Uploading

Dignity

admin — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 19:13:22 +0000

In our last class of Softness of Things, we discussed design for the other 90%, namely creating technological solutions for challenges in the developing nations. After all, it is a particularly challenging niche requiring not only an understanding of said challenges but also the creation of solutions durable enough to survive outside of a padded leather case and using materials that are both effective and are not prohibitively expensive. The core focus is that, while charity is kind, no one values something so much as an object that they financially invested in themselves. In fact there is money in them thar’ hills for designers and entrepreneurs sufficiently empathetic and inspired to conceive of feasible solutions.

Having said that, Despina also mentioned in passing another demographic that I was particularly intrigued by, the elderly. There are many products designed for the elderly but much of them are simplistic extrapolations of preexisting solutions. In terms of technology, this results in childish contraptions: big plastic boxes with push button keys. Such objects threaten one aspect of living so critical to many of the senior members of my family, dignity.

Closeup for the two part pattern of the master mold.

So, I wanted to re-explore an interface that is critical to basic living today but, I feel, lacks the consideration of dignity in its redesign for senior consumers: telephones. Currently, most telephones designed for the elderly are either impractical or look like they belong in a nursery.

I remember talking with an aunt about one of my particularly dear relatives, Zara. Zara took care of me when I was a little baby and has always been an important person in my life. But, as everyone tends to do, she is getting older and her eyesight is not what it used to be. One of her daughters mentioned that all Zara really needs from a phone is a device with three reprogrammed buttons. All the features that current phones offer are not necessary. And, while I do not pretend that 3 is the universal number of contacts that every individual needs to be able to access, it did give me an idea. What about designing an interface centered around preprogrammed buttons. Rather than the speed dial solution incorporated into the number keys, with clearly doesn’t work for everyone, what about a modular calling device that allowed the user to press a button with the picture of the person they were calling rather than dealing with the abstractions of a phone number.

Antique telephone replecation with wooden base.

But how to present this in a form that is not degrading to the user. How can the phone reflect the dignity justly deserved by everyon? What if, rather than resorting to plastic, as all the companies I have observed do, I designed with a different, more comfortable material. I cannot think of a more dignified material than wood, for this context. The components are housed in a material that speaks to the value of age, as each year makes the tree grow taller and thicker. I also speaks to a classic antique aesthetic which I have observed in many of my older relatives homes.

The actual form of the device I see as being completely contrary to the classic telephone design. I view this piece as more of a decorative piece of furniture with built in functionality rather than a dedicated technological deice. It is something that any individual could enjoy as simple pictorial display of the people he or she cares for and interacts with based on the frequency of calls. While the piece also offers a traditional keypad and voice recognition that can also be programmed for calling, the allure is in the tactile sensation of touching the person’s picture and being able to speak with them.

Current Resources:

Telephone Design For Elderly People

Phones for the elderly

Generative Thinking (An Introduction)

Bonsai Bakery [Popover & Sketch]

admin — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 02:36:32 +0000

Ah, midterms. They are approaching, you know? Slowly but inevitably. In undergrad they would sneak up, tap you on the shoulder, and then back hand you across the face with speed and dexterity developed from the quarterly exersize of this art on over 30,000 students a year. Being on the east coast, however, the schools schedule pistols at dawn at 30 paces rather than a drive by multiple choice. Though, to be fair, few of our classes make much of this mid semester event. Yet, biology has allotted the lofty amount of 4 weeks with which to develop our midterm, so I thought I might at least do something in the first week to mediate the inevitable breakdown when I run out of time the night before the midterm is due.

I am continuing with my exploration of the Bonsai Bakery and my final goal of creating a dynamic, 3D mold with which to control the final shape of my baked goods. After making two different types of molds, I have come to the conclusion that the only way to achieve the detail and fit I desire in a modular mold is to have the master mold laser cut. So, this weekend I looked at my experimental drafts and designed an Illustrator layout to be loaded into the laser cutter and cut into plexiglass.

The mold has three layers which must be cut out and then connected for me to then pour in the bake safe latex. It has been a bit of a challenge to assemble but I look forward to submitting it this week and having the pieces cut out.

Closeup for the two part pattern of the master mold.

Complete pattern to be cut into the mold

Along with the layout for my master mold, I also decided to do a test batch of my new medium. I orignially started this project looking at gluten and muffins. However, I wanted something more structural, with a stronger outside. I then tried sticky buns for the yeast. This time around, I thought I would try out popovers.

