Feb. 27, 2012 at 9:02am
hardwarepotion designpocodecreative

H2 Bubble Display + Enya

- now installed at White Rabbit in SoHo, here is a little video I put to some music that seemed fitting.  I am still working on making a better control API and have been thinking about other forms that will be able to display more clearly.  And of course, I am excited to start using a range of data to drive the patterns.  Timed to music seemed like a good first step, but perhaps a data visualization of whale migration… or more abstractly news articles about discovery.  But for now, seriously, check out the video :) -

Jan. 31, 2012 at 12:35pm with 5 notes
3d displaychemistyPotion Design

Volumetric Bubble Display - Gridded Patterns

- after testing with a couple hand drilled prototypes I decided to epoxy, glue, solder, wire… all of the above, the 4” 8x8 bubble pixel cube. This video shows a proof of concept with 16 of the 64 contacts active, and doing a simple animation from 1 to 16.

You can see the power contacts oxidizing (turning black), which in future models I will aim to alleviate by having a single power contact, since only one is needed in the water solution.

The setup shown is for an art installation, and allows the user to focus a camera at different depth inside the cube.

Next step is new patterns and 3D forms -

Jan. 26, 2012 at 6:37pm with 9 notes
c++codecreative
pocode beta - Potion made its public launch of our in-house C++ framework today, kind of by chance of it going viral among Japanese twitterers.  I like to think that the Japanese will be fond of the framework because its name uses a similar concatenation as is popular in the country. (i.e. Potion Code became ‘pocode’, like family mart became ‘famima’) In honor of its acceptance and launch, I figured it should get its very own katakana logo, and here it is :).  Credit to original logo designer, Elise Porter. (oh, and click the image to check out the actual framework site) -

pocode beta

- Potion made its public launch of our in-house C++ framework today, kind of by chance of it going viral among Japanese twitterers.  I like to think that the Japanese will be fond of the framework because its name uses a similar concatenation as is popular in the country. (i.e. Potion Code became ‘pocode’, like family mart became ‘famima’) In honor of its acceptance and launch, I figured it should get its very own katakana logo, and here it is :).  Credit to original logo designer, Elise Porter. (oh, and click the image to check out the actual framework site) -

Jan. 19, 2012 at 12:56am with 4 notes
arduinosketch

Volumetric Bubble Display

- I figured I should share this process as it evolves, so here are some sketches and notes for the display. Today I was able to control multiple anodes and cathodes with a simple board called the LED WIZ, but I then spent the night soldering together my new Peggy 2.0 pcb. Tomorrow I will be doing some basic arduino programming and content development in simulation. I plan to have the full array (possibly 25x25 or 16x16, depending on capabilities of the board) up and running by the end of the weekend. More process images to come - 

Jan. 16, 2012 at 10:37pm with 13 notes
chemisty3D displayarduinoelectronicsPotion Designdemo

Hydrolysis 3D Display

- the concept is to create a matrix of bubbles, to create a volumetric display in a tank of water.  Today I tested the first aspect of the display, which is, can I have multiple anodes and cathodes be turned on and off to create bubbles in short spurts. Here is a video of me testing out a simple array I made.  The intention is to create a tank with 625 of these, 25 by 25, controlled with a multiplexor originally purposed for LEDs. In essence, it is just a 2D display with an extrusion of its history, but the results will be 3D forms under water.  Also, the results of this reaction are H2 and O2, so I will need to do a little math to make sure I won’t blow up a building (this could be my most stupid experiment).  

I will be updating with the progress soon, as I would like to utilize this concept for an art installation with Potion Design. If I manage to build this in time, I will explain the concept and implementation as well. -

Jan. 13, 2012 at 2:33pm with 10 notes
simplicityproduct designmath
Cube Calendar Explained - I love seeing clever design, and I saw this, cube calendar, but assume that most of the cleverness about it gets overlooked.  So I thought I would point out what is so great about it.   A cube has six sides, so there was some cleverness in making it work for 7 days of the week, 12 months, and up to 31 days.  Since the month cube takes advantage of up and down orientation, it is simple to see how 12 months are achieved.  The days of the week must employ the same technique, but only for sun/sat (my assumption), since weekends are often grouped.   Now the part that made me think, ooh clever, is the fact that two six sided figures could create all the necessary days.  We have 12 sides that can be used, and 10 digits, so only 2 digits can be on both cubes.  Those digits must be 1 and 2, and the 0 must not be on the same cube as the 3.  Let me clarify a bit.  A single digit day is easy, just use the cube with the number on it, and you are set.  For a teen, the 1 cube has to be combined with each of the 10 possible digits, so it is important that the 1 be on both cubes.  For the twenties, the 2 cube has to be combined with each of the 10 possible digits as well, so this will be the other repeated digit.  For the thirties, we only need to be able to create 30 and 31 (thanks Roman calendar), so we just need to make sure that the 3 and 0 can be displayed at the same time, hence different cubes.   So that is how this calendar is possible.  Cuts it pretty close. If we had a 33 day month, this wouldn’t be possible. -

Cube Calendar Explained

- I love seeing clever design, and I saw this, cube calendar, but assume that most of the cleverness about it gets overlooked.  So I thought I would point out what is so great about it.  

