Internet access is ‘a fundamental right’
Mar 8th
Article from the BBC goes a long way to arguing the case for digital inclusion.
Olympic Interactive Inspiration
Mar 1st
I’m currently working on the Virtual Culture and Network Practices module and have come across these AMAZING interactive artworks. Timely discoveries as we’re working on an Olympic inspired group project. Will I ever be able to achieve something like this I wonder?
Zygote Interactive Ball with the world for the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Closing Ceremony. – this is fresh and unedited footage of the Vancouver 2010 closing ceremony. You can see more like this at Tangible Interaction who create “full-on interactive experiences”.
Our Zygote Interactive Balls at the Olympics from Alex Beim on Vimeo.
Also take a look at ‘Digital Graffiti at the Olympic Village’. I’ve been so excited by this I’ve even created a whole new category to this blog ‘Interactive Artwork’.
Digital Graffiti at the Olympic Village from Alex Beim on Vimeo.
For more on my groups progress in this module check out our ‘Drop Dock Go’ blog.
Zen Bullets Brighton: Deterministic Generative Art
Mar 1st
Frosti from zenbullets on Vimeo.
I’ve just discovered this gorgeous generative art piece ‘Frosti: Deterministic Generative Art’ (music from Bjork) from Zen Bullets aka Matt Pearson, based right here in Brighton. Check out his blog and other sites including 100 abandoned artworks, featuring some processing experiments with source code included. There’s also some articles worth reading too. Very inspiring stuff! But I was wondering when this guy sleeps? 
I found this along with some other very useful sites/content from the Brighton New Media site – a resource aimed at people working within Brighton’s new media industry. You can sign up to their email list (which has at times some very random threads but some relevant stuff too!)
Social Media and Creative Flow
Feb 24th
For the Social Media and Creative Flow project, some elements are still looking pretty open ended and although the ideas are flowing, nothing is formalised for either the group Creative Flows project or my individual project. As I’ve been researching I’ve been bookmarking articles and sites of interest via Delicious.com.
Using this blog post, I’ve organised these findings into relevant section to try and organise my thoughts and inspirations on Social Networking in an attempt to solidify my research into a workable idea. Links marked with the * I found to be particularly inspiring for the forthcoming projects.
To communicate the concept, public engagement (collaboration/interactivity), data visualisation and a strong aesthetic using the exploration of colour/colour psychology have become strong themes throughout research. In order to deliver the concept augmented reality, using webcams and mobile devices to interact with the environment both on and offline are fascinating concepts that would definitely warrant further investigation for the Creative Flows project.
Collaboration
Google Chrome Logo
Google Chrome Project - Using people in the real word to submit their Google Chrome Icons to the Google Chrome Project. I like the idea of mixing real with online projects.
Creative Commons License – share, remix, reuse – legally
Wiki – “is a website that allows the easy creation and editing of any number of interlinked web pages via a web browser using a simplified markup language or a WYSIWYG text editor. Wikis are typically powered by wiki software and are often used to create collaborative websites, to power community websites, for personal note taking, in corporate intranets, and in knowledge management systems” Source Wikipedia
Google Wiki is also simple but useful. It’s a browser sidebar that enables you to contribute and read helpful information alongside any web page.
Kollabor8 – (actual website unavailable) is a virtual gallery displaying individual sequences of digital photo-montage, an ever-evolving collaborative work of art. Exploring the transitory nature of internet content and the capacity for spontaneous creative synergy between unassociated artists, the images are displayed sequentially like threads in a forum, automatically archived and viewable as part of the process.
Swarmfest Collaborative Sketch – another collaborative visual canvas for online, distributed design: each week a popular search term is chosen to become the sketch subject. Collaborators can then vote on the opacity of the line submitted by other users.
*Wallright – is a live public painting community platform, that allows several people from around the globe to draw on a physical wall at the same time.
Digital Technology & Environment
Image by Panda Yogourt
Digital Cities: ‘Sense-able’ urban design – a Wired.co.uk article discussing the effect of digital technologies on the urban environment. I’m specifically interested in using mobile technology in the real world environment and its effect.
The digital revolution did not end up killing our cities, but neither did it leave them unaffected. A layer of networked digital elements has blanketed our environment, blending bits and atoms together in a seamless way. Sensors, cameras and microcontrollers are used ever more extensively to manage city infrastructure, optimise transportation, monitor the environment and run security applications.
