm of their previous nation. There is comfort in this approach, and it's strengthening to be with likeminded people and enjoy their association. On the other hand, only communicating, interacting and working with people whom one is familiar with may lead to misunderstanding and social strife. Koreatown contains many people who have sought to build a sort of microcosm of their home nations. People live parallel lives as they inhabit the same space but go about without interacting with one another, like a married couple who have lost their spark- they live together but don't speak much to each-other other than for the business side of things One woman I spoke with, Rosa, a Mexican-American and 29 year resident, pointed out to me each house on her street and told me the ethnicities of each resident and whether or not they associated much with the neighbors. Most people did not really associate much with one another except for the multi-decade residents. I was quite surprised by how diverse that small street was. I asked her if they ever have any sort of block party or anything, and she said never. So here are these multiplicity of ethnicities living on the same street living parallel lives. They are having different cultural experiences within the same few miles radiance, and even next door to each other, but they almost seem to be unaware of one another. I am seeking to speak to society as members of individual and separate cultural and ethnic groups. I am not trying to initiate a feel-good multi-cultural singalong, but I am more interested in the narratives that are taking place within the same space, and in the complexities of a space. The multiple narratives form one greater narrative which is Koreatown, and may actually be a microcosm of America, maybe not exactly racially/ethnically, but certainly metaphorically and culturally. I think that Koreatown is a great space to experiment with database narrative. Ktown has a database of disparate cultures and ethnicities that share the common thread of being in a very small geographic location. I am interested in experimenting with forming meaningful narratives out of disparate parts. I think this common thread will bring the disparate parts together in a meaningful way. The visual stories of multiple people within the same space creates what Phil VanAllen calls a “dimensional story space” 1 allowing the participant to explore the space and understand it as a whole. The user isn't confined to one linear path or story arc. The dimensional database gives the user options as to his or her own interests, and the participant can add to the space narrative by uploading his or her own recordings. Previously, I handed out cameras to residents and I asked the participants to shoot a photo-documentary of Koreatown from their unique perspective. I purposefully didn't give too many specific directions because I wanted it to be their own interpretation of the area and not what I proscribe. Through that experience, I learned that people need some direction or something to push against at least. Moving forward, I feel it would better serve my purposes if participants were given words to interpret and describe visually. I propose giving each person a camera with a list of predetermined tags such as “entertainment,” “work,” “community,” “friends,” “family,” “food,” “strife,” “cute,” “relax,” “history,” “race,” “fun,” “family dinner,” “suffering,” “exploit,” etc. I would ask people to show me their version of the tag-words as a resident in Ktown. <img src="http://payload46.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/3233707/crimeBlotter.jpg" width="640" height="800" width_o="640" height_o="800" src_o="http://payload46.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/3233707/crimeBlotter_o.jpg" data-mid="16626339" border="0" align="left"/> Crime blotters seek to paint a neighborhood in a specific light. The neighborhood is known by it's crimes. The crimes write the narrative. These rare occasions where people step over the line define the narrative for all the people living there, and the ramifications are serious for property value, business foot traffic, tourism, etc. I want to use that language of a crime blotter to bring together the real narratives about the rich experiences that are happening in Koreatown. I further propose adding audio recordings and sensorial input to the database, and even written text. A map may also be of use and interest. The map would locate the data within the space giving it geographic context. This could be a map defined by experiences and stories rather than streets and highways. Additionally, some “gorilla” QR stickers at the specific locations would add a layer where people that are actually within the space could interact with the system. The QR sticker would point the person who scanned it to a page containing past things that had taken place in that very space, and it would afford him or her the opportunity to add an experience or recording to the place/database. My hope is that the end result would be for people within the community to take over in adding content and help to mold it into a useful platform for building an awareness of each other and be the means of furthering a dialogue about what is really happening in the space and who is there. It would also serve as documentation/history of the space. Reflection This project was about people and about dialogue as opposed to broadcasting my ideas or design more so than any previous project. I had a realization about how long it takes to really get to know a community and its concerns. It's all about actually being there. Reading about Koreatown and its concerns and history really did not paint an accurate picture of the neighborhood. Additionally, there's always that scary part in these types of projects where you're not sure if people are going to react well to what you are trying to do, or if it won't move them at all. It's much different than designing some hypothetical thing in the studio that is supposed to please other designers. You don't really have the luxury of being very abstract or vague, on the other hand, you don't have everything perfectly planned out when actually going out to