[ISEA2017] Paper: Ricardo Melo & Miguel Carvalhais — Valuably Unsought: Systems for Digital Serendipity

Abstract 

Keywords: Serendipity, Digital, Information, Experience, Collaboration, Creativity, X.

Contemporary interaction with media is mediated through a plethora of digital systems, conditioning said interaction to the experiences that these systems anticipate and limiting the potential of the medium for surprise and serendipity. Through a literature-review and system analysis, we assert the value of serendipity in our digital interactions, arguing the necessity of a distinction between Natural and Artificial Serendipity, while establishing key areas of action of serendipitous systems: Information Encountering, Experience, Collaboration, Creativity and X. We identify specific systems within each of these key areas, as well as their methods and mechanics for achieving Artificial Serendipity in the Digital Medium.

  • Ricardo Melo (ID+ / Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Porto, Portugal) is a designer, researcher and guest lecturer at Porto Accounting and Business School. He holds a MSc in Multimedia, a BA in Communication Design and is currently a PhD student in Design from the University of Porto and the Research Institute for Design, Media and Culture, where he is developing his thesis on the value of serendipity in digital interactions. ricardomelo.net
  • Miguel Carvalhais (INESC TEC / Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Porto, Portugal) is a designer and musician. He is an assistant professor at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Porto, researching new media and interaction design. He studies computational media and creative practices with procedural systems, and is the author of a book on these topics, Artificial Aesthetics. carvalhais.org

Full text (PDF) p. 515-522