Aesthetics in the Era of Digital Transformation
Form follows function. This premise setted up by architect Louis Sullivan has been one of the main design principles we all had learned at school, from Bauhaus to Victor Papanek. Traditionally, we design our daily objects with some kind of hereditary shape. Because until now, new wasn’t usually “brand new” in our imaginary. Our physical objects had evolved in an aesthetically continuous way.
But when we talk about digital products, we need to face somehow a new identity. Nowadays, digital products still need to co-exist with a physical element. Besides the interface, if they don’t have a physical “body”, a touchable container, we can’t have them. Digital and physical are, in our days, in a symbiotic relationship. We are leaving behind the analogical objects that surround us, even if they are still functional, in order to replace them with the same element with the digital feature and again, we replace them with a new device that we need according to the software update.
Boy with headset – Eren Li (Pexels)
It’s somehow interesting how we talk about all these containers of interfaces, when we consider the word interface itself.
If we attend to the etymological roots, it would be the face that interconnects the human with the machine. But when we change the subject to new devices, the concept may not be correct. If we take artificial intelligence, for instance some known elements like Alexa or Siri, won’t the physical device be the real interfaceIt’s somehow interesting how we talk about all these containers of interfaces, when we consider the word interface itself. If we attend to the etymological roots, it would be the face that interconnects the human with the machine. But when we change the subject to new devices, the concept may not be correct. If we take artificial intelligence, for instance some known elements like Alexa or Siri, won’t the physical device be the real interface?
But the truth is that this situation has accelerated the reach of the fiction future, especially regarding the media and digital consumption. In a few months, the whole population with access to a minimum of digital devices has increased their use of it, no matter what age, gender or cultural situation.
Imaginary interface – Ali Pazani (pexels)
At this point, if we consider the object as the interface that allows the connection between user and artificial intelligence, we would need to develop a totally new concept without an hereditary shape. Until now, AI has had several bodies, mainly in pop culture, and related to human figures or voices, but in the real world is still somehow bodiless. In our imaginaries, we are starting to create these shapes. They should appear more human, or we’ll fall down the uncanny valley? Should AI just serve for human purposes, and then we need to design their shapes in an human adapted and ergonomic way? Or instead of “serving” humans would be more like joining them, and AI would be part of the society itself with his/her own shape?
Technologies are evolving exponentially, faster and faster each day, and today’s designs and patents are laying the foundations for future interfaces and shapes. Once they have been installed in our social perception, our capacity or ability of criticism would change.