As luck would have it, I was assigned to present in Red's Application class during the last week of school. Needless to say, I was dreading having to juggles multiple final projects with this important assignment. This anxiety was only heightened by the stories of suffering from many of the groups that preceded us.
Now that I have lived through this insanely busy time I am happy to report that I thoroughly enjoyed working on this project. It gave me a chance to collaborate with an awesome group of people, we were provided with the opportunity to respond to a very interesting speaker, and we were able to create a fun and collaborative way to end of semester.
Our task was to create a response to Jake Barton's presentation, which focused on collaborative storytelling installations and projects. Here is a link to my detailed notes from this class. To get started working on the presentation we met right after Jake's presentation. We quickly settled on a general direction - creating a collaborative experience that engaged the entire class in a storytelling exercise.
Development and Execution of Installation
After meeting with Todd and holding some additional brainstorm sessions, we decided to focus our response on creating a platform for first-year students to contribute their ITP stories for the development of a meta-narrative. After additional discussions we decided to keep things low-tech, and to limit the activities to the time and physical space of the class itself (we did not want to give other student's "homework" during finals).
The design of our installation was focused around a physical timeline, to which students would add their own stories using stickies or by drawing directly onto the surface itself. To inspire our peers we added a few initial elements to the timeline and we created a video featuring work from first-year students developed throughout the semester. Below you will find a short video overview of our development process, along with the video we developed for the event itself, and some pictures from the event.
Video Featuring Work from 1st Year Students
Pictures from Collaborative Storytelling Event
Showing posts with label ITP-ApplicationsITT. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ITP-ApplicationsITT. Show all posts
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
Jake Barton Presentation Notes
So this week I am on the hook for Red's class presentation. Earlier today I attended class and got a chance to watch Jake Barton, founder and principal at Local Project, whose presentation we will need to respond to. Here are my notes from tonight's class. I'm keeping the presentation ideas private for now.
Local Project is a design firm that is focused on developing collaborative storytelling experiences using spatial and virtual media. Company focuses on media design portion of the equation; they partner with architecture and installation design firms to develop the physical design of the experiences.
Overview and reactions to key projects:
(1) Caring Aspiration - J&J Pavilion at the Beijing Olympics: Installation featured a series of stories told by people from many different parts of the world in their native tongue. Each story was captured in video in a vertical format and featured subtitles in two languages. The stories had been professionally video-taped and curated in the months leading up to the Olympics.
Reaction: this exhibition was Jake's least inspiring work in large part because the interaction has a strong top-down control structure compared to his other projects (e.g. StoryCorps, and 9/11 Memorial Museum). The stories that are featured are small in number and have all been recorded in a similar style. Due to the highly curated nature of this installation it is not able to reach collaborative storytelling platform status - it remains in the category of collaborative storytelling "installation".
(2) Official NYC Information Center: This city-funded information center was created to help tourists explore New York City. It was designed to bring an enhanced version of online-like browsing into the physical world. The space features numerous tabletop interactive maps, physical computing icons that represent virtual information, and other large screen displays (of course, all of these devices support eight languages). At the end of the experience tourists are able to get a customized NY guide or information printed, emailed, or sent via text message.
Reaction: I like the idea of this project because it focuses on leveraging physical space to help people navigate, interact with, and understand information related to New York City. I also appreciate how the project enables people to take with them a digital product of their interaction with the devices at this highly specialized location. I look forward to visiting this information center in the next couple of days.
(3) Brooklyn Historical Society: This project focused on highlighting Brooklyn's relationship to the abolition movement by highlighting specific locations in the neighborhood that have historical significance. These points of interests were used as sites for projections of pictures of residents of these areas from those times long past.
Reaction: I felt that this is one of Jake's less inspired projects. It's focus is primarily on the augmenting these locations with information about the past, there is no collaborative element in this piece.
