1. Design Intervention
Thesis R&D
Interventions, Probes
& Prototypes
2013.10.03
Transitional Space
// Yu-Wen (Mark) Liang

2. “Transitional space is the space of play and
creativity — where our culture is created,
where love can grow, where teaching and
learning take place, where art is made, and
where culture is created.”
-Donald Winnicott
English Psychoanalyst

3. Thesis R&D
Interventions, Probes
& Prototypes
2013.10.03
Why Transitional Space?
After researching a lot about interactive installations in public
space, I found myself interested in the relation between the
viewers and the space. Lots of the projects I love were actually
located in a transitional space, where people normally won’t stay.
It’s the place where people walk by everyday, but never take a
second look. I started to wonder what I can do with this space.

4. Thesis R&D
Interventions, Probes
& Prototypes
2013.10.03
Why Transitional Space?
By bringing in some interactive installations, people could get a
glimpse of the future and appreciate more about the space. They
could bring delight to people and also ignite dialogue between the
space and the viewer. I’m interested in the temporality of the
interactive art and want to dissect the interactivity and the
philosophy behind of them.

5. Thesis R&D
Interventions, Probes
& Prototypes
2013.10.03
Phase 1: Identification
I need to define the type of transitional space I’m interested
to investigate, so I went on a tour around the city and took
lots of pictures...
Types of transition:
1. Transition between 2 destination.
2. Transition between exterior and interior
3. Transition between nature to buildings

6. Thesis R&D
Interventions, Probes
& Prototypes
2013.10.03
1. Transition between 2 destination
2. Transition between exterior and interior
3. Transition between nature to buildings

7. Thesis R&D
Interventions, Probes
& Prototypes
2013.10.03
1. Transition between 2 destination
2. Transition between exterior and interior
3. Transition between nature to buildings

8. Thesis R&D
Interventions, Probes
& Prototypes
2013.10.03
1. Transition between 2 destination
2. Transition between exterior and interior
3. Transition between nature and buildings

9. Thesis R&D
Interventions, Probes
& Prototypes
2013.10.03
Phase 2: Observation
I want to learn people’s behavior in these kinds of space, so
I took some videos to document and see if there are
interesting findings…

11. Thesis R&D
Interventions, Probes
& Prototypes
2013.10.03
Phase 3: Intervention
I want to know what makes people interact in a transitional
space. What triggers people to stop and engage?
Experiment:
I put two papers in the studio at 9:00 am, 10/1. One with 20 circles and one
with 20 squares. No further explanations. See what happens…

12. Thesis R&D
Interventions, Probes
& Prototypes
2013.10.03
Phase 3: Intervention
I want to know what makes people interact in a transitional
space. What triggers people to stop and engage?
Experiment:
I put two papers in the studio at 9:00 am, 10/1. One with 20 circles and one
with 20 squares. No further explanations. See what happens…
10/1 Tue 11:42am10/2 Wed 09:02am

13. Thesis R&D
Interventions, Probes
& Prototypes
2013.10.03
What’s next?
- 1. Talk with people. Focus on a specific transitional space and
do more research about it.
- 2. Build an interactive art piece. Embed it into a transitional
space and document it.
- 3. Test with people and evaluate it. Learn more about how to
draw people in and be engaging / delightful.

14. Thesis R&D
Interventions, Probes
& Prototypes
2013.10.03
// Yu-Wen (Mark) Liang
Thank you.