The design of the keyboard as a form of hardware has always been
fascinating to me, given the fact that people all over the world use
this tool to type in different languages and communicate with each
other. Compared to writing or speaking, using the keyboard unifies the
process and the outcome of typing. Therefore, the typed-out words seem
to be unified – one can’t tell the accent, the voice, the pace, the
style of the person behind these unified words. Because of this, the
keyboard becomes a tool of erasing oneself while using the language.
I believe that language, once used by a particular person, becomes personal. Thus, my idea for the “Keyboard” project is to bring back the erased self. I use the position of a letter on the keyboard as its x and y position, and I add the element of time as the z-axis to the coordinate system. Thus, the z position of a letter depends on the time interval between it and the former letter (time); the opacity of that letter depends on the intensity with which the key is pressed (emotion). All the elements create a 3D line object, like a little spirit in space. This project contains a self-built pressure-sensitive keyboard as the input hardware and an interactive online platform to generate the little spirits, as well as to archive them.
I believe that language, once used by a particular person, becomes personal. Thus, my idea for the “Keyboard” project is to bring back the erased self. I use the position of a letter on the keyboard as its x and y position, and I add the element of time as the z-axis to the coordinate system. Thus, the z position of a letter depends on the time interval between it and the former letter (time); the opacity of that letter depends on the intensity with which the key is pressed (emotion). All the elements create a 3D line object, like a little spirit in space. This project contains a self-built pressure-sensitive keyboard as the input hardware and an interactive online platform to generate the little spirits, as well as to archive them.