「我出生於台北市。」
這樣一份帶著地域宣示的開場白，對於生在 21 世紀的我們而言，似乎已經不太夠用了。
是的，我出生於台灣——這很重要，但更重要的大概是：
我手上的是 iPhone 11；主要用 Facebook、Instagram 和知乎；偶爾會刷微博、Twitter、還有 Reddit ；在 Medium 上寫作；最近剛下載了 Tiktok 和小紅書，暫時還沒從那巨大的文化衝擊中恢復過來。以及，我有相當嚴重的 3D 暈眩，所以在有更好的技術解決方案之前，我應該是無緣於 Metaverse 了。
我們這一代人有幸生在了新時代的前夜，得以完整的見證了這個資訊化時代二十多年來的發展：
無形巨構自 0 與 1 的海洋中冉冉升起、演算法和數據的洪流湧入了現實生活、模糊了時空的界線、螢幕中的炫麗閃光塞滿了我們注意力的每一個角落。而同時，我們似乎也見證了某種失去 — — 若引用自法國哲學家 Bernard Stiegler，那就是數據化下知識和空間的失去，某種巨量資訊之下的總體大短路。
“ the Medium is the Message. ”
— Marshall McLuhan
我們對媒體的理解已經改變了。
在大學期間，我逐漸的意識到傳統的設計方法/傳達手段在當代所呈現的失語狀態 — — 那些曾被我們認為高效的設計，在數字化面前越發顯得捉襟見肘 — — 經由大數據、算法和資本主義的不斷加速，粉碎的注意力在資訊的風暴中越發的難以凝結，甚至不再擁有可被聚焦的整體景觀。在面對新技術和媒介時，一些創作者甚至已經放棄了傳達的嘗試——只是越來越炫目零碎且迷因化，存在只是為了短暫快速的調動驅力，而不需要其他理由——如果在算法推薦下有著看不完的貓咪迷因影片，那我們還有什麼理由要去思考或傳達任何知識或價值呢？我們追隨者著 “just do it!” 的口號飛奔向前，卻不知道 what to do.
「……天使想停下來喚醒死者，把破碎的世界修補完整。可是從天堂吹來了一陣風暴，他猛烈地吹擊著天使的翅膀，以致他再也無法把它們收攏。這風暴無可抗拒地把天使刮向他背對著的未來，而他面前的殘垣斷壁卻越堆越高直逼天際。這場風暴就是我們所稱的進步。」
- 班雅明 《歷史哲學史綱》
只是作為一名設計師，我相信「如何運用技術？」及「我們在與技術的互動中應扮演什麼角色？」都是需要被我們嚴肅思考和討論的問題 — — 甚至這就是我們所面臨的主要問題。
我對人與網路/社交媒體的互動關係有著相當的興趣。我們已經進入資訊化時代超過三十年了，卻始終無法與網路建立一種負熵性的互動關係：資訊化似乎總是消耗性的。當代的哲學家們為此提供了大量的分析，卻始終沒有給出答案。而我在尋找答案：我想知道是否有一種可能，可能在人與網路-數據之間創造一種積極的、負熵的互動模式 — — 讓設計扮演資訊和人類之間的緩沖、篩選器、或防護網 — — 而不只是簡單粗暴地說：「不要上網就好」。我對於技術的發展始終抱持著樂觀態度；我也相信，由技術所衍生出來的問題，都能被技術的實踐解決。
同時，我作為一名平面設計師，我在創作的過程中也認知到純平面設計的局限性：事到如今，還想要單純的利用圖像或文字去說服別人是相當不現實的。資訊傳遞在當代有著更加複雜且隱諱的路徑，若是想要完成順暢的交流，我們需要建立的是遠比視覺圖像更加複雜的跨感官沈浸式經驗；而種經驗必須建立在目標對象所處的文化、資訊、社會脈絡之上。而我們對設計背後的脈絡理解的越是深入、越是透徹，也就越能夠抓住目標和自身的定位。試著用理智的方法去建立那些位於理智之外的、純粹感性上的共情和理解。
即，試圖找到一種基於綜合設計方法的，負熵性文化生產方式。
2022 / 台北
“ I was born in Taiwan. ”
Such an introductory statement with a regional declaration seems to be insufficient for us — born in the 21st century. Yes, I was born in Taipei, Taiwan, and that’s important, but what’s more important probably:
I am an iPhone user; I mainly use Facebook, Instagram, and Zhihu; I occasionally use Weibo, Twitter and Reddit; I write on Medium; I just downloaded TikTok few days ago, haven’t recovered from the huge cultural shock yet. Also, I have pretty severe 3D vertigo, so I’m probably out of the Metaverse until there’s a better technical solution.
Our generation was fortunate enough to be born on the eve of a new era and to witness the development of this information age for over two decades: The invisible megastructures have risen from the sea of 0s and 1s, the bit-torrent of algorithms and data has flooded into our physical life, blurring the boundaries of time and space, the dazzling flashes on the screens have filled every corner of our attention. At the same time, we seem to be witnessing a certain kind of loss. If we quote the French philosopher Bernard Stiegler, it is the loss of knowledge and space under digitization, a general short circuit under the huge amount of information.
“ the Medium is the Message. ”
— Marshall McLuhan
Our understanding of the media has changed.
In my process of creating a series of works at my university, I have gradually realized the aphasia of traditional design methods/means of communication — those designs that we once considered highly effective and stable are now feeling the pinch in the face of the digital world. Under the acceleration of big-data and algorithms, people’s attention is being crushed in the flood of information. We are losing the ability to focus on our social landscape. What people paying attention to is getting more and more meme-like and fetishized, only aim to provoke our drives — if there are endless cat meme videos to watch on the recommendation of algorithm, why do we need to convey any knowledge or value? Many creators and curators have even given up trying to communicate. Our designs and creations are simply tautology of the concept “ the Medium is the Message ”; they are flying with the slogan “ just do it! ” without knowing “ what to do. ”
“ …the angel would like to stay, awaken the dead, and make whole what has been smashed. But a storm is blowing from Paradise; it has got caught in his wings with such violence that the angel can no longer close them. The storm irresistibly propels him into the future to which his back is turned, while the pile of debris before him grows skyward. This storm is what we call progress. ”
— Walter Benjamin “theses on the philosophy of history”
As a designer, I do believe that “ How we use technology? ” & “ What should be our role in interacting with technology? ” are questions that we need to consider and discussed seriously. I am looking forward to finding my niche as a graphic designer in the information age.
Currently, I’m highly interested in our relationship with the internet/social media. We’ve already been in the information age for over three decades, but we never seem to find a negentropic way to live with the internet — our relationship always seems exhausted. Contemporary philosophers have provided a great deal of analysis, but there is still no solution. I’m looking for one. I wonder if it is possible to create a positive, negentropic mode of interaction between humans and the Internet/data — Let the design be the buffer, or a filter, or a shield between information and human beings, instead of simply saying “ don’t go online ”. I am optimistic about the progress of technology — I also believe that most of the problems that arise from technology can be solved by the use of technology.
At the same time, as a graphic designer, I did recognize the limitations of graphic design.
Nowadays, it is quite unrealistic to convince people simply by using graphics or words. Information transmission has a more complex and obscure path. If we want to accomplish a smooth communication, we need to establish a far more complex cross-sensory/immersive experience than only graphics. The experience must be built on the cultural, political, and social context of the target audience. The deeper and more thoroughly we understand the context behind our design, the better we will be able to find our position and achieve our goals. Try to use the rational approach to establish emotional empathy and understanding.
In other words, to find a negentropy way of cultural production which based on an integrated design approach.
2022 / Taipei
