THE BEHAVIOR OF THINGS. Case study.

Running the blog reminds me of one project which I made with my friend last year. It is not directly connected to spaces/places, but it draws attention to interaction / relationships between users and products which we proposed. It was just 'small' provocation that is why GDF is an excuse to share with you our results.

Special thank you to Patryk Adaś for the great collaboration!

THE BEHAVIOR OF THINGS. Case study.

The functionality of an object is manifested in its physical appearance and unique character. The red

button, for instance, directly sends us the message that we should think twice before pressing it while

the curvy figure of a teapot signals a warm and homely touch to our afternoon.

What if an object’s appearance were inspired by animal behavior?

We can imagine extended using devices by adoption of signifiers inspired by nature. Thus, a perception of a product’s identity could be strengthened by adding dynamic changes to its look. This kind of organic variability can particularly be observed in mammals’ bodies, for example, it might be manifested by hair’s standing on end with fright.

Take for instance the fur on a cat’s tail during a firework display. Our ability to have tiny elevations

of the skin is inherited from our animal ancestors and it serves as a manifestation of our emotions.

We have applied this alerted behavior to an alarm clock.

Whenever this device faces a state of a danger, it will bristle and remain in fright until we calm it down. Since an animal’s defense mechanism is a well-known case, the message analogically sent by this machine will be quite straightforward as to how one should respond to it – this occurs thanks to cognitive patterns which relate the information from a stimulus to that received from our memory.

It is also essential to keep in mind the importance and power of emotions. They are the first to emerge, as our reactions are fast, automatic and stereotypic. It lies within our heuristic nature to associate “new information with already existing patterns and thoughts, rather than to create a new pattern for each individual experience”.

Alarm Clock Concept (ceramic, wood, ferrofluid, mechanism based on Arduino). Visualization: Martyna Bielak

Extending the properties of a device based on animals’ behavior would enable us to interact with them in a more successful way.

After we made the alarm clock, we started to play around with the concept of objects behaving like animals and came up with a bunch of ideas.

Imagine a computer mouse that squeaks when it is abused. Especially nowadays, it easy to spend long hours in front of a computer screen which can (and is) damaging for one’s health. The mouse starts squeaking if it feels it is being used for too long, thus suggesting we take a break.

Or take a look at these chopsticks, which, like the mouse, care for us and want to protect us from food poisoning. With their unusual ability to detect outdated food, they send an electric shock through

our fingers, warning us of the health-threatening situation. We were unable to determine what makes bad food bad, therefore this one is just a simulation.

In the case of this choking fan, the emotional relation is reversed since we would be the ones in the role of the protector. When the fan starts coughing and spluttering, we are held responsible for its torment and should immediately get around to dust the house.

The purring iron creates a calming sound which reflects the way we are ironing. Depending on how

hard we press the iron to the board the intensity of the purr will increase or decrease. You don’t want the metal to be growling at you, so be gentle and smooth.

All these examples result from the human desire to make things more pleasurable in use. This may be perceived as a step over the hierarchy of needs in which the object’s function is on a purely hedonomical level.

“Attractive things work better” - Don Norman

Don Norman’s theory suggests that “emotion and cognition are inseparable, both essential for effective functioning". He described three levels of processing. The first one is automatic, biological and crosscultural. Norman referred to it as visceral, responsible for attractiveness. It is on this level that we say “I want it!” The second level is known as the behavioral one and it is the home of usability. The third and final level would be reflective, providing us with a conscious analysis. Perceiving an object as a supplement completes the user and tells a story of their relation – not only on the content, but also on how the relationship with the content makes the user look.

We may also take into consideration the question of why an object is attractive to us and why not. The first thing that comes to mind is their visual appeal, but what is this based on? The ability to interact in pleasurable ways with the object is certainly a factor, but perhaps we also feel an emotional bondage to things which “take care of us,” such as a bathtub supports our hygiene or a hat keeps our heads warm in winter.

Discovering further uses of particular tools could be extended. Raymond Loewy’s “Most Advanced Yet Acceptable” principle states that customers find themselves at crossroads between the curiosity of new things and the fear of anything that is too much of a novelty. It is not the design of new objects which we desire, but rather to extend the discovery of uses of already existing items.

Expanding Ruskin’s theory we also believe that intuitive doesn’t necessarily mean conventional. The key is to create natural solutions which are innovative in social contexts and at the same time seem quite obvious and ordinary.

Today, the world seems more complicated than ever. Interaction between human and machine has

to proceed towards a more natural and instinctive form of communication, until the interface itself

is completely invisible.

Bielak Martyna, Adaś Patryk