Archives for posts with tag: design

Molecules in Motion – update

April 12, 2012 //
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All of the projects that I mentioned a couple posts ago are proceeding along well (the end of the semester is always a rough time because so many things are due, but I’m excited to see how all of the final products will end up). But I thought I might write a little bit more about how Molecules in Motion is doing.

A couple of weeks ago, our class headed to the New York Hall of Science to do some prototype-testing on middle school students. We were nervous at first, because come on, let’s be honest…kids can be honest. In some cases, brutally honest (trust me, I have a sister who is in middle-school, so I know this firsthand!).

As it turned out, the students were really nice and extremely helpful. They were amazing at articulating what it was that they liked about the game, and where they thought that it could use a little work (they suggested adding music that speeds up as body activity increases, more challenging elements, and a fun narrative). And rather than being brutal, they seemed to be trying hard to be nice to us, which was sweet.

One of the great parts of the whole experience for our group was seeing how much fun the students had when they played the game and actually let themselves get into it. They tried it in groups of twos and threes, but later, we could see the whole bunch of them grouped up together, talking excitedly about what they had liked, and we definitely heard our activity get mentioned (score!).

We took lots of photos and video but in the interests of the students I’m not posting any of it online. Instead I’ll leave a couple pictures of the different splash screens that we were considering. We ended up going with the more colorful one, but at this point in the process that could always change.

 

Next steps: implement some of the changes that we were advised on (specifically adding supplemental materials, making the game more challenging, and beefing up on the science that’s conveyed). Also need to start implementing the Kinect code. We have to do it in these next couple of weeks because soon we’ll be back at NySci, testing our final products.

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Categories Designing for Playful Learning, ITP, Projects

Solar Panels, Trickle Charging, and Next Steps

April 1, 2012 //
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So in terms of our solar panel project, we’ve made some significant progress. Here are some of the outdoor conditions in which we tested our panel.

 

And here’s what we’ve learned:

1. There is some current going through solar panels that are placed in shaded conditions.

2. This may not be enough current to charge the battery (standard lead acid motorcycle battery) used in current camera traps.

 

3. But it may be enough to trickle charge batteries for other types of cameras. Or even cell phones, like an Android.

So now our next step is to figure out how much current and voltage an actual Android would draw when it’s being used.

 

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Categories ITP, Physical Computing, Projects, Wildlife Tracking

ITP: The Logo

October 13, 2011 //
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Creating a logo in a week for the program that you are enrolled in is a bit of a daunting task. And if anything, the fact that the program in question is  ITP  only makes the task that much harder. I mean, come on…I have trouble defining ITP myself. Our full name (Interactive Telecommunications Program) doesn’t provide any sort of hint at the stuff that we actually do up on the 4th floor of Tisch. And though the official website describes ITP as “A Center for the Recently Possible”, that doesn’t really translate into an explanatory definition, let alone a centralized idea for a logo.

So I spent a lot of time brainstorming.  Here are some of my failures, or the ideas that I ended up abandoning (all rough drafts, mind you). I should also mention that by the time I got to Illustrator I already had a notebook page full of sketches. I opted not to scan and upload that, so what you’re getting is just a small piece of the thought process:

 

 

This was where I started. I wanted to go for something that was reminiscent of building things from scratch, hence the wood-like design of the letters. But despite the ruggedness of building ideas,  I wanted the block letters to bring an official feel to things, since ITP is part of an academic research university, after all.

A sandpaper-rough draft of my thoughts around playing with “ITP”  in a lightbulb, to signify the creativity that is such a large part of ITP culture. I dismissed it pretty quickly as too literal. Plus, with all the issues around centricity that I brought up earlier, I thought it might be wise to stay away from an icon.

It was then that the “T” really started to bother me (just as our professor had warned us it might).  So I decided to explore the idea of something handwritten in a way that could possibly break down the issue with the T just chilling in the center, taking up emphasis:

I wasn’t completely satisfied, but I felt like I was on the right track.

You can see where the rest of the track led me:

 

And finally, a little smoothed out and in purple (NYU color) and black:

 

 

Note: this is still,as many of my 2D Design assignments are, a bit of a work in process. You can see how though all of the logos above are similar, I was still playing around with the “t” bar height and the drag on the “p” descender. The two on the bottom are a bit rougher.)

I ended up really liking the design. It’s simple, which I love, and it gets across  a feel for scrawling out ideas–like the brainstorming that leads to a creative moment. At the same time, the cursive really lets the “t” and “p” balance each other out and lends a little more substance and authority then it would have if it was a more full-bodied type of lettering.

It’s still a rough draft because I think it needs some smoothing and a bit more attention to detail, but it’s my logo design contribution for this little educational explorational endeavor that we’ve got going on here.

Well, that or this:

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Categories 2D Design

Logo Spotlight

October 13, 2011 //
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In my 2D Design class last week we focused on logos, the defining and representative mark of a company or brand. As part of our homework wewere charged to choose a logo that we like and think is successful and explain, well, why.


It took me all of five seconds to figure out what logo I wanted to cover. I wanted a logo that is everywhere, that everyone recognizes and utilizes and even customizes. I wanted a logo that is so prevalent allaround me that the mere sight of it causes me to shake my head in a complicated mix of annoyance and appreciation.


This is what I’m talking about, folks:


 




 


It’s big. It’s loud. It’s noticeable. It’s all uppercase. Six letters, well-kerned and enclosed within two heavy red blocks so as to be even MORE in-your-face.


And that’s exactly why I like it. It is the simplest logo out there but it sends a huge message. It may not tell you what Run DMC means exactly, but it does communicates that whatever it is, it’s a big deal.* It’s makes no assumptions, gives no clue as to what its about, but it makes you want to know more. It’s timeless in its simplicity, and it’s brazen in a way that isn’t jarring. And in the time that Run DMC was trying to make a name, it provided exactly what they needed.


And I guess that’s what makes it so successful. That and the fact that everyone and their mom has found a way to customize it.


Even things that don’t quite fit the theme have been stuffed into this logo design:


 






Personally, this one’s my favorite:




 


I think some might claim that if a logo is that simple as to be so readily imitated, it could be a bad thing. But I think that every one of these logo customizations only hearkens back to the original and reminds you of where it came from. In a sense, each imitation creates more publicity for Run DMC. After all, all those people chose to build off of the original Run DMC logo for a reason: namely, because it works. It’s striking and simple and it works. What more can you ask for?


 


[Other than this, I mean].


 


*And really, Run DMC is a pretty big deal. As in, first-rap-act-to-have-a-#1-R&B-charting-rap-album and these-guys-were-instrumental-in-making-hip-hop-mainstream sort of big deal. Whatever your feelings on the genre, you can’t argue that Run DMC were quite large in terms of historical impact.See here for more details.


 


EDIT: Completely unrelated, but also a cool logo here.


							


			

			
			
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Business Card

				
October 6, 2011  //
 
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An idea that I came up with for a business card. Consider this a sketch of sorts. Idea is to convey some sort of seriousness and elegance with the front (with the use of my first name on it) and then flip things up for the back. I wanted to use a different font for the back but I couldn’t get the download to work properly.


 


 


             


 


The “Mimi” part would be in different colors on different cards, just to spice it up a little.


							


			

			
			
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Categories 2D Design