"Reaction [beta]"
Ambient signifiers 31 Jan 2007
A rummage through Pathfinder's blog this morning reminded me to post something on Ross Howard's Boxes and Arrows article on ambient signifiers.
Howard was inspired to write about this subject as a result of his experience with the Tokyo rail network:
"Tokyo's rail system is famous for being the most complicated and bewildering in the world. With over 1,000 stations, even locals get lost and disoriented. As a designer, I try to be aware of attempts at systems and methods of communication. While traveling the Tokyo rail lines, I quickly realized that apart from the obvious use of real-time electronic signage, colored trains, and audio announcements, there were also other techniques being used to assist travelers in knowing where they were, and where they were going. These techniques were subtler, and bordered on subliminal; this was what really interested me.
"When on my regular commute on Japan Railways (JR) East's Chuo-Sobu line out from the town center to the outer suburbs where I lived, I noticed that short, simple chime melodies sounded on each platform as the train was waiting for passengers to get on and off. I noticed that these melodies were different for each station (indeed, Miyama station, which disembarks to Tokyo Disneyland, plays the theme to 'It's A Small World After All')...
"...To daily commuters, the station melodies augment the existing ambient landscape (going through tunnels, turning corners, large landmarks, etc.), so despite not necessarily paying attention to the visual cues around them, travelers subconsciously start building up a 'landscape' of their journey based on these audible inputs. They quickly learn the melody of their final destination terminal (it is played incessantly as they wait on the platform for their return journey), and soon recognize the melody of the terminal that precedes theirs. After long-term use of the same route, commuters build up a unique chain of melodies that accompany them on their way home. Without necessarily realizing why, they begin to establish a familiarity with these sounds, and can quickly discover when they have overshot their destination by hearing an unfamiliar melody that indicates a strange place."
These subtle cues - or "ambient signifiers" - are becoming increasingly popular. Not only in the real world, but in the digital realm too. For example, if you visit a secure site in Firefox, you'll notice the address (URL) field in the navigation bar turn yellow.
Here at Etre, we've used the (rudimentary) ambient signifier of changing the colour of site's header bar as you move between our usability (blue), accessibility (yellow) and findability (red) channels. The BBC has taken this idea a step further - as Howard points out - using "digital patina" (sometimes referred to as "digital color footprints"), in which usage patterns create worn paths through their site (e.g. the more you visit the BBC Sports section, the darker the Sports box on the homepage becomes).
Next article: Fire escape signs axed
Previous article: Feeling the Snap?
Bookmark this page
Trackbacks
To create a TrackBack to this entry simply append ping/ to the permalink URL for this page.