(4) Jewish-Polish American Museum (? not sure about this name) - multiple exhibitions. The two projects that caught my attention included one that explored stories of Jewish immigrants to America with a focus on their reasons for migrating; and a second that created a space for museum goers where they could have a mediated interactions with others in their community to discuss important questions.
Reaction: I am really impressed by the second project that mentioned above because it totally changes the role of a museum within a community. It makes the museum a much a more progressive institution that embraces the community in a conversation about the current state of our society - rather than a space that offers an singular (even if sometimes varied) institutional perspective.
(5) StoryCorps [Link to Project Page]: This is an awesome project that was developed to capture stories about the lives of everyday american people, from their own perspective using physical installations in high-traffic areas. It provides two friends or family members with a recording booth for 45 minutes, offering the chance for one participant to interview the other. At the end of the session the two participants leave with a DVD copy of the conversation, and the recording is saved in the Library of Congress. All of this takes place in a relatively small recording booth that lives in kiosks located in several major US cities.
Reaction: I have known about this project for a long time from NPR, it is truly an amazing idea. I actually always wondered who had created StoryCorps. It is one of the coolest and best executed collaborative storytelling projects around. The physical aspect of the execution is a crucial element to the success of this project. The context adds a lot of meaning (importance) to the conversation.
(6) Make History 911 [Link to Project Page]: This is a web-based collaborative storytelling project about the history of september 11th. It allows users to add their stories, pictures and videos to the tapestry of stories that already exist on the site.
Reaction: This project has successfully provided people from all over the world with an opportunity to share their experiences related to september 11th. In the process each person has the opportunity to take part in writing the history about this important moment in our shared lifetime. I think this is a pretty cool way to change the way that history is written. It is definitely a storytelling platform.
(7) September 11 Memorial Museum: This large project features some interesting combinations of environmental media and collaborative storytelling. I was specifically interested by the way in which they are integrating the ability to post verbal comments (a behavior that is common only in virtual spaces) into the physical space. I also appreciate the plans to have people's interaction with the exhibition, and current events, to automatically impact the exhibition itself. This creates a much more dynamic experience that repositions museums as I previously pointed out).
Key Concepts:
- Notion that we should use a collaborative approach to creating a public history.
- Difference between a collaborative storytelling platform that enables people to tell their story to an installation that features small selection of curated stories.
- Need for physical interfaces to be "walk-up" ready - this means that first time users are able to interact with the interface with little difficulty or embarassment.
- Museums should look for ways to extend the experience beyond their walls by giving people something to take with them, such is information in a cell phone.
- Museums re-envisioned as interactive spaces where communities can communicate about important issues and in the process impact the space (installation) itself.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Linda Stone - Continuous Partial Attention and More
Earlier today I had the opportunity to hear Linda Stone speak at an Applications of Interactive Telecommunications Technology class. Linda has worked in the technology industry for over 20 years, having spent time at some of the sector’s biggest and most innovative organizations, such as Microsoft and Apple. Most recently, her attention has been focused on the phenomenon of “Continuous Partial Attention”.
Continuous partial attention refers to an artificial state of crisis that we create (that’s right we have to take responsibility here) because of our attempts to not miss anything and to be connected, always on, anytime, anywhere. This is a distinct phenomenon from multi-tasking, which usually connotes a focus on productivity (not the case with continuous partial attention). There is more information about this concept on Linda's blog.
Below I’ve compiled a brief overview of my notes from today’s event. My focus here has been to capture high-level ideas that may serve to inspire my future projects and research at ITP.
Top Three Ideas
Continuous partial attention refers to an artificial state of crisis that we create (that’s right we have to take responsibility here) because of our attempts to not miss anything and to be connected, always on, anytime, anywhere. This is a distinct phenomenon from multi-tasking, which usually connotes a focus on productivity (not the case with continuous partial attention). There is more information about this concept on Linda's blog.
Below I’ve compiled a brief overview of my notes from today’s event. My focus here has been to capture high-level ideas that may serve to inspire my future projects and research at ITP.
