I recently used the iMapMyFitness application on my newly acquired iPhone to communicate this route (it’s clearly an imperfect tool). Contrary to the evidence above, swimming/flying across the coast was not part of my routine. I would generally walk the circumference of the Adler Planetarium to the 12th street beach before returning across Solidarity Drive. (On particularly restless days, I would walk the perimeter of Northerly Island.)

This time out of doors provided me an opportunity to practice routine perceptual weather observation – confirming the information gleaned from my ritual reading of WGN Chicago’s Weather Center Blog. This route afforded me particular insight into the local effects of Lake Michigan.

This photo was taken on a day when the air was moist and particulate with a high dew point. The sun was occasionally obscured by cumulus clouds low in the troposphere.

My walks would invariably conclude with an hour of piano practice at the Harold Washington Library.

I deeply appreciate the many atmospheric moments I was able to witness during my habitual walks. Now that I’ve moved on to pursue other career opportunities, I won’t be commuting downtown as much. I am confident, however, that I will continue to find ways to incorporate perceptual ecology into my life.

Administrative division in the United States is inherently complicated – a consequence of variable state constitutions.

Sometimes it seems like this whole apparatus were enacted to keep regular citizens at a distance. Many citizens, particularly of younger generations feel alienated by a convoluted bureaucratic system with virtually no point of entry. Municipal websites certainly project that mentality. This kind of experience will not suffice for a demographic that has come to expect more from their online interactions. Mediated digital interactions have become the most important mode of communication to the millennial generation, and this is a concept thusfar underutilized by the incumbent government.

Information is the Currency of DemocracyThomas Jefferson

If information is to be the currency of democracy, then we as a society need to present information in a way that is democratic and accessible. Decentralized networks of information can generate immensely rich and finely resolutioned data. The greatest virtue of social media is that it’s key to effectiveness is the very principle of democracy. Equal opportunity for access, participation and expression. The medium benefits from inclusivity and collective oversight. These networks can and should be made publicly available and utilized in service of local constituencies to create a more complete and accurate account of public discourse.

Social media features such as user rating, tagging, tracking and layout customization support existing civic communication structures. Content is derived from kcmo.org, applying effective hierarchy strategies and arranging content on a grid structure. Prototype Demo »

Successful social media sites implement a number of strategies to control the amount of an information that a user is exposed to, eliminating information fatigue. As the user forms a more personalized relationship with the site, content is selectively suggested to them based on the feedback that they provide. User interaction contributes to the database, augmenting its usefulness.

User Persona Development

User personas were developed to extend the application’s usability to disparate user types. Louis Rosenfeld’s Six Ways Users Gather Information greatly informed this process. First time users like Matt [26 years] are just getting acquainted with the site and require scaffolding and capable guidance. Variable degrees of social media literacy and civic engagement must also be accounted for.

Project Outline

• Research emergent technologies: AJAX, Open Source
• Audit best practice: Online Communities, Social Networking
• Identify Individual and Community needs and objectives
• Conduct task scenarios
• Develop user personas
• Design front end user interface
• Develop interactive prototype

Leveraging augmented reality technologies like Microsoft’s Photosynth, Palimpsest introduces the element of time in order to place semantically composite media from diverse contributors on a cohesive timeline.

An ecological system is an intricate series of interdependencies and symbiotic relationships that have evolved between a place and the organisms that inhabit it. The same principle can be applied to decentralized networks of information

Global Community Objectives

The perceptual ecology movement extends beyond the remote scope of the initial fringe participants. The technology and sophisticated interaction between participants hold implications for the larger community, affording them the opportunity to consider the latitudinal lifespan of a given place and the subjective experiences that shape them.

Ultimately, every space can be documented in such a manner. The histories and experiences, hitherto occluded by the relentless accumulation of time, become universally meaningful.

The Palimpsest database organizes user submitted media content, as well as subjective experiences and written annotation. This collaborative framework allows for validation of experience through communal reception. Personal experiences becomes inextricably linked to a space and instantly accessible.

The Palimpsest Archival Device is optimized to record a range of media content and instantly upload it to the composite database. The Pal-AD allows the user to access the Palimpsest database in the field, affording immediate visual comparison with the present environment, and its versioned histories.

