In the dance pice ‚"beyond episode II"‚ by Christina Thoma and Tanja Büchel, the dancers explore the behavior and reaction of a free running(swinging) stage. Every step or movement transfers energy into the stage and results in apparently unpredictable movements.
As my final thesis i developed a visual concept for a mostly projection based illumination of this performance, using generative graphics.
These graphics needed to be reactive to the movement of the stage and to the choreography, therefore i developed a technical system and framework using camera tracking and multi-head projection.

After developing the tools for such a task, i focused on creating visual concepts for each sequence of the performance.

At the Biennale, mæve connects the entries of the Everyville student competition and puts them into the larger context of MACE content and metadata. By placing physical project cards on an interactive surface, users can explore the presented projects, embedded in an organic network of associated projects, people and media.

interaction:
The installation consists of an interactive surface and a large projection area. While users are interacting with the contents of the installation on the interactive surface, the network and the media files are displayed on the large projection. The ten winning projects from the Everyville student competition are represented as physical cards. If a card is placed on the interactive surface, a contextual space is opened around the project. Within this space, media files, related projects and keywords are visualized. When a second card is placed on the surface, the space turns into a network displaying similarities between the projects. In addition to the Everyville cards, the installation also contains inspirational projects from the MACE repositories. These projects are also represented by project cards and enable the visitors to connect the Everyville projects to MACE contents. Furthermore, as the interaction with the cards is not limited to the one person, entire groups and teams can explore the content together.
(text by http://portal.mace-project.eu/maeve)

Paper Abstract: In this paper, we investigate possibilities and limitations of temperature change as a method for information display in mobile applications. While some widespread and well‑recognized haptic displays such as force‑feedback often trigger the user’s immediate attention, we will focus on ambient strategies for tactile information display, that is, the display of gradual state changes in the user’s periphery that do not unexpectedly interrupt her current tasks, but builds on the mind’s ability for subliminal perception of environmental change instead.
To this end, we present a series of prototypes of mobile devices that display ambient information by means of thermal change based on the thermo‑electric effect. In order to assess the expedience and feasibility of such a display, a series of user tests have been conducted with respect to both, the ability for thermal change recognition and a concrete application scenario for such a display.

We live in a time with a constant overflow of visual communication. Everywhere we go pictures throw themselves opun us. In consequence our visual sense is very well trained.

Memory is by many regarded as a highly challenging game, but imagine the increasing level of difficulty when you need to memorize sounds instead of pictures. The game will naturally be suitable for people with low or no eyesight.
Re-Memorize will appeal to all everyone who likes playing games and competition no matter if one has perfect eyesight or is completely blind. It also offers a valuable alternative to other games that are often connected to visual communication.

Interaction walkthrough:
When Re-Memorize is turned on you will first hear a welcome melody, then you just shuffle the cards and place them out. The first player starts buy turning the switch of any of the 64 gamesquares. The game will tell the position ( Ex B-7 ) and then play the melody connected to that card. When the melody has played, the first player can flip a second switch, and again the game will tell the position of that card and play a melody. If the same sound is played on both the first and the second flip of the switch a pair is found and a small congratulation song will be played. The player will pull the card from the gamesquares and keep them as his pair. After finding a pair the player will get a new try. If two different melodies are played the player will get a failure sound. Then the player needs to flip the switches back and the next player gets his try.

This will go on until all cards have been taken. The player who collected most of the pairs wins and both the winner and the loser/losers can listen to the celebration song.

Basically the map looks like a city map displaying each agency in form of a house that holds all relevant parameters. This project is based on the database of the ‘Designszene Berlin’ website by the International Design Centre Berlin, who is a partner for this project. Every agency in this database is tagged with up to six different design branches. The layout of the house is dominated by these tags. All agencies working in the same design branch are grouped into boroughs; i.e., all agencies working only in Industrial Design and in Communication Design are grouped in one borough. The six boroughs including the agency who are tagged only for one branch are laid out clockwise on the outside of the map. All other boroughs, having more then on tag, are laid out between these six main boroughs depending on the tags they include; i.e., the borough having the tag Industrial Design and Communication Design will be placed between the Industrial Design borough and the Communication Design borough.

