DSDN 112: Interface Inspiration!

I looked at a few different 'futuristic' game menus and navigation systems to get ideas for my interface.

Dead Space:
This is the menu that I probably took them most ideas from, as it is a simple but effective layout that is easy to follow, which is what I want for my interface.

Assassin's Creed:
this holographic interface has very faint lines and code in the background, which could be interesting in my final video.

Batman: Arkham City:
Arkham city has a bird's eye view map, which is actually quite easy to read and navigate with, even though it is so simple. It lets users zoom i to get a better view of certain parts of the city if required, which is definitely a feature I need in my project.

One thing I noticed about all of these systems (and most other ones I saw) is that the colour blue is used a lot. I think this is because blue is a 'cool' colour, and gives a sterile, futuristic feel. I will be using a blue colour scheme for my interface.

DSDN 104: Precedent Images

when I fisrt searched for precendents, I looked up 'Patterns in nature', and foound a lot of really interesting patterns, mostly in animal coats and patterns in sand, rivers and dried mud. I also found some pictures of butterfly wings with interesting patterns on them, so I decided to narrow down my searches, and focus more specifically on them.

Some of my origial precedent ideas.

 I have been looking at butterfly wings, as I find the patterns on the wing really interesting. Each butterfly wing is unique, but they all have a pattern than almost matches up. 

Left: This image is a magnified view of a butterfly wing under a microscope. I could make an interesting texture.

I plan on using some sort of stacking technique which could also let me include the details on the underside of the butterfly wings.

DSDN 112: Wristband Design

For the mock up wristband I will need to make for my video, I am looking at doing something with a similar sort of aesthetic to the Portal gun from Portal/Portal 2. The simple design and monochromatic colour scheme of the portal gun makes it look really futuristic and sleek: The kind of look I am going for with my wristband.

I will be using a black and white colour scheme, with white plating around the outside of a black material band, For Science!

DSDN 112: Keyboards?

I was given feedback in the interim about my choice of QWERTY Keyboard, and whether it would be the most suitable option for one handed typing, on such a small screen. I have been looking into some other input/typing options and found these:


Datahand: 
This keyboard as a 5 buttons per finger, with each button representing a letter. I could use something similar (a keyboard with 5 letters per finger) on my interface. This method of input could also be difficult to implement as it would require two hands for input, unless I had some way of switching between two keyboards.

Datahand keyboard.






Layout of the datahand letters for one hand.







FrogPad:
This key board was designed for one handed use,which would be ideal for my project. the keyboard is made up of a total of 20 keys, 15 of which are actual; letters, and 5 extra keys along the bottom (SHIFT, SYMBOL etc). Each key has two letters and two symbols, which can be selected by using the symbol and shift keys.




A more modern take on the FrogPad Keyboard.





The original FrogPad Keyboard, clearly showing each of the buttons.






Steam Big Picture Keyboard:
The Steam big picture key board is designed for use with a game console controller. It splits the letters into groups of four. The user select which group of letters they need, and then selected the specific letter with the use of the four main buttons on the game controller. This could be an interesting way of typing in locations on my navigation system, as it wouldn't take up much space, and could easily be used with one hand.

You select which four letters you want with the toggle/stick (as seen in the below image), and then use the four buttons on the controller to select the letter you want.

DSDN 112:Navigation Inspiration

I have looked at a few different type of navigation systems, including some from video games such as:

Dead Space:
Dead Space uses a system where pushing a button brings up a glowing line, which shows you where your next destination is/where you should be going. This would be interesting when combined with the camera of a smartphone.
This is an example of a similar system

Mirror's Edge:
Mirror's edge also has an interesting navigation system, which changes the colours of the best path to take red. This could also be interesting to use with a smartphone camera, with buildings or landmarks along the suggested path being coloured red (or another bright/noticeable colour) when you point the camera at them.

DSDN 104: Richard Sweeny (Precedents)

Richard Sweeney is a designer who works with folding paper. On his website I found some interesting and inspirational models he has done, and am looking at trying out some of his methods.

 Click here to go to the page on his website.

I found this one particularly interesting. Even if I don't end up using the folding technique, the way the paper flows down is really interesting, and is a good example to base possible acrylic twisting off

The slotting or 'slice form' technique used in this piece is also interesting, though I don't think it will work well for my model, because of the thin 'ribbony' parts I have. 

I really like the flowing style of this building, it is similar to the style of flowing I am looking at putting in my model.

DSDN 104: Testing

I am going to try out this folding technique in paper/card, and see if it works well for my model. I am possibly thinking of trying out a layering technique which looks similar to this paper model by Richard Sweeney, but without the folding.

Also, here are some of my initial sketches, with ideas for this assignment.

DSDN 104: Inspiration

I think that gymnastic ribbons capture my idea and words really well. They flow and cascade, and can change at any moment in reaction to the directions of the user or their surroundis which makes them very adaptable. 

DSDN 142: Cool Sketches

Here are a couple of cool sketches I found on openprocessing.org:

http://www.openprocessing.org/sketch/31335 

This sketch is a lot of fun to play around with because it has many different aspects you can change; from the speed of the colour jets to the size of the mouse brush. Having so many interchangeable aspects makes it really interesting as you can try so many different things.

http://openprocessing.org/sketch/16256 

This one is also interesting. There are tons of customizable options such as the speed and size of the waves on the grid. The gradual colour change is also quite effective.

‘A designer choosing a typeface is like a director casting an actor'

-Helvetica