ASFA AHMED

Research

AllofUs Work

We believe the best way to promote something is to amaze people with what it can do....so we created a travelling exhibit for Microsoft designed to do exactly that and begin to show the world what Expression and WPF is really all about.

Designed to tour Microsoft events around the globe, we were tasked with creating an exhibit that would get visitors excited about the creative potential of Microsoft's Expression and WPF technologies…and given our core audience was you fellow folk in Design (gulp), we knew it had to be visually splendid in order to really do its job.
Ultimately the Interactive Canvas sets out to be a giant visitor guestbook that collects the thoughts, comments and ideas of event attendees, yet in a more innovative manner. Users are encouraged to freely express themselves using a simple handwriting interface as the main method of interaction...just write or sketch into one of the message bubbles and then share it with the world by dropping it onto the large-scale display.
Additionally [or alternatively] you can then choose to decorate the rich, moving backdrop with a number of predefined drawing tools and animated behaviours designed to make the landscape come alive. Furthermore, visitors can also interact with main display using gestural movement to interrogate the messages left by other visitors in more detail...culminating in a highly engaging, responsive and intuitive experience.
The installation was first installed at Microsoft's Remix event in Brighton and is now touring conferences and high profile design events around the world collecting messages, doodles and creative thoughts wherever it goes. Watch this space for information on more features as we add them.
A large wall of seamless plasma screens displays a scrolling, animated landscape. Which gradually fills up with messages, bubbles and drawings as content is added. The visual language of the wall is based on the history of mark making, translated into a scrolling landscape which is populated with floating message bubbles and animated drawings. Messages can be attached to existing messages to form clusters which represent threads. The messages and drawings are contributed via a 21â Wacom display screen which is housed in a custom kiosk.
A series of sensors which run along the bottom of the plasma screens then detect people approaching the screen. As a person is detected a bubble within the landscape grows towards them revealing its contents. Canvas detail: The intention was to blur the lines between
• Realistic and representational
• Positive and negative
• Solid and liquid
• Day and night
• Synthetic and natural
And create a ‘canvas’ that inspires people to add their own creation and comments.

Ideas

Outcome

Ryan Hughes

Eadweard Muybridge

or Paper

This is the outcome of my idea above. The third image from left shows how the user is able to swap with other users features.

Here I have used paper and a mirror to develop and idea. The idea involves the user to split the features of the face into 3 separate parts (eyes, nose and mouth). The user looks at the mirror and sketches the three separate parts on three different strips of paper. This keeps each feature of the face separate.
The user is unable to visually view while sketching as the paper is hidden behind the mirror.
Once lots have been collected the user is than able to play around and mix with features of others.

In this idea the user is able to sketch the image onto the mirror by looking into the mirror with the use of ink. Once the sketch is complete than the user takes the paper and presses it onto the mirror to remove the image from mirror to paper.

It has to be a fast sketch as the ink dries up quite fast.
The images right and bottom two show i am trying out the idea.
I also got a range of people to do this for me and was very happy with the outcome. Everyone had a different image.

I really like this interaction. i like how by just using cameras, we are able to create such designs.
This idea of using numerous cameras to product still images was originally developed Eadweard Muybridge.