Multimodal Semiotics and Collaborative Design

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their perceived effects on networked virtual communities, often by consulting ethnomethodological methods (i.e. Damer 1998, Boostrom 2008, Ostrander 2008, Boelstorff 2008). Anthropology professor Tom Boellstorff’s (2008) detailed ethnographical analysis of SL’s communities and their socio-cultural practices of communication, collaboration, and co-creation is among the most influential examples of such literature. Through his extensive fieldwork, Boellstorff claims that “virtual worlds are distinct domains of human being, deserving of study in their own right” (Boelstorff 2008: 238). Creativity and user-generated content is central in Boellstorff’s framing of SL’s digitally mediated culture, while the many forms of social interaction they provide can herald the transition from the “2D web” to the “3D web”, or more specifically: from network to place. Within Roskilde University’s ‘Sense-making strategies and user-driven innovation in VWs’ research project, a wide trajectory of approaches have been used by co-researchers, including sense-making methodology (Reinhardt and Dervin 2010), participant ethnographies on collaborative user/gamer practices (Jensen 2008a, 2009, Frølunde 2009, 2012), co-production and participatory design (Jensen 2008b, 2012b;), and user-driven innovation (Jensen 2008c, 2011). Another visible stream in qualitative VW studies focuses on particular platforms and/or technologies, and attempt to analyze their affordances and limitations - potentials and pitfalls for specific use contexts - by focusing on user-interfaces, communication tools and virtual environments. Such studies have been focused on SL, as well as other collaborative platforms, such as Open Sim or Active Worlds (i.e. Schroeder et al. 2001, Corbit 2002, Dickey 2005, Moore et al. 2009). There is also a significant number of recent studies on collaborative content creation in CVEs that us SL as platform, a number of other studies also emphasize design practices in other platforms such as LambdaMOO, Activeworlds, Everquest, and processes of world-building where they actively participate in the design of new platforms (i.e. Rosenman et al. 2007, Wadley and Ducheneaut 2009, Kohler et al. 2009). Although such examples have similarities with my analytical framework, most of these studies have different analytical foci than social semiotics, and they are not necessarily interested in co-production of meaning potentials within multimodal sign systems. For instance, scholars from distance education field Parvati Dev and Decker Walker (1999) study evolutionary design of a virtual learning environment in which design and use of virtual artifacts/worlds are parts of a curriculum. Through participatory observation and analysis of multimodal archives (i.e. images, conceptual figures) they conclude on the value of early design studies in the development of educational innovations. Science communication and education researcher Margaret Corbit (2002) analyzes building of a 3D multiuser virtual science museum with a particular focus on accommodating the needs of several interconnected user groups, and provides feedback for design improvement, factors that affect participation and collaboration. 25
Corbit’s methodology includes participatory design analyzes and a pilot group of teenaged participants. Interactive media studies researcher Michele Dickey (2005) analyzes 2 exploratory case-studies on distance education using Active Worlds in order to explore unique affordances and potentials of AW for spatial distant learning. Dickey reports on her findings from participatory observation, formal and informal interviews with faculty, design team, students and staff, and she provides empirical evidence on specific affordances for distance learning. Rhetoric and communication researcher Scott Graham and graphic designer Brandon Whalen (2008) propose an ethnographic case study on professional practices of a new-media designer, which explores a range of issues in genre theory and how to coordinate with new-media design process. They define their methods as ethnography, in-depth interview, collaborative authoring, and their aims as proposing ‘a theoretical model on hybridity of modes, meanings and genres in new media design’. However, their methodology includes monitoring a single designer’s social practices, and it is limited in terms of inclusivity of various discourses, practices and perspectives on design. Jensen (2008) describes two cases of user-driven innovation, knowledge construction and communication forms, exemplified in a ‘library-hangouts’ projects and organization of an inworld talk-show. The question Jensen asks is ‘how do creators of the projects deal with possible issues and bridge the gaps in the process of innovation’ Jensen uses participatory observation, in-depth and RL video interviews, and archival data to produce reflections on user-driven innovative practices and methods of co-design in SL. In a business-oriented study, Thomas Kohler et al. (2009) report eight case studies with commercial firms who want to interact with users for new product development. Their methodological aim is to explore the opportunities virtual worlds offer for real-world innovations. Through participant observation (world) and semi-structured interviews with managers and customers, they offer theoretical and practical implications for avatar-based innovation. These examples illustrate the variety of approaches – in terms of research contexts, research questions, participants and methods of inference. What characterizes the above-exemplified cases is that each study includes one or several participants who are generating content in CVEs; whereas the different researchers produce their data to emphasize different aspects of user-designer-system interaction. It is also possible to categorize these studies in terms of their purposes, research contexts, and the nature of interaction between the observer and the observed. Nonetheless, the outcomes, and interpretations of the findings show considerable variations in relation to these epistemological and methodological factors. My analytical framework differs from the aforementioned studies in that; I am particularly interested in the multimodal meaning-making processes of designers through the socio-cultural and systemic-functional lenses of social semiotics. Although the knowledge on co-presence and collaborative practices provide a theoretical 26
Page 2 and 3: Prologue ‘So it isn’t the origi
Page 4 and 5: Multimodal Semiotics and Collaborat
Page 6 and 7: CHAPTER 3. Social semiotics, multim
Page 8 and 9: Official and third party viewers
Page 10 and 11: List of Figures Figure 4.1 Domains
Page 12 and 13: List of Tables Table 2. 1 Theories
Page 14 and 15: 1. Introduction Virtual places and
Page 16 and 17: technologies introduce new social w
