Multimodal Semiotics and Collaborative Design

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interviews, combined with findings from participant ethnography and design observations, the analysis on place semiotics focuses on a particular aspect of the collaborative design activity: I intend to discuss the role of environmental factors (i.e. platforms, interfaces, tools, resources) in making of virtual places. Second Life as graphical user interface (GUI) Engagement in SL requires installment and use of particular software, called the viewer, instead of the conventional Web browsers. The official SL viewer has been developed by California-based Linden Lab. New versions of this viewer has been released and updated multiple times since my empirical studies began. These developments in SL’s viewer and contents of the world have been included as topics of discussion with participants. Therefore, I aim to frame the analysis by not only a list of the currently available affordances and constraints but also interpret the social discourses that result in their use. In figure 5.1, I review a snapshot from SL viewer version 1(.23.5), which was the default viewer until 2011, in order to illustrate how the interactive elements of the user interface are presented to users. As seen below in the figure, SL as user interface bears a significant complexity –relatively more than modern web browsers- in terms of how options are laid out graphically, and how commands from the GUI would be translated to the virtual environment and to actions of the avatar. By using specific functions on the GUI, users are able to navigate in virtual places, interact with virtual objects and avatars, socialize with virtual communities and create new content. The layout of the graphical elements is organized to make structurally and functionally related elements closer and visually linked (detailed menus on top bar), while functional groupings (buttons, pop-up menus, chat, the virtual environment) are modally differentiated. Multimodality is apparent through not only the use of text and images but also by the purposeful organization of colors, transparency and geometric elements to signify particular functions. Moreover, the virtual environment that is being operated through the GUI is considered as fundamentally multimodal. The users are able to experience movement and co-presence within interactive virtual environments that signify spatial experiences with images as well as audio-visual media and other modes of digital representation. 157
Figure 7.1. SL Viewer (version 1.23.5) Screenshot and Explanations In general, the interface is often found too complex 8 for beginners, and the learning curve steep enough to frustrate certain users for various reasons. Caitlyn says although she probably looks “like a newbie” to other avatars, she doesn’t really pay much attention to learning how to make advanced modifications on her avatar. For Curiza from PAL, the built-in complexity of menus and options is an essential part of a good experience, which is a deduction he makes through his gaming experience. For Curiza, “a game you can finish within 4 hours is not a good game”; and although he believes that he can “only use 10 to 20 % of what you can do in there [in SL] right now”, he thinks SL shows similar qualities in terms of user experience. On the other hand, reflections on the complexity of the interface also show variations depending on their past experiences with similar software, whether it be MMORPGs, other VWs or 3D modeling software. While (ex-) gamers interpret the SL user interface with relation to their past gaming experiences, 3D software users mention the balance between complexity of the tools and freedom to create more complicated forms. For Caitlyn from the Metrotopia project, as well as for most students in the workshop groups, SL presents a considerable amount of complexity in terms of its user interface, especially in terms of detailed avatar modification and content generation options. This complexity often results in confusion and frustration. 8 In fact, complexity of the user interface and variety of user profiles led Linden Lab to develop a basic mode for their latest viewer, which –among many others- can be interpreted as their attempt to communicate with a wider user-base and accommodate the socially situated needs of their users more effectively. However, the new Basic mode is not so meaningful for designers because it includes neither the standard content generation capabilities of SL nor detailed interaction with virtual objects and inventories. Similarly, the new browser-based system for accessing SL through the Web, Skylight, is also excluded for similar reasons, although PAL recently began to participate in the project. 158
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Prologue ‘So it isn’t the origi
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Multimodal Semiotics and Collaborat
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CHAPTER 3. Social semiotics, multim
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Official and third party viewers
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List of Figures Figure 4.1 Domains
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List of Tables Table 2. 1 Theories
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1. Introduction Virtual places and
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technologies introduce new social w
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innovation studies researchers have
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contextual factors of collaborative
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creative collaboration, and creativ
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In a multimodal and multi-method ap
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three case studies. This chapter al
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2. Perspectives in virtual worlds r
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making. In fact, it is possible to
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virtual world technologies, it sign
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collaborative actions that span qui
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mediated social interaction with ot
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their perceived effects on networke
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ackdrop for the understanding of us
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multidisciplinary working (Gu et al
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Socio-cultural perspectives on co-d
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innovation differs from Bonsu and D
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In a place-centric socio-semiotic v
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Theoretical Categories Concepts and
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3. Social semiotics, multimodality
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3.1. The social semiotic approach t
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structures and analyzing the contex
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designers’ purposeful orchestrati
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communication as an essential semio
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aspects of multimodal entities for
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and-paste logic of online media, th
