16th
May
2001
“Route maps, which depict a path from one location to another, have emerged as one of the most popular applications on the Web. Current computer-generated route maps, however, are often very difficult to use. In this paper we present a set of cartographic generalization techniques specifically designed to improve the usability of route maps. Our generalization techniques are based both on cognitive psychology research studying how route maps are used and on an analysis of the generalizations commonly found in handdrawn route maps.”
posted in Mapping | Permalink |
16th
May
2001
“Fashion photography is in fashion. This 1951 Vogue cover by Irving Penn recently sold for $28,750 at auction. It is indeed brilliant: Penn’s masterful use of light, balance, and a spare composition create an understated elegance … Meanwhile, this image taken by one of today’s biggest celebrity photographers, David LaChapelle, recently went for $3,000. Why does that seem like a worse deal than $28,750 for the Penn? Critics say the problem is that today’s fashion photographers see themselves as artists, while their Golden Age predecessors thought they were just working for a living.”
posted in Photography | Permalink |
16th
May
2001
Amazing stuff: “The photographs of Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii (1863-1944) offer a vivid portrait of a lost world — the Russian Empire on the eve of World War I and the coming revolution. His subjects ranged from the medieval churches and monasteries of old Russia, to the railroads and factories of an emerging industrial power, to the daily life and work of Russia’s diverse population. (We know that Prokudin-Gorskii intended his photographic images to be viewed in color because he developed an ingenious photographic technique in order for these images to be captured in black and white on glass plate negatives, using red, green and blue filters.)”
posted in Photography | Permalink |
16th
May
2001
“Since the brain retains memories of images, especially faces, very accurately, new security systems are going graphical.”
posted in Security/Privacy | Permalink |
16th
May
2001
“Contextual inquiry is an increasingly popular method for discovering this information. Also known as ethnographic research or field studies, the idea is deceptively simple: Build useful products and watch your users as they work. The process itself sounds even easier: Go to where your users are and tag along with them.”
posted in Usability | Permalink |
16th
May
2001
“Since the brain retains memories of images, especially faces, very accurately, new security systems are going graphical.”
posted in Visual thinking | Permalink |
