Multimodal Semiotics and Collaborative Design

access, allow both synchronous and asynchronous working and transform space into ‘inhabited
place’.
Virtual worlds and Computer Aided Design (CAD)
When we compare avatar-based collaboration in virtual places with conventional CAD systems
such as 3D Studio Max or AutoCAD, certain domain-specific affordances of these collaborative
platforms become apparent. According to design and manufacturing systems scholars W.D. Li and
colleagues (Li et al. 2005), computer-aided design (CAD) applications should support both
distribution of information to geographically dispersed locations and collaborative co-operation of
individual systems to shared design targets and objectives to support creative collaboration. In fact,
the level of real-time multi-user interactivity and variety of modalities that are made available by
the 3D VWs have not been equally met by the recent CAD systems; as most current design software
hardly support collaborative designs (Reffat et al 2008) 6 . While conventional CAD software
support individual content generation practices in visually segregated view-planes (usually as top,
front, side and perspective views) and allow collaboration through file-sharing, 3D virtual places
can support both synchronous and asynchronous collaboration on 3D models within a multi-user
environment (Maher et al. 2005). For Koutsabasis et al. (2012), the sense of presence, or
psychological immersion, while interacting with VWs make designers feel as being in-the-world,
rather than being external observers of a 3D model, as in using CAD environments.
In a VW, users communicate in real time while being in the designed space, being able to point
to specific attributes, objects or places, being able to instantly communicate an idea,
restructure a solution, evaluate a concept. It all happens in the same space, and therefore
there is greater awareness and coordination of the collaborating design team. (Koutsabasis et
al. 2012: 361-362)
Furthermore, the social affordances provided by the VW’s places for mediated co-presence and
social interaction provides a ‘collaborative co-design environment’ (Piller et al. 2005), where users
can seek help from virtual communities and develop design ideas together (Phillips and Rodden
2001). In my analysis, SL is foregrounded precisely for this reason; as the VW platform affords the
construction of such a virtual/distributed design studio environment and provides an empirical
field for multimodal analysis of collaboratively produced designs.
6
Here, it is important to note that there is a significant difference in terms of visual quality and the resolution between
the screen images from SL and 3D-rendered images from a professional CAD software. However, here my main concern
is the platforms’ affordances and constraints for collaborative working. Thus, I continue my discussion with an emphasis
on this aspect, while I will admit that the quality of the visual rendering may also have a significant effect on the
designers’ experiences.
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