SYNTHELIGHT
INTERACTIVE ARTWORK EXHIBITION AND COGNITIVE STUDY
01
overview
One word: BOW.
What comes to mind?
Did you think of a hair bow? Maybe you said a bow and arrow? Or maybe you thought of something entirely different!
That's precisely what SYNTHELIGHT was created for – to uncover and showcase the diverse range of associations people have with a single word, using a broad spectrum of individuals from different backgrounds and ages. All of these interpretations are captured using light technology as seen below.
SYNTHELIGHT is an interactive digital community art mosaic that was displayed and developed through public user interaction for the duration of 7 hours. The goal was to demonstrate how we are not just a strict rule-based society; everyone has their own creative interpretations of words and objects due to their experiences. Contributors can see this visual experience unfold on a website, where they can view these differences side by side, and discover how others perceive things compared to their own understanding.
BACKGROUND
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Four-week, school project from March to April 2022
TEAM
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Emma
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Yuki
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Rojan
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Yuliia
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Yasamin
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Felicia
SOFTWARE
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Figma
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Adobe After Effects
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Adobe Illustrator
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Canva
MY ROLES
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Director of Technology, Camera work
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Ideation development
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Researcher, feedback analyst
02
interaction process
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A visitor enters the space and is greeted with instructions on an interactive interface. They are then prompted to input their name, a short biography, and choose a prompt word.
Visitors write a brief description of what they interpret the word to be.
The visitor is given a colored flashlight, and then within 8 seconds, they must draw in the air a visual demonstration of what they believe the word represents. This will be captured with a long exposure camera.
The color of the flashlight the visitor draws with correlates to the color of the word for classification purposes in the final website gallery.
A picture of their light drawing will be uploaded and added to a community gallery, where they can view other people's interpretations.
"Is it the same?”
"Is it the same concept but drawn differently?”
"Is it a completely different object?”
"Does the artists biography possibly explain and influence of their perception of the word?”
interaction map of the process
03
how does it work?
Utilizing Canon Camera technology, the visitor's light trail, created while using the flashlight, is captured through an extended 8-second exposure. I would signal the visitor when to commence their drawing, and as soon as the camera's shutter closes, the resulting photo is uploaded to the website. The website then takes this photograph, frames it, and integrates it into the gallery. Here, it can be readily viewed alongside all the other interpretations of the chosen prompt word by different participants. This was coded in HTML and CSS using WIX.
When clicking on any of the prompt words, you can see the detailed explanations about the selected drawing, and all the drawings of the same prompt word below. All is viewed on the website.
RED = BOW
ORANGE = BASS
YELLOW = WAVE
GREEN = LEAD
BLUE = BOLT
TEAL = POINT
PINK =CURRENT
04
research, concerns, and solutions
When SYNTHELIGHT was in its developmental stages, the teams main concern was that visitors would not end up interpreting the words differently, and thus the purpose of the project would be in vain. To address this concern, we implemented a simplified version of the project. I designed a survey in which participants were presented with 12 words and asked to provide 1-3 words explaining their personal interpretation of each word. The survey collected responses from 31 participants, aged between 18 and 22. The results not only affirmed our initial theory but also served as a motivating factor for SYNTHELIGHT's progression into its final stages.
The day the exhibition commenced, April 13th 2023, SYNTHELIGHT had 58 participants of all age ranges help contribute to the final gallery. The art work presented results as expected, where everyone had their own unique idea of what a word might mean. Even when the word was interpreted the same way, the visual representations remained unique. Below are the gathered results.
WAVE (13)
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Ocean (9)
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Relaxation
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Energy Wave
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Electromagnetic field
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To Be Influenced
CURRENT (5)
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Present moment
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Flow
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Electricity
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Ocean
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Lightening
BOLT (10)
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Lightening (5)
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Fast/Run (2)
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Disney’s Bolt Movie
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Screw
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Excruciating
HATCH (5)
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Egg (3)
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Car trunk
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Birth
LEAD (3)
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Be in command
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Animal leash
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Pencil
BASS (10)
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Low pitch (3)
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Music (2)
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Guitar
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Speaker
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Roland TR-808
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Satan
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Reliable
POINT (5)
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Bring attention to
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Focal Point
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Spikes
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End goal
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Important
BOW (7)
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Archery (4)
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Ribbon (3)
05
website walk through - adding artwork
landing page
The user will walk up to the computer in the middle of the room and view a webpage asking for their name.
biography
The user will be asked to input 5 words that describe themselves such as sports they play, passions, and etc. This is to hopefully get an insight on their interpretation for their chosen word (next step).
choosing a prompt
The user can hover over 8 different prompt words to select one they will be drawing (unknowingly). The prompt words animate when hovered over to show a successful interaction.
what does it mean?
Once the word is chosen, the user must then write a description about what that word means to them. Is it a bass fish? A bass music note? A bass sound boom? Only the user knows.
drawing the word
The user would then be handed a flashlight and be instructed where to stand. The user would then draw in the air a visualization of their interpreted word using a coloured flashlight. This would then be uploaded to the website.
the final gallery
The user could then visit the website and see a collection of all the drawn artworks. By looking for the colour of their word, they can compare their interpretation with others, and view what other peoples results were.
individual work
By clicking on one of the artworks, the user will be taken to a page they can view the light drawing, the artists name and biography, and all the other drawings of that word.
06
takeaways and reflection in a UX perspective
SYNTHELIGHT provided me with valuable insights into the diverse range of perspectives within the community and highlighted the importance of accommodating this diversity in any interactive design. By gaining a deeper understanding of the cognitive aspects and observing visitors as they navigated the website—identifying sources of confusion, sources of excitement, and areas where they invested the most time—I've acquired valuable knowledge that will guide me in developing user-centric designs in the future.
07
conclusion
I found great satisfaction in this project, primarily because of the rich social interactions with my teammates and the community. Collaborating with individuals from diverse age groups and ethnic backgrounds played a pivotal role in the project's success. Discovering the backgrounds of our visitors and how it influenced their perception of instructions and word interpretations proved to be a fascinating aspect of the project.
If given the opportunity to revisit this project, my focus would be on enhancing the website's visual appeal for the public. While the current design aligns with the neon light exposure drawings with its dark neon theme, there is room for improvement in terms of user experience (UX).
“One of the most engaging and fun experiences I’ve had today”
- contributor
“The presentation was professional, and the experience was well-choreographed. The performance/ interaction was very effective and your strategy for the capture and display of information during the exhibition was very impressive.”
- professor
“I felt engaged intellectually and aesthetically. This is a great accomplishment”
- contributor