Industrial Design
Gamifying the process of art creation
This project was initially ideated to be an art project for the younger masses. However, we took a different approach, while sustaining its true essence.
Dubbay.xyz was designed to gamify the process of art creation, where users had to perform a simple physical task while answering a series of questions in a rapid fire manner. 3 elements were used to create a unique set of creative codes that created an artistic fingerprint of the user. The modules, once mapped, created a personalized abstraction for each unique user.
The product enabled us to bring together quantifiable and intangible aspects in the process of creating art. Furthermore, Dubbay.xyz also was an exploration of the endless possibilities of creative expression.
Dubbay was originally conceived as an interactive art piece project that allowed its users to interact with it. The project was initially ideated to be more towards a puzzle block stimulator for the younger masses. Upon our arrival at the project, it took on a different meaning while holding true to its original concept.
After hours of ideation between the core members and Little Studio, Dubbay.xyz became a product which gamified the process of art creation. According to our own studies and watchful evaluation, each piece created by the user is unique in every aspect and can not be replicated twice. Each rendering is an extraction of creative DNA based on the Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs.
The piece aims towards empowering its users with the ability to create art. As a performative art piece, Dubbay.xyz is a digital dance sequence generated through a custom script, combining objective data with individual thoughts of its users. By providing the user the ability to create through a series of questions, superimposed upon a fixed set of rules, the product provides results unique in all aspects.
The objective of the project was not to define creativity, but rather to explore the endless possibilities of creative expression. The exploration allowed us to experiment with quantifying the intangible. This defines the objective to break down individual approaches into key moments, varying from one to the next. By doing so, a ledger of creative codes were then generated, further translated into a renderings unique to its own creator.
Throughout history, art has been perceived as a formidable barrier that only a few were able to penetrate, either through sheer persistence or natural talent. This perception has placed art in the highest regard, making it a form of entertainment only to be enjoyed by those bestowed with natural talent or years of practice and commitment.
Dabbay.xyz works on the concept of democratizing the creation of art for all its users. By using tangible methods (creation codes) alongside the intangible (time, experience and age), the art piece allows all types of users to interact with it, where the outcome is not defined by the result expected of the artist themselves, but rather, through the infusion of the personality of its user.
The target users for Dabbay.xyz encompasses all ages. The art piece does not discriminate between its users, rather it welcomes contact from different backgrounds. As the art piece showcases itself as rather a commentary on what art qualifies as, the interaction between rigid and creative mindsets allows for a more submersive experience in the quality and abstraction of the rendering generated.
The art piece is based heavily upon the core concepts derived from Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, which revolves around the concept of varying motivation of all human needs. The pyramid creates a scenario where basic needs such as physiological, safety and love must be more or less met within a scenario before giving place to the higher needs. The requirement of needs based upon esteem are the last barrier before a human moves into self actualization where they are able to unlock their greatest potential.
Dabbay.xyz uses the theory by Maslow, in two ways. The first step was to create a questionnaire. The second step was the physical manifestation of art itself. To make the process more captivating, an element as simple as a cube was created with interlocking joints. To help enhance the user’s capacity to think creatively and divergently, while performing the task, both the activities were run simultaneously.
3 elements were tested upon during this activity
The objective of the task was simple: perform the physical task while one of our volunteers asks the user a series of questions. The questions were meant to be responded in a rapid fire way, which allowed the user to think less about what was being asked, and concentrate more upon which they worked physically.
The 3 elements were then tested to be mapped onto a unique set of creative codes, which we named the UCC - The Unique Creative Code. Its function was to create an artistic fingerprint of each volunteer to perform the two tasks. Every rendering acquired is isolated, as the UCC takes the time to respond to each question, according to the prioritization set by the user.
The time taken by the user is a direct change in the three elements. So as each user changes, so does the perception of needs and the physical formation. The only limitation of the art piece was that there must be a singular base point in each sculpture, with all modules being connected.
The modules, when mapped onto the Maslow pyramid with the responses of the question, created a personalized abstraction - derived in shape, directionality and size using the UCC - of each individual, and also recorded it into our database. Resultantly, if the individual was to try again with the same answers and modular formation, the result would be different as the time and experience was different in that very moment.
