Uggggggggg, I really really really hope this does not happen!
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Dan
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Posted: February 2nd, 2010, 2:46pm PST by dan
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Posted: February 1st, 2010, 6:00pm PST by dan
Really cool infoviz project the duo at hint.fm put together about colors seen on Boston Common throughout the year. I’m seeing this one a bit late cos it was originally published in Boston Magazine, maybe I should actually start checking that publication out!Anyway, Fernanda Viégas and Martin Wattenberg have tons of really interesting projects. Check out Seer also if you have the time.
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Posted: January 29th, 2010, 2:14pm PST by dan
Interesting article from New York Times
The Age of Undoing
Facebook, for instance, allows you to register approval for a posted message in a very concrete way, by clicking a thumbs-up like button. Toggling off the button results in unliking your previously liked item. Note that this is different from disliking something, since unliking simply returns you to a neutral state. This kind of instant reversibility is now an inescapable facet of our digitized life — like it or un-.
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Posted: January 28th, 2010, 3:30pm PST by dan
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Posted: January 28th, 2010, 10:01am PST by dan
Working through Screens is a reference for product teams creating new or iteratively improved applications for thinking work. Written for use during early, formative conversations, it provides teams with a broad range of considerations for setting the overall direction and priorities for their onscreen tools. With hundreds of envisioning questions and fictional examples from clinical research, financial trading, and architecture, this volume can help definers and designers to explore innovative new directions for their products.
Scott
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Posted: January 27th, 2010, 1:32am PST by Scott
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Posted: January 25th, 2010, 1:13pm PST by Scott
While working on deep ocean graphics for a client, I inadvertently created something more cloud-like.
Dan
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Posted: January 22nd, 2010, 11:27am PST by dan
The N. Building in Japan is one huge QR code that becomes a living website thanks to augmented reality on the iPhone.
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Posted: January 22nd, 2010, 10:54am PST by dan
Here are two cool new ways to track who is consuming your content, and which pieces users find most interesting. First up:
Depending on the site, up to 6% of page loads results in a user copying content. While this may not sound like much, think of it this way: on a site that has 20 million page views per month, content is copied over one million times during any given month. That’s a lot. How do we know this? Tynt’s patent pending Insight technology is currently running on hundreds of thousands of web sites and monitors billions of page loads per month.
This is a potentially very cool idea, however, it’s a bit annoying that they auto-include a link back to the source content. I’d prefer a more ’silent’ solution. According to Tynt, they are: “currently working on providing users an option to opt out of Tynt Insight. If you’d like to disable Tynt Insight immediately, you can use an ad or script blocking tool to disable Tynt Insight.”
Second is:
[speakertext.com]
SpeakerText is an easy-to-use tool that lets you find, read and share what people are saying inside of videos. This is another powerful tool, that’s still in beta. I don’t know if it’s technically possible, but it would be great to see this technology drop Flash as its presentation layer. It could be much easier to spread content like this. For example, you would be able to combine the previous Tynt service to do some pretty wild things! Check out Nieman Labs for more. -
Posted: January 22nd, 2010, 10:43am PST by dan
So, I’ll probably never actually use this stuff now that I’m done with school, but just thought I’d share these links if anyone is interested:
[www.amarino-toolkit.net]
Cell phones are great for communication in a virtual manner, but lack expressiveness in personal surroundings. Many people try to give their phones a personal touch by customizing them. ‘android meets arduino’ is a toolkit to connect Android-driven mobile devices with Arduino microcontrollers via Bluetooth. The toolkit provides easy access to internal phone events which can be further processed on the Arduino open-source prototyping platform. This toolkit seeks to empower people to externalize their phone events to creatively demonstrate them on wearables, living spaces, or other tangibles.[android.processing.org]
Pre-release downloads of Processing with built-in support for Android. Note that this code is incomplete and contains many bugs. It is not ready for widespread use. It should be considered “nightly build” quality. Do not use this code while operating heavy equipment. Do not rely on this code for thesis or diploma work, as you will not graduate. Do not use this code if you’re prone to whining about incomplete software that you download for free. -
Posted: January 22nd, 2010, 10:39am PST by dan
Here is a fun diversion for a moment. Beats are alright, but I would really love to hear someone try out is the Beatles singing over a Wu-Tang beat, or something. You know, flip the convention of these types of releases. I’m not a musician, but I’m sure some talented person could make it work.
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Posted: January 22nd, 2010, 10:35am PST by dan
Here’s a few links I’ve found to test yer sites on. This is really more for me to use so I can remember this stuff in a few months when I need it again, and have forgotten it by that time.
