print layouts.

examples of appropriate print layouts via 1am magazine and cake magazine.

submission two: working prototype.

Having completed this working prototype of the first two pages of my augmented document I am now confident in manipulating both three dimensional models and movies in conjunction with Junaio Glue. It has also allowed me to become more aware of what makes a good tracking image and the steps I need to take in order to troubleshoot when things don't work. I will now continue to resolve the physical composition of my document and subsequently compile the final booklet.

submission two report: proposal rethink.

In my initial submission I proposed using augmented reality as a means of combining both still and moving imagery in a form that still retains the many positive aspects of physical documentation over digital. This would include the added value of quality and varying paper stock, the ability to be picked up and put down on a whim, a sense of longevity and the ability for it to be kept in a visible collection over a lifetime.

I originally intended to explore this within the context of a personal photo album, using still images as a way of activating moving image. However rather than spend a large proportion of the remaining three weeks creating moving image to then subsequently use in conjunction with still image, I have instead made the decision to use existing media from my current design five project as a starting point.

Through this I believe that I can still achieve the same concept of taking what can be read and appreciated on its own, as beautiful still imagery and embedding and diversifying it with digital content, in a form that is still physical, tactile, and that evokes a sense of longevity.

Ultimately I intend to create an ordered series of similarly styled, graphic images and photographs collated in the form of a tactile, tangible and maybe unfolding booklet or poster. When each image is viewed it will take the viewer to a less stylised and graphic ‘working’ version of the same form. This might include a three dimensional model, animation, further images or written insight such as references and artist models.

I think that this concept holds importance in many contexts and has far greater application than my original intent especially in terms of architecture. When we consider architectural education as we currently know it there are many occasions in which it is necessary to view analogue and digital media in parallel. Perhaps the most obvious example of this being of our end of semester design hand in for the purpose of moderation. I would imagine that unlike in the formal presentation of crits where detail and high quality levels are hugely valued, it would often be necessary to quickly pick up and put down various examples of work without the need for such quality before viewing some in greater detail. Generally there is a huge amount of analogue work handed in and of varying sizes and media. Digital work presents a greater challenge as it must either be rendered and printed or perhaps opened on a screen to be viewed. Augmented reality provides an opportunity for both digital and analogue to be submitted in one document which is able to be viewed instantly. 

The final document which I intend to submit for this brief would represent an edited collection of design work from the semester as a whole that is able to be viewed on two levels. One being a summary, taken at face value. The other as a series of working ‘drawings’ which relate to the previous image(s). Through this we are able to add value in terms of understanding of concept, physical context, understanding of materiality, function, memory or story/narrative and working process amongst other things. This ultimately allows those viewing the document to understand the design project as a whole although it is my intention that if you were unaware of the second level of information it could be equally appreciated.

At this point it was important to consider still image styles that are more or less compatible with Junaio Glue. From past experimentation it was clear that they need to be of higher contrast, maybe with some sort of border, black and white line drawings then edited using Photoshop could be a useful possibility if photographs were to be too complex to read.

Still to be decided is the final format of the document as a whole. I am interested in how the images’ relationship to the page affects the ease of its viewing and also the relationship the images have to each other. It seems that single bordered images would work effectively with the format of Junaio, perhaps less so if they were to extend to the page’s edge. However, if the drawings were to overlap and be composed as a whole but in differing hues and accompanied by a numbered key they could be more abstract and visually appealing; yet potentially less effective in Junaio. Also to be explored is whether or not the use of textured or shiny paper stock will have a negative effect on a smartphone’s ability to recognise an image. At this point I have only used standard paper to test my images but my next step will be to print these working images on various paper types. The effectiveness of these materials will influence the final form of my document, as will the composition of images in relationship to each other.

It is this relationship between the digital and the analogue and the ways in which they both extend and compromise each other that is particularly interesting with this new form of media. And as a result each step must be critiqued and adjusted so as to maximise the effectiveness of both aspects.

submission one. prototype.

a group of us spent some time playing around with junaio glue.
eventually we were able to make our previously modelled box appear on the 'junaio man' image.
and subsequently our own image once we realised that the problem appeared to be with the tablet rather than our models/images.

submission one. collage/gif.

submission one. collage/inspiration.

For You Love Me are an example of people who partake in the creation of very beautiful images, both still and moving. Their website is obviously a great medium to form a portfolio of their work for them as a business however im sure many of their clients would love a medium that could combine these two image types yet still be presented in a way that gives a sense of value and timelessness as achieved by the traditional album or book.

submission one. report.

