“Netsomnia” is a term I coined to describe the habits we do while using our smartphones during intended “bedtime” hours. An experimental project addressing the reality of sleep deprivation and the effects of bedtime phoneuse and media consumptions at night, which is often left unmoderated and ignored unconsciously or intently. It is not a book that gives you solution, but inquires for one. With the present of functional data visualizations, supported by cyberpunk and scientific infused artworks, the reader is immersed into a world of revelations and is motivated to self-evaluate, helping to bring out practical decision making. The book is emulating the use of smartphones and internet, equipped with multiple highly visualized looping content metaphorically mimicking social media, explorations of expressive art, and kinetic type, while discussing health issues related to lack of sleep, and internet addictions. Which can only be revealed by reappropriating the smartphone as a device that reveals such information. Its heart and primary objective is to raise awareness and educate through a relaxing and mind stimulating media consumption.
This thesis project was intended to harness all my knowledge and skills, so therefore I went into a greater length of experimental and systemic process. I started by doing demographic research and conducted a survey to collect a sampled data. After I’ve structured the whole content of the book, I then worked at visual explorations, experimenting with closed-eye hallucinations, augmented-reality, video synthesizers, and smartphones to manage the data I’ve gathered and in search of a unique visual language. Proceeded by creating more than 50 different data visualization concepts and iterations that became vessels. Through a systematic distribution, each data has undergone through a step-by-step process assigning them to the right visualizer which are then animated, until entering countless of refinements and remastering stages. Simultaneously, each represented data have their accompanying artwork and titles as visual aids. I managed to create each with an array moodboards connected to my visual explorations. Finally, the book is accompanied by an AR app developed to interpret each folios as well as a dedicated website version.
A restless eye staring, a series of stretched type communicating an issue against a noisy muted background, a black field but colourful artwork performing a series of daily life, familiar icons and interfaces spread around the pages, and visually moving entities with magically manifesting labels presenting a data. The book features a unique visual language and with the use of the accompanying AR app, the book can be interpreted using a smartphone device. It is a way for me to turn around the use of the phone as an electronic media consuming device to a self-sabotaging educational material. The overall design of the book is infused with my visual explorations of the closed-eye hallucinations phenomenon, inspired by technology, and cyberpunk. Purposely put together to emulate the internet and social media’s immense world of information. The book is deliberately structured to endlessly loop, just like smartphones, audience with short attention span specially the ‘netsomniac’ kind, are hooked.
