Aesthetic touch
Whatever I am writing, has to start with these two words;I need to get focused!!!! So how does one'think aggresively' about a subject? I did hurt my brain(that sounds rather morbid) and actually, I think I came up with some rather interesting ideas, if I may say so myself.
A great inspiration was a paper I stumbled upon called'May I touch it'?, from Delong et al,who made some really helpful points like:The twenty -first century designer must have specific sensory understanding of colours, textures, lines and shapes, and then find a way to involve that information in the emotional and cultural experience of the user. That really excites me ! Because it means that there is a relevance to my reasearch in easthetic touch!
Another thought I had immideately after was;Is there anything I have to add to this ? What can be my contribution ?This is just a confirmation that designers have to look at touch, as well as other senses, in order to produce a rounded article.Is that the same for artists? I think of myself as an artist, for whom touch is important, because it is a much more memorable experience and the most sensual of the senses.'To understand the potential of touch in design, however, the design professional needs to be aware of touch from his or her own perspective'the article goes on to say. YES! YES!Then I read about MIT Touch Laboratory. Where ?What? Must get in touch with them ! Must book a ticket to the States, Im sure it is there!Mmmm, perhaps use the good old google first. Memory of touch is mentioned, which made me start to think about my own first'touch memory'.My grannies fur collar on her wintercoat (she always seems to pop up in anything I do !!)the soft skin of her underarms, which I could freely touch because that comes with childhood, although one of the warnings children get most is 'Do not touch!!!!,Such a shame!!!That usually relates to objects though, and sometimes children are asked to touch bodily parts they dont want to touch! The world is no longer an innocent place, but that is another story.I also stroked a lot of animals, lambs, I spotted some in a field yesterday, and I know exactly how they feel.I also remember a glass object blown by a glass artist at school, and how fragile it was, and how I instantly knew to handle it with care. I like very much what Tactile designer John Wippich explains: 'If haptics can cause us to reconsider the richness of an actual physical world for even a moment,then technology will have helped us to recall what it is to be human'.Now I have become very intersested in what children of this age have to say about touch!
