UMaine NMDNet

I’m all for designing with simplicity in mind. But when I was shown this sign by a Bangor ER triage nurse after breaking a crown off my molar, I couldn’t help noticing that the picture had a couple of names in the “credits.” Which left me with two questions: 1) Did both scientists get tenure as a result of creating this innovative “pain scale”? And 2) did this clever pair go on to create the US government’s color-coded Terror Threat Levels?

Get ready for a whole new wave of goth tattoo graffiti art, thanks to DeviantArt and HTML 5.

Fred Brooks: design starts with scarcity.

From the XKCD school of Web design. [Link]

Discouraging smoking by creating an irritating package is a great idea, but the problem is that good designers just can’t bring themselves to make something look uncool. Now, if you only had a Microsoft design team take over…

I’m a big fan of the John Cage | Fluxus Happening | guerilla urban architecture mashup Frozen Grand Central. I’m also a fan of public transportation. So you can imagine my delight when I stepped off the metro at UCLA’s Westwood & La Conte and stumbled upon this:

The idea that networking cars together could improve transportation came up in a workshop on the future of the automobile organized some years back by NMD students (now alumni) Matt James and Justin Russell. Now GM is getting in on the act, though GM’s impetus seems less about finding drivers with similar destinations than with avoiding them. l

The idea that networking cars together could improve transportation came up in a workshop on the future of the automobile organized some years back by NMD students (now alumni) Matt James and Justin Russell. Now GM is getting in on the act, though GM’s impetus seems less about finding drivers with similar destinations than with avoiding them. l

For those that golf at Sunnyvale Municipal Golf Course in Silicon Valley this is old news, but an interesting discovery for the rest of us:  in the middle of the course are runway approach lights for the adjacent Moffett Field.

Or perhaps you just want to learn how to avoid carpal tunnel. Contact Seth via First Class.

Or perhaps you just want to learn how to avoid carpal tunnel. Contact Seth via First Class.

The body has always been our primary interface–which some artists and technologists are starting to hack.

The body has always been our primary interface–which some artists and technologists are starting to hack.

:excerptstart:Edinburgh interaction design competition–deadline in March.excerptend Create10 :: the conference for innovative interaction design 30th June – 2nd July 2010 Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh UK http://www.create-conference.org/ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + The Create10 conference is seeking submissions in the form of full papers, workshops, short presentations, demonstrations and exhibits. THEME : : Transitions Analogue Digital Academic Practice Place Time Real Virtual We invite case studies of innovative design from the commercial, academic, public, government and research sectors. Cases can come from any paradigm – the web, mobile and hand held, products or consumer electronics. We would particularly like to encourage submissions from students. They will be given the opportunity to showcase and discuss both finished work and work-in-progress in a supportive environment. The Create conference centres on the discipline of interaction design, a young disciple with roots in human-computer interaction, ergonomics, product and graphic design, multi-media and art. An interaction designer is a difficult person to pigeon hole and can be found in mobile phone companies, consumer product manufacturers, design consultancies, as a single practitioner, or within academic computing and design departments. We are seeking original, unpublished work under the following categories: Full Papers (2 stage submission) : : High quality academic papers for peer review (max 6 pages) Other Submissions (single stage) : : Practical half-day workshops : : Short papers and/or case studies from practitioners within the field : : Short presentations and/or posters from students to be presented in informal student sessions : : Demonstrations and/or videos of installation-based exhibits or creative work in progress Please note that all successful authors will be expected to pay to register for the event. + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + IMPORTANT DATES Submissions of : max 1 page abstracts for papers : 15th March 2010 max 2 page proposals for all other submissions : 31st March 2010 Notification of acceptance : Early April 2010 Full paper submission : End of April 2010 http://www.create-conference.org/calls-for-participation/ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Student Design Competition In addition to the above call Create10 is organising a unique competition for students. Today=92s art, design and technology students are the people who will be defining what the interdisciplinary field of interaction design will become in the near future. Create10 is a conference that celebrates innovative interaction design, whether digital products, services, environments or new interaction paradigms. This competition is aimed at students from a wide range of disciplines, for example: interaction design, product design, industrial design, communications design, architecture, fashion, multimedia, HCI, and related fields. Students, bothRead More

Edinburgh interaction design competition–deadline in March.

Biomimicry meets architecture. Could be a great leap forward in sustainability, but could also give a whole new meaning to the concept of a “sick” building. http://www.buildingcentre.co.uk/events/event_diary_details.asp?id=510 Unconventional Computing & Architecture Friday 26 February, 9.00am – 6.00pm This one-day conference explores new materials for architectural practice in the 21st century. International architects and scientists will explore the decision-making properties of matter and how this may be applied to create increasingly life-like buildings. Organised by The Bartlett´s Advanced Virtual and Technological Architecture Research (AVATAR) group, (((A-OK name for 2010))) the conference aims to bring together architects and scientists who are working with new technologies that are capable of self-assembly and organization. Such technologies may form the basis for architecture generated by unconventional computing techniques which range from the actions of protocells, (entirely synthetic DNA-less agents), slime moulds (simple organisms with very complex behaviours), crystalline computing (using the organizing properties of molecules) and algae (that can be engineered to respond to environments in new ways). “Increasingly life-like buildings.” Uhm… what if they’re predatory?–Bruce Sterling http://www.wired.com/beyond_the_beyond/2010/02/unconventional-computing-and-architecture/

Biomimicry meets architecture. Could be a great leap forward in sustainability, but could also give a whole new meaning to the concept of a “sick” building.

Get paid to draw a robot!

Get paid to draw a robot!

Get paid to draw a robot!