Locative Media
The term ‘locative media’ was coined during a workshop exploring the impact of mobile, wireless, networked devices and positioning technologies on social networks, and the space they occupy (RIXC Centre for New Media Culture, 2002). The workshop was concerned with investigating the potential of these new location-based technologies to express, represent and explore ideas of place and memory.
Experiential System
‘Experiential systems’ are designed interactive systems which seek to create some form of experience for the participant. The term ‘experiential system’ is used by Davis (2003 ) to differentiate the ‘experience-object’ from the wider ‘experience-condition’ generated from participating with the system and is being used here to minimise confusion.
Location-Dependent
Location-dependent experiential systems are interactive works in which location, either the space in which the system is housed or the location-in-space of the participant, plays a significant role.
Locative media is an emerging new media movement that, through the use of mobile technology and location-based services, seeks to question the notions of space and place in our everyday world. This research is concerned with the design and development of playful interactive experiential systems that fit under the banner of locative media. These experiential systems seek to reveal, represent, embellish and occasionally subvert the nature of the location in which they are deployed. Generally located in an urban or suburban setting, these experiential systems encourage participants to explore their environment and in some cases contribute their own stories of the location to the work. An exploration of works within this area revealed a set of common design issues, it is the purpose of this project to develop a methodological framework for design that highlights these and enables designers to create well-considered experiential systems. This framework will provide guidelines and dimensions for the establishment of a strong foundation prior to ‘experience-object’ design, methods for analysing location, stakeholders and resources, and a structure for use in the design of the experiential system itself.