Kate's ITP Blog http://itp.nyu.edu/~km63/blog/ en Copyright 2008 Thu, 30 Oct 2008 23:23:58 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=3.2 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Log Your Computer This week's assignment was to log your computer, as a way of gaining insight about yourself through the time you spend with the machine. I installed a key-logging application on my computer, which stored all the keys I hit over the course of one week. I then used a Processing applet provided by the prof to count the number of instances of each word I used during that time.

]]> http://itp.nyu.edu/~km63/blog/2008/10/log_your_computer.html http://itp.nyu.edu/~km63/blog/2008/10/log_your_computer.html Rest of You Thu, 30 Oct 2008 23:23:58 -0500 Get Out There Our assignment this week was to do something we wouldn't ordinarily do or haven't had time to do. There have been a ton of gallery shows and installations I've been meaning to go see this semester, but my schedule keeps getting in the way. So, this week, I took the time to go to Madison Square Park to check out Rafael Lozano-Hemmer’s Pulse Park, which pulses lights in rhythm with your heartbeat, and Tadashi Kawamata's Tree Huts installation.

]]> http://itp.nyu.edu/~km63/blog/2008/10/get_out_there.html http://itp.nyu.edu/~km63/blog/2008/10/get_out_there.html Rest of You Thu, 30 Oct 2008 11:59:55 -0500 Weather Map Our class readings and discussions have recently focused heavily on narrative, and in terms of this assignment, how to convey a narrative through maps, with a focus on the discursive element, e.g., how and through what medium the story is told, and the significance of what the creator chooses to include/exclude in the telling. In digesting this, I began thing about how, when bored, many of us have a tendency to scope people on the subway and make passing judgments/guesses about their emotional states/stories/thoughts, etc.

]]> http://itp.nyu.edu/~km63/blog/2008/10/weather_map_1.html http://itp.nyu.edu/~km63/blog/2008/10/weather_map_1.html Interactive Screens & Cinematic Objects Mon, 27 Oct 2008 00:15:13 -0500 Byzantine Obama Our third assignment for ISCO was to create a portrait of a real or fictional character from two or more distinct points of view using multiple iterations of the same medium (see project brief below for full details).

]]> http://itp.nyu.edu/~km63/blog/2008/10/beauties_spectres_and_monsters.html http://itp.nyu.edu/~km63/blog/2008/10/beauties_spectres_and_monsters.html Interactive Screens & Cinematic Objects Mon, 20 Oct 2008 00:16:12 -0500 Exploded Comic Coming Soon...

]]> http://itp.nyu.edu/~km63/blog/2008/10/exploded_comic.html http://itp.nyu.edu/~km63/blog/2008/10/exploded_comic.html Interactive Screens & Cinematic Objects Tue, 07 Oct 2008 00:27:43 -0500 Sensing Breath This week's assignment was to "read some unintentional actions of your body." Using a stretch sensor, I created a device to monitor my breath rate, with the goal of helping to visualize my breathing and use it as a tool to learn to do steady, meditative breathing.

]]> http://itp.nyu.edu/~km63/blog/2008/09/sensing_breath.html http://itp.nyu.edu/~km63/blog/2008/09/sensing_breath.html Rest of You Thu, 18 Sep 2008 02:06:24 -0500 AMNH: Field Notes & Review American Museum of Natural History

Gestalt

  • Entering museum from subway: mosaics in tunnel build anticipation, especially for children, but the basement ticket entrance is a letdown (esp compared to upstairs).
  • On street level, the grandeur of the steps, facade and column of the museum sets the stage for a true experience, though it may create too stately and somber an expectation compared to the playfulness of many of the museum's displays.
  • The lobby: the dinosaur, the crowds, the huge columns and ornate ceiling are all impressive and beautiful, but completely visually overwhelming--the noise of the crowds and the the text on the walls heightens this further (who could read anything meaningful in that environment?)
]]> http://itp.nyu.edu/~km63/blog/2008/02/amnh_field_notes_review.html http://itp.nyu.edu/~km63/blog/2008/02/amnh_field_notes_review.html Cabinets of Wonder Mon, 04 Feb 2008 21:47:36 -0500 Expressing Information Final: PlasticTrack Click here to see my final project for Expressing Information--an interactive visualization of select plastic surgery data from 1998-2006.

