Friday, December 31, 2010
On a threshold of a new journey
I accepted a mission from my teacher Nicholas Riddle to document bicycle culture while I am away on break. Luckily, I will be going on a vacation to Taiwan, where the transportation culture is far different from our own. I will probably come into contact with more mopeds than bicycles, but I imagine that any information on how people get stuff from A to B will be good information nonetheless.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Early December, Wednesday Morning: on the BART
Today while on the way to History of the Bay Area class, I stumbled upon a book in the seat that I was about to occupy when I entered the car; apparently somebody had forgot it. Before I could shout out something, the doors to the car closed and I was on my way to Oakland. Now that I am in possession of this book I think it would be an excellent chance to see if it would be possible to return this person’s book.
Upon returning home, I inspected it for any identifying marks; there are none. The book is recently published and brand new. There are however two things wedged inside the book: a bookmark from a corporate team-building seminar group, and a recent San Francisco to Salt Lake city morning plane ticket. These clues tell me that the owner of this book must be in the corporate world somehow; perhaps he was going to a meeting. The most important thing, however is that I have a name. I attempted to backtrack through the airline website using the ticket’s confirmation number, but unfortunately nothing turned up; most likely any information regarding the trip has been erased.
I am inclined to simply give the book to the station attendant, but I feel that by now the owner may not be looking for the book anymore. How might I go about returning this book? Since the person uses the BART, he surely lives within the San Francisco Bay area. The BART train was heading eastbound when the man got off at a major Market Street station: that tells me that the man probably lives on the peninsula, and goes to work in downtown San Francisco. I have heard other people use the internet to great effect in identifying owners of lost cameras.
Social networking is an absolutely fascinating phenomenon. It has made the world a much smaller place. The novelty of pen pals has given way to real time posts on forums, even live broadcasts. Finding information is far easier now than before. I will continue my search for this man as soon as school ends.
Upon returning home, I inspected it for any identifying marks; there are none. The book is recently published and brand new. There are however two things wedged inside the book: a bookmark from a corporate team-building seminar group, and a recent San Francisco to Salt Lake city morning plane ticket. These clues tell me that the owner of this book must be in the corporate world somehow; perhaps he was going to a meeting. The most important thing, however is that I have a name. I attempted to backtrack through the airline website using the ticket’s confirmation number, but unfortunately nothing turned up; most likely any information regarding the trip has been erased.
I am inclined to simply give the book to the station attendant, but I feel that by now the owner may not be looking for the book anymore. How might I go about returning this book? Since the person uses the BART, he surely lives within the San Francisco Bay area. The BART train was heading eastbound when the man got off at a major Market Street station: that tells me that the man probably lives on the peninsula, and goes to work in downtown San Francisco. I have heard other people use the internet to great effect in identifying owners of lost cameras.
Social networking is an absolutely fascinating phenomenon. It has made the world a much smaller place. The novelty of pen pals has given way to real time posts on forums, even live broadcasts. Finding information is far easier now than before. I will continue my search for this man as soon as school ends.
Early December
Richard Branson, architect of the Virgin empire, has released a new iPad-only magazine, called Project. It is a digital magazine aimed at industry, technology, and entrepreneurs. But I am writing about this magazine because it has traversed web 2.0 and begun the true integration of interactive content in electronic devices.
As an iPad-only publication, Project uses the device’s assets to great effect; advertisements are interactive, cover art is video, sound demonstrations and music are integrated into the narrative, and a big plus for interviews is raw footage. The trappings of a webpage are no longer evident.
How might we integrate our print media into the multifunctional mediums of tomorrow? How will the march of technology change the way our media works?
Canon’s “Wonder Camera” debuted at the Shanghai Expo this year in the Japanese pavilion. It claimed that in twenty years time, the ability of the consumer camera will be powerful enough to create super high quality video with an obscene amount of clarity; Canon is attempting technology that will enable the entire picture to be in focus, allowing photographs to be cut from a larger photograph. Their smart technology also had the ability to recognize smiles, and was able to take multiple photos of members of the audience all at once. If every frame of a movie is in focus, where will that put the camera? Will it be relegated to purely the arts--an expensive system with multiple parts and steep learning curve much like calligraphy once was?
