ian tirone

Super Cool

2010-03-27T13:00:00.000-05:00

the most beautiful little puzzle game ever made!

http://www.kongregate.com/games/fastgames/little-wheel?sfa=reddit

Mid Semester Degree Project Summation

2010-03-07T23:31:00.004-06:00

We are now at mid semester, which means that we are slightly past the mid point for the senior degree project. I realize now that my project has gone from being highly programmatic and systemic to being far more organic and while still being a system in and of itself no longer reliant on the system of the internet. In the beginning my project was about utilizing the idea of a semantic web to create visual comparisons of data. I started to dislike this idea because it seemed too limiting, considering that the semantic web requires a reformatting of all the current data available on the internet. The idea began to seem too intangible for me to grapple with, and I came to the realization that creating something that is (from a back end perspective) algorithmic, without actually writing the algorithm it will fall mostly on deaf ears since the idea in and of itself is not of much interest without a working demonstration.

It was this nagging feeling that the end result would be lack luster in its current state that, while experimenting, lead me to pursue other opportunities that arrose from my initial tests and ultimately convinced me abandon all but the faintest of vestiges of my original project proposal. In no way do I think this is a bad thing or something to be frowned upon, quite contrarily I believe it to have been an evolution for the better. Further more I believe that any project that turns out as initially planned has the potential to become stale.

This image is one of the key points in my process. What this battleship image does is visualize how a user searches, and while working on it and labeling the different components of a search initiated by a person I was thinking about what the person with the other board would be doing. What if they were searching for the same thing, in this case ships, but on the internet it could be anything. What if you were paired with people searching the same thing you are so that you could help each other find the best information or most pertinent information. What we would have is a collaborative searching experience that would in theory be much richer since it is no longer solely algorithm based, but now it's person based.

This was the other pivotal step in my process, the making of this paper fortune teller turned into this. It is a tool container that assists users in their interaction with the site and stays with the mouse and can be called up at any time. They can use the various tools within (that change based on need) additionally it becomes an access point from outside of inforage to create a new search.

Moving forward I am continuing to refine the visual style of inforage and trying to structure the complex set of tools in a clear and easy to use way. I will attempt to strip out all unnecessary components from the look so that no visual clutter gets in the way, and the site becomes beautiful due to it's simplicity.

DESN 400: Practical, Poetic, Persuasive

2010-03-07T20:42:00.005-06:00

Practical: Upon first arriving at the car show we found a kindly gentleman handing out a floor plan with a complementary air freshener. This is dually practical in that it lets you know where to find particular venders when you get to the show floor and it makes your car not stink.

Poetic: The bouquet of dip-sticks was rather beautiful, and in turning something (the dip stick) that represents time, hassel, money, but is ultimately necessary into a pretty display is a friendly and poetic reminder to get your oil checked.

Persuasive: By personifying the car, and giving the car a voice this somewhat understated sign beneath the windshield urges passers by to "test drive me". It makes people feel like they should test drive the car, because the car like a pet dog would want to be walked, or driven in this case.

DP: Timeline Redux

2010-02-13T20:29:00.000-06:00

Week 4

2 / 15 — done: 1/2 finished with function of site

do: figure out how to visualize all the data & gather all the data necessary for mockups.

2 / 17 — done: finalize function of site

do: make sure all data is relevant & finish understanding the data visualization

Week 5

2 / 22 — done: begin branding logo & elements

do: begin making outline for task scenarios

2 / 24 — done: 1/2 finished branding & outline

do: wrap up the branding process and finalize and outline

Week 6

3 / 1 — done: finish branding & outline for task scenario

do: figure out what pages are going to be needed based on the task scenarios

3 / 3 — done: begin designing all pages & elements

do: continue designing pages and elements figure out how to resolve things that haven’t been accounted for

Week 7

3 / 8 — done: 1/2 done designing all pages & elements

do: continue to improve the design tighten up loose ends

3 / 10 — done: finish designing all pages & elements necessary to task scenario

do: begin task scenario mockup

________________Spring Break

Week 8

3 / 22 — done: begin task scenario mockup

do: finish one mockup and check timing

3 / 24 — done: 1/4 finished with task scenario mockup

do: continue working on task scenarios

Week 9

3 / 29 — done: 1/2 finished with task scenario mockup

do: refine task scenarios

3 / 31 — done: 3/4 finished with task scenario mockup

do: finish task scenario & test

Week 10

4 / 5 — done: test task scenarios to make sure they make sense

do: finalize task scenarios make outline

4 / 7 — done: have presentation outline made & images/materials collected

do: put presentation together & practice

Week 11

4 / 12 — 1st formal presentation

4 / 14 — done: revise presentation based on critique

do: prepare for 2nd formal presentation

Week 12

4 / 19 — 2nd formal preliminary presentation

4 / 21 — done: revise presentation based on critique

do: supplement presentation with research

Week 13

4 / 26 — final presentation

4 / 28 — production for show

Week 14

5 / 3 — install show

5 / 5 — install show

PP: Surprising

2010-02-12T08:05:00.002-06:00

e-commerce websites cost $7500-18000. I thought it would be way more

kill fee or cancelation fee. I didn't know this existed.

comprehensive branding costs $50,000-250,000. I thought it would be way less.

DP: Timeline

2010-02-08T11:27:00.002-06:00

Week 3

—presentation

—brian storm what the different queries will be for the task scenario mock ups

Week 4

—begin gathering all data for the different task scenarios

—continue gathering data

Week 5

—finish gathering data

—wireframe of layout

Week 6

—wireframe of layout refinement

—story board task senarios and gather any missing data

Week 7

—begin formal designing

—continue designing

Week 8

—still designing

Week 9

—settle on a design solution

—design all pages necessary

Week 10

—design all pages necessary

Week 11

—design all pages necessary

— start animating task scenarios

Week 12

— continue animating task scenario

Week 13

— continue animating task scenario

Week 14

— continue animating task scenario

DP: Paper

2010-02-08T11:27:00.001-06:00

How can information architecture create a semantic web platform for the graphic presentation and organization of information which enables different user types to view and compare the global information climate; facilitating a dialogue between arguments existing in disparate web spaces for the purpose of informing decision making?

That is the question that started my research and experiments. It is long and complicated and has caused me many problems, so I simplified it.

How can information architecture create a platform for the graphic presentation of information which enables a range of user types to visually compare data for the purpose of informing decision making?

I also tried this

How can a web platform present information in a graphic way purpose of informing decision making?

I thought this was better, but I was still having problems with wrapping my brain around it even though I wrote the damn thing. So I tried to figure out what I was really doing. I thought maybe saying it a different way would help. But finally I realized my question was: How can I visualize data? Now, not to make things too easy on myself the question that immediately preceded that was: How can different meta data inform the visualization, thus informing the decision making and formal quality?

So my project, at least as far as I understand it right now is about taking web content and and visualizing search results and discrepancies among data. I have also decided that in order to engage the audience I have to make the solutions more poetic and human. I think so that this aspect of the design does not come about arbitrarily that the poetic aspect of the application will come from the meta data that all information carry with it. Typical meta data comes includes date/time of upload, location, originator of post, tags, file size, etc. So from this data other things can be inferred about the setting in which the data were created. For example if I know the time and location of a post, I can infer the weather of the location at the time of upload. At this point I’m not sure how weather would add anything to the data, or illuminate it further, maybe it doesn’t have to. However, what I can do is use this to inform the layout, in a way allowing the metadata to decide the form of the content. I define parameters for how the metadata is used and the design follows systemically as a result.

In sum my design solution will be the structuring and meta-designing of data.

DP: Thoughts

2010-02-03T12:42:00.002-06:00

Human communication is the fundamental requirement for a semantic web. (Semantic Web for the Working Ontologist)

DP: Taggylicio.us

2010-02-03T08:12:00.001-06:00

I found taggylicio.us and it is a really good reference to my degree project. It sources social media sites like flickr, youtube, digg, etc. to provide content for queries.

It isn't visual, or directly comparative.

The author seems to take the stance of passive collector, and makes no effort to share an opinion, but rather admits that the data exists, shows it to you and leaves it at that.

I like the image aspect, but I want the images to be used in some kind of way. Like paring them with an article.

What if a key word was picked from news headlines when searched, and assigned to articles creating serendipitous commentary.

It seems to me that my intent is for this presentation of information is supposed to be practical, and probably persuasive in a sense, but not skewed in favor of a persuasion.

What if the experience and presentation were more poetic? Early I asked the question what if it involved information about the provider of the data? (i.e. their facebook status or biographical information if available)

taggylicio.us seems to take the practical approach.

I'm going to brainstorm right here...

What if it was a chair?

I'm sitting in a chair right now, my posture is terrible so I'm slouching, I'm comfortable. A chair supports me, it can be leaned back it, you can break a leg off of it to kill a vampire with, you can shatter a window with it, you can stand on it to change a lightbulb, you can sleep in it,

SE: Possible Buildings

2010-01-29T17:17:00.006-06:00

More to Come!!

PP: Career Goals

2010-01-28T23:08:00.002-06:00

In order to best answer this question I decided that it would make most sense to break down my career goals into epochs; however, that means that I now have to name each of these epochs in some sort of meaningful and informative way. This situation presents me with a challenge not outside my realm of ability but unexpected none the less, since I must name epochs that have yet to happen without afore knowledge of what they might entail when traditionally epochs are named long after the events by historians who have noticed some kind of overarching ideology within a given time period. Since my criteria require that the names must be both meaningful and informative I suppose I’ll spare any obscene jargon and name them as straightforwardly as possible. It seems, at least now, that my life can potentially be divided into five epochs starting with the earliest: post graduation (the Debt Epoch), second job (the Advancement Epoch), mid career (the Achievement Epoch), career height (the Glory Epoch), and retirement (the Other Glory Epoch).

The Debt Epoch is characterized by an extreme and crippling debt as a result of having attended a four year private university. This debt would make many take jobs that may be less than desirable; however I will pursue a job that can further educate me in the areas of design that interest me most, i.e. motion, interactive, and experiential. I think Kansas City is a suitable place for this, as I have already built contacts here that can assist me in furthering my education as well as alleviating myself of this financial burden.

