1

screen

mutations

Staging the
family meal for
transnational
families
Louisa Zahareas
SD Master 2nd Year

///<Summary>

/ / / < Ta b l e o f C o n t e n t s >

With increased mobility and migration patterns our relationships

Chapter 1_Mediated Rituals

with our family and friends, are becoming increasingly mediated by

Screen Commensality

our digital devices. Individuals typically choose to adopt video

The illusory nature of the screen

communication in their personal life as a result of relocations.

Thus, the most dominant medium of communication is without question
the screen. It is of great importance to look at our most familial
rituals and see how they are now reinvented and experienced through

the prism of the screen. The screen is not anymore a window to

somewhere else, it is instead the here and now and our physical
surroundings are slowly becoming the other world. Focusing on the

family meal, as the archetypical representation of the united

family, and taking a critical and sometimes anecdotal approach to
how we now experience and enact family life through the screen,
this research will focus on the redesign of the dining ritual to fit
with our fragmented on/off self (where on represents the digital and
off is the physical experience of our new mediated interactions).
The research is going to explore how far we are willing to go in
distorting our physical experience to fit with the aesthetics and
peculiarities of the screen, as a medium. The exploration results

6-11
12-15

C h a p t e r 2 _ M i g r a t i o n a n d t h e Te c h n o - F a m i l y
Transnational families & screen mediated interactions

18-23

The family meal

24-29

Chapter 3_Visual Everything

Peripheral awareness

32-33

Visual closeness: representation vs physical being

34-43

Chapter 4_Scales of Continuity

Space Continuity_the background

46-53

Space Continuity_the plate

54-73

Temporal Continuity

74-75

Chapter 5_The killed darlings

Feeding through a screen

78-81

Future frictions around the family table 2.0

82-83

Chapter 6_Conclusion & Design Proposal

in the proposal of a collection of props that will be inspired and

Design method and Design Proposal

conceived by the specificity of the medium and will highlight their

Distorted realities, dysfunctional props and anamorphosis

dysfunctional nature when performed.

Plan and installation draft

86-87
88-111
86-87

chapter 1

With increased mobility and migration

interactions. Mary Meeker, internet analyst

patterns our relationships with our family

published a chart that shows the total time that

and friends, are becoming increasingly

populations of different countries spend in front

mediated by our digital devices. Individuals

of a screen. According to the chart, in the United

typically choose to adopt video communication

States, people spend an average of 444 minutes

in their personal life as a result of

every day looking at screens, or 7.4 hours. As

relocations. Thus, the most dominant medium of

sad as those numbers might be, the U.S. is only

communication is without question the screen.

the sixth worst nation when it comes to staring

It is of great importance to look at our most

at screens. At the top of the list is Indonesia,

familial rituals and see how they are now

where people spend an average of 540 minutes, or

reinvented and experienced through the prism

9 hours each day, looking at their TVs, computers,

of the screen. The screen is not anymore a

smartphones and tablets.

window to somewhere else, it is instead the

here and now and our physical surroundings are
slowly becoming the other world . We are
so surrounded by screens that we dont even
realize that they have taken over our physical

/// <Source>

Frommer, Dan. Mary Meekers 2014 Internet Trends
Report: All the Slides plus Highlights. Quartz. Atlantic
Media Co. Web. 3 Mar. 2015.

Video communication through tools such as Skype, FaceTime

and google Hangouts has grown tremendously over the past decade.

teleportation etc. personify the myth of ubiquity. However, is

According to new data from TeleGeography, Skypes international

reaching this face to face model desirable? Is a full wall video

traffic volume continues to soar. TeleGeography estimates that

projection or a 3d holographic projection of a person or experience

Skypes on-net (Skype to Skype) international traffic grew 36

necessary, or even able to adapt to all kind of situations?

percent in 2013, to 214 billion minutes (Beckert, 2014). Video

as a medium is helpful at enabling people separated by distance

can we reach with this form of remote presence? Is the screen the

to keep in touch with each other as it is seen as a more intimate

most appropriate medium to represent a person and if not why dont we

tool than the telephone, for example. A lot of research lately

manipualte it? How can we invent new ways of sharing an experience with

is focused on increasing the feeling of presence and togetherness

someone through a screen, how does the medium itself affect the way we

among separated members through different techniques. Some of them

interact and how does it impact our social evolution and the evolution

emphasize the visual and audio aspects while others focus on the

of our ritual artifacts (the props used in familial rituals)?

notion of peripheral awareness(1), which puts more emphasis on

more ambient and implicit ways of making someones presence felt
across distance (Romero, 2007).

Across time there is the recurrent technological fantasy

that progressively framed our imaginaire of the future of remote

communication: the aim of reaching the face to face conversation

model. Examples as video-conference telepresence robot holograms

screen
commensality

The familial traditions that are enacted in ritual form

From a social point of view, what kind of implications and limits

<Footnotes>

1. Peripheral awareness or ambient awareness of someone or something is
created through constant and regular reception and/or exchange of information
fragments. Picking up the environmental cues or someones presence or of an activity
going on.
/// <Source>

Romero, Natalia, et al. Connecting the family with awareness systems.

Personal and Ubiquitous Computing 11.4 (2007): 299-312.

Beckert, Stephan. Skype Traffic Continues to Thrive. Skype Traffic Continues

to Thrive. PriMetrica, Inc., 15 Jan. 2014. Web. 5 Jan. 2015.

try to explore how the sharing of a meal is changing in a world that is

take on a symbolic meaning that defines the identity of the

increasingly mediated by the screen. In this way the shared meal, as the

family itself. Whether these traditions date back generations,

archetypical case study of familial rituals, is going to function as the

or are newly discovered, their function is mostly to establish

MacGuffin (2) of this research.

and strengthen the familial bonds as well as to act as a constant

negotiation and appropriation of intra-family relationships.
One of the most analysed and debated familial rituals is without
question the family meal. The sharing of food, as it seems is one
of the most primitive and intimate ways of social interaction.
As Fischler (2011, p.2)

notes, the sharing of a meal, or what

is described as commensality (1),

is One of the most striking

manifestations of human sociality...humans tend to eat together

or, to put it more exactly, to eat in groups.

The ritual of commensality is going to be the plot driver

for the narrative of this thesis. The research will not focus on
whether we should or shouldnt eat together as a family but rather

<Footnotes>

1. Commensality is the practice of sharing food and eating together in a
social group such as a family. Universally, commensality is central to defining
and sustaining the family as a social unit. In ancient Greece, for example, oikos
(family) was stipulated as those who feed together (Lacey, 1968, p. 15).

2. In fiction, a MacGuffin (sometimes McGuffin or maguffin) is a plot device
in the form of some goal, desired object, or other motivator that the protagonist
pursues, often with little or no narrative explanation. The specific nature of a
MacGuffin is typically unimportant to the overall plot. The most common type of
MacGuffin is an object, place, or person; other, more abstract types include money,
victory, glory, survival, power, love, or some unexplained driving force. The
MacGuffin technique is common in films.
/// <Source>

Fischler, Claude. Commensality, society and culture. Social Science

Information 50.3-4. 2011. 528-548.

