WORKFORCE HQ

The Guggenheim’s stillspotting nyc

WFHQ — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 20:18:26 +0000

Where do people find moments of stillness in cities? David van der Leer, the Guggenheim’s Assistant Curator of Architecture and Urban Studies, organized stillspotting nyc, a two-year project that calls on architects, artists, and composers to create “stillspots” throughout the five boroughs. Artist Pedro Reyes opened the first in June, a clinic in downtown Brooklyn that concocted tongue-in-cheek therapy sessions from bits of hypnotism, corporate coaching, and Fluxus. With the second edition of stillspotting opening in Lower Manhattan September 15–18 and 22-25, Artlog invites you to pose questions for our upcoming Q&A with Van der Leer. Two thoughtful participants will receive tickets to #stillspottingnyc (valued at $20). Send us your questions for Van der Leer viaTwitter, Facebook, or email by September 7.

The Six Secrets Of Demand Creation

WFHQ — Tue, 06 Sep 2011 17:29:00 +0000

We live in a time of two economies. In the first, mired in recession since 2008, millions are unemployed and underemployed, companies are reluctant to invest, and factories have fallen silent. Consumer demand is stagnant.

In the second, in the same time and space, demand is gushing. A handful of companies are doing exponentially better than their competitors. They enjoy runaway growth, premium pricing, and extraordinary customer loyalty. Here, companies are growing, profits are robust, and customers are loyal.

Forthcoming Exhibition at grayDUCK Gallery

AMBASSADOR — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 20:55:36 +0000

“Candy Cornbread is a new exhibit of contemporary work invoking elements of pop, lowbrow and assemblage art from six Austin artists. Merging backgrounds in animation, street art, graphic design and fine art this group, in collaboration with Red Bluff Studios, have created a series of large, handcrafted prints. These collaborative works produce a graphic language all their own and will be displayed along side each artist’s traditional artwork.” – grayDUCK

On Friday, August 26, the grayDUCK Gallery is opening this new Candy Cornbread exhibit with a reception from 7-9pm. Works by artists Jason Archer, Jaime Cervantes, Satch Grimley, Mike Parsons, Matthew Rodriguez & Jeffrey Swanson will be housed in a 1,000 sq. ft. warehouse on Monroe and South 1st until the 25th of September. For artist bios, past exhibitions, and other information, visit the grayDUCK Gallery website.

grayDUCK Gallery
608 W. Monroe Street, Suite C, Austin, TX 78704

Microsoft Research and KinectFusion HQ

AMBASSADOR — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 19:49:52 +0000

The SIGGRAPH 2011 conference in Vancouver set the exploratory stage for many promising ideas and new technologies last week as over 15,000 attendees gathered from all around the world. A presentation by Microsoft Research on a project known as KinectFusion stood out among a heap of slideshows on and discussions of what’s new in computer graphics and interactive design. The demonstration showed how the Kinect Xbox 360′s dual camera is being used to create 3D representations of entire rooms in real time, “including: extending multi-touch interactions to arbitrary surfaces; advanced features for augmented reality; real-time physics simulations of the dynamic model; novel methods for segmentation and tracking of scanned objects.” Because of the technology’s millimeter accuracy, it can be used to not only advance video games and augmented reality apps, but also to provide useful 3D texture-mapped models of endless locations and situations to be implemented into any number of creative, technical, and educational fields.

Microsoft Research describes the KinectFusion HQ as “a system that takes live depth data from a moving depth camera and in real-time creates high-quality 3D models. The system allows the user to scan a whole room and its contents within seconds. As the space is explored, new views of the scene and objects are revealed and these are fused into a single 3D model. The system continually tracks the 6DOF pose of the camera and rapidly builds a volumetric representation of arbitrary scenes.”

Read more about KinectFusion and see the video here.

Embroidery Typography

WFHQ — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 14:38:43 +0000

Sometimes the best typography books are not typography books. Embroidery type design from the book, A Handbook of Lettering for Stitchers by Elsie Svennas. Download a PDF at Public Collectors, go to the park and draw letters all weekend. I expect to see your work on my desk first thing Monday.

Read more: Embroidery Typography — Imprint-The Online Community for Graphic Designers
For great design products, visit our online store: MyDesignShop.com

PARKING

WFHQ — Sat, 30 Jul 2011 00:06:28 +0000

Transparent Batteries

AMBASSADOR — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 20:18:15 +0000

There are many transparent devices now on the market, such as screens, keyboards, and photo frames, but what about that salient bulge of a battery? How do you hide it? By depositing metals onto a compound known as polydimethylsiloxane, or PDMS, Stanford researchers Yuan Yang and Yi Cui were able to make a transparent and flexible lithium-ion battery. This innovation will undoubtedly lead to the one thing high school consumers want most — transparent cell phones; and of course electronic readers and other see-through tech gadgets would be good too. The cost is on par with regular batteries, but the current power output is roughly half of what you’d find in a lithium-ion battery of the same size.

This breakthrough is even more interesting to scientific researchers than to consumers, because it will now be possible to view and study the chemical reactions within a battery as they are happening. Read more.

EnviroMission and the Arizona Project

AMBASSADOR — Wed, 27 Jul 2011 22:16:21 +0000

EnviroMission is gearing up to build its first full-scale solar tower, a massive energy-generating structure standing at an estimated 2,625 feet tall in the Arizona desert. It’s reportedly capable of supplying enough power for 150,000 homes and requires very little maintenance once completed. This $750 million project will include a large greenhouse area at the base which traps air, heats it, and moves it into the tower, where it then escapes through a system of turbines to create energy. It works day and night, emits zero pollution, and creates a large area to grow vegetation in a climate otherwise too hot and dry. The solar tower is said to pay off in only 11 years and will hopefully stand tall for at least 70 more after that. Read more.

WORKFORCE HQ

WFHQ — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 17:31:18 +0000

Aurasma

AMBASSADOR — Tue, 26 Jul 2011 16:46:33 +0000

The minds behind Aurasma have made an entertainment app for augmenting reality, and it is arguably more useful and more user-generated than ever before. Experience visuals, animations, and audio as you hover your smartphone over landscapes, cityscapes, and logos – or watch as images and advertisements within a newspaper, magazine, or bus stop poster come to life in real-time. You can search for pre-packaged “augmented reality actions” hidden in specific geographic locations, such as a fire-breathing dinosaur towering over the Golden Gate Bridge, or you can create your own and share them with friends and family. The technology recognizes roughly 500,000 real world objects without a bar code and overlays visual graphics to create a fully interactive scene.

Using devices such as smartphones or iPads to augment reality isn’t entirely new, but Aurasma could change the way we experience static images and advertisements. Cereal boxes, candy wrappers and toy packages can transform into moving, speaking ads and games for children to interact with. Point your iPad 2 at various appliances within a catalog and view product details, compare reviews and/or watch demonstrations. The application’s advertising potential is combined with a certain mystery; the exciting reality of some new and unknown virtual world that we choose to create or simply experience, and later share in one of the featured user channels. Read more