Creativity & Aesthetics
Through the years Creativity & Aesthetics is an area that I found difficult to understand, but very interesting to explore and apply. In my opinion the area stands for how to implement and combine intuitive interactions with an expressive form. It is very difficult to achieve a design that matches that description, especially with technical limitations and other areas of expertise in mind. However, through exploring the area in several projects and courses I do have a grasp on how to approach the design from this area’s perspective:
The start
It all started with the course From Idea to Design where I made my first design within the bachelor. The game was creatively made giving it an appealing factor that suited the design, however, like you would expect from this very first course, the decisions made were mostly based on feeling rather than reasoning. This held true for the first projects as well, not knowing what interactions and form can do for a design
Aesthetics of Interaction
My perspective changed when the course ‘Aesthetics of Interaction’ came along. It was the first true course in the field, explaining and pushing me to focus on the interaction and the impact it can have on an experience. An alarm clock was made that used light and friction to wake the user rather than sound. Ideally another iteration would be in place after the final deliverable, but the course did give me the perspective towards the field that I have now.
Rich interaction
The final step I took was within my FBP. Since I felt like I had not explored the field in my designs enough I wanted to do it properly within the project. I researched Joep Frens’ field ‘Rich Interaction’ as his perspective matched mine. In the end the area could not be implemented within the project completely as the design did not and could not hold interactions, which then limits the possible impact of Creativity & Aesthetics. However, the research on the field made me understand the impact the field can have on the design and when I go into a design process again, I can use these principles to properly create interactions for the design.