In this paper we want to explore Field as a concept and as a metaphor for understanding interactive systems. By interactive systems we mean both systems and artworks, where the user by interacting changes the course of events. We intend to show why we need new terms and why we consider Field to be a fruitful concept and term. Further we will show how the Field concept changes both our understanding of what we do as designers and composers and how we acknowledge our audience. We will exemplify the design consequences of the Field concept by going through some design considerations we made when designing the audio tactile installation Mufi.
During the last few years personas has become an established design technique within the IT-design field. Using personas has proven itself as a valuable approach for designers to switch between a developer's perspective and a user's perspectivein the design process. The technique is claimed to help designers in keeping a clear focus and shaping a consistent user-interface by making ‘the user’ present in the design work. In this paper we report on a number of projects where we have elaborated on the persona approach for collaborative design. With the goalof creating ‘user presence’ in the design process, we have developed an approach building on a combination of ethnographic exploration, participatory inquiry, and collaborative design. This paper carries two interrelated points: the grounding of personasin existing practice; and the notion that ‘the user’ is created as an ongoing process throughout the design work.