Motion infographic on aids orphans in Africa

An infographic about a growing problem in Africa: aids orphans. AIDS has made many victims, leaving almost 15 million children without a mother or father. The animation talks about the statistics, what they are going through and how we can make their world a better place.

Design by Fabian Meul & Davy Delbeke
Voice-over: Bram Willems

A dutch version of this infographic can be found here

I Want You To Want Me - a project of datagathering and information design of behaviour on dating profiles

The interactive installation "I Want You To Want Me", by Jonathan Harris and Sep Kamvar, commissioned by the Museum of Modern Art, for their "Design and the Elastic Mind" exhibition.

I Want You To Want Me explores the search for love and self in the world of online dating. It chronicles the world's long-term relationship with romance, across all ages, genders, and sexualities, using real data collected from Internet dating sites every few hours.

I Want You To Want Me chronicles the world’s long-term relationship with romance, across all ages, genders, and sexualities, gathering new data from a variety of online dating sites every few hours. The system searches these sites for certain phrases, which it then collects and stores in a database. These phrases, taken out of context, provide partial glimpses into people’s private lives. Simultaneously, the system forms an evolving zeitgeist of dating, tracking the most popular first dates, turn-ons, desires, self-descriptions and interests.

How to make an earth sandwich?

The earth sandwich idea is similar to the idea of "socle du monde" by Piero Manzoni, but still funny and nicely explained.

Infographic of the Swine Flu - H1N1 FluTracker Data by Rhiza Labs, LLC

Tracking the progress of H1N1 swine flu.



This map and the data behind it were compiled by Dr. Henry Niman, a biomedical researcher in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, using technology provided by Rhiza Labs and Google. The map is compiled using data from official sources, news reports and user-contributions and updated multiple times per day.

Rhiza's web-based mapping product, Insight, is helping Dr. Niman get official and unofficial data into the tracking system faster while giving researchers and the public many options for viewing the data in a useful and understandable way.

19.20.21

The mission of 192021.org is a multi-year, multimedia initiative to collect, organize and package information on population's effect regarding urban and business planning and its impact on consumers around the world. This 5+ year initiative will deliver results via 5 channels: online, television, print, exhibits and seminars. This project will include 10 worldwide partners and appropriate affiliates. (dvlmnt by Geoff)

Last year, 2007, was a tipping point for cities. That was the point when more than half the world’s population (over 3 billion) lived in cities, never have more of us been urbanites.

192021.org is about what the rise of supercites such as Mexico City will mean for us and the earth. 192021.org is a promise from Richard Saul Wurman, founder of the outstanding TED Conference, to do a longitudinal research and sharing project focused around the rise of supercities in our world — in particular, the 19 cities that will each have more than 20 million inhabitants in the 21st century.

(via Bente)

Social Souvenir

Social Souvenir is an installation and souvenir concept that creates links and social experiences between museum visitors. The concept is based on 300 T-shirts that are exhibited and put on sale at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Roskilde, Denmark. Each T-shirt is imprinted with a text fragment inspired by 15 renowned artists represented in the museum's collection, such as Yoko Ono, Erik Satie, Marcel Duchamp and Per Højholt. Visitors can buy a T-shirt of their own choice, the only condition being that they share a bit of personal information about themselves, or more precisely: their name and address. When paying for the T-shirt at the museum-shop, the information is automatically mapped in Google Maps, thereby making it possible to see where each T-shirt ends up after leaving the museum. During the course of the exhibition, the 300 T-shirts will gradually disappear from the physical museum space only to re-appear on the web. Consequently, by buying a T-shirt visitors do not simply get a personal piece of the installation - they also help contribute to its collective development and distribution.

Technological influence

Originally uploaded by Network Osaka.

Purchasing Power

original post: GOOD
link via @bnox

Global Internet Map 2009

TeleGeography's new Global Internet Map draws upon their annual Global Internet Geography research to provide a unique view of the world's Internet backbone architecture.