Top Three Ideas
- Our current always-on state of being is unhealthy and unsustainable
- Trend society’s focus moving from thinking and doing to sensing and feeling
- Opportunity to bring the body back into our interactions with computers
The condition of continuous partial attention keeps people in a constant state of fight or flight at a low-level. This state is not healthy or sustainable.
Book Recommendations
- Physiologically, the chemical impact of remaining in this state for prolonged periods of time has a negative impact on our mental and physical wellbeing.
- Medical research shows that being in a chronic state of fight or flight has negative physiological and psychological impacts (e.g. depression).
- Breathing exercises and meditation are one of the many tools that we can use to manage state of mind (and upstate the parasympathetic nervous system).
- When we engage with computers we often have bad posture and even neglect to breath.
- Breathing is linked to attention and emotions. Thus physical ways to engage with computational devices can help us on these levels as well.
- Opportunities to explore how to use ambient or environmental technologies to create contexts that help people relax by stimulating/engaging our parasympathetic nervous system.
- The Prius demonstrates how providing individuals with the ability to self-regulate is often sufficient to change behavior.
- The Fun Theory campaign from VW shows examples of how creating new interactions that are fun can also change the behavior of people. I've embedded one of the videos below.
Book Recommendations
- The New Science of Breadth by Elliott Stephen.
- Play by Steve Brown.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
My New York From La Guardia to George Washington
After hiding from the sun for 15 minutes in a small sliver of shade, I boarded the M5 bus on the corner of Houston and La Guardia. It is 16:08 on a beautiful and sunny Saturday afternoon. This is an ideal day to transform a ride on an MTA bus into a scenic tour of my beloved and adopted hometown, New York.
During the 15 minutes before the bus arrived I had a frantic dialogue with my iPhone to curate the playlist that will serve as the soundtrack for this journey. I have always explored this city with a soundtrack. This addiction started when I first moved to New York and was working as a DJ. During this time I became compulsive about always leaving home with my portable music player and the latest draft of my demo.
I board the bus, pay the fare and find a forward-facing seat on the left side of the aisle. I set the playlist to shuffle and press play as the bus pushes away from the curb, synchronizing the start of the first track with our departure. The soundtrack starts with the song Heartbeat, which is an energetic vocal house track by the British band the Knife. I switch my focus back to the outside world and my assignment.
Over the previous couple of days I had given much thought to this assignment: What perspective did I want to take? What tools did I need to bring? I decided that my piece would be personal, that a soundtrack would enhance the experience, and that I needed a way to capture my thoughts. The iPhone took care of items two and three while I was left with the tougher challenge of defining writing a personal account of the tour. This is what was going through my mind as the tour began.
As we reach the corner of Houston and Sullivan I notice a small Italian shop called Rafetto’s . I used to frequent this store when I lived on Thompson Street . It is one of the few businesses that have survived from the days when this little corner of SOHO was primarily a simple Italian neighborhood. More recently, the Italian businesses left in the neighborhood are mostly high-end brand shops from brands such as Dolce & Gabbana, and Prada.
We turn onto 6th Avenue and head north past one of my favorite Italian restaurants, Bellavitae , which is located on Mineta Lane off 6th. A few blocks north we pass the famous Gray’s Papaya , where I’ve consumed many hot dogs. Next I spot the location of the old Balducci’s deli , where I used to savor delicious freshly-baked amaretto cookies.
My New York Memory Map
View Memories Houston to George Washington Bridge in a larger map
For many years I walked the stretch of pavement between Spring and 23rd Streets on a daily basis. This walk, coupled with a loud dose of electronic music, functioned as the caffeine fix that kick-started my days. This is why I would subject myself to this mode of transportation in the summer, fall, winter, and spring, rain, shine, or snow.
Despite the many good memories that I have from this area of the city, the visual landscape from the area between Houston to 17th street is not very appealing. It is dominated primarily by uninspired post-war developments populated by chain restaurant and retail brands, with some notable exceptions such as the Jefferson Market Library.
