ITP

ITP ListServ Visualization: Getting My Gmail Data Using Python Gmail Library

March 18, 2014 by michellechandra in Data Visualization, Python

Today I figured out how to use this Gmail Python Library to fetch Gmail data for my ITP listserv visualization. First up, I installed the Gmail Python library by cloning the GitHub repo to a folder on my local computer.


git clone git://github.com/charlierguo/gmail.git

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git clone git://github.com/charlierguo/gmail.git

In Terminal, I changed directories so I was in the directory where I saved the library.


cd /Users/michellechandra/rwet/gmail

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cd /Users/michellechandra/rwet/gmail

I then installed the GMail Python library:


python setup.py

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python setup.py

And opened the Python Interpreter in Terminal:


python

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python

and ran these commands to log-in to my Gmail Account:


import gmail

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import gmail


g = gmail.login('username'. 'password')

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g = gmail.login('username'. 'password')

This command accesses messages labeled “ITP” in my Inbox: → Read more

Processing: Conditional Statements

September 24, 2013 by michellechandra in Processing

In last week’s Processing class, we covered Conditional Statements and creating user interface elements such as buttons and rollovers. I tried to take Dan Shiffman’s simple animation of a square moving around the edge of a window and decrease it inwards. Not surprisingly, I wasn’t able to figure it out on my own but luckily Dan showed me how! Creating this new animation required changing the conditional statements so the distance of my traveling square decreased inward from the edge as the animation runs (instead of the square simply looping along the edge of the window).

If I was a better programmer, this would be a video

→ Read more

Generative Art and Processing

September 18, 2013 by michellechandra in Processing

I have two words for you: Generative Art

This week’s ICM course involved moving from a static, manual idea of Processing to animation and interaction. Not surprisingly, when Dan Shiffman began to show us different ways to create an interactive drawing, my initial reaction was : oooh! things move! shiny! colors! more! more! more!

Ziv Schneider and I met later in the week to discuss a complimentary collaboration for ICM. Luckily, Ziv came prepared having actually researched some pretty awesome examples of Generative Art as inspiration. In the context of my programming class, Generative Art is using Processing (programming language) to create artistic work (i.e. painting).

At the end of the day, I didn’t have much time so I decided play around with randomness, transparency and stroke weight to create painterly effects.

Here is my first attempt at building layers of color, thinking back to basic painting practices (the composition of the sketches is partially randomly generated): → Read more

City Walk Sound Piece

September 17, 2013 by michellechandra in Video

Danqing Wang and I created a short soundscape of NY city sounds for our ITP Audio/Video Lab. Our ambient recordings of NY weren’t great (lots of wind and mic noise, oops!) so we largely used sounds downloaded from freesound.org. However, we did record the violin sound heard in the beginning of the track in a tunnel in Central Park.

Using ProTools to edit our piece was tough, but we managed to do a couple fades and panning!

Listen to ME

What is Physical Interaction?

September 14, 2013 by michellechandra in Physical Computing

What defines physical interaction, and what makes for good physical interactive experiences? In The Art of Interactive Design, Chris Crawford defines interaction as a conversation with two actors who “listen, think and speak.” Physical interaction involves a give and take, and is not simply a reaction (for example, a viewer watching a movie) or participation (a couple dancing).

In “A Brief Rant on the Future of Interaction Design,” Bret Victor defines physical interaction in opposition to this video (produced by Microsoft) that envisions a future in which perfect happy people living in sterile environments (a la Ikea) passively swipe screens to interact with each other. Throughout the video, every need and desire is met in a homogenized manner – apparently, things don’t go wrong, and chaos does not exist.

Victor defines tools as objects that amplify human capabilities. He outlines the many capabilities of the human hand, and questions a future in which tactility is left behind for tools that are “Pictures Under Glass” and involve minimal human interaction (largely, swiping a screen). To Victor, this future fails to take advantage of the myriad capabilities of the human hand. → Read more

Fantasy Device: Infinite Container

September 10, 2013 by michellechandra in Physical Computing

Yesterday was my first Physical Computing class at ITP. In similar ITP fashion, it was of course amazing. Sam Lavigne, Saki Ichikawa and I were tasked with prototyping a fantasy device. We decided to dream up an Infinite Container!

At first, we were struggling with the physical limitations of reality and an infinite container. How big is the container? Is it made of a special fabric that can expand and collapse? Once you place an object inside, how would you find it again?

Then we realized we needed to think of the “container” as a metaphor. We realized we needed to dream up a fantastical technology that could scan and digitize an object, but also regenerate the object again. Voila! Infinite Container!

The Infinite Container is designed to look like any old ho-hum-drum shopping bag (a la Whole Foods) in order to make scanning discrete.

Demonstrated by yours truly!

→ Read more

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