Adobe Capture is quite cool

While I could easily use this blog to geek out about the new saber plugin that VideoCopilot released, (that'll be for a later date) I would like to bring to light the really cool app that Arturo showed us right at the beginning of the semester.  It was this neat little application called Abode Capture, and one of its main functionalities is that it can take a picture and identify the color palette within the photo.  But what's intuitive about it is that the palette isn't completely locked once you take the picture; you can drag your finger on the colors it captures and move it to other areas to change up your palette.  

What really caught me by surprise though was how after I was playing around with it and picking up a lot of color palettes, the data showed up in one of my After Effects windows in the library panel.  When you sign into the app on your phone it will automatically sync the palettes to your Creative Cloud library, and that way you can use whatever you find on the go in your creative projects on your computer.  That made me realize that this app can be a very useful tool, because you could come across a range of colors that you might want to save for later, and with the help of this app you can accomplish that and integrate it into your projects.

What's even cooler about it that I just discovered recently is that you can take a picture of a pattern and save it as a special brush preset for Photoshop or Illustrator.  This pattern can really be anything; a pattern on a wall, a clothing texture, or even your own hand-drawn pattern on pencil and paper.  The Youtuber Draw with Jazza was the way I heard of this, and he was able to take a hand-drawn pattern and integrate it into his animation for the new Adobe Animate CC.  I think this is a great invention to come from Adobe, as it can totally help bridge the gap between hand-drawn and computer animation techniques.  For more information on the app, check out this video:

An Effective Yet Chilling Video Game Promotion

It has been said that the things we search for on the internet leave a trail. By going to a certain site, that  generates certain ads which follow and display products based on the type of person the internet thinks you are, and markets accordingly.

Recently I came across a video-game called Watch Dogs (PS3, PS4, X-Box 1 & 360) which involves hacking other people's phones and computers for information. One of the things I've find interesting about this game, is the promotional campaign used.

The website I included takes your Facebook account and analyzes it and calculates several things about you.

1. Your approximate net-worth
2. Stalkers in your life
3. People that could be used against you 
4. Pawns in your life
5. People you'd run to in the event you were ever pursued by authorities  
6. Possible internet passwords 
7. How well you can be identified 
8. What type of person you are and how easily can you be manipulated 
9. The times you you most uses Facebook and what times you'd be most vulnerable for an attack

While I realize that this is only part of a game I'm surprised at how surprisingly accurate some of the things this app mentioned about me, and yet I'm not. Ever since I first got my hands on an internet accessible computer, my parents continually warned me about the dangers what particular information I put out there for the world to see, since that data is never truly deleted. 

The game itself takes place in an alternate version of Chicago where the entire world is connecting by a smart phone internet like operating system. With this world wide internet system it is possible to control just about any function of the city through a smartphone.

Functions including:
Traffic Lights
City Block Power
Subway Systems

Amazing what we can do with our phones

A lot of this potential ability to access and control different internet connected functions reminds me a lot of the TV series and video game franchise of Rockman EXE (MegamanNT Warrior for you American-folk), where things were not only connecting to an all-ecompassing internet system but people were able to battle with their smartphone equivalent avatars or NetNavis. 

NetNavi Rockman/Megaman

TV Series

A PET
Not only used as a phone an for internet access, but also for
fighting computer viruses and other malignant programs that
appear is this world.

Megaman Battle Network 6

…Wow, had not idea of the connections between these two things myself.

Flat Design and the End of Skeuomorphism

With the launch of Apple's iOS 7, they have signalled a departure from the stale designs of the past. Specifically, they largely abandoned the design trend known as skeuomorphism. Many users have responded positively to the radical change in their phone's operating system. This marks a major blow to the champions of skeumorpist design principles.

Skeuomorphism is the incorporation of ornamentation and elements found in previous non-digital formats. For example, a calendar application that makes use of a leather frame is using a skeuomorphist approach. Or a wooden bookshelf in iBooks...

Critics of skeuomorphism argue that the design trend clutters designs with unnecessary and outdated physical metaphors that can confuse users. Proponents contend that it gives technology users a reference point in the world.

Apple has opted in favor of a flat design chosen by the company's lead designer Jony Ive, after previous lead designer Scott Forstall left in October of 2012.

Flat design is a relatively new design concept, propelled to the forefront of talk with the introduction of the Windows Phone in October 2010. It consists of large elements, making use of the full potential of small screens. Essentially flat design proponents argue that usability and modernity are placed at the forefront of the design process.

Looking at the iOS 7's compass app compared to the previous version can give you a direct insight into the design change...