Interface & E-Lit

My Body, a Wunderkammer by Shelley Jackson and Depression Quest by Zoe Quinn are both pinnacle examples of electronic and digital-born literature. The primary components of electronic literature are the written pieces of literature, as well as the interface that the author or publisher chooses to embed their stories with. These interfaces are curated to be viewed from a digital device, as opposed to being utilized in a typical, bound version of a paper book. As described by Johanna Drucker in the Digital Humanities Coursebook, "An interface is a zone of exchange. An interface can connect a person with a computer (as with the screens on our devices), a computer with a computer (as in an API), or a network of multiple systems and agents with each other... Interface design organizes our experience and, very simply, if something is not “on the menu” it cannot be found or acted on" (Drucker 172). A reason why each of these stories are not truly able to be fully utilized in a non-digital method is due to the interactive storylines and hyperlinks that are embedded within the story. While the typical elements of literature are seen, such as imagery ("It's an unseasonably warm Wednesday evening" (Quinn)), plot and point of view, these components are further support through the use of hyperlinks, menus and clickable images. 

For the design of my final website in Unit 4, I plan on implementing several components that were discussed in the readings. Hyperlinks will be used within bodies of text to connect to separate webpages on my website, a main menu will be able to link audiences to specific portions of my website that they may be looking for, as well as incorporating strong visuals to keep audiences engaged. Not only will these aspects of my websites keep the attention of my audiences, but will improve the segmentation of my data on the visual and navigational level, due to the majority of text and dense data being broken up across several pages, instead of one cluttered webpage. While my website will not be able to be classified as electronic literature, I plan on implementing any interactive pieces within my website that I am able to, which will greatly improve the overall interface design of my project, as well as enable me to include as much data as possible for audiences to enjoy.

Comments

  1. KaitNovember 8, 2022 at 12:03 PM

    Hi Cam! Even though your website might not classify as electronic literature, I like that you can still use these examples and the readings we've done to help make your website easier to interact with! Hyperlinks were the best thing ever invented for projects like these.

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  2. Jordan RobichaudNovember 8, 2022 at 9:58 PM

    Hi Cam! You mentioned something so important here that I forgot to touch on in my response– the choice to embed standard literature into an effective format. I touched on the effectiveness of the formats as a means of analyzing the site, but didn't think enough on the conscious choice the author makes as to how to embed their text in the most impactful way. I'm glad you touched on this, and agree with your point!

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  3. Dr. MNovember 9, 2022 at 11:07 AM

    "Zone of exchange" is also great. And, yes, the hyperlinks are an integral (crucial really) part of the narratives. "The medium is the message" -McLuhan :)

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