/// </quote>

Following on some observations regarding the
<dominant role of visual representations in our culture>, I
will argue that we are now living in a society in which
simulations are often more influential, satisfying and
meaningful than the things they are presumed to represent.
<Media technologies play a fundamental role in our cycle of
meaning construction.> It has consequences for our concepts
of virtual and real, which are less complementary than they
are usually understood to be.
/// <Source>
{

Mensvoort, Van. Next Nature. NextNaturenet Exploring the

Nature Caused by People RSS. 13 Apr. 2009. Web. 1

Mar. 2015.

While there is a lot of research on mediated presence and

change to work better with the language of the screen and 2) that use

a newly created field of presence design (Rae, 2015), designers

the way our already existing devices work as a starting point of a new

are not critically addressing the issue of our new screen-based

methodology of designing our physical worlds. However, this research

relationships and questioning how and to what extent the familial

will focus around this idea that a new design method can be created

rituals and their artifacts are influenced by this new reality.

that is both inspired by the limitations of the screen (reflected image,

The majority of the research and design proposals are focused

separation, framing, one-point perspective) and at the same time reveals

around t

and confronts us with the fact that our relationships are increasingly

he case study of couples and long distance relationships, which

mediated by a medium that provides a very specific and quite limited

is of course a noble cause, but is an incomplete sample of family

view of the world.

formations. Some other examples are targeting the group of

screen-based interactions between small children and grandparents

/// <Source>

(digital natives -digital immigrants) but those again are

most often than not focused on the design of new technological
interventions. This is actually the case for most of the design
proposals that belong in the broader theme of mediated presence,
namely they focus too much on designing the technology behind the
interaction and pay less attention on what it actually means to
communicate through a screen.

In other words, there is a lack of design that: 1) Focuses

Barden, Pollie, et al. Telematic dinner party: designing for togetherness

through play and performance. Proceedings of the Designing Interactive
Systems Conference. ACM, 2012.

J. Brubaker, G. Venolia, and J. Tang. 2012. Focusing on shared experiences:

moving beyond the camera in video communication. In Proceedings of DIS. ACM,
New York, NY.

Rae, Irene, et al. A Framework for Understanding and Designing

Telepresence. (2015).

on how our physical objects (instead of the technology) could

10

11

10

11

Meals are cultural sites

where members of different generations and genders come to learn,
reinforce, undermine, or transform each others ways of acting,
thinking, and feeling in the world, sometimes through cajoling,
begging, probing, praising, bargaining, directing, ignoring, or
otherwise interacting with one another in the course of nourishing
ones body...Though accentuated at feasts and ritual occasions,
cultural apprenticeship and language socialization actually accrue
and are given shape in the give and take of everyday mealtime
interactions.
(Ochs, Elinor, and Merav Shohet, p.47)

Mealtimes are what Goffman would call a social occasion. .

In Behavior in Public Places (Goffman, 1963) Goffman distinguished

three types of co-presence: the gathering, the situation
and the social occasion. He explains that a social occasion
is bounded by space and time and is likely to involve props or
special equipment. (Goffman, 1963) Thus, a social occasion such as
a birthday party, or in the case of this thesis the shared meal,

becomes the background against which gatherings and situations can

occur.

The family meal experience that used to be grounded around

a specific place and a physical table can now be expanded to the

immaterial and asynchronous realm of the virtual. More specifically,
there is an increase in people that are physically separated and use
telecommunication systems, like Skype, to connect with their families
over a shared meal.

It is important to note here that sharing a meal and technology

are two themes that are difficult to bring together. On the one hand,
technology is abstract and immaterial, giving us the opportunity to
connect to anyone at any time. On the other hand, the act of eating
means being grounded, it involves the basic things of existence, it is a
sensual, physical act.
/// <Source>

Ochs, Elinor, and Merav Shohet. The cultural structuring of mealtime
socialization. New Directions for child and adolescent development 2006.111 (2006):
35-49.
Goffman, E. Behavior in public spaces. Notes on the
Social Organization of Gatherings. The Free Press, NY
(1963).

THE
SCREEN

<Jean
Jullien>
Illustration
of the
series_
Surface on
Surface.
March, 2014

So what is a screen? The

question can be situationally
answered with details about
scale, technology, shape,
tactility, portability, and
location.

(C. Acland, 2012, p.168)

<n.>

1. A movable device,
especially a framed
construction such as a room
divider or a decorative panel,
designed to divide, conceal,
or protect.
2. One that serves to protect,
conceal, or divide
3. A coarse sieve used for
sifting out fine particles, as
of sand, gravel, or coal.
4. A system for preliminary
appraisal and selection
of personnel as to their
suitability for particular

jobs.
5. A window or door insertion
of framed wire or plastic mesh
used to keep out insects and
permit air flow.
6.
a. A surface or device on
which an image, such as
a movie, is displayed for
viewing.
b. The medium in which movies
are shown: a star of stage and
screen.

Acland, Charles R. The

Crack in the Electric Window.
Cinema Journal 51.2 (2012): 167-171.

12

31

12

31

THE
ILLUSION

We see
things increasingly
through the prism
of our screens,
we have the
illusion that we
connect and keep
our relationships
intact through the
use of our screen
displays. But in
the process of
learning how to
live and interact
through these flat
interfaces we seem
to forget first
of all that they
only provide us
with the illusion
of closeness, a

simulation of
it, and that they
affect the ways
we interact with
our physical
realities. In other
words, these flat
representations
actually change our
3d reality. This
thesis is trying
to explore how far
we are willing to
go into distorting
our physical
environment to fit
with the language
and aesthetics of
our two-dimensional
displays.

<n.>

1. Something that
deceives by producing a false
or misleading impression of
reality.
2. The state or condition
of being deceived;
misapprehension.
3. An instance of being
deceived.
4. Psychology. a perception,
as of visual stimuli (optical
illusion) that represents
what is perceived in a way
different from the way it is
in reality.
5. a very thin, delicate
tulle of silk or nylon having
a cobwebbed appearance, for
trimmings, veilings, and the
like.
6.Obsolete. the act of
deceiving; deception;
delusion.

Today, coupled with a computer, the screen is

rapidly becoming the main means of accessing any
kind of information, be it still images, moving
images or text. We are already using it to read the
daily newspaper, to watch movies, to communicate
with coworkers, relatives and friends, and, most
importantly, to work (the screens of airline
agents, data entry clerks, secretaries, engineers,
doctors, pilots, etc.; the screens of ATM machines,
supermarket checkouts, automobile control panels,
and, of course, the screens of computers.)

14

We may debate whether our society is a society

of spectacle or of simulation, but, undoubtedly,
it is the society of a screen. What are the
different stages of the screens history? What
are the relationships between the physical space
where the viewer is located, his/her body, and the
screen space? What are the ways in which computer
displays both continue and challenge the tradition
of a screen?

14

51

51

Manovich, Lev. An archeology of a computer screen. Kunstforum

International (1995): 1-15.

16

chapter 2

71

16

71

My personal fascination with the notion

define as a fragmented family, which means that

of family stems from being raised in one.

we dont physically occupy the same space anymore.