interface with real people. I had a lot of frustration in dealing with these aspects, but at the same time loved the challenge. I realized that I want to continue exploring bringing these designed interaction or catalysts to non-traditional spaces and situations. I would call it de-rarefying the experience, bringing it out of the studio and the gallery. Ktown Parallel Narratives is a proposal for a geographic information system that would serve as a platform developing a history and creating neighbor awareness in... http://cargocollective.com/williamfrohnmdp/The-Digital-Art-Museum http://cargocollective.com/williamfrohnmdp/following/williamfrohnmdp/The-Digital-Art-Museum Wed, 18 Apr 2012 18:06:44 +0000 William Frohn MDP 3233689 The Digital Art Museum is a gesturally navigated database of art works. The museum acculturates new "patrons" as to what they should like, and is often overly opinionated. The system sends prompts to other museum "patrons" about what you have viewed, and it in turn lets you know that other "patrons" who have also looked at the painting you are looking at have also viewed specific other works. It makes assumptions about your tastes based upon data such as viewing time, movements you seem to gravitate towards, etc, and makes suggestions. Each time you click on an image, the copyright owner receives a royalty. The system tells you what you should like, as well as make suggestions such as "Join the official LinkedIn Picasso lovers page." The museum sales your collected data to advertisers at that moment much like google does when someone enters a word in its search engine. like someone who annoying really wants to be your friend so they find out things about you or things that you like and then bring them up as though they know about them. The Digital Art Museum is a reflection upon the rising ubiquity of computational recommenders and advertising. What spaces should be off limits to digital helpers and possibly computing? When does pervasive computing/networking become invasive computing/networking? Reflection I wish that I could have given the system more options for interactions in order to give it more breadth. As it exists presently, it is programmed as a mere linear sequence. It is meant to be a demo rather than a working interactive piece. As always, when I got to the end of this project I began to see more possibilites and where this thing could go. The project was helpful in demystifying the magic of the kinect.{image 1} The Digital Art Museum is a gesturally navigated database of art works. The museum acculturates new "patrons" as to what they should like, and is often overly... http://cargocollective.com/williamfrohnmdp/The-Cloud http://cargocollective.com/williamfrohnmdp/following/williamfrohnmdp/The-Cloud Wed, 18 Apr 2012 18:04:19 +0000 William Frohn MDP 3233649 The cloud is a baby mobile, a pacifier and entertainer. It sleeps when the baby is sleeping exhibiting slow and rhythmic breathing. When it hears the infant crying it begins to get nervous itself and moves erratically and out of rhythm. All of this is communicated to the parent's duologue ball where a slow undulating light communicates that the baby is sleeping, and an erratically pulsating light communicates that they system is out of sync, or in other words, the baby is awake and upset. The parent can then blow into the ball which calms the system and puts it into a faster consistent rhythmic motion which gradually falls back to sleep again. Reflection When I got to the end of the project, I felt like I was at the beginning. I was at a much more developed state in my thinking than I was in the beginning regarding the possibilities of the materials and the opportunities for animism. I chose to make a 'real' product because animism's practical application seemed most interesting to me. There's an impracticality in making animism practical if that even makes sense. Initially thinking of this in terms of a product was helpful for me to focus on a specific area and develop some ideas, but once I finally figured out how to make it work and got the thing installed, I quickly realized that it had so much more potential for something beyond a baby product. I found myself wishing that I had gotten to that point three or four weeks earlier where I could follow this hunch and free the project from the constraints of being a product, and just let it live as it is. All along I've felt that scale would make this very powerful, and that was echoed several times in my final critique. I am anxious to experiment further with scale, materials, behaviors. This project was for me an opportunity to finally have the chance to experiment with physical animation. I realized I have a passion for mechanical things, especially automatons. Moving forward, I would like to experiment much more with exhibiting varied behavior through the movement. Ironically, this is what I think it lacks the most. You might say I got a bit too caught up in the technical aspects of the project, however, I realized that unlike programming and code, the technical mechanics that make the piece work can very much be a part of the outward expression of the project. They have a voice in and of themselves and can play a critical part in an installation. They can be a part of the experience and provoke a sense of wonder all on their own. The cloud is a baby mobile, a pacifier and entertainer. It sleeps when the baby is sleeping exhibiting slow and rhythmic breathing. When it hears the infant crying... http://cargocollective.com/williamfrohnmdp/Digitization-Repetition-Imperfection http://cargocollective.com/williamfrohnmdp/following/williamfrohnmdp/Digitization-Repetition-Imperfection Wed, 18 Apr 2012 17:44:35 +0000 William Frohn MDP 3233485 The following was a series of experiments in bringing computation into the physical world, and examining methods for which a computer thinks and speaks both within itself and with other computers. Fascimile We printed the image and devised a system for communicating value and numbers using hand signals. The values were then transmitted across the room to the receiver who would shade the boxes in to form the image. <img src="http://payload46.