Everything you see, hear, touch and smell is decided my store managers, according to commercial and marketing strategies.

The things you read on product labels are decided from manufacturers and corporations, and you have no control over it.

Even the spatial layout of the supermarket itself is the result of a strategic decision.

Squatting Supermarkets wishes to confront this scenario by using Augmented Reality to bring radical, participatory communication back into supermarkets.

Using the Squatting Supermarkets smartphone application it is possible to scan the labels and packaging of products and

• add information to it (text, sounds, images, videos)
• see information that has been added by other users
• browse information related to the product or to its manufacturer, as aggregated from a series of institutional, research, activist sources

We will present Squattng Supermarkets at UAMO festival in Munich from the 27th to the 30th of October. The presentation will take the form of a performative action and we hope to be able to organize a live workshop in some supermarkets around the city.

Join us at UAMO!

Leaf++

From the conference website:

Future Learning Spaces
The notion of space regains fresh momentum every time we interact with the world around us. As mobile devices weave into the fabric of everyday life, we are no longer confined to a specific location, time and place in accessing and interacting with communications technologies. Interfaces become more adaptable and fluid according to the user’s needs; capable of switching seamlessly between augmented, real and virtual information and communication techniques and practices.

The workshop was really interesting for us, as we were able to experiment an innovative education format.

Starting from the students’ ideas for the project works which they produce each year, we created a really dynamic experience in which an iterative process was created in a completely participatory way.

While the students followed the stream of ideas suggested by their projects we directly interacted with them, transforming design problems into opportunities to introduce tools, methodologies, platforms and knowledge about the various areas of cross-media design.

We specifically value this education methodology, as it promotes a very active kind of studentship. In this kind of process the student is not a “passive” subject who merely listens to the basically one-way dialogue of the “professor”. Instead the student becomes a driving force for the education process, as all begins from the analysis of real-life scenarios. The educator, in this case, assumes a very peculiar and valuable role. We joined the students in the design project lifecycle and we turned every one of its phases for an opportunity to build a dialogue. This dialogue featured us introducing and explaining the various techniques and methodologies involved in the project phases, as well as the formal theories and technical tools that could be used to assess each task. Each issue was described in terms of explanation of the various concepts, and of the references and tools that could be used to gain a deeper understanding of the matter.

Each piece of knowledge was then placed into a wider scheme and, then, adapted to the specific problem that was to be assessed. To  do this, the educator quickly switched role, giving back control to the students who were empowered into using the acquired information to try and find an operative solution to the “problem”, and to explain to all the other people in class what he/she was doing, in terms of both theory and technique.

Here at the bottom you can download the slides that emerged from the lesson. They were constructed live, while performing the lesson. We are in the process of creating documentation for this education process: for both its specific instances, and for the methodology used. Results have been, thus far, really effective.

DOWNLOAD THE SLIDED FOR THE COURSE

ISIA Florence Logo

“Cross Media design scenarios: smartphones and tablets”

The workshop engaged the problems, approaches, methodologies and processes that designers can use in imagining, designing and implementing cross media design products.
Some energies were used to describe really interesting scenarios that allow  using cross media design to implement solutions that are useful not only for business, but also for society, the environment and the cultural ecosystem, promoting a more tolerant, multicultural, sustainable take on the world.
These are the slides that have been used in the workshop, complete with a full end-to-end example of the creation of a location based application for iPhone/iPad.

You can find all the info here at Art is Open Source:
http://wp.me/pnaKK-kI

There is also a ZIP archive of the full XCODE project used in class:
http://www.artisopensource.net/isia.zip

Platforms used:

• XCODE with iPhone SDK 4.3
• Phonegap
• jQuery
• Google Maps API v3

Roma Design+ logo

AOS and FakePress will be in Rome at Design+, possibly the most interesting design event in Italy’s capital.

With a rich program featuring experts, designers, architects and artists from the international worlds of cinema, design and technology, Roma Design+ will host a series of interesting installations, exhibitions and conferences on the world of special effects.