Popovers are light and airy breads. They fluff up dramatically in the oven with a crispy crust and cavernous insides. Since I had never made them before, I did a test batch this week to see what they should be like and consider what alterations I would want to make in order to make them as structurally strong as possible.

A bunch of popovers

Au Contraire

admin — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 05:42:25 +0000

After seeing this, I just want to say this:

The Burlesque play of the Life Dress. The lights can be a strip tease in and of themselves.

…and I want to watch War Games again.

I know that this is an old post, but I just came across it again and it struck me as so contextually amusing that I had to respond. Thank you for another gem brought to you by XKCD.

Sitting In The Qube

Digital Imaging: Panoramas

admin — Sat, 27 Feb 2010 15:58:36 +0000

This week in Digital Imaging we discussed polarizing lenses (awesome!) and panoramas. Polarization was the one thing that I simply couldn’t wrap my head around in physics, my freshman year of highschool. Everything else was fine, but I could not visualize how something could be manufactured to only allow light rays entry from a certain direction. Because I could not visualize it, I couldn’t really accept the theoretical exploration of that topic. But Eric, in his typical greatness, illuminated the topic in a way that I finally grasped (describing the manufacturing process of stretching plastics to align the molecules).

The on to another fun thing, panoramas. There is more to capturing a panorama that I initially thought. I always thought everything dealing with panoramas was dealt with in post, but Eric brought up some simple rules in taking a photo that I hadn’t thought about before. While a panorama shot is composed of many individual photos stitched together, it is important to remember that, since all these pictures become one, they should all have the same focus, white balance, exposure, and shutter speed. Set your expose and balance at the brightest part of the panorama, since this is the space at risk of overexposure. Otherwise, there will be odd shading and things will be difficult to match as each picture focuses on a different object. Also, each photo should overlap by at least a third of the image. Make sure to take the pictures on a LEVEL tripod with the camera competely parallel to the ground. Finally, take the shots from left to right. Programs that care about the order process them in that direction, specifically, and it will save having to rearrange them after the fact.

While I did attempt other panoramas, this morning I was paricularly inspired. I woke up to find out that today was a snow day. So, in lue of going to school, I thought I would take pictures of the snow. I went to the roof of my building, which must have had at least a foot of snow. I really was not expecting that much, evidently, seeing as I was wearing normal shoes rather than boots. Never the less, I trudged out onto the roof top and soaked my feet in melting snow as I shot this panorama. It is actually composed of 15 images, since I allowed for a greater overlap than 1/3 of the shot. After capturing all the photos I needed, and thoroughly soaking my feet, I went back to the door of the roof only to realize that I had forgotten to wedge it open and was now locket out, on the roof, in the snow, with abolutely now where to go. Fortunately, Sean hadn’t yet left for Boston, so he was able to let me in as soon as he was out of the shower. Thank the gods!

Next step with panoramas is to find a software that works for you. I tried several, initially out of a desire to find a better application without watermarks. I then became curious about comparing software. So here is my experience with a few different photo stitching softwares.

Autodesk Stitcher Unlimited

Autodesk is an graphically focused user interface. The controls are little pictures that I am sure make sense to a more seasoned user but only convey a general sense of purpose for the novice.

I got a lot of experience playing with this applictation. Why? because it froze up four times, necessitating the repetative, time consuming process of uploading, stitching, and exploring all over again. It takes ridiculously long to process, and, when it does freeze up, it tends to be at the 99% point. Why do I get the feeling that Autodesk hates its customers?

But on these cold winter nights, at least it keeps my computer warm.

PT GUI

PT GUI seems to be an application recognized by the most aggregations of photo stitching software. All I can say is at least it didn’t take as long to output as some of these other applications.

Calico Panorama

Was a very simple user interface that stitched all the pictures together very simply. My only complaint at this early stage is the large watermark for the trial version.

DoubleTake

DoubleTake is pretty and usable, but the actual output is a bit of a cheat. As far as actual photo stitching software goes, this application is grade school, making alpha a crutch rather than serious computation. At the same time it was giving my computer a real pounding as I attempted to export the stitched image.

Hugin

I tried to use this application, but after loading the images, it would always crash. Fail, Hugin. I’m not feeling the love.

