9 notes
Bessen, Lauren
9 Notes is an experimental interface that examines and extends the concept of a visual metaphor as interface. Nine cool-hued pictures, attached by thumbtacks, cover a wall while a scattering of objects lines a narrow shelf. Drawing influence from classical still lifes, informal scrapbooks and the “desktop” GUI, the space is unfamiliar and ambiguous, but obviously personal.
Object functionality both mimics the real world and creates unreal experiences. Users can drag and rearrange the note cards by pressing and moving the thumbtacks. Clicking on and dragging an object, meanwhile, creates a translucent facsimile of that object. Dragging and dropping these “copies” onto the pictures will trigger the playback of brief motion-graphics pieces inside the framed image, the static pictures becoming unreal windows onto moving content. Multiple notes can be triggered at once, and the note cards can be spatially rearranged while the videos play. Each object, however, will trigger only one specific picture, and it is up to the user to determine which goes with which.
Beyond the visual metaphor, 9 Notes is a collection of mini-narratives that all touch upon themes of intimacy. Using meticulously hand-rendered typography and evocative imagery, each short video concludes with a brief poetic message. The author, subject, and recipient of these graphic odes and meditations remain hidden, and the user is unimpeded to explore and seek out the messages in each “note.”
This freedom is similar to a conventional desktop or other GUI, but the conceptual purpose of the piece is mysterious. It is a visual playground for us to examine and mine for experience, a puzzle that invites the user to discover its logic. Like a puzzle, too, 9 Notes comes to a resolution: the “notes”—once the user has learned how to trigger them—do not loop endlessly but rather conclude with a static image, brilliant and warm-toned. In this aspect, the piece follows the arc of a traditional narrative. However, spectatorship here requires active participation—narrative does not proceed without the user’s curiosity. Intrigue arises from the enigmatic nature of the space.
