KIT: Kisses, Interaction, Technology (communication in a mediated society) from Shannon South on Vimeo.

PRATT/ID Thesis Defense
Friday, December 9th
prattid.blogspot.com

K.I.T. *Kisses, Interaction, Technology
communication in a mediated society
This thesis is an attempt to understand the social consequences of extreme reliance on digitally mediated interaction tools. As the 'third place' becomes virtual and a significant portion of communication is mediated, one might wonder if and how social norms in the real world will change. Comparing communication interfaces and trying to understand their effect on interactions has led me to question how people's face-to-face social skills are evolving. Perhaps there may be a need for instruments that promote direct communication or provide social rehabilitation to digitally-overdosed people?

COMFORT ZONE BENCH
DESIGNED BY SHANNON SOUTH
• Creates awareness of comfort zones and personal space.
• Allows flexibility in seating distance and movement.
Looking at furniture and studying how it controls the placement of the human body, this bench is intended to be completely free of barriers, creating awareness to the social distances chosen by the user- AFTER having already seated.
Using the space measurements determined by social scientists, this bench delineates the seated distances for SOCIAL, PERSONAL, and INTIMATE zones through its text.

LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR TABLECLOTH
DESIGNED BY SHANNON SOUTH
• Promote interaction and ethical understanding.
• Texts from 12 of the world’s religions, all preaching peace.
• Circular design forces the user into their neighbor’s personal space in order to be read.
Little face-to-face contact and interaction with people who are different from you, leads to ignorance. When all of our news comes from sources that sensationalize- fear and hatred are bred. Comparing how reality is shifting with technological advances on a large scale, this tablecloth promotes ethical and cultural understanding.

COMMUNICATIVE COFFEE COZY
DESIGNED BY SHANNON SOUTH
• Promote new meetings in group settings.
• Be ‘online’ or ‘offline’ in the real world.
Meeting people is easier when we are all wearing name tags. There are TWO VERSIONS of these ice breaking tools.
There is the traditional ‘HELLO MY NAME IS’ version... (which you all have) and there is The “HELLO, MY SCREEN NAME IS” version which is intended for use in WiFi cafe’s... Both of them allow one to go ‘OFF-LINE’ by simply turning the DO NOT DISTURB side outward.

FIRST DATE WINE GLASSES
DESIGNED BY SHANNON SOUTH
• Helps couples to get to know one another face-to-face.
• ‘Helper’ questions on the wine glass prompt users in topics of conversation.
When meeting online, there is definitely a disconnect and an unnatural flow to the relationship. Perhaps there will be a need for ‘helper’ topics of conversation. Like handwritten notes or a cheat-sheet, one can naturally glance down to bring a topic into conversation. As the wine level drops, the questions become more intimate. The last being: "May I kiss you?"

LAPTOP REARVIEW MIRROR
CONCEPT BY SHANNON SOUTH
With WIFI available practically everywhere, there are noticeable changes in cafe culture today. I wonder how many opportunities for chance encounters in the real world we missing out on due to our tunnel vision into our digital worlds? This laptop accessory is intended to help bring awareness to the surroundings of the public space.

TOUCH MOUSE
CONCEPT BY SHANNON SOUTH
• Add another level of connection by bringing a human element of touch to the chat environment.
• Squeezable computer mouse allows you to feel touch from the person you are chatting with.

FLIRTSTATION, bench for two
DESIGNED BY SHANNON SOUTH
The intention of this furniture piece is to promote person-to-person communication and interaction. Narrowing this down, I have chosen to focus on the act of flirting. Two can share this bench that will naturally allow connection to occur by keeping one focused on the other through the window that connects, yet separates them.