Creative Tech Week

Since its beginning, Potion has been interested in introducing the digital into physical spaces. Early on, this often meant creating bespoke objects for each project. There are now more and more off-the-shelf hardware options available, but the motivation to create a unique experience for a specific place and concept persists. The design of these experiences increasingly must consider the impact of mobile devices. In the past decade, the expectations surrounding people's use of and relationship with these devices has changed dramatically. Unlike a decade ago, the assumption is now that people will have a device with them, which may can be incorporated into the experience, and can even actively compete with the experience. What considerations are there in using these sorts of devices? If we design an experience that uses a person's own device, does their intimate relationship with that device make them more willing to take the experience into their personal space, or does it make them more distrustful? What sort of control do we lose by putting a part of the experience literally in a person's hands? And, if a download is required, what kind of compelling reason can we create for the person to oblige? Where should this area move, and what behaviors do we want to drive? This talk will look into some of the projects Potion has created that use mobile devices -- both those provided by the institution itself (such as audio guides), and those owned by intended audience -- as well as consider what directions we should consider for the future.