Thesis book arrived! Just in time. #cca #thesis (at California College of the Arts)
Presenting at App.net’s hackathon.
App.net Hackathon Recap
Here’s the recap from App.net’s Hackathon! The prototype we built for my thesis is mentioned + photos!
Here are a few (up close) gestural interface concepts for interacting with content. The medium is just as important as the message.
Prototype Video!
Many instant messaging services frame our texts with speech bubbles…but why not make those speech bubbles more expressive, like those in comics? Here’s a piece of my thesis project realized by developers Ashley Nelson-Hornstein and Bill Kunz at App.net’s hackathon in San Francisco on March 2nd, 2013.
Bill Kunz graciously allowed us to use his own iOS application, Felix, to bolt this onto. It’s a working prototype!
I just had to go and disrupt things at the hackathon yesterday…Here are the boards I used to pitch my thesis concept. You might not be able to tell but there’s about 7 months thought and work in there!
Little to big ideas to transform instant messaging:
- Ability to change the speech bubble frame to be more expressive, a la comic speech bubbles.
- Dynamic text, exclamation points increase font size, all caps turns font into bold-italic.
- Arrangeable content, breaks linearity and temporarily putting the focus on the content and not responses in time. It becomes a collaborative space to build and archive stories vs. a vehicle for sending singular moments and responses.
- Conversation layers allow for a new way to have tangential conversations without derailing the original conversation. Layers also provide other abilities such as organizing images or creating chapters. Zooming in and out with a pinch gesture enables one to move easily between the layers.
- Mostly gestural interface allows for the “app” to disappear and the content to be the focus.
Here’s the “Hello, world” of my thesis concept, first brought to reality by @nelsonhornstein
App.net Hackathon
Went to the #adnhackathon (App.net) yesterday to get feedback on my thesis, but ended up building a small piece of it thanks to @billkunz and @nelsonhornstein! Here are some snapshots from the event.
Designers were the minority. I think I was one of two.
Here’s @billkunz hacking his own app Felix to bolt our prototype onto.
@nelsonhornstein striking a @billkunz-hard-at-work pose.
One of the only computers without code on the screen. PS Making rectangular thought bubbles is hard!
