Real time data: watch the world go by.
Not much can put things in perspective like real-time data. (Even if it is based on an algorithm.) http://www.worldometers.info/
Author Archive for: admin
Entries by admin
5lb. butter = How many cows?
My local, local-foods eatery, Common Roots, has launched the first of a series of profiles on the local farms from which the restaurant/coffee shop sources their ingredients. First up: Butter from Hope Creamery in Hope, MN. Nice story about the history of the creamery (though slightly lengthy for online attention spans) . And a short […]
Tracking water droplets: Playing raincloud.
An exhibit on Water at the Science Museum of Minnesota contains an interactive display that allowed people to ‘become’ a raincloud. By rubbing a ‘raincloud’ tool over a series of screens displaying a topographic map, the cloud rains drops of water onto the topo-map. Visitors can see how the drops of water run down the […]
Reality, augmented. […sustainably?]
Merging analog and digital, this new tool allows users to use their webcam to make a simple printed page come to life. In 3 dimensions! An incredible display of technology, it’s not hard to imagine the communication possibilities for sustainability, communicating the background stories of products…or anything for that matter. However it’s not immediately clear […]
Home energy usage via Google
Google is in the development stages of a power meter that enables users to monitor real-time feedback on their household energy consumption. This kind of instantaneous feedback gets to the basic premise of why it’s important to show & tell background stories. This power meter is tool that enables the customer to make their own […]
HTML Styles
Image aligned left & right Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipisicing elit, sed do eiusmod tempor incididunt ut labore et dolore magna aliqua. Ut enim ad minim veniam, quis nostrud exercitation ullamco laboris nisi ut aliquip ex ea commodo consequat. Duis aute irure dolor in reprehenderit in voluptate velit esse cillum dolore eu fugiat […]
Frowning Utility Bills
A utility company is literally establishing an emotional connection with the audience: via smiley or frowning faces on their utility bills. A New York Times article reports how a Sacramento utility is inspiring residents to lower their energy usage by providing them visual feedback on their utility bills…and it doesn’t hurt that the bill compares […]
Chips with visual crisp
Good info-design requires consistency and repetition in order to establish a visual pattern. This site does both well. Using a small-multiples-like approach that allows the viewer to compare the chips at-a-glance, the designer has clearly paired color pallet with the chips. The miniature chips (color, texture and all) are both a reference to the chip […]
No Smoking. No Food. No Robots.
A lesson in information and graphic design:Graphics need to be able to withstand the test of time. This info-graphic inside a Minneapolis bus does alright communicating no smoking and no food or drink. But my only guess is that the ‘robot’ icon was intended to represent a tape deck (as a symbol for loud music) […]
Car eco-label only inches forward despite potential
Effective since January 1st, California has launched a clean air label required on every new car produced and sold in California. The label rates ‘Smog’ and ‘Global Warming’ on a scale of 1-10 (5 being the average car, 10 being the cleanest). Though there has been a smog index label since 1998, this marks the […]