In todays digital world publishers of printed media have had to reassess their market in order to remain both in demand and financially feasible. A vast and overwhelming proportion of our sales are for small-run, collectible, niche titles like Sneaker Freaker, Lula, Purple Fashion, Self Service and Dumbo feather… that is, beautiful tactile printed objects. [magnation] Personally I still buy a huge number of physical magazines and only read e-magazines when there isn't a choice between the two. For me the digital content of an e-magazine still fails to outweigh the added value of varied and quality paper stock, their ability to be picked up and put down on a whim, their longevity and the act of building a visible collection over a lifetime.
The development of augmented reality and applications such as Junaio Glue however create the opportunity to embed many positive aspects of e-magazines into printed material, yet still retain their overall beauty as a physical object, tactility and ability to be appreciated at face value regardless of whether the digital content is actually being accessed.

One such application of this could be the photo album.

Post the crossover to digital cameras image making and the documentation of our lives has become widespread and easy however it also seems that we have lost the need and motivation to treasure such images in a physical printed form created with the intent of keeping it forever. Increased access to moving image has arguably encouraged this as until now it has only been possible to store such content in digital devices creating a divide between moving and still. Augmented reality poses the ability to bridge that divide. Imagine your wedding album, each still image embedded with a fragment of video footage. The moving no longer has to be something that sits unwatched on a dvd or informally viewed on a blog or via facebook.

And if this were your wedding/birthday/life documentation isn't that how you'd want it?

moving image in a physical printed medium - much like the daily prophet in harry potter.

mini advertisment.

living book.

augmented art.

world's first mobile augmented reality special magazine edition

video screens embedded into magazines.

"How cool is this? Video screens embedded into magazines. The possibilities are endless. Or are they?

We are already inundated with moving advertising. Everywhere we look. Do we need more of it? And are magazines the ideal format for this?

Many pundits are forecasting the end of print. We obviously think this is a croc of shit. While magazines will undergo a mass rationalization and the crud will sink, the really good, targeted and highly visual mags will continue to flourish. Innovation is a great thing but this particular advance might be ill thought out. Definitely for Australia and New Zealand anyway.

In the US, mags run mainly off a subscription model. The mainstream rags are almost given away for free when you subscribe, and circulation numbers are then used to drive print advertising revenues. Newsstand sales over there are less important in the context of overall of circulation than what they are in this part of the world.

Here, wastage rates run at around 50%. Can you imagine the electronic wastage that will be caused by pulping 50% of the mags you see on the average newsstand if this technology were to be more broadly applied?

Cool innovation, especially when it comes to magazines. But we think that this one will need to be sparingly used."

http://blog.magnation.com/2009/09/18/video-embedded-into-magazines/

why we're not afraid of the ipad.

"As you’ve no doubt heard from a slew of other, far more reputable news sources, Apple yesterday announced the release of the iPad; a portable, full colour tablet device which on the face of it, looks like it’s going to shake up not just the computing industry but TV, gaming and publishing as well.

As the New York Observer reported late last year, Time Inc., Conde Nast and Hearst have all signed a deal to sell digital mags in a kind of iTunes for magazines and books and which Apple revealed yesterday will be called, you guessed it, iBooks.

Are we worried? Actually, not a bit.

We’re obliged, of course, to carry the Time and Newsweeks of this world but they are by no means our bread and butter. A vast and overwhelming proportion of our sales are for small-run, collectible, niche titles like Sneaker Freaker, Lula, Purple Fashion, Self Service and Dumbo feather… that is, beautiful tactile printed objects.

Which is to say that most of the magazines we sell are not than the kind of throwaway newsprint titles that this device may end up replacing.

More than anyone, we’re aware of how wasteful the magazine industry is; every week we send back hundreds of unsold magazines to our distributors where they’ll be pulped. This kind of slash and burn approach is at best unsustainable and at worst, completely wasteful and absurd in the year 2010. (I mean, this is meant to be ‘the future’, right? If we’d had our way, the iPad would have surfaced closer to 2001 along with jetpacks, ray-guns and teleportation devices.)

We hope that the arrival of a portable reading device such as the iPad will stamp out a huge proportion of the unnecessary waste created by the publishing industry, but by no means we do we see it spelling the end of the magazine format as we know it. 

Just as sales of vinyl LPs continue to steadily rise in the face of downloads and (dwindling) CD sales, we see a promising future for niche printed media and we look forward to being a part of that for years to come.

Fittingly,  London based Newspaper Club goes into public beta today. These guys are set to launch on-demand newspaper printing for individuals and groups wanting to print as few as five newsprint papers or as many as five thousand for a comparable per unit price."

http://blog.magnation.com/2010/01/29/why-were-not-afraid-of-the-ipad/