Ideas in Form Part 3
1 Dec 2020As I sat on my desk, and stared at the only slide that made any sense to me, I realised that I was still lost, and didn't have a clue on how to proceed. I still had much to explore and research before I could even start thinking of a solution. I was a fair bit more excited by the polar opposite of my question, than the intended answer to said question.
The only thing I could do at this point, was to continue exploring and researching this topic further. Except this week, I was blessed with a constraint: using digital media. I fired up a trusty 3D modelling software and started sketching some ideas in three dimensions. My intent was to visualise objects/artefacts of healthy technology for each of my three personas I had constructed earlier.
The first persona was someone who wanted to take back control of their digital life, and define it's impact on their life. This is someone for whom notifications are unsolicited, unconsented interruptions.
As I started modelling in 3D, I was drawn to an idea of box, a faraday cage of sorts, which would give the user tools to control and tame the digital technology in their lives.
Faraday Box
A simple wooden box, passed down from generation to generation, which allows for the control of digital presence in the space. Made of rosewood, the box is highly resilient to ravages of time, and uses the tried and trusted faraday cage along with a controlled electromagnetic wave generation device to influence the space around it. The user can choose their desired settings with the easy to use milled aluminium dial and the retro LCD display. Custom settings can be dialled in with the NFC strip on the top case.
As I was creating the box, and sculpting it, ideas for various features and capabilities came to mind. The making of the Faraday Box was as much a design research method as it was a design output or result. This process of making was very useful in my search of meaning.
I also created a small product poster in the hopes of exploring this thought of learning by making further. While designing the poster, I added the fact that the box was made out of rosewood, and hence was made in Pakistan. I wonder what it means to have digital technology products designed and manufactured in places we don't usually associate with technical expertise.
To accompany the Faraday Box, I created a Network Panel, which would help the user control their digital platforms with a massive screen and large tactile buttons.
Network Panel
A must-have for any home, the network panel allows the user to have complete control over their digital community with the touch of a few (real) buttons. The non-touch interface and arcade style buttons affords for a healthy distance between the user and the content. With it’s low-attention grade and limited connectivity, it’s the perfect choice for the discreet digital native.
The thought of using large analogue buttons to control digital technology appealed to me. Reducing digital interfaces to mere buttons is wrong, yet it brings back control in our hands, quite literally.
The next persona I designed for, was a RWA (Residents Welfare Association) committee head. This person manages a condominium, and has to ensure that the infrastructure is working well.
With this person I'm looking to explore how we can generate and own our data, which can be used for detailed analysis and put to functional use.
SoftFeel Mk.4
The fourth generation of the SoftFeel brick is here to help you fulfil your data generation needs. With the ability to self power via a solar panel, it can also support any additional auxiliary connections. The embedded screen allows for rapid troubleshooting of the sensor array. Sensors of the Mk.4 include: Infrared, RGB, Thermal, Network Monitors, Temperature, Humidity, Noise, Light, and Wind.
This "smart" brick is a data collection device which allows the RWA Committee Head to collect their own data of their surroundings and use it to better effect. The localised data collected on site is far more valuable than any data provided by a public/private organisation.
The last and the most exciting persona on this list is a social media troll. This is a person who is paid to generate and co-opt social media trends for the benefit of their paying clients. This isn't a speculative persona by any means, with many social media experts currently employed various organisations to mould and shape trends on social media. I specifically want to look at those folks who are hired to corrupt, destroy, or hijack trends, usually for facist organisations, such as the current ruling party of India, the BJP–which happens to have an IT Cell which does exactly this–or any other political or private organisation.
MediaControl Studio Pro™️
The MediaControl Studio Pro™️ offers a complete package for social media managers and multi-channel influencers. The integration of software and hardware provides a fast and seamless experience which allows you to be in complete control of your content. The NeuralNet TouchPad™️ lets you control the activities of the GPT-3 powered machine learning with a mere swipe of a finger. The tactile buttons offer emergency cut off buttons and automatic archival function in a worst case scenario situation.
The ContentControl Keys™️ keeps you in tune with the status of your campaigns, with programmable indicators to relay the latest feedback. The setup also includes a 4xScreenArray and a single monitor.
*Furniture and stands not included.
I created a set of professional grade tools meant for social media trolls. Just as a racing car is solely designed to go fast around a track, or a stockbroker's networking set up is designed to reduce latency, the MediaControl Studio Pro™️ is designed for social media trolls who are on the top of their game. It's interesting to think of designing for–at least on the face of it–such an overtly negative persona. But this does make for an interesting lens to look at the world of technology through. Inspired by tools designed for music producers and DJ's, the MediaControl Studio Pro™️ give the social media troll full access to all the parameters they would likely need at their fingertips.
I forsee these tools initially marketed towards social media professionals such as brand managers and campaign managers to help them control a vast social media presence. However, social media trolls would eventually hack the devices to serve their own "nefarious" purposes. I would assume this inflection point could be summed up in an arrogant tweet, proclaiming victory over the established order of technology.
The NeuralNet TouchPad™️ is a touch interface that allows direct control of a neural network such as the GPT-3 Natural Language Processing algorithm to generate social media content. The neural network is used to vary the language of the content to adapt to trends and escape the detection of bot detection algorithms.
NeuralNet TouchPad™️
The ContentControl Keys™️ is inspired by a classic keyboard piano design which allows for an interface with lots of control options. Each key of the keyboard is used to control an individual social media campaign. This allows the operator to control multiple campaigns across various platforms from a single interace. Two indicators over each key can be individually programmed to report on the progress of each campaign. The control dials on the top can be used to tweak parameters such as tone, volume, investment and reach, among other custom variables.
ContentControl Keys™️
The ToneMapper™️ is a great way to quickly and easily control the mood of your social media posts. The large dial allows the user to control to switch up emotions on the fly, to pivot social media campaigns. Moods can either be preprogrammed, or the default spectrum can be used. The in-built LCD screen keeps you informed of the selected mood. The brushed aluminium finish is designed to withstand years of use without any signs of wear or tear.
ToneMapper™️
The PaymentSwitcher™️ allows the user to have full manual control over their payments methods for each individual campaign. The device is connected via Bluetooth to main control device, with 8 programmable campaign channels. Each slider can control 2 individual campaigns with a switcher. The built in LCD display allows the controller to see which campaign has been selected. With a sleek black anodised aluminium finish, and chrome-rubber switches the PaymentSwitcher™️ fits into any setup.
PaymentSwitcher™️
A launch poster for these tools:
All the objects in a single frame:
The process of constructing these objects was as critical as the outputs. As I sculpted these objects, I started to think of more ideas, which I then incorporated into the objects. I also spoke to a social media professional to understand the various ways in which their tasks could be subverted for nefarious purposes. I enjoyed the process of creating these objects, and I feel like I've learnt a lot while doing so. It's always refreshing to break out of my thinking bubble and drive down the wrong side of the highway for a while.
Here's some images from the process of creating the objects:
Process Images
As a thank you for reading this post all the way through, here's a picture of a cat I've been thinking of through this project. There's something so riveting about this image, I can't quite put my paw on it...