A cube has six sides, so there was some cleverness in making it work for 7 days of the week, 12 months, and up to 31 days.  Since the month cube takes advantage of up and down orientation, it is simple to see how 12 months are achieved.  The days of the week must employ the same technique, but only for sun/sat (my assumption), since weekends are often grouped.  

Now the part that made me think, ooh clever, is the fact that two six sided figures could create all the necessary days.  We have 12 sides that can be used, and 10 digits, so only 2 digits can be on both cubes.  Those digits must be 1 and 2, and the 0 must not be on the same cube as the 3.  Let me clarify a bit.  A single digit day is easy, just use the cube with the number on it, and you are set.  For a teen, the 1 cube has to be combined with each of the 10 possible digits, so it is important that the 1 be on both cubes.  For the twenties, the 2 cube has to be combined with each of the 10 possible digits as well, so this will be the other repeated digit.  For the thirties, we only need to be able to create 30 and 31 (thanks Roman calendar), so we just need to make sure that the 3 and 0 can be displayed at the same time, hence different cubes.  

So that is how this calendar is possible.  Cuts it pretty close. If we had a 33 day month, this wouldn’t be possible. -

Jan. 2, 2012 at 12:20am with 11 notes
gamesillustratorsimplicityWilliamsburghelvetica
HelvetiCatan — since my apartment has been playing a lot of Settlers of Catan, I have noticed couple shortcomings (especially when using an expansion pack with an old original set).  The first is that certain resources overlap in color, and make it difficult to distinguish in some cases.  The second of which is the complexity of the board making it easier to miss crucial moves and strategy by other players development.  The solution shown here is to simplify the board to distinct colors with wider margins for road visibility.  Also I figured someone in Williamsburg will want a copy of Catan with their favorite font featured :) —

HelvetiCatan

— since my apartment has been playing a lot of Settlers of Catan, I have noticed couple shortcomings (especially when using an expansion pack with an old original set).  The first is that certain resources overlap in color, and make it difficult to distinguish in some cases.  The second of which is the complexity of the board making it easier to miss crucial moves and strategy by other players development.  The solution shown here is to simplify the board to distinct colors with wider margins for road visibility.  Also I figured someone in Williamsburg will want a copy of Catan with their favorite font featured :) —

Nov. 7, 2011 at 3:37pm with 1 note
Reblogged from imagine-in-all-mediums

REBLOG

Wonderful design from David Meisenholder

imagine-in-all-mediums:

This is the CouplingPad.  Whenever I go camping and try to snuggle with my girlfriend, by middle of the night our sleeping pads have drifted apart and I’m on the hard ground.  That’s not very snuggly.  So I created the CouplingPad.  It has interlocking edges so you can stay close to your honey through those cold nights in the wilderness.

I especially love the pillows that are created by the end caps and a clever use of velcro (I think)

Oct. 2, 2011 at 10:03pm with 1 note
arduino
mailduino - today I began creating a package that can readdress itself. Although I don’t believe the USPS will accept such a package, I figure it can be a fun experiment, especially if the package redirects itself during shipment. Perhaps I will let a random generator decide which friend gets the package, or maybe it depends on the angle is held. Most likely it will become a wall notification for email or packages on the ways. Just a little Arduino fun today, perhaps some stronger concept tomorrow -   

mailduino

- today I began creating a package that can readdress itself. Although I don’t believe the USPS will accept such a package, I figure it can be a fun experiment, especially if the package redirects itself during shipment. Perhaps I will let a random generator decide which friend gets the package, or maybe it depends on the angle is held. Most likely it will become a wall notification for email or packages on the ways. Just a little Arduino fun today, perhaps some stronger concept tomorrow -

IMG_6111  IMG_6108

Sep. 25, 2011 at 9:34pm with 6 notes
typographyexperiments
physarum typeface -failed attempt to create a slime mold font, but the process was fun and I figured I should post an image and the time laps video. I set up a monitor laid flat, placed the petri dishes on top, and set a rotating desktop to light the dishes in 5 minute intervals (since they like to grow in the dark). Every 5 minutes, I would also have my camera take a photograph as cued by time-lapse software. The resulting petri dishes have yet to grow networks resembling the A, B, or C I aimed for -

physarum typeface

-failed attempt to create a slime mold font, but the process was fun and I figured I should post an image and the time laps video. I set up a monitor laid flat, placed the petri dishes on top, and set a rotating desktop to light the dishes in 5 minute intervals (since they like to grow in the dark). Every 5 minutes, I would also have my camera take a photograph as cued by time-lapse software. The resulting petri dishes have yet to grow networks resembling the A, B, or C I aimed for -