I am happy to announce the new Gerg Werk website is finally up and running! New design! New projects! More experience! Just in time to bring in a new year.
I received some exciting news the other day. I just heard word that the new edition of Gestalten’s book, A Touch of Code: Interactive Installations and Experiences, is out. Why is this exciting you ask? Well class, if you would turn to spread 64 – 65, the wobbly shapes of my multi touch light table project will hit the back of your brains. I am very honored to have been chosen to be a part of this publication. No, not just because this is the first book I am published in, but common, it’s DIE GESTALTEN VERLAG for cryin’ out loud. Even though you still don’t believe me, here is some documentation.
that’s right…I’ve known about this for months and kept it a secret from you.
Here is a small writeup about the book:
“Thanks to the omnipresence of computers, cell phones, gaming systems, and the internet, a broad audience has traded its past reservations against technology for an almost insatiable curiosity for all things technical. Against this background, unprecedented new tools and possibilities are opening up for the world of design. In addition to sketchbooks and computers, young designers are increasingly using programming languages, soldering irons, sensors, and microprocessors as well as 3D milling or rapid prototyping machines in their work. The innovative use of powerful hardware and software has become affordable and, most of all, much easier to use. Today, the sky is the limit when it comes to ideas for experimental media, unconventional interfaces, and interactive spatial experiences.” -Yatzer.
There are tons of amazing artists in this book. Just to name a few: Atelier Markograph, Moritz, Waldemeyer, Troika, Dan Roosegaarde, Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, Random International, United Visual Artists, ART+COM, Sifteo, Carlos J.Gomez de Liarena, Graffiti Research Lab, KMA, Sonice Development, David Bowen, Julius von Bismarck and The Green Eyl. So if you like digital art, interactive art or just want to be cool, this is a no brainer – check it out!
Every Monday at work we talk about the movies that we saw over the weekend. Considering that I’m new, to catch up I was going to name all the movies that I have ever seen. Unfortunately that could take hours, perhaps days. Instead I created a list of my top ten movies of all time. This was not an easy task. I think I’m going to have to make other lists after this one. These are my top ten movies of all time according to the year they were released. What are your top ten?
A good friend of mine, who I basically grew up with, came to visit for the Google IO conference. I’m almost kicking myself for not going, mostly because all 5,000 people who attended also got a complimentary Samsung galaxy tablet 10.1. He was also one very lucky beta tester chosen for a limited edition Chrome OS laptop, the Cr-48. They are now releasing this device under the name Chromebook. Don’t know what a Chromebook is? Just watch this:
Luckily for me, my friend brought it with him to sf. Unlike the computer you’re probably reading this on, all content on this machine is held remotely. There isn’t even a desktop background on this thing. The Cr-48 has a 16GB hard drive which is only used as a temporary place to hold your data until you post it to the ‘cloud’. The first thing that I thought of when I heard this was where would I keep all the music I own? (most mp3 players, if not all new ones, hold at least 3x that amount!) “What about the music, man?” I ask. Well, good news. All that music that you have pirated purchased can now be held virtually by Google music beta. Well that’s all fine and dandy, but what happens when one doesn’t have access to the web? According to some guy named Chris who works on the music team at Google, “The songs you’ve recently played will automatically be available offline. You can also select the specific albums, artists and playlists you want to have available when you’re not connected.” (source)
Enough geek talk.
One of the highlights of having a visitor, and quite honestly one of the best places I’ve visited in sf, was taking him to The Exploratorium. Ever heard of it? Since everyone is going coo-coo for information graphics, here is a diagram that I ‘made’ of what the museum is like:
The Exploratorium made me feel like a little kid in a candy store. The first thing we did when we got there was watched the dissection of a cow’s eye. I knew right then and there that THIS PLACE WAS GOING TO ROCK. A small excerpt from their website, “The Exploratorium was the brainchild of Frank Oppenheimer. At various times, Frank was a professor, a high school teacher, a cattle rancher, and an experimental physicist. While teaching at a university, Frank developed a ‘library of experiments’ that enabled his students to explore scientific phenomena at their own pace, following their own curiosity.” It is basically a science museum filled with lots of hands on experiments and activities. There will be something here for everybody. Seriously, if you haven’t visited yet, you are missing out on some cool stuff. Just look at this place:
If you thought that was cool, wait until you experience the tactile dome. Imagine yourself squeezing and climbing through tunnels, tubes and up ramps with walls that are covered in all kinds of textured surfaces. Here are some images of the inside of the tactile dome:
Oh yeah, did I mention that you experience tactile dome in complete darkness? Whoa.
In conclusion, if you are even remotely close to the bay area, visit this place already. Here are some other pictures from The Exploratorium and the rest of the weekend.
Considering I can’t show much of the work I have been doing these days, here are some small design things I’ve been doing to keep my mind agile.
Remember that trip I took to South Africa for a video shoot? Well now you can see the final video that was produced there. Great job to Sunny&72 and HP for the end result! Watch the video below:
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These designs were for a friend who was working through an exhibition idea for a show that would have existed throughout the Bay Area.
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Wedding invite and response card I did for Sarah Perry’s Russell’s wedding late last year. That’s right, Sarah, I put up the version of the response card that should have been the final.
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Some house party flyers
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Well kids, that’s it for now. keepin’ it short and sweet.
Within the last couple weeks, I have accepted a job offer with one of the most (if not the most) bad ass groups that I’ve met in the SF/Seattle area. *trumpets sound* I am very proud to be named a designer for Stimulant. What will I be doing you ask? Mostly designing stuff, hence the job title designer. For those who don’t know how a company that makes touch screen interactions may work, (or you just don’t know much about design and technology) I will focus on taking the interaction design from the interaction designer and creating a ‘skin’ (or something you see) for people to interact with. I then give the designs to a developer. They then take the designs and use their special sauce to make everything work on touch screen devices by writing code.
That been said, I am very excited to start this new position with such a great group! Stay tuned for great things to come!