The architecture between 17th and 21st streets is a sharp contrast to the preceeding and following blocks. The buildings in this small enclave were originally constructed as luxurious department stores. Like much of New York, this area fell into a state of decay for several decades until being restored to its current well-maintained state during the last 15 years.
When we arrive at the corner of 20th street I examine my old office building . I notice that the Barnes & Nobles on the ground floor has closed. The storefront, which was once filled with a colorful selection of media and the recognizable faces of colleagues of mine on break, now looked like a dark and deserted void.
It was only 6 years ago that I stopped working here. I have many memories from eating and drinking at local restaurant and bars that have been replaced by new, and usually more upscale, establishments. This is a testament to the speed of urban renewal during the last decade in New York. In contrast, the presence of a few notable unoccupied retail spaces demonstrates the impact of the current economic crisis on the city’s ability to renew itself.
Once we cross 23rd street the buildings become less memorable and my personal stories and memories are less numerous. For many years I rarely crossed the 23rd street divide, which how this area came to be known amongst my friends.
The slice of 6th Avenue between 23rd and 34th is one of its least attractive parts. New cookie-cutter residential buildings dot this stretch, which is mostly lined with drab and grey post-war buildings. Aside from a few shinny new supermarkets and coffee houses, the commerce here is dominated by Indian clothing and jewelry wholesalers, and plants retailers.
As we approach the Manhattan Mall and Macy’s the crowd on the street swells exponentially. The weekend closure of Broadway above 34th has attracted a sea of people on this beautiful day. Looking at this spectacle I am reminded of my visit to Shibuya in Tokyo earlier this summer.
I look down at my iPhone to continue capturing my stream of consciousness and realize that I may run out of battery before the end of the trip. This realization leads me to think about my dependence on energy. I wonder how much energy it takes to keep this whole city “alive”, or even just one city block. The number is too high for me to even imagine. How long can we keep this up? What changes do I need to make in my life to help our society avoid a rude awakening?
I refocus on the world outside as we head into the garment district. Here the landscape changes to taller, though still mostly drab and grey, corporate-looking office towers. The commerce in this area is mostly fashion-related, as the name of neighborhood suggests. Bryan Park provides a breadth of fresh air in this boring midtown district. I worked just a few blocks away from this small oasis and enjoyed many lunch breaks sitting on one of its grassy patches.
Our arrival at Bryant Park is synched to the opening chords of the song My Beau, this is one of my favorite tracks from an LA-based artist called Daedelus. I feel like I am in that old VW Jetta commercial where the world around the car moves in synch to the beat of the music in the car.
We cross 42nd Street and the corporate office buildings quickly morph into imposing towers that exude a sense of power. This area through 55th street is a nucleus of banks, insurance companies, law offices, and multinational corporations. From the bus, the towers seem to be looking down at me with a hard and muscular stare. I feel very small in comparison; I enjoy the feeling.
When we reach 46th Street I begin to crave delicacies from a nearby Brazilian goods store called Buzios . This small shop, hidden on the second floor of a dilapidated building, is my favorite source for cooking supplies, cheeses, chocolates, and soft drinks from Brazil. On my first visits to New York in the nineties this strip of the city was overrun by Brazilian businesses. Now, Buzios is one of the few remaining Brazilian-owned businesses in this area that is still known as little Brazil.
At 55th street the row of towers comes to an end. A mix of residences, hotels and themed eating establishments line the few remaining blocks south of the park. I lived in this area during my first six months in New York, though I have spent little time here since I moved downtown.
While following along the southern edge of Central Park my view was limited to the south side of the street. The buildings lining this edge of the park are old luxury condominiums and hotels that are all in need of a good makeover. Especially when contrasted to the city’s newest and most luxurious shopping mall complex, which is located next door in Columbus Circle.
We reach Columbus Circle and take a right onto Broadway to cut diagonally across the island. The ten blocks above the Circle are home to many New York City treasures, including Lincoln Center and one of my favorite pizzas, at Fiorello’s . Broadway is lined with high-end residential complexes and big brand name stores. The buildings are less imposing and provide more visual breathing room than the power corridor we passed on upper 6th Ave.
