BrandArt

Two of the web development techniques that together account for many of the improvements to the appearance of our favorite sites on the web over the last five years are Image replacement and CSS sprites.  Behind the scenes, both of them creatively use existing code like <span> tags and CSS in new ways.  Image replacement lets websites display type in fonts that may not be available on your computer, while CSS sprites create more efficient and attractive roll-over effects.An article in CSS Tricks discusses image replacement and one by David Shea explains how CSS sprites work.

I found this on my friend Tristan’s blog This is a Curated Life and I think it’s one of the most remarkable presentations I have seen of the potential convergence of ambient web technology, data visualization, and touch screen/heads up display technology. It’s produced by Microsoft Office Labs. Envision a future where information is ubiquitous and free (notice the digital newspaper without advertisements).  It’s great, but who will pay for the installation of all this technology, or the generation of all the information that populates the systems?  When we can curate our information uptake with complete control we will no longer exist in a society with shared cultural experiences like news, advertising, movies and TV.  Only social, enterataining, immersive and useful content will survive.

It has been a long time since I’ve posted here. I like having this blog attached to my portfolio site because it lets me post material that wouldn’t fit in my portfolio. Over the last couple of months a lot of work has gone into the portfolio side of my website while I’ve forgotten the blog.  I’ve added more work along with videos to explain the integrated campaigns.

The process of putting together this re-design has taught me more about the limitations of Flash as a development tool (i.e. load times, and trade-offs between animation and easy navigation).  This site, and the projects on it, wouldn’t have been possible without all the partners and collaborators and the people made the work better by sharing their honest feedback.  Please check it out.

Here’s the widget component of our campaign.  I can’t believe we made a widget.  It’s ridiculous.

Scott Hansen is an artist/designer with a great blog at ISO50. He recently re-linked readers to a post about his work process.  The project was a print for Obama’s campaign fundraising.  Every artist, illustrator, art director or designer has their own unique process, but all creative disciplines require a meticulous attention to detail.  Real projects require deadlines, comps and approvals that shape the workflow but are outside of our creative control.  I have learned that improving my work requires changing my work process, and it’s helpful to read about how other people approach work.  Hansen’s process works for him, and it’s inspiring.

AICP is an annual award show that selects the best commercials each year to celebrate creative commercial film-making.  The commericals that are accepted are considered art and become part of the archives of MoMA’s Department of Film.  Tristan, Raquel, Holly and I were honored to create the campaign to drive AICP entries this year.  Check out the campaign microsite at www.wtfass.tv/.

Nike’s Kick Creator in Papervison3D is a great example of what can be done with this technology.  Papervision3D itself is a big development for the Flash community because it dramatically increases the program’s technical capacities.  It’s been around for a couple of years now.  Last year Papervision3D projects for Absolute and Sony Bravia won several awards including a Canne Lion.  There are good tutorials out there now and I’ve found learning to use Papervision3D is easier than I thought.  These are the one’s I’ve found helpful:

Tutorials:

http://www.madvertices.com/

http://www.peterelst.com/blog/2007/07/07/papervision3d-in-5-minutes/

http://www.everydayflash.com/blog/index.php/2008/08/26/using-the-bend-modifier-with-collada-objects/

http://www.everydayflash.com/blog/index.php/2008/03/01/from-blender-to-papervision3d/

Papervision3D project:

http://code.google.com/p/papervision3d/

http://www.papervision3d.org/

http://blog.papervision3d.org/

I’m looking forward to learning Papervision3D, but as a future marketer, I have been a little skeptical about Papervision3D’s efficacy as part of a campaign.  Bandwidth is still an issue with larger Flash sites, and so far Papervision3D has mainly been used to improve navigation.  Papercritters was the first site I saw that used 3D in a way that made it more than just eye-candy.  Nike’s Kick Creator does this too.  RG/A has used Nike’s site to demonstrate how Papervision3D can be a strong marketing tool. Online 3D technologies will take off when normal people can create, send and print 3D models they make online.

UPDATE 6/12/09:

Since I started experimenting with Papervision I tried out Away 3D and I found this tutorial really straight forward. That’s how I ended up with this.

Over the summer I wanted to include a webcam app in a banner ad project.  It probably isn’t technically feasible yet to put a webcam in a banner but when a webcam can be used it opens up a whole new level of interaction online.  BBH put the webcam to good use on this microsite for Mentos.

HDR (high dynamic range) photography is one of the most interesting digital post-processing techniques to emerge in the last few years.  I found tutorials on HDR and experimented with the technique last year (above).  But digital photography has not only created new post-processing techniques, but also changed the way we shoot pictures.  This site explains all the technical details that make our cameras work so we can take better pictures.

Hollywood Cemetery is a bizarre spot. Cemeteries are time capsules, and Hollywood cemetery preserves Richmond’s history from around 1849 to present. Two U.S. presidents are buried here along with twenty two Confederate generals and over 18,000 Confederate soldiers. It’s the contradictions in the cemetery and its forgotten stories that make it interesting. A more complete history is here.  The typography on the engraved tombstones is interesting and the art that is the funeral statuary is fascinating.