My family consisted of me, my sister and my

Our communication as a family, which used to occur

parents living on the first floor, my uncle,

over food, now solely depends on Skype.

my aunt and my cousins living on the ground

floor and my grandparents living on the second

The case of my family reflects on an

floor. In other words, the definition of an

issue that is not uncommon today, namely that of

extended family living together under the

families that are no longer occupying the same

same roof. This co-habitation involved the

space but consist of people that are separated

sharing of common rituals, whether that of

through physical distance. The archetypical

eating together, playing music and games,

nuclear family of the 50s is no longer the case

or sometimes just occupying the same space

for most families as they become increasingly

without interacting with each other. When I

mobile and scattered across the globe due to work,

left home for my studies, my father left for

socio-economic crises, study or other obligations.

the United States with my sister while my

mother, grandmother, uncle, aunt and cousins
stayed back in Greece. Now we are what I would

The
intraEurope
migrants

The idea of <family
for many is not bound
around the idea of one
domestic> environment
anymore. As the new
transnational families
find new ways of using
a variety of media to
stay connected, these
same media change the
way that the familial
relationships and
rituals are enacted and
experienced.

18

18

generation
<The
transnational
family>

stands
for
Expat,
Erasmus,
Exilium,
Exodus,
Escape

91

Tr a n s n a t i o n a l Fa m i l y
Diversity

there are subcategories

or family structures,
including but not limited
to the following:
a.The father
breadmaker that migrates
to earn money and send it
back to his family.
b. Couples that
migrate together and
leave children behind in
the care of grandparents
or other family members.
c. Single mother
that migrates with or
without children to earn
money.

Life Stage:


Young couples with
no children. In this
case they either migrate
together or seperately.
If the former is true
they use communication
mediums, like Skype, to
communicate with their
families and friends in
their home countries.
If the latter is true,
they belong in the longdistance relationship
category.

Life Stage:


Adults with
children. In this case

Life Stage:

Middle-aged
adults with older,
adult children. In this
case the most common

91

pattern is that these

adults have to take
care simultaneously for
adolescent children,
adult children,
grandchildren and needy
elderly parents and are
trying to split their
care and time across time
and space.
/// <Source>


Madianou, Mirca, and
Daniel Miller. Migration and
New Media: Transnational
Families and Polymedia.
Abingdon, Oxon: Routledge,
2012. Print.

20

12

20

12

The
archetypical
nuclear
family of
the 50s is no
longer the
case
For most
families as they become
increasingly mobile and
scattered across the
globe due to work, socioeconomic crises, study
or other obligations.
Caroline Haythornthwaite,
director and professor
at The iSchool at The
University of British

Columbia predicts a
future where, The most
significant impact will
be on the ability to
maintain work, socialize,
family connections across
distances (Anderson
Digital Life in 2025).
However, most people
are still sappy family
romantics. As Natalie
Angier explains, When
an informal sample of 52
Americans of different
ages, professions and
hometowns were asked
the first thought that
came to mind on hearing
the word family, the
answers varied hardly
at all. Love! Kids! Mom!
Dinner! (The Changing
American Family, New York
Times). The collective
image of the perfect
family, as it seems, is
still that of Norman
Rockwells Thanksgiving

canvas even if it could

not be further from the
reality of the modern
family. Very often having
dinner together is still
the <representation>
of the united family
ideal and the dining
table is being marketed
as the symbol of this
unbreakable familial
nucleus. But just how
realistic is it today?
/// <Source>


Angier, Natalie. The
Changing American Family. New
York Times 25 Nov. 2013. Web.
15 Nov. 2014.

Anderson, Janna, and
Lee Rainie. Digital Life in
2025. Pew Research Center.
Pew Research Center, 1 Mar.
2014. Web. 1 Nov. 2014.

22

32

22

32

The
archetypical
family meal
and its
transformation.

24

24

52

52

/// </commensality and its

role in family building>

Commensality is the
practice of sharing food
and eating together in
a social group such as
a family. Universally,
commensality is
central to defining and
sustaining the family
as a social unit. In
ancient Greece, for
example, oikos (family)
was stipulated as those
who feed together
(Lacey, 1968, p. 15).
Invoking spirits
of ancestors in the
consumption of food
is common across many
societies, where
children and other
family members are
enjoined to partake
of food as a means
of reinforcing the
continuity of the
family (Bloch, 1985;

Feeley-Harnik, 1994;
Watson, 1987).
/// <Source>

Watson, J. (1987). From the
common pot: Feasting with
equals in Chinese society.
Anthropos, 82, 389401.

Feeley-Harnik, G.
(1994). The Lords table:
The meaning of food in
early Judaism and
Christianity. Washington,
DC: Smithsonian Institution

Press.

Bloch, M. (1985).
Almost eating the
ancestors. Man, 20(4),
631646.
Lacey, W. K. The family in
classical Greece. Ithaca,
NY: Cornell University
Press. 1968.

26

26

Skype
Dinners

72

72

As creatures of
habit we always
have the impulse
to recreate
the original
experience,
even through
a different
medium.

28

92

28

92

30

chapter 3

13

30

13

As I mentioned in chapter one

flatness, one perspective, reflected image,

designers that work in the theme of mediated

pixelization). But this are all inherent aspects

communication usually have to chose between

of how a camera sees and how a screen displays

working with the screen or working with the

the image, they are thus integral to the specific

notion of peripheral awareness. While I see

medium. Why then not use that as an inspiration of

a lot of potential in the design field of

design?

ambient/peripheral awareness I chose not to

take this direction for two reasons.

1. For the purpose of this thesis I

chose to work with the technology that we

already have at hand instead of incorporating
even more technology. Thus our existing
devices, are my starting point, and of course
they all feature a screen.

2. When communicating with others

through the screen, people are usually

frustrated by its limitations (framing,

<Penny Webb-Separate

///<The always on experiment with Skype>

Togetherness>

A series of
connected objects
that create an ambient
awareness of someones
presence when not
physically there through
subtle changes, such
as change in colour
and light intensity.
<It is evident that people
that design for peripheral
awareness are willingly not
incorporating screens but
instead give other cues of
presence.>

32

33

32

33
<Test #1>
/// </Insights>

The outcome of
this experiment was the
realization that you can
feel the ambient presence
of someone and get the
feeling of sharing the
same space even by not
directly interacting
with each other.
However, besides just
confirming my hypothesis,
it also revealed that
auditory cues become
more important in this
scenario as they provide
signals of presence. The
visual cues are limited
to glimpsing into the
remote location to see if
the person is there or
not, which might at times

be more distracting.
However, the experiment
did not provide
satisfying results
that could direct the
research towards a design
proposal. My personal
coclusion from the try
out was that it was as
if Skype transformed
into a monitoring device
that could record
everything I was doing.
The visual monitoring of
the camera was the most
intrusive. Furthermore,
I decided not to go on
with the experiments
on ambient awareness as
there was no feeling of
sharing an experience
together, which is what
this thesis is trying
to explore. The idea of
common involvement in
a ritualized way was
absent.

Total time: 9 hours

///<Sound: cues of presence>

///<Visual: cues of presence>

<Non-verbal>

<Glimpses>

My mother coughing

While we both used the laptop

Footsteps

While she performed other activities

Door closing

While the room was empty

My father playing the guitar

While she was eating breakfast

Chewing

At 2pm, a shirt was laid on the chair

<Verbal>

<Focused>

Chattering

Actively engaging and reading her

Asking a question (initiates

facial expressions when talking to

conversation)

me.
My dad waving at me

34

visual

34

My granny
is flat,
body-less,
pixelized
and lives
inside a
screen.

