Mollon, M. (2015). Audience Construction & The Uncanny. Presented in Tobie Kerridge (Ed.). Speculation as Design Research. At Goldsmith Design Festival, Goldsmith University, London. (Sept. 4th).
DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.22660.32645
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Speculation as Design Research was a symposium organised by Tobie Kerridge, part of the Goldsmith design festival 2015 Oct. O4th. With Luiza Prado de O. Martins, Max Mollon, Alison Thomson.
My initial reply to Tobie’s demand:
In my work, I argue SCD uses design speculations to look into “people's reactions” when facing alternative views to the world they know. Indeed, “people’s reactions are the true product” of these practices – as James Auger puts it, in his thesis. For that reason, I feel the word empiric to echo with the relationship of SCD to its audiences. Empirical Speculation can refer to specific phases of the design process: collecting the audience reactions.
Collecting people’s reactions can occur along two phases: the production & the reception of the artefact.
First, showing the project to potential users allows to crash-test the relevance of a speculation (regarding a specific audience’s background). These experiments allow to test the ability of a proposition to elicit “meaningful reactions” and so, to ensure good reception conditions for the project (eg. avoiding unintended debates). This is close to classical design’s pre-release user-testing, enabling to fine-tune the project. I like to call it “potential-user testing”.
The second step happens in live conditions of diffusion, collecting actual reactions of an audience. To put it in one word, Empirical Speculation is less about verifying the accuracy of a conjecture than its effect on people. It is therefore all about ensuring the relevance of a speculation to a public and collecting its reactions.
For a matter of brevity, we will not go deeper into the questions of unintended debates, and situated audiences, yet.
(2015) Audience Construction & The Uncanny – At Goldsmith DF
1. MAX MOLLON | AUDIENCE CONSTRUCTION & THE UNCANNY | GOLDSMITH DESIGN FESTIVAL 2015
MAX MOLLON | AUDIENCE
CONSTRUCTION & THE
UNCANNY | PRESENTED AT
GOLDSMITH DESIGN FESTIVAL
2015
2. Speculation as Design Research
Tobie Kerridge, Max Mollon,
Luiza Prado de O. Martins, Alison Thomson
While speculative and critical design (SCD)
approaches have been written about extensively,
there is scope to develop empirically robust
accounts of these practices as a form of
design research.
This symposium brings together an
international group of students and
researchers who are challenging popular
and rhetorical modes of writing about SCD
by responding to issues that impinge upon
their practice, including patient experience,
upstream engagement and colonialism.
Symposium
Friday 4th September, 10:00 - 13:00
LG02, Professor Stuart Hall Building
GOLDSMITHS DESIGN
DEPARTMENT OF DESIGN
gold.ac.uk
FESTIVAL
3 - 9 SEPT
Speculation as Design Research
Tobie Kerridge, Max Mollon,
Luiza Prado de O. Martins, Alison Thomson
While speculative and critical design (SCD)
approaches have been written about extensively,
there is scope to develop empirically robust
accounts of these practices as a form of
design research.
This symposium brings together an
international group of students and
researchers who are challenging popular
and rhetorical modes of writing about SCD
by responding to issues that impinge upon
their practice, including patient experience,
upstream engagement and colonialism.
3 - 9 SEPT
3. MAX MOLLON | AUDIENCE CONSTRUCTION & THE UNCANNY | GOLDSMITH DESIGN FESTIVAL 2015
SPECULATION AS DESIGN RESEARCH
SYMPOSIUM ORGANISED BY TOBIE KERRIDGE. PART OF THE GOLDSMITH DESIGN FESTIVAL 2015 OCT. O4TH
WITH LUIZA PRADO DE O. MARTINS, MAX MOLLON, ALISON THOMSON.
My initial reply to Tobie’s demand:
In my work, I argue SCD uses design speculations to look into
“people's reactions” when facing alternative views to the world
they know. Indeed, “people’s reactions are the true product”
of these practices – as James Auger puts it, in his thesis. For
that reason, I feel the word empiric to echo with the
relationship of SCD to its audiences. Empirical Speculation can
refer to specific phases of the design process: collecting the
audience reactions.
Collecting people’s reactions can occur along two phases:
the production & the reception of the artefact.
• First, showing the project to potential users allows to crash-
test the relevance of a speculation (regarding a specific
audience’s background). These experiments allow to test
the ability of a proposition to elicit “meaningful reactions”
and so, to ensure good reception conditions for the
project (eg. avoiding unintended debates). This is close to
classical design’s pre-release user-testing, enabling to
fine-tune the project. I like to call it “potential-user testing”.
• The second step happens in live conditions of diffusion,
collecting actual reactions of an audience.
To put it in one word, Empirical Speculation is less about
verifying the accuracy of a conjecture than its effect on
people. It is therefore all about ensuring the relevance of a
speculation to a public and collecting its reactions.
For a matter of brevity, we will not go deeper into the
questions of unintended debates, and situated audiences, yet.
4. MAX MOLLON | AUDIENCE CONSTRUCTION & THE UNCANNY | GOLDSMITH DESIGN FESTIVAL 2015
BONJOUR!