Here is the complete program for Roma Design+

AOS and FakePress will participate with two projects:

Connecticity

Connecticity is the design for an urban screen that enacts communication practices in the textures of the metropolis. Realtime communication across social networks, instant messaging and cross media systems featuring mobile applications, sensor networks and masses of data about the city analyzed in real time tell the story of the city itself, of its inhabitants, of their lives and activities, of its environment: en emergent, disseminated, ubiquitous story that evolves with the city and its life.

Created for the Festa dell’Architettura in Rome, the software and hardware platforms at the base of Connecticity have evolved over time becoming a true immaterial architecture, creating fluid interstitial dimensions of architectural space in which hybrid, realtime communications take place between citizens and the city itself, transforming its surfaces into a new, communicative, skin.

De_Face

De_Face is a simple game: pass in front of it and a face recognition identifies your face and replaces it with the face of a famous actor. A fun game of mixed identities, and a critical observation of our hyper-controlled society.

Students!

We are also very proud to be in the event, as two groups of our best students will be joining in the exhibit!

And so, welcome Federica Lastrucci, Paola Meloni and Anrea Ettorre, with their Cinex Project: a holophonic, immersive cinema in which people are actually able to move and experience full immersivity.

And welcome to Alessandro Suraci and Marta Passarelli with their virtual mannenquins, using projection mapping to create exciting effects including special FX and the reenactment of famous costumes from science fiction and other movies, and with their animated video environments and scenography.

be there!

Wearing Emotions by FakePress, presented at the IV10 conference in London, July 2010 from salvatore iaconesi on Vimeo.

The video shows the presentation of the paper titled “Wearing Emotions: Physical representation and visualization of human emotions using wearable technologies” presented at the IV10 (Information Visualization 2010) conference at South Bank‘s college in London, on July 26th, 2010.

The paper and presentation describe a research process focused on the scientific research, design and implementation of wearable devices able to display human emotions – be them individual, group or global – on physical bodies.
The devices created in the process have been used to create 3 artistic performances as both proofs of concepts and as innovative forms of artistic and aesthetic expression: Talkers performance, OneAvatar and Conference Biofeedback.

the slides relative to the presentation can be found here:
http://www.slideshare.net/xdxd/wearing-emotions-sifppresentation

the video can be found here:

http://vimeo.com/13779500

or here

http://www.archive.org/details/WearingEmotionsByFakepressPresentedAtTheIv10ConferenceInLondonJuly

on Art is Open Source:

http://www.artisopensource.net/2010/07/31/wearing-emotions-by-fakepress-presented-at-the-iv10-conference-in-london-july-2010/

OneAvatar, wearable technologies connecting body and avatar

Reference links:

the IV10 conference website:
http://www.graphicslink.co.uk/IV10/

Art is Open Source:
http://www.artisopensource.net/

FakePress:
http://www.fakepress.it/

Talkers Performance:
http://www.artisopensource.net/talkers/

OneAvatar:
http://www.artisopensource.net/OneAvatar/

Conference Biofeedback:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/xdxd_vs_xdxd/sets/72157622816765253/

Living CrossMedia

[ITALIANO]

AOS & FakePress

insieme a

Università di Roma La Sapienza, Facoltà di Architettura Ludovico Quaroni, Dipartimento di Disegno Industriale

e con la presenza di

Assessorato alla Cultura e alla Comunicazione del Comune di Roma

presentano:

Living CrossMedia

le opportunità dei nuovi media nei Centri Commerciali e nei nuovi spazi della cultura e dell’aggregazione

Martedì 1 Giugno 2010

Facoltà di Architettura Ludovico Quaroni

Università di Roma “La Sapienza”

via Gianturco 2, Roma

aula G11

dalle 9:30 alle 12:00

Marco Torresan, Direttore del Centro Commerciale “Porta di Roma”

Simona Pantò, Responsabile del Marketing del Centro Commerciale “Porta di Roma”

Alessandro Ferrante, Assessorato alla Cultura e Comunicazione del Comune di Roma

terranno una lecture e dibattito per discutere delle opportunità che, nello scenario contemporaneo, si aprono con la comunicazione e l’interazione multi e cross mediale nei nuovi spazi della socializzazione, dell’aggregazione e della cultura, a partire dalla loro esperienza.

