TechStyle

Big Wall

The National Theatre has started its 'big wall' that showcases interviews with actors, background material to the production and contextual material for the play in the auditorium. Building on their successful Stagework, the wall brings some of the website ideas into the physical space of the theatre. At the moment it contains content around their production of Coram Boy, but as it is technically just a touch sensitive projection so there is no reason why it couldn't show a variety of production or repurpose some of the brilliant content from Stagework.

Its a great way to spend 15mins whilst waiting for the play to start. The navigation is clear and there are a range of activities - from the hobbies of hovering actors and actresses, to a music mixer and a slightly disappointing timeline. The Wall shows that institutions don't have to  do something technically cutting-edge to be innovative. They can extend their brand and offering to audiences with simple use of content.

Paper Computer

In the 'Future Computing Collections' project we developed earlier in the year with the Interaction Design group at the RCA, one of the students came up with a great idea for a paper computer. Matt Falla developed a 'cut-out computer' which would aid non-computer literate people to understand what the components of a computer are and how one works. Users would have to put all the components together to get the 'machine' (of sorts) to work. The idea is similar to the Middlesex Uni Teaching Resources currently available from the Science Museum shop (and great Christmas presents...) where you can relive technological history by building a telegraph transmitter, your own desktop steam engine, a  tachyscope  and a camera obscura. Matt's 'computer' was more beautiful and contemporary, using screen printed lights to illustrate electronic processes.

Interaction Design 2005

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Last week I went to the hot and sweaty RCA Interaction Design 2005 degree show. The show was unique for its ability to apply simple forms of interaction (drawing a line, standing in front of a board, placing your hand in front of a light) to create complicated computer mediated experiences.

Highlights included this simple Brighton Pier-esque experience for tourists. Using the phenomena that digital cameras pick up infra-red light, Tom Jenkins produced a beautiful LED posing board with a hidden image un-detected by the human eye but shown by a digital camera. Its easy to think of lots of fun applications.

Another interesting idea that came out of of the 3 week project we developed between the Science Museum and the department was the 'Paper Computer' by Matthew Falla. At the show he demonstrated a music programme that could be remixed by drawing on a printed circuit board. The pencil changed conductivity and the melody, bass or tempo of the music.

Philip Worthington's Shadow Monsters were instantly entertaining, with your own hand as the interface for creating your puppet that could then fight against others. The animals roared and squeeked as you played and manipulated your puppet.

Finally a simple but ingenious design was the paint roller that painted pixels on a flourescent screen. The slow decay of the light left a beautiful picture that could be drawn over with the roller or with an LED pen. Simple graffiti, versatile wallpaper or a great way to get temporary audience feedback.

European Design

I came across the European Design Show a day too early. I had come to see WEEE man, but he'd gone on tour that morning, so I had a sunny afternoon to kill and ended up at the Design Museum. I thought I'd be interested in the web design, computer games, graphics and ceramics, but was amazed when I was more taken aback by the array of cloud and jellyfish lights that made me want to just relax in a squishy sofa and admire the view.

Then there was the blacker than black black ink from the ever inventive National Physical Laboratory. Supposedly 25 times blacker than black paint its called Super Black. Yes, black is the new black. They have come a long way since the days of the Pilot Ace computer!

Not so surprising though that I was mainly taken in by 'The technology story', with products and processes from the Belgium company Materialise. They have developed software that applys the stereolithography and sintering processes invented in the 1980s to make prototypes for the automotive and aerospace industries, to the production of everyday plastic objects. Mass production or simple craft?