PaperPhone

This phone has a flexible display which makes it more portable than any current mobile computer.

In the phone industry its the unbreakable and smallest which are the best, the worlds first interactive paper computer looks set to dominate for years to come.

It is extremely lightweight and made out of a thin-film, the prototype device can do everything a smartphone currently does.

It is extremely light weight, made out of a thin-film and can do everything a smartphone currently does.


Stores books, plays music, send texts and make phone calls and when no one is interacting with it, it uses no power.


This feels and operates like a small sheet of interactive paper, which means when the users are reading they don't feel like they are holding a sheet of glass or metal. And you can interact with it by bending it into a cell phone, flipping the corner to turn pages or write on it with a pen.


The flexible form of the display makes it much more portable than any current mobile computer, it will shape with you pocket.


In my opinion i am not sure whether they will take over the smart phone as i think it is not the most aesthetically appealing device, and in this day and age society generally go for a nice design as well as functionality, there will be people who will find this device handy though and prefer it over the typical mobile phone. Also, having to bend it to navigate would seem to me to be a lot more annoying/complicated then using a touch screen.

Moritz Waldemeyer - Snow Flake Sculpture - Time Square Seoul, Korea

The image above is what the installation appears to look like from most vantage points in the atrium, it appears abstract.


Snow covered landscape is definitely one of the most magical things that never fails to enchant people.
This was a winter installation found in the Time Square shopping center, that they wanted for their large atrium space. Inspiration for this piece came from the infinite varieties of crystal shapes that create this natural miracle.

On first glance this complex 3D constellation appears to be a clean abstract sculpture, perfectly in tune with its surrounding architecture. In my opinion it has a hint of manga-esque SciFi, like a beautiful frozen comet moving at a galactic speed.

The image shown directly above is moving towards the magic spot the crystal geometry is slowly taking shape.


There is a secret hidden within the 3D composition: which is the galleries and floors of the shopping center allow for many different viewing angles and vantage points, and hidden and yet in plain view there is one magic spot that unlocks the secret of the snow flake.

The image above shows the snow flake installation as seen from the magic vantage point


The installation is illuminated by a large cinema projector and as a festive message it plays video footage from london, that was treated by a specifically designed kaleidoscope filter, to match the hexagonal symmetry of the snow crystal.

This project by Waldemeyer is screaming Avant Garde, he has done something cutting edge and radical  which works to capture the theme he was given. I love the fact that footage from london gets used in the project so this is a well thought out and designed data visualization piece.

Waiting Room.....

So there a variety of things and aspects of a waiting room which can be improved through FUN here are some:

• Magazines
• Television
• Radio
• Lighting/Lights
• Plants
• Chairs
• The Que
• Notice Boards
• Artwork
• Childrens Toys
• Information Pamphlets
• Sound

Waiting Rooms - Empathy

Waiting rooms can be found in doctors, dentists and offices, it is a place that is in all areas of the globe. And at some point everyone will have the opportunity to be in a waiting room. This is a place which i find can be extremely awkward and also intensely boring (in my local doctors if you make an appointment for 10.00 am there has been times when i have been waiting till 12 NOON!!!) So i can completely empathize with my audience, here are a few opinions and feeling below from others.


http://www.dailystrength.org/groups/social-anxiety/discussions/messages/12928135

The URL above contains a discussion on how people feel in waiting rooms. This is a brief view of their feelings/opinions:

• Looking at other people that sit across from you can be awkward.
• Getting stared at is also awkward.
• Magazines can be old and boring, hard to read when uncomfortable.
• Feeling of being analyzed.
• Feeling that you are being judged.
• Bored.

http://davidmaister.com/articles/5/52/

The URL above is an article on the Psychology of Waiting Lines.

• Its frustrating
• Demoralizing
• Agonizing 
• Aggravating
• Annoying 
• Time Consuming
• The waiting room experience in a service facility affects our overall perceptions of the quality of service provided.

I am going to do further research on how people feel and carry out a survey/questionnaire to gather some opinions on the matter.

Diesel Show: Underwater Magic

In 2008 Diesel did a cutting edge catwalk show which incorporated digital art, staged at the Pitti Immagine Uomo Fair in Florence, it was nothing short of amazing. Regular models paced the runway alongside animated holograms that interacted them within an underwater landscape.

Diesels creative team (under the direction of Wilbert Dals) based the show on an aquatic theme and worked alongside the Barcelona animation studio 'Dvein' (did the work on the CGI visual effects and 3D animations) and with Danish multi-media production agancy 'Vizoo' (providing the innovative technology).

A series of 'foils' projected the visuals into mid air as you see above in the image. And the models were able to interact with them and walk through them. It had a real catwalk feel allowing you to see it from both sides: you can see the models, the holograms and the public from both sides. This technology has never been used before in this way and is usually used in the corporate world, for sales presentations, and the visuals have always been viewed from one side, this was achieved by setting up two rigs instead.


Animations were done with standard CGI animation software but were made for a 15m by 2.5m screen. And it is all rendered in HD which would be quite demanding as its 30 frames per second. However it took just two and a half months. 


In my opinion by Diesel bringing together 'Dvein' and 'Vizoo' it gave the catwalk a uniqueness which is Avant Guarde and also created a truly holographic, 3D motion graphic experience. 


Something truly magical, i would imagine it would be to see this show.

Radical New Camera - The Lytro

This is the only camera that captures life on living pictures, the Lytro lets the user take pictures like never before. It is unlike the conventional camera that captures a single plane of light, this camera captures the entire light field, this means it captures all the light traveling in every direction in every point in space.

Since the user will capture the colour, intensity, and the direction of all the light, this means the user can experience the first major light field capability which is focusing after the fact. Focus and re-focus, anywhere in the entire picture and the user can refocus their pictures at anytime, after the fact. A example of this is shown in the two images below with two different focus fields.

Focusing after the fact means, no auto focus motor which then in turn means no shutter delay...... This allows the user to capture the moment they meant to capture, not the one a shutter-delayed camera captured for them.

Opinion

One challenge which i think the company will face will be convincing people that they want this interactivity. 

The fiddling with photos can be a drawback as well as an asset - focusing 50 holiday snapshots may get tedious for the photographer, not to mention for a more casual viewer flipping though views of the event. Some may enjoy exploring the new aesthetic domain of shiftable focus, but alot of people taking snapshots just want it in focus in the first place.

Convincing people to buy something so different online could be a challenge on its own, people like to handle cameras, and, although they can try out the re-focusing effect on the Lytro website, they wont actually be able to get a feel for the camera itself.

The FunTheory Issues.......

• Lack of washing hands after people use the toilet.
• Rubbish in the labs in college - waste of paper (Recycling??).
• Throwing cigarettes on the floor (occurs a lot outside B Block).
• Passive smoking
• Cyclists on the footpath and not on the road.
• Food waste in the canteen.
• Waiting room boredom (hospital/dentist etc)

This is my blog for Avant Garde in Digital Media. Feel free to comment on upcoming posts.