SMART goals for this week
- First draft Lit Review
- Start wire framing
What I did this week
Monday
Maybe I could make a GUI creator where people can drag and drop and design their own system that suits them.
I realised while I used Manovich to help describe what GUI looks like. I didn’t look into why they look like that so I’m doing research into contributors to GUI and what theories in cognition influenced them.
As while there are other OS out there they all use the desktop windows set up. There was ZUI by Jeff raskin. But overall no ones really questioned the GUI design.
I’m then going to research what changes in cognition we have found since the 60s-70s. Then use this as the basis to evaluate GUI would look like if we based it on more recent theories.
Computing power has abused the way GUI was first designed. There was also a few things that should be questioned because of biology like how many people we are connected to. The way we connect with them. They were designing for what they knew back then before the world connected.
We should consider a system update as we have to handle more connectivity, load and processing power.
Treat like how ADHD diagnosis is treated anxiety and depression come from symptoms. Point out the symptoms of Smartphones and Desktops.
Technofeudalism Swiss-army device. Want to pacify and enslave a civilisation consider a digital device.
The bastardisation of GUI the monster it has become. Visualise and fictionalise the brain or core of a GUI. Personify it. The constant notifications the anxiety of email. the fast process. pulsating. Must unload masters cognitive load. tabs tabs tabs. More storage more things must have more things.
Humanising the features. Notifications have anxiety. Windows multiple personality. Spatial design ADHD what do I do first so many things to do. Control and Edit narcissism
The tool that outgrew humans
Xerox wanted GUI to mimic a desktop papers sprawled across the table. What if we visualised that. Find out how many documents you can fit with our current storage. Show an overflowing desk, GUI that was supposed to mimic life has now outgrown the metaphor. Or better how many desks are now in one computer. Show that the processing power is no longer equivalent to one person but to multiple people.
Maybe a peppers ghost hologram of all the papers and desks so people can turn it off so they see that by storing all this stuff in a device you don’t see the load you carry. Until you turn your phone off again. We have a spatial memory that’s why they designed things spatially because we’re better at remembering where things are so when you open your phone or laptop your memory is working to remember where everything is. So maybe within the desk or desks there’s easter eggs people can spot
Tuesday
MOSCOW
Must:
- Explain GUI as of today
- Spatial design
- Time optimisation
- Control
Should
- It should do so in a way that shows how these things impact the cognition of oneself
Could
- It could explain that computers aren’t inherently bad it’s that the advancements of processing power and storage have gone well beyond the capacity of a human being.
Will not
- Explain what GUI would be better suited to today’s technological advancements and understanding of human cognition
GUI was made based on the metaphor of a desktop. While the team understood they were making the GUI with the thought of there would be improvements in hardware and there was commercial interest in their work. They could not have predicted just how much advancement would happen also they were limited to the hardware at the time. They were also basing their work on what they knew about human cognition. While there have been advancements in this field these advancements have been used under the guise of giving the user what it wants however, our cognitive biases are built for survival so giving us what we want does not necessarily respect the user. The centre of humane technology explained in the context of social media that we are more drawn to negativity and tragedy because we have survival instinct to learn about it in order to avoid it, this does not mean the user wants to look at it (explain better by watching the video again ).
I would also like to mention that the smartphone was created to encompass all of life’s tasks onto one device it did not the same start as desktop GUI so it’s harder to visualise. An argument can be made though that the power of hardware has outgrown this dream. Instead of technology trying to match us and relieve cognitive load we have created more load for ourself in order to match the power, mass and speed of our phones. Like a goldfish we are trying to grow to the size of our new environment. It is an environment as most of life is now contained on our devices. Capitalism also aims to create more cognitive load so it can sell the solution to relieve it.
So, today’s GUI is based on something that was created 52 years ago with a few tweaks that don’t respect the user. Using Lev Manovich I have understand that computer can be boiled down into 3 components spatial design, time optimisation and control. These have existed from the first GUI to present. So I will use this framework to show how the desktop GUI has been bastardised by advancements and capitalism and that the level of hardware we have now has outgrown the individual human.
How I will do this is creating 2 desks as this is where it all started. I will create a desk that is based on what the Xerox team had developed. And then another desk that is based on what their GUI has become. I will then layout tasks for people to do. By doing these tasks people should be able to see that GUI is no longer what it was intended to be.
My one concern with this method is people will walk away feeling like there’s nothing they can do. Whereas I hope to make them realise they don’t need to use everything on a device. Maybe doing small things like switching notes to paper or buying an alarm clock instead of using their phone will lessen the involvement of devices in their life which will ultimate improve things. Perhaps after the experience I can provide information that helps them understand further and more practically.
The tool that outgrew humans
Essentially I am pointing that we are still using a system from 50 years ago that no longer fits our current world. If people can learn this. It shows people that system that carry in the pockets in their bags does not work for them and that they should be demanding something better something more humane. But they also walk away knowing that they can still have agency over this inhumane design by knowing the specifics and take control over a technology and turn it back into the tool it started as while we wait for the next evolution
Here are the specifics of this desktop design, Here’s how it’s been abused, By being able to walk away from the installation one could also walk away from the technology being forced upon us or we could use a part of the system(do a few tasks) and then opt out when we want to.
2 versions need to be created one without ending it ends with just showing the current design of computers and one with an ending and see which one people prefer
Maybe ending could be another set of tasks but instead it teaches people how to return the computer back to a tool. Or just a link to resources about using the technology we have to today in a better way. But also anticipate and look for change. I want people to be able to survive in the technofeudalism world while the tech world battles it out for better tech for people. I believe this can be done through knowledge.
People who are organising for change are those who have worked in the tech industry at the highest levels. Those who are developing new systems are those who understand tech on a technical level. This is all great but we are leaving ordinary people behind we are not preparing them for change we are not helping them out of the system even though we need their support the most and we’re doing this for them. We know what we know because of our knowledge this needs to be shared with them.
Desk 1 Macintosh
Your data was carried on a disk that you held onto. So you could take to other computers
Desk 2 Today
- Read 10 letters dump any that are spam
- Listen to 3 songs
- Make a drawing (pay a £5 subscription to complete this task)
- Find this document titled thisfileislostforever
Desk 3 Tomorrow
Hardware has mutated GUI so it’s outgrown our daily tasks
Desktop metaphor GUI was misdesigned in the first place add to this the extreme power of hardware today. You get a tool that negatively stimulates our cognitive biases. In order to survive against this we must limit ourselves.
Wednesday
So I realised that I’ve been focusing too much on the why and not the what. I started out with looking into physically representing the digital world which is exactly what the desk idea does. So, now that I’ve remembered what I’m actually doing and that my thesis was never about the why.
In short I’m going to make 2 desks physical representations of the first GUI personal computer System 1 Macintosh and MacOS Sequoia. As GUI is a metaphorical representation of a desk. There will be a list of tasks to do at these desks. But the audience should get the idea visually that the hardware capabilities of computers have turned this metaphor into a hellscape.
I’ve been doing research into System 1 Macintosh and MacOS Sequoia and listing out all of it’s features. I’m then going to try and match to the real life action.
I’ve had a lot of personal stuff going on so I got really muddled up in my own thoughts and curiosity about the topic. But talking with family has made me get back on track on what I’m trying to do.
Thursday
I carried on making the list of features for MacOS Sequoia.
I also had a thought while recording that the tasks list can be visually impacting. If the old desk is a really short list and the new desk has a really long list like really long comically long.