A practice of exploration and creative design research inspired the form and interaction design of the switch critters. The goals of stimulating design, understanding the potential of designed objects, and creating intriguing and thought provoking objects and interactions led the creative process.

The starting point for design research was an interest in exposing the stories of natural materials such as leather, felt, wood and fibers — from their points of origin as living organisms to their processed states that are often taken for granted. The original material experiments addressed the forms, meanings and media content that could be communicated via these materials. Interestingly, as the projects evolved, it seemed that the combination of natural materials and physically interactive technology created a fertile ground for people to imagine an animism that went beyond the normal projections we put on our cell phones and other tech devices. →Read more about the material studies on the Design as Research page…

What began as formal studies with natural materials led to the idea of another production cycle that is more pertinent and accessible to today’s culture: Instead of focusing directly on the histories of natural materials, Switch Critters explore the pathways and meanings of electricity and fuels.

Once working prototypes were made, the research process pressed further into the imaginative realm through work with creative writers. On Goldsmiths University website, the description of Bill Gaver’s Interaction Research Studio states:

“Using methodologies that sidestep predictable user research and extend system evaluation, the group explores values and activities that go beyond narrow utilitarianism to explore curiosity, play, reflection and interpretation.”

Co-opting the skills of creative writers for “imagination research” is an attempt to focus on qualities of interaction that are not easily accessible when thinking solely about “usability.” Once simple working prototypes of the Switch Critters had been made, they were given to writers to live with for about two weeks. The writers were asked to create pieces based on their experience. →Read more about the Creative Writing as Research here...

The current expressions as short films are meant to represent individual experiences of engaging with a Switch Critter. The “imagined worlds” films push the concept of a “user-scenario” beyond the mundane and utilitarian into the imaginary and potentially bizarre — illustrating the way we create stories and explanations for an evocative experience. As interpretations of design research, these films expose worlds influenced by the characters of Switch Critters and also illustrate interaction and behavior. The next step in the design would be to iterate further on the physical objects, incorporating live data feeds, and building on the animation and interactions arrived at in the Imagined World films and “straight stories.”