The map's global projection traces the intercontinental links between the countries of Europe, Asia, North and Latin America, and Africa. Regional close-ups provide insight into key routes within each region. Nine accompanying figures and tables present valuable data on Internet bandwidth by country, regional and global Internet capacity growth, backbone providers, traffic by application, wholesale pricing, and broadband user growth.

via VisualComplexity

Own Your C

Online Democracy and Pop Culture Trivia Take Choice-Making Beyond Anti-tobacco Awareness

The Challenge:
In 2008, Cactus Marketing engaged AgencyNet seeking to re-invent and re-launch the highly successful and awarded “Own Your C” smoking cessation campaign originally launched by the two agencies in 2006.

Based on the premise that no teen wants to be told not to smoke, our challenge was to empower teens to take charge of their own choices, ultimately making smarter, healthier decisions in everything they do.

The Solution:
It’s no secret that teens are spending their time online. More and more each day, teens are online sharing emotions— posting videos, photos, and comments— for the whole world to see. In turn, they expect feedback, opinions, and a dialogue. They want their 15 minutes of fame and, increasingly, they’re getting it online.

Knowing this, our solution was to empower teens to take ownership of their choices and give them what they want most— a soapbox to express themselves. The new Own Your C 2.0 is a rich online community that allows teens to share their opinions about the choices they face each and every day. From smoking, to fast food, to the existence of UFOs, every choice in this community matters. The result is a hotbed of debate, individuality, and self-expression that truly leverages the power of peers to influence behavior and decision-making. Choices can be expressed via text, photo, image or video – empowering a highly customized interaction within the community. An elaborate filtering system allows teens to view responses in a way that is most meaningful to them, whether by age, gender, response, or location.

The new ownyourC.com has now been awarded FWA “Site of the Day.”

The fully integrated campaign also includes a series of 15-second TV Spots, Online Rich Media Banners, and Live Events, inviting teens to participate in the new Own Your C 2.0 community and building on the website’s premise to “Connect, Influence, and Share.”

Production Highlights:
Prior to production, rapid prototypes were created to ensure that the front-end system would be able to render large amounts of dynamic data without overly taxing computer processors. Throughout the production of the site, animations were monitored and optimized to ensure that users could view the unique Papervision 3D experience without encountering adverse performance issues.

Software/ Technology/ Platforms:
The OwnYourC website takes advantage of the latest technologies in order to provide the community with the most robust and user-friendly experience possible.


Front-end was developed using Flash 9 and Papervision for the streamlined rendering of 3-D objects
Adobe Flex was used for all Action Scripting
The backend Content Management System and databases were developed in ASP.NET 3.5 on a Windows Server Platform
Panda Stream, recently released open-source software, was used to enable the uploading, encoding and streaming of videos
Amazon Web Services was used for media storage and delivery of content
'From the start, the Own Your C campaign has been about helping teens to understand that the choices they make truly define and shape who they are. The new OwnYourC.com takes that thought, couples it with teens’ natural tendency to socialize and communicate on the web, and offers a constructive forum for teens to share their stories about the choices they face every day. It’s a great place to connect and ultimately to realize that whatever you’re facing, you’re not alone.’
-Alex Morrison
VP Consumer and Brand Strategy
AgencyNet Interactive

‘The new ownyourC.com is built on Flash technology and Papervision, which have rarely been used in the development of Web 2.0 applications, and offer users a visually immersive experience. Slick transitions and ambient, 3D animations make the site feel alive—you can really feel the sense of activity and connection. Add in a robust community that powers the site, and ownyourC.com really is a great place for teens to Connect, Share and Influence.’
-Pierre Kremer
Senior Project Manager
AgencyNet Interactive

About AgencyNet
AgencyNet is an award winning digital advertising and marketing agency, specializing in developing emotionally engaging and strategic Digital brand experiences.

