A well designed tool is in effect 'invisible' in its application. The user embodies the utility (physical or cognitive) and performs their task in synergy with the tool unaware of the actual artefact. A simple example may be a hammer, the user doesn't observe the constantly changing physical situation, but rather hammers away as if their arm naturally included the tool's utility. Subtle feedback of the actions performed with the tool is critical to support that state. In the ideal situation, a level of trust arises in the process, allowing for a degree of risk inherent in the operation to be readily overlooked. As a result, the intent of the high level task constitutes the only concern for the user.
In context of creative design, the only such tool remains to be a pencil/pen. Unlike routine production work (CAD, image manipulation, etc.), the tasks of generation, exploration and interpretation in design process are not well supported by computer based tools. Even the most basic and essential act of sketching, feels stilted and non-expressive using a computer. It seems that, a sense of ambiguity, avoided in the final product, is essential to the intuitive process of externalising and exploring early ideas. These pursuits appear to be severely compromised in the on-screen paradigm, irrespective of the additional capabilities on hand e.g. versioning, undoing or attribute editing capabilities.
A likely exception, in my experience, may be the creation of music. In its traditional form, it is focused on motor skills and dexterity directed at instrument interfaces and these can be readily integrated into a computer environment. However, even this proposition is debatable if we consider that the gestalt state of musical creation and performance appears to exist in the head and muscles on an intuitive level, quite apart from the creative problem solving paradigm. Rhythm and melody tend to adhere to various rules, similar to grammar in language and these have no equivalents in common sense reasoning or general intelligence which underscore creative design. Consequently, while the design processes and methodologies can be readily taught, creativity just like Artificial Intelligence encounters impassable boundaries. Common-sense knowledge continues to elude our attempts to formulate, let alone formalise, a general set of context-free rules beyond discrete specialised heuristics. Similarly, the creative or inventive endeavors remain an illusive challenge as far as tools are concerned.
No comments:
Post a Comment