Devices of miscommunication
challenging the notion of free & safe online communication
personal experiments with design & technology
[Created 2010] Adoption of online communication tools has been rapid. Devices of Miscommunication explore the overlooked side of these new technologies and asks: Are we really free on the internet or should we learn to self-monitor? What are the consequences of freely expressing ourselves?
The 3 USB devices provide self-monitoring and censoring for day-to-day online communication; using the sense of smell, the metaphor of a police light and a tiny duck that keeps correcting its’ user.
Device #1
what the quack!
What the Quack! monitors keystrokes from a user’s keyboard. When potentially dangerous or foul language is detected, it deletes the word and replaces it with a “quack“. It aims to protect users from getting into trouble, and along the way creates its own encrypted “quack” language.
After initial sketches, I started prototyping and testing. Early on, the device solely replaced the word being typed with the new word on the screen.
Observing early testers, I saw the lack of physical feedback from the device to the user. Noticing the perfect amount of space inside, I added two red LEDs as eyes. After experimenting with a few patterns, decided to make the eyes “blink” every time a word was detected. This added a meaningful connection between the physical device and the digital user experience.
device #2 + device #3
Second device, Polight, is a miniature police light. It gets attached to the back of a computer and monitors user input. Aims to remind the user potential consequences of their behavior by imitating police lights.
Third device, Pepper Mouth, releases a pepper smell as a result of bad language. Aims to disturb the user with the smell that quickly becomes unbearable.