This project was about the pulse of New York City. Amelia Hancock and I setup large speakers that projected the sound of a metronome onto the streets of the East Village from a rooftop. We filmed the flow of people through the streets and observed the effect of the timed sound, on both individual and crowd movement. Video footage still to come.
Tiffany Chou and I experimented a lot. We figured out how to create the Pepper’s Ghost effect by using plexi and an iphone or tablet. Though we liked the effect and the original concept we were left unsatisfied and continued exploring and experimenting. We still had our globe and became enthralled with the Data and Sensitivity project. The thought of feeling data inspired our curiosity. We found the perfect space to create an immersive environment with the piece and naturally found ourselves instead curating the space based on the feeling it gave us. The piece became semi-performance art semi-participatory.
It was difficult to capture the experience with the camera. I sat silent at the top of the stairs and one person entered the stairwell at a time. We placed a chair facing a full length mirror at the bottom of the stairs. From the chair perspective, the person was able to hear the natural singing of the pipes and see the image of the hand gesturing behind them through the mirror.
What makes cultures different from one another? In general, it’s shared history, language, geography, and music. For my video sculpture final I want to explore the relationship between cross cultural group behavior in some way. It’s interesting that cultures behave in similar ways yet those behaviors can look very different and similar at the same time. Take prayer for example. The body language and aesthetic is different but the meaning of the act is very similar–praying to a god or gods for reasons that are important to the individuals and groups they are a part of…
Below is a series of body modification images. Again In this case, the aesthetic looks different but the meaning of the act is likely similar–beautification and status. The photos depict a woman from Ethiopia and Pradesh, India; and a little one from the Yanomami (Brazil).
The next series is of wedding photos are from Romania, the Middle East, India, and South America.
The last few photos are of people covering their bodies for reasons that are likely very similar: modesty, religion, culture.
To create the sculpture Hsiao-Wen Chou and I will most likely use a globe, tablet, and some plexi…
For UX this week I’ve been researching how organizations similar to the IRC fundraise through the web and mobile phones. Downloading an app to donate to one organization doesn’t make sense unless there is another reason to use the app. A good example of incorporating the act of donating with something else that means something to people is a project called EveryStep. I learned of EveryStep at the GOOD Magazine Design Hackathon a few weeks ago. Essentially,
…EveryStep is a personal health service and mobile app that empowers individuals to raise money for causes they believe in, every hour of the day. It combines pedometer/run-tracker data and the concept of micro-donations to motivate you to exercise. For every step you run or walk, your friends and loved ones (who are invested in your long-term health) pledge a tiny amount. This inspires you to stay active over time, while spreading awareness and helping nonprofits raise funds in a sustainable, low-cost way.
Further, ITP Alumni Jason Rosado has been working on an app for the ipad called GivKwik.
They’ve combined traditional fundraising concepts – Donor Advised Funds and Earmarks – with innovative technology – Crowdsourcing and Mobile Payments. The “app” combines a catalog of charities and nonprofits with a simple way to donate and a fun way to earmark (giv) the funds. If you multiply a single givtimes millions of users, it could easily add up to thousands of dollars raised for Social Good!
For this app or mobile friendly website for the IRC I want to come up with a way to collect money that is otherwise wasted on a large scale similar to the way that metrochange does.
Personal Fundraising Experience:
My experience with fundraising began in Girl Scouts. “I” usually sold the most cookies because both of my parents worked for General Motors, a place where people were quick to give for cookies. I also participated in my share of car washes at Sams Club to raise money for soccer and marching band. Later in life I volunteered in the fundraising department at NPR and took pledges from callers. I remember that the people who called in would always say, “I wish I could do more, I’m a college student, a teacher, retired, etc, and I really appreciate NPR.” I think a small amount of guilt lurks around giving. Some people don’t give unless they are able to give what they think other people may gage as “enough”. When really, every penny helps an organization get by. Once immersed in the professional world I learned how to “sell” projects for aid from major donors like USAID and MEPI. In those experiences there were already set amounts of money available, I had to convince people in charge of the importance of the need of the organizations requesting the aid, their capacity, and the level of impact and sustainability of their work. With this particular assignment for class the IRC is already a well known reputable humanitarian organization.
