Emotionally Technological

Whenever the opportunity to illustrate the marvels of innovation and creativity happens to visit my doorstep, I am all too happy to try.

Already a relic from a not so distant past, I still love this camera.

What is fire good for if we can’t sit around it and enjoy the company of others? What is a cave painting good for if we can’t communicate its message to others? In short, what is technology good for if we can’t use it for good?

• In April 2002 I got my first digital camera.
• In 2005 YouTube created a platform for anyone to share videos.
• In 2007 Street View was introduced as a feature on Google Maps.

Before moving to Canada In October 2002, I had a summer ride with my dear friend Oded in the streets and alleys of Jaffa. I was already hooked on the newly found freedom of absent-mindedly shooting photos wherever I went. I wasn’t blind to the risk of taking photos while riding the scooter, but what is risk good for if not for the thrill?

What did I do with the images?

Occasionally, I flipped through them and enjoyed the sense of place and movement they entailed. But then piles of new photos were added to my database, another camera was purchased, and smartphones made me come up with the phrase “From being the cigarette, the camera has become the ashtray.”

From the ashes, though, a routine chat with Oded, now, some 22 years older on both sides of the line, brought back the memories of that ride. Half an hour later, almost the whole set of images from 2002 became the video you can see here. With Google Street View, you can even follow the approximate route and see what has changed, and what stayed the same.

This link shows some key points on the way: https://maps.app.goo.gl/u7uYBf5jCxrYqxqv8)

This is a route that roughly shows the way: https://maps.app.goo.gl/qwvGmvPRY1iGXeri9

About 65 images from my hard drive, and sound downloaded from Infraction: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TlShBmW31_4

Prompt Generated Letters and Numbers

‘A’ might be an arbitrary choice to start with when considering Start starts with S. But again, Alphabet starts with A and ends with T, so have fun with this one. More will follow.

There is something so primal in the letter. I imagine when language evolved, the concept of marking it involved a gradual process. The scientific field of research is full of information covering the history of language, writing, documenting, and communicating. My humble interests focus mainly on the Experience of Communication. As a designer, I live in the space between fields.

This explains my intrigue and curiosity about technology and future development. Legibility of text is as important as legibility of function – your cell phone, your sofa, or any other encounter you might have with interfaces and services. We might agree that everything is connected, but what makes a connection tick? Design.

The video here is just a quick sample of my explorations. Apart from managing to reach a close resemblance of the resulting image to what I envision, I make note of what I’d like to do with this tool that it doesn’t do now.

• It can’t explain what made it reach the image I see.
• There are many confusions between letters such as E and F.
• There seems to be a weak ability of the tool to “understand” meaning and context.
• The list is longer: the above are quick notes for illustration.

But I do try to make use of the end results as functional items. Some of the images that come out of this process turn into Print On Demand (POD) items that can be reached on a variety of platforms:
Printify: https://halfmoongiraffe.printify.me/products
Etsy: https://www.etsy.com/ca/shop/FumingGiraffe
Threadless: https://www.threadless.com/search?q=yaronstern
Zazzle: https://www.zazzle.ca/store/fuming_giraffe/products

For any questions, comments, and feedback, feel free to let me know. It’s always great to expand the discussion and reach more inspiration.

Sometimes I get lucky and the whole ‘phrase’ comes out right. At the time of writing this, the technology is such that text within image generation can be a wild ride. If it’s only a small PhotoShop correction that is required, I will do it. Otherwise, I turn to other tools. Eventually, someone will come up with the ‘killer code’ that fixes the issue.