We take a left and head towards the Hudson on an ugly stretch of 72nd street. When we reach Riverside drive I am struck by my view of the lush park and river. This is one of the few parts of the city that I had never visited; I can’t imagine a better day to acquaint myself with it. The song “Brother Love” from Animal Collective picks up slowly providing the perfect musical accompaniment.
The side of the street opposite the park is lined with beautiful upscale residential buildings. From 72nd through 120th there are strollers and kids parading down the sidewalk. This is by far the most family-friendly street on the tour. From my vantage point, the overall aura of the neighborhood makes me feel as though I have been transported to Brooklyn Heights.
After 60 blocks of river views the bus takes 135th Street over to Broadway for the final leg of our ascent to the George Washington Bridge. The contrast between Riverside Drive and this stretch of Broadway is severe. This section of Harlem is noticeably lower income than all of the other neighborhoods we visited along our route.
Most businesses in this area are locally owned with signage primarily in Spanish, with the exception of a few fast food restaurants and cell phone provider outposts. The sights, sounds and smells of the neighborhood are strongly Hispanic. The cash checking stores, phone card vendors, and abundance of Latin restaurants and grocery shops are part of the visible support structure for to this large community of immigrants.
When we reach 165th street and are in view of the George Washington Bridge we are forced to transfer buses. I take the opportunity to soak up some sun and I start to think about what I’ve witnessed so far. A new bus arrives within five minutes, and our tour ends only a few minutes thereafter when I step off the bus across the street from the GW Bridge.
On the subway ride back home, still listening to my soundtrack, I think about the diversity that exists within the 200 city blocks that I traveled today. I enjoyed the opportunity to consciously survey the physical manifestations of this diversity in the buildings and streets of the city. I also realize how the diverse cultures and values that were manifest in the streets outside the bus, were equally reflected in the bus riders themselves. This pattern of reflection reminds me how the unparalleled diversity offered by New York is one of main reasons I call this city my home.
The Tour Playlist
During the 15 minutes before the bus arrived I had a frantic dialogue with my iPhone to curate the playlist that will serve as the soundtrack for this journey. I have always explored this city with a soundtrack. This addiction started when I first moved to New York and was working as a DJ. During this time I became compulsive about always leaving home with my portable music player and the latest draft of my demo.
I board the bus, pay the fare and find a forward-facing seat on the left side of the aisle. I set the playlist to shuffle and press play as the bus pushes away from the curb, synchronizing the start of the first track with our departure. The soundtrack starts with the song Heartbeat, which is an energetic vocal house track by the British band the Knife. I switch my focus back to the outside world and my assignment.
Over the previous couple of days I had given much thought to this assignment: What perspective did I want to take? What tools did I need to bring? I decided that my piece would be personal, that a soundtrack would enhance the experience, and that I needed a way to capture my thoughts. The iPhone took care of items two and three while I was left with the tougher challenge of defining writing a personal account of the tour. This is what was going through my mind as the tour began.
As we reach the corner of Houston and Sullivan I notice a small Italian shop called Rafetto’s . I used to frequent this store when I lived on Thompson Street . It is one of the few businesses that have survived from the days when this little corner of SOHO was primarily a simple Italian neighborhood. More recently, the Italian businesses left in the neighborhood are mostly high-end brand shops from brands such as Dolce & Gabbana, and Prada.
We turn onto 6th Avenue and head north past one of my favorite Italian restaurants, Bellavitae , which is located on Mineta Lane off 6th. A few blocks north we pass the famous Gray’s Papaya , where I’ve consumed many hot dogs. Next I spot the location of the old Balducci’s deli , where I used to savor delicious freshly-baked amaretto cookies.