The Leftovers Paradox

admin — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 04:41:19 +0000

I do not consider myself a civic recycler. I do not sort my paper and plastic out of some higher ideal. I do not carry a fabric bag to and from the grocery store rather than rely on their disposable bags due to some tree hugging urge. I do not make a point to buy recycled materials to be “green”. But I do anyway. This is because I am a nervous recycler. Throwing away items that I cannot conceive of decomposing makes me anxious. Buying over packaged products makes me remorseful. But nothing bothers me more than multiple heavy Styrofoam containers of leftovers from a restaurant. Restaurant leftovers are the paradox of thrift and consideration. By taking leftovers home, we are not wasting that food that we could not eat. But, in order to conserve food, we generate shocking amounts of garbage, and the type of garbage that I find the most unnerving: Styrofoam.

Why is it, that to conserve, we just generate more of a different kind of waste? I think it’s funny that there is this obsession with bringing your own durable, reusable bags to super markets for buying bulk food but little to no consideration is taken of the dining out equivalent. So, This week, I decided to cary a container around with me to use for any leftovers I had from eating out rather than having them pack it for me. The container is a soup container that my local wonton shop gives when I order soup out. It is perfect since most anything will fit in it and not leak. When I was at Karen’s Bakery, I had them place the muffin in my container. In fact, it’s gotten to the point that the woman behind the counter knows the drill.

After a week of carrying my container around, I wondered what I should do for a summary project, and, after much thinking, I decided that the first step is awareness. So, I thought I would make a little piece poking fun at the phrase “You are what you eat” to remind people that there is more to the food process than just the food. First, I collected a bunch of restaurant containers, utensils, napkins, and bags and took pictures of them. Then I sorted them out by their shade and used them as pixels in a Processing sketch that draws whatever is in the camera lens out of leftover packaging. I never did any of those Processing mirrors last year, so I thought I would get one in before I graduated.

As an extra plus, when you click on the Processing sketch, it exports a file that can be used as an HTML file and can be shared with friends. I did a test version which I have posted to my website.

One of the leftovers I shot. I had a lot of fun with my mini trashion show

Processing Sketch


// You are what you don't eat
// Elizabeth Fuller
// http://www.efuller.net

import processing.video.*;

// Size of each cell in the grid, ratio of window size to video size
int videoScale = 20;
// Number of columns and rows in our system
int cols, rows;
// Variable to hold onto Capture object
Capture video;

// collection of colors
ArrayList pics;
// Adjust contrast
float maxBrightness;
float minBrightness;
float lastMinB;
float lastAveB;

void setup() {
 size(600,400);

 // Initialize columns and rows
 cols = width/videoScale;
 rows = height/videoScale;
 video = new Capture(this,cols,rows,30);

 // set up list of pics
 pics = new ArrayList();
 // setup images to be used in mirror
 PImage p;
 // fill pics array
 p = loadImage("thumbnails/1.jpg");
 pics.add(p);
 p = loadImage("thumbnails/2.jpg");
 pics.add(p);
 p = loadImage("thumbnails/3.jpg");
 pics.add(p);
 p = loadImage("thumbnails/4.jpg");
 pics.add(p);
 p = loadImage("thumbnails/5.jpg");
 pics.add(p);
 p = loadImage("thumbnails/6.jpg");
 pics.add(p);
 p = loadImage("thumbnails/7.jpg");
 pics.add(p);
 p = loadImage("thumbnails/8.jpg");
 pics.add(p);
 p = loadImage("thumbnails/9.jpg");
 pics.add(p);
 p = loadImage("thumbnails/10.jpg");
 pics.add(p);
 p = loadImage("thumbnails/11.jpg");
 pics.add(p);
 p = loadImage("thumbnails/12.jpg");
 pics.add(p);
 p = loadImage("thumbnails/13.jpg");
 pics.add(p);
 p = loadImage("thumbnails/14.jpg");
 pics.add(p);
 p = loadImage("thumbnails/15.jpg");
 pics.add(p);
 p = loadImage("thumbnails/16.jpg");
 pics.add(p);
 p = loadImage("thumbnails/17.jpg");
 pics.add(p);
 p = loadImage("thumbnails/18.jpg");
 pics.add(p);
 p = loadImage("thumbnails/19.jpg");
 pics.add(p);
 p = loadImage("thumbnails/20.jpg");
 pics.add(p);
 p = loadImage("thumbnails/21.jpg");
 pics.add(p);
 p = loadImage("thumbnails/22.jpg");
 pics.add(p);
 p = loadImage("thumbnails/23.jpg");
 pics.add(p);
 p = loadImage("thumbnails/24.jpg");
 pics.add(p);
 p = loadImage("thumbnails/25.jpg");
 pics.add(p);
 p = loadImage("thumbnails/26.jpg");
 pics.add(p);
 p = loadImage("thumbnails/27.jpg");
 pics.add(p);
 p = loadImage("thumbnails/28.jpg");
 pics.add(p);
 p = loadImage("thumbnails/29.jpg");
 pics.add(p);

