AA1 – Sem2, Week 6: Interaction Design

I have chosen Folksongs for the Five Points as the subject of my interaction design analysis. It is a soundmap created as part of the Lower East Side Tenement Museum's Digital Artist In Residence Program (DARP) on the Lower East Side of New York City, USA post-2001.

Personnel and companies they are associated with were:
Alastair Dant, Forestbrook
Tom Davis, Musicalbear
Victor Gama, Pangeia Instrumentos
David Gunn

Folksongs is officially an exploration of immigrant identity on the Lower East Side of New York, New York. In the form of an interactive soundmap, it is actually a visual grid street map with five connected round discs, or points, overlaid. Here, communication design and sound design interlock. There are many static discs which mark locations in the Lower East Side and link to related audio samples. Clicking on the discs gives a written description of the sample's subject and a visual image in the form of a photograph, both in a column on the right hand side. If you drop one of the five points over the sample point, you get audio.

The function of the work is to give the user, through interaction, a deeper understanding of the subject on many levels; sociological, ethnic, culinary, religious and more. The role of sound in this is in bringing all the links together. It is the final step in the information chain. The function of the five interlocked points is to provide sound samples for the selected locations and a sense of place. There are volume and pan controls allowing further interaction. You can save this mix to their server to share with the world. Contributers are welcome (mixes, samples, photographs) and the number of points/locations you can access increases with each visit. An evolving piece, totally interactive.

To interact with the soundmap, highly recommended if you have some time:
http://www.tenement.org/folksongs/client/

... and for more info about the Folksongs project and the Lower East Side Tenement Museum's DARP (Digital Artist in Residence Project) visit:
http://www.tenement.org/folksongs/credits/

I find this website and concept moving and ingenious. The interweaving of audio-visual and written data - street corners and sermons, hissing manhole covers, Mrs Davis - provides a unique insight on a very human level beyond it's official aim. I feel a connection with a place I've never been. Almost like a cyber-visit. Elegant.

References:

Haines, Christian. "Week 6 - Interactive Design." Audio Arts 1, 28 August, 2007.

"Chapter 1 - What Is Interaction Design?". Saffer, Dan. 2006, Designing for Interaction: Creating Smart Applications and Clever Devices, Peachpit Press.

Lord, Max. 2004, Why Is That Thing Beeping? A Sound Design Primer,
http://www.boxesandarrows.com/view/why_is_that_thing_beeping_a_
sound_design_primer. Accessed 1 September, 2007.

Tannen, Rob. 2006, Acoustics and Product Design: An Introduction, 2007,
http://humanfactors.typepad.com/idsa/2006/01/acoustics_and_p.html
#more. Accessed 1 September, 2007.