Next is the Advancement Epoch, it is a period in which I have decided that I have learned everything I can from my first job as a “professional” and it is time to move on to greener pastures. I imagine this would mean leaving Kansas City and possibly heading toward either coast. The second job would come with increased wages and a promotion. I would be in charge of some people but still have other people to answer to.

Moving right along is the Achievement Epoch. Here I have established myself as an innovator in my field and have developed a product that will better mankind. People will seek me out for my services and I will cut ties any firm and go off to start my own small business to do good works. It will be run casually and work with some clients, but focus primarily on the development of technology for everyone to use and benefit from.

Next to last we have the Glory Epoch, this is when I start raking in the big bucks and gain international recognition for my achievements. I appear in text books and I am asked to give lectures on my contribution to humanity. Young designers hate me because whatever I have done no longer appeals to the ethos of their paradigm, but they cannot help themselves from admiring what I have accomplished.

Finally we have the Other Glory Epoch or retirement. I do not ever want to retire though. I have seen what retirement does to people, and it is not for me. I don’t think I’ll ever retire because there is too much to be done and too little time in which to do it. I will however reserve this time in my life for long vacations, possibly months at a time.

So there you have it. That’s me, and that is what I plan to do.

DP: Experimenting

2010-01-27T13:42:00.007-06:00

post in progress

Technology Experiments:

what if all the headlines for all "major" world new sources appeared in one place‽
what if all the product information and reviews for folgers coffee appeared in one place‽
what if all the statistical data on the battle of the bulge appeared in one place‽
what if a program analyzed rss headlines and sought out articles related to words in the headline‽

Observational Experiments:

what if i gave someone a pressing question and use the internet to form an argument‽ (to see how people use the internet to access information)
what if i gave someone something dense with information and asked them what information they would like to have‽

Visual Experiments:

what if the differences in product opinion was visualized‽

Interactive Experiments:

what if the interaction was mouse-less‽
what the interaction was "liquid"‽ (have you ever been on wikipedia and went from one link to another reading bits of things until you forget where you started‽ what if the interaction was made to purposefully facilitate that‽)

Crazy Experiments:

what if the utilization didn't require vision?
what if the interaction didn't require hands?
what if it was life changing?
what if it smelled?
what if it was a game?
what if it looked like a rock concert sounds?
what if it was the 80s?
what if it was linear?
what if it was self referencial?
what if it required tennis shoes?
what if it was designed by a tiger?
what if the content designed it?
what if it never looked the same?
what if it looked different based on degree of interaction?
what if

DP: Revised Question

2010-01-27T13:41:00.001-06:00

DP: What is My Dream Design Job?

2010-01-26T18:30:00.007-06:00

Jumpin' Jesus, I don't know. Right now I kinda want this:

This building is just up the street from the design building and needs a lot of work, but I really want it. I guess I would really like to own this building and have a small firm that does web design, and creates interactive experiences. I also want it to have a rooftop garden for growing produce. I also think it would be cool if during slow times the studio worked on some sort of technology for the betterment of humanity. Think pentagrams contribution to one lap top per child, or vml's seer (not really for the betterment of humanity, but whatever), or the individual projects that sagmeister explores (only technology/internet based), or something like that.

I think sagmeister is a good example of a similar way that my firm would operate. I liked his ideas about taking vacations for learning and experimenting. I think my firm could benefit from that sort of model; purposefully setting aside time to create things for ourselves that end up being lucrative. (the lucrative part isn't so much important but it would be nice)

I really don't know what this technology would be, but I think design firms should pursue individual explorations and be able to juggle that along with paying clients.

I want to work with people who aren't just work associates, but friends. I guess the only downside to something like this is if not handled properly money could easily get in the way and ruin the firm/friendships.

DP: Question

2010-01-26T18:11:00.006-06:00

—Sheila Wong

I thought this was funny.

Graffiti Research Lab has been out done!

2010-01-15T12:34:00.000-06:00

Fat Tag, Meet Projector from Theo Watson on Vimeo.

MX project two final

2009-12-04T00:43:00.003-06:00

In lieu of screen grabs of my site Click Here

What I hoped to Achieve for this Site:

For this site I wanted to create an experience that was unlike any interactive web experience currently available. I also wanted to think about interaction in a different way, and eliminate the need for clicking.

Rational for the Design Decisions I Made:

So I made the decision to use the webcam so that the user can directly interact with the site. They are really playing with the site, not just mousing around, I feel like this creates a more immersive interactive experience.

What you Learned Through This Process:

Through this process I learned that it is really difficult to create that experience. Whenever you try to do things that people aren't doing it requires a large amount of "jerry rigging" to make them work, until a time when these things catch on and they start to build functionality like this in to the programs as a standard.

What I am Most Proud of:

I got it to work damnit! It isn't great, but it really works.

What I Struggled with Most:

Getting it to work, and trying to do my own work while also trying to help everyone. I have a really hard time saying no when people ask me for help because I really learn a lot solving other peoples problems. It's a great learning tool. It was really hard though to do that and still get my own done, especially if I was in the middle of something then had to stop, because restarting always takes a long time to re-remember what I was doing. Ugh.

MX: 94-103

2009-12-01T21:50:00.002-06:00

I don't really know what to say about thisy here readin'. It was a history lesson on the screen.

I wrote down that "the screen has become the the main source for accessing information of any kind."...Yeah. I would have to agree. It's the screens ability to be fluid that makes this so. There is no other media available that can do the multitude of things a screen can, thus making it the easy and default method of interaction. The author talks about the difference between real space and screen space. The screen becomes a mask for the important things and eliminates the unimportant things. These things we assume the existence of beyond the screen space, but block them out as unimportant. However, it is often in movies that the important action is the action not being seen. In film for example (and this is an art that is largely lost today) directors would choose to NOT show a gruesome action that happens outside screen space, but rather imply the action. This gruesome action is the focal point and gets filled in by our imagination in real space. Hmm...so through omission screen space and real space collide? I think the author gives way to much credit to VR. With the advent and embrace of the internets VR has been largely forgotten simply because it really doesn't offer anything better. Why would it be better for my entire field of vision to be taken up when accessing any computer content as apposed to just having a flat rectangle in front of you. I think the return on investment just wasn't there to justify any further serious engagement in VR technology, hence its demise. Also, the light pen in the example for the radar seemed more of a precursor to the stylus which then got put on the back burner and replaced by the mouse. This seems like a strange step backward. We still click a physical mouse button that in turn causes the click of a virtual screen based button, where as a stylus would have allowed for a single click as apposed to this strangely overlooked mouse double click. I just plain don't like, I don't like it at all.

Design Ignites Change

2009-11-23T00:29:00.006-06:00

From TagAlong's homepage screen the user can check out the contact section or any of the other general areas of the site. They are also presented with a friendly greeting, and for those users who happen across the site by accident they are given sign up screen right their.
In the contact section they have the option to send us requests or questions they may have about how the site is used. Also there is a prompt for users to earn points toward an oil change if they invite their friends to join. The oil change could be a potential future partnership with an auto body shop in Kansas City. They get free advertisement on the site in exchange for oil changes for TagAlong users. This is a more hypothetical future function.
The about section gives users an over view of what TagAlong's goal is and how it plans to achieve that goal through promoting carpooling.

In this schedule page once a user logs in they can see what their schedule is for the month, and who they will be riding with. The yellow indicates which day they are on, and they can click into a day to be presented with more information on their TagAlongs for that day. In their profile they can are instructed to indicate thins such as make and model of their car, where they work, what type of music they listen to, etc.

In this new section they can see who they need to pick up, and where. They also have the option to add a gas stop if it fits into their schedule. In the right column they are given "Suggested Rides" and "Requests to TagAlong". The suggested rides are people the system has recognized fit into the users schedule, and you can send them a request to ride with you. The TagAlongs are people who have requested to ride with you, or for you to ride with them.
If you roll over the people in these sections you are given more information on them, and they appear temporarily in red on your schedule so you can see where they fit in.
Here we can see the TagAlongs working the same way. You can either Confirm or Deny their request to TagAlong with you.
You can also switch your calendar to a week view for more information on your schedule.

Here again you can click into a day to get more information on what you will be doing that day, and who you will be riding with.

There is also an option to switch to day view, where the user can see by the hour what their schedule is.
Here there is no need to click into the hour because all the information is right their. From Here you can click on the Map if you want to.
The Map gives you a detailed route of turn by turn instructions on where you need to ride to pick up all your TagAlongs. Again you are given the option to add a gas stop if you're running low on fuel. Next, the payment section.
Since TagAlong knows what kind of car you drive, how far you are driving with your TagAlongs, and what gas costs in your area, it can calculate how much you are spending on gasoline and divide that number by the people in your car. That way TagAlong can automatically bill your carpool mates for you, and give them the option to either pay you in cash, or use paypal to make payments. Users can then rate each other based on if they are paying on time and this will keep people from abusing the system.
Finally we have a car tips section that allows the site to pull relevant videos from around the internet. These videos will contain useful information like; how to drive in the snow, how to get the best gas milage, how to keep your car from getting broken into, etc.

My hope is that this tool will encourage people in the Kansas City, MO area to carpool by giving them a range of tools to facilitate that interaction and make it an easy and fun experience.

MX: Wireframes

2009-11-20T08:16:00.004-06:00

MX: Reading 78-93

2009-11-19T22:28:00.003-06:00

all users can speak the language of the interface.

