engageLab
"engageLab is a laboratory at the intersection of arts and technology founded by researchers of two research centers recognized by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, the Centre for Communication and Society Studies and the Centre ALGORITMI"
(engageLab)
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
Luke Wroblewski on: Multi-device Layout Patterns
"Through fluid grids and media query adjustments, responsive design enables Web page layouts to adapt to a variety of screen sizes. As more designers embrace this technique, we're not only seeing a lot of innovation but the emergence of clear patterns as well. I cataloged what seem to be the most popular of these patterns for adaptable multi-device layouts."
(Luke Wroblewski, 14 March 2012, via Christopher Allwood)
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
Irony and Utopia: History of Computer Art
"Some pioneers of VR technology, including Brenda Laurel and Jaron Lanier, have been among its principal exponents, suggesting that the creation of virtual worlds and of shared cyberspaces will have revolutionary social consequences and allow hitherto unimagined forms of human expression. Such a view is echoed in the work of academic theorists like Donna Haraway and Alluquere Rosanne Stone, who believe that advanced information technologies may have radical political consequences, an idea which they pursue through the image of cyborgs which blur the distinction between humans and machines. These ideas can also be found in the use of VR as a theme in youth culture, for example the cyberpunk nightclubs and cafes in London and San Francisco. Here too, we find an agenda for cultural and political change, in this case, again, premised on innovations in human-machine interface technologies."
(Ralph Schroeder, 1994, pp.519-528)
2). Ralph Schroeder (1994). "Cyberculture, cyborg post-modernism and the sociology of virtual reality technologies: surfing the soul in the information age", Futures 1994 26(5) 519-528 (from a reading list created by Beau Sievers for the lecture series titled "Irony and Utopia: History of Computer Art" at the Bruce High Quality Foundation University).
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
Equator: interdisciplinary research centring on the integration of physical and digital interaction
"The IRC brought together researchers from eight different institutions and a variety of disciplines which address the technical, social and design issues in the development of new inter-relationships between the physical and digital.
A series of experience projects engaged with different user communities to develop new combinations of physical and digital worlds and explore how these may be exploited and how these may enhance the quality of everyday life.
A series of research challenges explored (a) new classes of device which link the physical and the digital, (b) adaptive software architectures and (c) new design and evaluation methods, which draw together approaches from social science, cognitive science and art and design. Equator involved over 60 researchers, with a range of expertise encompassing computer science, psychology, sociology, design and the arts.
Equator aimed to forge a clearer understanding of what it means to live in an age when digital and physical activities not only coexist but cooperate. This is the age we are now entering, and it promises radical change in how we communicate, interact, work and play – that is, how we live. But to fulfil that promise requires more than new technology. We need equally new ways of thinking about technology, and thus also about ourselves.
Everyone recognises that the computer is moving beyond the workplace. As digital systems (like the Web) converge with computer networks and cellular phone communications, new devices and services proliferate – many of them mobile, or embedded in the environment. Yet few people fully grasp the potential impact of such technological fluidity and ubiquity. Most current research is still rooted in the workaday world of the desk-bound PC. But look at the possibilities – for our home life, our schooling, community care, even our city streets.
These are just some of the areas which Equator explored, through the development of coherent new systems and devices. Ultimately, however, we were less concerned with solutions to specific design problems than with the bigger picture these solutions entail. This is what united so diverse a community of researchers. For it is only by sketching the bigger picture that we can begin to fulfil the promise offered by our new age, and so improve the quality of everyday life in years to come."
(Equator)
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
The Interactive Institute: Swedish experimental design research centre
"The Interactive Institute is a Swedish experimental IT & design research institute that conducts world-class applied research and innovation. With pioneering spirit and courage, we challenge prevailing norms in technology and design. Our process is based on people’s future needs and potential with a vision to improve everyday life for a creative and sustainable society. The results are developed in close collaboration with industry and society.
We develop new research areas, concepts, products and services, and provide strategic advice to corporations and public organizations. Our results are communicated and exhibited worldwide and brought out to society through commissioned work, license agreements and spin-off companies.
Over the course of a decade, the Interactive Institute has established itself at the forefront of research and development in design, data visualization, sustainability and entertainment, positioning Sweden as a leading force in the lifestyle technology research sector. The Interactive Institute has worked systematically to identify new research fields and to create pioneering projects within these with great potential for innovation. The projects have given rise to larger research programs and funding initiatives that not only have created renewal within Swedish research, but also played an important part for Swedish industry, regional development and the image of Sweden as an innovative nation.
Since the start in 1998, our work has been characterized not only in the way we conduct traditional academic research but also in our exploration of the borders between art, design and technology in industrial and academic settings as well as public and private sectors. With our expertise, we bring an innovative edge into policy work, we connect stakeholders for extraordinary synergies, we bring renewal to traditional industry and we add context and involvement to the processes we are involved in. In bringing together our knowledge of business and creative values with world-class research results, we offer a unique set of skills to the Swedish research and innovation sector in the international arena.
The Interactive Institute has 50 employees per December 2010, and is organized around studios localized in Piteå, Umeå, Stockholm, Eskilstuna, Norrköping and Gothenburg. The headquarters is situated in Stockholm/Kista. The Interactive Institute is a non profit distributing organization."
(The Interactive Institute)
CONTRIBUTOR
Simon PerkinsSHARE
