http://www.poxod.cc/blog A catalog of tools, research and products that empower creative visual communication. Fri, 25 Jun 2010 00:01:25 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Following up on my post about no-code iPhone UI prototypes, I thought I should share something for making tangible stuff. This blog isn't just about software or electronics, it is about discussing and sharing tools that lower the barrier to creative communication, and bring it within the reach of anyone ... http://www.poxod.cc/blog/2010/06/22/makedo/ Have you ever found yourself wanting to prototype a simple, realtime interaction between an iPhone and another piece of hardware, but don't have time to learn iPhone programming? TouchOSC provides a simple solution to this challenge. An iPhone app that communicates over wifi using Open Sound Control, TouchOSC allows you ... http://www.poxod.cc/blog/2010/06/17/touchosc/ I usually prefer to write about tools, processes and methods here, but when I see a project that so completely exemplifies the values and priorities within a design process, I just can't help but want to share it. Teague's RadioBall is one of those projects. Go ahead and watch the ... http://www.poxod.cc/blog/2010/06/01/radioball/ A collaboration between researchers at UC Berkeley and Microsoft Research, Pictionaire is a tabletop interactive collaboration system that "enables multiple designers to fluidly move imagery from the physical to the digital realm; work with found, drawn and captured imagery; organize items into functional collections; and record meeting histories." It accomplishes ... http://www.poxod.cc/blog/2010/02/23/pictionaire/ I just recently downloaded Tweetie, a desktop twitter client, and noticed that the company who makes it also makes a product called Scribbles. Noticing that its homepage proclaims Scribbles is 'Incredibly easy to use' and has a 'Revolutionary User Interface' I decided to give it a spin. Scribbles is an ... http://www.poxod.cc/blog/2010/01/29/scribbles/ In 1963 Ivan Sutherland developed Sketchpad. In developing what was to be part of his phd thesis, Sutherland pioneered what would come to be known as the graphical user interface, parametric constraints and the very concept of object-oriented programming, which he developed in order to better manage memory on the ... http://www.poxod.cc/blog/2010/01/20/sketchpad-a-look-back/ Prezi is a Hungarian startup that has developed a tool to empower people to make stunning visual presentations using text and media. Using their intuitive (yet not fully cross-platform) editing tool, creating gorgeous, dynamic motion-based presentations is surprisingly easy. As an exhibit designer, I personally found Prezi's strong emphasis on scaling ... http://www.poxod.cc/blog/2010/01/13/twist-your-presentation-like-a-prezi/ We never thought we'd be looking at a DNA editing tool as a 'tool for sketching', but we don't like to turn our noses up at something out of our area of expertise. In that spirit we submit for consideration EnzymeX, a tool by Papers creators Mekentosj. As visual designers and ... http://www.poxod.cc/blog/2009/12/26/sketching-dna/ Like any tool, a whiteboard is only as good as the person who uses it. On the other hand, easy access to space to let ideas fly can be valuable, and there is a lot to be said for 'breaking the frame'. IdeaPaint lets you paint a whiteboard anywhere you want ... http://www.poxod.cc/blog/2009/12/13/make-an-entire-wall-into-a-whiteboard-with-ideapaint/ Aaron Travis explores the motivation and payoff for developing low-fidelity wireframes for user interfaces during the design process. While I have my own reasons for loving all things lo-fi, this (web-specific) article really nails it. Their rationales are clearly thought out and expressed in a way that make them relevant ... http://www.poxod.cc/blog/2009/11/16/73/