Theoretical Research

There are many directions in which to explore the appeal that analog devices have for people.

I have categorized my research into 4 main categories:

1. Analog as Object

2. Analog as Experience

3. Analog as Metaphor

4. Historical Research

ANALOG AS OBJECT

SECURITY IN THE PAST

Apart from having historical value or monetary worth, nostalgia is increasingly popular because of the uncertainty of today. The past is familiar and safe; it is fixed, unalterable and indelibly recorded. We feel that objects from the past can be ‘trusted’, even if we’ve never used them before.

VESSELS OF MEMORY

For some people, these objects were used by their grandparents or parents, which therefore serve as a reminder of their loved ones.

TANGIBILITY

Unlike digital objects, analog objects (and the things they produce) are physical, tangible objects that can be held, kept, and passed down.

QUALITY: LONGEVITY

Old things were made to last; nowadays goods are made with “planned obsolescence” in mind, and our throw-away culture isn’t helping. Digital objects tend to be disposable, so we don’t cherish them as much.

QUALITY: SOUND

For music lovers, the sound quality of vinyl still surpasses digital music, which compresses sound and makes it less ‘full’.

ANALOG

AS EXPERIENCE

FASCINATION & 'MAGIC'

To those who’ve not had any experience with analog devices, it is fascinating that images, text and sound can appear without electricity. However, unlike digital devices, one can "gure out how these things appear magically - chemical processes, mechanical gears still leave us fascinated at the object maker’s ingenuity.

"To be in contact with an object means to be moved by it - to have the pressure of its existence brought into a relation with the pressure of our own bodily existence."

− Susan Stewart, Museums of Touch

TACTILITY & INVOLVEMENT OF SENSES

Non-digital devices allow us to directly touch and participate in creation and production, without the mediation of technical processing.

PROCESS VS.

INSTANT GRATIFICATION

Waiting for the polaroid vs. camera phone. Writing a letter vs. Whatsapp. Much of the enjoyment in analog comes from the process of making and waiting.

'REALNESS' & AUTHENTICITY

The light leaks, scratches & grain on film is increasingly appreciated over the plastic perfection of Photoshop... and people are (ironically) photoshopping digital photos to look more like film. Many analog users also report that it feels more ‘organic’ and ‘real’.

ANALOG

AS METAPHOR

NEED TO CONNECT

The Embracing Analog study found that people cited rational reasons—ease, speed, convenience and cost—for why they prefer to do things online. But they cite emotional reasons— better experience and comfort—when asked why they do things in the physical world.

NEED TO MAKE, CREATE & LEAVE A MARK

Making things give us a sense of wonder, agency & possibility; it rewards us with a sense of satisfaction. Analog objects encourage making, in the sense that action directly impacts result - it makes us feel that we’ve actually done by ourselves, something that digital cannot fully achieve because of its perfection, precision and reproducibility.

NEED TO BE

IN CONTROL

Even though analog devices are also machines that make human life easier, it still requires a “certain effort or input on the part of the operator, in order to perform its function.” (karen, aitype blog) In the end, humans like to have a certain control in what they produce.

DESIRE TO

SLOW DOWN

Life nowadays has become too fast and busy for many people. Our perspective of time = finite, linear, scarce. So we want everything to be fast, at the cost of slow processes - like human relationships.

"As human beings we need our emotional being satisfied, and obviously that need isn’t being met by our digital experiences. Therefore, in order to balance that, we’re seeking the analog more than ever. We’re looking more more meaningful emotional experiences and connections. We’re seeking to rebalance our IQ and EQ states."

− Paul Woolmington, Embracing Analog

HISTORICAL

RESEARCH

It was a rebellion against machines, and advocated work done by human hands.

It was a comment on the conditions of life of working people in an industrialised society.

They were concerned with the effects it had on the traditional arts of the past.

They emphasized quality over quantity.

It sounds almost similar to the 'analog trend' now.

The Arts and Crafts Movement (ACM) aimed to promote a return to hand-craftsmanship and to assert the creative independence of individual craftspeople. It was a reaction against the industrialised society that had boomed in Britain in the Victorian period, and aimed for social as well as artistic reform.

- Design Museum