New Portfolio

I have a new portfolio. Pay it a visit and see what I have been up to lately. mihafeus.com

A minimalistic animation

A very short motion graphic with only the most essential elements. All those airports actually exist.
Music: Venetian Snares - My So-Called Life
(Mr. Snares has no idea I borrowed his music)

Moving forward

It surprises me that this blog hasn't jumped in front of a train yet, because of the lack of love I give it.

Since my last post (in March) I was working on a industrial/interaction design project for Visionect. I will write more about it in one of my next posts.

Now to the really good news (well, to some of you it's not news anymore). I have been accepted for the Master in Interaction Design at Umeå Institute of Design, Sweden. I am still puzzled about why I was accepted, but I guess they need someone to make them coffee.

Now to some other good news. Since I uploaded the video about my Camera UI project (yes, that one below) 6 months ago, it got around 800 views. Recently this number jumped to 4200+ thanks to Lukas Mathis and his blog post on Ignore the code. It has since inspired many young designers and other people and has thus fulfilled its goal. Finally the 9 months working on the project and 2 months on the video have paid off.
Thank you Lukas.

Camera concept and prototype

Ah, finally :)

The video, which will explain it all. The whole project, how and why I did it, together with the final results. Now my question to you is "What should I do with it?". Should I sell it all to a camera manufacturer, write guidelines for the Touchband interface, make a phone app with a similar interface or something else?

Portfolio

I finally managed to make a portfolio of my best work. It's ready for download: Portfolio

Here are some screen shots:

 

 

How to visualize a Formula 1 race

UPDATE: This image was promoted to the Hall of Fame on www.3delavnica.com

I am not a big fan of Formula 1, but I was curious how a race visualization would look like. So I went through these steps to find out:

1. Watch the recorded race
2. Write down lap positions and other events
3. Explore visual style
4. Turn data into graph

5. Add finishing touches

I wanted to make a visualization that everyone could understand who has ever seen a race. It had to be simple enough to understand, but still give enough accurate information to study the race (strategy, cause and effect). Although it may not look like much, but there are a few days of work in this image. Hope you will enjoy it. Your comments are welcome :)

(click on image to enlarge)

Here are some details (original size):

New old track

This track was taken from a video of mine. I made it for the video and then exported it together with the background sounds from the video. First the audio influenced the video and now the video influenced this track.

 

Here is the original video if someone would like to watch it:



I am also seriously thinking about changing the name of this blog, because the current one is just silly and stupid. Update: Blog name changed to "Design stream" :)

Konceptna kuhinja Wodwa

PDF in English about this concept kitchen with more details: download (1.7 MB)

UPDATE: Electrolux has patented this kitchen concept :)

V današnjem  načinu gradnje stebri prevzemajo nosilno vlogo v stavbi. Ker imajo stene zgolj še ločevalno funkcijo, je mogoče v njih skriti celotno kuhinjo in uporabiti prostor za druge namene.

“Wodwa je koncept polno opremljene ekološke kuhinje, katero je mogoče v celoti skriti v steno. ”

Koncept stene Wodwa vsebuje glavni modul s pomivalnim strojem, hladilnikom, pečico, prostorom za shranjevanje, indukcijsko kuhalno ploščo in pomivalnim koritom s fleksibilno armaturo. Zraven glavnega modula vsebuje še mizo, stole, ogrevane in hlajene prostore za shranjevanje, sistem za avtomatsko reciklažo in aeroponični vrt.

Hladilnik hladi z zvočnim pogonom, večina vode se reciklira s pomočjo povratne osmoze, pomivalni stroj s paro pomiva in dezinficira z nano plastjo prevlečeno posodo, koš za smeti pa s senzorjem zazna vrsto smeti in jih temu primerno razvrsti. Računalnik nadzira rast rastlin v aeroponičnem vrtu, svetlobo pa rastline dobijo od zunaj, skozi optične kable.

Koncept je v celoti prilagodljiv uporabniku, saj površine prevlečene z elektronskim papirjem spreminjajo barvo. Oprema prostora pa se razporeja samodejno glede na uporabo in čas dneva. Glavni materiali koncepta Wodwa so les iz lokalnih dreves, biorazgradljivi polimeri in aluminij.

The face of the camera

I finally finished writing my thesis, so I had some spare time to finish the 3D model and make a few renders. What do you think?

