Introduction Magic Tea (MT) is an interactive art installation with which users can prepare and drink tea (Fig.1). It aims to invite self-transcendent experiences (STE) during this activity. The installation uses tangible connected objects and the users own biometric data to blur the boundaries between the user and the objects used in the installation. The […]
Category Archives: Wisdom Interface
Slow breathing through entrainment
Magic Tea is an interactive installation aimed to invite transformative experiences during the everyday act of preparing and drinking tea (fig. 1). The first design included several instances of entrainment to promote slow breathing. From previous user tests, it became clear that many participants didn’t notice the entraining stimuli or that the stimuli themselves were […]
Magic Tea design iterations
During the previous experiment with both the interactive and analogue installation users reported obstacles which took them out of the experience and hindered a fluid interaction with the objects. Some of them were technology-related others might be solved at the analogue level. These were Fear of spilling (water, tea), solution: using a genuine teapot with […]
Magic Tea Validation
After conducting the Magic Tea demonstrations it became clear that the intervention had potential for promoting the right mind-states towards a self-transcendent experience (STE). A Wizard of Oz technique was used to simulate automated interactions. Over the past months the system has been prepared to allow users to operate the installation autonomously. This blogpost describes […]
Tasting tea
Introduction This experiment aims to clarify which tea is the most appropriate for use during the Magic Tea ceremony. Earlier research by the author has resulted in the following the design criteria for the tea to be used: as natural and unprocessed as possible, aesthetically pleasing, evoke curiosity, may be unfamiliar. In collaboration with a […]
Magic Tea demonstrations
Introduction During the Cultuurnacht (Culture night) of this year Awareness Lab demonstrated for the first time the Magic Tea prototype. Technical difficulties made it impossible to have a fully automated ceremony. Instead Emanuela Slanzi was asked to perform the ceremony while designer Danielle Roberts manually operated the system. This way the audience could experience Magic […]
Exploring the aspects of preparing and drinking tea
Introduction This post describes an experiment which explored how the different parts in the process of making and drinking tea can become an activity which promotes wholeness and in how far this modified activity evokes factors of enlightenment (attention, interest, energy, joy, calm and concentration). The result are translated into design criteria for the Magic […]
Embodied aspects of drinking tea
Data on drinking tea is not rare, branch organisations often interview the general public on their tea habits and consumption (Dutch National coffee and tea survey, 2018). This may give us information about taste preferences, perceptions and consumption behaviour but it doesn’t give much insight into how the actual act of drinking tea is experienced […]
Christopher Alexander in practice part 2
From reading to doing After describing how I got introduced to the writings of Christopher Alexander this post tells the story of how I put his theory into practice. I was unfamiliar with his design methods and unsure where to start. I organised a couple of workshops (Fig. 1 & 2) together with Baltan Laboratories […]
Christopher Alexander in practice part 1
Looking for inspiration In the early stages of my master I went to visit artist TeZ in his studio in Amsterdam. His studio is a pleasantly chaotic mixture of a science lab, sound studio and maker space. I had met TeZ a couple of years earlier and we immediately recognised our mutual interest in body […]