Craig Dennis
RSA Competition Entry: QR Stamps
The aim was to create a stamp that promotes renewable energies. While traditionally a graphic design brief I tried to make the process of informing people more tangible.
The stamps use thermochromic ink which, when heated, turns transparent. Two different colours are layered to create a nice effect. Body heat is enough to activate the process. When the ink is activated it turns transparent and reveals a QR tag underneath. The QR tag is then captured by a mobile device and automatically directs it to a mobile site. The site contains contextual information related to the specific stamp as part of a photo sharing social network
The inherent social aspect allows for real discussions about problems and solutions. With the rise in connected devices and the increase in mobile cameras, the concept relies on existing technologies. QR tag readers are available on any mobile device and can be downloaded for free. Many mobile devices are being sold with readers already installed and if this continues then the uptake of QR tag usage would naturally increase.
Multi-touch: Zero Wallpaper
Zero Wallpaper explores the nature of spaces and customisation of environments looking at how people change their environment and how they change to suit their environment. Can technology help in facilitating the transition?
People create their desired experience by drawing a shape on a surface and filling it with content. An example would be drawing a rectangle and selecting ‘TV’ to give that shape the characteristics of a TV and enable the viewing of broadcast channels within it.
Through user-testing the inherent ‘wobble’ people produce when they draw freehand (be it on paper or touch screens) was show to be exacerbated by the touch screen interface. This prevented clean and simple object creation and as such a guide was introduced. The creation of objects is now simplified by drawing a single line that is then outlined on all sides by guide lines. The guides then become the shape allowing for quick and easy creation of perfectly symmetrical objects optimised for content. If desired, the guide function can be turned off and allow free roaming object creation or doodling.
Web Design: Millie Dunne
Millie is an actress who wanted a simple site to convey her talents. She wanted people to be able to listen to her songs and watch her showreel without having to send out hundreds of CDs and emails.
The only assets provided were the headshots and the songs. The site was designed around the greyscale theme of the headshots and Millie was included at every stage of the design process. On the main page the headshots are faded in a flash animation so as to not need to decide which one was the best to sit on the website.
The site is a static site not built around a CMS meaning that Millie is not able to make additions to the site herself. After some initial teething problems, Millie is happy with the site and feels proud to have it as her online showcase. Currently she is waiting on her showreel to come through and when it does an integrated flash movie player will be positioned on the appropriate page.
User Experience: Webit
Every day, more and more information is created and every day there are more and more people trying to access it. This project looks at the way people navigate the internet focussing on the way they read pages or watch videos and then navigate to other content through search engines and other tools.
Webit knows what people are looking at on the internet and automatically provides related information from the rest of the internet. Webit searches the internet in the background to provide links most relevant to the current content.
The links are displayed in order of relevance, highest to lowest from left to right. They can also be sorted by media type as well as omitting media types altogether. There are three different browsing methods which form a cohesive user experience when used together including single line view showing icons or text labels, list view showing details of the links in a scrolling list, and relational view showing the relationships between the links generated. Different media types can be included or excluded based on whether they are selected in the preferences.
Dissertation: Are We Forfeiting Privacy to Pay For Security?
My dissertation is about internet security and internet privacy issues. The fact that they are both such large parts of everyone’s online experience and yet they seem to constantly battle against each other for supremacy. Can there be harmony or is there an inherent paradox between them meaning they can never function in equilibrium?
As part of the dissertation process interviews were conducted, one of which with the global IT manager of Premier Oil, to establish what issues are involved in business as well as consumer experiences and what guidelines they have to adhere to. More importantly if any of them are working or not.
Interactive Spaces: Shoutbox
The objective was to create an interactive environment with the premise of a 21st century ‘village fete’. Looking into what makes a fete and how this can be recreated with new interactions. The traditional village fete was analysed to see what underlying principles to find out of what one consisted.
What did people remember from them? Why did they go to them? Research shows that people enjoy village fetes because of the sense of community, fun and prizes.
Designed to give the user a feeling of fun and community, Shoutbox creates ‘bubbles’ in a variety of shapes and colours based on sound input. Any sound can be used such as a single voice, many voices or instruments. The louder the input; the larger the bubble and the longer the length of the sound; the faster the bubble moves across the screen. In addition, whenever there is a collision between the bubbles, the sound used to create the bubble is played back. Sound attracts people, drawing them together and developing an ad-hoc community wherever it is deployed.