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from the meaning-making practices,
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and Turner 2004). Social Informatic
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From this perspective, to build (an
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human action unfolds in ‘three-di
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genius loci idea to virtual places,
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Michael de Certeau’s (1984) analy
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semiotic practices, in all kinds of
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follow similar considerations of ex
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comparatively analyzing the multimo
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Here, the relevant question for pos
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3.6. Conclusion: social semiotics a
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Theoretical Categories Concepts and
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4. Theory and practice in design re
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elations. One example of the formal
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traditional distinctions between de
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Research for design aims to provide
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potentially offers to our senses. D
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In sum, I consider affordances and
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It is certainly important that desi
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A solely production-based account o
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design problems, while its variatio
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user-driven innovations. Von Hippel
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institutional contexts (Grossen 200
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Meaning-oriented design theories
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As explained in the Introduction ch
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The multimodal social semiotic appr
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them, and (b) experiential and inte
Page 120 and 121: From multimodal analysis, I draw ce
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Page 124 and 125: My analytical framework includes a
Page 126 and 127: characteristics of design in virtua
Page 128 and 129: 6. Methodology Introduction This ch
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Page 134 and 135: are contextualized by the socio-tec
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Page 138 and 139: ‣ Communication and Design in Vir
Page 140 and 141: perspectives and methods. The evolu
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Page 144 and 145: material resources either by visiti
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Page 158 and 159: 7.1. The social actors and configur
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Page 162 and 163: Curiza as the owner of the sim and
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Page 166 and 167: For Curiza, the hardest part of bei
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Page 172 and 173: Comparisons with game experiences a
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Page 176 and 177: Shaggy, who recommends designers to
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Page 180 and 181: The variety of comments from the wo
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Page 192 and 193: Although Shaggy’s perspective abo
Page 194 and 195: For Caitlyn, the major advantage of
Page 196 and 197: PAL’s design. According to AmyLee
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Page 202 and 203: 8. Analyzing multimodal discourse i
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Page 206 and 207: (Rank-scale/ EXPERIENTIAL / INTERPE
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Page 210 and 211: Figure 8.1. View from Metrotopia: T
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In Curiza’s comment the introduct
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textual functions of the content (m
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their interest in such metaphors fo
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Synthesis of the findings on experi
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Caitlyn: [L]ooking at what makes up
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Curiza: I told Xavier “Xavier I w
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0 Figure 8.22. (left) Metrotopia Pa
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and posters with positive political
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Synthesis of the findings on interp
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Figure 8.26. (left) The draw-bridge
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Use of prims as semiotic units is m
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Modes and multimodal design element
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Xavier: It was very, EXTREMELY colo
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Texts and images are often used tog
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placement of various interactive lo
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9. Conclusions and discussions 9.1.
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and the lack of prior experience, p
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in flux in inworld collaborative de
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potentials, and aim to reinforce th
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Although not all of the co-designer
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As mentioned in the literature surv
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Drawing on this point, I also consi
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(Kress, 2010). The analysis of the
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although he also acknowledges the r
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creative activities and reduce the
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Further directions for research The
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Bakhtin, M.M. (1986). Speech, genre
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Charmaz, K., (2002). Qualitative in
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Fischer, G. and Giaccardi, E., (200
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Halliday, M.A.K. (2007). Language a
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Jones, J.C., (2009). What is design
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Lemke, J.L. (2005). Place, pace and
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Norman, D.A. (2008). The way I see
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Reinhard, C. D., & Dervin, B. (2010
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Thackara, J. (2005). In the bubble:
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Summary in English Computer-generat
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Dansk resumé af afhandlingen Compu
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Interview Guide (Metrotopia and PAL
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