Writing in/of/through the ether

Now You See It, Now You Don't...

Witty title, eh? I find transparency to be a particularly intriguing concept. As I mentioned in my previous discussion on immediacy, eliminating the medium itself is necessary in order to bring the viewer into the reality of the content they are experiencing. Therefore, the medium must become transparent.

This is a very interesting idea when you consider developers spend so much time creating technology that is not only functional, but aesthetically pleasing. Apple now makes a white iPod and a black iPod. Companies are making money by selling “skins” and cases for mp3 players and cell phones so that you can “make them your own.” Computers and stereo systems are increasingly more pleasing to look at. Televisions can now be hung on the wall in place of a picture. In some ways, for consumers, physical appearance is as important as the technology itself.

However, in order for such technology to truly be effective, the experience must transcend the leopard print cell phone and the imitation carbon fiber laptop. Our “picture perfect” televisions do not matter if the writer of the programming is able to construct a state of being in which the viewer does not consider the idea that they are in fact watching a shiny silver rectangle, but instead are immersed, without any consideration at all, in a new reality; the reality of the moment in which the medium is completely transparent.

Applied to our website, we will spend hours attempting to come up with the perfect layout, color scheme and font group with the expectation that one will not even notice the individually thought out parts, but that they will be experiencing the community center itself and all that it has to offer.

posted by Anonymous @ 2:12 PM