some thoughts on interactivity

hi, 

I think we should definitely go ahead with the changeable/interactive logo idea, as from a semiotic point of view even the smallest of alterations to an image can alter the potential meanings and values that image can possess. This idea alone seems quite subversive as the purpose of an advert or brand image is to convey a very clear idea about a product; to have as little possible alteration between encoding and decoding, where as we will want to be encouraging people to encode their own message, to shape the brand around themselves.

After reading the interactivity article it seems that most of what is considered to be interactive is merely physical interaction, that seems to come down to point and click selections that don’t often have much of an effect on the communicative interaction, i.e. it doesn’t affect the meaning of the content. All of the innovation and development of computers and interactive media just seems to be bringing the virtual/digital world in line with the real world, so that there is a unity with how things might react to you on a computer and with more tangible objects. I think this even applies in a tactile sense with how our understanding is shaped by how things are associated with physical actions; deleted files going into the recycling bin etc.  It might then be fun to play around with physical interaction in counter-intuitive ways, especially if we are looking to brand something such as chaos or confusion.

I guess what would be required is the separation of our experience of actual and virtual modalities, or at least to confuse the meanings that connect and coordinate them, in order to play around with the potential of digital interaction. By making something interactive in this way it should able to highlight the constructed and arbitrary nature of our project and advertising/branding in general, disrupting the normalising and naturalising association between product and cultural meaning and values that most advertising aims for.       

Juan PdR