 // set base
 lastMinB = 0;
 lastAveB = 255;
}

void draw() {
 maxBrightness = 175;
 minBrightness = 175;
 // Read image from the camera
 if (video.available()) {
 video.read();
 }
 video.loadPixels();

 // Begin loop for columns
 for (int i = 0; i < cols; i++) {
 // Begin loop for rows
 for (int j = 0; j < rows; j++) {

 // Where are we, pixel-wise?
 int x = i*videoScale;
 int y = j*videoScale;
 // Looking up the appropriate color in the pixel array
 color c = video.pixels[i + j*video.width];
 float b = brightness(c);
 fill(b);
 stroke(0);
 // draw relevant image

 // make sure adjustment doesn't go out of bounds
 int picImg = (int)((b-lastMinB)/lastAveB*(pics.size()-1));
 if( picImg >= pics.size() ) {
 picImg = pics.size()-1;
 }
 else if( picImg < 0 ) {
 picImg = 0;
 }
 image((PImage)pics.get( picImg ), x, y);
 //rect(x,y,videoScale,videoScale);

 if( b > maxBrightness ) {
 maxBrightness = b;
 }
 else if( b < minBrightness ) {
 minBrightness = b;
 }
 }
 }
 lastMinB = minBrightness;
 lastAveB = maxBrightness-minBrightness;
}

void mouseClicked() {
 String savePath = selectOutput();  // Opens file chooser
 if (savePath == null) {
 // If a file was not selected
 println("No output file was selected...");
 }
 else {
 // If a file was selected, print path to folder
 println(savePath);
 }
 // make webpage
 String html = "\n" +
 "\n" +
 "\n" +
 "You Are What You Don\'t Eat\n" +
 "\n" +
 "\n" +
 "\n" +
 "\n" +
 "\n" +
 " \n" +
 "\n" +
 "\n" +
 "" +
 "";
 for ( int j = 0; j < rows; j++) {
 html += "";
 // Begin loop for rows
 for (int i = 0; i < cols; i++) {
 color c = video.pixels[i + j*video.width];
 float b = brightness(c);
 int picImg = (int)((b-lastMinB)/lastAveB*(pics.size()));
 if( picImg > pics.size() ) {
 picImg = pics.size();
 }
 else if( picImg < 1 ) {
 picImg = 1;
 }
 html += " \n";
 }
 html += "";
 }
 html += "\n" +
 " \n" +
 "You Are What You Don't Eat \n" +
 "In a time where everything is green-washed, it is funny that we forget some basic illogical forms of waste that we have taken for granted.  Many people have started bringing their own bags to grocery stores while they overlook how they generate far more waste in equally easy to solve manners.  One case is that of restaurant leftovers.  Quite often, we cannot finish a meal at the restaurant.  Rather than waste the food, we generate a different kind of waste in the form of Styrofoam containers and plastic utensils. \n" +
 "This piece plays of of the cautionary phrase \"you are what you eat\" to express how ridiculous some of our consumer habits can be.  The image is divided into pixels that are then replaced by images taken of restaurant leftover containers, utensils, napkins, and bags.   \n" +
 "Similar to bringing a bag to grocery stores, a restaurant customer can bypass this waste by bringing their own leftover tupperware.  Why don\'t you try it? \n" +
 " \n" +
 "";
 String[] list = split(html, '\n');
 saveStrings(savePath, list);
}

An Exercise in Waste

In addition to our meditation on energy waste, we were assigned to catalog what we threw out for a week. Seeing as I waste a great deal of my money on eating out, much of waste I generate is relatively untraceable since I have no idea how the restaurants deal with packaging, though I would think it fair to presume that the amount of packaging would be less, since they shop in bulk with a set menu. Plus, living in Chinatown, I support a lot of small family restaurants.

