Projects/UnraveltheCode

Unravel the Code

Crafting Information Identity

Theme

Our current situation is one of extreme and intensive information exchange. As both broadcasters and receivers, we are participants, caught up in the vortex of information glut. The explosion of communication technologies and our subsequent dependence on them affect us both personally and socially. Our daily habits have been altered and new rituals have arisen. Our bodies have changed – are changing – through new postures we take while using tools that amplify and sometimes amputate our senses. Our psychological states are also not immune to technology’s effects, as our dwindling attention spans and the ways we relate to or disconnect from our immediate environment are arguably endemic of a techno-obsessed culture. In our complex reality of everything communicating unfiltered and all at once, how can we make meaningful the often-invisible information exchange, curious habits, coded rituals, and aesthetics of our hybrid selves? This question is as the core of the Unravel the Code project, a two quarter investigation on crafting information identity.

While newer technologies make it easier to capture, measure, and translate this layered information into a form, it should not be forgotten that for centuries craftsmen have done essentially this: make material the invisible but powerful economic, political, and social layers that define our reality. In Q9 quarter you will take part in unraveling, refashioning, and flaunting the invisible information flows that add new layers to your identity. This will be facilitated by four pressure cooker workshops connecting theory and technique; four concept development weeks mentored by both theory and practice teachers, and a special week of lectures and excursions with the visiting students of the Maryland Institute College of Art. In Q10 you will focus in duos on your independent design and research project, will ultimately end with an exhibition your produced artefacts, artworks and installations, as well as a group publication.

Throughout the semester, you will collect your own insights on a personal patterns, from location tracking, biometric scanning, to SMS, email, or web filtering of your online histories. You will explore the concept of ‘information identity’, 'backchannels', and 'the body as interface'. You will research various social phenomena instigated or influenced by contemporary technologies and apply craft practices in combination with Data Visualisation, Speculation and Design Fiction. The purpose of the semester long project is to frame an open-ended project where your research, practise and technical experiments inform each other, inform you of emerging discourses in professional practice, and bring you into an international (collaborative and presentation) context in preparation for the internship and minor.

Unravel the Code is a collaborative project where you will work together with the interdisciplinary group Digital Craft students, as well as students form the Maryland Institute College of Art.

Deliverables

1. a prototype or design object
2. a complete published design & research document including research, process, sketches, outlines and final results
3. a complete published wiki project page which shares your insights and discoveries (updated during the semester)
4. Public presentation of project consisting of:
5. Prototype/design object /artwork- presented within a museum context
6. Digital presentation, which explains the process and end result

Evaluation Criteria

1. Depth of research and reflection upon the given theme

(demonstrated through design & research document and active participation in class meetings and group critiques)

1. Quality of concept

(demonstrated through design & research document and final prototype/design object)

1. Exhibiting thorough use of technical workshops, including experiments and tests

(demonstrated through process documentation in design & research document)

1. Convincing and precise translation of final concept into design

(demonstrated through prototype/design object)

1. Paying careful attention to the aesthetics and technical execution of the final design

(demonstrated through prototype/design object)

1. Communicating the concept and process of your design clearly and effectively.

(through public presentation and documentation of project)

1. Consistent attendance

Unravel the Code Projects

Roza & Jessica
Leslie & Ciska
Michelle & Joeke
Thelma & Lizet
Thom & Remy
Adin & Christopher
Sanne & Robin