Representing Space
New Media Perspectives
Spring 2010
Short Description
On an 8 X 11 surface, draw a 2-D map of an architectural interior, describing the layout of the space from the top down. Once done with the map, you’ll want to then create a “digital” representation of the space specifically for a hand-held computer, imagining that an audience will be experiencing the space by using the technology. You will use a small pad of paper for this, such as a 4 X 7 paper pad with a gummy strip or a good sized sticky pad.
Part 1: The Map
Before you attempt a map, complete a walkthrough of the space. Walk around and make notes. Identify as many features of the space as you can, including entrances, exits, rooms, passageways, aisles, halls, and related rooms or structures. Depending on the space, do some work identifying and describing the contents of the space. Do not use spaces such as small rooms, apartments, houses (yours, for example, is out of the question), and small shops as these won’t provide enough context for this assignment. Get out, drive to the mall, a market, or the local bank, high school, or place of worship where flow and space is “designed” for a specific set of purposes.
Take good notes about the space. Know what’s there and how to get around and ask good questions about why the space was designed as it was. What was the purpose of the design?
Additional notes. We’re trying to draw comparisons between different kinds of media environments: web sites, games, and films are just a few examples. An interior space can be viewed in terms of a media environment if a media environment provokes narrative “flow.” So, as you work, think about how a structure’s space is analogous to the space of a web site. Is a Home Page a front door; after clicking a link on Amazon or searching for electronics at Amazon, do you go into another room?
Part 2: The “Digital” Interface
Once you’ve completed a map and completed your notes, now represent the space digitally for exploration on a hand held computer or smart phone. You will be using a small paper pad for this purpose to simulate the size of the object’s screen and using the pages of the paper pad to organize content.
For this “interface assignment,” you will take the map rendering and repurpose the content as a “digital representation” (we like to use the term simulacrum for these sorts of things), imaging how media such as text, sound, photography, video, and navigation elements will assist an audience in getting a good idea of the space and its content and its purpose or potential narratives. If, say, you provide images, sounds, and video, make sure you label and identify what these media will convey. An interesting method of thinking about how to accomplish this task would be to go to a “storefront” website, such as IKea or Old Navy, and consider how “tabs,” buttons, hyperlinks, and other forms of media “represent” space and communicate ideas and provide a narrative to the audience.
In a way, this assignment can help us think about how Vannevar Bush’s ideas can be innovated and to consider other possible applications for hand-held computation devices that represent ideas mathematically and allow for designs that are interactive and customizable but are also useful for an audience.
What to Hand In
At the beginning of class on the due date, supply your instructors with your drawn map, written notes, and a 4 X 7 or comparable paper pad that “acts” like a hand held computer and application. Your instructors will play with the paper devices as if they were real and will assess the applications you build on your ability to 3.A.1: Observe and accurately describe the use and properties of a traditional and digital system, 3.B.1: Build effective media experiences and new media objects using multiple modes of expression/communication, and 2.D.1: Identify media interrelationships and associated concepts between new media and traditional systems.