ABSTRACT
In the following chapter the authors argue for a reframing of designed experience through the metaphor of temporal proximity. Rather than seeing events, participations, or experiences as solo endeavors, the present investigation asks the designer to be attentive to the ubiquitous and essential pairing of self with an other for any actual interaction to occur. Interactions framed as pairings can then be critiqued for proximity; not only spatial proximity but also temporal proximity, that is, the fidelity of entrainment shared between engaged parties. This renewed attention offers the temporally aware designer to consider, for example, the rhythms of an experience or opportunities to cue participants for the arc of an event, or to track progress toward an aspired-to goal. The following study prompts a perspective change for designers, shifting from an understanding of temporal experience as a sequence of distinct moments to a continuum of unfolding experience.