Partendo dall’analisi della trasformazione degli spazi pubblici e commerciali nelle città del nuovo secolo, per arrivare alle suggestioni che vedono display, interazioni con dispositivi mobili ed ubiqui, ambienti interattivi, e nuove forme di comunicazione digitale arricchire la nostra esperienza della città, dei nostri rapporti con le persone, le aziende e gli spazi che percorriamo tutti i giorni.

L’intervento, propositivo anche nel ragionare sulle possibilità di interazione tra ricerca, arte, design e marketing, sarà seguito da un dibattito aperto a tutti gli intervenuti.

L’incontro sarà coordinato da Salvatore Iaconesi (Art is Open Source, FakePress e docente del corso di Sperimentazioni di Tecnologie e Comunicazioni Multimediali della Facoltà di Architettura Ludovico Quaroni dell’Unversità di Roma “La Sapienza”) e Oriana Persico (Art is Open Source, FakePress).

[ENGLISH]

AOS & FakePress

together with

University of Rome La Sapienza, Faculty of Architecture Ludovico Quaroni, Department of Industrial Design

and with the presence of

Culture and Communication Council of the City of Rome

present:

Living CrossMedia

the opportunities for new media in Commercial Centers and in the new spaces for culture and social aggregation

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

Faculty of Architecture Ludovico Quaroni

University of Rome “La Sapienza”

via Gianturco 2, Rome

room G11

from 9:30 am to 12:00

Marco Torresan, Director of the Commercial Centre “Porta di Roma”

Simona Pantò, Marketing Responsible of the Commercial Centre “Porta di Roma”

Alessandro Ferrante, Culture and Communication Council of the City of Rome

will hold a lecture and debate to investigate the opportunities opening in the contemporary scenario through the adoption of multi and cross medial communication and interaction in the emerging spaces for socialization, culture and aggregation, starting from their experience.

Starting from the analysis of the current transformation of public and commercial spaces in the cities of the new century, and arriving to the suggestions coming from the wide availability of display technologies, of interactions with mobile and ubiquitous devices, of interactive and responsive environments, and of new forms of digital communication enriching our experience of the city, of our relationships with other people, companies and spaces.

The lecture will also explore the possible interactions among scientific research, art, design and marketing, and will be followed by an open dialogue to which everyone attending the event will be invited to contribute.

The event will be coordinated by Salvatore Iaconesi (Art is Open Source, FakePress and professor of Experiments in Multimedia Technologies and Communications at the Faculty of Architecture “Ludovico Quaroni”  at Rome’s University “La Sapienza”) and by Oriana Persico (Art is Open Source, FakePress).

Disegno Industriale 39

The new issue of Disegno Industriale is out, , focused on Interaction Design.

You can check it out here. There’s also an article I wrote about John Maeda and the great influence he had on creativity through computing.

Hope you enjoy it.

Here is a short summary and the index:

“From designing the shape of objects to shaping the design of behaviours: next issue will explore interaction as a form to design in order to shape a world which can be more intelligent and friendly. After high-tech, technology hides itself within our artificial world, in order to become ane everyday presence.”

visual narratives and explorations in anthropology

A continuous flow of perspectives, voices, desires and emotions creates a poliphonic form of expression that goes well beyond written language, creating an experience that is closer to the world we live in.

AC is a simple actionscript interface that will be used as a starting point in a series of developments.

The first one simply grabs pictures about “anthropology” in real time from flickr.com, displaying them in a mobile, variable, multi-author visual composition that aims to create a visionary stream of consciousness of the multitude of people involved. A chaotic, suggestive, emotional, harmonic-and-dissonant narrative.

click here to open: AC, Antropologia Culturale

In the next steps, this form of narration will be expanded to define a world-medium that will be used to build a digital layer of reality that you will be able to experience in physical space, trough mobile phones and other handheld and wearable devices. A narrative augmented reality and a new form of publishing.

Stay tuned. :)

O, an emotional bluetooth gadget

“O” is finally ready.

A bluetooth gadget with an emotional approach. It can be used to communicate with your friends, lovers and relatives with a gesture of your hand.

Squeeze it. Watch it vibrate and light up. Know that they love you :)

Check it out :)