By Cissy Sun, Head of Art-Science

On August 18, the webinar ‘’Design And Innovation In The Digital Age” kicked off our 2022 Art x Science Dialogues focusing on new trends and initiatives in the field of art, design, science, and technology both in China and Switzerland.

The webinar featured two experts from the art and design institutions who shared their perspectives and practices on integrating new technological tools, such as data analysis, machine learning, and immersive technology, into the teaching curriculums and their own works.

Starting with course projects, Ms. Alexia Mathieu, Head MA Media Design program at HEAD – Genève University of Art and Design, shared the topics of interaction design with limited resources, interactive narrations, and machine learning in MA Media Design teaching curriculums. Then Mr. Tongzhou Yu, Deputy Director of the Institute of Media and Interaction Design at the School of Design & Innovation, China Academy of Art, shared with us the concept of design fiction, the case of implementing artificial intelligence into conceptual art, and how teachers and students can work together to explore the application of new technologies.

Creating Tomorrow’s Connected Experiences

The MA in Media Design at HEAD-Geneva offers a two-year professional program based on learning about interactive design for scientific and social innovation. The program is organized through workshops, practical courses, work in labs, as well as graduation projects which include a research paper and a practical project. The goal of the program is to anticipate the impact of digital technologies on human, society, and the environment.

The three accesses of the course are Interaction Design with Limited Resources, Interactive Narrations, and Machine Learning. For the course Interaction Design with Limited Resources, students will learn how to observe and collect natural materials and implement them into the research with technological tools while trained to be mindful of climate changes as well.

Regarding Interactive Narrations, students will be devoted to game design, narratives, and applications, while considering the interactive potential of mobile computing and immersive technology, such as augmented reality and virtual reality. However, with virtual reality, students are required to think about the entire experience, including the tactile perception and sonic environment beyond the VR headset.

Machine Learning has been the main focus of the program for four years now. The courses have centered on how machine learning will impact the designers and how they could approach the tool more ethically and keep a critical eye on it. Students are requested to think about how to make technological improvements, especially in computing and artificial intelligence, to change the way we perceive and sense the world that surrounds us. Through the workshops, new graphical representations and outcomes unfold, and new possibilities are created by the algorithm operating in dialogue with artistic inputs given by students.

Along showcasing the students’ projects, Alexia again emphasized the importance of being mindful and ethical while working with machine learning and training the algorithm.

In the next phase, the program will look into the topic of Metaverse, and they will continue the research of the new technological tools and experiment with the students to create innovative design projects and also look into virtual productions.

There is no Media Design for Future Storytelling

Starting with the metaphor of the washing machine, Tongzhou compared the change in the washing process with the design process. The clicks on the design software are just like pushing the button on the washing machine. The hidden technology behind the buttons simplified the whole process and making everything much more efficient.

*Curriculum structure at the Institute of Media and Interaction, CAA

Having set the tone for the technological tools in art and design, Tongzhou shared the teaching structure at the Institution of Media and Interaction Design and the major theory he uses – Design Fiction. Originated from Futurism, design fiction is a design practice aiming to explore and criticize possible futures by creating speculative and often provocative scenarios narrated through designed artifacts. Design fiction draws inspiration from our daily lives and uses extrapolation to build disruptive visions of society. By challenging the current reality, this practice aims at making us explore and question interactions between people and human-machine relationships. Through the courses and workshops, students are introduced to the theories of the algorithm, data analysis, transmedia storytelling, virtual reality, and tools such as Unity and Dall-E to explore new ways to create artworks.

A new focus for the university in recent years has been artificial intelligence. Both teachers and students began to think about the things behind the new technologies and new terms such as IoT, Smart living, Metaverse, etc.

In addition, augmented reality and spatial narratives are essential courses for the students to engage in actively. In order to bring a critical view on art and technology, students are led by the teachers to review the history and development of augmented reality.

In the final part of the presentation, Tongzhou presented the concept of Distributed Narrative they have developed during the workshops in collaboration with science fiction writers. Moreover, he pointed out that in the future, more content on the philosophy of technology and media invention will be added to the curriculum, and he expected the students to acquire a critical way of thinking about art and technology.

During the discussion session, the two speakers expressed their opinions on the shift of the topics of artificial intelligence and immersive technologies in the teaching curriculums. It was sometimes challenging for the teachers when it came to new technologies as they were learning with the students at the same time. Nevertheless, it is important to know the impact on the design process and use the technological tools innovatively and ethically. Furthermore, the fundamental skills the students need to acquire are to conduct their own field research, understand the context they are in, and also the ability to collaborate with other people from different backgrounds.

We would like to thank everyone for their participation, your engagement during the Q&A session has made the conversation vibrant and the event all the more valuable. If you have further questions for our speakers regarding their work, please email us at artscience.china@swissnex.org. We will try our best to forward them to our speakers.

Click here to watch the recording of the event.