/// </summary>
<Getting increasingly used
to digital representations
of our family members and
of their physical worlds
we start becoming more
accustomed to their digital
presence rather than their
real one>. This became

apparent to me, when I

saw my father after 2
years of being separated.
My first reaction was
uncomfortable, an uncanny
feeling of being more at
ease with his digital
representation rather
than with the physical
being. The digital
version was under my
control, I could be
available, away, or even
invisible. The physical
version was immediate and
inescapable.

53

closeness
<The screen is inherently
visual>
/// <Visual closeness.
togetherness?-an illusion?>

Screen-mediated
connection is inherently
based on vision, which
one could say is not
enough to have the
illusion of being with
someone or experiencing
something with a remote
member. However, for the
majority of people just
the idea of being able
to see their relatives
through Skype makes
them more willing to
accommodate distance
in their personal
relationships (Brubaker,
Venolia, Tang, 2012,
p. 5). Visual stimuli
is without question

not enough for a human

to human connection
but as it seems we are
getting more accustomed
to experiencing our
relationships as visual
representations of the
real thing.
///<source>
J. Brubaker, G. Venolia, and
J. Tang. 2012. Focusing on
shared experiences: moving
beyond the camera in video
communication. In Proceedings
of DIS. ACM, New York, NY.

53

The screen
is inherently
visual so the
design method
is naturally
inspired by the
visual arts.

36

<And more
specifically by the
illusionism movement...>

We are so
accustomed to our
screens that we are not
even paying attention
to them. Most of the
times we dont realize
how these interfaces
mediate almost all
of our intimate
interactions. What I
propose in this thesis

is the design of objects

that are distorted using
perspectival distortion
techniques traditionally
found in paintings. I
am using painting as a
reference, throughout
the design process,
because it is the
predecesor of the screen
in many ways. It is
one of the first forms
of virtuality, a sort
of window to another

separated members
of a group (Buxton,
p.6). Presence
research, however,
typically fails to
integrate aesthetic
techniques and methods
that can be drawn
from architecture,
design and related
visual practices,
like painting. As
Charlie Gullstrm, an
architect and presence
designer, explains the
presence designers
focus is on refining
the combination of
spatial and technical
design that facilitates
mediated interaction.
Thus it is not about
the design of the
technology or of the
physical alone, but
rather the design for
bridging the digital
with the physical. It
was with that in mind
that the Last Supper of

Leonardo Da Vinci was

created. The setting
of the painting is
the refectory of the
monastery in Santa
Maria delle Grazie,
where the monks dined
together every day.
The perspective of the
painting, the height
from the refectorys
floor as well as
details (like lighting)
all are intentionally
tweaked by Da Vinci to
maximaze the illusion
that the painting is
a continuation of the
physical space of the
refectory (Landrus,
2007). Throughout
history, a broad range
of practitioners
architects, artists,
writers and filmmakers
have contributed hybrid
design artefacts from a
juxtaposition of real
space and virtual
space: resulting

world. In addition,
artists used a variety
of perspective tricks
in painting to achieve
different results.
One of them was to
create the illusion
that the virtual space
of the painting is a
continuation of the
physical space where
the viewer is standing.
In that sense,
painters that were
using these illusiontrickery were the first
presence designers,
a field of design
that developed only
recently to address our
increasingly screenmediated interactions.
Tele-presence design
is defined by William
Buxton as the use
of technology to
establish a sense
of shared presence
or shared space
among geographically

/// </summary>

The Last Supper painting covers one wall of an oblong
hall which used to be the refectory of the monks in the
monastery of Santa Maria delle Grazie. With regard to his
use of perspective, Leonardo Da Vinci, was successful in
employing it to create an extension of the refectory and
thus provide an *<illusionism> effect, the feeling that the
hierarchically superior monks were eating at the same table
with Jesus (the feeling that they were seating across the
table from Christ, achieved by means of spatial alignment).
/// <Source>
{

Landrus, Matthew. The Proportions of Leonardos Last Supper.

Raccolta Vinciana 32 (2007): 43-100. Print.
}
*<illusionism> in art history means either the artistic

tradition in which artists create a work of art that appears

to share the physical space with the viewer.

73

36

73
in what we call
mediated spaces.
Arguably, these are
all extensions of
our physical space.
Because, as David
Summers explains, as
we encounter a virtual
space, we always find
ourselves inside a real
space, which is the
space we share with
other people and things
(Summers 2003, p.43)
/// <Source>


Gullstrm, Charlie.
Design frictions. AI &
society 27.1 (2012): 91110.

Summers D (2003)
Real spaces. Phaidon, New
York

Buxton, W. (1992).
Telepresence: integrating
shared task and person
spaces. Proceedings of
Graphics Interface. 92,
123-129.

But what
is a virtual
space?
///<Whether a frescoed
wall, a cave mural, a
digital projection or
an Italian Renaissance
perspective, virtual spaces
are representations of
space that we encounter
on a surface>. We may find

ourselves immersed, by
looking onto a surface in
order to explore a threedimensional reality, a vast
panorama, a furious battle, a
relative that is miles away
or the fictional space of a
book.

<The last supper>

Leonardo Da Vinci
Located in Santa Maria delle
Grazie

Pablo
Picasso
(1881-1973).
Seated Woman
with Wrist
Watch, 1932.

The
screen
is a
pervasive
medium.

38

38

/// </summary>

An interviewer once asked Pablo Picasso

why he paints such strange pictures
instead of painting things the way they are.

Picasso asks the man what he means.

The man then takes out a photograph

from his wallet and says, This is my wife!
Picasso looks at the photo and then says:
isnt she rather short and flat?

/// <Source>
{

Mensvoort, Van. Next Nature. NextNaturenet Exploring

the Nature Caused by People RSS. 13 Apr. 2009. Web. 1 Mar.
2015.
}

representation

Marshall McLuhan

personal, political,

but to what extent is

famously declared that

economic, aesthetic,

that true? The medium

the medium is the

psychological, moral,

has very specific

message/ massage.

ethical, and social

characteristics which,

In other words, the

consequences that they

even if seemingly

medium is directing

leave no part of us

disappear, they play

the way the message is

untouched, unaffected,

an important role in

communicated and thus

unaltered. (McLuhan,

how we perceive the

it is as important if

1967, p. 26)

message.

not more important

than the message in

Brubaker

itself. By also stating

, Venolia

that the medium is

Tang

the massage, he

proposition and claim

explicitly argues that

that People experience

each medium has its

less self-consciousness

ways of massaging

when using video

us, making us feel

communication as they

comfortable using it,

become more accustomed

but he already claimed

to the medium. (2012,

years ago that All

p.3)

media work us over

completely. They are

the feeling that the

so pervasive in their

medium disappears

and

revisit this

We sometimes get

93
family was the family
picture around the dinner
table. For transnational
families, Clang suggests a
alternative, a projection
of the remote person
directly in the real space

///<source>

J. Brubaker, G.
Venolia, and J. Tang.
2012. Focusing on shared
experiences: moving
beyond the camera in
video communication. In
Proceedings of DIS. ACM, New
York, NY.

McLuhan, Marshall,
Quentin Fiore, and Jerome
Agel. The Medium Is the
Massage. New York: Bantam
Books, 1967. Print.

