Blurred Lines

When Digital Becomes Physical

By Dustin Lee

The world of design is in a constant state of flux. As technology advances, the conceptual barriers we create for ourselves start to break down.

When talking about design we often try to create rigid boundaries between disciplines and universal rules to differentiate between seemingly distant dichotomies. One of these common dichotomies is the notion of disparate physical and digital worlds, otherwise known as hardware and software.

For each of these worlds we, as designers, possess a different set of tools and skills to design for seemingly different contextual environments. The physical world is constructed of atoms and the Industrial (physical) Designer creates their designs within the environmental constraints of the material world. The digital world is constructed of pixels and the Interaction (digital) Designer does not necessarily adhere to the same set of physics and constraints presented in the physical world. Since the digital sector does not have the same set of environmental constraints it often allows for more freedom as there is less metaphorical baggage one must account for.

For the last decade, this divide and seemingly disparate toolset has allowed for the creation of some of the most influential devices of our time i.e. the smartphone. However we are on the precipice of an entirely new era where the divide between these two worlds becomes a lot less tangible.

Suddenly the gap between the physical and digital worlds starts to become less definitive with the introduction of virtual and augmented reality. Software becomes a digital manifestation of the physical world designed to tap into the users pre-conceived notion of reality, effectively transporting them into a world that appears to be visually similar to their own but no longer has to obey the physical constraints they’re used to.

Through creating a new system of physics the rules of gravity, space, and scale no longer apply and designers can create an entirely new system of physics to design within. This freedom allows for a truly cross disciplinary approach when it comes to designing objects for this new post-physical world.

The roles of the Industrial and Interaction Designer start to become congruous, as the divide between the physical and virtual worlds start to blur together. The medium of creation is no longer atoms or pixels but is instead an amalgamation of the two. The building blocks of virtual reality are fluid, they have grain, and can constantly evolve into endless elements and forms.

Suddenly a virtual object can be pulled, twisted, thrown and scaled by manipulating the artifact in space. The user experience of a product or service can be designed down to the smallest detail, enabling new levels of user engagement and customer insight.

Microsoft’s Future Vision illustrates how VR and AR technologies could evolve into compelling productivity tools for the modern workplace.

This new fusion of hardware and software allows for a liquid medium of creation. Always changing and evolving to suit a user’s need.

Although virtual reality is a relatively young industry right now, it’s clear that once we start to let go of the physical metaphors and embrace the in-tangible, the possibilities for creation become endless.