Getting close….
Apr 10
table of gather update
I have the skeleton of my table:
Now as far as things projected, I have a few new ideas that I will be playing with:
Image distortion:
also motion sensored Kaleidoscope ( i’m thinking of traditional Polish Cutout art ):
Next step is figuring out OF addons for appropriate interactive actions.
Apr 09
in-class exercise Thursday April 5th
Below are notes as well as our whiteboard brainstorming for the in-class exercise with Youmna and Anthony.
backpacks – counter balance when weight is not evenly distributed (power laces); GPS enabled; reminder of what items are missing from bag based in weight or RFID tags
carpet – growable can change thickness or height based on preferences; sound triggered when walking to know where kids are; cleaning reminder
makeup – portion control, virtually try makeup on before you wear it (prada & nytimes mirror); conductive makeup; change the colors based on lighting and temperature
whiteboard from class exercise
Apr 06
Mock Up – Final Project
So, I finished this mock up recently of an idea that I wasn’t initially planning on fully executing but I wanted to imagine anyway. And I then I started thinking about my thesis for next year and what I would create for that, and how I want to tie in my final project with what I want to achieve for my thesis. So, I began to look up some other projects that dealt with making video games for people who are blind. I came across a link on kickstarter and I saw a bunch of developers who were trying to create such a game, which I thought was cool. I want to create something similar, but instead of using blindness as a sort of plot element, it might require two or more people and working within the physical/natural outside environment. So it’ll be a “video/audio game”, but it would also be something physical, like you would have to go on a quest.
I will keep you posted on this weekend’s progress.
Apr 06
Apparently “girls around me” app’s mission was to avoid “the ugly ones” – so says the creator
i so didn’t want to post it in “cool projects” category… but it isn’t an announcement nor student work…Jonah, we need another post category! haha.
http://www.cultofmac.com/158764/developers-behind-girls-around-me-stalking-app-explain-themselves-exclusive-interview/
Apr 05
In Class Brainstorming: Elevators
Group #1: Jeremy, Kasia, Vanessa
We chose option #1, to critique and improve the interactions provided by an existing product
Product: Elevators
User/Context: Blind people using elevators
Interaction:
The only affordance provided for a blind person in an elevator is the braille that is below each button used to select the floor. But if this person is alone how do they know they are getting off on the correct floor? And if they can’t reach the braille buttons due to a crowded elevator; how do they know which floor they are going to?
Solution:
We brainstormed a smartphone app that interfaces with the elevator and tells a person via audio what floor they are on. This could manifest it self as a small networked device hooked into the elevator that reads its state and communicates this information to an app and the person. This ensures that the blind person is accurately informed as to which floor the elevator is on and allows for them a greater degree of autonomy.
Apr 05
anonymous made connections
We would like to propose a phone app and as our inspiration missed connections on craigslist/dateing website. This is an anonymous text message. when you sign in you give you dating profile or what not based on how you sign up. you can see if anyone else is on the network in proximity but it remains anonymous and you text back and forth until the two decides to meet in a sort of blind speed dating.
Apr 05
Final Project NEW – “The Effects of Campaign Contributions”
As the next presidential election nears, I would like to explore how industries and companies contribute to political campaigns and what effect these contributions have on decision making and government policy. In short, I would like to show people some aspect about campaign contributions through a series of visualizations and interviews.
Breakout:
- campaign contributors by industry and company displayed on website with data interactions
- poster to visualize findings in similar format as website for public space intervention
- confront strangers on the street about the reality of campaign contributions; incorporate findings and poster based on research in interviews
- post interviews on website with interviewee permission
There is a lot of information about campaign contributions available online. Here are couple of significant precedents:
http://maplight.org/– MapLight is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, research organization that reveals money’s influence on politics. Elected officials collect large sums of money to run their campaigns, and they often pay back campaign contributors with special access and favorable laws. This common practice is contrary to the public interest, yet legal. MapLight connects data on campaign contributions, politicians, votes, industries, companies, and more to show patterns of influence that could never be seen before.
http://www.opensecrets.org – OpenSecrets.org is the nation’s premier website tracking the influence of money on U.S. politics, and how that money affects policy and citizens’ lives.
http://www.govtrack.us – GovTrack.us is a tool by Civic Impulse, LLC to help the public research and track the activities in the U.S. Congress, promoting and innovating government transparency and civic education through novel uses of technology.
http://www.fec.gov – In 1975, Congress created the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to administer and enforce the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) – the statute that governs the financing of federal elections. The duties of the FEC, which is an independent regulatory agency, are to disclose campaign finance information, to enforce the provisions of the law such as the limits and prohibitions on contributions, and to oversee the public funding of Presidential elections.
Since there is a lot of data available, I will have to start the research phase ASAP. I will begin sketching out the site and poster based on these findings.
Apr 03
Precedents – Bioreactor
http://www.uva.co.uk/work/volume#/10
http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/obj/dimensions-dimensions/images/issue4/Biofence-full.jpg
i’ve gone back to my original idea in regard to creating a bio-reactor. i learned a lot in the workshop over the week and created a basic prototype of what i’d like to create.
my project will be an interactive sculpture, which functions as both a curtain as well as an air purifier. algae (like any plant) converts co2 into oxygen. it also thrives off sunlight (algae specifically needs direct and even distribution of sunlight for an entire colony to survive). my idea is to push the symbiotic relationship between plants and animals (i’m referring specifically of co2 conversion) and create an installation/object that would benefit other needs. humans have a need for privacy as well as a need for transparency– to see out when they’d like without other’s seeing in all the time. at the same time many people enjoy household plants, plants which need to be hung or placed by windows– this however blocks light for the rest of the room and obstructs the view. my idea is to use a series of vertical plexi-glass tubes, which pump algae, as an interactive curtain. a proximity (possible touch) sensor rigged to a pump will adjust the speed at which the algae flows. the user can then decede when they’d like to look out of the window and when they’d prefer privacy. the other benefit of this system is that while algae is opaque, it naturally glows green, this means that even though natural light and vision will be blocked, a substantial amount of light will still enter the room from the window.
Apr 03
final project – precedents
In doing some further exploration of this project, I am beginning to realize that having the idea for something is only a starting point. Once you begin incorporating other people into the project to begin its development, idea will shift and change; in other words the idea has little to do with the actual execution and when implemented from a UX designer’s or a engineer’s point of view, the idea can change context.
A collaborative and open community where everyone has a fair say in a project will be a necessary component. This type of approach has been implemented many times and always involves a business and financial aspect. The site Ignite Realtime is a great working example of this where Open Source communities composed of developers work with others to implement their ideas. Its a long running business and seems to have a strong presence in this space.
This example got me thinking that why would people who have a high level of technical skills work for free? There doesn’t seem to be any need to, unless you tap into a group who do coding and project work as a side hobby. I found a useful infographic to help me further answer the question of “should I work for free?“.
Should I work for free?
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