Rage Against The Branding Machine

So, a grass-roots Facebook campaign sees "Killing in the Name" beat X-Factor winner to the Christmas number one in the UK.

Earlier this year in June, Starbucks opens an experimental "stealth store" with little visible branding (15th Avenue Coffee and Tea - "inspired by Starbucks", but actually copied en masse from local stores in the area), sending the advertising agency in a spin. Has the worm finally turned?


http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/8423340.stm
http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/news/923157/Unbranded-Starbucks-stores-attempt-new-brew/

Display Resolution

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Display_resolution

The Gettysburg Powerpoint Presentation

Nobody should be surprised that PowerPoint does not measure up to the great speeches of history, such as Lincoln's Gettysburg address. And it is certainly a shame when a potentially interesting presentation is dumbed down by another formulaic over-application of PowerPoint. But when PowerPoint leads not just to boredom but to bad decisions, it is a tragedy, not just a shame.


http://norvig.com/Gettysburg/

BBC HD quality definition draws criticism from viewers

The BBC has come under fire for the perceived poor picture quality of its high definition television service.

Danielle Nagler, the Head of BBC HD, has so far failed to placate critics with her responses to comments on the BBC web site. On the BBC programme Points of View she said “There’s no evidence that reducing the bitrate has an impact on picture quality or that there is an absolute relationship between bitrate and picture quality.”

From a blog post: "I appreciate that BBC HD offers us the widest range of programming currently in the UK. But even my wife can see a reduction in picture quality and she's got cataracts."
http://informitv.com/news/2009/12/11/bbchdquality/

Imagining the Tenth Dimension

http://www.tenthdimension.com/

Quantum of Solace: User Interface

MK12 // Quantum of Solace: VFX Reel from MK12 on Vimeo.

Elmo meets Robert de Niro

Surreal.

The Daily WTF

The Daily WTF: Curious Perversions in Information Technology
Offers daily posts of user-submitted examples of bad code and software design.


http://thedailywtf.com/Articles/random.ashx

ActionScript 2.0 Best Practices

- Use runtime filters sparingly. If you can turn it into a raster graphic with those filters, it will likely be a smoother animation. This will be a delicate balance between file size and performance.
- Use motion tweens instead of shape tweens whenever possible.
- Don't have transparent things on top of transparent things. When transparencies overlap, the processor usage multiplies.
- Keep your frames per second at or below 30. I've seen many applications trying to run at 60+ fps. I usually set my applications at around 24.
- Use easing only where you need it.
- Learn about cacheAsBitmap. This can speed things up or make them slower, it depends on the context. If you have an animation, keep cacheAsBitmap as false, the cached bitmap will have to be regenerated every time the animation changes, so this isn't worth it. However, on a vector graphic that doesn't change within itself, cacheAsBitmap might be a good choice.
http://www.adobe.com/devnet/flash/articles/as_bestpractices.html

Little People - a tiny street art project

Little handpainted people, left in London to fend for themselves.

http://little-people.blogspot.com
http://slinkachu.com/

"The Age of Stupid" Interface Design

Oscar nominated actor Pete Postlethwaite interacting with the futuristic interface designed specifically for the film by designer Taiyo Nagano.
http://www.jellyhunters.com/

After Effects Expressions

Property attributes and methods (expression reference) - a way to combine programming with motion graphics within After Effects. Opens up a whole new world.
http://help.adobe.com/en_US/AfterEffects/9.0/WS3878526689cb91655866c1103906c6dea-79f8a.html

Inside the Iron Man HUD

On set Q&A with Kent Seki, Visualization and HUD Supervisor on the movie Iron Man.

"Think about how graphics 10-20 years were green monographs because of the monochromatic monitors. Today in movies, monitors are all pretty much cyan. What’s it going to be tomorrow? White, clean white with color accents for attention."

http://www.uiresourcecenter.com/user-interface-design/articles/inside-iron-man-part2.html?s=1_1

Mark Coleran, Playback Graphics Designer

Mark Coleran is a visual designer who has worked in a wide range of design disciplines from print graphics to motion design and visual effects. His work in motion graphics has included television show titles and branding through to his specialist area; the design, creation and animation of fantasy user interfaces for film. Over the years this work has seen him create interfaces for such films as The Bourne Ultimatum, Tomb Raider, Mission Impossible 3, The Island and Mr and Mrs Smith.
http://blog.coleran.com/category/portfolio/screendesign

What Barry Says (Neo-Conservative War Corporatism)

Animation by Simon Robson for The Knife Party, which led to "Taking Liberties", an award-winning documentary on the eroding of civil rights, available on DVD.