Friday
- Styrofoam takeout container
- receipts
Saturday
- plastic knife
- cream cheese container
Sunday
- pen wrapper
- strip of paper binding notebooks
- receipt
- plastic cup and lid
- Paper cup
- Tea bag and wrapper
- Silicone scraps
Monday
- replace shoe heels
- plastic seal wrapping
- Spinach plastic bag
- gallon milk container
Tuesday
- teabag
- muffin wrapper
- wax paper
- wax paper bag
- receipts
- plastic bottle
Wednesday
- tea bag
- muffin wrapper
- wax paper
- M&M wrapper
- receipt
- plastic bag
- paper napkin
- paper bag
Thursday
- packaging

Bonsai Bakery Equilateral Sticky Buns

admin — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 21:14:18 +0000

Bonzai Bakery Tetrahedrorn Sticky Buns.

I know some people have said that I am a control freak, but that is a gross overstatement. Sometimes, things just aren’t being done right and I have to correct it. I understand that this is just a simple case of misunderstanding, but I thought I ought to openly explain this.

For example; sometimes I don’t want my sticky buns to be spherical. Sometimes I might want them to be in a tetrahedron. Such as now, when I wanted to create a spherical shape out of tetrahedrons.

The last two weeks I have continued to play with my modular food. I tried making really thin squares of bake safe silicone so that I could fold my own molds (too thick to fold efficiently, too rubbery to hold a fold). Then I tried making an explicit mold for modular containers but I couldn’t get the necessary definition in a hand made master mold (I hope to revisit this with a laser cutter). Finally, in a desperate struggle to have something to show for myself, I cut the thin squares of silicone into equilateral triangles. Since every challenge to a sewer seems like a seem, I attached the triangles with metal sewing pins and stick a ball of risen dough into each.

Empty tetrahedron baking molds covered in caramel after my final batch.

The Dough

Single Bonzai Bakery Tetrahedron Sticky Bun.

I do like muffins, but my solar and lunar signs insist that I am an adventurous soul, unable to stay in one place for long. So, for this iteration of my bonsai bakery, I decided to play with yeast, rather than my earlier exploration in gluten, and make sticky buns.

Yeast

Yeast breads are handy in that they are very light but the outside is structurally strong. The important technique in yeast breads is kneading. This exerts control over the bread by pulling the dough so that the exterior is strongly connected and will contain the gas released by the yeast, making the dough rise. The way that you knead the bread can strongly effect the way that is rises. Thus, I folded miniature buns to rise and bake inside of the tetrahedron.

Of course, thin slices of silicone don’t hold their shape so well, and none, neither my self control nor my dominating needles, can stand against the inexorable progress of sweet, sugary yeastiness. Thus my shapes were imperfect.

Caramel

What sticky bun is compete without a sugary carmalized top? Or, even better, covered in caramelly goodness. In most recipes, this is accomplished by combining brown sugar and butter and pouring this into the bottom of the baking pan. The butter and cugar caramelizes in the baking process so that, in the end, the baker turns their rolls over to cool with the caramelly side up.

This design relies on gravity. The sugary, buttery liquid is settled on the bottom and then bakes into a slightly sticky solid. My design, however, called for caramel on all sides. I had anticipated some inaccuracy in the tetrahedrons’ shape and had hoped to compensate with the stickiness of the caramel. Thus, I attempted to mix a thicker concoction that would stick to all sides of the bun. Unfortunately, this was only of a limited success as little of the mixture initially stuck to the dough and much of it leaked out of the molds while cooking. Gravity 1. Me 0.

Slicing

While I was not operating at a scale where cutting became a function in expansion, it is an other important part in shaping a loaf. When baking, larger loafs will expand wile they are hardening so that they will crack in the process. To prevent this, bakers score the bread, thus allowing for expansion while controlling where the dough expands when cooking.

I see this as another potential means of exerting control in the future.

Bonzai Bakery Tetrahedron Sticky Buns.

Recipe from Sunset Easy Basics for Good Cooking (I love this book!).

