Experiences

The context for this week's reading, for me, is the websites we are creating for our online portfolios. I think that they serve as a wonderful example of Bolter and Grusin's remediation. We are filling these websites with several different types of media and are using much old media to create new media. The cyberpoem in particular comes to mind as many of us will likely be using poems that were written hundreds of years ago before "new media" was even an idea. What I'm not sure about how to help create, though, is a transparency among the website. And, though Bolter and Grusin seem to think otherwise, I don't think that total transparency will ever be psosible. Certainly, we can try - and web designers who are skillfully trained can come close to - making objects and concepts in media seem like reality; however, even if everything were holographs, there would still be a way of knowing and recognizing that some things simply must be experienced.

I think back to my summer trip to Poland and how we visited Auschwitz. I'd read about Auschwitz in books and online, seen websites discussing it, watched videos about it, and even seen actual footage of many of the goings on of the Holocaust in Night in Fog. But none of that compared to being there in person. I was able to take in the place with all of my senses and was able to see it surrounding me, not simply on a screen in front of me. I could have a conversation - a genuine conversation - with people in my party about it and with the experts who were the tour guides. It was a real experience that could not be duplicated by media.

Though Buxton may argue that perhaps had the design of the media I'd been interacting with prior to my trip to Auschwitz been better, perhaps I would've had more of a transparent meeting with the sites, I believe that some things are just meant to be experienced in person. That said, though, I agree with Buxton that design plays a large role in helping to create a better user experience. Certainly objects that are innovative in their functions and also in their design are more appealing to consumers - they certainly are to me. Why else would I have spent the last several hours trying to perfectly match the color of the banner on my portfolio site to the container color? (I was unsuccessful thus far). I think that providing a well-designed product not only increases aesthetic pleasure but also increases usability due to a better organization and interface.