information visualization aesthetics @ Seattle Public Library

The article begins “From now on, whatever you check out of the Seattle Central Library will play in color-coded streams across six big plasma screens on the library’s fifth floor.” but don’t freak out, that’s actually not what happens. Read more about the new art installation in the Seattle Public Library’s main branch. Of the three other major artworks in the library, two aren’t working currently, they need new projectors. [thanks matthew]

radio book, book radio

When you look at the creative bleeding edge things people are doing with user interface design you have to wonder why we can’t hire someone like this to design our OPACs. [thanks adam]

Our final concept, the “book radio,” takes the mental model of a physical book where user can browse by flipping pages, read by keeping a page open, and create a reminder of a specific page by placing a bookmark.

Each page of the “book radio” represents a frequency. The user flips pages to scan the frequency spectrum; opens to a specific page to listen to a station; places the bookmark on a desired page to listen and store the station; and slides the bookmark up or down to control the volume. In addition, the “book radio” inherits other qualities of a book. The user can scribble in it, place stickers or take notes while listening.