The Fun Theory (Piano Stairs)

More fun at http://www.thefuntheory.com/

Lecielestbleu

Multimedia conception and interactivity.

http://www.lecielestbleu.com/html/main_lceb01.htm

Everything You Want, Right Now!

Steve Lambert's inaugural solo show at Charlie James Gallery “EVERYTHING YOU WANT, RIGHT NOW!” April 25 to June 6 extended!

Steve Lambert solo show walkthrough from Steve Lambert on Vimeo.

http://visitsteve.com/work/everything-you-want/

Fire Poi at Lantern Festival

Lantern Festival - Albert Park, Auckland, New Zealand for the Chinese New Year celebrations. 27th February.

VJ Woody current rig

Two preview monitors, two laptops (one audio, one video), 100GB external hard drive, MIDI drum machine, Panasonic WJ-AVE 5 Video Mixer, RF wireless pincamera, 4-way video switcher, DVD Player, DVD Recorder, in a twin DJ turntable flightcase (also known as a "coffin case"). It also has power conditioning.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vj_woody/3972921754/

Live Coding

Live coding is a new direction in electronic music and video, and is starting to get somewhere interesting. Live coders expose and rewire the innards of software while it generates improvised music and/or visuals. All code manipulation is projected for your pleasure.


Live coded VJing from fluxus creator Dave Griffiths, of slub.

TOPLAP UK - live coding to make music to drink beer to.

Augmented Reality

Augmented Reality was not meant to hit the iPhone 3GS until at least the release of iPhone OS 3.1. Download the new Yelp app. Shake your iPhone 3 times. That activates a feature called Monocle. A blue box will come up saying "the Monocle has been activated." It will create a button in the top right corner. Now you should be able to look at the bars, restaurants, etc. Only works on iPhone 3GS.



This one not about location, but about people. This app uses the Flickr facial recognition technology of Polar Rose to identify a person’s face and pull up info like their online profile and contact info. Both creepy and amazing at the same time.



Not only is this augmented reality app cool, but it’s useful as well! This iPhone app will help you find the nearest subway station. No need to ask for directions, and you will never get lost.

The Ministry of Type

The Ministry of Type is a weblog by Aegir Hallmundur about type, typography, lettering, calligraphy and other related things that inspire him. He is a designer originally from the far north of England, now living and working in Brighton in the far south of England. He loves hand-tracing and recreating old designs as vector artwork.
http://ministryoftype.co.uk

This happened…

This happened is a series of events focusing on the stories behind interaction design. Having ideas is easier than making them happen. They delve into projects that exist today, how their concepts and production process can help inform future work.
http://www.thishappened.org/talks/

rAndom International from This Happened - London on Vimeo.

onedotzero 2009 brand identity

This year's festival theme of 'convergence and collaboration' inspired wieden + kennedy to take advantage of onedotzero's vast fan base and constant, online conversations to create this new identity. They have harnessed dialogue from twitter, facebook, etc, and have channelled the content via specially produced software devised by computational design wizard Karsten Schmidt (a.k.a. Toxi) through colourful 'ribbons' that move organically as if alive. These ribbons gravitate towards invisible paths that will ultimately mirror onedotzero’s font and logo: a living, breathing identity that encapsulates the themes of the festival.
http://www.onedotzero.com/blog/brand-identity/

onedotzero teaser from Sermad on Vimeo.

The Urinal Game

The first piece of Flash animation I ever saw. The object of this game is to text your inowledge of Men's Room etiquette. You will be presented with several scenarios. In each one, you must select the proper urinal to use.
By CleverMedia. Originally on Albino Black Sheep.com
http://gamescene.com/The_Urinal_Game_game.html

The Logo Factory (Studio Blog)

Logo design blog for designers and clients alike. Industry news, design tips, opinions and our (almost) Daily Logo. Free downloads and stuff.
http://www.thelogofactory.com/logo_blog/

No-Spec

The NO!SPEC campaign: Serves as a vehicle to unite those who support the notion that spec work devalues the potential of design and ultimately does a disservice to the client.
http://www.no-spec.com/

Core 77

Industrial Design content and community site - articles, discussions, interviews and resources.
http://www.core77.com/

NOTCOT.org

The space-boyscout in Tom Sachs got together with the designer in Tom Sachs and they crafted together their very own super-official NASA shotgun.
http://www.notcot.org/