]]> http://itp.nyu.edu/~km63/blog/2007/12/expressing_information_final_p.html http://itp.nyu.edu/~km63/blog/2007/12/expressing_information_final_p.html Expressing Information Mon, 03 Dec 2007 22:36:01 -0500 New Material: Leaf Paper This week I created paper from my junk mail and the dried leaves that had collected on my patio.

]]> http://itp.nyu.edu/~km63/blog/2007/11/new_material_leaf_paper.html http://itp.nyu.edu/~km63/blog/2007/11/new_material_leaf_paper.html The Softness of Things Thu, 15 Nov 2007 12:29:17 -0500 Final Project Prototype See next page for link...

]]> http://itp.nyu.edu/~km63/blog/2007/11/final_project_prototype.html http://itp.nyu.edu/~km63/blog/2007/11/final_project_prototype.html Expressing Information Tue, 13 Nov 2007 01:24:34 -0500 Space This week's assignment is to design something relating to space. I've decided to experiment with the psychology of personal space (known as proxemics)--a topic that frequently comes up living in NYC. To start, I've been doing a bit of research on the topic, including this interesting New York Times article, psychology articles on the topic such as "Intercultural Study of Personal Space: A Case Study" by Catherine Beaulieu in the Journal of Applied Social Psychology, and portions of The Hidden Dimension by Edward Hall, the father of proxemic theory.

]]> http://itp.nyu.edu/~km63/blog/2007/10/space.html http://itp.nyu.edu/~km63/blog/2007/10/space.html The Softness of Things Tue, 30 Oct 2007 01:25:59 -0500 Final Project Proposal--Revised I've decided to change my final project for this class, due primarily to the fact that I was having a hard time trying to come up with a way to convey some sort of value statement or argument through a visualization of the MAD art collection. I've decided instead to create a visualization of plastic surgery data over the past 10 years, conveying the trends (and stunning increase) in various types of body modification that have occurred over the years, and the disparity between the sexes in regards to this type of surgery. As a data source, I'll be using statistics gathered between 1997 and 2006 by The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery, which claims to offer "the most comprehensive collection of data available on the number of cosmetic surgical and nonsurgical procedures performed in the United States."

]]> http://itp.nyu.edu/~km63/blog/2007/10/final_project_proposalrevised.html http://itp.nyu.edu/~km63/blog/2007/10/final_project_proposalrevised.html Expressing Information Mon, 29 Oct 2007 23:07:25 -0500 Object 6: Design for the Body This week's assignment was to make something related to the body. Last week's challenge to ponder the themes that have united the course so far--interconnectedness via modularity, ecology, networks etc. and the "softness" of barriers between things in our world--heavily influenced my design this week. I decided to experiment with the notion of hacking couture, recycling several old, damaged and/or ugly sweaters in my wardrobe into a new object for the body. Creating this object is also a return to my original goal of creating objects that convey comfort, which makes particular sense to me when thinking about design for the human body.

]]> http://itp.nyu.edu/~km63/blog/2007/10/object_6_design_for_the_body.html http://itp.nyu.edu/~km63/blog/2007/10/object_6_design_for_the_body.html The Softness of Things Wed, 24 Oct 2007 23:15:48 -0500 Final Project Proposal For my final project, I plan to continue work on the individual curation tool for consideration as an exhibit at the Museum of Arts & Design. I've created a PDF mockup of a modified design that will hopefully be workable as a social tool, as the original pie-chart design would not work with dynamic content. Click here to download the PDF >>.

]]> http://itp.nyu.edu/~km63/blog/2007/10/final_project_proposal.html http://itp.nyu.edu/~km63/blog/2007/10/final_project_proposal.html Expressing Information Tue, 23 Oct 2007 02:45:32 -0500 Open Source This week, we were asked to read articles and browse websites relating to the concept of open source, and also to contemplate the commonalities between the concepts and assignments we've explored in class thus far: personal interest, modularity, connectivity, networks, energy, and open source.

]]> http://itp.nyu.edu/~km63/blog/2007/10/open_source.html http://itp.nyu.edu/~km63/blog/2007/10/open_source.html The Softness of Things Wed, 17 Oct 2007 21:50:54 -0500