Museum Of Lost Interactions
Designers imagine technology that might have been, on the web.
A collection of 'lost' technological devices from the past 'discovered' by students at the University of Dundee has become an internet sensation as people all over the world log in to explore the 'Museum of Lost Interactions'.
Launched in December last year by the Interaction Archaeologists of Interactive Media Design at the University of Dundee, the 'museum' contains such innovative devices as the 1950s 'Zenith Radio Hat' and the 1920s Acoustograph, a primitive music downloading tool.
Other items in the collection include such diverse wonders as the Victorian 4-track sampler and the portable Morse code device, hailed as the earliest precursor to the mobile phone.
The museum's website has attracted the attention of technology blogs. Among those who have lent their enthusiastic support to the project is the acclaimed American science fiction writer and 'dead media' visionary Bruce Sterling, who described the Museum of Lost Interactons as "the awesomest"!
"The interest in this project has been phenomenal and we are delighted that so many people are now logging on to discover our collection," says Shaun McWhinnie, one of the intrepid 'archaeologists' from the University's Interactive Media Design course, who has helped put the exhibition together.
"These are amazing artifacts which offer a thought provoking reflection on the ubiquitous technologies of our present society, and show how such devices would have looked in the pre-digital world."
The Interactive Media Design course is aimed at helping to shape the creative thinkers and digital explorers who will develop the information-rich environments of the future.
Within a unique environment drawn from both the School of Computing and the School of Design at the University of Dundee, students explore many kinds of interactive design and cutting-edge technologies, plus the ability to locate and solve design problems and to think critically and commercially about the mushrooming virtual world.
The Museum of Lost Interactions came about after course leader Graham Pullin asked his third year students to engage with a history of interaction design that is much longer than that of digital electronics, and reflect on the social as well as technological changes that have taken place. They had to research Lost and Dead Media and build working models of fictitious historical products that might have been lost precursors to modern products and media. To underpin their authenticity, they filmed documentaries with archive film footage, and uncovered contemporary photography and packaging.
The Module Leader, Graham Pullin, says that, "The reaction to the Museum itself, and the subsequent international publicity, has been overwhelming, but thoroughly deserved: the students' attention to detail exceeded even my expectations. This experience has improved their design skills, but they have also learnt how to communicate their designs to a wider audience and been exposed to the role of design as commentary on broader social issues."
You can see the Museum of Lost Interactions at: www.idl.dundee.ac.uk/moli/index.php
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