Week 1
Initial Inquiry:
- How is our time fractionated and dissected to extract the most value?
- How are we generating value unconsciously?
- How could I visualize these invisible transactions and system?
- How to reveal these monetary exchanges and exploitation?
We are constantly browsing on the internet while being bombarded with content that our attention and cognition has become a scarce resource because that is what all businesses trying to compete for. Therefore, our attention and where our eyes go are now valuable commodity- an example of this could be ad placement. Additionally, our habit of looking are also sold as data analysis to further deepen this trade relationship.
In the digital society, even our personal time has turned into something that can be exploited and have value extracted. I started by looking at the datas that can be extracted from us and how much companies are willing to pay for each.
I created these bill notes and receipt to help make the transactions and currency tangible.
Week 2
I start to see that how our time has been fractionated in many ways to generate and produce values. Even the smallest eye muscle movement can be exploited.
Moving forward, I recorded my browsing activity by using the computer camera and another camera simultaneously above to capture my hand movements.
I visualized the recordings with line animations to showcase the track of our eye movement which is another visualization of the value we are offering.
Week 3
Updated Inquiry:
- How has our eye gaze and attention a form of digital labor, in comparison to traditional form of labor?
- What natural movements are performed by the users in creating monetary value?
- What is the relationship between the users, the labor, and the profits?
I refined my focus on eye gaze and attention. I started to look into traditional form of labor and immaterial labor in the digital context and how we are contributing free labor as users.
I started with dissecting the factors that make up “labor” and “production” and see it in pre-industrial and industrial society. this help to set the foundation and link to the free digital labor I want to highlight. An interesting word that came up through my research was “Cyber Sweatshop”. The users input became the raw material, and data are the product sold but the user’s labor are unrecognized.
Week 4
Due to the fact that attention and sight are invisible, we can’t see or feel the labor we have produced. I wanted to create tangibility in our sight and attention to make my subject more accessible. I experimented my study on vintage posters because I find them designed less purposefully compared to modern day ads. I used an AI software that could analyze where our attention would likely to go and stay and used the information to create attention heat maps, percentage of focus, and main focus map.
From the mappings, I tested the possibility of using the attention hierarchy information and transforming them into a topographic mapping system. Thus, by creating 3D form, it will bring some tangibility to the concept of attention labor.
Week 5
To study the natural movement of our eyes while browsing, I recorded how my eyes move and translated it into an animation.
I created a perspective in which we, the audience, are within the screen and seeing through the interface at the user. From this perspective, we observe how our attention is being played and manipulated.
This form not only allows us to be observers but also to see it as a mirror to reflect our own attention sovereignty.
Decision Decision:
Most of the user interface design are invisible, using our intuitive instincts and subtle design choices. Therefore, it is hard for us to pin point why our eyes are drawn to specific content. Therefore, I created this circles as representations of the concealed designs and used orange to emphasize and exaggerate the triggers. The animation produces best result when it is watched on full screen and to see you screen covered in attention grabbing content.
Stage 2 Inquiry + Designer’s Guide
- How do designers mediate control in directing our attention?
- What guides our attention?
- What are the design practices used to hold attention?
- How are our eyes navigating through design?
As a response to the inquiries, I created “Designer’s Guide: Designing for Attention.”
Designing for Attention focuses on the ways in which designers can influence our attention and eye gaze through the use of graphic design. It is an exploration of the methods that designers use to control the visual focus of their audience and create a curated visual experience. Each booklet is assigned with its own instruction, stare/ gaze/ directions, which the graphics would guide to achieve, drawing on inspirations from sign, poster, interface design.
This work seeks to shed light on the powerful role that graphic design can play in shaping our attention and visual experience, and how our viewers’ eye gaze trajectory is formed.
Decision Decisions:
The practice experiments with design strategies including: isolation, contrast, hierarchy, tension, etc. Each composition only uses the fundamental shapes and lines in black, white, gray to illustrate the essence of attention design and explore our natural tendencies to seek out certain visual stimuli.
By removing the digital attention driven design from its original location and transporting them on paper, the design is no longer invisible. It becomes something that we can hold and test and understand.
Designing for Attention Video Essay
To summarize, I combined my study from both stage 1 and 2 into a video essay. This video examines the intersection of eye and attention tracking with digital immaterial labor and the designers’ role in this system.
The motion in the video uses different techniques to purposefully manipulate the viewers’ eyes in different directions. The frequent movement helps us to be aware of how our eye gaze moves and navigates.
The motion also attempts to tire the eyes so the audience can recognize this form of labor.
Reflection
Through the series of work I have developed, the projects raise thought-provoking questions about the power and responsibility of designers in influencing our attention and eye gaze. While the techniques employed in graphic design to capture and hold our attention are undeniably effective, we must critically examine the ethical implications and potential consequences of such practices.
One key question that arises is whether it is ethical for designers to exploit our innate tendencies to seek out certain visual stimuli.
- Should designers be mindful of their influence and strive to create designs that serve a greater purpose beyond commercial gain?
- How can we strike a balance between capturing attention and respecting the autonomy of individuals to control their own attention and focus?
Additionally, we must consider the potential impact on our mental well-being. With the constant influx of visually stimulating content.
- Are we becoming increasingly susceptible to distraction and information overload?
- How can we find a healthy equilibrium where design supports meaningful engagement rather than contributing to a culture of constant attention and distraction?
This discussion prompts us to reflect on the role of design in society and to challenge the status quo. Designers have the opportunity to shape experiences and guide our attention, but with this power comes the responsibility to use it judiciously and ethically. It calls for a critical examination of the intentions behind design choices and the potential consequences they may have on individuals and society as a whole.