[https:]
An easier, faster solution for cross-browser testing[browsershots.org]
Browsershots makes screenshots of your web design in different browsers. It is a free open-source online service created by Johann C. Rocholl. When you submit your web address, it will be added to the job queue. A number of distributed computers will open your website in their browser. Then they will make screenshots and upload them to the central server here.
Scott
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Posted: January 21st, 2010, 5:54pm PST by Scott
It’s up! Check out the home page, now re-envisioned as an interactive portfolio of recent projects. Let me know what you think via the new “contact” link.
Dan
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Posted: January 12th, 2010, 5:08pm PST by dan
Look at that exponential curve! Android is really taking off. The iPhone is of course still on top, but it will be interesting to see how Apple’s business strategy will adapt in the face of some real competition.
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Posted: December 28th, 2009, 2:42pm PST by dan
Excellent presentation on design patterns for social sites / applications.
social traction
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Posted: December 15th, 2009, 10:44am PST by dan
Seems a bit self-helpy, but I will probably go through it this week on the commute to work. He definitely got the big names out on this one.
Here are more than seventy big thinkers, each sharing an idea for you to think about as we head into the new year. From bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert to brilliant tech thinker Kevin Kelly, from publisher Tim O’Reilly to radio host Dave Ramsey, there are some important people riffing about important ideas here.
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Posted: December 15th, 2009, 10:39am PST by dan
Joe
Dan
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Posted: November 24th, 2009, 11:23am PST by dan
How would you feel if you had to share a phone amongst your family members, or if you could not afford to by a phone. This is the case for many millions of people living in Kenya at the Base of the Pyramid, living in poverty on an income of less than $2 a day; and yet many of these people understand how mobile phone technology can save them money in their day to day activities and increase their earning potential. This video explores how people living below the poverty line in Kenya use mobile phones.
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Posted: November 24th, 2009, 11:20am PST by dan
A few excellent posters (+etc), created by Paul Gabor, a Hungarian designer during the 30’s to 50’s (or so). -
Posted: November 18th, 2009, 3:21pm PST by dan
Here is a powerful mode of communication with mobile technology. Made by the Mobile Art Lab in Japan.
Scott
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Posted: November 17th, 2009, 12:32pm PST by Scott
LAIKA is a new, dynamic typeface, designed and constructed by Nicolas Kunz and Michael Flückiger. The genius here is that visual elements of the face (such as weight, serif prominence, and italic degree) are reframed as parameters, into which can be fed values from any source — either your own keyboard, or something more interesting like weight or distance sensors, so the visual typographic form can respond to physical factors in an installation environment. Try it out!
Dan
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Posted: November 17th, 2009, 11:38am PST by dan
Tetris and Arduino together at last. I would definitely, definitely play this version of the game, even if I would not get a high score.
Tetris Mashup!
tetris meets Arduino from Luyza Pereira on Vimeo.
Elaine
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Posted: November 10th, 2009, 1:00pm PST by elaine
the ambient orb
apple human interface guidelines
minimal mac from a link on andrew's blog.
Geektool an Apple tool to configure things on your desktop.
Stuart Anstis motion studies in how the brain interprets value into motion.
Jeff Han touch wall.
Another video wall example.
student using paper prototypes to mock up interfaces -
Posted: November 8th, 2009, 2:19pm PST by elaine
some things change by chris pullman. -
Posted: November 7th, 2009, 5:23am PST by elaine
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Posted: November 7th, 2009, 5:14am PST by elaine
natural user interface group. check this out for info about multi touch tables.
search for MT mini prototype. -
Posted: November 4th, 2009, 5:08pm PST by elaine
video of an imaginary holographic 3d creation interface that opens virtual palettes almost anywhere and supports dynamically moving interactions with at least some ability to focus on the tiniest of details. uses motion as part of the interface in amazing ways.
Scott
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Posted: November 4th, 2009, 10:50am PST by Scott
Remember when AOL leaked 650,000 of its users’ search queries? For the first time, we got to see what real people search for on the web.
Now, thanks to Search Suggestion technology by Google, Yahoo, and others, you don’t have to wait for a corporate screw-up to expose search queries — you can do it yourself! Just type a few letters, and watch the most popular searches appear on top.
Dan
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Posted: October 29th, 2009, 10:12am PDT by dan
Just found some interesting content about how media will be delivered in the future, and the future of the web. I guess Thursdays are a forward thinking day of the week.
Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google, interviewed at Gartner Symposium/ITxpo Orlando 2009 (06:10)
Elaine
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Posted: October 24th, 2009, 8:09am PDT by elaine
street games enhanced environments that you can play in. -
Posted: October 24th, 2009, 6:43am PDT by elaine
David Small design ecology design that can react to changing environments. Read here about research projects going on at the media lab. -
Posted: October 22nd, 2009, 4:58am PDT by elaine
Brian Eno and cybernetics is an article about the influence cybernetics and systems thinking had on Brian Eno's music. he started in a class where his thinking was challenged with group collaborations and rules. from that his approach included open rules-based approaches to his compositions.
Brian Eno's Oblique Strategies cards is a set of cards that encourage people to think differently when they get stuck on a creative (?) project. -
Posted: October 22nd, 2009, 3:54am PDT by elaine
I thought tractor dance was amazing but the police motorcycle dance here is at least as amazing. -
Posted: October 21st, 2009, 12:14pm PDT by elaine
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Posted: October 21st, 2009, 5:03am PDT by elaine
new order, true faith has interesting rotating plane in front of a guy's eyes, in the last few seconds. starts as a vertical plane and ends as a horizontal line. could be a way to connect larger amounts of information onto a source bit. -
Posted: October 20th, 2009, 8:18am PDT by elaine
bldr web site a web site for finding or donating information on making things. check it out.
Dan
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Posted: October 14th, 2009, 2:23pm PDT by dan
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Posted: October 13th, 2009, 2:11pm PDT by dan
This is a valiant effort to redesign some of our most basic interactions with the computer. The multi-touch will definitely be included more and more in future interfaces… but, using all 10 fingers? I think many people already have enough trouble with just the mouse. Maybe this would be effective in some sort of specialized application…
Also, when I’m thinking about the hardware for this stuff… it pretty much just seems like a new MacBook to me…
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Posted: October 13th, 2009, 2:05pm PDT by dan
[the Rationalizer concept is] an emotion sensing system targeted at serious home investors who trade online. It acts as an ‘emotion mirror’ in which the intensity of the user’s feelings is reflected. Research shows that home investors do not act purely rationally: their behavior is influenced by emotions, most notably fear and greed, which can compromise their ability to take an objective, factual stance. This insight led to the Rationalizer concept in which online traders are alerted when it may be wise to take a time-out, wind down and re-consider their actions.
Scott
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Posted: October 9th, 2009, 5:45pm PDT by Scott
Camille Utterback gave a talk at UC Berkeley on Monday. A digital artist, pioneer of interactive video art, and one of last month’s awardees of a 2009 MacArthur Fellowship (a.k.a. “genius grant”), Camille got her start in digital art at NYU’s Interactive Telecommunications Program. There, with Romy Achituv, she created her first interactive video installation, “Text Rain,” in 1999.
Utterback’s talk was titled “Luscious Complexity: Transcending the Doohickey.” I want to share some of her thoughts here, because many of them are right in line with my own recent thinking. The following items are highly paraphrased from my notes during the talk.
Utterback writes all of her own code, mostly in C++, but also uses Processing to sketch ideas.
In computational media, the rules are implicit and hidden. When the user has to deduce the rules, the interaction may be frustrating. When not frustrating, though, this quality can make for a beautiful process of discovery.
Always avoid “one liners.” Make sure your work has enough conceptual complexity to stand the test of time.
Consider how an installation affects your physical body — are you looking up? down? arching your back? bending toward the floor? Notice what emotions and behaviors we associate with those positions. (Eyes cast downward, for example, indicates shame. Looking straight ahead indicates engagement.) Don’t make the user uncomfortable, unless you are trying to make the user uncomfortable.
It is very important to do user testing. When coding, you are writing rules that define the accepted parameters of user behavior. Not everyone will behave as you do, so test to make sure your rules are flexible enough to work for others.
Using camera input automatically makes a piece social. People will move in front of the camera with others, interact with each other and the piece, and create their own meanings from the interaction.
People intuitively understand how to move and interact with mirrored video, by virtue of experience in the physical world (i.e. using mirrors). Think about how to translate other shared physical experiences into intuitive, digital interface mechanisms.
Utterback tries to bridge the gap between the “fleshy world” of the body and the rules-based world of the computer.
Her work in drawing systems (such as the piece Untitled #5) contains many hand-drawn elements, overlaid with digital manipulations. (Not all the forms are code-generated.)
This kind of work is fun, because people move in goofy ways, like kids.
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Posted: October 7th, 2009, 8:26pm PDT by Scott
It’s done! This weekend’s creating coding workshop at GAFFTA went really well, despite Loveparade’s pounding revelry just outside. In case you missed it, you can experience all 10.5 hours of coding bliss in under two minutes — just watch the video below. Also, check out some of the great projects that the students made.