My New York Memory Map
View Memories Houston to George Washington Bridge in a larger map
For many years I walked the stretch of pavement between Spring and 23rd Streets on a daily basis. This walk, coupled with a loud dose of electronic music, functioned as the caffeine fix that kick-started my days. This is why I would subject myself to this mode of transportation in the summer, fall, winter, and spring, rain, shine, or snow.
Despite the many good memories that I have from this area of the city, the visual landscape from the area between Houston to 17th street is not very appealing. It is dominated primarily by uninspired post-war developments populated by chain restaurant and retail brands, with some notable exceptions such as the Jefferson Market Library.
The architecture between 17th and 21st streets is a sharp contrast to the preceeding and following blocks. The buildings in this small enclave were originally constructed as luxurious department stores. Like much of New York, this area fell into a state of decay for several decades until being restored to its current well-maintained state during the last 15 years.
When we arrive at the corner of 20th street I examine my old office building . I notice that the Barnes & Nobles on the ground floor has closed. The storefront, which was once filled with a colorful selection of media and the recognizable faces of colleagues of mine on break, now looked like a dark and deserted void.
It was only 6 years ago that I stopped working here. I have many memories from eating and drinking at local restaurant and bars that have been replaced by new, and usually more upscale, establishments. This is a testament to the speed of urban renewal during the last decade in New York. In contrast, the presence of a few notable unoccupied retail spaces demonstrates the impact of the current economic crisis on the city’s ability to renew itself.
Once we cross 23rd street the buildings become less memorable and my personal stories and memories are less numerous. For many years I rarely crossed the 23rd street divide, which how this area came to be known amongst my friends.
The slice of 6th Avenue between 23rd and 34th is one of its least attractive parts. New cookie-cutter residential buildings dot this stretch, which is mostly lined with drab and grey post-war buildings. Aside from a few shinny new supermarkets and coffee houses, the commerce here is dominated by Indian clothing and jewelry wholesalers, and plants retailers.
As we approach the Manhattan Mall and Macy’s the crowd on the street swells exponentially. The weekend closure of Broadway above 34th has attracted a sea of people on this beautiful day. Looking at this spectacle I am reminded of my visit to Shibuya in Tokyo earlier this summer.
I look down at my iPhone to continue capturing my stream of consciousness and realize that I may run out of battery before the end of the trip. This realization leads me to think about my dependence on energy. I wonder how much energy it takes to keep this whole city “alive”, or even just one city block. The number is too high for me to even imagine. How long can we keep this up? What changes do I need to make in my life to help our society avoid a rude awakening?
I refocus on the world outside as we head into the garment district. Here the landscape changes to taller, though still mostly drab and grey, corporate-looking office towers. The commerce in this area is mostly fashion-related, as the name of neighborhood suggests. Bryan Park provides a breadth of fresh air in this boring midtown district. I worked just a few blocks away from this small oasis and enjoyed many lunch breaks sitting on one of its grassy patches.
Our arrival at Bryant Park is synched to the opening chords of the song My Beau, this is one of my favorite tracks from an LA-based artist called Daedelus. I feel like I am in that old VW Jetta commercial where the world around the car moves in synch to the beat of the music in the car.
We cross 42nd Street and the corporate office buildings quickly morph into imposing towers that exude a sense of power. This area through 55th street is a nucleus of banks, insurance companies, law offices, and multinational corporations. From the bus, the towers seem to be looking down at me with a hard and muscular stare. I feel very small in comparison; I enjoy the feeling.
When we reach 46th Street I begin to crave delicacies from a nearby Brazilian goods store called Buzios . This small shop, hidden on the second floor of a dilapidated building, is my favorite source for cooking supplies, cheeses, chocolates, and soft drinks from Brazil. On my first visits to New York in the nineties this strip of the city was overrun by Brazilian businesses. Now, Buzios is one of the few remaining Brazilian-owned businesses in this area that is still known as little Brazil.
At 55th street the row of towers comes to an end. A mix of residences, hotels and themed eating establishments line the few remaining blocks south of the park. I lived in this area during my first six months in New York, though I have spent little time here since I moved downtown.
