creativepro.com - Are You Ready for the Small Web?

Just when we thought that we had it down with web display, eye tracking and layout - a whole new ballpark. sigh.

creativepro.com - Are You Ready for the Small Web?: "
Is this the best way to read The New York Times on a tiny screen?

The digerati talk about Web 2.0 or the Semantic Web. I say, what about the Small Web? What does it mean to make your network available and fully functional to people with 3.5-inch screens as the window? You think it's tiresome waiting for a Flash animation to load now? See what it feels like while you're standing in line at the airport."

image: creative pro

Design Life Now: National Design Triennial 2006

It must be time for a road trip to DC! Its the National Design Triennial at the Cooper Hewitt Museum December 8, 2006–July 29, 2007

"The third Triennial brings together the experimental designs and emerging ideas—including animation, new media, and fashion, robotics, architecture, product, medical, and graphic design—at the center of American culture from 2003 to 2006.

Design Life Now features the work of 87 designers and firms who are leaders, innovators, or emerging figures in the world of design. They are practicing across numerous creative fields, including architecture, products, landscapes, interiors, graphics, film, animation, interactive media, fashion, robotics, and more."

I missed the last triennial in 2004, but I am making up for it by reading the book: Inside Design Now with writing by Ellen Lupton, one of my favorite designers, teachers, commenters and critic (all in one!)

Public Art in a Virtual World

Through an article in the NY Times, I am becoming interested in the possibilities of communicating visually via the role-playing game/community Second Life:

"...the Infinite Mind outdoor visual event is available on the sim. It replicates the photography exhibit, Our Walls Bearing Witness – Darfur: Who Will Survive Today?, that was projected onto the walls of the Holocaust Museum in Washington D.C. during the Thanksgiving week in the U.S.

The virtual exhibit was scheduled to be dismantled on December 12, however, in light of the circumstances, it may remain until the interview can be rescheduled. It also includes a video of the real world exhibit installation. Don’t miss out. Take a few minutes and teleport over. This is yet another example of the powerful communications tools Second Life affords.

Halocaust_005 I often refer to '360-degree' content when urging clients and colleagues to rethink information presentation in 3D spaces. By that, I don’t necessarily mean an object which an avatar can walk around, through or physically interact with. I also mean rethinking more powerful content through multimedia...." Public Affairs in Second Life: Crisis in Darfur with Mia Farrow

Creating art (or curating the art to create a statement, such as this photography exhibit) on an intimate level is nice, but the potential for creating public art, at your desk, via your computer, which can communicate to the multitudes seems incredible! No more waiting for exhibition space at the local coffee shop or trying to persuade a gallery owner of the merits of this exhibit. This will make it possible to have multiple exhibits in a short period of time, assuming that one has the content to mount them.