No they don't, and I think this video pretty effectively refutes that claim. i do however think that all users can understand the interface, but this comes from repetition mostly. our moms know how to use computers because someone has showed them how, and they've done it lots of times, but have you ever tried to watch them figure something new out?

a language designed by a small group of people and adapted by millions of computer users.

this is crazy to think about. i always like thinking of the converse when i read stuff like this. so what is a language designed by millions of people for a small group? what is a language designed by millions of people for millions of people? (lol, ttyl, :), lmao, rofl, wtf, btw, etc)

i wonder if that counts. hmm...

are we wired to understand the interface? since we all adopt it so easily?

we adopt them due to their basis in previous paradigms.

how could we make a case that we are wired to understand the interface? i don't think it is my knowledge of physical desktop dynamics that allows me to understand the workings of my digital computer desktop. also, it isn't really an exact approximation of how the desktop works its just the language that is the same. people usually keep files in a filing cabinet next to their desk not on it, and who puts files within each other? i understand the desktop as a metaphor, but i don't think it's because of my knowledge of desktops that i understand computers. i think it is the human predisposition to systematize things that allows us to understand computers. is there a real world hunter-gatherer...thing (for lack of a better word) that would have evolved into an ability to inherently understand the computer interface? i think it's fun to think that there is.

the camera has become the metaphor for the 3D computer interaction.

yeah...

directing the virtual camera becomes as important as controlling the hero's action.

i feel like i take this concept for granted. that direction comes out of necessity, and it has gotten better and easier to do, but i remember hating this interaction when i was a kid and 3D games first came out. previous games what is in front of you is to the right of the screen since these were "side-scrolling" adventures, but now what is in front of you is in the middle of the screen, but your character is in the middle of the screen, so how do they reconcile that? well, make the user move the camera. i want a better solution.

one wants the computer screen to be a dense and flat information surface whereas the other insists that it become a window into a virtual space.

but then to present the user with information in the virtual space a scrim masks the space and text appears thus breaking the experience. i still have yet to see a seamless integration of the two ideas. how can i present you with rich information, and make you feel as though you are moving trough a virtual space.

why am i pressing a button that presses a button?

i thought of this while reading. i have to press a physical button, that then presses a virtual button, that then makes something happen. strange. i want to eliminate one of these buttons. get rid of this stupid typewriter model of computer interaction. i don't always need the alphabet and numbers when i'm working on a computer, so why do i always have to look at it? make my keyboard change depending on what i'm doing. separate the interface from the interaction. dual screens, the lower that replaces the keyboard becomes a fluctuating touchscreen with the interface on it, while the upper is a data display space. hmm, would this disconnection destroy the ability for the user to easily know what buttons go with what?...hmm...HELL NO! lets do it!

MX: website Iterations

2009-11-19T18:27:00.002-06:00

Check out this wireframe Eppelheimer!

MX: iterations

2009-11-18T00:22:00.005-06:00

Iteration 01

so, with this interaction method the pane of images would run across the middle, and you would be able to scroll over each side to move the pane in that direction. it doesn't move the whole way yet but if i go with this method, i'll fix it. i'll also fix the fact that the pane bleeds off the stage. although i kinda like that.

Damnit! so I couldn't code the next two, so I mocked up screen shots. It's proving difficult to make that box that follows my finger interact with other elements on the stage. I know i'll crack it, just haven't gotten there yet. So next I've combined the modal nav with augmented reality. What should happen is the nav appears where your tracked object is at the snap of the fingers. The site utilizes the computers built in mic to pick up the sound of a snap and display the navigation.

Next this iteration uses the idea of the hot corner and works on a series of rollovers to access content.

MX: Language of New Media thoughts

2009-11-17T13:46:00.002-06:00

—In "meatspace" we have to work to remember, but in cyberspace we have to work to forget.
-this isn't necessarily profound, but i really like it for some reason. aside from terming reality "meatspace" it talks about the temporality of memory and how that doesn't extend to a computer. so when does a computer really forget? When you destroy them, but that no longer applies. With cloud computing it's no longer the disconnected computer, but rather a network of servers all remembering everything you do. What will the future be like when accounts of history are accurate? Hmmm...i kinda felt like i was going somewhere. Guess not.

—Most of the activity remains invisible to the user.
-wouldn't it be weird if it didn't? what if you saw all the calculations and processes that your computer was performing as you were doing things. Would it be beautiful or obnoxious? I think it has the potential to be beautiful, but would that add anything to the experience? no, probably not. What could it add to the experience. Think of a music visualizer for computer processes.

—A user does many vastly different tasks using the same few tools.
-i want users to do the same tasks using vastly different tools. so navigating the same website with your mouse, your keyboard, your microphone, your camera, your accelerometer...what else is there. By plugging things into your different ports! That would be weird.

—The computer moved from being a production tool to a distribution tool.
-is there another mode here we are forgetting? production, distribution...maybe utilization? but the computer is most certainly is a utilization tool, given the nature of the distribution. hmm...are there others?

—Netomat, and Webstaker are two browsers that purposefully (unlike ie6) display your content as it wants to, and not as you intend it to be displayed.
-this idea is just hilarious to me. i wonder what other things can be uncovered with this kind of thinking. I immediately think of the episode of Aqua Teen Hunger Force with the e-helmet. The one that can download any mp3 and convert it to the same ragtime song. I like things that screw stuff up for the user intentionally. But how can that be used for good? How can I take something someone else made and display it in a better, or more efficient or prettier, or whatever way? I guess css allows for the disconnect between form and content, but can it go farther. can it be used for something other than form?

—there is no hierarchy with hyperlinking. one page doesn't have more weight over the other.
-I don't know that i agree with this. i think that the current page tends to have more weight, but it really depends on what you are hyperlinking to. if you are stumbling from link to link within wikipedia then yeah i would agree, but if you use the links at the bottom that show sources, it seems to me that those links would be hierarchically more important.

—time became a flat image or landscape
-?

Michael and Ian Solve the World: Episode 2

2009-11-16T20:58:00.001-06:00

Michael and Ian Solve the World: Episode 1

2009-11-12T12:15:00.004-06:00

VA: thoughts on degree project

2009-11-01T19:42:00.000-06:00

For my senior degree project I want to take the semester to design something that I feel will be relevant to people, society, good health and the world. By this I mean helpful in someway to those in need of help; and let us not pretend many are in need of help. However, help may take many forms: financial, educational, emotional, institutional, structural etc. There are many facets of life that are not well designed and it is my firm belief that I am not a designer in the traditional sense, but it is my duty to be a design thinker as a means of aiding those who cannot aid themselves. My wish is to use whatever insight I may have, (be there any at all) to bring peace to the most people for as much of the time as possible.

I do not want to do anything supposedly “green” fore green is a stamp of approval to mask short sightedness. I do not want to think sustainably fore sustainability is a bandaid on a broken bone. I do not want to keep it simple because simplicity will never take down the complexity of problems. I do not want to do anything interactive for interactivity’s sake. I do not want to make a website for a website’s sake. I do not want to make a video clip for a video clip’s sake. I do not want to make a poster for a poster’s sake. I do not want to letter press for letter pressing’s sake. I do not want to typographize for typography’s sake. I don’t want to design for design’s sake. Furthermore, and quite possibly most of all, I do not want to waste time proving in some banal and repetitive manner that whatever I have decided to do is worth pursuing. Nor do I want to ideate when clearly an idea has been hit upon that is worth my efforts.

Design is not solely about giving form to content. Design thinking is, and should be about making something more efficient, easier to use, simpler, cheaper etc. Design thinking should create new tools to improve quality of life or, more difficultly, improve existing tools for future use. Tool is used loosely here to describe anything human beings use to complete a necessary task. I add the caveat of necessity because I feel we must streamline the necessary tasks in order to enjoy the tasks of leisure. Design thinking must not always but in many cases include the people that the thinking is being done for. The reason for this is two fold: (1) they will learn, in some small way, design thinking (2) they will appreciate and understand more fully the tool that has been created for them. Understanding and appreciation are key to success fore without one or the other the tool would likely go not utilized, and therefore be an exercise in frivolity and futility.

As a concentration, of the afore mentioned facets of life that require the “help of design thinking”, education is one I am strongly drawn to. My reason for this is based on an idea I had some time ago: If you educate people, everything else will follow. It seems to follow reason that if more people were educated more of the time, then only good things could happen as a result. Economic, social, emotional, institutional, structural, financial problems would, at least in large part would be solved. I recognize that changing the world is outside the scope of this project; however, I do believe that I can come up with something that will be another step in the right direction. And if done properly it should be something that can grow and easily adapt to new situations as necessary.

Asspeaker

2009-10-28T09:42:00.001-05:00

This is pretty funny reimagining of how you interact with a speaker. If music makes your shake your bottom, why not make the speaker look like a bottom?

MX: Portfolio Concepts

2009-10-27T16:54:00.003-05:00

After reviewing all them damn portfolio webernet sites and what nots, that eppelheimer posted I've decided a couple things about what I DON'T want my portfolio site to be.

—I don't want the images to take forever to load

—I don't want the site to take forever to load

—I don't want my images to be small

—I don't want to click things when a roll over would suffice

—I never want a new window to open to display work, NEVER

—I never want a shadow box, or lite box to open to display work

—I don't want music, unless the music is part of a video in the portfolio.

—I DON'T, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, WANT MY WEBSITE TO BE A FACSIMILE OF SOME REAL LIFE THING THAT IT IS NOT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

That being said, I've brain stormed these ideas so far.

—All the videos for the site are on youtube or vimeo, all the photos are on flickr, and all the copy is on blogger. The site pulls the information from all these places so what happens is i've used existing tools to jerry rig a content management system.

—An all iphone portfolio. The site will only be accessible via iphone. I know this is really elitist, and really esoteric, but given my audience, I think they'll have iphones.

—An augmented reality portfolio, in which the interaction takes place through physical interaction with the site. You are recorded by your web cam, and your actions are tracked and cause change. you navigate by pointing etc.

—A mouseless website. All interaction is done with keys. The navigation responds to numbers, and the image selection responds to letters. cmd Z enlarges images, and the arrows are used to scroll through text if necessary.

—A modal cursor. The nav and other interactive elements all exist within the cursor. A secondary click calls them up. This way you never have to move back to where the nav is to click it, but rather, all you have to do is right click for access.

That's all I have for now, maybe I'll come up with more ideas after tonights AIGA lecture.

