Waves: exploring idiographic design for live performance

  • Authors:
  • Jonathan Hook;John McCarthy;Peter Wright;Patrick Olivier

  • Affiliations:
  • Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK;University College Cork, Cork, Ireland;Newcastle University, Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK;Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, UK

  • Venue:
  • Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems
  • Year:
  • 2013

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Abstract

We explore whether idiographic design, a category of interaction design that focuses upon responding to detailed personal accounts of individuals' practices, can be used to support interaction designers in responding to the complex and multifaceted design space posed by live performance. We describe and reflect upon the application of an idiographic approach during the design of Waves, an interface for live VJ performance. This approach involved a close and dialogical engagement with the practices and experiences of an individual live performer, during a series of semi-structured interviews and then the discussion and iteration of an evolving prototypical design. Reflection on the experience of applying this approach highlights idiographic design as a practical means to support interaction designers in proposing innovative designs that respond sensitively to the kinds of subtle and complex issues that underpin people's lived and felt experiences of live performance and, potentially, many other domains.