Art and Interface Design

1. Art and Interface Design Investigations into a user-centered design process for the creation of interactive art Dan Perkel 05.06.04

2. Presentation plan What is this all about? Findings… …from “users” … interviews/focus group … think-aloud session … observations …from artist interviews Conclusions and lessons learned

3. What’s this all about? Organum Goal: Use methods from the user-centered design process to help inform design of exhibit and game Organum, 2003 Greg Niemeyer, Christopher Chafe

4. What’s this all about? User-centered design for art? Goal: Preliminary investigation to test some ideas and determine how a larger study might be done The Teller Machine, 2002 Glenda Drew and Jesse Drew

5. Methods • Individual interviews • Pair interview • Small focus group • Think-aloud session • Short observation studies • Interviews with artists • Persona development

6. Interviews/focus group Art habits/Interactive art Experience with computer games Singing in public

7. On interactive art “I like interactive art when I feel like I am collaborating with something (the artists) to make something amazing that I never would have imagined on my own… an aesthetic experience that I am somehow involved in creating…” “Electronic art can fail when people are getting excited about the technology…they forget that they are making art.” “I’ve sat in front of the computer for most of my life and I get kind of tired of it.” “[Interactive art fails]…if the payoff isn’t worth the effort… if you’re going to all the trouble to do something with it… but if it’s too complicated or boring or isn’t engaging in any way…”

8. On computer and video games “I’m not much into battle games and things where … my ancient reactions times have to react so fast… but Riven and Myst where I can take my time and spend a year or two…” “I tried to play Nintendo games once… I got car sick.” “If I had a friend who had a Super Nintendo, or – I don’t even know what they’re called these days - an Xbox? I would be tempted to play because I haven’t done it in a long time and it sounds like fun. I’m serious!”

9. On singing in public “The only way I could get through something like that would be to take beta blocker.” “I tried to avoid singing in public as much as I can.” “I’m really moved by community singing. It’s way underrated.” “[On karaoke…] I’d love to try that. I went one time, but I could not get the nerve up to do it. I’d like to go back and try it again.” • “If you invite me to your Christmas party, I will sing loudly… . I can bellow… no, no inhibitions.”

10. Think-aloud session 1 participant 1 hour 8 works of web art Images created using Tripolar, 2002 Scott Snibbe

11. “I didn’t like the ones I couldn’t understand or the ones I couldn’t control. Because I got in my head I could control it… because it was on a computer.” Images created using Axis, 2002, Golan Levin Untitled, 2002, Martin Watternberg SpringObject, 2002, Mark Napier

12. Short observations Exploratorium SFMOMA - Pop! and Pipilotti Rist

13. “Results” of observations • Did a good job making me think of the range of audience • Brought up issues of context of exhibits • Really difficult to do “short” studies

14. Interviews with artists Design processes Prototyping Observations of audience

15. On thinking about the audience “I think a lot of this is a sense of respect for your audience…you should value their time and make it worth their while. This is kind of opposite the romantic idea of an artist. Even today in culture when people are trying to say that something is authentic they’ll say ‘I did it for myself,’ and to me that doesn’t make any sense… For me to make something meaningful, I’ll say ‘I did it for someone else.’ Or ‘I did it for other people.’ What is the point of me sitting here making interactive works for me to look at? I see them in my head already… Why do you make something? The whole purpose is for other people.”

16. Conclusions for Organum • Has made us more aware of things we should do… • …and things we should not do • Jury still out on use of personas • Prototyping and audience testing are important

17. Conclusions for broader study • Questions are still evolving • Need better definition of “interactive” • Context: critical and difficult • The reverse question?

18. Lessons learned • Interviews vs. observation • Observation studies: difficult, complicated, potentially key piece • “Think-aloud” showed potential • Get your stakeholder involved

19. Shameless Plug: Come play early prototype of Organum, the game: Friday, May 14 at the Berkeley Institute of Design open house (354 Hearst Mining) 9am - 5pm. Questions? Organum, 2003 Greg Niemeyer, Christopher Chafe

20. “SFMOMA is the beacon of self-important artists. So when I go there, I always feel like I’m being checked out. I always feel I’m dirty, y’know, slovenly, overweight, and ugly…and I feel really uncomfortable, physically uncomfortable and out of place.”