Hi Lars (and all),
Thank you Lars, I'll have a read over your paper.
It's not so clear in HCI and interaction design literature how complicated
this relationship between pragmatism and aesthetics might be. I am not
experienced enough with pragmatist philosophy to understand such
intricacies, but from what I can sense, it is still very early days for
pragmatist philosophy in HCI and Interaction design. The notions of
aesthetic experience, brought forward by Graves Petersen and McCarthy and
Wright from Dewey and Bakhtin, offer ways of embracing the aesthetics of
interactive systems as more than just the sum of identifiable, classifiable
qualities possessed by artifacts. That it is as much about what people bring
to experiences as what the designer leaves there (McCarthy and Wright, 2008
and 2005).
For me, a communication designer, it's a breath of fresh air to see a shift
in emphasis from aesthetics in appearance to experience, because it allows
for much deeper involvement. This is pretty much the main proposition of my
exegesis.
I believe that attempts to identify or classify aesthetic qualities, such as
Löwgren and Stolterman's 'experiential use qualities' (Thoughtful
interaction design, 2004) do less to define and pin down aesthetics, but
more to open up possibilities of understanding design with regards to
experience and interactive systems/digital artifacts.
Gavin, I have read your papers, and whilst I did find it a little hard to
digest, you have brought to light the rich philosophical background of this
area. Thank you.
Michael
2009/1/27 Lars Albinsson <[log in to unmask]>
> Micheal (and all),
>
> I agree with Keith Russel that aesthetics has a complicated relationship
> with pragmatism. American pragmatist West Churchman (student of Singer who
> was a student of James) even discuss it as one of the enemies of
> pragmatism.
> He writes that aesthetic quality "cannot be classified, categorized,
> defined, … codified…". He speculates that it is "precisely that which is
> lost when discussed". (Churchman, 1979, pp. 190-191).
>
> Churchman, C. W. (1979). The systems approach and its enemies. New York:
> Basic Books.
>
> In my own work I view communication as teleological, it serves the purpose
> of someone. Any pragmatist approach to communication need to have a stance
> on which stakeholder errands it runs. The aesthetics then is based on, and
> communicate, values.
>
> In a small paper presented at the Center for European Philosophy of Art and
> Design, CEPHAD 2004 in Bornholm, Denmark, I touched on these matters, also
> presenting a case from the innovation and design of online banking. For
> instance how different stakeholders view the banking business and how the
> look and feel was chosen based on values both of the bank and the
> customers.
>
>
> http://www.calistoga.se/Philosophy-of-Design-or-the-Design-of-Philosophy.pdf
>
>
>
> /Lars
>
>
> **************************************
> Lars Albinsson
> Ph D Candidate
> [log in to unmask]
> + 46 (0) 70 592 70 45
>
> Affiliations:
> Maestro Management AB www.maestro.se
> Calistoga Springs Research Institute www.calistoga.se
> School of Business and Informatics
> University of Borås www.hb.se
> Linköping University www.liu.se
> **************************************
>
>
>
>
> -----Ursprungligt meddelande-----
> Från: PhD-Design - This list is for discussion of PhD studies and related
> research in Design [mailto:[log in to unmask]] För Michael Dunbar
> Skickat: den 23 januari 2009 04:40
> Till: [log in to unmask]
> Ämne: Pragmatist aesthetics in communication design
>
> Hello list-ers,
> This is my first post to the group, so it is a little nerve-wracking.
>
> I am a PhD candidate at RMIT University in Melbourne, and I am nearing the
> final stages of writing. My research is looking at the role of
> communication
> design within the context of interaction design. I am looking at what
> pragmatist approaches to aesthetics in interaction design may help to
> conceptualise communication design practice in this context beyond that of
> product styling.
>
> My question is whether anyone could point me towards discussion of
> pragmatist asthetics relating directly to communication design? I haven't
> had much luck, but I feel I may not be looking in the right places.
>
> Cheers,
> Michael Dunbar
>
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