My souvenir Gray Area logo pin:
Dan
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Posted: October 7th, 2009, 5:32pm PDT by dan
Anyone can use Photoshop now! Even you people that say you can’t draw, I know you can draw a stick figure, I know it. The real site is down now due to high interest, but I think this is real nevertheless.
Elaine
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Posted: September 29th, 2009, 1:04pm PDT by elaine
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Posted: September 22nd, 2009, 7:06am PDT by elaine
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Posted: September 22nd, 2009, 6:45am PDT by elaine
Networked Cultures and Participatory Media: Media City class blog with a lot of good info.
lecture series in the MIT museum on the 3rd floor, room number to come. -
Posted: September 14th, 2009, 3:22pm PDT by elaine
weekly work-sessions in sommerville near davis square on tuesday and thursday nights from 7-9.
Colin
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Posted: September 12th, 2009, 2:12pm PDT by colinowens
I’ve come across a couple of articles in the past few days that relate to synaesthesia in science – Both use water (sonar and sound respectively) as the means of bending our senses in entirely new ways.
Navies have used sonar for generations to detect objects underwater, but researchers at Cardiff University have developed a way to produce three dimensional images using sonar. It’s not entirely clear how they’re doing it, only that it has been done. I can only speculate that they’re using two or more sonar pings at a time, using some sort of motor to sweep the area back and forth or cleverly utilizing a moving boat’s GPS position relative to a single (or more) sonar to create the map.
Given the low cost of consumer-grade sonar, this could pave the way to mapping rooms on the cheap if I read into what little I know about the technology correctly.
The second article focuses (pardon the pun) on the use of lasers as a means to transfer sound. According to the BBC article: “The approach focuses laser light to produce bubbles of steam that pop and create tiny, localised explosions” which means that both the acoustic information and the rate in which the bubbles pop could have meaning to the receiver. In the first instance, sound could be potentially sent from the air into the water at different speeds/ rates/ etcetera, much like the way morse or modem code behaves. The second potential is for another form of acoustic imaging, although this seems less likely given it requires mirrors which don’t seem to behave well under water.
Dan
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Posted: September 8th, 2009, 3:42pm PDT by dan
Check out this amazing branding / identity work done for the city of Melbourne.
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Posted: September 8th, 2009, 3:40pm PDT by dan
Scott
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Posted: September 2nd, 2009, 2:49pm PDT by Scott
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Get the latest Java Plug-in here.I’m very excited to announce that I will be co-teaching a two-day introduction to Processing at the new Gray Area Foundation for the Arts here in San Francisco! The workshop is the first in a series on creative coding, and coincides with Gray Area’s grand opening celebrations and initial exhibition, featuring work by C.E.B. Reas, Camille Utterback, and Stamen Design.
The Gray Area folks have created an amazing space downtown, and this workshop is an exciting chance to learn a ton of great new skills, and even meet one of Processing’s co-initiators. (C.E.B. will be making an appearance.)
The workshop is scheduled for Saturday, October 3rd & Sunday, October 4th, 1:00 – 6:00pm both days.
See GAFFTA’s site for the complete schedule, details, and registration.
Dan
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Posted: August 27th, 2009, 3:36pm PDT by dan
Personas demonstrates the computer’s uncanny insights and its inadvertent errors, such as the mischaracterizations caused by the inability to separate data from multiple owners of the same name. It is meant for the viewer to reflect on our current and future world, where digital histories are as important if not more important than oral histories, and computational methods of condensing our digital traces are opaque and socially ignorant.
Elaine
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Posted: August 24th, 2009, 5:19am PDT by elaine
livescribe smart pen interactive explanation. write, draw, take notes just like you would with a regular pen, then upload it all into your computer via USB.
Dan
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Posted: August 20th, 2009, 3:16pm PDT by dan
Dang, this is some pretty interesting writing about online communities (wikipedia in particular), and where they are going. There is a whole mess of links at the bottom of the page I will click on later when I have time.
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Posted: August 18th, 2009, 2:37pm PDT by dan
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Posted: August 18th, 2009, 11:47am PDT by dan
Sasquatch is using the same technology that powers the Reac-table and qr codes and stuff.
Elaine
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Posted: August 13th, 2009, 2:29pm PDT by elaine
how americans spend their day. the graph is funky and the transitions are amazing. you understand some of the differences by those smooth transitions. awesome.
Dan
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Posted: August 4th, 2009, 3:43pm PDT by dan
[www.youmightfindyourself.com]
These are probably the most interesting business cards I’ve seen. I love that they not only get across the business the owner is in, but they give the receiver a little taste of what it’s all about. Very cool
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Posted: July 31st, 2009, 3:35pm PDT by dan
Really cool data visualization here. It seems a little too much like entertainment to me tho… I hope in the next version you can see if your representitives are keeping their promises. Then either send them a “good job” or a “boo to that” note.