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/3233485/PixelCommunication.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload46.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/3233485/PixelCommunication_o.jpg" data-mid="16611087" border="0" align="left"/> Amalgamation Machine/Database Narrative I was interested in seeing how Database Narrative played out as a machine that brings elements together based upon algorithms. The amalgamation machine contains a number of pools of pre-animated units from which the user or machine can draw specific amounts from each. In this iteration the machine called for an Environment, two "somethings" performing actions, a weather pattern, a logo, and two secondary moving elements. Logic Experiments Experiment 1: Add a blue ball each time the red ball reaches the middle line. Experiment 2: Move blue ball clockwise, when new red ball is introduced, change directions. Experiment 3: Drop almonds near fish. Drop candy near almonds when fish is nearby. Fish eat almonds. Fish move to candy when nearby. Fish die when they eat candy. Emergence/Flocking experiment Reflection Stop motion was beneficial for me to use as a tool to perform these computational tasks. It allowed me to drastically slow something down that is typically happening in an imperceptible amount of time. It forced me to consider each decision and to try to limit myself to think like a computer. This project for me was helpful in understanding how computers think, and it allowed me to see the interesting possibilities that can lead to in the real physical world. The iterative and exploratory aspects of the project were exciting. It was more about following a train of thought or inquiry through rather than landing on one idea and polishing it. It was a means of discovery and exploration. The following was a series of experiments in bringing computation into the physical world, and examining methods for which a computer thinks and speaks both within... http://cargocollective.com/williamfrohnmdp/NanoBot-Exhibition http://cargocollective.com/williamfrohnmdp/following/williamfrohnmdp/NanoBot-Exhibition Fri, 17 Feb 2012 23:25:41 +0000 William Frohn MDP 2831633 <img src="http://payload26.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2831633/NanoBots.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload26.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2831633/NanoBots_o.jpg" data-mid="14386928" border="0" align="left"/> The 'NanoBot Exhibition' is a project I am currently working on In the MDP. My next interation will be to make them reactive to touch, electromagnetism from cell phones, light, etc. I aslo plan to perform a demonstration where I release them into various electronics and let them control and give personality to the objects. I'm looking forward to giving them something better than a foam core box to live in as well. This project was an exercise in considering how abstract animations could represent behaviors, and even work together to form something meaningful. So often we create these processing sketches that have no context. It was satisfying to speculate upon what systems or objects my abstract pattern-centric animations could be a part of. Another enriching development for me was that small but surprising elements can turn a project or presentation on its head. Adding the element of the magnifying cups made viewing these 'organisms' a completely different experience. The viewer had to engage with it in a way we are not accustomed to interacting with digital art. Typically we want to distance our viewers from the pixel in order to create an illusion of an image. The magnifiers bring to view every pixel being represented and asks the audience to consider the nuances of the medium as part of the experience. Because of the magnifiers, the user is willing to meet me half way in playing along with my story that the exhibition is more than just a screen in a box. The magnifiers are an integral element of the story. This project helped me to see that interactions and design could be used as a kind of performance story-telling. The medium can be used for pure delight rather than to do some task or promote a heavy idea or a corporate agenda. I plan to take this project to a maker fair for children in the near-future. The 'NanoBot Exhibition' is a project I am currently working on In the MDP. My next interation will be to make them reactive to touch, electromagnetism from... http://cargocollective.com/williamfrohnmdp/Food-for-Thought http://cargocollective.com/williamfrohnmdp/following/williamfrohnmdp/Food-for-Thought Sun, 18 Dec 2011 05:06:34 +0000 William Frohn MDP 2474920 "Food for thought" was initiated by considering what the underlying motivations are for buying a product. We sought to explore what the missing narratives are in people's lives which they are trying to fill by buying things. There are myths associate with products. Betty Crocker products seek to recreate a childhood experience of baking with mom. A frozen pizza is about buying a little piece of Italy. We created packages containing intangible products and labled them accordingly, e.i. peace, happiness, friendship, etc. We placed them in the meat section at a local supermarket. People without fail adamantly informed us that you can't buy happiness or these other things. Everybody we talked to were united that there are things that we can’t commodify. One woman we saw as we were leaving said jokingly that the wine she was buying was happiness. <img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/peace1.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/peace1_o.jpg" data-mid="12475647" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/peace2.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/peace2_o.jpg" data-mid="12475648" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/peace3.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/peace3_o.jpg" data-mid="12475650" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/peace4.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/peace4_o.jpg" data-mid="12475652" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/peace5.