IRC Fundraising Needs:
More donors
Return donors
Quick and easy donating
And here is a link the the IRC creative brief for the assignment. Over the next few days I will be working on an app or mobile friendly website for fundraising purposes for the IRC.
UPDATE: After some time and thought I decided to go with a website for fundraising for the IRC, it’s called RESCUE radio. I’m still working on the logo but the idea is that the user is primarily motivated to donate to the IRC for two reasons:
The IRC is a good cause
In exchange for a one time gift to the IRC of $10 or more, the user gets to listen to music they love with no commercial interruption
Not only is this idea intended to appeal to the IRC and users, but it is also a way to motivate musicians to share their music for a good cause. Perhaps the site will also create greater awareness surrounding international crisis by featuring music in relation to where the IRC is most active. The following wireframe is intended to give you a basic understanding of the overall feel of the landing page…
And this is a mock-up of a mix the user is able to create by searching for music and dragging tunes into the playlist window->
The IRC announced crisis in Mali. In the spirit of support, if RESCUE radio was up and running it would feature music from Mali from musicians such as Amadou & Mariam
Presentation of my first iteration of RESCUE radio:
User 3
Sex: Female
Age: 25
Nationality: Chinese
Background: Economics
1. What do you see first?
-Cut off heads of people
-The box
-Happiness, foreign
2. What do you think this website is for?
-Pandora for South Africa
-Music for Africa
-I don’t know, music?
3. Show me how you would search for a specific artist?
-I don’t know who I would search for, I prefer to hear the live stream automatically
-Success
-Success
4. How would you share this?
-Success (email icon)
-Success (facebook icon)
-Success (facebook icon)
5. Suggestions:
-bigger font
-bigger image X 3
- include text “daily featured image”
-more images (flash gallery)
-use the same logo style on each page
-make the search bar clearer
-include a Regions in Crisis tab with a drop down menu
- clearly define IRC, not to be confused with Internet Related Chat (initial hacker ground)
-get rid of cheesy picture on second page
-give me a button to push to stream music live
-emphasize it’s from everywhere
-tell me how it saves lives
Things I changed:
-bigger font
-bigger image X 3
-use the same logo style on each page
-make the search bar clearer
-get rid of cheesy picture on second page
-give me a button to push to stream music live
-tell me how it saves lives (logo)
6. What do you like about this website?
-good colors
-strong concept
-give to listen
I’m a gasoline nozzle from the future. You may not believe this but I hoped I’d become obsolete. Lately I’ve been dissatisfied with my existence. There is a lot of technology out there but there is little good technology. Though I’ve been part of huge technological advancement-the automobile, I’ve also been part of destruction-oil spills, war, political corruption, air pollution, etc. That said, I’m rethinking what I want to be here for…
We are currently hacking antiques in video sculpture class and I’m working on embedding FSRs (touch sensors), and a switch into the antique nozzle. Arduino will send the inputs into Max/MSP/Jitter where I’ll be running video of some sort. Ideally I’d like to use bluetooth to make it wireless. The concept is still in the development phase though I really like the idea of either mounting the nozzle to a wall or making it ‘mobile’ with a hose so that whenever it is squeezed video comes out. Old gas stations converted into movie theaters anyone?
Update:
This is a photo of the hacked nozzle. When you squeeze the nozzle a video of oil trickles out. An image of Donald Rumsfeld is at the bottom of the stream of oil with his mouth open. We were inspired by the Frontline special, Rumsfeld’s War. Currently editing the documentation video. More to come…
I recently discovered Candy Chang’s work (thanks Amelia!) while researching urbanism for Generative Systems. She is great at creatively inviting the public to participate in the making of cities. Candy Chang on Cities