Everyday Flash

Creative use of technology
A blog about 3D Flash and Actionscript by Bartek Drozdz
http://www.everydayflash.com/

Toxi

Educational open source experiments in Processing.
http://toxi.co.uk/p5/

Mr Doob

Chrome Experiments (Not your mother's JavaScript)
http://mrdoob.com/
On this little site, you'll find some random experiments done mainly with flash, pv3d, apre, ... and God knows what else.
http://mrdoob.com/blog

Adobe Flash Player Version Penetration

Some boring statistics on how many people have switched over to Flash Player 10.
http://www.adobe.com/products/player_census/flashplayer/version_penetration.html

SWFObject 2 HTML and JavaScript generator

Automatic code creation for implemention of SWFObject - create Flash detection with alternative content, using standards compliant markup and embeds Flash content with unobtrusive JavaScript. Avoids 'click-to-activate' mechanisms in Internet Explorer 6+ and Opera 9+ and is easy to author (even without using this generator).
http://www.bobbyvandersluis.com/swfobject/generator/index.html

QUAYOLA - Visual Artist | Designer | Director

Davide Quagliola's Artworks - videos and installations, and commercial works in art direction and design (includes the CityScan series, and Path to Abstraction).
http://www.quayola.com/

Blinkenlights

On September 11th, 2001 the famous "Haus des Lehrers" building at Berlin Alexanderplatz was enhanced to become world's biggest interactive computer display: Blinkenlights. The upper eight floors of the building were transformed in to a huge display by arranging 144 lamps behind the building's front windows. A computer controlled each of the lamps independently to produce a monochrome matrix of 18 times 8 pixels. During the night, a constantly growing number of animations could be seen. But there was an interactive component as well: you were able to play the old arcade classic Pong on the building using your mobile phone and you could place your own love letters on the screen as well.
http://www.blinkenlights.net/blinkenlights

Adverblog

Interactive marketing and other great advertising ideas since 2003.
http://www.adverblog.com/

Variance by Jeremy Thorpe

Variance (direct link here) is an attempt to provide a creative tool for designers that can leverage some of the power of evolution. Using Variance, designers can harness genetic algorithms to brainstorm or refine compositional ideas. The classical design process becomes the Evolutionary Design Process.
http://blog.blprnt.com/blog/blprnt/project-variance

Yellowtail by Golan Levin

Yellowtail is an interactive software system for the gestural creation and performance of real-time abstract animation. Yellowtail repeats a user's strokes end-over-end, enabling simultaneous specification of a line's shape and quality of movement. Each line repeats according to its own period, producing an ever-changing and responsive display of lively, worm-like textures.
http://www.flong.com/projects/yellowtail/

Sonic Wire Sculpture by Amin Pitaru

At its simplest form, SonicWireSculptor is a novel 3D drawing tool and a unique musical instrument, but perhaps most important - its just fun to play with.
http://pitaru.com/sws

Art. Lebedev Studio

We offer advanced industrial, graphic, web and interface design. We live the way we like. We work the way we believe is right. We don’t give a shit about corporate values all together. All the award plaques end up hanging in our lavatory. We abhor buzzword combinations “creative solution” and “business process optimization”. The offers we send to our clients rarely exceed one page. The only principle we follow is just two words: No bullshit.
http://www.artlebedev.com/

Dataisnature

Dataisnature is a weblog of personal and recreational research containing information and links covering the following topics - Robot Art, Algorithmic and Procedural Art, Computational Aesthetics, Glitch Aesthetics, Vj’ing, Video Art, Computational Archaeology and similar subjects.
http://dataisnature.com/

VisualComplexity.

VisualComplexity.com is a unified resource space for anyone interested in the visualization of complex networks. The project's main goal is to leverage a critical understanding of different visualization methods, across a series of disciplines, as diverse as Biology, Social Networks or the World Wide Web.
http://www.visualcomplexity.com/

Papervision 3D Blog

High performance 3D engine for Flash 8 and Flash 9. Here's a water example, and an audio visualisation example. Project home here.
http://blog.papervision3d.org/

The FWA: Favourite Website Awards

Web Awards recognising the very best in cutting edge website design.
http://www.thefwa.com/

Core77

Industrial Design content and community site - articles, discussions, interviews and resources.
http://www.core77.com/