VA: Names, & Descriptions & Things

2009-10-27T14:26:00.003-05:00

Possible Project Names

—Tag Along

—Tag Along KC

—Save Money, Save the Planet: Tag Along (38 characters)

—Carpooling in Kansas City

—Share Your Ride

—Drive Lite

—Road Lite

—Lite Road

Project Description

Kansas City, like any major city, has a problem with rush hour traffic. The commute is slow and dangerous with people zipping around each other to get to work on time. The main problem here is these people are in their cars ALONE! What I’ve created is a tool to connect these morning rush hour commuters, not only based on destination, but schedule as well. These commuters are busy and have an ever changing schedule, so why limit the idea of carpooling to the same carpool companion every day. Why not draw from every commuter? and create a flexible system that facilitates and encourages people to ride with anyone goin’ their way.

Photograph

MX: SWOOP PROCESS!

2009-10-24T17:14:00.002-05:00

VA: Individual Readings

2009-10-18T16:48:00.002-05:00

A little project from Eyebeam. This is hilarious. you can read the full description here. Basically it does all the praying for you so you don't have to. This is great for religious people have are to busy evangelizing to ask god for a winning lottery ticket.

DS: Oto

2009-10-18T14:19:00.004-05:00

After renaming the moon Oto, I had to figure out a way to display that typographically. I went through a long process of type iterations that used typefaces I felt would be found in the future. Most of them were sans-serifs, because I don't think there will be serifs in the future. mostly because of the screen, but that's another argument.

I then started making forms that would work with the moon. It would have to convey a mooniness, but remain simple and scaleable while still carrying a rich history of discovery and exploration.

After choosing a logo type and a moon mark I began applying it across a rang of materials. Some fun and some practical. I like the moon juice, and check out the teleportation function of the oto app. It's pretty sweet.

MX: Iphone screens

2009-10-18T14:15:00.002-05:00

This is where Ramzy and I stand so far on our iphone application for multimedia experience. more iterations will be posted to Flickr soon with explanations of process, but for now I'll show you this. We are in a good place. I need to replace some images that are place holders to make the information being conveyed more clear, and make a few more screens, but the architecture is there, so it's just a matter of replacing content. The next step really is task scenario animations for FRIDAY'S PRESENTATIONS!!!!!!!!

VA: Rapid Prototype Feedback

2009-10-18T12:10:00.003-05:00

My audience that I showed these name iterations to responded most to zip and tagalong. They thought that these names were expressive of the concept, but not so literal as to avoid mystery. They felt that both would plant the name in the ear of an eavesdropper, and possibly prompt them to look up the name online.
The two stylistic iterations that they responded to were these. They thought the typography was friendly, and would work well with the concept by making it appeal to a range of users. The thought the top version, while they liked the translation of the "o" into a tire, they thought it should look more tire-like, and less like a cookie.

In this wire frame version, they didn't like a non standard nav. They understood the need and want to be innovative on the web, but in terms of a tool that a variety of user types, and experience levels would be using, they wanted a more standard wireframe. I think this makes sense for something that requires a range of support from across ages and technological expertise, so making it more standard is probably a good idea.

This is the aesthetic they liked most. The rounded content areas appealed to them, as being helpful friendly and non-threatening. They also liked the idea of a more direct relation between the amount of money saved by the user, and the user. It was suggested that in the beginning, it might not be such a large number of savings, and could be potentially discouraging. So they thought it would be a good idea to switch between different views of that number e.g. actual money saved, predicted money saved in a week, predicted money saved in a month, etc.

This wireframe is the one they responded to most, and thought I should marry the aesthetic of the one above this with this wireframe. The only problem they had with it was they wanted the profile and the suggestions switched. Since a user naturally reads from left to right the progression of information should go "Me, things that pertain to Me, and other people interested in Me" so logically there is a path to follow.

Moving forward I plan to consider all their various commentary on the site objectively and really examine the data to decide if these are comments based on preference or real usability and clarity concerns. I feel most fall into the latter, which is good for me. I plan to revise based on those decisions, and my compatriots have agreed to meet with me again to review my revisions.

VA: Research Summary

2009-10-07T00:12:00.007-05:00

So far in this project I have contacted several different types of people in a few different ways. First I tried calling the Missouri Department of Transportation in order to get an inside view on the highway/traffic problem. However, this proved less than fruitful since the main office people in Jefferson City told me to call the Kansas City office since Kansas City would have more direct information. Kansas City in turn directed me back to Jefferson City because “they have all the information at ‘central’.” Then Jefferson City directed me to the website because, “all their information is made public by publishing it on their site.” So I made up an internet questionnaire and sent it to a few businesses that I had contacts at and I got back something like 50 responses. I also joined a website that MoDot had directed me to called Carpool Connections a site that is supposed to match people with carpool associates. I got a number of responses back from them, all suggesting that they don’t use the service because it doesn’t really work to well. Also I learned from this research, which I didn’t ever come across online, that 100% of the people that carpool do it to save money, and the people that don’t would like to if their was an easy way to make carpooling work within their business schedule. I would say in all this process was pretty simple due to the volume of responses I got back and the resounding agreement that carpooling would reduce traffic and save money so long as their was a way to streamline the process of connecting people with matching work schedules and destinations.

Initially my problem was that there is too much traffic in Kansas City, but through my research I realized that traffic isn't a problem if there are less cars, and less cars can easily be a reality if people road together in the same car. CARPOOLING!

The real problem is thus restated to be that people don't carpool.

I'm trying to reach people like this. He is a businessman that commutes from the suburbs to the city for work everyday and is always caught in rush hour traffic. If only he knew how many people were goin' his way then maybe he wouldn't have to drive in that hectic traffic everyday.

The social behavior that needs to change in Kansas city is driving to work, or anywhere for that matter in a four+ seat car with no one but yourself. I want to encourage and facilitate carpooling in Kansas City since only less than %20 do carpool, and even less than that carpool on a regular basis. This would reduce traffic, reduce fuel consumption, save money, reduce pollution, and eliminate a need for expensive and unnecessary highway construction.

I think their are several ways to measure the effectiveness of my project in reducing the number of cars on the road, and they are as follows.

1. Businesses would notice and could report a reduction in the amount of employee parking spaces they need to buy in local city parking garages.

2. The news reports every morning on traffic jams and accidents, and would definitely notice a reduction in congestion and accidents.

3. The Missouri Highway commission also monitors this information closely, and would also notice and report a reduction in the number of cars on the road during rush hour.

4. The city tests air quality for the EPA, and would be able to tell if their was an increase in air quality, which would indicate a reduction in vehicle emissions, and thus a reduction in the number of cars on the road, which would point to increased carpooling.

Barf!!!

2009-10-04T15:27:00.003-05:00

Click for the Hilarious

This blog has some of the worst logos ever seen, and they are all awesome. My personal favorite is for Priority Medical Services.

I want it NOW!!!

2009-09-27T16:56:00.001-05:00

This is all i've ever wanted, since i saw Minority Report. But would it really make life better? Hell Yeah it would!

BLU!!

2009-09-26T16:09:00.003-05:00

COMBO a collaborative animation by Blu and David Ellis (2 times loop) from blu on Vimeo.

Ryan showed this to me last night. It's pretty amazing. I can't imaging how long this took. If you watch the shadows it looks like possibly a week when by, but I kept loosing track since the animation is so beautiful.

HA!!

2009-09-24T16:29:00.000-05:00

I'd say this is mostly true.

little birdy, num num num

2009-09-24T15:34:00.002-05:00

Awesome!!!!!!!!!!

2009-09-24T15:31:00.001-05:00

This is the most amazing creature on the face of the planet. The Blob Fish is a delicacy in France and most Asiatic countries.

MX: Poster Process!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2009-09-16T08:08:00.006-05:00

Click Here for Process

This post represents weeks worth of qualitative and quantitive work. These posters show an in-depth analysis of the bird-watching community. There are robots and clowns that are on fire. Sorry it was getting kinda dull. However, this process shows the stages of refinement that our posters went through to make them clear and understandable, as well as visually engaging. Gun fire: parap-pap-pap-pap!

Objectified at the Tivoli

2009-09-02T11:39:00.000-05:00

September 15, 2009 7:30pm

VA: Narrow Focus

2009-09-02T00:12:00.002-05:00

NARROW FOCUS

Traffic in Kansas City

DEFINE ISSUES MORE CLEARLY AND SPECIFICALLY

Kansas city is looking to build a carpool lane for their highway system that will encourage car pooling for commuters. MARC has tentatively added it to their 30 year transit plan. Over crowed highways cause longer commutes, wasted fuel, accidents, pollution, traffic, and angry drivers.

I don’t believe that a car pool lane is the best solution to this problem of over crowed highways. Car pool lanes just encourage people to try and figure out how to cheat the system. There are cases of pregnant women claiming that the baby they are carrying count as a second passenger, or funeral home workers claiming the corpse qualifies them. I think there are better more immediate solutions to the problem.

The problem is there are too many cars on the road. This causes too much traffic, which causes pollution. I think the problem beneath this problem is that people don’t realize just how many other people are headed in the same direction as they are. If people only knew or had a tool that allowed lots of people to interact with each other then it would be possible to get them together and utilize each other for car pooling.

DETERMINE AUDIENCE

I think that my audience could be Kansas Citians who commute to work. Or, if that is too big i could narrow my focus to the Kansas City Art Institute, and try encouraging car pooling on that level.

DETERMINE HOW AND WHERE TO CONTACT AUDIENCE

I could contact people in the school, by making a questionnaire for people to fill out about their feelings on car pooling and why they do or don’t do it. Also I think I could send my questionnaire to VML, and possible T2 since they are both located in the city and people commute their it might prove a valuable source for insight.

WHO DO YOU KNOW LOCALLY THAT FITS THE TARGET GROUP

People from school, VML, and T2 would all be possibilities for people to contact.

RESEARCH

-$27.5 billion are budgeted for roads and highways

-we don’t know exactly what this money will be used for

more lanes

new construction

redesigning existing structure to reduce traffic

-$8.4 billion is for public transit

-possible solution to traffic issue

congestion pricing: charge a toll in high congestion areas drawbacks of this are

people with low income can’t afford the expense

-”there is a default assumption that we are going to keep growing those [airports, roads, etc.]...into whatever kind of future we imagine. Sustainability mean coming to terms with the natural biophysical limits of our world.” –Bryan Davidson

-the last mile problem: people take the train to work, but work isn’t at the train station so they have to figure out how to make it the rest of the way.