Page 18 and 19: innovation studies researchers have
Page 20 and 21: contextual factors of collaborative
Page 22 and 23: creative collaboration, and creativ
Page 24 and 25: In a multimodal and multi-method ap
Page 26 and 27: three case studies. This chapter al
Page 28 and 29: 2. Perspectives in virtual worlds r
Page 30 and 31: making. In fact, it is possible to
Page 32 and 33: virtual world technologies, it sign
Page 34 and 35: collaborative actions that span qui
Page 36 and 37: mediated social interaction with ot
Page 40 and 41: ackdrop for the understanding of us
Page 42 and 43: multidisciplinary working (Gu et al
Page 44 and 45: Socio-cultural perspectives on co-d
Page 46 and 47: innovation differs from Bonsu and D
Page 48 and 49: In a place-centric socio-semiotic v
Page 50 and 51: Theoretical Categories Concepts and
Page 52 and 53: 3. Social semiotics, multimodality
Page 54 and 55: 3.1. The social semiotic approach t
Page 56 and 57: structures and analyzing the contex
Page 58 and 59: designers’ purposeful orchestrati
Page 60 and 61: communication as an essential semio
Page 62 and 63: aspects of multimodal entities for
Page 64 and 65: and-paste logic of online media, th
Page 66 and 67: from the meaning-making practices,
Page 68 and 69: and Turner 2004). Social Informatic
Page 70 and 71: From this perspective, to build (an
Page 72 and 73: human action unfolds in ‘three-di
Page 74 and 75: genius loci idea to virtual places,
Page 76 and 77: Michael de Certeau’s (1984) analy
Page 78 and 79: semiotic practices, in all kinds of
Page 80 and 81: follow similar considerations of ex
Page 82 and 83: comparatively analyzing the multimo
Page 84 and 85: Here, the relevant question for pos
Page 86 and 87: 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
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From multimodal analysis, I draw ce
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phenomenology of time and space (an
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My analytical framework includes a
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characteristics of design in virtua
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6. Methodology Introduction This ch
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multimodal analysis in virtual worl
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sensibilities, and methods of analy
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are contextualized by the socio-tec
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perspectives as the primary source
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‣ Communication and Design in Vir
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perspectives and methods. The evolu
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designers are not necessarily geogr
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material resources either by visiti
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and selection of participants in co
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also the reason why this case study
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within each consequent case study,
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created/constituted in the situated
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than make overall statements and ge
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in-depth qualitative understanding
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7.1. The social actors and configur
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The core design team consists of Ca
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Curiza as the owner of the sim and
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and appreciation. He says “if you
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For Curiza, the hardest part of bei
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context 5 . On the other hand, this
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interviews, combined with findings
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Comparisons with game experiences a
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modification, combination and appro
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Shaggy, who recommends designers to
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he often used the Internet for “f
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The variety of comments from the wo
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technological developments but also
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the four Moons group, a few members
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esource for inspiration. Such inter
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inworld discussion about the costum
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“reminds the sounding of the word
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Although Shaggy’s perspective abo
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For Caitlyn, the major advantage of
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PAL’s design. According to AmyLee
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shared or collaborative edited by m
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collaborative practices in order to
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8. Analyzing multimodal discourse i
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these places, their elevations and
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(Rank-scale/ EXPERIENTIAL / INTERPE
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Superheroes. Caitlyn, whose needs a
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Figure 8.1. View from Metrotopia: T
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Although Metrotopia was specificall
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The Fight Club Dojo is designed to
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Caitlyn: [W]e wanted to advertise,
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of expression and reception of digi
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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
Page 276 and 277:
Fischer, G. and Giaccardi, E., (200
Page 278 and 279:
Halliday, M.A.K. (2007). Language a
Page 280 and 281:
Jones, J.C., (2009). What is design
Page 282 and 283:
Lemke, J.L. (2005). Place, pace and
Page 284 and 285:
Norman, D.A. (2008). The way I see
Page 286 and 287:
Reinhard, C. D., & Dervin, B. (2010
Page 288 and 289:
Thackara, J. (2005). In the bubble:
Page 290 and 291:
Summary in English Computer-generat
Page 292 and 293:
Dansk resumé af afhandlingen Compu
Page 294 and 295:
Interview Guide (Metrotopia and PAL
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Multimodal Semiotics and Collaborative Design

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