This portfolio showcases my work and projects completed during the course.
“Computing relies on two kinds of artifact, hardware and software. We adopt the position here that the hardware is given, and software is the matter of our discussion.”
As described throughout the reading, there is a continuous dialect between hardware and software, between the software and its external representation, and between said representation and the user. Thus, it is through this chain that the user becomes increasingly unaware of underlying systems and processes, a technique in software design known as abstraction. E.g. You don't need to understand IP Routing in order to send an email, nor do you need to know the workings of an Internal Combustion Engine to drive a vehicle. In most cases, this separation and reliance on the semiotic is the intent as often the goal in design is to create systems that afford useability.
These gaps between hardware, software, its representamen and interpretant, and the system (whole) and its user are only growing larger. Take the skeuomorph for example. Many early (now ubiquitous) concepts in computing and the user interface were all representations of extant materials: the Windows, the Desktop, the Recycle Bin, Files, Folders, E-Mail. The intention behind this is to promote ease of use, to provide familiarity in an unfamiliar environment. As designs have evolved (often through forced iteration), the distance from these sources has only grown. See this article article.
Something that I try to communicate through my work is how retro technology puts more emphasis on the hardware to create an experience that is much less a representation and more of a connection. I feel there is often a tenderness that comes along with this, e.g. the delicateness of cassette and VHS tapes. There is also a greater degree of physical and sensory activity, with individual dials, tactile buttons, and lights. I think how I go about presenting or communicating information in the digital age is always going to come back to many of the principles discussed within this week's reading,
