Why design is the key to the connected world. The explosion of big data — it’s one of the most talked about trends of 2012 and it has the potential to create a lot of business opportunities, and tell important visual stories.
But couple big data with always-on wireless networks, and a connection being added to every device from our thermostats to our home appliances to our pill caps, and the result is a tidal wave of complexity. At GigaOM we fundamentally think that intelligent and simple design is one of the key solutions to simplifying this complexity, and creating a meaningful experience out of the connected world. Picture the elegant designs of Apple’s new iPhone 5, the Nest learning thermostat, Instagram’s mobile app, or Pinterest’s visual web experience — the leading web sites, mobile apps and connected gadgets are putting design first and foremost.
To highlight this thesis, we’re holding our second annual RoadMap event on November 5th in San Francisco (tickets here). Create Amazing Paintings With Just Your iPad. Art. It’s something we all aspire to from the earliest of age and a pursuit of all humankind, including ancient cave and modern city dwellers, folks from the suburbs and people from the Renaissance. Head into any art museum and you’ll see paintings along the walls made with a variety of styles, techniques, and philosophical points of view. Would you like to “brush up” on your painting skills? Practice drawing with colored pencils, pen and ink, water colors? How about acrylics, oils, or pastels. I’ve tried many different apps for art on the iPad, and (so far) this one takes the crown. The app looks just like real paint, with thick oil paints and blending tools like sponges, water, and smudge sticks.
The app allows you to import your own photos and images as well, and you can export any canvases you create to your photo album. Combined with a stylus and the app’s virtual pressure sensitivity, Art Set allows a high degree of realism in any art project you choose to create with it. Artist Measures Visitor Attention Span With Kinect-Powered Tape Measurers. "Tape Recorders" (2011) by Rafael Lozano-Hemmer from bitforms gallery on Vimeo.
How much time do we spend looking at a work of art when we’re in a museum or gallery? Do we really take the time to reflect and let the work sink in? Or do we simply breeze by in an effort to see as much as possible? Some studies suggest that the average visitor only spends about 5 seconds looking at each work, but Mexican media artist Rafael Lozano-Hemmer has found a different way of measuring this interaction. Lozano-Hemmer’s new installation Tape Recorders takes a more physical approach to calculating the answer to this question. The installation’s awareness of its visitors seemingly has the effect of making them stay longer, incentivizing their attention with the tapes’ impending crash and recoil. Tape Recorders, along with several other works by Lozano-Hemmer, will be on view at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney through February 12th, 2012.
5 Artistic Uses of Google Street View. Mark Wright is a freelance arts writer and assistant editor of the Image Source blog.
People are using Google Street View for more than checking travel routes. You can use the mapping tool to test hotel neighborhoods, to take virtual tours of the world’s most famous art galleries, or to arrange imagery for innovative photography and video projects. SEE ALSO: Top 28 Google Street View Sightings The Google Street View (GSV) car, fitted with 15 directional cameras, captures panoramas from over 30 countries – but not without controversy.
In 2010, GSV cars inadvertently collected payload data from unencrypted Wi-Fi networks, and a few weeks ago Google offered an opt-out from Wi-Fi tracking to curb further criticism. Aaron Hobson’s Cinemascapes project helps to remind us that Google’s mapping tool still has its virtues. And his photo collections are only the beginning. 1. Hobson doesn’t add or remove anything from the original GSV image, and only performs minor retouching. 2. 3. A 3D Exploration of Picasso's Guernica. She takes a photo every day: 4.5 years.