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/peace5_o.jpg" data-mid="12475653" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/peace6.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/peace6_o.jpg" data-mid="12475654" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/peace7.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/peace7_o.jpg" data-mid="12475655" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/peace8.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/peace8_o.jpg" data-mid="12475656" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/peace9.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/peace9_o.jpg" data-mid="12475657" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/peace10.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/peace10_o.jpg" data-mid="12475659" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/peace11.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/peace11_o.jpg" data-mid="12475660" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/peace12.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/peace12_o.jpg" data-mid="12475661" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/peace13.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/peace13_o.jpg" data-mid="12475662" border="0" align="left"/> In our next iteration we sought to ask if we could actually commodify things that we don’t commodify as a culture. We tend to think that Intangible things can’t be bought. We asked people to consider how they had indirectly bought an intangible. An example might be to buy flowers to receive forgiveness, or to hire a babysitter to buy time. We asked people directly to tell us how they had indirectly bought an intangible. She felt that it helped her feel more peaceful overall. We also asked people to quantify the dollar amount they spent on the specific intangible. We received a lot of thoughtful, varying, and sometimes surprising responses. One woman felt that she received peace in her body as she ate organic foods, and foods that were healthy. She received this peace for only 30 dollars extra a week. Another woman said she bought happiness by paying for her education, which ended up costing about 200 grand. Another person bought time by hiring a babysitter. <img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/intangibles1.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/intangibles1_o.jpg" data-mid="12475526" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/intangibles2.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/intangibles2_o.jpg" data-mid="12475528" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/intangibles3.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/intangibles3_o.jpg" data-mid="12475529" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/intangibles4.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/intangibles4_o.jpg" data-mid="12475530" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/intangibles5.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/intangibles5_o.jpg" data-mid="12475532" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/intangibles6.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/intangibles6_o.jpg" data-mid="12475533" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/intangibles7.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/intangibles7_o.jpg" data-mid="12475534" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/intangibles8.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/intangibles8_o.jpg" data-mid="12475535" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/intangibles9.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/intangibles9_o.jpg" data-mid="12475536" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/intangibles10.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/intangibles10_o.jpg" data-mid="12475538" border="0" align="left"/> Our next iteration took place in the 99 cents Store. We made a list of "aisles" on paper. Each "aisle" was a separate intangible. We asked people who were shopping to place their purchases within each of our "aisles." I was actually surprised by the response people gave. I tend to think of the products within a dollar store to be so heavily commodified that it would be rare to have any kind of real story or narrative behind them. I was wrong. Nearly everyone we spoke with was able to separate their items into the "aisles" without too much trouble. Interestingly, many of the products went into the creativity "aisle." <img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/99.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/99_o.jpg" data-mid="12475814" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/99_2.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/99_2_o.jpg" data-mid="12475809" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/99_5.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/99_5_o.jpg" data-mid="12475813" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/99_3.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/99_3_o.jpg" data-mid="12475810" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/99_4.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/99_4_o.jpg" data-mid="12475811" border="0" align="left"/> Our final proposal was to reorganize the merchandise within a dollar store according to customer's specific narratives. At the checkout, customers would have the opportunity to discuss and share their story behind their purchase and the merchandise would be reorganized according to the aggregate stories of customers. The narrative information that is entered will be issued in the form of a receipt to the customer for the own reflection after they have left the store. Final Proposal <img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/99_6.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/99_6_o.jpg" data-mid="12475886" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/99_7.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/99_7_o.jpg" data-mid="12475888" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/99_8.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/99_8_o.jpg" data-mid="12475889" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/99_9.