*Visualizing Memory in Architecture – “While standing between the two screens, viewers will see themselves along with visual memories of that place. Continuously washing over one another in painterly portraits of individuals and the surrounding environment, these images relate past and present in uncanny ways, creating a non-linear impression of history.”
Augmented Reality
James Aliban has fantastic examples of augmented reality, as well as processing and generative art on his blog. Also check out his Augmatic website for more of his work.
*Motion Trails v01 is particularly inspiring using web cams and Processing.
Motion trails v01 from James Alliban on Vimeo.
BMW – just have a go!
Data Collection
Google Trends – compare the world’s interest in your favorite topics. Enter up to five topics and see how often they’ve been searched on Google over time.
Data Visualisation
Hint FM -
Fernanda Viégas and Martin Wattenberg are research scientists in IBM’s Visual Communication Lab. The two became a team in 2003 when they decided to visualize Wikipedia, leading to the “history flow” project that revealed the self-healing nature of the online encyclopedia. They are currently exploring the power of visualization as a mass medium and the social forms of data analysis it enables.
I particularly like Luscious which is a celebration of colour.
It’s Been Real WWWords Project – Stefanie Posavec explores methods of visually representing text and visualises the differences in writing styles of different authors.
Twitter Perceptions of Google Buzz – Social media monitoring and analytics company Viralheat put together this graphic that shows the initial positive response to Google Buzz on Twitter, followed by shifts in opinion based on events in the developing privacy story.
ColorSpinner – ColorSpinner is a web interface to a database of over 3000 words and their associated colors and shades using the Prism algorithm.
The colors algorithm (workname Prism) matches a color palette to any given subject. It retrieves colors for apple (which would result in soft greens, yellows and reds) with the same ease as retrieving colors for jealousy (which would result in bright yellows and sickly greens).
Generative & Interactive Art – 2D & 3D
*Processing - a programming language, development environment, and online community that since 2001 has promoted software literacy within the visual arts.
Alchemy – a way to explore and experiment with alternative ways of drawing
NodeBox – allows you to create visual output with programming code. The application targets an audience of designers, with an easy set of state commands that is both intuitive and creative.
And Finally…
Another concept I’ve come across is geo-networking. An exciting concept in social networking using digital technology and social media based on real-world patterns to “unleash your digital footstream”. Check out Wrrrl to find out more.
NodeBox
Feb 18th
Veronika Schmidt
Following on from various experiments in Flash and Processing to produce some generative art, I’ve discovered another OpenSource program NodeBox.
NodeBox is a Mac OS X application that lets you create 2D visuals (static, animated or interactive) using Python programming code and export them as a PDF or a QuickTime movie.
So far, I’ve found the programming language very straight forward. Where Processing uses Java, NodeBox is based on Python. It is apparently described as a ’state machine’ which is supposed to be easier to understand by people with no or limited programming knowledge. For example, once rotate(45) is called, all subsequent shapes, paths, text and images are rotated 45 degrees. Importantly, it’s working for me!
Neon Golden
NodeBox is more limited than Processing which has greater 3D and interactive capabilities but is still capable of visualising data and animation. Aimed essentially at designers, it offers a more intuitive and creative programming environment resulting in some stunning visuals. You can even import your Illustrator vector files and manipulate each curve individually using the NodeBox SVG library. Notably NodeBox is a good environment to learn about the structure of progarmming languages, is free and there are many examples and tutorials to get you started by going to the NodeBox website. (NB to PC users – currently NodeBox is only available on the Mac.)
Color Spinner
Digi Fonts
V&A Talk on the Digital Pioneers: ‘Chance V Control’
Feb 4th
The MA DMA students were treated to a talk at the new V&A Digital Pioneers Exhibition with Honor Beddard, last week. Digital Pioneers celebrates the impact of the computer in art in the last 50 or so years.
Digital Pioneers is one of the outcomes of The Computer Art and Technocultures Project, which is a major study of the history of Computer Art, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. As computers became more accessible after WW2, the scientists and programmers who had initially been the operators of computers have been joined by artists and designers in exploring the computers creative potential.