93

for achieving what he calls

the impossible family
portrait. By doing that
he proposes an analysis
of the dynamics and images
<Family Matters, john
Clang>

that define family and how

it functions in relation
to its representation. His

/// </summary>

exhibition is a reflection
on what a family portrait

Until recently

means and new ways in which

the most common

it can be possible for

representation of the

remote family members.

We end
up trying
to nourish
ourselves
on images.

1.

(Pollan, Cooked, 3-10, Kindle Edition)

40

40

14

As our connections to others

14

become more mediated through the

screen and thus focused a lot on
the visual, our relationship to
food is also becoming more visual
than ever. Of course there is
always the visual aspect of food
whether that is a Flemmish still
life painting or the precise
placement and presentation of the

2.

food on the plate, we increasingly

consume images of perfect looking
foods on instagram and blogs,

less; they begin to consume food

as gastronomic voyeurism (image

could watch them. This is an

we take eating selfies and

as entertainment in the form of

1,2). The initiator of this idea

interesting case partly because

obsess over cooking shows. In

images more and more. Pollan

was a Korean woman who started

of how the screen has permeated

the Introduction to his most

fears that food as a substance is

broadcasting herself while eating.

in all the aspects of the way

recent book, Cooked: A Natural

gradually being filtered down to

She invited people to subscribe

we dine as well as because it

History of Transformation, Michael

an abstraction, becoming merely a

to her channel and pay in virtual

introduces the idea of food and

Pollan laments the deteriorating

powerless image.

currency to watch her while

sharing a meal as a kind of

enjoying her meal. This trend then

visual spectacle, where there is

relationship between food and

the consumer. He recognizes a

A parallel trend that has

expanded to include whole families

a performer and an audience and

curious paradox in contemporary

developed in korea during the

broadcasting their family dinner

the two do not directly interact

culture, as people cook less and

last year is what is described

to the internet so that others

with each other.

42

34

42

34

44

chapter 4

54

44

54
<Continuity of Space and Time>

that the virtual space of the painting is a

continuation of the physical space where the

In order to feel like you are actually

viewer is standing.

The most prominent technique

sharing an experience with someone there is

was perspectival distortion in the painting to

the need for space and temporal continuity.

match the perspactive of the viewer and that

The former is primarily visual and can be

of the physical space. In that sense, painters

achieved by manipulating the surrounding

that

environment and objects. The latter is

the first presence designers, a field of design

harder to pin down. It refers to shared time

that developed only recently to address our

and is inherently hard to achieve across

increasingly screen-mediated interactions.

different time zones. While the research

briefly explores the notion and constraints

of temporal continuity and dis-continuity,

surroundings to accomodate the screen and our new

it will primarily focus on the idea of space

mediated rituals of communication?

continuity.

Artists used a variety of perspective

tricks in painting to achieve the illusion

were using these illusion-trickery were

In what ways are we changing our physical

/// </The physical changes

with the introduction of
the screen>

We manipulate
our physical
surroundings in
several ways to make
them fit with our
display screens. By
aligning our physical
world to the screen
we are achieving
an illusion of
continuity from the
physical world, to
the digital one. The
space in-between the
digital and the real
is called mediated
space, which it is
the main context of
this thesis. Take
for example, the
introduction of the
TV and how it has been
accommodated into the

living rooms of so
many people during
the past years. The
quality of the living
room itself changed
dramatically with the
introduction of the
screen. Along with
the TV, came the Tv
dinner trays of the
70s, an adaptation of
the traditional dinner
at the table. It is
becoming clear that
we are calibrating
ourselves, aligning
our furniture and
changing our rituals
to accommodate the
screen.

<Home mutations and the screenThe TV and the living room>

With the
introduction of the TV,
one of the first screens
to enter peoples home
at a large scale, came
the re-arrangement of
the furniture to fit
the positioning of the
screen.Our living rooms,
bedrooms and kitchens (the
physical manifestations
of the home) changed to
accommodate the TV.

46

46

74

74

<Cisco telepresence solutions

and spatial alignment>

Cisco uses
techniques of space and
object alignment to create
a sense of continuity
between the two locations.
The surrounding space as
well as the round table
and the chairs are exact
copies of each other,
so it becomes in a sense
one space cut in half.
The trick is used to
achieve the illusion that
the virtual space of the
screen is a continuation
of the physical space of
the meeting room. And
they achieve a quite
astonishing result
of depth for a two-

dimensional display. In
this sense, the method
that cisco is using is
very similar to the skewed
perspective technique
of Leonardo Da Vinci in
the Last Supper painting
(analyzed in p.31). Both
the technique and the
goal in both cases are
to minimize the friction
between the physicality
of the space that our
bodies occupy and the flat
representation of another
space on the screen.
The design experiments
that follow are inspired
by these techniques of
spatial alignment but
reconfigured to fit our
personal devices and the
intimate ritual of sharing
food with friends and
family.

Space

rather than an actual

the design research.

continuity

space. Concidering

The first design

that according to

proposal focused on

Brubaker, Venolia and

aligning the spaces at

Tang shared visual

two different scales.

context creates a

The scale of the

sense of co-presence

interior and that of

someone on Skype we

(2012, p.8) there

the table-plate.

have a limited view of

is the potential of

their interior space

enhancing the feeling

(framed according to

of togetherness

the device and the

just by spatialy and

aspect ratio of the

visually aligning the

application and only

spaces. The attempt

from the one-point

to create spatial

perspective of the

continuity between

camera). Usually we

the physical and the

perceive the interior

virtual was at the

more as a backdrop

beginning the goal of

<The background>
///

When we talk to

///<source>

J. Brubaker, G.
Venolia, and J. Tang.
2012. Focusing on shared
experiences: moving
beyond the camera in
video communication. In
Proceedings of DIS. ACM,
New York, NY.

48

94

48

94

<A Point of
View, Tal Erez>

<Ina Hollmann,
Living chair>

Propjects are
objects that
exist purely
to represent
ourselves on
camera.

(working
from home
using Skype).
Perspective and
frame of the
screen. 2014

Design

Iteration

<space

continuity>

<the background>

50

15

50

15

User 1
<At the
office>

The green
screen means
your simulated
self can be
anywhere, so
you can be
anywhere you
want.
An experiment using a green
screen as a background for
Skype where user 1 can apply
the image of the interior of
the User 2 and vice versa as a
way of matching the two spaces
and creating a surrounding
continuity.

Actual physical space

where User 1 is located

52

52

Match the
space of
the other
person

as a physical three-

his/her environment.

dimensional space.

Other than technical

difficulties, the most

When we talk to

/// <Test #1>

</Insights>

Some of the

someone on Skype we have insights from this

a limited view of their

experiment was that

interior space (framed

it significantly

according to the device

increased the spatial

and the aspect ratio

continuity of the two

of the application and

locations but because

only viewed from the

the backdrops were

one-point perspective

quite complex, it

of the camera. In

bacame very hard to

our screen mediated

align the image on

interactions we perceive the screen with the

the interior more as

actual physical view

a backdrop rather than

that the person had of

Digitally applied image

to match the space of
User 2

User 2
<At home>

prominent insight from

this test was that the
screen really allows
us to play around and
be anywhere we want.
We can manipulate our
simulation and really
pretend that we are in
another place than the
one where our physical
body is located. This
idea of wonder and
playful deception
is what I want to
carry into the design
proposal.

