On Being Enchanted by Enchanted Objects
Here’s a confession: until two weeks ago, my knowledge of the “internet of things” mainly consisted of having heard the term before. I took it for granted that all technological progress boiled down to replacing objects with apps, and assumed the IoT must be a similar idea. For the past decade or so, it’s certainly seemed that progress has meant doing away with many of the everyday objects that give us comfort, replacing them with a screen. And while I appreciate the convenience of having dozens of tools and endless information in my pocket, a future wherein everything eventually becomes an app also makes me a little sad. I like clocks and cameras and books and maps.
Because of this, I was a little apprehensive when I first picked up Enchanted Objects by David Rose. I was suspicious that “enchanting” an object might be a euphemism for erasing it and converting it to a screen version of itself. I’m a ruminator, so I also worried what this skepticism meant about me as a future designer.
If you’ve already read Enchanted Objects, you know I was wrong. In the first few pages of the book, Rose makes a case for objects that are designed with emotion and magic, objects that use technology to delight and enchant us. In fact, his biggest nightmare is a world in which everything is replaced by a screen. He calls this world “Terminal World.”
Screens are so prevalent today that it’s easy to imagine them as the default future, but that world is only one of four possibilities Rose outlines for the future. There are also amazing things possible with prosthetics and animism. And of course, the most “pleasing and promising” technological future, at least according to Rose, is the future of enchanted objects.
The key to enchanted objects is that they are still physical things, just enhanced by technology. A popular example from the book is an umbrella with a handle that glows when it’s about to rain, gently letting you know that you should grab it on your way out the door. Rose believes that we can and should try to make objects more delightful as we make them more efficient.
I was completely charmed by Rose’s vision of a future in which everyday objects have the power to enchant us. I signed up for this MA program taking it for granted that I would work on screens. Enchanted Objects has helped me realize there is an entire world of user experiences I didn’t even know existed.