While following along the southern edge of Central Park my view was limited to the south side of the street. The buildings lining this edge of the park are old luxury condominiums and hotels that are all in need of a good makeover. Especially when contrasted to the city’s newest and most luxurious shopping mall complex, which is located next door in Columbus Circle.
We reach Columbus Circle and take a right onto Broadway to cut diagonally across the island. The ten blocks above the Circle are home to many New York City treasures, including Lincoln Center and one of my favorite pizzas, at Fiorello’s . Broadway is lined with high-end residential complexes and big brand name stores. The buildings are less imposing and provide more visual breathing room than the power corridor we passed on upper 6th Ave.
We take a left and head towards the Hudson on an ugly stretch of 72nd street. When we reach Riverside drive I am struck by my view of the lush park and river. This is one of the few parts of the city that I had never visited; I can’t imagine a better day to acquaint myself with it. The song “Brother Love” from Animal Collective picks up slowly providing the perfect musical accompaniment.
The side of the street opposite the park is lined with beautiful upscale residential buildings. From 72nd through 120th there are strollers and kids parading down the sidewalk. This is by far the most family-friendly street on the tour. From my vantage point, the overall aura of the neighborhood makes me feel as though I have been transported to Brooklyn Heights.
After 60 blocks of river views the bus takes 135th Street over to Broadway for the final leg of our ascent to the George Washington Bridge. The contrast between Riverside Drive and this stretch of Broadway is severe. This section of Harlem is noticeably lower income than all of the other neighborhoods we visited along our route.
Most businesses in this area are locally owned with signage primarily in Spanish, with the exception of a few fast food restaurants and cell phone provider outposts. The sights, sounds and smells of the neighborhood are strongly Hispanic. The cash checking stores, phone card vendors, and abundance of Latin restaurants and grocery shops are part of the visible support structure for to this large community of immigrants.
When we reach 165th street and are in view of the George Washington Bridge we are forced to transfer buses. I take the opportunity to soak up some sun and I start to think about what I’ve witnessed so far. A new bus arrives within five minutes, and our tour ends only a few minutes thereafter when I step off the bus across the street from the GW Bridge.
On the subway ride back home, still listening to my soundtrack, I think about the diversity that exists within the 200 city blocks that I traveled today. I enjoyed the opportunity to consciously survey the physical manifestations of this diversity in the buildings and streets of the city. I also realize how the diverse cultures and values that were manifest in the streets outside the bus, were equally reflected in the bus riders themselves. This pattern of reflection reminds me how the unparalleled diversity offered by New York is one of main reasons I call this city my home.
The Tour Playlist
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Quick Overview of The Laws of Simplicity
Conversations regarding the need to manage and reduce complexity have been taking place in the computer industry for a long time now. Computers enable complexity to grow exponentially. The practices of information architecture and interaction design were developed to address this issue and to enable people and organizations to use computation as an effective communication medium.Now that computation technology has become a pervasive element of our professional and personal lives, the complexity related to managing exponentially growing volumes of information has spilled over into our day-to-day life experience. Simplicity is becoming crucial to the maintenance of our own sanity.
John Maeda's book about simplicity outlines a set of useful "laws" and "keys" to help individuals and organizations better understand how to leverage simplicity - in both personal and professional realms. In the spirit of the laws outlined in this book, I will keep my overview as short as possible.
Before I dive into the rules I wanted to share a quote from Muji that I found on the book's website (www.lawsofsimplicity.com). To me this quote encapsulates an interesting perspective on simplicity that is at the core of John's vision of simplicity: "Muji is simplicity - but simplicity achieved through a complexity of thought and design."
The 10 Laws of Simplicity
- Reduce - simplest way to achieve simplicity
- Organize - helps disguise many things into fewer entities
- Time - saving time feels like simplicity
- Learn - knowledge makes things simpler
- Differences - simplicity and complexity are like yin & yang
- Context - simplicity is highly context-dependent
- Emotion - emotions are important to deliver simplicity
- Trust - trust makes things simpler
- Failure - some things can't be made simpler
- The one - "Simplicity is about subtracting the obvious, and adding the meaningful."
