In a previous post I started talking about ambient experience design, and I used restaurant design as a first example. Ambient experience design is the large topic on which I think I would like to do my final paper, but I know I need to narrow it down more. What I would like to do is a series of critiques on various ambient experience designs in order to be exposed to examples. Therefore what I would like to ask is for any examples of what you guys would consider ambient experience designs!
I have begun a literature review on the idea of ambience in interaction and experience design in order to drill down on the definition of it. Thus far it has been difficult and slow going, because the term ambience is often used in a ubiquitous computing in a way that isn’t what my thought on it is. There is a notion of ambient computing or ambient intelligent that is similar to Wieser’s notion of calm computing. The definition is something like ambient computing as computing that does not demand primary attention, and ambient intelligence as environments that react to humans.
This isn’t what I’m referring to with ambience, and I think in order to differentiate what I am talking about from this definition I will use the term ambient experience design. I am referring to an idea of ambience that is similar to the literary concept of mood or atmosphere. Where mood is a quality of an artistic work, I see ambience as a quality of a space. That is a principle that for now I am going to adhere to in looking for examples, that ambience is a property of a space (but it could be a virtual space). I am completely willing to reconsider that quality! But for the moment I find it a useful way to ontologically evaluate examples.
I am currently looking at examples in these categories: Restaurant design, video games, architecture and landscaping. I am looking for more example domains if anyone has any suggestions! I am also interested in any paper recommendations on the subject.
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February 13, 2013 at 3:53 pm
slouraine
Bloom: A music generator that goes through different colors and sounds and stuff. It’s kinda trippy. I’m not sure how to best describe it, so a video might help better (or just ask to borrow my phone) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-swFqAT8yaA
February 13, 2013 at 5:00 pm
Katie O'Donnell
If you can find the proceedings from this conference, they might be helpful. http://www.sensorystudies.org/events-of-note/understanding-atmospheres-culture-materiality-and-the-texture-of-the-in-between/. Also the company Mood and Space takes this into consideration http://www.moodandspace.com/home.html
Some other examples might be: spas, sensory rooms for children with disabilities such as autism (“Google Image Search: sensory room technology”), hotels with mood lighting through tablets (http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/real-estate/high-tech-hotels-tablets-swanky-stay-article-1.1249492), or maybe even how technologies can give us information about peoples moods in a space and make adjustments to lighting/music to change that (http://www.fastcodesign.com/1670113/computers-scan-a-crowd-gauging-its-mood).
February 13, 2013 at 7:54 pm
garyd65
I’m not sure I’m clear on your definition of this. But, you might find some of the work by Second Story fits your needs — http://www.secondstory.com/
February 16, 2013 at 1:02 pm
Tsaiyi
I think of the background sound of films that often defines the mood the film and communicate with the audience the director’s intention. The sound can sometimes contradict with the visual image. But usually the visual image can be deceptive and only the sound truly convey what the director wants us to think about the film!