Expressive Iteration

“Life is based in habits. How are they formed? How can you get good ones? Chow shows how to use variation within repetition to turn routines into sustaining concepts of self and expression. He guides readers through tools of blending, narrative, mixed reality, and artificial intelligence to change mundane patterns into meaningful lives.” Mark Turner, author of The Origin of Ideas: Blending, Creativity, and the Human Spark. “In this well-written, entertaining and inspiring book, Chow presents his carefully developed and tested concept of expressive iteration, which relies on the blending of the mundane routine with imaginative, self-gratifying and appealing narratives. This blending process inspires the design of persuasive technologies that are truly useful to turn repetitive actions into joyful steps that help people achieve their long-term goals. The process proposed is illustrated on numerous examples, making the book an enjoyable and stimulating read.” Kerstin Fischer, Professor for Language and Technology Interaction, University of Southern Denmark. “Chow travels through a sprawling universe of examples reaching from Japanese woodblock prints to exercise apps. Along this journey, he dissects media for their underlying iterative action design. It is an investigation into the power of these repeating routines. How does iteration affect our storytelling? Our calendars? Our daily workout? Chow makes us look (and look again) at the possibilities for designing daily chores and behaviors as he re-imagines speculative variants of these routines and traces how they might shape our life.” Michael Nitsche, Professor of Digital Media, Georgia Tech. “Chow's Expressive Iteration makes a provocative intervention in the ways in which we understand our daily routines. Demonstrating innovative ways of transforming mundane routines into compelling narratives, Chow shows us how to find renewed enthusiasm for that which we must do.” Grant Hamilton, Associate Professor of English Literature, Chinese University of Hong Kong.