AgencyNet has been named “one of the hottest digital agencies around” by Advertising Age and our work has been the recipient of over 125 high-profile awards including an Interactive Emmy, FWA Top 20 agency sites in history, Cannes Lion, Web Marketing Association’s Best Interactive Service Web Site, South by Southwest’s Best in Show, as well as The Webby.

Over the last 14 years we have developed robust Brand Portals, ideated successful Buzz Generation Campaigns, created ubiquitous Digital Content, and served as a strategic consulting partner to some of the world’s most recognized and respected brands including Bacardi, Warner Bros, Ford, Sony, Howard Stern, Bill Clinton, and many others.

From SurfStation

Check out a similar project: MSNBC Visual Newsreader Spectra

Knowledge Cartography

Knowledge Cartography is part of a PhD research on the visual representation of knowledge. The aim of the research is to extend the cartographic metaphor beyond visual analogy, and to expose it as a narrative model and tool to intervene in complex, heterogeneous, dynamic realities, just like those of human geography.

The map is thus not only a passive representation of reality but a tool for the production of meaning. Just like a text, the map makes selections on reality, distorts events, classifies and clarifies the world in order to selections better tell a particular aspect of a territory, an event, a space.

The images shown here are screenshots taken from ATLAS, the application that's being developed to explore the possibilities of the application of a cartographic metaphor to the realms of knowledge. The concept of ATLAS in this context doesn't only depict a list of maps, but rather a system of representations of space, a communication device aimed at representing complex contexts through the use of many partial overlapping narrations: a network of maps, diagrams, texts and peritexts, combined together to describe the space of research in its multifaceted aspects.

This is Knowledge Cartography

Olympic Medal Count Map

A Map of Olympic Medals

Circles are sized by the number of medals that countries won in summer Olympic Games. Use the slider to view past Olympics, or click on a country to display a list of its medal winners.

Wordle - tag clouds

Designed tag clouds, who cares they are supposed to be out of style. These are my delicious tags. Via Pietel

Delicious updates

...with a new interface. also the URL is no longer divided into del.icio.us

Institute for Dynamic Educational Advancement

The Institute for Dynamic Educational Advancement (IDEA) is a nonprofit organization that recognizes the Internet’s potential to transform the learning process by making information accessible and engaging. The organization is dedicated to identifying unique challenges that prevent the Web from reaching its educational potential, and developing creative, innovative approaches and technologies to solve those problems.

Utilizing a multidisciplinary approach that is both innovative and bold, IDEA undertakes programs and projects designed to promote the interaction between people and information within the framework of technology. Our endeavors range from gathering and presenting useful information to the public; to building upon the body of research on the relationships between learning, information, and technology; to developing technological tools that break down the barriers between people and computers. Most often, they incorporate all three elements.

IDEA now released a white paper on Factors that improve online experiences and touch certain topics that you might want to dive into:
• Designers underestimate the thresholds for an effective site
• Easy access to complete information is key to visitor enjoyment
• Good visual design and up-to-date information are critical
• Visitors want information fast
• Visitors want a broad range of topics
• Designers are overly optimistic about visitors’ ability to maintain orientation
• Visitors still need handholding
• Visitors point to the lack of breadth and depth of site content as causing an “Information Gap.”

The focus is on the question; How do we find information? I could add maybe; what information do you rate as "valuable" or rather "plausible". Systems as Wikipedia kinda worked the trick but yet not always. That could add up to go in the direction of thinking; with which tools do we find the information, and who develops and controls these tools, and off course do you take for granted that the information they push as plausible is not edited by the once that are in charge... we are thinking Google mainly, yes. (and I'm referring to things as pageRank and such, that we assume are honest top refferals for valid information)

Silverback - guerilla usability testing

Usability testing is last on everybody’s list of priorities. It’s time-consuming, can require specialist equipment, and is expensive to outsource. Not any more.

Silverback makes it easy, quick and cheap for everyone to perform guerilla usability tests with no setup and no expense, using hardware already in your Mac.

