Design as an Experience

A successful design should be defined as an experience. But, what will catch the attention of a viewer in this fast-paced society? In order to captivate and sustain attention, one must appeal to a viewer by engaging multiple senses. A popular method is through the accompaniment of music and animation. Generally, this is limited to commercials and music videos. However, first, we must define what a music video is. Most musicians would supplement their music with a video created by an outside source. The outside source is inspired by the music and interprets the vision evoked by the music. Typically, it is a collaboration of two separate perceptions. However, in the case of Takagi Masakatsu, music is known to be a repercussion of his visual designs. Primarily, Masakatsu is a visual artist, who just so happens to be an outstanding musician as well. Video accompanied with music is used to create an overall experience. One takes themselves out of their own minds and into the minds of another. Masakatsu is fully in charge of his vision. He creates a piece of music to set the tone of his visual art and, in a sense, is setting up a two-dimensional interactive display. When a viewer is informed that the creator is the artist and musician behind a short film, it challenges the viewer to make a connection between the music and visual aid. What inspired the video and song? How do they connect?

This conceptual method is an effective way of connecting to a viewer on a deeper level than a silent, still-design. Action and animation instantly draws the viewer in. As we have seen in McCloud’s “Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art” and Lauer’s “Design Basics” books, life draws our attention. In the case of those two books, they were speaking of a human face. But, in a life of still objects, the one thing that evokes instant interest is movement. With the presence of movement and sound, it directs the viewers’ mind and to focus on what they are seeing. They wonder what is going to happen next. Installations of music and design can be like experiencing life in another dimension. The more senses engaged in a design can help one to recall or even take away a personal, individualized experience. Design as an experience can have an effect on one’s mood or help introduce new ideas.

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