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474920/99_9_o.jpg" data-mid="12475891" border="0" align="left"/> Throughout this project, I found that it was alright and beneficial to interject ourselves into the experience with the customers. It's okay to lead people through a specific thought process rather than just leaving something up for a person to look at and interpret. I also found that design interactions can be a useful tool to question conventional wisdom and have a community discussion on issues. "Food for thought" was initiated by considering what the underlying motivations are for buying a product. We sought to explore what the missing narratives are in... http://cargocollective.com/williamfrohnmdp/Meet-and-Greet http://cargocollective.com/williamfrohnmdp/following/williamfrohnmdp/Meet-and-Greet Sat, 17 Dec 2011 23:02:45 +0000 William Frohn MDP 2474475 “Meet and Greet” explores the misbegotten, yet popular and prevailing, presidential campaign of Herman Cain. The piece explores Cain’s ideology, bewildering ignorance, and his so-called “solutions to our problems.” “Meet and Greet” uses Cain’s rhetoric to connect the dots between his campaign and the billionare oil tycoons, the Koch’s. “Meet and Greet” uses the Cain campaign as a case study to show how the Koch brothers have been usurping the anger of Tea Party members to advance their corporate agenda which is to significantly lower taxes, get rid of all regulations, and advance their libertarian agenda. The Koch’s are stirring up and channeling populist anger against big government because it’s getting in the way of big business. The Koch’s message has always been the same, but they have found this way to connect with ordinary Americans and transmit their message to everybody. The brothers write the scripts of the politicians and protests, and they fund and organize these so called “grassroots” Tea Party Rally’s through American’s for Prosperity. This is a process called astroturfing, and the Koch’s have become quite effective at it. Herman Cain is just one of the Koch’s carefully selected spokespeople. <img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474475/fullImage.jpg" width="360" height="640" width_o="360" height_o="640" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474475/fullImage_o.jpg" data-mid="12473485" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474475/hand2.jpg" width="360" height="640" width_o="360" height_o="640" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474475/hand2_o.jpg" data-mid="12473509" border="0" align="left"/> <img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474475/shake.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474475/shake_o.jpg" data-mid="12473546" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474475/hand.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474475/hand_o.jpg" data-mid="12473508" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474475/wide1.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474475/wide1_o.jpg" data-mid="12473535" border="0" align="left"/> It doesn't matter how good your message is if you don't deliver it well. In retrospect, I would like to have focused more of my energies on a better pay-off for interacting with my installation. I'd like to develop the way the information comes out so that it varies and rewards the user for doing things like shaking the hand slower, faster, or more erratically. “Meet and Greet” explores the misbegotten, yet popular and prevailing, presidential campaign of Herman Cain. The piece explores Cain’s ideology, bewildering... http://cargocollective.com/williamfrohnmdp/Infra-LA-DataCore http://cargocollective.com/williamfrohnmdp/following/williamfrohnmdp/Infra-LA-DataCore Sat, 17 Dec 2011 22:02:16 +0000 William Frohn MDP 2474271 We visited two sites of Infrastructure in the LA area to begin this project. We first visited the Port of Los Angeles, and then 1 Wilshire, a carrier hotel. It was interesting to consider how impactful these two site are on our way of life. We were then asked to create a public interface inspired by our outing to some part of LA's infrastructure whether it was fictional or not. Datacore is the name of future company we speculated might arise when people no longer use tangible wires and objects to transfer information; a time when carrier hotels have become obsolete. We speculated that people would want to have these old tangible transfer components as souveneirs of past events that passed through these physical elements. The company would take old wires and other parts and craft them into jewelry. The buyer could have a little piece of intangible history. We gave it the setting of something like the Home Shopping Network, and presented it as though we were trying to sell these pieces to the audience. <img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474271/limited_edition_acessories.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474271/limited_edition_acessories_o.jpg" data-mid="12472377" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474271/product_9.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474271/product_9_o.jpg" data-mid="12472383" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474271/product_8.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474271/product_8_o.jpg" data-mid="12472410" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474271/product_1.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474271/product_1_o.jpg" data-mid="12472412" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474271/product_5.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474271/product_5_o.jpg" data-mid="12472413" border="0" align="left"/><img src="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474271/product_10.jpg" width="640" height="360" width_o="640" height_o="360" src_o="http://payload8.cargocollective.com/1/5/178459/2474271/product_10_o.jpg" data-mid="12472415" border="0" align="left"/> I think that this project was successful because it was a humorous speculation that had some plausibility, and the narrative was entertaining. We visited two sites of Infrastructure in the LA area to begin this project. We first visited the Port of Los Angeles, and then 1 Wilshire, a carrier hotel. It was...