THESIS - ETHERSCAPE

 

Thesis research explores a balanced application of a media design that harmonizes Western and Middle Eastern values via technological Advancements in digital media. MFA Thesis Project titled: ETHERSCAPE, embraces modernity, while being respectful of the cultural specificities of the Arabian Peninsula. It uses media design to bridge the gaps between inherited visual traditions and the technologized realms of commercial interaction. Etherscape works specifically with motion, scale and interaction to turn the city of Dubai’s environment into a communications spectacle that presents and enhances many aspects of reality.

Etherscape - Product Scenario Slides. Context: Dubai - United Arab Emirates. ( View Video below)

Slides Illustrate several scenarios of the application of Etherscape in Dubai.

  • Local Emirati, Ahmed, in an underwater hotel with the ambient International News option selected. The user is drawn to the visual intensity of form on his digital surface. He later interacts with the surface get specific information on what the intense news content relates to.

  • A construction worker, Sujit, views the digital landscape around him changing illustrating a convergence of focus which relates to the scheduled call for prayer.

  • A lady student, Janelle, who is seated at Starbucks in Ibn Batuta Mall, sees the ambient surface on the space in-front change form. She interacts with her device to select and and view specific details related to the visual.

  • A designer, Robert, who is headed back home from work pays attention to the visual digital texture he sees on his way home. He then seamlessly transitions into his apartment where he is further immersed in the same visual texture that he saw in the city. As he looks out his window, he sees an airline entering the the city airspace which also becomes layered with the same ambient texture.

Infinite Alphabet

The Infinite Alphabet

Skeuomorphic forms made from images of paper, light and shadow placed into algorithms to generate infinite variations of forms that can be replicated with code. These froms are the visual system (infinite alphabet) used to communicate to the Etherscape product user.  The Alphabet is applied to onto digital wall paper which converts space into ambient communicative surfaces.

Etherscape Visual Style Guide - International News Categories

The Video depicts the News option content source options on Etherscape for the user. The form movement is cyclical and its repeated use helps the user recognise its symbolic reference.

Etherscape Visual Style Guide - News Intensity

The guide section above illustrates how the scale of the visual indicates to the user the intensity / relevance of the news event.

International News: BBC Content Application

The user has selected BBC News as their Visual. Surface option. Content which is in the form of audio is translated into ambient visual forms. The news as it is broadcasted leaves marks on the digital surface depicting events. Scale signifies the contextual importance of the event and the colour the regional reference (i.e., which country the news refers to).

International News: BBC Content Application - 2 Days Later

The digital surface at this stage has now been layered over time giving the user a more holistic understanding of the sate of play in the International News arena based on the content broadcasted from the BBC.

Etherscape - Product Scenario Video. Context: Dubai