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Posted: July 30th, 2009, 2:11pm PDT by dan
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Posted: July 30th, 2009, 2:09pm PDT by dan
Cool looking photography / video of bugs flying around a street light at night.
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Posted: July 30th, 2009, 2:08pm PDT by dan
I know everyone already knows about this, I just always forget about it.
Elaine
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Posted: July 29th, 2009, 4:18am PDT by elaine
Colorburned web site where you can get brushes, vectors, tutorials and other tools for designers. -
Posted: July 20th, 2009, 5:53am PDT by elaine
Dan
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Posted: July 14th, 2009, 9:16am PDT by dan
HCI Bibliography : Human-Computer Interaction Resources
A terrible looking, excellent reference. -
Posted: July 10th, 2009, 4:42pm PDT by dan
This is the last TdF link, I swear! It’s a cool concept that just happens to involve bikes this time. It is a common tradition for cycling fans to write messages to their heros. This is no common letter, fans will camp out on mountain tops for days, spending time covering the roadside with chalkly words of encouragement. This is usually along the lines of “ALLEZ SCHLEK”, drawings of bicycles, or similar. The Chalkbot allows people to send it texts, and then it sprays that message on the ground.
Built in partnership with the Livestrong foundation, its main goal is to raise cancer awareness. I like this concept, as it allows people who’s lives are affected by cancer, to leave a message in this tradition, even if they are too far away, or too weak to do it themselves. I hope I get to see some of these messages sprayed on a stage soon!
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Posted: July 10th, 2009, 10:50am PDT by dan
Great article at Read Write Web about new facial recognition software. Can be used on mobile platforms or integrated on any website! Looks like flickr and facebook want this as well, to allow customers to auto tag their friends in uploaded photos.
Jason
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Posted: July 9th, 2009, 9:10pm PDT by jasonrbailey
I am taking Colin Owens “Sound for Dynamic Media” class this summer and started working on a project involving the visualization of sound. We saw several interesting examples from the design field that you can find on the class website. I thought this more scientific example was pretty cool and wanted to share.
Dan
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Posted: June 30th, 2009, 12:53pm PDT by dan
This is an interesting idea, similar to the NikeFit concept. Cyclists can form teams, working with and compete against others from around the world. Then everyone gets to see how they stack up against the pros. I think this is a great idea to get people working together, and for getting them interested in your company/product.
For the first time ever, you can ride in the Tour de France. No, you won’t be the newest rider on Lance’s team, but you can race VIRTUALLY against Lance and all the other pros.
How does it work? Easy, just get out and RIDE YOUR BIKE. Starting on July 4th with the first stage of the Tour you can ride in one stage or every stage of the Le Tour Challenge.
Submit your ride to MapMyRide.com and we’ll do the rest. We’ll take your ride and put you VIRTUALLY in the Tour. Yep, that is right, we will tell you how you would have done had you ridden in that day’s stage. -
Posted: June 30th, 2009, 12:47pm PDT by dan
I think my next trip will be to NYC to check this bad boy out. I’m pretty amazed with the amount of time it took to get this project together, keeping the idea close to the original inspiration the whole time. Diller + Scofidio never fail to amaze.
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Posted: June 30th, 2009, 12:43pm PDT by dan
Designing Social Interfaces Wiki
The Designing Social Interfaces patterns wiki is a companion site to the book that Christian Crumlish and Erin Malone are currently writing for O’Reilly Media.
We decided to share the patterns as we write the patterns and the book to get community feedback. We think that hearing a variety of opinions about these topics will make the material stronger and more representative of what’s happening in social interfaces. As we complete sections of the book, we will be adding the patterns.
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Posted: June 30th, 2009, 12:38pm PDT by dan
This is a cool project that came through the lab. It is many many things rolled into one, but the basic concept is a motorized wheel that can be quickly and easily attached to any bicycle.
As I was the only person in the lab who rides, I got to be the model for a few of the scenes!
Green Wheel – Smart Mobility & Ubiquitous Computing from MIT Mobile Experience Lab on Vimeo.
Elaine
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Posted: June 29th, 2009, 6:05am PDT by elaine
savant gallery has impressive ideas from people who create taxonomies, make connections between things, remember through their own processes.
Scott
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Posted: June 23rd, 2009, 3:13pm PDT by Scott
An amazing stop-motion video with sticky notes as pixels. Click “HQ” to watch it in high quality.
