MEDP 160 Blog Post #1

Upon reflection, it's frightening how seamlessly my life has become integrated with media and technology. For this blog post, I'll focus specifically screen that dominates this student's daily existence. Here it is:


Ah, Gmail; it is, for me, both a bane and an enabler. Without this interface, the way I flail about now would be entirely unsustainable. Through Firefox plugins and Google Labs add-ons, I have turned the thing into my main source of life management. First, it serves as a hub for accounts across the web, receiving my messages from Facebook, Flickr, the student government site I admin, six other email accounts, and other web services.

On the left, you'll see that I've installed GTDInbox (a.k.a. Getting Things Done Inbox). This incredible Firefox plug-in employs Gmail's "labeling" system to turn each email into a task. Here is an example screenshot of GTDInbox working at the individual email level:


With GTDInbox, I first "tag" emails by one of three statuses: "Action" for emails that contain things that I need to act on or reply to; "Waiting On" so I can later check who needs to get back to me; or "Someday" for messages that I'll get to eventually (I try to stay away from this category).

Next, I tag emails by which of my projects they fall under. For example, when I was organizing a retreat for the student government, I would use the "Projects" drop down menu to group emails under "P/USG-Retreat," as in "Project: Undergraduate Student Government Retreat."

After that, my messages are tagged by what context they fall under. Are they from my parents? Do they have to deal with the University Student Senate? Are they graphic design work-related? A label is assigned for each of these categories.

Finally, categorize emails by what "Reference" type they are (for example, if the email contains a contact list, I group it under R/Contact-List) and whether there are any miscellaneous labels I need to apply.

Back to the home screen:

In the middle, you'll see my feed of emails, which I auto- and manually filter by which email account they're coming from and all of the categories listed above. All those colorful boxes are my labels.

Lastly, to the left you'll see another important component: the "Remember the Milk" (RTM) interface. RTM allows me to keep track of my to-do list, grouping tasks by when they're due, their context, and other hierarchical labels. Handily enough, RTM syncs with my iPhone.

Thus, I present to you my Googlized life. And I didn't even get to Google Docs or my Google Calendar yet.

For MEDP 331 - 29 Things Post

Thing 1:
I've embarked on the online journey entitled "29 Things." The first Thing was to view a set of 23 other Things. After reading the description about turning people into life-long learners, I am intrigued.

Thing 2:
Intended for (presumably older) librarians, I found the ensuing 7 & 1/2 Habits online tutorial to be a bit fluff-filled and slow-moving. Easiest for me of of the 7.5 habits would have to be "Viewing problems as challenges," since that's sort of the default mindset I've cultivated since something inexplicable clicked in high school. Hardest out of those presented would probably be number 7 1/2: "Play," because it's tough for me to find the time to do so.

Thing 3:
My blog has been set up. You are reading the first post re: 29 Things.

Thing 4:
I've registered for an account on 43 Things. The amount of Things on my plate are quickly stacking up.

Thing 5:
As a regular user of Flickr for image hosting and inspiration seeking, my account has already been set up: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tyleralterman/. With a quick search through some of my favorite design groups, I stumble upon a compelling poster, with strong use of type, consistent echoes of color, and a clean yet creative layout.


Here are a couple images that I've uploaded from my design portfolio, tagged, organized, and submitted to groups:

What I Hear

Location: Lincoln Center Area, Upper West Side

Keynotes

• The chirping and chittering of birds. One sounded like it had throat cancer.
• People complaining on cell phones.
• The omnipresent squeaking of breaks.
• The nails of dogs scratching the pavement.
• The heels of shoes scratching the pavement.
• The building growl of accelerating cars.
• The whirring of bicycle, stroller, and suitcase wheels.
• The distant wailing of police sirens.
• The grumble of cars waiting for the light to change.
• The shh shh of jacket fabric rubbing against jacket fabric as people walk by.
• The nonsense language of babies.
• Buses beeping and letting out air like deflating balloons as lower to the ground to let the elderly out to the sidewalk.
• The sound of an ocean wave as a car passes.
• Tires clunking over metal plates.
• Buses letting out small farts of air as they drive past.
• The roar of the subway underneath.

Signals

• The deep rumble of buses in wait.
• The cry of a police car horn.
• The beeping of taxis.

Soundmarks

• Pretentious laughter.
• The clicking of fancy shoes.
• The complaining of old people.
  

Location: Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center, Upper West Side

Keynotes

• The pinging of glasses.
• Silverware jingling against silverware.
• The grinding of chairs on the marble floor.
• Plates clanging onto tables.
• The clink of silverware being picked up off tables.
• The crinkle of opening a ticket envelope.
• The dull murmur of a room of people.
• The echoing of voices.
  

Design I Like

For this assignment, I'm going to talk about and dissect a portfolio site that I've been admiring for a while now. I speak here of the portfolio site for a young Swiss designer named Loic Dupasquier. (Pictured below.)