Canon was displaying the resolution of their camera on gigantic touch screens as tall as a man. Are we closer to Fahrenheit 451’s television walls? How small will our consumer technology get?
With the ongoing research into OLED’s, it is quite possible that within a short amount of time, super thin, or even bendable screens will become the norm. Heck, why stop there? Maybe entire electronic objects can become flexible--keyboards, hard drives, cell phones. I predict that within 50 years, somebody, some company will come out with a super-gadget--one that will have the capability to become the size of a cell phone, have the computing power of a desktop, and can expand to the size of flat screen televisions. Seeing how fast technology moves, I won’t be surprised if this will happen sooner.
The next iPod will not be a revolution. It will be something more earth shattering.
As an iPad-only publication, Project uses the device’s assets to great effect; advertisements are interactive, cover art is video, sound demonstrations and music are integrated into the narrative, and a big plus for interviews is raw footage. The trappings of a webpage are no longer evident.
How might we integrate our print media into the multifunctional mediums of tomorrow? How will the march of technology change the way our media works?
Canon’s “Wonder Camera” debuted at the Shanghai Expo this year in the Japanese pavilion. It claimed that in twenty years time, the ability of the consumer camera will be powerful enough to create super high quality video with an obscene amount of clarity; Canon is attempting technology that will enable the entire picture to be in focus, allowing photographs to be cut from a larger photograph. Their smart technology also had the ability to recognize smiles, and was able to take multiple photos of members of the audience all at once. If every frame of a movie is in focus, where will that put the camera? Will it be relegated to purely the arts--an expensive system with multiple parts and steep learning curve much like calligraphy once was?
Canon was displaying the resolution of their camera on gigantic touch screens as tall as a man. Are we closer to Fahrenheit 451’s television walls? How small will our consumer technology get?
With the ongoing research into OLED’s, it is quite possible that within a short amount of time, super thin, or even bendable screens will become the norm. Heck, why stop there? Maybe entire electronic objects can become flexible--keyboards, hard drives, cell phones. I predict that within 50 years, somebody, some company will come out with a super-gadget--one that will have the capability to become the size of a cell phone, have the computing power of a desktop, and can expand to the size of flat screen televisions. Seeing how fast technology moves, I won’t be surprised if this will happen sooner.
The next iPod will not be a revolution. It will be something more earth shattering.
Late November: Japantown, San Francisco
Today, as part of my research regarding Japanese culture for my ID1 project, I walked into the National Japanese American Historical Society. They are currently having an exhibit displaying various objects created by interred Japanese Americans in various camps during World War II.
They were only given poorly built tar paper barracks, and a couple of crates and a bed frame for furniture. There were no medical or educational facilities planned. But like all humans, the interred Japanese did what they could, and built an effective and functioning city out of the camps. The relics of their stay--boxes, sea shell sculptures, and even carved and painted works of art are testament to the ingenuity of people.
Once again, necessity is the mother of invention.
Sometimes I think that a long period with a single focus produces better work than fitting several projects into a schedule at once. I am jealous of the meticulous detail of some of these people.
If only the best of us didn’t come from the worst of things. But I guess times of great stress inspire great things.
They were only given poorly built tar paper barracks, and a couple of crates and a bed frame for furniture. There were no medical or educational facilities planned. But like all humans, the interred Japanese did what they could, and built an effective and functioning city out of the camps. The relics of their stay--boxes, sea shell sculptures, and even carved and painted works of art are testament to the ingenuity of people.
Once again, necessity is the mother of invention.
Sometimes I think that a long period with a single focus produces better work than fitting several projects into a schedule at once. I am jealous of the meticulous detail of some of these people.
If only the best of us didn’t come from the worst of things. But I guess times of great stress inspire great things.
Sometime in the Middle of November
While browsing Core77.com, I stumbled upon an article written by Bruce and Stephanie M. Tharp. Together, they attempted to break down Industrial design into four categories as a way to make it easier to explain what “Industrial Design” is to those outside the design world. What they came up with was Commercial Design, Responsible Design, Experimental Design, and Discursive Design.
