helvetica

September 30th, 2007 admin

Ubiquitous like the air we breath, this film addressed the overwhelming presence of the typeface commonly known as Helvetica. As a general survey of the celebrity font the viewer was presented with a balanced perspective regarding the various sentiments towards it.


I was pleased with the general flow of the film and enjoyed the various segments in which the ubiquity of Helvetica was shown through footage of commercially tagged urban environments.


From the pro Helvetica camp, praise was given for the fonts clean and neutral presence. Conversely Helvetica’s alleged over-use and associated partnerships with multinational corporations act as strong points against the use of the typeface.


Helvetica’s supporting movement is valid due to Helvetica’s proven worth within the design community. Throughout the film the font was commended for its neutral nature allowing the typeface to allow a given message to be delivered without bias. However, from a personal perspective I was impacted by the negative connotations associated with Helvetica.

Helvetica was associated with human failures such as the Vietnam War and the current campaign in Iraq. At one point Helvetica was even blamed for starting these conflicts. Although I understood that this was simply a satirical statement, the context in which the comment was made was rather powerful. Another strong analogy compared the similarities of Helvetica and McDonalds. To paraphrase, as McDonalds represents a quick and convenient form of “food”, Helvetica represents the junk food one might eat due to prevalence and convenience. I am curious to know how the absence of Helvetica would impact the commercial side of the design world.

Looking beyond the positive and negative sentiments towards the font, Helvetica has served its purpose in my opinion. Providing a highly legible, clean, and unbiased medium in which the written word can be communicated, one can not blame Helvetica for its perception and use by the design community.

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noise^3

September 29th, 2007 admin

assignment: design a one to one relationship.

working with steven and vikram our objective was to create a multi user interface allowing for the collaborative construction of soundscapes. the atmel atmega168 microprocessor was used to generate square waves. modulation and variance was generated through analog input [potentiometers, fsr sensors]. varied signal delay represented the primary means of tone variation.

three individual interfaces were constructed, each capable of communication with up to four loudspeakers. the images and code (written for arduino) found below are still in a developmental stage.

//code in progress

int powerPin = 3;
int speaker1Out = 11;
/*int loopPin = 13;
boolean loopRecording = false;
boolean loopPlaying = false;
int loopButton = 12;
int loopArray[200];
int loopLength = 200;
int placeInLoop = 0;
int loopVal = 1;*/
int potPin = 1;
int pot2Pin = 2;
int pot3Pin = 3;
int fsrPin = 4;
int potVal = 0;
int pot2Val = 0;
int pot3Val = 0;
int fsrPinVal = 0;
int pot2SwitchPin = 4;
int pot2SwitchPinVal = 0;
int switchPin = 4;
int currentNum = 0;
int currentSpeaker = 1;
int stepSize = 0;

void setup() {
pinMode(speaker1Out, OUTPUT);
pinMode(switchPin, INPUT);
Serial.begin(9600);
}

void playTone() {
potVal = analogRead(potPin);
fsrPinVal = analogRead(fsrPin);
Serial.println(fsrPinVal, DEC);
potVal -= fsrPinVal*2;
pot2Val = analogRead(pot2Pin);
pot3Val = analogRead(pot3Pin);
/* if(loopPin==HIGH) {
loopArray[placeInLoop] == potVal;
placeInLoop++;
loopRecording = true;
}
else if (loopPin==LOW && loopRecording == true) {
loopPlaying == true;
}
if (loopPlaying == true) {
if(placeInLoop
potVal = loopArray[placeInLoop];
placeInLoop++;
}
else {
placeInLoop = 0;
}
} */
if(pot3Val > 10) {
stepSize = potVal-(potVal%(pot3Val/2));// stepSize = potVal-(potVal%(pot3Val));
}
else {
stepSize = 0;
}
digitalWrite(speaker1Out,HIGH);
delayMicroseconds(potVal*4-stepSize);// * 4
digitalWrite(speaker1Out, LOW);
delayMicroseconds(potVal*4-stepSize); // *4
analogWrite(speaker1Out, potVal*3);
pot2SwitchPinVal = digitalRead(pot2SwitchPin);
if(pot2SwitchPinVal==HIGH){
if(random(3) > 1){
delay(pot2Val/8 + random(10));
}
}
// loopVal = digitalRead(loopPin);
}

void loop() {
playTone();
}

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os9 + loud hardrive

September 29th, 2007 admin

john maeda

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project 1: design icon

September 28th, 2007 admin

for the next design icon, i selected the mobile internet gateway. iterating one step further from the concepts I presented in the previous class, i decided to create a life sized ‘mock up’. the general purpose of the ‘mock up’ was to give people a tactile sense of how the device would look and feel. special attention was paid to the balance between size and functionality.


gallery [size configuration sketches, life size 'mockup', interface concepts]

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week 1 – reading response

September 21st, 2007 admin

Alice Rawsthorn’s article stating the current changes in the design world will lead to the development of a new design icon is well founded in my opinion.

According to Rawsthorn the general simplicity of the chair, its ability to incorporate the general esthetics of its design era, and an overall bias favoring the chair in design journalism lead to the chairs accent to icon status. However, she explains that the design sophistication of the present day population coupled with an interest in a diverse array of design expressions will lead to the up-rise of a new design icon.

Extending this thought, I believe that wireless telecommunications has the potential to change the way we lead our lives. From a personal perspective I can attest to a dependance on tools such as the internet, email communication, and a general need for an instant delivery of information. With an ever growing wireless information infrastructure the electronics industry will continue to innovate delivering useful tools such as the black berry and the one laptop per child project. The need for such products will create a design race leading to the natural development of a new design icon.

The chair and its design will never elude us, however more relevant and impacting design items will eventually inherit the spotlight.

Find the original article here.

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lab 2: digital io

September 19th, 2007 admin

first steps: switch / digital io / arduino

// digital io. pcomp lab 2.

int outputPin1 = 7;
int outputPin2 = 8;

int inputPin = 2; // choose the input pin (for a pushbutton)
int val = 0; // variable for reading the pin status

void setup() {
pinMode(outputPin1, OUTPUT); // declare LED as output
pinMode(outputPin2, OUTPUT); // declare LED as output
pinMode(inputPin, INPUT); // declare pushbutton as input
Serial.begin(9600); // 9600 baud (speed) comment out serial statements at actual run tine.
}

void loop(){
val = digitalRead(inputPin); // read input value
Serial.println(val);
if (val == HIGH) { // check if the input is HIGH
digitalWrite(outputPin1, HIGH); // turn outputPin1 on
digitalWrite(outputPin2, LOW); // turn outputPin2 off
} else {
digitalWrite(outputPin2, HIGH); // turn outputPin2 on
digitalWrite(outputPin1, LOW); // turn outputPin1 off.
}
}

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Asn1: Design Icon Concept (presentation)

September 19th, 2007 admin

Internet Gateway - Design Icon

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of brasil

September 19th, 2007 admin

vic muniz

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