Now, that right there is pretty much way cool. EELS 3D projection mapping multiplayer game from B-Reel & B-Reel Films on Vimeo.
Made me look: this new exhibit featured in Designboom, by Thai design studio Apostrophy’s (sic), is an inflatable, LED-powered spatial game.
DJ Light (DJ Luz), Lima 2010 from Cinimod Studio on Vimeo.
Roughly translated excerpt from Fubiz:
Designed by English designer Dominic Harris from the studio Cinimod, here is the project “DJ Light”. It is an outdoor installation that allows the public to participate through movement: they conduct a light and sound space made of 85 balloons.
I’m happily addicted to e-books (and i-books, I suppose) but I’ve always wondered why a book that’s not a book is still written like … a book. (I’ve given up wondering why digital music is still released as albums.) So when I stumbled on this new iPad book, written for iPad only, and replete with iPad-only features, I was delighted. It’s not a perfect new idea, but it’s a new idea, which counts for a lot. Now it just needs to be gorgeous.
On that same note, this article on the Economist’s iPad version is a must-read.
On the opposite end of the spectrum comes this downright gorgeous iPad vintage synthesizer interface designed according to the “skeuomorphic” (i.e. real-world visual metaphor*) interface principles so beloved by Apple. In many ways, the exact opposite of the iPad-only book above. But it’s gorgeous, and that counts for a lot. Now it just needs to be new.
Some more thoughtful musings on skeuomorphic interface design here.
Would a crocheted coral reef be considered skeuomorphic?
* No, I didn’t know that word until today, either.
Via @nancyproctor and @fastcodesign.
I am dumbstruck. From Cool Hunting:
Japanese artist Iori Tomita takes a colorful approach to highlighting the complex compositions of marine life creatures with his collection entitled “New World Transparent Specimens.” Tomita was first introduced to the creation of transparent specimens for the scientific purpose of examining minuscule bone structure as an undergraduate student majoring in fisheries. The specimens’ flesh is made translucent by a method that dissolves the creatures’ natural proteins. The artistry of nature and man-made design converge when vibrant dyes are introduced to the delicate skeletal system. Selectively injecting red dye into the hard bones and blue into the softer bones, Tomita underscores the other worldliness of aquatic life.
Most popular tweets of the past 30 days:
- “With new website, devices, (Boston’s) MFA seeks visitors’ touch” http://ow.ly/37Aoz
- Museum Without Walls. http://ow.ly/39GaI
- Gamification: good. http://ow.ly/36xP0 < > Gamification: bad. http://ow.ly/36xMA
- The MoMA iPad app. http://ow.ly/3e2Ra
- Exhibit as participatory infographic: visitors mark their heights in dense line around gallery. http://ow.ly/37edU
- Wait. Do location games like SCVNGR … work? http://ow.ly/37xNx via @mia_out
The rather fab Turner Prize in the UK just went to Susan Philipsz, the “first person in the history of the award to have created nothing you can see or touch” (The Guardian). Philipsz is known for sound art, the “so-called fine art in which audio is the core if not sole constituent element” (BoingBoing).
This YouTube video of an echoing vocal work of her voice singing under a bridge is making the rounds. As both a recovering musician and a designer, this should be right up my alley. But I’m not sure what I think yet. In any case, it seems to have the art world in the UK a bit riled up. What do you think?
Via BoingBoing, seen first via my favorite news reader app, Pulse.
First of all, artist Joseph L. Griffiths has made himself quite a bicycle. Secondly, looking at this has started me thinking. We’re all talking about user-generated content in visitor experiences, and about participatory design. This has both of those in spades, but it’s got one more important thing we might sometimes forget: delight. The next time I am thinking too much, I’m going to imagine myself on this lovely bicycle, pedaling paint, and be better for it. Cheers, Mr. Griffiths. *
* By the way, Mr. G., the world really needs a video of this.
Currently under construction: the new Zayed National Museum, just outside Abu Dhabi, by architects Foster & Partners.
Why wings? Pick one and post your answer below:
(a) The eponymous Sheikh Zayed, who is the original founder of the whole UAE, loves falconry. The wings are meant to honor his pastime.
(b) They are innovative ventilation scoops that cool the building in an arid, unforgiving climate.
(c) Both (a) and (b) above.
(d) Why not?
Here, on the other hand, is a Foster museum with just one new wing.
Via Gizmodo.
Mm, pretty: the new MoMA abstract expressionism iPad app.
Exactly what I’m supposed to do with it, I’m not quite sure. Is it a really big handheld guide for my next museum visit, or do I sit on my porch and use it, but not see the real art? If it’s the former, both my hands are already full of the little hands of my co-visitors. If it’s the latter, I’ll go for a coffee table book (bigger pictures, higher resolution).
All that said, it’s beautiful anyway, so why not.
Mesmerizing: CERN’s new interactive exhibition center on YouTube. (Run it full screen for full effect.) Do you know the designers? Please comment below. Design by the excellent folks at Atelier Brückner. (Thanks, Phillip Teufel!)
After years of quietly enjoying my ever-growing collection of books on exhibit design, museum planning and interactive spaces, I have finally come up with a way to share my bookshelf with everyone. I hereby announce the Exhibit Designer’s Bookshelf (beta), courtesy of Shelfari.
Click the link at the very top of this page, or here, and enjoy. More fancy features to come, this is just a start.
Many thanks to Jessica Griscti, bibliographer extraordinaire, for helping to make this happen.
Suggestions? Missing books? Useful? Not useful? Comments open below.
“It’s the new way to find your way at the American Museum of Natural History,” says the AMNH (and several hundred blogs) about their new iPhone app, appropriately named “Explorer:”
More from the Museum:
Chart your own course at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City with AMNH Explorer—a new app that is part custom navigation system, part personal tour guide for the Museum’s world-famous halls. Providing turn-by-turn directions, AMNH Explorer takes visitors from the edge of the universe to the age of the dinosaurs. Choose from a variety of Museum-designed tours or create your own from a list of popular exhibits, specimens, or artifacts. AMNH Explorer also lets you share your adventures with friends and family by linking directly to your Facebook and Twitter profiles. Download AMNH Explorer now and start planning your next visit or use your iPhone® or iPod® touch to discover the Museum’s must-sees from anywhere in the world.
More from the New York Times here. Links to the entire media frenzy here.
Nearly as remarkable as the Shanghai 2010 World Expo: the Shanghai 2010 World Expo “Online Expo”. Nearly as remarkable as that (and entertainingly bizarre): the Shanghai 2010 World Expo “Online Expo” Official Preview Video:
“Ceaseless World Expo!”
If you can’t make it to Shanghai for Expo 2010, these three videos by the (accurately named) Shanghai Expo Timelapse Machine give a sense of the different kinds of pavilions on display. Germany: a deep, varied exhibition with a variety of completely different interactive zones in the interior:
Denmark, completely the opposite, with a beautifully designed building and little else to “do” (not that anything more is needed):
And finally, the hauntingly beautiful, award-winning UK pavilion, the “Seed Cathedral”:
My Shelfari bookshelf: the latest on exhibit design, museum planning, and interactive space.
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