OBJECTIVE:  Reflect on "The Interface as Sign and Aesthetic Event" and articulate how the content relates to your personal experience learning programming and how semiotics elevates your artwork.

In this reading, the term Aesthetic Computing and the idea of semiotics is discussed.  In this case “aesthetics” doesn’t necessarily talk about how beautiful something is (although it can be beautiful as well, but that is secondary), but rather how something is perceived by one’s senses.  I think this is an important concept to consider when talking about computing because this is exactly directed to how the user interacts with the program.  This also relates to my personal experiences with learning programming because a good interface makes me feel like I am actually participating in the creation of something, even if the product is not “physical”.  It also keeps my attention and helps to alleviate frustrations so I will want to continue to complete the task I am working on.  From these personal experiences, I decided to make it a goal of mine to become a front end web designer or ux/ui designer so I can understand what makes a good interface and help others achieve (and hopefully enjoy!) what they need to do with the program they are working on.  Without aesthetics, there is no program (you wouldn’t be able to see/hear it!). To paraphrase from the reading, “the program needs a face”.

The idea of semiotics, or the theory of signs, is also discussed.  This is related to my digital artwork because signs and symbols are used throughout all of the programs that I use to create art (i.e. Photoshop, Illustrator, etc.).  To be able to click on a brush icon, for example, then “make” some marks on the screen that produce a visual image that I can alter is necessary to complete my work.  To manipulate a program in such a “tactile” way seems to make the division between human and computer dissolve and thus become a new type of interacting entity.  This type of “relationship” helps me to be able to focus more energy on the artwork itself rather than figuring out how I am going to communicate to the program what I want it to do.  If there were no signs (for both the user and the program/computer), I think this communication would be either impossible or so tedious that I would probably give up on the task I was trying to complete.