SAVAGE CONCEPTS
Materials & Senses
Research
As a starting point for this project, I was looking at touch, as a good way to see what it was that I wanted to explore across the sense and with the skin being the largest sense receptor I thought it would be interesting to explore the different materials and textures that it could encompass.
To start I wanted a definition of the terms haptic and tacit to get a clear understanding of what they meant.
Tacit Knowledge
Tacit knowledge or implicit knowledge—as opposed to formalized, codified or explicit knowledge—is knowledge that is difficult to express or extract; therefore it is more difficult to transfer to others by means of writing it down or verbalizing it. This can include motor skills, personal wisdom, experience, insight, and intuition.[1]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tacit_knowledge
Haptic Knowledge
An understanding of the world gained through the sense of touch. Touch is integral to the way in which humans interact with the world, the means by which people physically connect with their environment, and interact with others and objects.
I started to look down the route of texture for a purpose, such as the grooves scratched into the pavement or the rings on the base of the crutch foot for grip, or even the rough surface of a pumice.
In researching how texture can be used as a function, I found this article about how Lego have launched a new set of bricks that instead of their standard pattern of prongs on top, have developed a range where the prongs are shaped in corresponding letters in Braille to what is printed. The article on the BBC website and Newsroound website, had case studies where people were describing the effect that it had made on their lives in being able to communicate more with grandchildren and friends.
BBC article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-67137273.amp
Newsround article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/newsround/66605361
I wanted to explore how we use textures in the items that we design, make and sell; to understand what it is that we look to achieve or experience and how it may have an impact. In this I went to the shops to see what materials were out there and the sort of textures and effects were being sold.
In looking to create a photo library of the materials and textures, I then realised that the effect of the materials goes beyond how it looks or feels. Each material doesn’t just have a look or a texture, but they also had a distinct sound within them. In researching the Sense from Ellen Lupton’s book – the senses are interlinked together, and touch is able to unite the sense together: ' Visible textures add depth to printed pages adn to flickering screens.~Designing for touch creases a humane and inclusive world.' Lupton, E. and Lipps, A. (2018) ‘Notes on Touch’, in The Senses: Design Beyond Vision. Hudson, NY: Princeton Architectural Press, pp. 38–43.
More quotes are on the blog post on the sense book by Ellen lupton and Andrea Lipps https://notanothertab.wordpress.com/2024/01/08/the-senses-book/
From this I decided that maybe a video with the sound of the items as they were interacted with would be an interesting exploration.
This was particularly true of the kids toys section where toys aimed at the younger children (0-3 years) had surprise sounds and effects that happened, as well as an increase in the quantity of colours and textures used.
In reflecting on the videos, as I was filming, I was made more aware about who was around me and what other sounds may be present. As the sounds correspond to the material being interacted with, what is the effect of integrating the videos together, what becomes of the sounds experiences and does that enhance the visual image or not.
This video demonstrates the intensity of multiple various sounds occurring at once and how it is hard to distinguish how each sound relates to each visual. It demonstrated the issues that come when an item doesn’t sound as you expect it to – your eyes go to look to which video it is that has the sound you are drawn to.
One of the Dogs that piqued an interest was a gingerbread man, with a fabric outside and inside had a plastic crackly sound that came out. This led me to think about how the Tacit knowledge and Haptic knowledge were at play in this instance. For instance, the Tacit knowledge I had (the knowledge through previous experience) told me that this toy was soft and squishy, that I would feel the corded fabric, and maybe the edging would be tougher and the stitching for the buttons would be smoother. However, when squeezing it, the Haptic knowledge (the knowledge through touch) had a more layered experience, through confirming the initial feeling I was expecting but also surprising me with the added crinkle and crunch within. This was also true of the butterfly in the kids toys, with the feet having different textures, sounds and learning experiences.
This discovery led me to wonder what else it is that this could be applied to, how else could I look to fool the senses, by leading the viewer to expect one thing but to experience something else?
As an exploration, I melted some marshmallows into the shape of bricks and as a counter, made some meringues in the shape of clouds. When presenting to my peers, I explained about the marshmallows first, by squeezing them and then set the boxes with both inside. The result of this was that a few of the meringue clouds were squashed, proving that the similarities in appearance led to my peers’ expectations to be that the two sets of items would behave in similar manners, where in actual fact the brittle meringues couldn’t withstand the squeezing like the marshmallows did. It also started me thinking about the narrative and context within the project, and how important it can be.
I started to look out of examples of where out sense were being played with - such as this music video by OK GO. Their thought process behind it was more about the use of gravity and shaking off the habit of gravity. but if you weren't told that this was really inside a plane, would would question how these effects were being achieved. by only having the inside view of the plane, you are unable to understand the journey that the plane is going through. There is a more in-depth analysis on my blog, with a link to the music video. https://notanothertab.wordpress.com/2024/01/03/ok-go-upside-down-inside-out-video/