Abstract
Using data gathered by means of participatory observation and in-depth interviews conducted over two years of fieldwork in a club devoted to after-parties, the present text examines (a) the elements within a club of house music; (b) the way these elements interplay among them in the design and creations of the dance floor experience; and (c) how Design transcends the physical constrain of objects to be radicalized as experience in this context. The aim of this text is to open a discussion about the capacities of Design to trigger emotions and organize interpersonal interactions using the dance floor experience as a case study. This study accompanies the increasing scholar interest in the relation of Design and clubbing, while presenting data gathered through first-hand experiences, hel** to close the gap in Design literature regarding clubbing, which tend to use data from secondary sources.
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Notes
- 1.
A musical theme released in 2003 by Moloko.
- 2.
The correct name of this theme is The Power, and it was released in 1990 by Snap!
- 3.
This can be compared to a person playing video games who is capable to focus on the screen and not on the controllers or the equipment.
- 4.
Digital hot cues have their analogue precedent in vinyl records, where DJs used wax crayons to draw a mark on the disc’s surface, recording specific spots where they should place the needle of the turntable to find musical sections.
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Acknowledgements
This work was financed by national funds through the Portuguese FCT—Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia. Thanks to all the anonymous DJs who, voluntary and selflessly, offered their time and knowledge to conclude this work. Thanks to all the staff members of the Lottus After-hours, for allowing the development of this research.
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Lugo-Elías, C., Cardoso, P. (2023). Design Radicalized as Experience: Disentangling and Reassembling the Dance Floor Experience to Understand the Relationship Between Design and Clubbing. In: Martins, N., Brandão, D., Paiva, F. (eds) Perspectives on Design and Digital Communication III. Springer Series in Design and Innovation , vol 24. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-06809-6_6
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