Hello folks, I hope everything is going well for you. I am doing this briefly post to share something I have been working on my spare time here in Berlin and I believe can be of some use for you (I actually thought about some of you when doing it). Prototype Library, as the name already says, is a library to make things easier when trying to prototype GUI like interactions in Processing, so you don’t need to stick with Flash.
The library is based in the concept of Parts, something like Flash AS2 MovieClip, and Behaviors. While a Part represents the appearance of the component, the Behaviors determine what a Part can do (with or without user interaction), like being dragged, walk around, etc. In the current version you can play with things like x, y, relation point, pivot point, scale, rotation, alpha, etc. You can also have Parts with multiple subparts. There is also support for things like rollOver, rollOut, pixel based collision and etc.
The Library will work with either Processing 1.5 or 2.0 as long as you use OpenGL. It available for download with some examples and the source code at:
UPDATE: I have added lots of stuff like text part with line break, crop (…) and a few other sample widgets (Button and Radio). There is also support to add parts with multiple states to be used as animation(sprites) or simple interactions like rollOver, press, etc.
In the line of Everything is A Remix, Cinescape is an inspiring attempt to build a narrative construct from this year’s film releases. Nicely done. I really like those creative endeavours where value is derived or grown from already-made content or common goods. I think it shows quite well that you don’t necessarily need to invent new things or come up with the next big thing to produce clever and ingenious work. Derivatives, reuse and reinterpretation can go quite a long way!
This video is an attempt to use the remarkably diverse selection of films released over the course of a year’s time to construct a broad narrative encompassing the many different elements that comprise the cinematic medium we love so dearly. By Matt Shapiro.
Senseg has prototyped the sensation of texture into flat screens. This technology could have some really cool applications for wayfinding, especially in situations where people are unable to give their full visual attention to a screen.
Paul Miller is writing about The condescending UI, where most of today’s UIs are adopting a very condescending tone and attitude towards people.
My problem with many modern UIs is that they never get past the telling phase. They’re always dressing up their various functions with glows and bevels and curves, and in the process they somehow become overbearing to my senses. “Did you know you can click this? Don’t forget there’s a save button over here! Let me walk you to your control panel.” Imagine a car that verbally explains all of its various knobs and levers the first time you get into the car. Wonderful, right? Now imagine that car explaining all of these various functions every single time you get in the car for the next five years, until you finally snap and drive it off a cliff.
Interaction-Design.org has a new chapter of their Encyclopedia of Human-Computer Interaction. This new chapter covers End-user development (EUD). EUD is “a set of methods, techniques and tools that allow users of software systems, who are acting as non-professional software developers, at some point to create, modify, or extend a software artifact”. It covers a huge space where software like Max/MSP, Processing, scripting/macros, and other end-user programming ideas come to life.
Takashi Kondo completed his MA degree project at IAMAS in Japan on the topic of Surfacing Interfaces. Check his website and Vimeo page for inspiring works.
Great toolkit. From the About page, “»Meaningful Transitions – Motion Graphics in the User Interface« deals with the use of animations in software user interface. This website documents transitions in a clustered way to show at which place transitions can be a helpful extension to the static user interface, because of cognitive benefits to enhance the user experience.” The meaningful transitions page is also very useful (you got to love it when Disney Animation Principles is a reference on what you do!). I miss a reference to motion graphics besides transitions in UI though…
16-17 March 2012 http://resonate.io/
With -> Nicholas Felton, Josh Nimoy, Jer Thorp, Greg J. Smith, Regine Debatty, Champagne Valentine, Niklas Roy, Benjamin Gaulon, Martial Geoffre-Rouland, Karsten Schmidt, FIELD, LAb[au], Rafaël Rozendaal, United Visual Artists, Written Images, Jürg Lehni, WARP, onedotzero and more.
Following the two first parts, Kirby Ferguson is offering us this third instalment titled The Elements of Creativity. Part 4 should be coming fairly soon. Check the website everythingisaremix.info for the latest info and releases.
In the same line, I discovered today this amazing video made from remixing hundreds of movie trailers on top of great (remixed) music. It’s an intense 15 minutes of insane ninja editing! Watch it in HD, and you get a free drink if you can identify the individual cuts, or even half of them :-)
