Possibility of Utilizing Digital Traces for Enhancing Emotional Values of Digital Artifacts

Abstract

Background In the field of art, artists and designers often deliberately utilize material traces, called patinas, as a design resource for increasing the emotional value of an object regarding its aesthetic appearance, historicity, and authenticity. Meanwhile, besides analog objects, we encounter and possess several digital artifacts that generate digital traces. Then, can designers borrow the concept of patinas and utilize digital traces for enhancing the emotional value of digital artifacts? Methods We conducted guided tours and semi-structured interviews with 22 participants at their homes. We gathered the participants’ stories with their analog artifacts, digital devices and digital contents to explore the emotional impacts of traces on the possessions. Results We analyzed how and what kinds of traces are generated in the artifacts and compared the emotional impacts of material traces and digital traces on the artifacts. The impacts were classified into aesthetic appearance, historicity, and authenticity. As a result of the comparison, we discussed design opportunities that should be considered for designing digital artifacts that improve with digital traces. Conclusions As an early attempt to explore issues of making emotionally valuable digital artifacts via digital traces, this research investigated what kinds of material and digital traces are constructed and how the traces affect emotional value. This paper makes a contribution by exploring ways of using digital traces as a design resource in the digital domain.