Homage a Paul Klee, 1965, Frieder Nake
What became apparent to me during our talk is that in the production of most digital artwork , there is a large aspect of chance vs control. Using programs, algorithms and random variables, these early pioneers were producing beautiful experimental imagery that, in my opinion, still looks fresh and quite stunning. The fascinating ‘Homage a Paul Klee’ by Frieder Nake, 1965 may look simplistic, but is one of the most elaborate pieces of algorithmic art for its day. Roman Verosko’s plotter drawings such as ‘Manchester Illuminated Turing Machine #1′, 1998, are just beautiful and well worth seeing in a gallery setting.
'Manchester Illuminated Universal Turing Machine, #1', Roman Verostko, 1998
What’s interesting is the geometric, minimal aesthetic defined initially by the limitations of the technology more than 50 years ago, is a preferred and proven aesthetic by many designers and artists working presently. A lot of work produced in Open Source programs such as Processing, or Nodebox, or simply using Photoshop alpha channels and transparency settings, features very delicate, subtle imagery.
I know in my own practice, using Photoshop I’ll have an idea of what I want to achieve but I’ll allow Photoshop to process my images in unexpected and interesting ways. Like traditional artistic methods it is the ‘happy accidents’ that can be the most exciting.
AARON Digital Print, Harold Cohen, 2003
Further more, another aspect I have enjoyed exploring the digital artists, past and present, is the link between digital and traditional art processes and ideas. Harold Cohen, a painter, began experimenting with computers in the 1960’s. He concentrated on developing a programme known as AARON to generate works of art, with very painterly results. AARON was Cohen’s way of exploring whether successful imagery, underpinned by a codified system
Artist James Faure Walker’s ‘Dark Filament’, 2007 uses a mixture of digital technology in conjunction with physically painting on the canvas. He will manipulate imagery digitally, project it onto canvas, paint, scan and rework the image. Walker’s uses this process to achieve a layered, somewhat chaotic but, again, painterly effect.
It is was really good to finally see a coherent exhibition describing the history of computer/digital art and putting it in context with today’s digital art practice. It has also whet my appetite to explore further the relationship between traditional and digital artistic processes as well as the development from art of the past and it’s influence on the digital and contemporary works of art, today.
Generative Flash Experiments
Jan 18th
Finally got around to producing some basic generative pieces using Flash ActionScript 3.0, the paintbrush tool and the fab Kuler for colour palettes – my first digital painting of sorts. These are the first results in mark making using the brush tool. The idea is simply to use shape, colour and tints to produce a random composition. I’m going to import some painted textures next and see what happens…
Thoughts on Playful Interaction and Digital Inclusion
Jan 18th
At last Tuesday’s lecture with Chris Hales, Post-doctoral Research Fellow in Interactive Film at SMARTlab, we explored the idea of interactive cinema and the interactive film narrative. Analysis of audience response to many of these films formed part of his practice-based PhD ‘Rethinking the Interactive Movie’ (2006). Chris also explores the wider historical context of interactive cinema which dates back to the Kinoautomat of 1967.
Using the movie as the interface, Chris showed us some of his works including the very amusing, slapstick inspired ‘Jinxed’ which utilizes an effect for hot spots in the movie eg a slight bulge appears on the protagonist’s nose or the slippery soap, and if the user clicks on the bulge, some rather unfortunate event is triggered. Another piece, ‘12 loveliest things I know’, based on interviews with children, explores more subtle ways of linking. Chris wanted to test whether colour and movement of the objects could hint at how to proceed to the next clips. Small movements as triggers for small events and sensations are also used in his landscape pieces Sketchbook and kesä.
I found the playful element and reaction of people in the room really interesting. These somewhat ‘unsophisticated’ show reels produced by a one man band in Director and After Effects were triggering reactions and laughter within our group and engaging people. With a keen interest in experience and emotion around digital technology whilst thinking about possible research topics for my MA, this lecture whet my appetite to explore the concepts behind interactivity further.
What do we mean by interaction design? What makes for a good user experience? How can we better that experience or make it more accessible to people with disabilities for example? How can we use the digital environment and technology advantageously and perhaps therapeutically? Although innovative technologies have provided substantial benefits to society today, there are still a large number of people who cannot enjoy them due to the lack of accessibility features.
I’m really encouraged and inspired by some of the projects at SMARTlab including InterFACES which utilises assistive technology. InterFACES includes projects that look at tools for tracking eye movement as a control mechanism for communications by people with little or no other voluntary muscle movement. This imaginative use of technology has allowed James Brosnan, journalist and music fanatic, to use his laptop to jam with musicians, despite having cerebral palsy and being in a wheelchair.
