A Vociferous Silence (Copy)
Reactive masks that allow people to put themselves in someone else’s “faces”
ROLE
Solo Project
(Master’s Degree Thesis)
Embodiment is a word often used in VR experiences. However, what would embodiment feel like when visual is not much involved? Would it be possible to design an immersive experience utilizing experiencer’s expectation, body gesture, physical touch, and hearing?
The experience of “A Vociferous Silence” invites visitors to put their faces into the masks and cover their ears. A voice is heard through bone conduction activated by physical touch. What the user hears creates the illusion of having a voice in their head. The narration reveals different aspects of the face owner’s self-image.
The installation was exhibited at the New Frontier exhibition at NYU Tisch School of the Arts in May 2019.
Design Principles
01Simple Interaction
Less commitment for the experiencer and it helps to provid a clear userflow.
02Surprising Moments
“What you see is not what you experience; what you experience cannot be recreated.” Take the experiencer’s expectation into consideration.
03Multisensory Involvement
To achieve embodiment, it is important to make sure multiple senses are involved in the process.
04Self-contained Installation
For easier shipment and installation at different exhibitions, these masks should be self-contained with the only requirement of plugging to a power source when installed.
Three Masks, Three Aspects
There are three masks in this series. Each mask focuses on one of the following aspects: negativity, positivity, and uncertainty.
Experiencer's body gesture is forced to change when experiencing the installation. From negativity, uncertainty to positivity, their back gradually rises because of different heights of the masks.
Negativity
(Material: Plaster)
Uncertainty
(Material: Mix of Plaster and Medal Powder)
Positivity
(Material: Medal Powder)
Experiencer's body gesture
forced to change
Design and Sketches
Iteration and User Testing
Testing different bone conductors, different cover materials to isolate sound, different places to embed the conductor, taking hygiene, and maintenance into account…
Testing different looks, materials, and sculpting techniques. (Check out my Medium post if you are interested in how the face mold was made.)
WOW was people’s primary reaction. People also commented:
“I have these! I have voices in my head too!”
“Even though I don’t understand what you said in Chinese, they made me sympathized with you even more. ”
“You should show it more. This is meant to be shown. ”
“It felt like you were right there sitting in front of me talking me through all these. It was so weird and realistic. ”
They asked me the stories behind the installation, and that led to so many valuable conversations.