-car pooling on average saves $3000 per year

-car pooling slashes a persons carbon foot print by 2/3

-people don’t know who’s “goin’ their way”

-86% of trips we take in the car we take alone

-these trips cost us $0.50 per mile, which averages to $8,000 per year

-”Humans are inclined to change when they see that it will improve on what they already experience. This is where the role of the designer comes into play.”

MX: Community_Model

2009-09-01T22:29:00.003-05:00

see the real community model here

WHAT IS BIRD WATCHING?

The observation and study of birds with the naked eye or through a visual enhancement device like binoculars. To members it is often referred to as birding. Birding often involves an auditory component in addition to the optical, because much of birding is identifying both the sound and physical characteristics of a bird.

PHYSICAL BOUNDARIES:

The small size of these countries make quickly traveling to prime bird watching areas much easier, and it is this ease that is one reason for birding being so prevalent in these areas.

EQUIPMENT NEEDS:

binoculars, spotting scope, tripod, notepad, field guides, hides (observation towers), cameras, video cameras,

DEMOGRAPHICS:

countries with populations that are interested in birding include but are not limited to:

the United Kingdom

the Netherlands

Denmark

Ireland

Finland

Sweden

90% of American bird watchers are caucasian with only a few African Americans.

Birders tend to be made up of people with above average means given the relatively high cost of the activity.

INDIVIDUAL AND COMMUNITY WANTS & NEEDS:

there are growing concerns in bird watching communities about the environmental impact.

-phishing is becoming a problem in causing stress to birds

-flash photography is also causing stress among bird populations

-people need to remember to maintain a respectful distance away from the nesting grounds of these birds, as not to disturb their habits.

SYMBOLS (uniforms, tools, markers of activity’s community):

twitcher–one who travels long distances to see a rare bird that would be “ticked” off of a list.

some birders engage in competitions to see who can accumulate the longest list of bird species spotted.

twitchable–a rare bird that stays put long enough for people to see.

binoculars–birders tend to have extreme interest in binoculars and understand that there are definite advantages to a $900 pair as opposed to a $100 pair.

dipped out–when a twitcher fails to see a rare bird that has been marked as twitchable.

supression–concealing news of a rare bird from other twitchers.

phishing–an automated bird call, usually indicating alarm

MOTIVATIONS:

Nikolaas Tinbergen–birding is an expression of the male hunting instinct.

Simon Baron-Cohen–links birding with the male tendency toward systematizing

New York birding study–males were interested in sharing knowledge while females found it intellectual and challenging.

CONTRIBUTIONS:

The activity of birders inherently helps to document migratory patterns of bird species as well as the success or failures of govt. ecological initiatives to foster grow of at risk or endangered species of birds.

DS: Possible industries

2009-08-31T10:30:00.000-05:00

1. transportation: TELEPORTATION

There is a growing concern with quickly, efficiently, and cleanly transporting people and goods has lead science in a fascinating new direction, that direction being the field of teleportation. The major competitors of this field would be public transit systems, and personal transportation solutions providers. The brand would draw from conventions in the auto industry and the look and feeling of the world of tomorrow.

2. energy: COLD FUSION

Cold fusion is a purely theoretical technology at this point, but advances such as the Large Hadron Collider may quickly lead scientists to these important discoveries. This would mean a world of clean and free energy to all. The major competitors for this field would be the oil industry, and companies concerned with green energy such as wind, solar, and kinetic power. The brand would draw from the scientific community and attempt to modernize, and beautify what could be thought of as an often unconsidered visual landscape.

3. place: the MOON

I recall seeing a television interview with a gentleman who claimed to have, through some loop hole, acquire legal rights to the Moon. With population spikes that show no sign of reducing, living space is becoming a concern and people will soon need to look for extra-planetary sources of land. The moon seems a good candidate for it's relative close proximity to earth. So in may be in the next 100 years that people are colonizing the Moon and living there a la 2001: a Space Odyssey.

How many Nukes does it take to Annihilate Humanity?

2009-08-30T23:21:00.006-05:00

Find Out Here!

MX: domain name, host, possibilities

2009-08-27T22:57:00.004-05:00

host: lunarpages

domain name holder: network solutions

possible names: iantirone.com, iantirone.net, iantirone.org, tearowknee.com, teerowknee.com, or alisiarosas.com (i's jus' kiddin; 'bout the last one)

here is a list of individual activities to get started with:

eating
cooking
cleaning
walking
running
driving
swimming
laughing
talking
singing
playing baseball
playing soccer
playing tennis
playing golf
playing the piano
playing the obo
being in a band
facebooking
googling
myspacing
wikiing
relaxing
fishing
drawing
writing
tattooing
acting
flying on an airplane
building a birdhouse
building a model car
sewing
knitting
throwing (potterying)
canoeing
tweeting
flea marketing
dancing (both ballroom and break)
laundrying
hunting
fighting crime
sleeping
reading
shopping
feng shuing

ccccooooooooooollllllll

2009-04-25T16:56:00.001-05:00

Onwards from akqa on Vimeo.

My Comparison

2009-04-22T08:07:00.002-05:00

click the link

active perception website

2009-04-20T13:25:00.003-05:00

i'm not liking the way this looks right now. I think it's all too heavy handed. I don't think the title to the site is integrating well. I like the texture drop shadows but I think it's competing with the other things on the screen possibly. I think the navigation stands out too much/takes up too much space. Mmm..i'll be back with more.

colors, and elements, and type

2009-04-13T01:18:00.002-05:00

i don't know about the background

2009-04-10T00:32:00.002-05:00

type four plans

2009-04-08T07:39:00.002-05:00

WEBSITE
these should be the things that i'll include in the site\/
(about, register, schedule, sponsors, topics, speakers, workshops, webisode, accommodations, location)

button

revizzles gordizzle and schizzle

2009-04-08T00:46:00.003-05:00

law ten

2009-04-07T18:01:00.001-05:00

"simplicity is about subtracting the obvious, and adding the meaningful."
-john maeda

^ i don't know what i think of that yet.

ziba rhymes with ameba

2009-04-06T09:02:00.004-05:00

these are what i got, and after talking to kidwell i decided that it would be near impossible to create that lid up thar, on accounna i ain't gots no automatic milling machine or nothin' like that. i think i'm 'onna go with the arnge label, but make it biggern and less arnger and what nots. kid alsa ain't to savy on ta bottle shape. i 'on't know what i thank 'bout that. whale, "voormp, voormp, oooorrreeeeyyyrr."

branding

2009-04-06T00:58:00.002-05:00

these are some things that caught my eye while browsing through the reading.

coming up with a name takes forever. 100's of names are reviewed then lawyers have to make sure they don't already exist and infringe in someone's intellectual property.

I had no idea that naming a company could be so difficult.

abstract marks work best for big companies, technology companies, or companies with multiple and varied departments. they are difficult to design well.

i never thought before about what kinds of companies have the goofy abstract logos, but it would makes sense that companies which fall into those categories couldn't be rationally depicted by some sort of tangible graphic. "difficult to design well"? i'd like to know how you quantitatively measure something like that, and i wonder what reasons could be that they are difficult to design well. they are all so simple.

even if you got it right the first time you have to do the rest to make sure it actually is right.

i remember the guy from liquid nine talking about this during portfolio day.

i think the whale would agree.

active perception Intro

2009-04-01T07:41:00.002-05:00

activePerception site intro Identity application

ziba...ZIBA!!!

2009-03-27T08:49:00.003-05:00

right now initial reaction to packaging is something that could double as a sweat band. i don't think that's the right answer, but something like that. what it is that is lacking in a dancers life? how is the package an extension of their lifestyle? more research, consumer research.

hey smell this i dare you

2009-03-27T08:22:00.002-05:00

this post is a bit late, but i wanted to get it in there. also, the title came to me in a dream so i figured i might as well post it. this is my poetic way finding experience, i know you don't get any of the process, i have resolved to be sure to post process for the next userExperience project so don't fret. i enjoyed this project because i got to spend some time drawing i wish more drawing could have been done, but alas time is always against us. i also got to play with the crazy technology scratch and sniff. it was really fun trying to get that to work out, and i'm glad kidwell entertained my stupid notions for the duration of this project. also i like using the wax, that was cool too. I wish i had opened one because then i would have figured out the right way to do it before the projects end. the scratching device should have riped the seel vertically instead of horizontally. FUN!!!

Blasto Powers_Act_i_VATE!

2009-03-25T08:19:00.003-05:00

just some preliminary image and form making, i think i like the code as a texture and it could be useful in color masking over things that will then require the user to put on glasses to see what is beneath, à la josh's experiments. Right now i think it's too much about the screen, but maybe the print materials should look screen-like. and the screen materials look print-like, or maybe that's stupid. i don't know about the logo type, i think i like it but not for this...meh (and a shrug of the shoulders).

ReVizd Paragrizzl and Titloni

2009-03-25T00:26:00.002-05:00

Title: Active Perception: typography engaging the user
OR
Active Perception: typography and the user

Input, engage, interact, explore, think, play. In an ever cluttered visual landscape interactivity is a fantastic way to make messages resonate. What ways can typography require input from the viewer both on screen and in print? Active Perception will take a look at current and future perspectives on interactive typography, its challenges and innovations as a new field, and its relationship to traditional type design. There will be international keynote addresses from contributors such as Peter Cho and Siggi Eggertsson, on the practicality and application of interactive typography to design media. There will also be break out sessions discussing the place of interactive type in the design landscape and address issues of graduate and undergraduate education in the field of experimental typography.

3

2009-03-24T23:20:00.000-05:00

2

2009-03-24T21:37:00.002-05:00

1

2009-03-24T18:57:00.000-05:00

TypeCon

2009-03-22T22:13:00.002-05:00

design writing to me

2009-03-22T17:41:00.003-05:00

often looks to me like people hanging around modern museums with both eyes together on one side of a face. It is an illusion, of course, generated by Design Writing's predilection for staring fixedly at one side of a question and never seeing the other side at all.

maybe? but other times not.