I suppose that I'll first talk about the design of the site as a whole. One of the things that immediately struck me was the site's great use of color. We see a consistent use of shades of purple to focus our attention on specific areas of the site. I like the fact that the designer kept the site monochrome and used color only where necessary. In fact, the site feels very clean and clutter free, while still having a sense of energy due to economic uses of effects like gradients, rounded corners, drop shadows, and a somewhat grungy background texture. I also noticed that the site has a wonderfully uniform grid, adding to the sense of subtle elegance. You'll notice that the information on the top aligns with the images on the bottom in a four-column grid. Another nice aspect of the site is that all the information is on a single page, relieving browsing headaches. Finally, the maximum width of the main content is only about 675 pixels, so that users with smaller screens can view the content without having to scroll from side to side - a usability nightmare.

Onto specifics. The first part of the page that will likely draw the user's attention is the header:


The header here provides a logo that strikes a great balance between the typographic and the purely graphic. The memorable logo immediately brands the page as fun and creative with its playful lettering, reminiscent of jello perhaps. To the right, the user receives an immediate description of the page, so they know what to expect in the following content.

Next the user is presented with biographic information, along with contact information and a creatively presented image of the artist.

To the left, we see the biographic info presented with large, colored headings that clearly designate hierarchy. Underneath, the text has an aesthetically pleasing line height and a consistent baseline. The sans-serif font works well stylistically and is very readable. Further right, we're given links to further information about the designer: his contact information, his resume, and his Facebook profile. To show that these links are clickable, we're given a feedback effect upon mouse-over - the text of the links turns purple. Furthermore, the artist's self-portrait to the far right sends a clear message that we're looking at the page of a creative person. The imaginative energy, it seems, is literally escaping from his head, as signified by the purple blobs flowing out from underneath the artist's hat. As a nice twist, and further symbolism of creativity, this picture breaks out of the grid structure.

Last but not least, we have the actual porfolio section of the website:


The designer makes this area extremely usable by providing clear categories to the left, previews of the portfolio images, and descriptions of these images as clickability feedback upon the user's mouseover on any of the thumbnails. Rather than directing the user to a difference page for each image, the designer has a javascript lightbox pop up to show each work in its full glory. As a fantastic touch, the information up top stays constant as the user surfs through the portfolio below.

To sum up, why is Kiluka.ch a design I like? Because this online porfolio has the perfect balance of style, substance, and usability.

Stamp Assignment

Vector graphics created in illustrator. Textures, gradients, and other effects done in Photoshop.

Camera and Lighting Techniques in The Maltese Falcon

The Maltese Falcon, a famous member of the film noir genre, places heavy emphasis on lighting and camera techniques, especially for the era in which it was made. (The film was released in 1941.) One of the most notable elements in the movie’s visual vocabulary is the extensive use of shadows to generate atmosphere. As with most noir films, Falcon features a labyrinthine plot full of twists, turns, and underworld dealings. Sam Spade, private detective, takes on a case that him dealing with a backstabbing love interest and three crooked characters searching for a priceless artifact. To accentuate the shady dealings in the film, director John Huston uses low-key lighting in many scenes. Outdoor sequences in particular mainly take place during the night so that light from streetlamp are made to appear to be the only light sources. Much of the time, fill lights on characters faces are either weak or not present to add to the dramatic ambiance of the film.

The camera itself is major player in the film, working hand-in-hand with lighting to create mood. To add intensity to scenes with little kinetic action, the film will cut to a close up of a character’s face. For example, when Wilmer Cook discovers that the other characters have chosen him as the “fall guy” for the murders in the movie, we’re presented with a tightly framed close-up of Cook’s expression. A similar technique is used to showcase the Maltese Falcon as it is unwrapped. The film also features low-angle shots to build suspense or make an object or person seem imposing. We see low-angle shots being used prominently in a conversation between Spade and the “Fat Man.” The camera in this instance is aimed up towards the sitting Fat Man to lend an air of authority to his massive figure. In this scene, a wide angle lens is used with a deep depth of field to both capture the full figure of the Fat Man and induce a feeling of claustrophobia by bringing the ceiling into focus. Through shots such as this, Huston keeps tension high in The Maltese Falcon.

Museum of the Moving Image Assignment

As a fan of anything that screws with my perceptual abilities, the Museum of the Moving Image was quite a treat. The installation I was most drawn to was a demo where the museum-goer could create their own stop motion animation video. For the un-initiated, stop-motion animation involves photographing the action one small movement at a time. The photographed frames are then strung together in a sequence that creates the illusion of continuous motion.

In the demo, a user has a designated area that they can photograph with a camera above. By pressing a button after moving objects in front of the camera step-by-step, they gradually create a series of frames that the computer creates a movie from. For my movie, I had a friend hit the button while I drew a character on a piece of paper, drawing a new part for each frame. Thus, an illusion was created where my sketch “drew itself.” I learned that I could make the “motion” choppier – and, in my opinion, more visually interesting – by asking my friend to press the button twice for each frame. Having him press it three times increased this effect, while a single photograph per frame made the motion much more fluid and realistic-looking.