(2015) audience construction & the uncanny – at goldsmith df

MAX MOLLON | AUDIENCE CONSTRUCTION & THE UNCANNY | GOLDSMITH DESIGN FESTIVAL 2015

MAX MOLLON | AUDIENCE CONSTRUCTION & THE

UNCANNY | PRESENTED AT GOLDSMITH DESIGN FESTIVAL

2015

Speculation as Design ResearchTobie Kerridge, Max Mollon, Luiza Prado de O. Martins, Alison Thomson

While speculative and critical design (SCD)approaches have been written about extensively,there is scope to develop empirically robustaccounts of these practices as a form ofdesign research.

This symposium brings together an international group of students andresearchers who are challenging popularand rhetorical modes of writing about SCDby responding to issues that impinge upontheir practice, including patient experience,upstream engagement and colonialism.

SymposiumFriday 4th September, 10:00 - 13:00LG02, Professor Stuart Hall Building

GOLDSMITHS DESIGN

DEPARTMENT OF DESIGNgold.ac.uk

FESTIVAL3 - 9 SEPT

Speculation as Design ResearchTobie Kerridge, Max Mollon, Luiza Prado de O. Martins, Alison Thomson

While speculative and critical design (SCD)approaches have been written about extensively,there is scope to develop empirically robustaccounts of these practices as a form ofdesign research.

This symposium brings together an international group of students andresearchers who are challenging popularand rhetorical modes of writing about SCDby responding to issues that impinge upontheir practice, including patient experience,upstream engagement and colonialism.

SymposiumFriday 4th September, 10:00 - 13:00LG02, Professor Stuart Hall Building

GOLDSMITHS DESIGN

DEPARTMENT OF DESIGNgold.ac.uk

FESTIVAL3 - 9 SEPT


SPECULATION AS DESIGN RESEARCHSYMPOSIUM ORGANISED BY TOBIE KERRIDGE. PART OF THE GOLDSMITH DESIGN FESTIVAL 2015 OCT. O4TH

WITH LUIZA PRADO DE O. MARTINS, MAX MOLLON, ALISON THOMSON.

My initial reply to Tobie’s demand: In my work, I argue SCD uses design speculations to look into “people's reactions” when facing alternative views to the world they know. Indeed, “people’s reactions are the true product” of these practices – as James Auger puts it, in his thesis. For that reason, I feel the word empiric to echo with the relationship of SCD to its audiences. Empirical Speculation can refer to specific phases of the design process: collecting the audience reactions.

Collecting people’s reactions can occur along two phases: the production & the reception of the artefact.• First, showing the project to potential users allows to crash-

test the relevance of a speculation (regarding a specific audience’s background). These experiments allow to test the ability of a proposition to elicit “meaningful reactions” and so, to ensure good reception conditions for the project (eg. avoiding unintended debates). This is close to classical design’s pre-release user-testing, enabling to fine-tune the project. I like to call it “potential-user testing”.

• The second step happens in live conditions of diffusion, collecting actual reactions of an audience.

To put it in one word, Empirical Speculation is less about verifying the accuracy of a conjecture than its effect on people. It is therefore all about ensuring the relevance of a speculation to a public and collecting its reactions.For a matter of brevity, we will not go deeper into the questions of unintended debates, and situated audiences, yet.


BONJOUR!


1. STORY OF THE PROJECT 2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND 3. RESEARCH QUESTIONS

—AUDIENCE CONSTRUCTION

& THE UNCANNY

TODAY’S MENU:


THEMEMENTO MOR-E

PROJECT


MEMENTO MOR-E

9

PLEASE CHECK THE VIDEO: VIMEO.COM/MAXMOLLON/EPHEMERIDE

http://vimeo.com/maxmollon/ephemeride


PROJECT’S INTENTION


RESEARCH INTENTIONS

MAX MOLLON | AUDIENCE CONSTRUCTION & THE UNCANNY | GOLDSMITH DESIGN FESTIVAL 2015MY 3 MASTERS TUTORS


WHAT IS SPECULATIVE DESIGN

CLAIM?


SPECULATIVE DESIGN AIMS AT PROPOSING ALTERNATIVES

TO THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT IN ORDER TO

ENGAGE PEOPLE INTO REFLECTION & DISCUSSION


HOW TO ALLOW REFLECTION?WHO TO ENGAGE INTO DISCUSSION?


THEORETICAL BACKGROUND:TEXTS STUDIES

PROJECTS ANALYSIS


HOW TO ALLOW REFLECTION?WHO TO ENGAGE INTO DISCUSSION?

UNCANNY

CONSTRUCTION


EXPERIMENT


FIRST OBSERVATION


SECOND OBSERVATION


GMO › BIG-DATA & LIVING BEINGS HEALTH › HUMAN HEALTH PREDICTIONS ›

› MND & HEALTHCARE › MND & TECHNOLOGIES › INSURANCE PLANS & TECHNOLOGIES › …


WORK IN PROGRESS

AUDIENCE CONSTRUCTION & THE UNCANNY

–SPECULATIVE DESIGN AS A TOOL FOR

COLLECTIVE REFLECTION & DISCUSSION ABOUT THE PREFERABLE FUTURES


THANKS!

LICENSED UNDER CREATIVE COMMONS 2.5: ATTRIBUTION NON-COMMERCIAL NO DERIVATIVES.

AUDIENCE CONSTRUCTION & THE UNCANNY

–[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]?subject=


PICTURES OF THE EVENT