Frames

Abstract

The Medium is The Message" by Marshall McLuhan asserts that the form of a medium shapes the way messages are perceived more than the content itself. In today's screen-dominated landscape, this idea holds immense relevance as screen-based media have grown out of their original communication functions and became intricate governance systems of their own, shaping our daily consumption and social patterns. And whatever becomes routinised fades into the background, so that we no longer notice the medium and pay attention only to the content it carries.

Frames, a four-volume publication, seeks to highlight the intangible workings of screen-based media, in a tangible format. Each volume serves as a physical browsing frame to a facet of screen-based media, with its form (medium) mirroring its content (message). By designing form (medium) as content (message), it prompts viewers to consider the significance and bias of the medium itself, of how it shapes the message, physically, conceptually and mentally, such that it highlights equal significance of the medium alongside its message.