Revised Peter Paper

2009-03-22T16:45:00.000-05:00

Peter Cho was valedictorian of Santa Rosa High School in California, he went on to further his education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and received a Bachelor of Science in mechanical engineering, design, and computation, with minors in architecture and music. He continued at MIT and received his Masters of Science degree in the media arts and sciences.

Peter Cho is interested in the question, “How do you play a letter?” His response to this question lead to the creation of 26 different digital 3D landscapes which serve as a playground for mouse driven interaction with individual letters. He is also known for his experimental type design Forefont which is a result of his personal dissatisfaction with flat texture-mapped type that disappears when rotated in a virtual three-dimensional environment. Forefont appears topographically textured when tilted toward the viewer.

Cho has received various recognitions from ID Magazine, Print Magazine, Ars Electronica and the Tokyo TDC. Peter Cho’s recent projects include installation work for the Asia Society Museum in New York City, interface design for the University of Minnesota Design Institute, and motion and interactive branding pieces for IBM.

TypeCon '09: Pixel Press Paragraph

2009-03-22T11:14:00.002-05:00

The conference will explore current and future perspectives on behavioral typography, its challenges and innovations as a new field, and its relationship to traditional type design. It will include international keynote addresses from contributors such as Peter Cho, on the practicality and application of behavioral type to design media (both print and screen based). There will also be break out sessions discussing the place of behavioral typography in the design landscape and issues addressing graduate and undergraduate education in the field of programmed typography.

TypeCon '09: It ain’t your mom’s type and that’s faux-d(amn) sure!

2009-03-22T10:19:00.005-05:00

First I brainstormed a list of words that had to do with my Behavioral Type Conference:

programmed
evolving
morph
metamorphic
digital
evolutionary
revolutionary
new
burgeoning
advanced
current
up to date
cutting-edge
creative
experimental
newfangled
hackneyed
mint condition
improved
refreshed
type
figure
symbol
mark
sign
behavioral
actionable
operating
response
automatic
automated
automaton
machine
robotic
progress

Second I came up with possible names:

morphic mark
type automaton
responsive symbols
programing mark-making
refreshed figure
coded setting
faux-d typography (faux as I'm sure you know means false, and so what this means is the type is 4 dimensional because it adds the dimension of time, but since it is screen based the dimension of depth is an illusion or false. Get it?)
faux-d space
faux-d full space
faux-d(igital)
faux-d(oubt)
behavioral type
moveable type
evolving faces
active script
scripted letters
letter script
character script
type script
faux-d scripting
movable type
movable stroke
movable serif
scripted serif
scripted signs
binary monotype
pixel press
printing pixel
automated pixel press
Johannes Scriptenberg
Johannes Codenberg
durative type design
programmed marking
upperCode
scriptCase
living type

Third I realized that maybe people wouldn't get this so I came up with subtitles

a look at programable typography
the future of digital type
the new movable type
a new look at movable type
the future movable type
movable type for the digital age

Fourth I mixed and matched favorites

faux-d typography: the future of digital type
pixel press: the future of interactive typography
scriptCase: movable type for the digital age
type automaton: a look at programmable typography
type scripting: a new look at movable type
faux-d(igital) type: the new movable type
typotopography: type in a digital landscape (*heisted)

Worm Man

2009-03-13T13:41:00.001-05:00

what we see is based on our own attitudes environments and or cultural framework creates our perspective

we have to compare things against our lives to understand them

we have so much information to deal with that we constantly have to reevaluate our beliefs and opinions,
only open minded people are capable of doing this
when we explain things we assume people see it as we do
as i was making my maps i was thinking that I’m making these associations between topics, but are they too vague or do they actually have merit that other people will be able to understand and pick up on.

our perceptions are selective
we have a selective attention perception and retention
that is three filters by which information has to get into our brain, it is a wonder that anyone can remember anything at all, what inherent quality is that things have that allows them to get into most of our brains. We all remember september 11th, it was able to get past all three of the filters, for almost every american. do things really just have to be intensely shocking or is there some other quality that it has, innate to its existence that allows it to become memorable.

perception by nature exaggerates

I chose these essays because the ideas presented in both are things that I struggle with, and I’m hoping that through this assignment and taking a closer look at them I will be able to come to some sort of resolution concerning them.

It’s funny, at the beginning of this semester Morgan had me read the Paula Scher article and I agreed with it almost 100%, but after portfolio day and after a projects worth of growth, I don’t think I agree with any of it hardly at all. I think that portfolio day made me realize that if designers don’t want to think then that is fine. I want to think so I am going to continue to, thinking requires others to think with and you need a common vocabulary to speak in, and that is what Scher calls “jargon” she is just too set in her ways to change. That’s fine, but what she has to realize is that just as PostModernism was the “new wave” in design after modernism, so is theory today. We need the theory not to substantiate us as a profession there are plenty of other things to do that for us. We need theory and vocabulary to continue advancing the profession. Newton invented calculous because the math of the day was insufficient to do what he needed it to. I don’t think i have to finish the analogy for you to get my point. OOOOOORRRRRRRYYYYYEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!

MeAmSiteNetWeb

2009-03-12T17:15:00.000-05:00

Opperation Freedom Fridge

Behavioral Type Conference

2009-03-11T10:24:00.003-05:00

I think my map makes more clear sense now and I have started thinking about what these things will be practical poetic or persuasive. Now I have to refine the look of the thing. Tighten up the relationship between the verbs and nouns.

here is a revised time-line of events leading up to the actual events. I tried to get more specific with when different things would be design at what phases, I added this commercial series because I think that the nature of my conference, programmable interactive behavioral type, a commercial would be good and relate to the audience

initial conception of event 1 yr
behavioral type event theme
begin design and planning 11 month
come up with event name
design posters
direct mail
website
email flyers
web commercial
secure conference spaces
secure food services
find lecturers
finish first round print send out 11m end
send email
launch website 10m 2w
people start signing up
post first in web commercial series 10m
update site with lecture list6m
design:
send postcard with lecture list
email lecture list
posters lecture list
web commercial
send out print lecture materials 5m3w
post second web commercial series
design reminders to make trip accomodations 5m
web commercial
send out reminders 4m3w
attendees make trip accomodations 4m2w
post third web commercial series 4m
work on in space wayfinding, lecture, design
work on final commercial
make final reminders
send out final reminders and 1m
post final commercial
set up for show 1day

Processing Fee

2009-03-09T14:19:00.003-05:00

It may seem like there has been a void in my blog were my type experiments should be, well worry no longer, i figured out how to put them on the web and have provided some beautiful likes in the descriptions of what they do or how to interact with them. I've ordered them in a way that makes sense as a logical progression of thought.

After learning some preliminary things i did a simple plotting of points to describe the letter A.

I switched over the code from circles, to lines and had pretty interesting results.

Here is that A again changing colors randomly all by itself.

This was a new step with the the 'A' i had been working with, i added the concept of mouse tracking to color in order to change in a more defined way instead of completely randomly.

Lame experiment in motion making.

This is just a goofy drawing study that anchors part of the object to a grown and allows the rest to move with the mouse, this idea comes up later in some of my letter form experiments.

This allows you to draw upon the K letter form and looks at how people make strokes with the less direct method of the mouse. if you click you get squares, and if you keystroke it starts over.

Mouse tracking experiment just move the mouse about.

You can continually drop this ball in new places and he will bounce himself down to a stop.

Click an drop as many O's as you want to. they will bounce them selves to a stop.

Another test on mouse tracking and tracking the previous mouse position so that his feet lag. I didn't design this guy, his name is zoog and he is from a book on learning processing.

This little fella has been creating lots of smiles, he just bounces indefinitely and if you click you can drop him in different places, he changes shades of red based on location as well.

The culmination of my processing excursion this allows the user to interact with different letters in different ways, some manipulate the size, or stroke weight some require you to figure out how to make the letter forms and thus are looking at construction, and others change randomly, so hold down the letter as you explore with the mouse.

cerebrum cartogram

2009-03-09T00:44:00.003-05:00

My time line starts from the first advert of the event and goes until the person attending gives their own lecture, as i am writing this i realize that there isn't a proper beginning or end. The beginning is really the initial conception of the idea to have the type conference, then there is a bunch of planning that need to be included and the end should be go home, after the person attending gives their lecture or presentation or whatever. So a slight under-sight on my part but this is still preliminary so i'll make the necessary adjustments and move forward. As the whales say, :: translation:: "you can't always get everything right every time".

oh yeah conference time, i hope there aren't any whale sized spelling errors in my mind map.

Info Arch Crit Space

2009-03-08T17:02:00.000-05:00

Too tired to think of a Name

2009-02-25T07:38:00.003-06:00

Manual OverRide

2009-02-22T16:22:00.002-06:00

This is the final product for the userExperience bicycle repair manual. I'm really happy with it, and owe gratitude to Gerg and Shmerg (aka Greg Kaufman and Laura Berglund) for their teammatemanship during this project. I don't think I've ever worked so well with anyone before. I think the project works well as an object and if I had to change anything about it, that would have to be the way the user moves through it. Whenever people looked at it they would open be confused while opening it, but they also weren't reading it, they were just looking at the pictures the the structure of the type so they would not have recieved the que that we added to the copy tricking the user into opening the whole thing rather than just telling them. I know for me when I put things together or follow instructions I always open the whole pamphlet up to see all the steps at once, I think it's harder to understand the portions if you don't understand the whole, it is difficult to make a decision without knowing how that will affect future steps. So, I can't commit myself to opening the quick release skewer without knowing why I'm doing it (lifting out the tire). We talked about color, and how blue makes people feel like they can do it, and the earth tones feel friendly. I think the way the red looks on the lightly tan paper exudes confidence. It tells the user that the makers of the manual are confident and as a result that confidence is transfered to them.
Yep.

