Digital “Cloud” for 2012 Olympics

This project seems to be one of the most epic and large scale interactive instillations to date. Intended for the 2012 London Olympics, this digital “cloud” will provide London, with up to date Olympic stats, dynamic city-wide information, and a rad looking structure. And it seems like Londoners will be able to enjoy it whether you are attending events or not.

Saturated with real-time information displays, the Cloud will broadcast breathtaking Olympian moments and a broader range of events. Its real-time relay of our climates and communications reveal the connective networks of our united humanity, and the world itself.

The design of the structure makes me think of Syd Mead (one of our favs) and the countless illustrations and prototypes he has done throughout the years- storyboarding and concepting for movies like Bladerunner, Short Circuit and 2001 Space Odyssey. He has been called a “visual futurist” but can he predict the future? Possibly a time traveler? Seems so. Either way, I think he is super human. Check out more on this project here.

Un-official Grizzly Bear

This is a beautiful fan video by Gabe Askew, not to be confused with the official music video, but damn its pretty hot. He used 3ds Max, Vray, and After Effects. And painted all the textures in Photoshop. I am really digging the sense of space and depth in this piece. And in general, I am loving the exploration of dimension in design. Enjoy!

10/GUI – Multi-touch Concept for Desktop Interface

10/GUI is an interesting multitouch interface concept designed by Robert Clayton Miller that aims to replace the mouse based desktop interaction model.

The mouse is replaced with a touch tablet that is separate from the screen. All 10 fingers can be used for input without obstructing the display. Windows fill the screen vertically and are organized by application in a horizontal bar.

Pressing the right side brings up the global menu.

Pressing the left side brings up the application menu.

The more fingers you use, the higher their level of interaction:

1 Finger – Interact with elements in an application

2 Fingers – Scroll or pinch zoom inside applications

3 Fingers – Move and scale applications

3 Fingers – Scroll and scale the entire application space

Zoom application space all the way out and you get an annotated, thumbnail view of all windows separated into their applications.

It’s a clever system that seems feasible to me with some iteration on the software ui. I switched to a pen tablet from a mouse a few years back to reduce wrist strain. I love using my pen tablet as an input device, but this system solves a lot of the problems I have using it (the need to put down a pen to type, gui that isn’t tailored to the input, etc). Really hope a new desktop input model reaches the real world in the near future.

The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics

On Tuesday nights I teach Design Elements at SVC and last night was our second class together. As we were doing some point, line and plane in-class excersises, one of my students directed me to this animation, and watched it as a class. I know I have seen it before, but has been a long time. Nevertheless, I was stoked and the class was stoked, not only because it’s nostalgic, but because it is a really wonderful teaching tool. It clearly explains the dot and line’s fundamental role in graphic design in a way that a wide audience can understand. This was made back in 1963 and is still relevant and inspiring today.  Well done Chuck.

p.s. I’m really psyched about this new class. Yallz rock.

Chop Cup

I really wonderful instillation/motion piece by We Are Om. RAD! And whats even sweeter is that you can check out the process photos here. I love designers and artists who document and show their process. That level of transparency is so appealing and and I wish creators would show off their process more often…sometimes its more interesting than the final product.

Thanks Bri.

Japanese Logoland

Recently, I have been deep deep in logo land, trying to simplify ideas down to its “essence”. So when a friend passed this along to me, I was inspired and a little bit relieved. When I create logos, I immediately shy away from using the first letter(s) in the name as the mark. I want something more, something more metaphorical I guess.

Which leads me to this post. When a friend sent me this, I was stoked. These Japanese town logos use hiragana and katakana characters to create interesting and solid marks that are extremely unique. They range from super simple to almost puzzle-like, rigid to fluid, however all of them are super accessible and solid. They are modern heraldry, crests that symbolize a community. I would love to design a series of these for towns in the US and replace something like whats below, ugggg. Is that really our logo? Or is it this?

Check out the whole collection here.

Stop motion short about Street View by Google Japan

Adorable and beautifully executed

Visualizing The U.S. Electric Grid – Flash infographic piece on NPR site

NPR has a nice informational feature on their site called Visualizing The U.S. Electric Grid.

“The U.S. electric grid is a complex network of independently owned and operated power plants and transmission lines. Aging infrastructure, combined with a rise in domestic electricity consumption, has forced experts to critically examine the status and health of the nation’s electrical systems.”

Really great way to get a quick understanding of how our electrical system works. The site explains proposed expansions to the system for power generated through coal, nuclear, gas and hydro power plants as well as new lines to transfer power created with solar and wind generators.

Specific information for all major power plants

How much and which types of power each state creates

Existing solar power systems

Dating Montage

Dan you MADE MY DAY with this one.

History of Flight

Whoa, this is rad! Very nicely designed, interactive timeline from Nike Jordan, breaking down Michael Jordan’s career and the “The History of Flight” from 85′ to present. Poke around and check out all the “pop-ups”. I love the illustrations too. Banger.