Prof. Dipl.-Des. Oliver Wrede

details of a global brain

  • Testing World Outliner

    This is just a test with the WordPress editing tool of Dave Winers OPML Editor and Word Outliner software. I owe Dave Winer a lot. He invented Frontier (which apparantly is running at the core of the OPML Editor). It got me into Blogging in 1996. I experimented a lot with it at the time…

  • New seminars for winter semester

    Two new seminars have been announced for the winter semester (details in German). These seminars are open to all students starting from 3rd semester. »Data Transformation« Lecturers: Prof. Dipl.-Des. Oliver Wrede A seminar for information design interactive media in the context of topics like »Data Journalism«, Generative Gestaltung, »Big Data«, Datenvisualisierung, »Information Mapping«, Informationsgrafik, Data…

  • OK. Reset!

    Well, as this blog obviously shows: I simply did not have the time to blog in the past (the Twitter account is more active). The past years have been of that sort. There is too much going on and I started to contemplate for a moment if I should revoke the old blogging habit from…

  • The ROI of User Experience

    In this animated video Dr. Susan Weinschenk demonstrates how user centered design results in significant return on investment (ROI). (PDF-Download)

  • Hot Topics in Information Design

    I have accepted to work for the Information Design Journal as Special Interest Editor. I want to think in the open about this: What is a “hot topic” anyway? In my view there are four criteria for any topic to be “hot”: the news value actuality amount of discussion in the community touching “high-level aspects”…

  • G-Speak

    (Via Dynamic Information Design Seminar Blog) Minority Report science adviser and inventor John Underkoffler demos g-speak — the real-life version of the film’s eye-popping, tai chi-meets-cyberspace computer interface. Is this how tomorrow’s computers will be controlled? G-Speak is a really interesting concept. Right now I do not feel it is where it should be to…

  • IA conference 2010

    I am at the IA Konferenz 2010 in Cologne (my hometown). Would have been a crime to miss this conference here. Met James Kalbach , Søren Muus, Jason Hobbs (I owe him a written commentary to his talk) and others… I need to write more but until I find the time to do that I suggest to look…

  • Björn Hartmann: Enlightened Trial and Error

    Björn Hartmann (Stanford HCI Group) talks about the different prototyping tools he and his collaborators have built to address two research questions: 1) How can tools enable designers to create prototypes of ubiquitous computing interfaces? 2) How can design tools support the larger process of learning from these prototypes? (Duration: 1 hour, 13 minutes; this…

  • When faces become hyperlinks

    The algorithms for facial recognition have improved a lot in recent years. Here is a company showing a working prototype of a mobile app that recognizes faces and attaches links to social network layers to them: The prototype was shown last year — but there was a live demo at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelone…

  • Create some music with Flash?

    There is a new release of the Hobnox Audiotool coming up! Until release you can play with iNudge:

  • 10/GUI & con10uum

    10/GUI (by Clayton Miller) is an novel approach to human-computer interaction. But it draws attention to the fine line designers will need to walk to effectively create physical human-computer interactions. The video demonstrates the potential advantages of navigating within a desktop interface with up to ten fingers, rather than via a single cursor: [More on…

  • Mouse 2.0?

    These research prototypes for future computer mice by Microsoft are very interesting approaches:

  • Next generation of devices: Tablets

    There have been many attempts to make a computer work from your pocket and without a keyboard. Apple is rumored to work on a tablet device. It has invented the Newton Message Pad over 15 years ago – which was a marvelous (but expensive) device at that time. Microsoft is working on a new prototype…

  • GPS + Compass + Motion sensors = Augmented Reality

    The new iPhone 3GS adds a compass to the set of sensors. Combined with the GPS, the motion detection sensor and some image change detection via the internal video camera, this enables a new breed of “augmented reality” applications. NearestWiki for example displays WikiPedia entries about buildings and places in the vicinity. NearestWiki is not…

  • Introduction to HTML5

    Here is a very good introduction to HTML5 by Brad Neuberg that is a must see for web designers and developers – at least if you are new to HTML5: Introduction to HTML 5 from Brad Neuberg on Vimeo.

  • Tinderbox goes Universal

    One of the tools I am using for years now is Tinderbox from Eastgate. I have used it for quite some time to write this weblog here (but swichted to WordPress + MarsEdit recently). Nevertheless I think Tinderbox is a helper in many ways – although there are always features that can be and will…

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