The Concept
I was fascinated by the notion of passive use of everyday technologies, that is to say how we use these domesticated objects without ever really noticing them.
Working with Mike Michael’s assertions that everyday technologies operate unnoticed until they break, and that the small satisfactions that come from having to work at simple have been lost due to our accumulation and use of labour saving technologies, I decided to design post optimal objects that ask for something in return for their services. In other words, objects that are not just here to serve us, but that force us to acknowledge them, but in doing so force us to better appreciate the tasks and experiences that their use allows; after all, it is not the technologies themselves, but the experiences that those technologies facilitate that are important.
Although the initial ideas were based around the radio, I decided to put that on hold and concentrate on reading instead - an extremely traditional form of data that enters the home. The bedside reading lamp is an object that allows us to read at night, without it we could not, but it is also a good example of an under appreciated, passively used object.
