by muhammad.turk -

Why I’m Hitting Pause

Design & Research | Master Thesis Log 07

I sat down tonight to write a very different blog post.

My plan was perfect. I was going to show you the charts from my latest interviews. I was going to explain the difference between “active” and “passive” users. I was going to act like I had everything figured out.

But if I am being completely honest with you? I don’t.
Right now, I am stuck.

They tell you that research is a straight line. You have a question, you find data, and you get an answer. But nobody tells you about the “Fog.” The Fog is where I am right now. It is that messy, confusing middle part where you have too much information and no idea where to put it.

Drowning in Data Over the past few weeks, I have collected so much. I have hours of conversations with photographers. I have folders full of notes about AI, automation, and the history of the camera.

But instead of making things clearer, the data has made everything harder.
Should I focus on the art itself?
Should I focus on the psychology of the photographer?
Should I focus on the interface design of the camera?

Every time I look at my notes, I see a million different paths I could take. It feels like standing in the middle of a busy intersection with traffic coming from every direction. I am paralyzed by the possibilities.

Losing the Joy Somewhere along the way, I think I lost the fun of this project.

When I started, I was excited. I loved the question: “Does automation kill the artist?” It felt important. But lately, the pressure to produce “results” has taken over. I found myself rushing through the research just to get to the finish line. I stopped listening to what the data was telling me because I was too busy trying to force a solution.

I was trying to design the final product before I even understood the problem.

The Power of the Pause So, this blog post is my stop sign.

I am giving myself permission to stop running. I realized that if I keep sprinting in the dark, I am just going to hit a wall. I need to stop frantically searching for the “right” direction and just let the information sink in.

I need to go back and listen to those interviews again—not to extract quotes for a presentation, but to actually hear the emotions in their voices. I need to look at the photos again. I need to remember why I cared about this topic in the first place.

I don’t know exactly what my next step is. I don’t know if the final result will be a new camera mode, a manifesto, or a physical prototype. And to be honest, that uncertainty is really scary. It feels like I am failing.

But maybe feeling lost is just proof that I am actually exploring something new. If I knew the answer already, it wouldn’t be research, right?

For now, I am going to turn off my “analyst brain” and just breathe. The answers will come, but only if I give them space to arrive.

    by karen.johannesen -

    The Elements of Hostile Design

    Hostile design is design meant to prevent various kinds of usage/interaction with objects, usually by vulnerable groups of people (Rosenberger, 2023). It is perhaps most commonly discussed about designs that prevent the usage of benches etc by the homeless. Robert Rosenberger (2023) presents a classification scheme which talks about the different types of Hostile Design one might come across. 

    1. Physical Imposition

    When a design physically prevents certain interactions or engagements with an object. A common example in relation to Hostile Design against homelessness is creating barriers on benches to prevent anyone from laying down on the bench (Rosenberger, 2023), it can be “seats” where one lean against the seat rather than fully sit down, and so on. 

    1. Sensory Interference

    Sensory interference includes the use of generating sensory stimuli that is annoying or unpleasant, for example through various usage of light and/or sound. Rosenberger (2023) comes with examples such as playing annoying sounds or loud music in parks and other public spaces have been used to drive away the unhoused. He also writes about the usage of unflattering lights, in the context of driving young people away from underpasses. However, I can also imagine lighting being used to create uncomfortable public spaces to take shelter at. 

    1. Concealment

    This is when a certain usage or amenity is available in the public space, just that it is concealed in such a way one must know where it is or how to use it. Rosenberger (2023) brings up the example with public toilets being placed in unusual places and/or having no signage to guide the public to its location. 

    1. Confederacy

    This includes the control of a public space, usually through the usage of security guards, police officers, cameras, or others placed to control a public space. For example some public spaces might have a receptionist and a sign in sheet in order to use the space (Rosenberger, 2023), or public rest rooms may have on-site staff controlling the payment gates to enter and exit the rest rooms. Rosenberger (2023) reflects on how the unhoused might not appreciate the monitoring where one needs to sign themselves into the public space, and how camera monitoring can trigger a fear of attracting attention to the authorities.

    1. Self-coercion

    Self-coercion is when design makes the public themselves avoid certain behaviour in a public space or refrain from a certain usage of an object. The most straightforward example is signage targeted at certain groups, for example signs that says “No Camping” targets the unhoused to try and prevent them from taking shelter in the area of said sign. Rosenberger (2023) also gives the examples of spikes on surfaces where one perhaps could lie, which is not only a physical imposition, but also an example of self-coercion. It shows the unhoused that they are not welcomed here, which could perhaps lead them away from the area.

    1. Absence

    Hostile design in the form of absence is that instead of simply limiting usage in the other ways mentioned, one removes the object altogether. This impacts the unhoused in the ways of leaving no place to rest once benches are fully removed, or lack of public restrooms in public areas (Rosenberger, 2023).

    How these hostile designs could be turned to the more positive is something that could be researched further in the next post.

     
    Source

    Rosenberger, R. (2023). A classification scheme for hostile design. Philosophy of the City Journal, 1(1), 49-70. https://doi.org/10.21827/potcj.1.1.40323