THE IDEA

This past Thursday I presented my final ICM project, “Inspiration.” “Inspiration” is a computer-based application that allows users to create instant visual collages or “blends” from an individual’s inspiration. For the prototype, I asked a few classmates to submit their own images of inspiration and by using the Processing platform, I created a program that blends their images into one final piece of art. The beauty of the “Inspiration” program is that the final composed images are created randomly and can be re-blended by the click of the mouse button. Thus – no image is the same. In this way, the user is able to continuously “play” with their sources of inspiration. Finally, the images can be saved to the user’s computer or uploaded to an online website.

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So far, I have been having fun manipulating images. I am trying to have processing automatically do this for me. Here are some examples thus far.

Here is a movie that our Applications group created in retrospect for our first semester of work and fun at ITP. Thanks to lucas for putting all the videos together!

As with P.Comp, I would like to continue on with my midterm idea for my final project. However, after evaluating the midterm, I have clarified my idea a bit more.

Project:

mooderation (mood board and inspiration)

Concept:

I would like to create an application that allows artists, thinkers, and inventors to store and organize pieces of online inspiration. This can include images, video, webpages, and text.

Interface:

Users would be able to open the application in a separate browser window. While it is left on, users can browse the internet looking for sources of inspiration. When an image, video, webpage, or text is discovered, they can simply highlight and drag the inspiration onto the mooderation application.

Once the piece is in mooderation, the user can organize how they want the inspiration to be layed out. Much like organizing images and text in photoshop, the user can layout their own mood boards however they may like.

Multiple mood boards can be created by doing “file, new theme.” That way, there can be multiple mood boards saved.

Once the user is happy with their mood board, they can choose to print it, or utilize the special features.

Each window would be a new mood board.

Features:

The most exciting feature I have created on this application is the “create” option. This combines all the images within a given mood board and create a piece of digital art by overlaying all the images on the board using processing. The final result is a beautiful translucent image of the user’s inspiration.

Recap:

- Print Feature (either prints screen or converts file to pdf to print).
- “Create” Feature (uses processing to combine images into one image).
- “Share” Feature (converts file to pdf to post online).
- “Download” Feature (allows users to save a pdf of their final processing sketch).

For my midterm, I began by thinking about things that would interest me. At first, I was very interested in online communities and sharing online web personalities. Since so much of our lives are spent online, I want to allow people to personalize their web presence.

This innitial idea has lead me to this project I call “Inspired.” I am thinking that it could be some sort of application that basically allows you to store ALL the visual inspiration you may have. This would include google search images, photos from blogs, websites, and tutorials, audio, video, and even some text. “Inspired” would be a platform that would allow you to keep all this (in a visual format) and then keep it online to share with others.

I know that finding sources of inspiration is an important part of my life and work – so I would love to have a single platform that would allow me to view my inspiration and possibly view my other art friend’s inspiration – as I feel what inspires us, show us allot about our personality and interests.

In order to incorporate processing into this, I thought I could make some sort of visual combination based on one’s inspiration categories. The following processing sketches transforms all the files in your categories in “Inspired” into one single image. All your inspiration rolled into one.

Example 1
Example 2
Example 3

Here is a video of my serial port lab. Basically we figured out how to use the Arduino with Processing. Exciting!! So, what you see in this video is me controlling the Arudino through a pot and then the screen shows its visualization through processing. This lab opens the door to so many possibilities…………

I am now trying make my heart more interactive. The idea is to make some of the small boxes light up as the mouse is hovered over them. If you click this link, you can see it in action. Use your mouse to hover over the heart in the top left-hand corner.

Here is a movie of it:

For my first ‘Processing’ assignment, we were asked to use the program to have fun and familiarize ourselves with programming our own visuals. It was very hard at first, as this was only my second time using ‘Processing.’ However, after reading Dan’s book, I feel much more confident in my ability to program and design.

For this particular project, I chose to create a ‘digital heart’ in retrospect of the interior of a computer’s anatomy. Does a computer have a heart? We know it has a brain, but can a computer love?

Below are some screenshots of my process. I hope to develop this heart idea to make it beat and transform digitally ignited by computer heart sounds….whatever those may be.