Rather than designing for ease of use, what if we designed for the progressive development of technique and mastery?
In this three-week module, students explored the notions of skill through the material of a humble analog joystick.
In the course Interactivity, students purposefully do not create concepts or solve problems, they are engaged with pure experimentation and building knowledge through design. A large quantity of sketches are produced, here we draw out a handful.
Inspired by the two-handed working of dough, the sketches explored working with two joysticks and how their combined used can manipulate a cursor.
Rather than direct bodily contact with the joysticks, a series of sketches explored manipulating the joystick through an elastic intermediary.
By mounting the joystick on the floor and introducing a long rod, moving the joystick becomes a matter of reaching and pulling the whole upper-body.
Inspired by guitar playing, the sketches explored interaction that involved both hands and arms but each in a distinctive way and relation to the body.
Shown here is a series of explorations in different kinds of grips that can be designed for.
The notion being explored is creating interaction that can be learned and skill developed. In this case, using a simple walking simulation, precise coordination is required to make the figure move.
In these experiments, sound was controlled by angular movement of the grip. A question driving the work was whether musical progressions could flow from the interaction.