Remote Experience Design Approach
The time we are in might be considered, for many, a liminal time - that is, a time of transition. You are encouraged to design an experience for your partner that considers before and after, that takes stock of where you’ve both been and where you intend to be on the other side of this. Consider your partner’s boundaries when designing. Ask your partner what they are comfortable talking about before jumping in too deep.
TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES
Tools: Phone calls (skype/google/zoom), texting/whatsapp/wechat, Email, Links, chatbots, Video, Twilio, Twine, Choreography in the space they inhabit, Conversation with the people in their space, Walks, Cooking, Reading, etc.
Techniques:
Engage a Narrative: What is the narrative you are engaging? Is it a fictionalized story or are you engaging with the “real” narrative your partner is facing right now?
Curate the Place: What stories are embedded in the places the person has access to? This piece may be made for any place your partner feels comfortable going, within legal limits. You may ask your partner to alter their home.
Compose the Rhythm and Tempo of the Experience: how will you structure the experience over time? This will help you organize the piece. Use the 5-act structure to think about this.
Utilize the Existing Meanings of Objects: you may ask your partner to utilize any objects with which they feel comfortable. Your interview will have addressed the material culture of their current environment, so you will hopefully know something about this. You may also apply narrative meaning to these objects and ask your partner to join you in doing so.
SAMPLE REMOTE EXPERIENCES
The following set of instructions was sent by the designer to their partner in an email. Act 1 (Opening) is steps 1-7. Act 2 (worldbuilding) is steps 4-5, Act 3 (Action) is steps 8-12. Act 4 (closing) and Act 5 (Integration) are in the final step.
The Inflection Point
Prepare your room with the following: A pen, a piece of paper (letter or larger), your copy of Selected Poems of Wallace Stevens, your copy of Claudia Rankine’s Don’t Let Me Be Lonely, a glass of water, snacks.
On Wednesday, set aside 3pm to 4pm, during which you will not be disturbed. Ask your roommate not to enter your room during that time. Put your phone on Do Not Disturb.
Draw a circle in the middle of a large piece of paper. It should be between 5 and 7” in diameter.
At 3pm, play this song on your phone.
Play this video on your computer. Put it on Fullscreen. Mute the audio of this video.
Set an alarm for 30 minutes
Dim the lights. This is the beginning of Part 1.
Fan the pages of Don’t Let Me Be Lonely. Stop when something catches your eye. Read until you find a passage that refers specifically to the difficulties you faced in moving to this new home.
On the outside of the circle on the paper write back to Claudia Rankine. Tell her about what you went through.When the alarm goes off you are finished with part 1. If you finish early, just wait. Then set it for another 30 minutes.
Play this song on Spotify. This is the beginning of Part 2. Put this video on your computer with the video sound muted. Stop the music after the song is finished.
Flip through Wallace Stevens’ Collected Poems until something catches your eye. Read until what he is saying refers to your next year. What he says here is how the world will be a year from now. Trust the divination.
In the middle of the circle, write the future of your project in the future Wallace Stevens has predicted. How will you paint your masterpiece? How will you put something into the world that will make it a better place?
When the alarm goes off, take a picture and text it to me. This is the end of part 2. I will text back with a few questions. This will be part 3.
Or click here to see a sample 2-person experience.
Now it’s your turn!
You may type your instructions in an email (don’t forget the links!) or use this PDF form and email it to your partner. If you didn’t get the 5-act structure worksheet on the previous page, you can find it here.