Project outline

• Research emergent technologies: Photosynth, Augmented Reality
• Audit best practice: Online Communities, Social Networking
• Identify Individual and Community needs and objectives
• Design graphical user interface
• Develop interactive prototype
• Integrate user interface with tangible artifact

It is my earnest desire to establish a responsible ratio between the two.

Based on client consultation with our NASA liaison, Ken Stroud, we learned that HDIH intended users were generally technical specialists, often working on very specific components of the space modules. Personalized Home Page features like bookmarking and MyPrint allow users to specify pertinent sections to avoid excessive navigation.

Project outline

• Evaluate deficiencies in NASA web presence
• Respond to user feedback to improve usability
• Audit best practices: Informational Graphics, Web Documents, PHP
• Develop interactive prototype
• Redesign antiquated informational graphics
• Improve typographic hierarchy of technical documents
• Collaborative, dialog driven process

Project Contributions

Conducting a task scenario of existing NASA online documentation lead to the innovation of the embedded supplemental content div. In the MSIS document, a separate volume was included for appendix items. Utilizing AJAX features (asynchronous request items) allows the user to reference supplemental material without ever redirecting from the source content.

Pages of source documents were scoured through and annotated. Suggestions were made to improve readability of out-of-the-box microsoft word documents such as these. Strategies were then conceived to translate the handbook into a navigable online presence. This process was greatly informed by Ed Tufte’s information design seminar, which the team attended in Boston, MA.

Print outs were fastidiously tested and annotated to aid the design process. Building type from the details up lends a nuanced understanding of how they work as a system

Visual models were developed to explore how the narrative structure informs the underlying code imposed by the game programmers – how an educational objective can translate into hard-coded behaviors or actions enacted by the programmers. These models might improve the effectiveness of game development teams and build consensus between educators, planners, and programmers.

Project Outline

• Define educational objectives
• Research strategies for learning effectiveness
• Incorporate educational objectives into virtual experience
• Develop planning diagrams for non-linear story events
• Develop planning diagrams for A.I. behaviors
• Design Heads Up Display elements and in-game assets

Abstract

In the age of ubiquitous computing, educators are constantly engaged in adapting new media to augment their teaching capacities. The immersive virtual environment offers unique opportunities for facilitating independent problem solving. Our objective is to develop a domain to evaluate the effectiveness of a variety of research problems related to task-based learning.

Method

Our method utilizes an adaptive narrative framework that eschews the conventional linear narrative progression and affords the player the opportunity to stimulate independent reasoning and problem-solving abilities.

For the purposes of this project we have selected the domain of networked computing security. This domain lends itself to nuanced learning, as many attacks involve multiple stages, which in planning terms will mean causally linked operators. This non-linear narrative structure provides a dynamic learning experience, utilizing engaging media in a way that caters to individual learning curves.

In game heads up display (HUD) assets were necessary. HUD elements include an icon system to relate various programs to their processes, an inventory system affording user interaction with processes (inspect, move, nice, kill, delete) and a minimap relating the virtual environment to its corresponding ‘real world’ computer equivalent (each file directory has a corresponding ‘room’ in the virtual environment).

Brand Vision

Our goal is to represent the remarkable Alaskan constituency and attract the best and brightest to join our state.

Alaskans deserve a brand identity that works as hard as they do. Alaska is full of under-utilized opportunities for growth and development. A strong state identity will attract new families and infrastructure, and inspire a strong productive drive in its citizenry.

Touchpoints

A semantic differential study helped clarify the most effective tone to reach the intended audience. The rugged frontiersman image informed a spare color palate coupled with bold, masculine type choices and flat, half-toned imagery.

Asset Management

A brand strategy guide was developed to ensure consistent application of the brand elements. The identity was designed with flexibility in mind, allowing designers creative freedom within certain limitations. Flexible identities protect against identities becoming stale from repeated application.

Project Outline

• Define and present brand brief
• Develop unique brand attributes
• Clarify brand strategy, essence, values, and mission
• Extend brand across a variety of touchpoints
• Create brand style guide to manage assets

Instructive labels inform users how to properly use Tsuchi Dango products. Attaching this informative element ensures that consumers will retain the manual with the packaging.