First results from prototype testing

Hello there!
I had no time to write my blog (not that anyone would read it), because I had to write my thesis first. And I can assure you that this is the last time I am writing a Bachelor Thesis ;)

Now to the results of the first 12 tests [drumroll]. Although the prototype is still in an early stage, it is already  better then both contestants. I expected it to be better then the button interface (Canon), but I never expected that it would be better then the touchscreen interface (Sony). And rest assured that I did everything I could to make the testing objective and unbiased. So, the results are solid.

So much for now. I will present all the data in more detail some time next month. Until then, have fun!

Častim pijačo!

Prototip je končan! Zdaj pa je napočil trenutek, ko bi rabil nekaj pridnih prostovoljcev, ki bi se malo poigrali s prototipom in povedali svoje mnenje. Tehnološka nadarjenost ni pomembna, saj so digitalni fotoaparati namenjeni vsem. Testiranje bo mogoče v severno-vzhodni Sloveniji, avgusta pa tudi v Ljubljani.

Če koga ni prepričala pijača, ga bo sigurno ta video:

Prosim delite ta video naprej prijateljem, znancem, domačim živalim, da bom častil čim več pijač in na koncu imel zelo veliko dobrih rezultatov. Če nimate druge možnosti, me lahko kontaktirate na newcameraui@gmail.com.

Share: http://skrci.me/dss10

Running low on time, money and motivation

Since my last post I have been manly programming. Although the project is progressing nicely, it is by far not as fast as I expected. I have now exactly 2 months left to turn in the complete thesis and haven't written a word yet. So I still have to write the whole damn thing, do the complete UI comparison testing and write 20% of the code. And as far as motivation goes I am now at a all time low, because I am getting sick and tired of working on the same project.

With the last money I had left, I bought two cameras for UI comparison testing. A used Sony Cyber-shot DSC-T50 with a touchscreen UI and a new Canon Powershot A490 with a standard UI. Sadly I could not afford a Sony with a newer touchscreen interface, so this one will have to do the job. Here is a picture of all the cameras:

Because I have no money and no time to spare, I will also have to leave out all the summer festival. I already missed Nova Rock and will miss Metal Camp and Sziget. And all this isn't actually boosting my motivation...

By the way, I am planing to do 50 UI comparison tests and for this I will need 50 people. So please contact me, if you are interested. One test should probably take around 20 minutes.

P.S: If someone knows where I could get some fine electronics soldered here in Pomurje, please let me know. This is the last thing I need to do to finish the prototype. [Done.]

Share: http://skrci.me/dss09

Progress... at last

This time I will let the video do the talking:

Its still a bit buggy and the cables are too short, but it works :)

Share: http://skrci.me/dss08

Pushing Catalyst to the limits

This is what I was able to create with Catalyst before it's stupidity started kicking in. And I must say it kicks in pretty soon and pretty often or every time you want to do something out of the ordinary. Another nice feature would be a "stop helping me" button, because it stands in your way when its trying to help you. I don't know why its impossible to to choose actions to any state from any state. Sometimes it doesn't even give you the same options in the "go to state" and "when in state" (WTF?).  Most of the time I was trying to hack my way around it's limitations, that and the exponentially growing complexity are the reasons why my mock-up isn't fully functional. And of course there are times when Catalyst starts doing what it wants and you have to euthanize it...
What I would like to have is as crossover between the original Flash and Flash Catalyst. This way I could have AS programing capabilities combined with all this cool and simple to create smooth animations. Flowcharts of interactions would also be nice, because you can quickly lose track of actions with growing complexity.

“Flash Catalyst is currently in the state of a child with a missing leg - alive but not fully functional.”

By the way, sorry for the inconsistency in size in my interaction mock-up (at first I had no intention to connect all the different states).  In case you missed the link to it, here it is again: http://skrci.me/cameraui. One more thing; orange triangles or arrows represent the scroll (tap drag) function in the final interaction prototype, that I was unable to create in Catalyst. The "review" section is loading for quite some time, because Catalyst doesn't resize images when exporting for web (and switching back to menu and photo modes doesn't work, you have to use the browser back arrow).

I am still looking for a C++ programmer and I have to make a correction about my previous post. I don't need drivers, only a small program that turns absolute mode on and I can already provide example programs and code.

Share this post:  http://skrci.me/dss07

I need a programmer!

I'm in desperate need of a programmer!