Actual physical space
where User 2 is located

Digitally applied image

to match the space of
User 1

35

35

Design

Iteration

<space

continuity>

<the plate>

54

55

54

55

<Object mutations and the

screen-TV Dinner Trays>

For at least a
while, many American
families tried to carry
the tradition of the
formal dining table with
them into the living room,
most often in the form of
collapsible TV trays.
Throughout the 1960s and
much of the 70s, you
couldnt go into a home
without finding at least
one set of four metal TV
trays.

What if our
physical
things
changed to
work with
the screen?

Or to make us feel as
if we are sharing food from
the same plate with a loved
one through a screen? <How
would our physical world change
for the illusion of closeness
to work through the screen>?
Finally how far are we
willing to go to keep our most

intimate traditions, like

the family meal, untouched
and <deceive ourselves that
nothing has changed despite
the distance>?
///<The Screen
Reflects Things>
The older versions of Skype
as well as self-recording
software, like photobooth
reflect the image. That means
that <in order to create the
illusion of actually being
connected in space then the
two parts of the artefact have
to be reflected so that when
they come together through a
screen they become whole, a
half digital- half physical
plate.>

56

75

56

75

di
ca sta
to lc nc
th wo ula e x
e
:
r t
ca k w ed
me it
ra h

58

95

58

95
<The plate and the setting>
/// </Design Iteration #1>

The <common plate>

is in many cultures the
sign of an intimate
relationship, <how will
this relationship and the
artefacts that support
it change to fit our new
screen-based interactions?>
The plate is now cut in
two and reflected. In
order for the illusion
to work each diner has
to have a system of
objects, but the size
and configuration would
depend on their laptop
model, brand and software
version.

height z:
calculated
to work with
the camera

/// <Test #1>

</Insights>

60

<1>

At the scale of
the plate the experiment
was the most successful.
The illusion of sharing
from the same plate was
enhancing the feeling
of co-presence during
the meal. However, the
methodology of breaking
something in two and
reflecting it did not
work as well with the
scale of the table or
with other objects
on the table, such as
glasses, utensils etc.
This was because there
are some things that we
are willing to share
(e.g main course)and
some others (the food on
our plate, our beverage,
our utensils) that

belong to our intimate

space.
<2>

The illusion
has to be at different
levels and scales to
be more effective.
For example sharing
the exact same food is
an intimate act that
physically connects
people and many people
that have digitally
mediated dinners arrange
so that they prepare
the same food with their
remote family. How is
the food itself going
to change to work with
our screen mediated
interactions? Is it
going to be mutated,
glitched, pixelated or
flat? what happens when
the image of the food is
more important than its
consumption?

16

60

16

<3>

The next design
iteration will have to
take into consideration
other methods of
designing for screenmediated rituals. All of
these techniques, like
the one illustrated in
this experiment have to
be inspired by the way
that the camera sees
and in turn the screen
displays an image of the
three-dimensional world.

<4>

This proposal
started from the
basic premise that the
design would need to
enhance the feeling of
togetherness in the two
users (get the illusion
that they are sharing
from the same plate)
however, this is not in
line with the main goal
of this research, which
is stated in chapter 1.
Thus this experiment was
important as a prototype
of a methodology and not
as a result in its own.
While this experiment
could lead to a series
of diverse outcomes,
ranging from commercial
to the utterly anectodal
what interests me the
most is: <1> the method
of designing something
with the screen as a

tool and

<2> the new
hybrid forms that
arise, which point to
a new kind of Darwinian
theory of evolution.
More specifically, one
that revolves around
the calibration of
our physical worlds
to our ever-changing
screen-based media and
devices. The fittest
objects then that will
survive in the future
are the ones that work
better with our screenmediated experiences
(seen through the
screen),rather than
with our physical
interactions (experience
of physical space).

<Design Iteration #2>

/// </summary>

Testing with other

materials and trying it
out with real food.

62

36

62

36

<Design Iteration #2>

/// <test>

64

56

64

56
<Test #2>
/// </Insights>

The most important
insight from the test of
this design iteration was
the realization that the
element of playfulness is
crucial. The amount of
work and attention that
the set-up requires was
counter-balanced by the
playful character of cocreating the illusion
of sharing out of the
same plate. At the end
it was about attacking
the common plate and
pretending that you are
stealing food from the
remote person rather
than cooperating on the
sharing part. This was
very interesting to me
as it introduced the
idea of mild friction in

an experience that was

probably too focused on
the sharing part. The
aspect of playfulness,
excitement and wonder
has to be designed into
the final proposal.
Another insight was that
the set-up was succesful
because of the balance
between familiarity and
strangeness. This is
also something that
the final proposal
should communicate. The
object should reference
something very familiar
(in this case a plate)
but the setting up of
the whole structure and
the awkward choreography
(that is born out of an
attempt from both parts
to synchronize their
movements) makes it
uncanny.

What if our
food was
mutated
distorted to
reveal the
illusional
nature of
the screen?

///<How far are we willing

to go?>
Would we mutate our food
to convince ourselves
that we are sharing the
same meal?

Fruit
grower, Ken
Morrish
found this

<mutated
apple split
in two>.

66

76

66

76

<The Cosmopolitan Chicken

Project>
Artist Koen Vanmechelen is
cross-breeding chickens from
different parts of the worlds
for the past years. His art
is talking about symbiosis but
also about duality, as in the
last picture on this page.
The chicken in this photo is
split in two, much like our
screen-mediated connections
are splitting the space and
the shared objects in two. The
line that splits the chicken
in two identifiable halves not
only separates two countries
but also brings them together
into one hybrid new form.

68

96

68

96

<Or would we
consume global
food brands to
feel as if we are
consuming the
same substance,
like when we
traditionally
shared the Sunday
roast?>

70

17

70

17

///<Local Food hype

in a global, hyperconnected world>

Consuming the
same substance, from
a common vessels, is
an important intimacy
signifier. For some
cultures sharing from
the same platter
is crucial in the
creation of social
bonds and hierarchies
(eg Ethiopia). Other
cultures, especially
in the east, focus on
sharing from multiple
smaller common
platters (mezedes).
In the case of
religious rituals,
and especially in
Christianity, the

substances offered to
the people, namely
wine and bread,
acquire a symbolic
value. The ritual
involves a procedure
where everyone drinks
the wine from the
same cup, and thus
the group becomes
connected both at
a symbolic and at a
physical level.
Another
interesting thing to
note in this divide
is the fact that as
our technologies
allow us to feel more
and more globally
hyper-connected we
begin to strive for
locality in our food.
As Deborah Arthurs

beautifully puts it:

Homegrown,
homemade, free-range,
foraged or farmers
market is in. If
you picked it from
your garden, rescued
it from the road
or unearthed it in
the woods, you win.
Where it was once
the done thing to
boast about how far
your ingredients have
travelled, now air
miles is a dirty
word.

The more local
or specific you can
be, the better.

A banger
is not a banger,
its a Hand-Reared
Organic Free-Range
Gloucester Old Spot

<breakfast
ingredients>

Take advantage
of the brands
that are
globally
available. The
most generic the
better.

