Multimedia Design in the United Arab Emirates Essay
The field of the visual art is actively developing, and today researchers speak about the era of
the multimedia design in the modern art. According to Packer and Jordan, multimedia “is
emerging as the defining medium of the twenty-first century”, and much attention should be
paid to the discussion of multimedia as the integration of a variety of artistic forms and
techniques to attract the audience (Packer & Jordan, 2002, p. xv).
The focus on the multimedia is observed in any social field, and this combination of artistic
tools and forms is used in the educational sphere, entertainment, and business. The
development of information technologies allowed combining different media almost without
barriers. This process is also observed in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where the
advantages of the multimedia design are used in developing new places of entertainment,
cinemas, organizing festivals and art exhibitions. In spite of the fact that the other Gulf
Cooperation Council (GCC) countries also utilize the benefits of the multimedia design, the
UAE is among the world innovators in the sphere, and this area is rapidly developing in the
country with the focus on the progress of such tendencies as 4-D effects, 360-degree cinemas,
and the full immersion.
Multimedia Design and Its Definition
The multimedia design is discussed by theorists and practitioners as the art field, the main
feature of which is the combination of different media in order to produce a certain effect on
the audience (Abbasi & Baroudi, 2012). From this point, the multimedia design is oriented to
appeal to almost all senses of the viewer and to make him or her become the part of the art
object through the concept of interactivity. Thus, the main features of the multimedia design
as the use of combined tools to achieve a certain effect are interactivity, immersion,
integration, hypermedia, and narrativity. Interactivity means the involvement of a viewer or
user in the process of developing the art object through manipulating it. Such traditional
products of the multimedia design as websites and simulations allow users the active
participation in the process of the object transformation (Luque, Galloso, Feijoo, Martín, &
Cisneros, 2014, p. 16).
The idea of immersion is closely associated with interactivity because the multimedia design
usually allows a user to become the part of the three-dimensional environment. These effects
are typical for modern art exhibitions, installations, as well as 3-D and 4-D cinemas or IMAX
cinemas. The immersion is possible when there is an integration of different artistic forms
with the innovative technologies. Grau notes that the technology contributed to the
development of the multimedia design, and it “was applied in the attempt to integrate the
image and the observer: stereoscope, Cineorama, stereoptic television, Sensorama, Expanded
Cinema, 3-D, Omnimax, and IMAX cinema” (Grau, 2004, p. 5). Hypermedia is related to the
direct combination of multiple media elements with the purpose of their integration.
Narrativity is associated with such feature of the multimedia design as the ability to apply
different aesthetic approaches and tools.
When all these components of the multimedia design are used in one art or media object,
viewers receive the opportunity to perceive images differently because interactive objects
seem to remove barriers to the users’ perception and participation. Gibson claims that
multimedia “is not an invention but an ongoing discovery of how the mind and the universes
it imagines (or vice versa, depending) fit together and interact” (Gibson, 2002, p. xiv). In
addition, discussing the multimedia strategy, Grau concludes that it “aims at producing a
high-grade feeling of immersion, of presence (an impression suggestive of “being there”),
which can be enhanced further through interaction with apparently “living” environments in
“real time” (Grau, 2004, p. 7).
From this point, the multimedia design is a specific discipline that aims to enrich the
experience of users and viewers while focusing on the idea of integrated images and artistic
forms and on the concept of interactivity. Therefore, today the multimedia is actively used in
many spheres of the social life.
The Use of the Multimedia Design in the UAE
Artists, designers, and professionals in graphic design working in the UAE are traditionally
discussed as innovators in the area of the multimedia design. The most vivid multimedia
objects are created and creating in Dubai and Abu Dhabi. The sphere of multimedia design in
the UAE attracts many talents from all over the world because of significant investments in
the development of the artistic and technological components of the multimedia projects
(Khamis, 2015).
From this perspective, the governments of the Emirates contribute to the progress of the
multimedia as the part of the business, social, and cultural programs. The professionals in the
sphere of multimedia receive many opportunities and resources to realize their ideas with the
focus on innovative technologies and strategies to integrating the media. As a result, such an
approach has the significant positive effect on the development of Dubai and Abu Dhabi as
cultural and entertainment centers in the region in comparison to other cities in the GCC
countries.