Again and again and again and again and again and again

2009-02-22T15:45:00.002-06:00

I'm actually liking this one, I think. I talked to Jamie about it and the things I'm going to change about this are, smaller background pattern, I'm going to make it more airy and open, I'm going to edit the copy so that it isn't so misspelled, I'll take the stroke off the images, I'm might try making the shape for them circles, I'm going to unify the color palette (I think colors are a weakness of mine, it seems like some people have their own color palette and usually choose from it, but I don't think I have one of those, and I don't think I want one, I'm want to use all the colors, just better), I'll make the big text bigger, (because if its gonna be big it should be really big).
My problems with this other than aesthetic are that I think people might not see the connection to my collection, but the language that would relate is something familiar to me, it is stark and scientific and military and a lot like other stuff i have worked with. So what I do like about it is that it looks different from anything else I've ever made, I think it works well with the aesthetics of my infographs (which are my favorite part)

Some guidelines that I need to remember to follow for this are that, body copy should be big, objects should never be outlined, and headings should have rule lines. Those are some of the main decisions I've made that I like and need to continue.
Um...yeah.

ReVision Redux

2009-02-19T13:10:00.004-06:00

When I made these i still wasn't certain what i should be doing or how these should look. I have been having a really hard time coming up with a language that doesn't overpower the imagery of the collection (which is god awful), and also gives my opinion on the subject matter and what i have been trying to do, and the purpose of starting this collection in the first place. I have decided to revamp the site, but before i show you the visual sampling i did to illustrate what i will be going for i thought you'd like to see a screen shot of the animated MAGNETIC HALBACH ARRAY. it looks cooler in motion, and don't worry the type will look different.

so after looking at my site with fellow classmates i decided that i still don't like anything about it, and jokingly put out the idea that the website should allude to 1972, when the yellow ribbon idea was first conceived in the form of a song. My classmates agreed, partly I'm sure because they just wanted to see something other than what you saw above. Even though i threw the idea out as a joke the more i thought about it the more i liked it, and i think it relates to my subject matter because that would have been a time period where war protest was peaking and also there was a lot of nice gridded swiss style design occurring, it happens that '72 was the year that vignelli designed the new york subway map. i think i'll use the aesthetics of this time period to draw inspiration from.

Experimentations of a Mad Scientist

2009-02-16T00:21:00.004-06:00

Okay so these probably don't make tons of sense so I'll show the actual programs tomorrow in class, and show how they work. As ben stiller would say in Heavy Weights, "Uncle Tony's gonna do a little demo."
So far beyond the obvious learnings of the programming software Processing, I would say I've learned to appreciate the unknown. Typically when working I try to predict outcomes, but since this is so new to me my predictions are rarely if ever right when I'm flipping code around, it makes things enjoyable when you don't know what's coming next.

Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater Had a Wife But Couldn't Feed Her: Paper for Tyler

2009-02-15T15:43:00.002-06:00

There are a relatively small number of people working in the field that I have settled on, which is behavioral typography, and the person that I wanted to write about is French, and there was very little information on him, and the information that i did find was all written in French, surprisingly. Don’t those bastards know that we speak American English? So I picked Peter Cho instead. His first website that I found wasn’t so interesting, but I then found another site that had more of his college work on it and one of his typographic experiments using circles and limited interactivity was more intriguing to me. Here it is if your interested.

Peter Cho was valedictorian of Santa Rosa High School in California, went on to further his education at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and received a bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering, Design, and Computation, with minors in architecture and music. Then he continued and got his master of science degree in the media arts and sciences. His humor is really dry and nerdy. He is a korean american and only kinda speaks Korean. So that is the low down on who he is, and from the sounds of his resume he is crazy into programming and technology of all kinds, and has a bunch of arthritic little fingers in all manner of screen based pies.

I was able to find the abstract for his thesis work at MIT, and it is as follows:

“This thesis research explores the prospect of typographic forms, based on custom computational models, which can be faithfully realized only in a three-dimensional, interactive environment. These new models allow for manipulation of letterform attributes including visual display, scale, two-dimensional structure and three-dimensional sculptural form. In this research, each computational model must accommodate the variation in letter shapes, while trying to balance functional flexibility with the beauty and legibility of fine typography. In most cases, this thesis work approaches typography at the level of a single letter, looking at ways we can build living, expressive textual environments on the computer display.”

So basically what he is saying is that he wants to create 3D interactive environments that allow the user to manipulate the structure of the letter on the micro level of the single letterform. Why? Well, I asked myself that same question, and apparently so did Peter (yeah, we are on a first name basis with each other and golf on Sundays). He believes that print design is where it is today because it has a deep and rich vernacular tradition of the visual arts on which it relies. He feels that media design lacks this tradition, and thus has to draw from other media to compensate. His work is an attempt at exploring the crossroads of these things in search of a meeting place.

I find this assertion strange and intriguing. If you will allow me, I’d like to think on that for the next couple lines that follow. So if we consider the history of visual art as cursory as my knowledge is we can say that the first bits of “art” were things that we all learned about in Art I & II like the Woman of Willendorf and the Lascaux Caves, crude tech, crude drawings. Fast forward, and we have more advanced materials pigments are being made there are plaster paintings oils, tempra, more advanced carving tools, etc. fast-forward again and people figure out how to reproduce images, with things like block printing, lithographs, etchings, and all the other various printing methods that have been created. Then movable type, then the cameras. All the while as tech was advancing so were things relating to optics and the studies of perspective. So maybe some of this is a little out of order, but it basically works to illustrate my point. So all these things were created to make this easier typically but were not necessarily synonymous with art, as the people of the time considered it. Only in the future have we given that austere label to the visual detritus of the past. (and I mean that in the nicest way) So, maybe that is what is happening, yeah the computer does other things and wasn’t made to make art, but we do make art with it. So I think to say that the computers relation to the traditions of visual art is any different than block printing’s, sounds strange to me. I would agree that, of all the innovations through time that computers mark the largest jump from one media to the other. So maybe their is something there.

The he had a quote from April Greiman which I found intriguing because it relates directly to my approach to this project is,

“What I really miss now, are the great accidents that happened when I first started working on the Macintosh four years ago...I’d use the wrong keyboard command or the mouse would get stuck, and these things would start happening, opening a whole new road of possibilities that hadn’t been heavily trod upon by other designers.”

I’m just fiddling about and changing things and just sort of seeing what will happen. I’m hoping that the small changes have big results. Whooo!, or as a whale would say, “Vouwump, Vouwump. OOOOORRRYYYEEEEEE.”

aaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! WEBSITE!

2009-02-13T09:00:00.003-06:00

okay, I don't know. I'm not enjoying where this is going, I want to redo it again. I like this better, but... I don't know I liked my previous directions better. (the refrigerator or the folders) It made sense to me and people would get it as they explore the website, but the images of the collection and the form of the site were competing. Now i think i have eliminated the competition and simplified everything, I think the hierarchy and composition are better, contrast can probably be pushed, maybe not with color, i don't want any competition, but with scale. I like the wording in the title, and throughout the site for that matter, but I think the aesthetic of the title needs work. I'm also still not sold on the infograph that remains at the top of the page and plots the locations of acquisition as the magnets are searched through. I like the elimination of the state of missouri, and focusing just on the cities, but it needs something else. I don't know. This is hard.

"We choose to go to the moon... We choose to go to the moon not because it is easy, but because it is hard."
-John F. Kennedy

laysouts

2009-02-11T07:49:00.001-06:00

Renderings

2009-02-11T00:44:00.000-06:00

Questions about behavioral Typography

2009-02-09T08:10:00.000-06:00

I understand that this project was never framed around a the issue of application or creating something for a purpose, I guess it is just my natural inclination to want to make things that help people, or make something easier, or do something interesting and useful. But, I guess my job for this project is made decidedly easier if that becomes one less thing to worry about, or something that just sort of exists in a small way in the background. The fact that they aren't applicable is just a point of irritation for me.

if the user input could be commanded by something other than a keyboard and mouse how would that inform the design?
if I start learning the programming language for Processing, what can I do with basic fundamentals that may have been overlooked by more advanced users?
what kind of stupid things can I do with basic knowledge?
how can the function of the behavioral type guide the user to make something aesthetically pleasing?
how can it teach the uneducated user about typography?
what is the purpose of interactivity for behavioral typography?
how can i limit the amount of accessibility the user has?
how can i extend the amount of accessibility the user has?
(the amount of accessibility will be more than likely dependent on my abilities to master as much of processing as I can within the time frame)
what if the user input was something less direct, i.e. data about them that is out of their control, i.e. height, weight, shoe size etc.?
what media devices are available to draw data from?

site map and graphs

2009-02-05T10:46:00.000-06:00

Okay so, you may not understand what the heck my site map means, and that is because all my items in the collection are represented by a shorthand, so that I could easily represent them. As a general rule the shorthand is works so that capital letters denote the slogan, and lowercase letters denote color, and the number is a method of differentiating copies.
I have a few graphs to revise the method of portrayal. Um...yeah.

Paper

2009-02-04T11:40:00.000-06:00

ian tirone
behavioral typography

write a page or so (not including images) about this recurring typographic tendency or larger trend you observe from your research. how would you describe it? what are its traits? where did it begin? where does it appear? who’s doing it? why is it important?