72

37

72

37
sausage. And dinner
party pros would
never be as gauche
as to serve meat or
fish on a bed of
anything, rice, rocket
or otherwise. Now its
all about listing the
ingredients in their
purest form.

The new local
food hype and social
dining platforms are
not a coincidence
but a deep need for
connection at a more
intimate and physical
level. In this on/
off state that we
live in (where on
is our hyper connected
existence and off
is our physical
experience), how can

social design address

the needs of our two
conflicting selves
within the context
of family rituals and
more specifically,
that of the shared
meal?
/// <Source>


Arthurs, Deborah.
Kipper Ties, Polyester
Flares and Bad Facial
Hair: Hilarious Photos
Reveal Dodgy Dinner Party
Style of the Seventies
(but, Actually, the Food
Is Well worth a Re-heat).
Mail Online 23 Oct. 2013.
Mail Online. Web. 16 Nov.
2014.

Te m p o r a l
continuity
<Different time
zones and the
sharing of the
meal>

In many
communities,
commensality involves
eating together at the
same time. For at
least the past three
decades, the ideal in
the United States
and Western Europe
has been for family
members to come
together for the
evening meal(E. Ochs
and M. Shohet, 2006,
p.37). However,
the new reality of

fragmented families,
scattered across
different time-zones
means that sharing
a time-specific
experience becomes
very hard to achieve.

element was used to

record the meal of
location 1 (Eindhoven,
NL) and then 6 hours
later playback the
video in location 2
(Tampa, FL).

One experiment
that was part of
trying to achieve
temporal continuity
included recording
video at a specific
time in one location
and then playing
this video when the
time was correct in
the second location.
In a way, the
experiment was trying
to synchronize, two
remote locations
during the meal hours.

Skype allows
you to record a video
message, so that

The sacrifice
of course was that the
video is pre-recorded
so interaction is
absent.

<TimeFrame, by Max
Mollon>

A delayed skype
that resynchronises

your day time when

living in two far
countries. The design

records video from

both locations and
then synchronizes
the recorded video.
It is intentionally
a design that makes
people reflect on what
is the most important,
time synchronization
or actually having
a conversation ?
Questioning the illusion
of living together.

///<source>
Ochs, Elinor, and Merav
Shohet. The cultural
structuring of mealtime
socialization. New
Directions for child and
adolescent development
2006.111 (2006): 35-49.

74

57

74

57

/// <Test #1>

</Insights>

19:57 pm

19:57 pm

20:12 pm

20:12 pm

20:14 pm

20:14 pm

The sense of
peripheral awareness
was not enough for the
feeling of co-presence
in this case.

The fact that
the video was prerecorded gives both
sides the opportunity
to edit the image
(also behaviour) that
they want to project
towards their remote
family. For example my
remote family members
asked me whether I
wanted them to sit
in a specific way,
use a particular
etiquette or talk
about something in
specific. When I asked
them to share a meal
like they normally
would, they said
laughing then your
mother would eat in

front of the computer,

your grandfather in
front of the TV, your
grandmother at the
kitchen table and me
(father) directly
from the pot. That
exemplified how
eating routines can
vary for different
members of the family
but also how even
individually almost
everyone was eating
in front of a screen,
even when physically
occupying the same
space. It was rather
interesting that my
family questioned my
assumption of them
eating together.

The experiment
didnt create a
sense of shared
experience, it was
more a spectator-stage

relationship. However,
the interesting part
was that you are
simultaneously both
the spectator and
the actor. In fact,
rather than feeling
more connected, both
sides agreed that
we felt more alone.
are by yourself,
talking to a screen
which intensifies the
feeling of being alone
and disconnected.

As the
research was getting
very complex the
decision was taken
at this point not to
incorporate both the
aspect of time and
space but focus on the
latter.

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chapter 5

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This part is dedicated to the killed

darlings. These are the experiments that

didnt lead to new insights that were able
to

push the research forward. However, they

are crucial contributors to the design and

research process and as such they deserve to
be mentioned.

How could
we feed
someone
or be fed
through a
screen?
<smart-phone
accessories>

Feeding
<Feeding, nursing and
the soft container>

Around the
world, feeding
is the symbol of
extreme intimacy.
From the mother-child
relationship all
the way to romantic
relationships, feeding
each other is tightly
linked with ideas
of care and love.
However, feeding can
also be associated
with domination and

power relationships,
and thus can be quite
intrusive.

In this
experiment, the main
question is
how can we design a
critical object that
reflects both on our
relationship with the
screen (the smartphone screen being the
most intimate to us)
and look at how our
most intimate gestures
around food, in this
case feeding, could
be reinvented to work
with our devices, as
the new caretakers
and dominators of our
digital lives.

I decided not
to go on with this
idea for this thesis
as it was more of a
gimmick. However, some
interesting questions

were raised about

the nature of our
intimate relationships
with our phones so
that they take on new
roles, traditionally
associated with
people who care for
us. Furthermore,
some people mentioned
the new relationship
between mothers and
children, which is
increasingly mediated
by the screen. Thus
I am convinced that
this project could
grow and include more
experiments but for
now it is

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How could
we feed
someone
or be fed
through a
screen?
<smartphone
accessories 2>

The second
experiment with
feeding through a
device was focused
on how our eating is
becoming increasingly
visual and mediated by
the screen. Inspired
by people uploading
pictures of them
eating (the so called
eating selfies) on
Instagram and other
social media platforms

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80

food becomes an
expression of selfrepresentation, the
image that we want to
project on the screen.

Also, a bit
of a gimmick, the
outcome is a series
of forks and spoons
that can be attached
on the persons smartphone to facilitate
the process of taking
selfies while eating.
This series of eating
utensils could also
be expanded to be
used while sharing an
intimate meal with a
person that you are
close with.

As with the
previous experiment, I
decided that this was
moving the thesis into
an other direction,
one that was moving
towards ideas of selfrepresentation and

food in our screenmediated interactions.

This could end up
becoming extremely
complex, so I decided
to focus on the
element of deception
and the way the
screen distorts our
interactions with our
physical environment.

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18

82

38

82

38

What
are the
frictions
that arise
when
sharing
food?
<future frictions
are going to be
mediated>

Sharing a meal
is not only about the
sweet caring part,
it is also about the
friction that arises
when people have to
share resources.
Conversations like
why did you finish
all the coffee again?
or why is the milk

carton empty in the

fridge are normal
and interesting and
confront the more
real side of human
relationships.

This was a brief
exploration of how
these small everyday
frictions could be
introduced back again
to families that are
separated by distance.
The design proposal
would include a series
of connected objects
that would exaggerate
the frictions of
sharing.

From the
beginning of this
thesis my goal was
not to incorporate
more technology
but rather to use
the devices that
we already have, so
this exploration was
going in a direction

that was much more

technologically based
than I would like it
to be.

Thus I decided
to stick with my
premises and not
continue with this
idea, however the
visualization of these
friction scenarios was
quite interesting to
not include it in the
thesis.