Elaine
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Posted: June 23rd, 2009, 12:53pm PDT by elaine
good for both the explanation of the problems and solution to the bulky design of the macbook air plug. the plug itself is many times thicker than the computer. a sleek design tied to blocky older technology. the video shows an idea to make a more space efficient plug.
Scott
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Posted: June 10th, 2009, 5:00pm PDT by Scott
Thanks to TechCrunch for capturing some video of App Store visualization on display at Apple’s WWDC conference this week. A massive grid of iPhone application icons, arranged by color, pulsates as each app is purchased through the App Store.
Jason
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Posted: May 25th, 2009, 2:24pm PDT by jasonrbailey
Looked at my blog for the first time in a while today. To my surprise, the basketball visualization of NBA shot location that I worked on with my brother Matt last November has received some positive attention recently including a mention on Boing Boing Gadgets. Also got a mention onVisualization Blog in an article about visualization in sports. Always great to get feedback, especially when it is positive!
Scott
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Posted: May 19th, 2009, 8:56pm PDT by Scott
Questions & Answers is my latest project: an experiment in new, non-linear narrative forms, or what I’m calling data-as-narrative. But really it’s just a fun way to explore some of the crazy, interesting stuff people write online.
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Posted: April 29th, 2009, 11:11pm PDT by Scott
I generated this image from the genetic code of a California case of H1N1 (posted today by the CDC). I fed the data into my color tools project, and assigned one color for each base found in DNA: adenine (A), cytosine (C), guanine (G) and thymine (T). The colors were chosen by searching ColourLovers for each of those base names and using the top result, i.e. the “best” colors for A, C, G, and T, according to ColourLovers.
Elaine
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Posted: April 6th, 2009, 10:58am PDT by elaine
last weekend I shot video at an aikaido exam. that wasn't on my list for motion studies but the opportunity came up and I decided it was rare enough and possibly interesting so I went for it. like the aquarium, I put a few of the videos on my web site so I can look at them when I have a chance. the aikaido has some qualities that are missing in all the other video I shot since there is usually a conflict with an aggressor in them. there is also a nice piece of someone folding the black pants of one of the judges for the test. it makes me think about how things might fold in and out in an interface.
aikaido video index
aquarium video index
I have also started shooting some video of water and people using interfaces and have one video of a giant windmill to go into the mechanical motion category. I haven't taken the time to format those for the web yet.
here is my list of motion studies that I am working with:
living things
wind
gravity
water
mechanical things
laser lights
people using real interfaces
working with video of jellyfish and the motion lab, I was able to make an example of movement where I think the motion lab movement has been informed by observation of the jellyfish. it isn't an animation of jellyfish and it isn't exactly a perfect replica of the way the jellyfish moves but has some qualities of the jellyfish, as I could replicate it. the example is enough to make me think that the technique can be refined to the point that it can be useful.
there is a link at the top of the aquarium link above with the jellyfish video and the motio study. follow the instructions under the swif file on the motio web page to see the video work.
2.
once I can make the point that a motion I can create has a similarity to the motion of a real thing the next step is to work out that motion in a real interface problem. I've been looking for a very simple problem that I might use as a test case. there are 2 things I have been considering as study problems:
one is to use the functionality of the small application on my pc that searches for wireless networks. you might remember it, it puts a small computer in the center like the sun and has wireless hubs rotating in planet-like orbits around it. the paradigm is all wrong since the computer is the thing that can move and the hubs are static. I was thinking that motion might be useful to get the point across but using the ideas from natural examples and reinterpreting the interface.
the second idea is something that I'v confronted several times in various interface projects. I would most likely want to start with a very simple problem and then see if it can be expanded to more demanding scenarios. the idea is to attach a piece or pieces of information to an existing piece of information. I was thinking of a bit of text that has related text attached. I suppose the original data could be a different data type like an image but I was looking for a simple problem to begin with, possibly a single word with some additional words attached. I was considering a word with synonyms and antonyms attached, with the motion telling the 2 apart might be a good enough place to start.
an example of applying the idea at the more complex extreme would be the News Reader game I worked on that connected several texts to an original text.
I am still thinking about other interface problems that might benefit from using motion. one suggestion I've had was to look at the video examples and ask myself how that might work in an interface. it's an approach that is entirely foreign to me. maybe that's a good reason to give it a try.
Mike made the suggestion of writing down the qualities of the motion that I'm watching on the video as a way of clarifying what I'm thinking about. that seems like a pretty good idea to me and I will start that as soon as I can.