Generator x

A curatorial platform exploring the use of generative strategies and software processes in digital art, architecture and design. It focuses on a new generation of artists and designers who embrace code as a way of producing new forms of creative expression.
http://www.generatorx.no/

Universal Everything/Everyone Forever/Advanced Beauty

Founded by Matt Pyke, after 8 years at the internationally renowned studio, The Designers Republic from 1996 - 2004.
http://www.universaleverything.com/
http://everyoneforever.com/
http://advancedbeauty.org/blog/

Flight404 Blog

All manner of distractions. Made using Processing.
http://www.flight404.com/blog/

Design and the Elastic Mind (MoMA)

Design and the Elastic Mind explores the reciprocal relationship between science and design in the contemporary world by bringing together design objects and concepts that marry the most advanced scientific research with attentive consideration of human limitations, habits, and aspirations. The exhibition highlights designers’ ability to grasp momentous changes in technology, science, and history—changes that demand or reflect major adjustments in human behavior—and translate them into objects that people can actually understand and use. This Web site presents over three hundred of these works, including fifty projects that are not featured in the gallery exhibition.
http://www.moma.org/exhibitions/2008/elasticmind/

What would Tyler Turden Do?

Source for the latest celebrity news, gossip, rumors, hot photos and videos of your favorite stars. Tongue firmly in cheek.
http://www.wwtdd.com/

Photoshop Disasters

Have you seen a truly awful piece of Photoshop work? Clumsy manipulation, senseless comping, lazy cloning and thoughtless retouching are our bread and butter. And yes, deep down, we love Photoshop.
http://photoshopdisasters.blogspot.com/

Instructables

Developed by the Graffiti Research Lab a division of the Eyebeam R&D OpenLab, LED Throwies are an inexpensive way to add color to any ferromagnetic surface in your neighborhood. A Throwie consists of a lithium battery, a 10mm diffused LED and a rare-earth magnet taped together. Throw it up high and in quantity to impress your friends and city officials.
http://www.instructables.com/id/LED-Throwies/

Maker Faire

Build, CRAFT, hack, play, MAKE.

Maker Faire is a two-day, family-friendly event that celebrates the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) mindset. It’s for creative, resourceful people of all ages and backgrounds who like to tinker and love to make things.
http://makerfaire.com/

This happened…

This happened is a series of events focusing on the stories behind interaction design. Having ideas is easier than making them happen. We delve into projects that exist today, how their concepts and production process can help inform future work.
http://www.thishappened.org/

VJ Kung Fu TV

A Motion Magazine for DIY Video Artists.
http://vjkungfu.tv/

k10k

The designer's lunchbox.
http://www.k10k.net/

Levitated.net's Emotion Fractal

A great site of recreational computation, generative art, mathematics, and open source Flash projects. Commercial free open source since 2012.

"The animal body does not act as a thermodynamic engine ... consciousness teaches every individual that they are, to some extent, subject to the direction of his will. It appears therefore that animated creatures have the power of immediately applying to certain moving particles of matter within their bodies, forces by which the motions of these particles are directed to produce derived mechanical effects." - Lord Kelvin
http://www.levitated.net/
http://www.levitated.net/daily/levEmotionFractalFS.html

TroikArt

TroikArt is Troika's experimental playground. It serves as a playground to develop and test innovative approaches and ideas, as well as providing Troika with a platfrom for Art.
http://www.troika.uk.com/troikart%20index.htm

PixelSumo

Pixelsumo is a site devoted to sonic art, audiovisual fusion, physical interaction, open source technologies, hacking video game culture, responsive environments & installations.
http://www.pixelsumo.com/

Ze Frank

Many have come, but he likes you the best! Look for the talking frog - live audio in Flash.
http://www.zefrank.com/

Worth 1000

They say a picture… is worth a PhotoShop montage (or two!).
http://www.worth1000.com/potd.asp

World Usability Day

Fumbling haplessly while trying to open a compact disc or a packet of ham? November 3 is World Usability Day. Usability is the secret to making things work better.