Only one rising is required of these sweet breakfast treats. Be sure they cool for at least 10 minutes before you touch them—the caramel-pecan topping will be hot enough to burn your fingers

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 package active dry yeast

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup buttermilk

3 tablespoons salad oil

4 tablespoons water

6 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted and cooled

3/4 cup each firmly packed brown sugar and pecan pieces

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In a large bowl, combine baking soda, granulated sugar, salt, yeast, and 1 cup of the flour. Place buttermilk and oil in a pan over medium low heat until warm (about 120º); add to flour mixture and beat with an electric mixer, on high, for about 2 minutes. Stir in 1½ of the remaining flour and beat with a wooden spoon until smooth. Sprinkle some of the remaining ½ cup flour on a board. Turn dough out onto floured board and knead until smooth and elastic (8 to 10 minutes), adding more flour as needed. Let dough rest on board while preparing pans.

In a small bowl, combine water, 4 tablespoons of melted butter, and ½ cup of the brown sugar. Distribute mixture equally among twelve 2½-inch muffin cups; top mixture with pecans.

Foll dough into a 12 by 15-inch rectangle. Brush surface with the remaining 2 tablespoons butter. Combine cinnamon with the remaining 1/4 cup brown sugar and sprinkle evenly over buttered dough. Starting with narrow end, roll rectangle into a cylinder, cut into 12 equal slices, and place, cut side down, in muffin cups. Let rise, uncovered in a warm place (80º) until doubled (about 1 1/2 hours).

Bake in a 350º oven for about 25 minutes or until tops are golden. Invert immediately into a serving plate; let pan remain briefly on rolls so syrup can drizzle over them. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving. Make 1 dozen rolls.

Bonzai Bakery Tetrahedron Sticky Buns.

FashionCampNYC Day 2

admin — Mon, 22 Feb 2010 07:52:44 +0000

FashionCamp, for those unacquainted, is an unconvention exploring fashion and technology for those both in the industry and indie fashion as well as the DIY and wearable technology scenes. FashionCamp follows the BarCamp model of providing a simple structure through which attendees propose and give talks on their areas of interest and knowledge to interested peers. It is a completely open forum for shared thought and discussion.

While there have only been two FashionCamps, it seems safe to say that each FashionCamp is different, and fundamentally shaped by its attendees. Last season, FashionCamp was hosted at ITP and drew a largely technology influenced crowd. Speakers addressed wearable technology, monetizing digital fashion, and interactive green fashion design. There was a technology fashion show and promotion for books on getting girls into technology through fashion. It was summer. It was hot. And everything was sunny.

Now it is winter and the fashion industry is truly feeling the bitter bite of economic hardship. This isn’t to say that the recession has only now touched the fashion industry. But it is more a matter that this season’s FashionCamp felt it. Industry players and newcomers came to FashionCamp with questions and they wanted answers. And, while fashion focused seminars and conferences may promise solutions only to deliver doublespeak, FashionCamp promises only opportunities and gave so much more.

While Sunday started later that Saturday, when everyone sat down to introductions, they stayed sitting for an impromptu debate on the state of the fashion industry and the feasibility of adopting the open source model that energized technology in order to similarly reinvigorate the fashion industry. I, for the most part, took a back seat as I took footage of the discussion. The first portion I have included below, you can see the rest on my blip channel.

As for today’s pictures, all the lectures took place in the same room with the same insufferable lighting. Something had to give, and, in one way or another, that was going to be the quality. Thus, most of today’s pictures are insufferably blurry and I am only posting them so that FashionCamp has some pictures of today, poor as they may be.

FashionCamp attendees listening to Judith on Marketing and Monetizing a Fashion site.

FashionCamp speakers posting their proposed presentations.

FashionCamp attendees giving self introductions.

The debate begins! Is open source compatible with the fashion industry?

Playing with conductive thread.

Introduction on soft circuits with LEDs and conductive thread.

Bonnie has handles laser cut for a purse in an upcoming show.

FashionCamp attendees sitting in a painfully ill lit room.

Burda Style presentation.

FashionCampNYC Day 1

admin — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 01:45:59 +0000

Fashion Week may be over, but there are those of us still deep in the trenches. This weekend, FashionCampNY is meeting at Parsons to discuss issues and techniques for fashion and technology. Everyone was invited to speak on whatever inspires them or knowledge they want to share.

The simple rules were these: [1] Share you knowledge: if you have something to speak on, write it on a piece of paper and post it on the board. [2] The rule of feet: Attend whatever talks you want, if you find it uninteresting, don’t disturb the talk or cause problems, just walk out and find something more interesting.