- Away - Moving elements far away makes more appear like less
- Open - Openness reduces complexity by bringing to bear the power of many
- Power - Use less, freedom from power is the only to provide simplicity
- To reduce complexity once all elements that can be removed have been removed, the next steps to take are shrinking, then hiding, and lastly embodying (SHE). This last step refers to the process of embedding the simplified object with a sense of value.
- To use organization to reduce complexity four steps are outlined: sort, label, integrate, prioritize (SLIP). I prefer to call the second step "group" rather than "label" so that it is not confused with the first step. That, however, does away with John's acronym.
- To transfer knowledge in order to reduce complexity there are five things to keep in mind: Basics - cover the basics, Repeat - repeat information often, Avoid - avoid causing desperation, Inspire - use examples to inspire, Never - don't forget to repeat (BRAIN)
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Applications of Interactive Telecommunications Technology - 1st Class
Yesterday, I attended the first session of the Applications of Interactive Telecommunications Technology course. This foundation course focuses on exploring the many ways that these technologies have been used by notable figures from a wide range of industries (in the form of product, service or concept) to support their artistic, personal and business endeavors. The course is taught by Red Burns, who is the chair of the ITP program and has been responsible for guiding the program's evolution. It is also the only course that every first-year student attends together.
The sessions are structured into two one-hour and a half blocks: in the first part of the class student groups present a reaction to a topic discussed by a guest speaker from a previous session; during the second half a guest speaker is invited to share how they use (and have used) interactive telecommunications technology within their respective fields of expertise - the identity of the speakers is kept under wraps so we never know what the topic will be.
The main deliverables for this class are the presentation (My group is responsible for the presentation on the week of 12/8), and a paper inspired by or related to my experience riding a New York city bus (this is due on September 22 for my group).
Over the weekend I purchased the mandatory reading for this course, a short book by John Maeda called The Laws of Simplicity (blog associated to book). I have not finished reading the book yet, which is kind of embarrassing considering how short it is. At a high level, the book focuses on providing strategies to help individuals and organizations simplify products, services, and life in general. This addresses the longing for simplicity that has arisen as a response/reaction to the increasing level of complexity inherent in modern living, products and services.
On our first class we welcomed Vito Acconci as our special guests. Being somewhat (if not totally ignorant) about contemporary art, I was not familiar with him. Since the late 60s Vito has explored poetry, videos, installation art, and, his most recent medium of choice, architecture. His work across all of these phase carries through a provocative and playful perspective. What inspires me most about Vito is his courage to re-create himself and master new realms.
The sessions are structured into two one-hour and a half blocks: in the first part of the class student groups present a reaction to a topic discussed by a guest speaker from a previous session; during the second half a guest speaker is invited to share how they use (and have used) interactive telecommunications technology within their respective fields of expertise - the identity of the speakers is kept under wraps so we never know what the topic will be.
The main deliverables for this class are the presentation (My group is responsible for the presentation on the week of 12/8), and a paper inspired by or related to my experience riding a New York city bus (this is due on September 22 for my group).
Over the weekend I purchased the mandatory reading for this course, a short book by John Maeda called The Laws of Simplicity (blog associated to book). I have not finished reading the book yet, which is kind of embarrassing considering how short it is. At a high level, the book focuses on providing strategies to help individuals and organizations simplify products, services, and life in general. This addresses the longing for simplicity that has arisen as a response/reaction to the increasing level of complexity inherent in modern living, products and services.
On our first class we welcomed Vito Acconci as our special guests. Being somewhat (if not totally ignorant) about contemporary art, I was not familiar with him. Since the late 60s Vito has explored poetry, videos, installation art, and, his most recent medium of choice, architecture. His work across all of these phase carries through a provocative and playful perspective. What inspires me most about Vito is his courage to re-create himself and master new realms.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)