"The world has so far to go in making technology usable" - Tom Stewart, Usability expert.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/4393468.stm
http://worldusabilityday.org/

Wax Audio presents - Mediacracy

Playing the media like an instrument, Wax Audio juxtaposes found sounds in a way that forces the listener to confront the bias, contradiction and sensationalism inherent in their daily intake of media information.
http://www.waxaudio.com.au/download_the_mp3s/mediacracy

Vector-Scan

Ryota Kuwakubo's on-line portfolio. Check out the blue Logic/Impression interaction in the software section.
http://www.vector-scan.com/

VJ Woody Blog

VJ Woody's exploits in Europe.
http://www.vjwoody.blog.com/

Visual Thesaurus

The Visual Thesaurus takes a unique, and remarkably beautiful, approach to presenting the results of a word lookup. Discover and learn from nearly 140,000 words, meanings and relationships.
http://www.visualthesaurus.com/?ad=mw&word=aware

Foolish Videos

On April 1st 2001, fools dropped money in over fifty locations in the USA. Other campaign highlights include the annual Buy Nothing Day, and TV Turnoff Week. Has the wild human spirit been tamed? Is an oppositional culture still possible? Can we launch another revolution?
http://www.adbusters.org/

nothing media lab

"we are a multidisciplinary design agency formed by extraterrestrial life forms."

"next to exploring new worlds and galaxies in outer space we work on projects from electronic media to print media, from multimedia to crossmedia. nothing is like the way we go: we are what we like to be: passionate, free and young. we are addicted to our work and we love our lightspeed rocket spaceship."
http://www.nothing.ch/

www.AudioVisualizers.com

www.AudioVisualizers.com provides a comprehensive forum for video performance artists who run the gamut from high intensity rave video mixers, to experimental interactive installation artists, and other likeminded creative folks choosing video as a major focus of their art.
www.AudioVisualizers.com

Scott Sona Snibbe

scott, sona, snibbe, abstract, visual, commmunication, interactive, art, artwork, installation, dynamic, abstraction, motion, animation
http://www.snibbe.com/

Mark Newbold's Java Applets

java, hypercube, hyperspace, 24 cell, cross polytope, simplex, stereoscopic, anaglyph, Newbold, honeycomb, polyhedron, octahedron, tetrahedron
http://dogfeathers.com/java/index.html

Windows Media Encoder

Batch processing for simple, efficient coding.
http://www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/9series/encoder/default.aspx

i/o/d by backspace

Software is mind control - get some.
http://bak.spc.org/iod
http://bak.spc.org/index.cgi

ora-ito

A site chemically restructured and animated by Panther House.
http://www.ora-ito.com/

useit.com: Jakob Nielsen's Website

"Usable" information technology - includes 'Voodoo Usability'
http://www.useit.com/

Aliasing:The Blind Spot of the Computer Industry

Perhaps it's time to make aliased graphics a violation of OSH minimum standards for display quality.
http://djs.www.media.mit.edu/~nicholas/Wired/WIRED2-01.html

Coldcut

Macintosh interface, content supreme.
http://www.ninjatune.net/coldcut

The Ark

Recycling used computers from industry for schools and the community.
http://www.the-ark.co.nz/

Che Tamahori

Virtuoso web designer, working for Shift (formerly SFX).
http://www.sfx.co.nz/tamahori

Design in Motion

The Daily Motion Design Resource for time-based media professionals.
http://www.designinmotion.com/

Extrasolar Visions

A (non-fiction) guide to planets discovered outside our solar system.
http://www.extrasolar.net/

Gabocorp

Flash site (very inspiring, worth a look).
http://www.gabocorp.com/

Hactivism

The fusion of hacking and activism.
http://www.thehacktivist.com/

How can you buy or sell the sky?

Chief Seattle's letter to the US Government, 1854
http://www.chiefseattle.com/history/chiefseattle/speech/speech.htm

Imaginary Forces

Film and television typographers, led by ex-head honcho Kyle Cooper (now with Prologue Films).
http://www.imaginaryforces.com/

Nothing™

Fiona Jack's December 1997 exhibition - 27 billboards, run with the support of the Outdoor Advertising Association of New Zealand.

On Xerox, Apple, and Progress

"...user interface design must be driven by deep architectural issues and not just new graphical appearances: interfaces are structure, not image."
Bruce Horn (co-creator of the Macintosh)
http://www.folklore.org/StoryView.py?project=Macintosh&story=On_Xerox,_Apple_and_Progress.txt

The PageMaker Scripting Center

Optimizing your PageMaker - faster, smoother, cleaner.
http://www.svprint.com/pmscripting.html

The Unabomber Manifesto (Industrial Society and its Future)

Ted Kaczynski's treatise on technology and its effects.
http://www.thecourier.com/manifest.htm

The Hacker's Manifesto

The Mentor writes, and having written, moves on. Read and be afraid... very afraid.
http://www.mithral.com/%7Ebeberg/manifesto.html