While attendees enjoyed themselves presenting, listening, and mingling throughout the day, I enjoyed myself taking pictures of said people presenting, listening, and mingling.

FashionCamp attendees listening to Judith on Marketing and Monetizing a Fashion site.

Attendees listen, in rapt interest, to Sabine Seymour on wearable technology.

Angela E. Matthews wearing one of her pieces of vintage jewelry, including rope from a mop.

The FashionCamp schedule. In barcamp style, presenters write their proposed talks on a piece of paper and stick it to the scheduling grid the morning of the event. People would occasionally come up and ask me what tomorrow would be like, and I was pleased to tell them that their guess was as good as mine. That is the beauty of FashionCamp.

Checking out the laser cutter.

Rasterized image printed by the laser cutter on a think piece of ply wood.

Sabine Seymour presenting pieces featured in her book, Fashionable Technology. This piece on spray-on fabric particularly caught the attendees imaginations. Just check out the #fashioncamp2010 feed to get a sense of what the attendees are saying.

Group discussing sustainable fashion. It’s quite the hot topic in fashion right now but so easily oversimplified. People like easy solutions rather than recognizing such complexities as how organic cotton isn’t as durable as its non-organic processed cousin. How creation process must also be tempered by it’s longevity, and one must always consider not just how it is constructed but how it will be deconstructed.

Of course, FashionCamp wouldn’t be complete without sewing lessons to those unacquainted to the sewing machine..

And more recording of information imparted by FashionCamp’s man many speakers.

I feel that this picture pretty well sums up FashionCamp, as some attendees discuss issues while others play and explore.

FashionCampNYC This Weekend

admin — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 03:42:53 +0000

For those not in the loop, I want to bring you in. This weekend, Parsons will be hosting FashionCampNYC for its second unconference. Our first FashionCamp, graciously hosted by ITP in September, was quite the success and we look forward to the presentations and connections that will result from this event.

I will be taking pictures these next two days. So, expect lots of pictures posted throughout the weekend.

FashionCampNY: Where Fashion, Technology, and Media Converge

NEW YORK, NY (February 9, 2010) On February 20th and 21st, 2010 FashionCamp will bring together the fashion and technology communities at Parsons, the New School for Design. Fresh off the excitement of Mercedes Benz Fall Fashion Week, Fashion Camp bridges the gap between the worlds of fashion and technology and illustrates the many ways they affect each other in the 21st century, exploring new techniques, new materials, new business models, and new possibilites. For the second year in a row, Fashion Camp will bring together the mainstream fashion world, the indie and vintage fashion world, and the wearable technology fashion world in a weekend of learning, networking, and exploration.

FashionCamp is a free, two-day volunteer-run conference with workshops and presentations for anyone interested in technology and fashion. Over the course of these two days attendees participate in open workshops. This forward looking, participant driven meeting of the minds and worlds of fashion and tech aims to chronicle and advance the dialog between these two disciplines within a loose “BarCamp” styled framework conducive to creativity, collaboration and exploration. Discussions, demos and open participatory workshops are attended — and run! — by the participants. The event doesn’t cost any money, but there is a price: most of the attendees must give a demo, present a talk, or assist. FashionCampNY is made possible through the generous support of community and businesses. Sponsorship and presentation opportunities are available.

Event:	FashionCampNY
Dates:	February 20-21st, 2010
Time:	Doors Open at 9am
Location:	Parsons The New School for Design
Cost:	Free Admission with participation and assistance strongly encouraged
Website:	www.fashioncamp.org
RSVP:	Attendees must RSVP to: http://register.fashioncamp.org

Aperture

admin — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 18:52:42 +0000

Like my inconstant infaturation with fruits when in season, my favorite features of the digital camerra change with each new session of Digital Imaging Reset. While white balance and exposure are important, I love the control gained through manipulation of the camera’s aperture. While manipulating focus allows us to determine what is in focus, aperature allows us to manipulate how much is in focus, the depth of field. A small aperature allows for a greater depth of field while a large aperature allows for a shallow depth of field.

The variable that is controlled for aperture is the F-stop. Since controlling the aperature controls how much light is allowed in, to compensate for the change in aperature settings, we have to change the shutter spead to allow more light in for a higher F-stop and less light in for a lower F-stop.

My results are shown above and below. Above is taken with a very low F-stop while the picture below is taken with a very high F-stop.