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chapter 6

58

84

58

The goal of this last part is bringing

(Gavin, 2015). If the medium is the message

together the conclusions from the experiments

then why do designers ignore it so much? McLuhan

and the theory and refining the design

also warns us several years ago that The hidden

proposal. The most important insight from

aspects of the media are the things that should

a combination of theory and hands-on tests

be taught. Because they have an irresistible

was the realization that the screen has its

force when invisible. When these factors remain

very own way of seeing the world, and frankly

ignored, remain invisible, they have an absolute

it is quite limited. As Francesca Gavin

power over the user. (McLuhan, 1977). In other

points out, we need to examine the screen

words, what would happen if the design was shaped

as an interface and as a physical object in

by the medium itself so as to achieve both of the

space and not only focus on the content. She

statements mentioned above. Firstly, point back to

explains Many theorists have focused on the

the medium and its qualities and secondly, unveil

content of the screen-the ideas around the

the aspects that are invisible.

network and the effect of technology on our

psychology, actions and thinking. Yet, there
is very little discussion about the black
void-like rectangles we stare into so much.

/// <Source>

McLuhan, Marshall. The Medium Is The Message |

Transcription. vialogue. N.p., 2013. Web. 12 Mar.
2015.

Gavin, Francesca. Watch this space. Screen on/

No screen, Strijp Biennale. Klokgebouw, Eindhoven,
NL. 26 March 2015.

Design Proposal
<Using the language of the

research thus concludes in a new

confronts us with the question

screen to redesign the ritual

design methodology that puts

what happens when the two

artifacts of the familial meal>

the medium (in this case the

dimensional representation

screen) at its core. While many

becomes more important than

At some point I realized that

analyze the message/ content,

the three-dimensional physical

the most interesting for me is

only a few look at how the

experience?

not trying to achieve time and

interface affects our physical

space continuity between two

realities. And as the screen

locations. This is a subject

becomes increasingly pervasive

that is extensively studied

it disappears even more into

by presence and mediated

the mundane. But the magical

interaction designers. What

qualities of it are there to be

I saw the most potential in,

resurfaced and it is urgent for

and was partly inspired by the

designers to do so because the

skype mutations experiments, was

screen should not be overlooked

instead a new design language

, especially when it mediates

that reveals the new ways we

almost all of our experiences,

perceive things and others in

relationships and rituals.

86

mediated interactions. The

86

Design Method

The design proposal

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78

<Using perspective distortion

other. As I mentioned earlier, I

systems, is usually considered

(anamorphosis) to make tableware

noticed the tendency of people

as a limitation. However,

that has as a primary function

to become more accustomed to

instead of focusing the research

to look right on the screen and

the digital representation of

on how this one-point view

as secondary function to be used

their family (depicted on a

is hindering the quality of

for a meal>

flat interface), rather than the

communication, I decided to let

real physical reality of them.

this constraint inform my design

From the renaissance

In this sense, it seems very

process. Thus, the resulting

paintings to photography,

appropriate to use perspective

collection of objects and

film and our computer screen

distortion techniques to

installation are specifically

displays, perspective is the

question our relationship

designed to be viewed

means of representing the 3d

between the real and its

correctly through one-point

world onto a flat surface. As

representation (simulation).

only and reveal their deceptive

a technique it is very much in

nature if placed outside of

line with my research starting

technique of anamorphosis is

point, which is the case of

one that works very well with

the transnational family which

the one-point perspective of

uses a variety of screen based

the screen. The limited point

media to keep in touch with each

of view, of telecommunication

In addition, the

their specified position.

///<Different kinds
of objects can
co-exist in the
space between the
interface and the
physical world; in
this mediated space,
the real and the
imagined meet.>

88

98

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98

///<I want to focus

on how the interface
itself-in this case
the screen changes
the message.>

<perspective>

Te c h n i q u e s
of visual
deception
borrowed
from the
visual arts,
especially
painting.

<anamorphosis>
<trompe loeil>
<op art>

In Ivinss definition,
perspective is a practical

Computer Graphics. The Lev

means for securing a rigorous

Light Reader (1993): 1-14.

two-way, or reciprocal,

Scribd, 21 Mar. 2014. Web.

metrical relationship between

Feb.-Mar. 2015.

the shapes of objects as

definitely located in space
and their representations.6
Thus Ivins singles out
the precise relationship
established between objects
and their representations as
the most important principle
of perspective.
///<source>

90

90

Perspective, Radar, and 3-D

Manovich, Lev.

The Mapping of Space:

<anamorphism>

<anamorphosis>
Anamorphosis is a distorted
projection or perspective
requiring the viewer to use
special devices or occupy
a specific vantage point
to reconstitute the image.
The word "anamorphosis" is
derived from the Greek prefix
ana, meaning back or again,
and the word morphe, meaning
shape or form.

19

19

centerline

92

39

92

39

///<process>

<step 1> position the object

in the grid (depending on the

position the anamorphic object
is going to be more or less
distorted.

<step 2> scale the object

with the perspective grid,

streching it to covel the height
of the background grid.

<step 3> select both the

object and the perspective

grid and distort it, using the
camera view

perspective tool in photoshop,

until it matched the background
grid.

<the plate as it
should look on the
screen>

<the anamorphic wine

glass is elongated
and flat? or tilted?

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94

59

<the anamorphic
plate-how the plate
should be in reality
to look right on the
screen>

<the wine glass as

it should look on
the screen>

59

96

79

96

79

///<the center of view>

As the objects are moving

away from the centerline of the

camera view (when placed on the
grid), the resulting anamorphic
objects are tilted outwards. How
would a collection of wine glasses
look if they were designed to work
with the specificity of the camera
view? According to their specified
position the glasses are skewed at
an angle.

98

99

98

99

<camera>

100

101

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101

///<Anamorphic cup>

The cups opening

is elongated so that when

placed on the table,
it looks like a circle
again.

The design method

is taking advantage of the

interfaces disability to
perceive depth. Only when
the obejct is rotated or
change position does the
spectator realize that
he has be deceived into
believing that it is a
regular cup.

102

301

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301
///<experiment 1>

The first tryout of

the methodology was the

design of an anamorphic
cup and how it works with
the screen.

Already by testing

it out and using it wwhat

is interesting is that
the function of the cup
remains but it requires a
different way of holding
it and a different gesture
so our physical experience
is changing completely for
the illusion to work on
the screen.

///<testing it with Skype>

///<measuring physical
space for the table width,
through the screen>

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501

501
///<test 2>

This cup is even

more illusional; the

coffee is painted and the
depth is fake.
<1> It re-introduces the
element of playfulness,
wonder and surprise in
an interaction that
has become mundane. In
a way entertains the
relationship.
<2> It confronted both
sides with the realization
of how easily the
representation can be
///<revealing the deceptive object>

deceptive.

<step 1>

<step 2>

///<cutting the top to

///<making it stand flat

make the circle more

on the table, whatever

elongated>

was below the line is now

above it>

106

701

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701

///<looking for a

<step 2>

consistent method of

///<calibrating the flat

designing the distorted

parts of the object (in

objects>

this case the stem) to

make them look right>

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901

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901

///<no perception of depth>

Some objects can

extend in space but their

frontal view remain the
same. So their appearance
on the screen will look
correct and they will only
reveal their distortion
when picked up and used.

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111

///<the vision for the installation>

///<IMPORTANT!!!>

This Thesis is not

the finished one as I am

still working on producing
and testing the objects. I
will have a second edition
with more tests and my
conclusion at graduation.
Louisa Zahareas

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