Criticism & Playfulness
Sus Lundgren 2013
AET
Before I start the lecture I just want to show you
this…
http://vimeo.com/53476316
Sus Lundgren 2013
First - a distinction
Critical design aims ”…to make us think. But also
raising awareness, exposing assumptions,
provoking action, sparking debate”
Persuasive technology aims to ”change attitudes
or behaviors of the users through persuasion and
social influence, but not through coercion ”
– Fogg
– Examples: Road taxes, Run Keeper,
Sus Lundgren 2013
Provocation & Criticism in art
Dadaism (1916-1922)
“What we need are strong straightforward, precise
works which will be forever misunderstood. Logic
is a complication. Logic is always false. […]
DADA; every object, all objects, feelings and
obscurities, every apparition and the precise shock
of parallel lines […] DADA; the absolute and
indisputable belief in every god that is an
immediate product of spontaneity…
– Tristan Tzara in “Dada manifesto”
Sus Lundgren 2013
Provocation & Criticism in art
(dadaist poem from the course descriptionj
how behaves, we and shape
design aesthetic ideal, approach order context of
say - to familiar - ones combination
interaction claim engages how the of certain
some for rooted with motivate
there design following: Knowledge within itself
http://www.poemofquotes.com/tools/dada.php?
Sus Lundgren 2013
Provocation & Criticism in art
Dadaist Marcel
Duchamp asking
– What is art?
– Who decides?
– Who is the artist?
Sus Lundgren 2013
Provocation in Art
Andy Warhol
– Again: Who is the artist?
Used assistants
What's great about this
country is that America started
the tradition where the richest
consumers buy essentially the
same things as the poorest.
– Andy Warhol in “The
philosophy of Andy Warhol:
from A to B and back again.”
Sus Lundgren 2013
The-anti functionalist movement;
functionalism and trends made
design space narrow –
revolution
Inspiration from sub cultures;
youth cartoons, pop culture
Desiging that which people
actually wanted, as opposed to
what one assumed they wanted
Sus Lundgren 2013
Ingo Maurer, Bulb 1966
Criticism in ID
Criticism in ID
Vitra, Verner Panton, 1959 -1999
Furniure design in the 1970ies, Playfulness,
organic shapes, mixing materials, freedom
and...plastic fantastic!
Sus Lundgren 2013
Criticism in ID
Banal design
(1970ies)
– Non-designed
everyday objects
– Banal forms could
give impulses to
design.
– Spokesman:
Alessandro
Mendini
Sus Lundgren 2013
Provocation & Criticism in ID
Memphis group (1980-1988): Anti design
Senior architect Ettore Sotsass + young designers
–
–
–
–
Break all rules!
New materials, mixes, no discussion on form or color
”quoting from suburbia” kitsch, neon colors, gold
Very much anti ”nordic design”
Exploded at design exhibition in Milan 1981
– "you were in one sense repulsed by the objects, or I was,
but also immediately freed by the sort of total rulebreaking.“ (Jasper Morrison)
Sus Lundgren 2013
Memphis
Sus Lundgren 2013
Memphis
Sus Lundgren 2013
Provocation in art
På Hollender: The Pål Hollender Foundation for
Ethically or Aesthetically Offended Consumers of
Culture
Sus Lundgren 2013
Criticism/comment in art
Mikael Lundberg
– The twenty-three 
– Lifeline
(www.mikaellundberg.se)
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Criticism in IxD
STATIC! A design project about saving energy
“…use need not only be about utility and ease of
use, but also about critical reflection through
objects at hand.”
– Backlund, S. et al (2006) Static! The Aesthetics of Energy
in Everyday Things . In Proceedings of Design Research
Society International Conference 2006.
Sus Lundgren 2013
Criticism in IxD
STATIC! Designs...
Sus Lundgren 2013
Criticism in IxD
Slow Technology; anti-efficiency, pro reflection.
Mental rest in the form of reflection.
“Slow technology is not about making technology
invisible, but about exposing technology in a way that
encourages people to reflect and think about it. This
design challenge is, among other things, a call for more
conscious aesthetics in technology…”
– Hallnäs, L., and Redström, J. (2001) Slow Technology –
Designing for Reflection , Personal and Ubiquitous
Computing January 2001, Volume 5 Issue 3.
Sus Lundgren 2013
Criticism in IxD
Slow Technology projects
– Top left: Doorbells
– Bottom left & right. Information appliance; printed fabric
in combination with radio
Sus Lundgren 2013
Criticism in IxD
Dunne and Raby
–
–
–
–
–
Faraday chair
Tuneable cities
The Pillow
Thief of Affections
...other work
Sus Lundgren 2013
Critical design (Dunne & Raby)
” Critical Design uses speculative design proposals to
challenge narrow assumptions, preconceptions and
givens about the role products play in everyday life. It is
more of an attitude than anything else, a position rather
than a method. ”
“Critical Design needs to be closer to the everyday
[than art], that's where its power to disturb comes from.
Too weird and it will be dismissed as art, too normal
and it will be effortlessly assimilated.”
Sus Lundgren 2013
Critical design (Dunne & Raby)
”Humour is important but often misused. Satire is the
goal. But often only parody and pastiche are achieved.
These reduce the effectiveness in a number of ways. […]
The viewer should experience a dilemma, is it serious or
not? Real or not? For Critical design to be successful
they need to make up their own mind. ”
“A danger for critical design is that it ends up as a form
of sophisticated design entertainment: 90% humour
10% critique. It needs to avoid this situation by
identifying and engaging with complex and challenging
issues.”