Spontaneous, unobtrusive usability testing software for website designers.
* Capture screen activity
* Video the participant’s reactions
* Record the participant’s voice
* Add chapter markers on the fly
* Control recording with the remote
* Export to Quicktime

Awesome !!!

Favthumbs

Freestyle Labs made your del.icio.us bookmarks visual, and integrated a MobileMe Gallery + it's a del.icio.us mashup, coded by Jamie Hamel-Smith

Moodstream by Getty Images

What is Moodstream? It’s a concepting tool. The modern version of the fireplace. An interactive art piece. TV for the future. It’s a website we created for and with Getty Images to showcase all of their offerings – still, video and sound – and inspire interactive creatives. And it’s really, really fun to use.

Oh, AND, it’s in .NET. I mean, come on.

Full-screen web browser

What Is Plainview?
The Barbarians are excited to share with you our latest software offering, Plainview. It’s a little something we’ve been kicking around based on a need we had internally. Once we found a good solution, we figured it’d be useful for other digital professionals, so we figured we’d offer it up to you.



The Barbarians let you know about their product that:

What is Plainview?
Plainview is a full-screen web browser.

That’s it?
Well, it does a few other things – but yeah, basically that’s it.

Why is this useful?
We Barbarians give a lot of presentations. A lot of speeches. A lot of Dog and Pony shows. People want to see our work. And the work we do is on the Internet. And, until now, we really had two options for showing our Internet work: we could capture it all to Quicktime, and throw it into Powerpoint or Keynote, so we could present in a nice full-screen mode that looked professional, or we could try to show it in the browser, and have all that ugly chrome distracting people from our beautiful sites. Both of these options had their pros and cons – full-screen looks sweet, but you lose the interactivity of the site, everything has to be canned. And showing things in a browser lets you show the site’s interactivity, but, again, that ugly chrome.
So now we have a third option. Fire up your full-screen browser and let your audience focus on the work.
Also, we’re an Internet company! We have all these people here who can use Flash and make HTML presentations and do cool things with video. But we do NOT have a bunch of people who make really great looking Powerpoint presentations. Now we can do our presentations with the tools we are comfortable with, and have them look just as awesome as PowerPoint. Well, actually, a whole lot more awesome.

What else does Plainview do?
Plainview has a presentation mode – so you can build a presentation of, say, 10 sites you’ve built, and then show them one by one. Skip to the next site by hitting a hot key. We use this a lot for our Dog and Pony shows. We fire up one site we’ve done. Browse around. Show it. Time to move on? Skip to the next site, without opening up a location bar. Seamless, beautiful presentations.
You can also save presentations, add bookmarks, import your bookmarks, exit full-screen mode, open multiple windows, and view Quicktime movies. And check out the slick way we manage popups!

How did you make Plainview?
Plainview is a Mac OS X Cocoa app that uses WebKit. We spoke at WWDC last year about building Cocoa applications using WebKit, so we figured we’d better release one. As big Mac nerds, we’ve been messing around with Cocoa for quite some time, and what with that whole iPhone thing and all, our interest was heightened even more.
Can Plainview run in locked “kiosk” mode?
Yes. Type command-/ and plainview asks for an administrator password and then runs in kiosk mode. Instant kiosk!

How much does Plainview cost?
Plainview is free. Enjoy.

Really?
Yup.

DOWNLOAD it here
Original post

Marumushi newsmap

Newsmap is an application that visually reflects the constantly changing landscape of the Google News news aggregator. A treemap visualization algorithm helps display the enormous amount of information gathered by the aggregator. Treemaps are traditionally space-constrained visualizations of information. Newsmap's objective takes that goal a step further and provides a tool to divide information into quickly recognizable bands which, when presented together, reveal underlying patterns in news reporting across cultures and within news segments in constant change around the globe.

Newsmap does not pretend to replace the googlenews aggregator. Its objective is to simply demonstrate visually the relationships between data and the unseen patterns in news media. It is not thought to display an unbiased view of the news; on the contrary, it is thought to ironically accentuate the bias of it.