Commercial design involves design with the chief motive of producing profit. Responsible design concerns itself with creating a product for the purpose of fulfilling a humanitarian service. Experimental design plays with emerging technologies and ideas to create a novel object. Discursive design induces discussion through the object that is designed. Obviously industrial design isn’t so black and white, but this taxonomy does help people understand just what industrial design is.
Some of the comments were interesting to read. One asserted that designers are simply having trouble circumcising art and craft from their profession. That “Design solves problems”. That art should not be confused for such.
Are designers also artists? Can they do the same work? Are they in fact the same thing? Does design involve art, or does art involve design?
Commercial design involves design with the chief motive of producing profit. Responsible design concerns itself with creating a product for the purpose of fulfilling a humanitarian service. Experimental design plays with emerging technologies and ideas to create a novel object. Discursive design induces discussion through the object that is designed. Obviously industrial design isn’t so black and white, but this taxonomy does help people understand just what industrial design is.
Some of the comments were interesting to read. One asserted that designers are simply having trouble circumcising art and craft from their profession. That “Design solves problems”. That art should not be confused for such.
Are designers also artists? Can they do the same work? Are they in fact the same thing? Does design involve art, or does art involve design?
Sometime in the Middle of November
As part of my ongoing ID1 project, which involves redesigning street furniture, I discovered that San Francisco has a massive, redundant firefighting network called the Auxiliary Water Supply System, or AWSS. The 1906 Earthquake was most devastating due to the fire that resulted in the aftermath. Hundreds of breaks in the water mains forced firefighters to pump sewer water and cisterns to fight the fires. Eventually, many resorted to shovels and explosives in a vain attempt at creating fire breaks.
The AWSS consists of a network of high pressure fire hydrants, hooked up to reservoirs located at various elevations. The largest of these is the 10.5 million gallon Twin Peaks reservoir, which with all gates open can deliver several hundred psi of water pressure to the downtown area. This is insurance against the possible failure of the regular hydrants hooked up to water mains.
In the event the high pressure hydrants are not enough, two diesel-powered pumping stations located can deliver water from the bay directly into the city. The city’s two fireboats also have the ability to pump water into the city through various manifolds along the piers.
The Fire department also maintains a system of underground cisterns as a last resort measure against the failure of the various AWSS systems.
The recent passage of Proposition B in June, 2010 will allocate several hundred million dollars to the retrofit of this system.
An anachronistic relic easily seen on many street corners are San Francisco’s fire alarm boxes. Many may think that these are obsolete in the digital age but they are in fact an important part of the infrastructure of the city. When the next big earthquake strikes (60% probability within the next 30 years according to the USGS) phone lines and cell phone towers will most likely be destroyed. The paint-encrusted fire alarm boxes, however are all independently powered by underground wiring and have direct connection to the emergency switchboard of the city, whereas even with service, cell phones will most likely encounter the busy signal for several days.
As part of my project, I will be redesigning a fire hydrant, fire alarm box, and cistern cover. How might I make these lowly and rusty pieces of street furniture stand out and show how important they are in the context of our city’s emergency preparedness?
The Japanese decorate their manhole covers with designs from animals to castings of city symbols and emblems. An excellent way to make life a little more colorful.
Sometime in the Middle of November
On my way back from Industrial Design research in Japantown, the bus I was on was held up by a man in a wheelchair who was unwilling to exit the bus. He kept claiming he lost his cell phone, and would put his feet on the ground when people attempted to push his wheelchair. He finally found it...in his pants. A lot of time was wasted.
People entering through the back of the bus to bypass paying frustrates me. The city has made multiple attempts at fixing the issue, including a “no pay, no go” system where the bus driver will refuse to move unless all passengers have paid the fare. Needless to say, the bus schedule was utterly destroyed at one point. Now the city is posting police officers in buses that see large amount of human traffic to deter people from hopping on the back of the bus. Removing the fare system in its entirety was even considered, but the costs of actually going with this plan outweighed any benefit.
How might we go about getting everybody to pay their fare? Should we even be charging fares? How much money is the city losing, anyways?
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