3.
it's been brought to my attention that the motion lab is boring. admittedly, it's a research project so it's probably not odd that its boring. Simon made a very good suggestion to make an interactive pop-up book to illustrate the research. he was thinking of combining popups like I made in my popup book of Einstein's general theory of relativity and movement from the motion lab projected onto pages of a large book. I have attached a photo of a diagram he made for me. I'm not sure how exactly pertinent to what I'm doing it would be except to say that it would be very interesting, would bring some of my strengths into one place, make a good project for learning more programming and bringing programming into the physical world and be a nice way to document the motion lab in a way that would be interesting to an audience. if I am lucky, I might be able to print any unchanging text on the pages on the letterpress, which would be really fun for me. -
Posted: March 31st, 2009, 2:13pm PDT by elaine
Scott
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Posted: March 26th, 2009, 1:43pm PDT by Scott
The outcome of a conversation with Mike and Jason during class: What would happen if you mapped red, green, and blue to x, y, and z?
Dan
Elaine
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Posted: March 26th, 2009, 8:09am PDT by elaine
Elaine,
Speaking of books... I would like to recommend four books for understanding where the internet is and where it's going. If I had to pick just one to start with, I suggest "Small Pieces Loosely Joined."
Small Pieces Loosely Joined: A Unified Theory of the Web by David Weinberger
Weaving the Web: The Original Design and Ultimate Destiny of the World Wide Web by Tim Berners-Lee
Convergence Culture. Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide by Henry Jenkins
The Wealth of Networks: How Social Production Transforms Markets and Freedom by Yochai Benkler
You can read a short blurb about each book at:
David's site
And yes, Edward Branigan's Narrative Comprehension and Film (Routledge, 1992) is among my favorite books discussing the process of cinematic narrative. He recently published Projecting a Camera: Language-Games in Film Theory (Routledge, 2008). Branigan is currently working on a book exploring the interaction of color with a viewer in cinema considering psychological, aesthetic, anthropological, and historical perspectives. It should be pretty good if his other books are any indication.
[www.filmandmedia.ucsb.edu] -
Posted: March 24th, 2009, 8:40am PDT by elaine
here is what I've been working on and thinking about for the next steps in the independent study work.
1.
I have started considering what the basic elements of motion are. I'm thinking of the basic elements of design and how they might relate.
I guess motion wouldn't be one of them, but:
contrast
rhythm
pattern
proximity
repetition
and these seem to have a place here, too:
balance
unity
hierarchy
then there is:
camera still, object moving
camera moving, object still
camera and object moving
camera and object still
to consider.
2.
the squares from the motion lab are suggesting some kind of motion thing to me. not sure what it is. maybe it's just that they feel like something that could work in an interface while all the other things seem chaotic. I have a very old list of those object motions that I haven't done anything with yet, like:
jump
bounce
fade
roll
wiggle
slide
bump
pour
float
twist
wave
wobble
fly
fall
stretch
bend
spin
push
touch
follow
etc.
I am going to continue to refine the motion lab, hopefully to the point where I can control it to create these kinds of motions.
3.
Scott suggested creating language for when many objects make the same motions all at once. I love this idea. don't know where it might lead but it sounds like it could be a lot of fun.
4.
I also will make some video studies of gravity, water, mechanical movements and maybe more work with the laser lights in addition to (Mike's suggestion) studies of people using real interfaces.
5.
I went to the aquarium last thursday and shot a lot of different kinds of fish and penguins swimming. if you have some time you can look at some of the video here:
aquarium video studies
the list at the top of the page is the second cut so scroll down to the second group for the better video. I'll soon reorganize the page but I wanted to get the video on line so I can look at it whenever I have a chance.
there is a lot to look at but the jellyfish are really amazing and I got several shots of a wave crashing on the green anemones. you have to wait till the end of the video. they tend to be about a minute long and the wave is in the last quarter. -
Posted: March 24th, 2009, 7:07am PDT by elaine
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Posted: March 24th, 2009, 6:55am PDT by elaine
here are the books and stuff I wrote down from comments during your review:
Phil Worthington Shadow Monsters (not really a book)
Scott Simbbe another design person but I didn't note his topic - this was Mike's suggestion
Random International internet architecture
Eric Raymond the Cathedral and the Bizarre the end to end argument (maybe by someone else?)
Group of Mitch Resnick
Lo Ceiling White Walls
Turtles, Termites and Traffic Jams
Edward Brandigan
Narrative Comprehension and Film
2 random books I think from David
Water and Power
the Computational Beauty of Nature
some stuff from others:
Scott colorlovers.com
Colin search for Golan Levin master's thesis
Golan Levin also has a great site with flash experiments: http://www.levitated.net/
if you search in google you will find a wealth of other stuff
Golan Levin's page
Dan
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Posted: March 19th, 2009, 5:32pm PDT by dan
http://ohhello.tv/index.php/work/view/microsoft_sustainability/
Check out this new concept of the future from Microsoft + friends. When I see something like this I always have two distinct reactions. The first is, wow! Damn, does that ever look amazing! Then I think, what In the future we will all jet around the globe and have million dollar homes in exclusive locations? It just doesn’t seem very sustainable to me.