I’m also still inspired by Martha Lane Fox, Digital Tzar, who spoke at Lucky Voice In Brighton a few weeks ago and the importance of bringing digital media to socially disadvantaged groups with the Race Online 2012 Campaign. Teaching has made me particularly aware of people who frankly find technology intimidating. My approach to teaching is encouraging experimentation and play which seems to frighten people at first! As a passionate advocate of technology and digital media, the importance of user centered design and and good HCI to encourage this experimentation and curiosity, I believe should be high on the list of any designer or developer working in digital media.
Following on from these ideas, another blog I have come across today is Andy Polaine’s, Playpen. Andy Polaine co-founded the award-winning new-media collective Antirom and his interests include play, interactivity and interaction design, experience and service design, creative processes and collaboration, online teaching and learning and emerging cultural technologies. He spoke at last years Flash on the Beach in Brighton about play and the interactive experience:
Over the past few years play has become a common theme in designers’ presentations. It’s no wonder – play is a pre-verbal, powerful and universal activity and is our starting point for interacting with the world around us. Play can lead to some of the most pleasurable and intuitive interactive experiences. With a plethora of interactions demanding our attention, the playful ones are the ones that will survive. It’s not for nothing that the iPhone’s icons do a little jiggle dance, after all.But why does play feel so natural and intuitive and how can we use it in interaction design? What is play and why is it so hard to pin down?
These ideas took me back to the Decode exhibition at the V&A (see my Decode blog) as well as the myriad of websites whose purpose serve no real function but allow people to simply explore, experiment and perhaps be inspired. Polaine’s blog led me to the magneticNORTH website – a fun portfolio website with a playful interface. I’ve been admittedly bah humbug about this sort of interaction design but found this website mildly additive. I shall now return to my Flash project with renewed enthusiasm.
Believe the HYPE: Actionscript for beginners
Jan 11th
The hype framework, Joshua Daves & Branden Hall
If you’re like me, the task of learning Flash and ActionScript 3.0 from scratch is pretty daunting. I keep hearing about how amazing Actionscript 3.0 is, but so far it’s novelties have alluded me. In fact I’ve been trying to turn my hand to Processing as a result. The coding seems to make a lot more sense to a mere mortal like myself. Thankfully Flash gods Joshua Davies and Branden Hall have launched ‘Hype‘. Feeling like a complete idiot isn’t a feeling I have particularly enjoyed whilst learning Flash but the timely release of HYPE has been launched with people like me in mind:
In the beginning the most innovative works were created by designers, artists and other non-developers. These people created the “hype” that made Flash rise above, way above, any similar technologies – but today these enthusiasts are becoming an endangered species.
Flash has matured incredibly in the past decade, but it has done so in a way that has blocked non-developers from even getting started. The simple fact of the matter is that with older versions of Flash you could learn the tool and how to program ActionScript almost entirely through creative play. With the latest iterations, unless you have a background in object-oriented programming, that method of learning by doing is simply not an option.
According to Davies & Hall HYPE is a coding network built ‘on top’ of ActionScrpt 3.0 to enable newcomers to Flash and ActionScript to creatively play with coding whilst learning to program. Designers can get on with designing whilst HYPE deals with the complex stuff behind the scenes.
To get started, the user needs only the most basic knowledge of programming – variables, conditionals, loops, and functions, for example.
As the user learns more about programming they can extend HYPE and thus grow their skills, while at the same time inspiring the next generation.
Other Flash tutorial sites that I’ll be looking at include:
active.tutsplus.com/ – Created by the folks at Envato, I’ve always found the tutorials from these networks pretty easy to follow and relevant to effects/functions I want to achieve.
www.computerarts.co.uk/ – As a subscriber to Computer Arts, I always marvel at what’s being produced in the big wide world. Every month they feature various tutorials for various creative programs. The flash tutorials, although a bit ‘cut and paste’ are structured in a way that means you can follow, step by step, how an effect is achieved. The tutorials and source files are also free to download from the computer arts website.
My playful experiments will be posted in due course.
Love Books? Love Design? This is For You
Dec 28th
Book By Its Cover
Just discovered this gorgeous site ‘Book By It’s Cover‘ with some really inspirational content and links. It celebrates the tactility of books, illustration and some of the most beautiful work in print around. My favourite is the sketchbook section…