Sus Lundgren 2013
Critical design – how
Create ”the twist” that makes people reflect
Use emotion
– In coupling together two things that should not be related
– To provoke
Place people in a dilemma
– Make people aware of their behavior and its consequences
(STATIC)
Sus Lundgren 2013
And over to playfulness
Ulitsa Dimitrova
– Lea Schönfelder &
Gerard Delmàs
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Just kidding
…NOW to playfulness!
Sus Lundgren 2013
Playfulness, intrigue, challenge
We’ve been
playing games
forever!
(Especially
”olympic” type
games)
First reference to
chess, India 625
Hnefatafl; the Viking
version of chess 
Sus Lundgren 2013
Playfulness in art
Guiseppe Arcimboldo, Summer and Spring (1573)
Sus Lundgren 2013
Playfulness in art
Bartolomeo Ammanati: Allegory of Winter (16th century)
Sus Lundgren 2013
Playfulness and intrigue in art
Op Art (optical art): making use of optical illusions
Left: A sculpture by Victor Vasarely, Left: Bridget Riley; Movement in Squares (1961)
Sus Lundgren 2013
M C Escher
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Playfulness & intrigue in art/lit
Sus Lundgren 2013
Playfulness and intrigue in IxD
The Interactive Quilt – a successful unsuccessfuly
project
Sus Lundgren 2013
Playfulness and intrigue in IxD
The Interactive Quilt; Slow Technology
.... But also intriguing!
– Ambiguity the key
“Thus ambiguity is a powerful tool for designers to
raise topics or ask questions while renouncing the
possibility of dictating their answers. By supporting
this balance, ambiguity not only represents a useful
resource, but a powerful sign of respect for users as
well.”
– Bill Gaver et al (2003) ”Ambiguity as a Resource for Design”
Sus Lundgren 2013
Playfulness & intrigue in IxD
Countless examples, e.g. Bembo’s Zoo
(www.bemboszoo.com)
Sus Lundgren 2013
Playfulness & intrigue in IxD
Intrigue BIG TIME!!!
http://www.ted.com/talks/golan_levin_ted2009.html
– 13:14 ”Snout” (Watch the entire talk for more stunning
examples!!!)
Sus Lundgren 2013
Playfulness & challenge in IxD
Any computer game ever made...!
Sus Lundgren 2013
Playfulness & Intrigue in IxD -- how
There’s no ”method” for
designing fun or intrigue, but
there are few tricks:
– Utilizing ambiguity  we’ll
come to that
– Designing for surprise (The
snout)
– Designing for exploration
(Bembo’s zoo, the IQ)
– …more?
– Adding some kind of challenge…
Sus Lundgren 2013
Playfulness & Challenge
Tempting challenge!
“…without sufficient challenge an activity can be
perceived as boring, or soothing, or calming or “nice”
but hardly entertaining. […]. Also the level of challenge
must suit the user and the situation; [what fits a child
does not necessarily amuse its parents]. The adult may be
more entertained by trying to solve a cross-word, however
not when being tired and nervous […]. In order to be
entertaining, the challenge has to be tempting to that
user at that moment.”
– Sus Lundgren in ”Facets of Fun: On the Design of
Computer Augmented Entertainment Artifacts (2006)
Sus Lundgren 2013
Playfulness and IxD
Caveat: Sus, Staffan Björk & others: Gameplay
design is interaction design… especially gameplay
design of computer-supported games
… not everyone agrees.
Sus Lundgren 2013
Designing playfulness?
Björk & Holopainen: Patterns in
Game Design
– Game(play) patterns; the building
blocks of games
Salen & Zimmerman: Rules of Play
– Theoretical framework; "game design
schemas“ e.g. Games as context for
social play, games as storytelling etc.
Fullerton: Game Design Workshop,
– Desiging a game from start to end
Sus Lundgren 2013
Kramer: What makes a game good
Freshness and replayability
Surprise
Equal opportunity
Winning chances
No "kingmaker effect"
No early elimination
Reasonable waiting times
Creative control
Tension
Learning and mastering
Complexity and influence
Sus Lundgren 2013
Originality
Uniformity
Quality of components
Target groups and
consistency of rules
Kramer: What makes a game good
Think of
”Ludo/Fia med
knuff”.
Is it good or
boring? Why,
using Kramer’s
terms?
Sus Lundgren 2013
Class rep meeting
A bit concern regarding the work
load and the home exam deadline
– Home exam released in study week 3
– Absolutely last thing you need for
that is having read the lit and
attended this lecture  ca 2 week to
deadline
Scheduled hours: 54
Lit prep:
33
Exercise extra
20
SUM:
107
25 hrs week:
20 hrs/week:
 At least 50 hrs left
for home exam
Sus Lundgren 2013
200
160
Wednesday’s exercise
There is a risk I’m not here on Wednesday
– If so, lit feedback via email
– Notification per email no later than 18.00 Tuesday if
cancelled
Exercise:
– It is the aim of this task to design an object that somehow
criticizes aspects of modern society: how online
relationships replace real relationships, and the intense
focus on career and ownership. To create a contrast to the
sinister message in the design, playfulness will be used.
Sus Lundgren 2013
Wednesday’s exercise
Value fiction: Pandemia
–
–
–
–
–
No physical closeness
Quarantine & loss
Double skill sets
Ownership uninteresting
Want fun as contrast
Brainstorm together, then split up.
Add playfulness.
Sus Lundgren 2013
Wednesday’s exercise
”Design a product or game that has potential to
both address the need in Pandemia and at the
same time criticize a value in our world. ”
Make a GOOD poster/illustration /cartoon scenario
because…
– …Post-It crit!
Sus Lundgren 2013