It’s def worth watching, but I always wish someone would do this with a “grittier” feel. What will the taxis look like in the future? What about all that traffic? Show us some creative way with dealing with problems like these… Whatever, I would totally use that cellphone directional projection tho! When is that coming???
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Posted: March 16th, 2009, 10:16am PDT by dan
[www.sensenetworks.com]
[www.citysense.com]
[www.technologyreview.com]Citysense is an innovative mobile application for real-time nightlife discovery and social navigation, answering the question, “Where is everybody going right now?”
Citysense shows the overall activity level of the city, top activity hotspots, and places with unexpectedly high activity, all in real-time. Then it links to Yelp and Google to show what venues are operating at those locations. Citysense is a free demonstration of the Macrosense platform that everyone can enjoy.
Unfortunately, it’s only available in San Francisco for now. Scott, are you on this?
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Posted: March 16th, 2009, 10:12am PDT by dan
This is a very cool concept by Israeli producer Kutiman. He’s spent months scowering youtube for interesting clips, and editing them all together into seven quite good songs. This could be compared to DJ Shadow’s album Entroducing… which was the first album entirely comprised of samples.
I found it very powerful how these “unknowns”, who are only doing it for the love of their music, are suddenly heard an appreciated by millions of youtube surfers.
Expect to see a lot more of this stuff in the near future. I don’t think the copycats will get to this level of quality anytime soon tho!
Elaine
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Posted: March 10th, 2009, 9:29am PDT by elaine
vieo of explosions -
Posted: March 10th, 2009, 8:58am PDT by elaine
wow. I just love these creatures animated with subway exhaust. they are magical.
Scott
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Posted: March 9th, 2009, 7:03pm PDT by Scott
The aftermath of last Thursday’s pie fight at Powell and Market. Photo by Steve Rhodes.
This year’s annual Valentine’s Day pillow fight at Justin Herman Plaza. Photo by marymaddux.The SF Chronicle reports that the city is absorbing huge cleanup costs thanks to messes left behind by recent flash mobs. Maybe mobbers should adopt a “leave no trace” philosophy, like that informally followed by the early mobs, when people would converge, act, and disappear, leaving only confusion in their wake. Leaving behind garbage, shaving cream, and feathers that clog the fountains and halt the cable cars is no fun for anyone.
Elaine
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Posted: March 9th, 2009, 7:18am PDT by elaine
...where the subject is static and the camera moves.
here it is in faster motion, but unfortunately paired with a really cheesy track.
Colin
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Posted: February 27th, 2009, 8:44pm PST by colinowens
Here’s an application that synthesizes typography and sound synthesis. The video output expresses the type as a sound.
Jason
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Posted: February 21st, 2009, 9:29am PST by jasonrbailey
This is an image from a project I am working on with Processing and live video. It uses the location of the brightest pixel on each video still to define the video stills position in space. Currently working on a version that maps RGB to XYZ for both translation and rotation. The goal would be for the red images to cluster and build in a separate space from say the green or blue. Subtle gradations in color would lead to subtle structural variations, quick jumps in color would produce gaping structures.
It is an fun project that is yielding some interesting images. I think it has potential as an interactive piece as it is fun to point the camera at different people/objects and see the frames coalesce into sculptural 3D forms. I also like the idea of sharing authorship between the programmer, the computer, the environment, the videographer the actors and complete chance.
Dan
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Posted: February 17th, 2009, 3:14pm PST by dan
Yes, you’ve seen the TED talks, here is another thing that has similar content that I did not know about.
FORA.tv helps intelligent, engaged audiences get smart. Our users find, enjoy, and share videos about the people, issues, and ideas changing the world.
We gather the web’s largest collection of unmediated video drawn from live events, lectures, and debates going on all the time at the world’s top universities, think tanks and conferences. We present this provocative, big-idea content for anyone to watch, interact with, and share –when, where, and how they want.
Scott
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Posted: February 14th, 2009, 1:38pm PST by Scott
I’ve been thinking about how best to auralize data. I realize that’s not a real word (yet), but consider auralization to be visualization’s auditory sibling. The music video by Johannes Kreidler above, while hokey, is both innovative and entertaining.
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Posted: February 5th, 2009, 7:30pm PST by Scott
A new project I worked on with Cici and Simon. More info on the project page.