I'm searching for someone who knows C++ and would be able to edit some touch pad drivers (not actual drivers but a small program which enables absolute mode). I need the absolute mode enabled and some minor extras (turning the coordinate system for 90° and adjusting the active area). I can provide the SDK in fact you can download it here. There are already some examples included for the things I need.

I promise fortune and glory to anyone who is not afraid to take this challenge. Just kidding, but I will pay you (don't worry) and give you a big "Thank you" in my thesis.

If you are interested, write an email to my name.surname at gmail.


Share this post: http://skrci.me/dss06
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Nujno rabim programerja!

Iščem programerja, ki obvlada C++ in bi bil pripravljen urediti touch pad driverje (ne driverje pač pa program, ki omogoča absolutno pozicijo kurzorja). Rabil bi absolutno pozicijo kurzorja in nekaj manjših dodatkov (obračanje koordinatnega sistema za 90° in določanje aktivne površine). Lahko priskrbim SDK, v bistvu ga je mogoče dobiti tukaj. Nekaj primerov tega kar rabim je že vključenih.

Vsakemu, ki je pripravljen sprejeti ta izziv obljubljam slavo in bogastvo. Hecam se, bom pa plačal in napisal veliko zahvalo v mojo diplomo.

Če te zanima, napiši email na moje ime.priimek na gmail.


Deli ta prispevek: http://skrci.me/dss06

Home made digital camera

After a few setbacks I am back on track with the practical part of my thesis. Yesterday I finally received the screen component I was waiting for a month and a half. Today I took apart a webcam and combined it with the screen.

[Crap, I accidentally deleted this video on Vimeo, facepalm]

I would like to thank the guys at Cirque for their support and specifications for the touchpad module. Now I will be able to work with it. The interaction part will be painful to create, but doable. [Update: That touchpad went belly up the first day, so...]

Short link to this post: http://skrci.me/dss05

Museum Lights and a trip to Denmark

And now to the "wannabe music artist" part of my description. Yes, I recorded a new track and it's ready for you to listen, download and love.

Museum Lights by Echotype

 I will be away for a few days, because I am visiting my friend in Denmark. The trip will go something like this (if everything goes right of course):

Ljutomer -> Klagenfurt (car)
Klagenfurt -> Frankfurt-Hahn (plane)
Frankfurt-Hahn -> Odense (car)

Odense -> Köln (car)
Köln -> Frankfurt-Hahn (bus)
Frankfurt-Hahn -> Klagenfurt (plane)
Klagenfurt -> Ljutomer (car)


I will report back with pictures on Tuesday.

Short link to this post: http://skrci.me/dss04

Crysis - Thesis is falling apart

After a month of waiting I finally got the right component. I was happy as fat kid with candy, all until I tried to make it work. After a few failed attempts, I opened it up and find a damaged cable. At first I thought that it's my fault, but the cable was in the middle and it was thicker then all the surrounding ones. So in order for me to damage it, I would have to damage the other cables. This means at least another two weeks of waiting... F*cking great!
I also ordered a screen component 5 weeks ago and I don't know where the hell it is...

Damaged cable...

I give up...

Short link to this post: http://skrci.me/dss03

My interface and Flash Catalyst

It's Sunday all over again and it's once again time for my blog post.
I have considered using Flash Catalyst for my (physical) prototype many times. I have tried both beta versions and am now using the trial version. But it seems to me that it is always missing something I would like to do. For example: It has no "click and drag" actions, which I desperately need for my interface to work properly. Well, there is a scroll component, but this won't do the job. I already gave up on Catalyst, but my mentor insisted that I try to create as much as possible with it and then outline the drawbacks of Catalyst. Yesterday I created the first simulation of my interface. If you would like to play with it you can do so here. If you have any comments, I would love to hear them.

 Image of my interface in action

I will try to learn as much as possible from the Catalyst simulation to avoid mistakes in the final version. But I will still create the final version in standard Flash.

Short link to this post: http://skrci.me/dss02

Design competition

Yesterday I entered an international design competition. I submitted my concept one hour before deadline, although I knew about it for more then a month. I was working on this design concept for the past two weeks, but still I've done 90% of the writing, 60% of rendering and 10% of modeling the last day (working 15 hours straight). It's not that I never learn from this "do it all the last day" mistake, but I rather need it. I need the pressure and a tight deadline to function.
Sadly I won't be able to show my concept anytime soon. Because of the competition rules I'm not allow to show it to the public until December.


Short link to this post: http://skrci.me/dss01