Visual diaries in networked communities – Design patternsand the concept of genre as tools for media analysis

This paper summarises an interdisciplinary research project aimed at designing interactive, visual support in a networked community. A basic idea of the project is to use visual diaries as raw materials in the building of a shared, immersive 3-D world environment. The concepts of design patterns and genre are discussed in relation to there usefulness as analytical tools to support collaborative design. The generative possibilities of these tools are at the centre of the discussion. The conclusion is that the concepts of genre and design patterns, by their power to involve community members in an early phase of the design process, may prove to be useful analytical tools. Another important possibility is that these conceptual tools may provide fruitful common ground for the joint studies of digital media from the perspectives of Cinema Studies and Computer Science.