The ‘Ursonate’ is a so called speech opera written and performed by Kurt Schwitters. Different versions of the ‘Ursonate’ are available, all created between 1923 and 1932. In 1932 Kurt Schwitters published the score in a design by Jan Tschichold. « Different artist used this score for their own interpretation and so several recordings of the Ursonate appeared over time.

The base for this project is the score as well as a recoding made by Salome Kammer in 2005.

At first the recording was analysed and evaluated by processing applications. As a result a data set was created, that includes the length of the words and pauses, as well as the amplitude of different frequencies. This data set is now applied onto the text through using javascript scripts in Adobe Indesign.

The aim of this project is to find a way to merge the characteristics ( metadata ) of the spoken word into the written word, as well as to find a way to break out of the strict rules and reduce additional devices that are needed to explain the score to the reader/singer.

Intuitive and easy‑to‑learn gestures allow the user to create indiviudal and experimental light concepts without being limited by the need for expert knowledge or the need to understand the technichal components used for light engineering. The user can simply draw light sources and illuminated areas on the virtual stage, add attributes, browse through color settings and compose several lights to presets and cues.
Light!Director will enable the director or designer to bring his ideas on stage with the help of additional tools like a 3D life preview. This application will also improve the communication between technical stuff and director by taking the technical limitations of the stage into consideration and providing technical setup plans for the technical crew.

This Java Applet does several Google search requests with previously determined topics (for example >k3<, or >fh-potsdam< in combination with my name). A new Google search request will be initiated every time you start the application or press the redraw button, so you will always get fresh results.
With this applet, I am able to find and display my own digital footprint. Information about every one of us is readily available on the internet. Photos are tagged with our names, we create user profiles, people quote our existing work in their own projects (as is common in open source projects) or write about us in their blogs. We are all part of and creators of the >>long tail<<.
>>out of the blue<< allows me to gather this information and display it in an alternative way, as a visualization of the relationships between different hits and topics.

The Precision of Freedom investigates the experience of freedom placing it in opposition to freedom as concept or ideal. In this way we distinguish between freedom on one hand as a collective feeling of “living in a world of boundless possibilities”, with all its stereotypes and symbols, and on the other hand freedom as a deep individual feeling, unique and elusive. And where and how can we experience it, if all kind of things are displayed and sold to us as freedom, but very few of these things really give us a personal experience of it?
(text by banality dreams)

In the new work of Banality Dreams, a cowboy, a princess and a chicken encounter each other in the here and now and forming from the outset, a bizarre combination crossing the unexpected paths of romanticism, family planning and friendship in the 21st century. In this way The Cowboy, the Princess and the Chicken takes into focus the fragile openness and the unpredictable abyss of inter-human encounters in the modern world, and thereby dives into the everyday schizophrenia of dreams and objectivity, reality and fiction. The work is based on the desire to live out the ideals and life expectations in the banality and unintenionality of everyday situations, its absurd comic, its profound tragedy and brutality. The première takes place within the framework of No Limits, Berlin.
(text by banality-dreams)

Come and dive into an unpredictable multi-media theatre adventure, starring a group of people that have plenty to say, and they will say it in a way that you have never experienced before!

Banality Dreams, an international group of artist, teams up with a local group of disabled actors for an innovative art project to be developed in Vidaråsen, close to Andebu in Vestfold.
The Berlin-based group Banality Dreams is an award-winning alliance of artists who made it a sport never to do the same thing twice, leaving a trail of peculiar and controversial projects. They usually provocate strong reactions from their audience, and the group of passionate fans is growing steadily.

The current project has already been invited to the important theatre festival ‚No-Limits‘ in Berlin, and the group of actors is more than ready to shake the world of established theatre.

With a great portion of creativity and humor they are going to make their own very special statement.
(text by banality-dreams)

The Jubilee Year 2009 at the HfG ends with a impressive illumination of the facade to celebrate one hundred years of Martin Elsaesser's building. Communication Design students in fourth semester cooperated with Interaction Design students to make the listed building shine.

The project was based ob a five-day workshop that took place in November 2008 and used vvvv programming language to develop concepts for the large area facade animation. There followed almost half a year's organization, concept work, programming, and technical translation into real illumination. The actual animation was achieved using several different programs – Cinema 4D, Flash, After Effects, ScreenFlow und Premiere – but mainly with vvvv.
(text by FORMAT (2009))