The project I chose to write about for my blog is The Virtual World Interactive. The main reason why I chose this project was because I had so much fun playing with it.
This project serves as a tool to enhance the understanding of a book called The Virtual Window: From Alberti to Microsoft by Anne Friedberg. Friedberg wanted to show the forces that revolve around the evolution of vision. To Friedberg, how “the world is framed” is just as important to “what’s contained within that frame”.
The Virtual Window Interactive was designed to enhance the understanding of Friedbergs’ idea. Navigating through the project was very entertaining. As the editorial have mentioned, the designer likes to have a playful element to the project by making it have a surprise aspect. I was pleasantly surprised when I first experienced the project. I did not know what I was supposed to do and when I realized that my first task as a user was to draw a window, I continued to play with it and started reseting the project to see what type of window I can make that best fits my imagination. Then I started exploring the project more and realize there are a lot of functions to decorate the window frame and choose the scenes that were to be displayed behind the windows that the user created. There were a lot of elements to this project that leads to a sense of control over the world that you framed. At least thats what I felt exploring this project.
I thought it was really cool how the window frames that the user choose has information on its design and in what century it was most popular. Doing so allows me to look outside the window and have a sense of what it feels like to live in that century. Allowing users to choose a scene furthers this experience.
The overall design of the project did a great job positioning the users in a way that forces them to see the world in another life. Everything but the windows was black, including the silhouette of the person in the house/building. Doing that puts the users inside the house seeing only the light that comes from outside. This dark background makes it easy to transport the users to another world because it is most like that a person have experience being in a dark room looking outside there window. Being in a dark room is relatable in any century, therefore it makes it easier for users to see themselves in a house looking out at in a world other than their own.
This project I thought was successful because it served its purpose. The purpose of letting the user experience how vision change throughout time. Through the different types of window I created, I saw a new world from different century. I experienced everything that the editorial said a user should experience when exploring this site which is why I think this project is a complete success.