EMP-Texture

This experiment was conducted by HUNTER SEBRESOS

Street signs, logos, and buttons are just a few of the objects which communicate through the use of icons, symbols, and metaphors. When understood in context, these icons can express meaning instantaneously. Certain symbols carry strong emotional connections due to the history of experiences they evoke. 

Certain participants were conducted for asking why they selected certain words or emotions for specific textures. Through this processs emerged an understanding what aspects of a texture have communicative power and what types of meaning are associated to produce the new textural meaning. Participants frequently related the inscribed textures to existing natural and man–made textures and could also associate the textures with visual icons. Using these referenced meanings in combination with the tactile quality was a shared method for generating new meaning amongst all participants. 

A qualitative research project was conducted by having participants perform a variety of exploratory exercises while feeling 32 inscribed textural patterns. The following is a list of the exercises: 

1. Without seeing the texture, feel it and try to sketch how each texture looks.
2. While feeling the texture, describe the emotion each texture evokes.
3. While feeling the texture, describe the object each texture evokes.
4. While feeling the texture, describe what action each texture would perform if it were a button on an interface. 

I want to replicate the experiment shown above, but in my own method and for different reasoning. As i am tring to create maps of emotion i am focusing on this test a way of bringing n extra dimention to my maps by adding the sense of touch.  hope to experiemnt with some of the tests that have been shown here and to reimply them to maybe try inforce drection or a sense of purpose. This will hopefully invoke a reaction by the person reading the map which will give it an extra level of complexity. I will aim to create different imprints of texture and collect different samples for example sand paper to soft wool. By doing this i will hopefully get a contrasting reaction from different samples. 

For my final major project i want to incorporate not only illustration, exploration and slf direction. I want to veture into our senses to create a more interactive map for all to explore and enjoy.