User:Joca/grad seminar 1209

Super draft idea thesis

Entering the realm of the digital, the materiality of news media changed. News articles are not bound to one specific publication, but have multiple appearances on both self-controlled platforms and apps, or aggregators like Google News and the Facebook news feed.

The designs of these platforms tend to shape the way users read and interpret an article. To what extent is the origin of news important in the newsfeed? Which cues are given to users to help them distinguish op-eds from news? What is the effect of advertisements that look like news, for the trustworthiness of news media (and their advertisers?)

Currently, the dominant principles for the interface design of digital media are drafted from design practices that originate from Human Computer Interaction. These are based on problem-solving, creating user-centered design to fulfill a task and reach a goal as efficient as possible. Eloborate? But finding information is different from interpreting it. It would be nice to refer here to some people that support this claim.

To what extent is it possible to influence the interpretation of news by the design of its interface?

As a starting point to answer that question I am interested in the use of Johanna Druckers performative materiality to analyze different forms of interfaces of digital newsmedia. Here I should eloborate more on why performative materiality would make sense as a framework to use.

http://www.digitalhumanities.org/dhq/vol/7/1/000143/000143.html

Possible forms

Relation thesis/project
I see the thesis as an opportunity to familiarize with the theory and apply it in analyzing the design of newsmedia. The insights for the process can form the input for a graduation work.

Form thesis
During the development of more complex interfaces, designers and developers tend to use so-called component libraries as a way to share design and code across the team.
I think it could be quite nice to take this form and have essays per design component? From the byline to the heading and the comment section? I need to think about how to translate it to a physical publication, and what to do if a structure of essays per design element does not really fit the outcomes of my research.

Project
Scrape content of existing newsmedia and present them in an entirely different interface which is designed using the insights I got from my thesis. I don't think the interface should be 'the ideal design for critical thinking'. I actually prefer to spin it around and make a deceptive interface, one that makes all trustworthy sources look unreliable, while putting the advertorials in the spotlight.

This interface is a digital one, but I imagine that in an exhibition setting I could take this approach of a component library: an installation with a few new design components, and ways to interact with them. Still a bit vague

This contrast between thesis and project is a nice way to tell the story, and I guess it's more fun as well for me and people looking at the work. Perfection is boring and impossible

To do

A lot, but on a more serious note , there are a number of things I need to do in the course of developing my draft idea thesis thingy into a proper proposal. For now I will write down these goals globally, but I should specify them a bit more to make sure these help in reaching my goals:

Read some more of Drucker, related authors, authors that disagree. Make synopses of these.
Formulate a main question and a set of sub questions, change and refine them till I get crazy.
Check if I can already get in touch with some people / organizations in the field? Interesting for interviews/resources

Own material to build upon

Relevant work from last year

https://pzwiki.wdka.nl/mediadesign/User:Joca/the-non-human-librarians

https://pzwiki.wdka.nl/mediadesign/User:Joca/Software_Joca#What_does_it_do.3F

Both the non-human librarians and reading the structure intervene with content, in such a way that it opens up questions about the interface, and its influence on how users perceive the content via it; be it a text, or an entire collection of books.

It might be interesting as a start to make a more thorough analysis of these works (and maybe even some interface work from my time at TU/e) using performative materiality as a framework?

Feedback from last year

"Is it possible to develop collaborative and fast-paced workflows while making sure enough distance can be preserved to facilitate distance and self-reflection?" / FS, XPPL feedback

"The work in XPPL seems to be coherent with your interest in the materiality of journalism through design and interaction and how reading and writing interact in the context of digital newsmedia. It will be interesting to see how you can expand your perspective on this topic through a continued technical learning while broadening and deepening your theoretical research."

Full documents in Documents/xpub/administration/assessment-t3