The examples of the latest prominent achievements in the sphere of the multimedia design are
numerous. The interactive tour in Dubai known as Dubai 360 is one of the most vivid
examples of using the multimedia for working with websites (Khamis, 2015). The launch of
the largest virtual and interactive city tour in the world demonstrated what opportunities are
opened to the multimedia designers working on interactive websites in the UAE. The service
illustrates how it is possible to integrate the panoramic photographs with the interactivity
component to produce the unique experience for users (FigureD1).
The developers of Dubai 360 also created Obscura Spherical Projection Theater that is
actively used in education and for entertaining the audience (Dubai 360, 2015;DFigureD2).
This theater demonstrates the extent to which multimedia designers can use the idea of
immersion in their projects. The multimedia designers are among the most experienced in the
world to develop 360-degree cinemas. The Dome Box is one of the unique cinemas in the
world that allows the spectators to enjoy the advantages of a 360-degree screen that is placed
in the ceilings (Awesome 360-degree cinema,2015;DFigureD3). Still, the multimedia designers
in Dubai went further and proposed the advantages of theD4D cinema in the chain
ofVOXDCinemas. As a result, Dubai currently uses the latest technologies in the sphere of
the multimedia design, and the professionals working in the UAE are among pioneers in the
industry. The audience in the Emirates has the opportunity to enjoy unique experiences while
watching films or attending the theater.360-degree and 4D cinemas provide the opportunity
to involve almost all senses, and the perception of the spectator becomes full.
However, the multimedia design in the UAE is a developing sphere, and innovators in the
field need to exchange the experience with other professionals in the industry. Therefore,
Dubai regularly hosts exhibitions and main events in the area of the multimedia design.DISEA
2014Dwas one of the most influential art and design symposiums located in Dubai. Another
important event isDDubai Design District,Dthe participants of which aim to share their
accomplishments and exchange their experiences in the area of theDmultimediaDdesign. These
projects, conferences, exhibitions, and events have the significant effect on the development
of the multimedia tradition in the UAE as the country where the most innovative and
provocative ideas are realized with the support of the government.
Conclusion
The UAE is the leading country in the GCC region in terms of using the advantages of the
multimedia design and technologies. The professionals working in the UAE are known as
innovators in the area because they focus on realizing the most provocative ideas and
integrating the recent technologies and numerous art forms. The multimedia design is rapidly
developing in the UAE, and the most vivid examples of this process are the opened cinemas
with 4-D effects, 360-degree cinemas, and theaters providing the full immersions. Many
conferences and events in the sphere of the multimedia design are also held in Dubai as the
center of the innovative thought. From this point, the multimedia design is the area in which
professionals can realize their art ideas with the focus on multiple technologies and available
tools.
References
Abbasi, A., & Baroudi, U. (2012). Immersive environment: An emerging future of
telecommunications.DIEEE MultiMedia,D1(1), 80-86.
Awesome 360-degree cinema at Boxpark. (2015).
Dubai 360: Spherical Projection Theater. (2015).
Ferrari: Ferrari World Abu Dhabi. (2015).
Gibson, W. (2002). Foreword. In K. Jordan & R. Packer (Eds.),DMultimedia: From Wagner to
virtual realityD(pp. xi-xiv). New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company. Web
Grau, O. (2004).DVirtual art: From illusion to immersion. New York, NY: The MIT Press.
Khamis, J. (2015).DDubai 360 launches the world’s first online interactive city tour.
Luque, F. P., Galloso, I., Feijoo, C., Martín, C. A., & Cisneros, G. (2014). Integration of
multisensorial stimuli and multimodal interaction in a hybrid 3DTV system.DACM
Transactions on Multimedia Computing, Communications, and Applications,D11(1), 16-28.
Packer, R., & Jordan, K. (2002). Overture. In K. Jordan & R. Packer (Eds.),DMultimedia:
From Wagner to virtual realityD(pp. xv-xxxviii). New York, NY: W. W. Norton & Company.