5. MAX MOLLON | AUDIENCE CONSTRUCTION & THE UNCANNY | GOLDSMITH DESIGN FESTIVAL 2015
1. STORY OF THE PROJECT
2. THEORETICAL BACKGROUND
3. RESEARCH QUESTIONS
—
AUDIENCE CONSTRUCTION
& THE UNCANNY
TODAY’S MENU:
6. MAX MOLLON | AUDIENCE CONSTRUCTION & THE UNCANNY | GOLDSMITH DESIGN FESTIVAL 2015
THE
MEMENTO MOR-E
PROJECT
7. MAX MOLLON | AUDIENCE CONSTRUCTION & THE UNCANNY | GOLDSMITH DESIGN FESTIVAL 2015
MEMENTO MOR-E
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12. MAX MOLLON | AUDIENCE CONSTRUCTION & THE UNCANNY | GOLDSMITH DESIGN FESTIVAL 2015
13. MAX MOLLON | AUDIENCE CONSTRUCTION & THE UNCANNY | GOLDSMITH DESIGN FESTIVAL 2015
PROJECT’S INTENTION
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15. MAX MOLLON | AUDIENCE CONSTRUCTION & THE UNCANNY | GOLDSMITH DESIGN FESTIVAL 2015
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17. MAX MOLLON | AUDIENCE CONSTRUCTION & THE UNCANNY | GOLDSMITH DESIGN FESTIVAL 2015
RESEARCH INTENTIONS
18. MAX MOLLON | AUDIENCE CONSTRUCTION & THE UNCANNY | GOLDSMITH DESIGN FESTIVAL 2015
19. MAX MOLLON | AUDIENCE CONSTRUCTION & THE UNCANNY | GOLDSMITH DESIGN FESTIVAL 2015MY 3 MASTERS TUTORS
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WHAT IS
SPECULATIVE DESIGN
CLAIM?
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SPECULATIVE DESIGN AIMS AT
PROPOSING ALTERNATIVES
TO THE WORLD AS WE KNOW IT
IN ORDER TO
ENGAGE PEOPLE INTO
REFLECTION & DISCUSSION
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25. MAX MOLLON | AUDIENCE CONSTRUCTION & THE UNCANNY | GOLDSMITH DESIGN FESTIVAL 2015
HOW TO ALLOW REFLECTION?
WHO TO ENGAGE INTO DISCUSSION?
26. MAX MOLLON | AUDIENCE CONSTRUCTION & THE UNCANNY | GOLDSMITH DESIGN FESTIVAL 2015
THEORETICAL
BACKGROUND:
TEXTS STUDIES
PROJECTS ANALYSIS
27. MAX MOLLON | AUDIENCE CONSTRUCTION & THE UNCANNY | GOLDSMITH DESIGN FESTIVAL 2015
HOW TO ALLOW REFLECTION?
WHO TO ENGAGE INTO DISCUSSION?
UNCANNY
CONSTRUCTION
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EXPERIMENT
29. MAX MOLLON | AUDIENCE CONSTRUCTION & THE UNCANNY | GOLDSMITH DESIGN FESTIVAL 2015
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32. MAX MOLLON | AUDIENCE CONSTRUCTION & THE UNCANNY | GOLDSMITH DESIGN FESTIVAL 2015
FIRST OBSERVATION
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SECOND OBSERVATION
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40. MAX MOLLON | AUDIENCE CONSTRUCTION & THE UNCANNY | GOLDSMITH DESIGN FESTIVAL 2015
41. MAX MOLLON | AUDIENCE CONSTRUCTION & THE UNCANNY | GOLDSMITH DESIGN FESTIVAL 2015
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44. MAX MOLLON | AUDIENCE CONSTRUCTION & THE UNCANNY | GOLDSMITH DESIGN FESTIVAL 2015
GMO › BIG-DATA & LIVING BEINGS HEALTH › HUMAN HEALTH PREDICTIONS ›
› MND & HEALTHCARE › MND & TECHNOLOGIES › INSURANCE PLANS & TECHNOLOGIES › …
45. MAX MOLLON | AUDIENCE CONSTRUCTION & THE UNCANNY | GOLDSMITH DESIGN FESTIVAL 2015
46. MAX MOLLON | AUDIENCE CONSTRUCTION & THE UNCANNY | GOLDSMITH DESIGN FESTIVAL 2015
47. MAX MOLLON | AUDIENCE CONSTRUCTION & THE UNCANNY | GOLDSMITH DESIGN FESTIVAL 2015
WORK IN
PROGRESS
AUDIENCE CONSTRUCTION
& THE UNCANNY
–
SPECULATIVE DESIGN AS A TOOL FOR
COLLECTIVE REFLECTION & DISCUSSION
ABOUT THE PREFERABLE FUTURES
48. MAX MOLLON | AUDIENCE CONSTRUCTION & THE UNCANNY | GOLDSMITH DESIGN FESTIVAL 2015
THANKS!
LICENSED UNDER CREATIVE COMMONS 2.5:
ATTRIBUTION NON-COMMERCIAL NO DERIVATIVES.
AUDIENCE CONSTRUCTION
& THE UNCANNY
–
MAXMOLLON@GMAIL.COM
49. MAX MOLLON | AUDIENCE CONSTRUCTION & THE UNCANNY | GOLDSMITH DESIGN FESTIVAL 2015
PICTURES
OF THE EVENT
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