The typographic tendency of user manipulated, digital, non-printable, screen based, flash driven, coded, unusable, silly, non-applicable, and otherwise intangible typography has started to show up more on the internet as experiments with letter-forms. These typographic experiments are not great in number, since this appears to be a relatively new practice, most likely evolving out of ideas of kinetic type, and typography that incorporates duration.
The umbrella term for this new typography would have to be something to the effect of “behavioral typography”. Meaning that a programmer, assigns a set of behaviors to a type that can then in some cases be manipulated and altered by the user based on the parameters the programmer has set up. This typography is wholly dependent upon the screen (and in some cases an input device) to function, since it is bound by the laws of duration. Input devices would include but are not limited to: a keyboard, mouse, touch screen, and/or microphone. Inherent traits in all these sorts of explorations are, in-formalism, and non-applicability. Meaning since the typography is dependent on user input, and the user may not always be a typographer, or a designer, or a visual person for that matter, the results tend to be less than visually appealing. Non-applicable meaning, the type has no built in purpose other than look what I can do.
I think the more structural issue with both of these “behavioral type” problems is than in the majority of cases these things are created by a programmer, or a team of programmers. This creates two distinct problems. 1. Programmers are not visual people, and therefore lack the abilities to create something aesthetically appealing, or to set up a situation in which it is possible to create something aesthetically appealing. 2. Programmers are not trying to solve problems in the way that a designer would. Rather, they just tend to do. They create things that make people go, “Ohhhhh, cool”, but in an overwhelming number of cases have failed to make anything better that wasn’t already working, or make something that is working easier.
Some of the people that I have discovered working in this field are Peter Cho, a company called Calligraft, Zach Lieberman, and Gicheol Lee. These people all appear to be programmers first and designers second. All their work can be found on the web, most of these experiments operate as a web based program, but some of them have also done installations in which the user input comes from the body of the user as captured by a camera, interpreted by a computer, and the results displayed on a projection.
This sort of experimentation is important to the design world, and world in general because it is a relatively new way to experience typography and interaction. The potential of behavioral type has yet to be fully explored, and is far from being fully realized as something with applicable purpose. The true purpose for this new typography is as of yet illusive. But may well have major impact if enough people start working on it and tinkering.

Type Research

2009-02-01T17:05:00.000-06:00

click on letters to interact with characters in different ways

about a billion ways to interact with type mostly based on the outline

threeDthreeLetters

really stupid, but along the same lines

particles of the alphabet

orthophone

user manipulated digital non-printable screen based flash driven coded unusable silly non-applicable and otherwise intangible typography is the type are of typography that interests me most. there aren't (as far as my research has shown me) many people contributing to typography in this way. tt seems to me that people create these interesting applications as a show of "look what i can do" and "look what we are capable of doing"; however, they don't have much inherent use or value do to the...i guess, extreme level of experimentation that is taking place. these links show the few i was able to find. i think i would like to attempt to make something along these lines, and try to make it so that it actually has some application can be used in some way. i don't maybe.

Crunkumentation of my Crunkllection

2009-01-29T19:27:00.000-06:00

L::A::T::C::H

2009-01-29T19:14:00.000-06:00

Location: Where found
Alphabetically: by the first letter of the first word on each
Time: relative age based on appearance
Category: graphic style
Hierarchy: favorite->least favorite

Sound & Motion Critique Space

2008-12-05T08:00:00.001-06:00

cranial lightning, thunder, rain, and wind

2008-11-14T10:10:00.000-06:00

saving the environment going green
stats to send the blame elsewhere
how much methaine cows produce
how much trash produce
are there worse things than cars
do hamburgers have a larger carbon footprint than cars
video clips of
memorable car commercials include the Allstate commercials with the people sitting zipping by there are more than just
comparison of crash statistics to other things like homicides
visuals of news casters
a person is talking and then a voice comes over the top of it.
services in driving bus drivers taxi drivers, big rig drivers
finding out minimum education for these positions do we need them in the driver seat
wage comparisons to the different drivers
insignificant change in gas mileage since advent of car
diesel petroleum versus plant based
the tessle vehicle was one of the greatest inventions
electric versus gas versus petroleum versus biodiesel sources
visualized through color shifts and representations of electricity versus gasoline versus fossil fuel sources.

ryan bacon on youtube anti shell oil piece
oil dripping to make the type

Commotion in the Ocean of Data

2008-11-14T00:56:00.001-06:00

I will be creating a data presentation about driving, cars, and fuel related information.
My vision for this project is a presentation of information about emissions and environmental concerns, impact, issues, and things of that nature
I see the purpose of this work as being an awareness campaign. What effects do petroleum burning vehicles really have, showing possible solutions and presenting options for a better cleaner tomorrow. The context for this I see as being a presentation to companies or a promotion on a fuel cell car dealerships website, something a company like honda would use at a trade show. It would likely be primarily used as a form of web based viral propaganda. I don’t think it would be likely to be seen on television, and the presenter i envision being contained within the presentation, i.e. a voice over narrative.
audience would most likely be people in the market for a new vehicle, as a means to pursued them to turn to alternate fuel/fuel efficient synergy vehicles. it would also be something that would appeal to the younger college environmentally conscious people.
this would be something that

http://www.good.is/sections/video/videos.php

what i like about this is it is really information packed, but done in a way that disguises the information, but really you are getting a lot of stuff all in a truncated comical form. Information about cinema, and current affairs, and history.

http://www.good.is/?p=13279
I like this again because it is humorous and masks the information, but presents it clearly and uses ethos to do so. We believe it because the supposed scientist is scene as a credible source.

as i was putting this together I was looking at good videos and they are exactly that. videos that have good messages and say good things and are the epitome of good.

http://www.mk12.com/

okay so i can't link to this i've been having link troubles for some reason but if you go to the client video motion pieces then you can click on the diesel video
this is not the way i want to represent data.

also for mk12 in the same area click on the adult swim video

okay so this isn’t real data but i like the form of it. it is self explanatory doesn’t need a voice over and is funny.

http://infosthetics.com/archives/2008/04/visualizing_co2_emissions.htm

so this is more along the lines of my topic, i like the way they use a the balloon to relate the more abstract idea of volume, with respect to emissions.
http://automobiles.honda.com/fcx-clarity/videos.aspx

this also is a boring information representation but relates to my topic, so how could/would i make something like this interesting. Innovation music, check, clear descriptions, check, single shot, check, cheesy tag line, check. Total snooze-fest.

I chose the project, honestly and most truthfully because i figured most everyone would do the television intro project, and that is the one I initially wanted to pursue, however I have been trying to work in modes that are unappealing to me as a way to familiarize myself with them and become better at working through things that I would rather not do. I think I could have more easily done the show intro, and so this way i’ll be challenging myself. In terms of my portfolio I think that neither one would benefit more than the other because it seems to me that the speed with which a portfolio is viewed (at least in my limited experience) they don’t so much look at the content, so either one would be viewed as a motion piece and they won’t be hearing me describe the project, but rather scrutinizing the skill with which the “object” was created.

Commotion in the Ocean of Data

2008-11-14T00:56:00.000-06:00

I will be creating a data presentation about driving, cars, and fuel related information.
My vision for this project is a presentation of information about emissions and environmental concerns, impact, issues, and things of that nature
I see the purpose of this work as being an awareness campaign. What effects do petroleum burning vehicles really have, showing possible solutions and presenting options for a better cleaner tomorrow. The context for this I see as being a presentation to companies or a promotion on a fuel cell car dealerships website, something a company like honda would use at a trade show. It would likely be primarily used as a form of web based viral propaganda. I don’t think it would be likely to be seen on television, and the presenter i envision being contained within the presentation, i.e. a voice over narrative.
audience would most likely be people in the market for a new vehicle, as a means to pursued them to turn to alternate fuel/fuel efficient synergy vehicles. it would also be something that would appeal to the younger college environmentally conscious people.
this would be something that

bond

what i like about this is it is really information packed, but done in a way that disguises the information, but really you are getting a lot of stuff all in a truncated comical form. Information about cinema, and current affairs, and history.

rocks

I like this again because it is humorous and masks the information, but presents it clearly and uses ethos to do so. We believe it because the supposed scientist is scene as a credible source.

as i was putting this together I was looking at good videos and they are exactly that. videos that have good messages and say good things and are the epitome of good.

boring ass diesel thing

this is not the way i want to represent data.

fake data

okay so this isn’t real data but i like the form of it. it is self explanatory doesn’t need a voice over and is funny.

melvin

so this is more along the lines of my topic, i like the way they use a the balloon to relate the more abstract idea of volume, with respect to emissions.
click on the dashboard image when you are on the page, there wasn’t a direct link

this also is a boring information representation but relates to my topic, so how could/would i make something like this interesting. Innovation music, check, clear descriptions, check, single shot, check, cheesy tag line, check. Total snooze-fest.

I chose the project, honestly and most truthfully because i figured most everyone would do the television intro project, and that is the one I initially wanted to pursue, however I have been trying to work in modes that are unappealing to me as a way to familiarize myself with them and become better at working through things that I would rather not do. I think I could have more easily done the show intro, and so this way i’ll be challenging myself. In terms of my portfolio I think that neither one would benefit more than the other because it seems to me that the speed with which a portfolio is viewed (at least in my limited experience) they don’t so much look at the content, so either one would be viewed as a motion piece and they won’t be hearing me describe the project, but rather scrutinizing the skill with which the “object” was created.

interactive interactivity

2008-11-09T19:32:00.000-06:00

this shows the windsheld wipers erasing the stage so the user can start over. all the preset purple buttons play different music and the steering wheel "honks" and turns when clicked.
this shows the movie windows expanding as they are moused over. this shows the changable background. i thought it was funny to put a cross continent tour of famous places as backdrops for the movie viewing.
here is a shot of the stage with the videos on the windsheild.
this is the final visual and functioning interactive model. the colors lead user through the space and can signal which things are working and which aren't.
initially this wireframe was just a working skeleton to get the actionscript sound. it was never intened to be the final visual but would have sufficed if i was had spent up to the last minute working on the technical aspect.

oakly doakly, so my three sketches here a for possible frameworks of how this thing was going to look the car driving into the garage i nixed because it required animations between buttons clicks, which i found out while making my infograph for vislang, turned out to be an unconscionable pain in the rumproast. the next one i imagined as a plan view of a highway with all the little cars zipping around then pulling over and playing videos when clicked on. this was quickly abandoned because it requried far greater actionscript knowledge than i had currently posssesed; however, i think now i could possibly make an approximation of that original idea, and would like to possibly try at some point. this left me with the dashboard idea, that i pursued, because it could most easily utilize the skills we learned and also allowed for the introduction of new skills it time permitted, which it did.

this is the link we call infofizzle

2008-11-05T07:28:00.000-06:00

click for info

ToastCard

2008-10-30T22:43:00.000-05:00