Little Wonders (Edition #10)
As another summer draws to a close, it's fair to say that the only Little Wonders many people will be interested in are those that are soon to be vacating bedrooms and front rooms everywhere to get back to school.
Nevertheless, rust never sleeps, so here are some of the interesting nuggets we've pulled together over the past month, with a purposeful focus on the theme of Emotion, Empathy and Evolution.
(More of which later.)
Feeling Light-Headed
Light is Life is a short but exceedingly effective clip that demonstrates how emotions - or our perception of emotions - can be changed by a single factor: lighting.
Taking a bust of Michelangelo's David and lighting it in different ways to highlight a number of very distinct feelings.?
Check out the video here:
Other individuals have played with the same method to demonstrate how different filmmakers?use the same raw materials to produce wildly different effects.?
For more examples, see: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/RyxQzW
So what? Stimulating emotions is an incredibly effective way of connecting with audiences and - ideally - triggering a reaction of sorts. This is a vital reminder that even the simplest tricks - in this case through savvy lighting - can be employed to get inside people's heads and hearts.
How can we bring a bit more of this into the experiences we design and build?
#aesthetics #design #emotion
[Credit: kudos to Andy Cook for sharing the Instagram video at the heart of this]
Empathy with Impact
Fashion influencer Wisdom Kaye likes to style things on request of his followers.
From Chrome Cowboys to Spongebob Squarepants characters, it's about getting inside a concept/individual to try to resonate on their frequency, delivering?a distinct 'style' output. Empathy in action.
And now he's been asked to style a bunch of popular fonts (which he does with aplomb) in this short, well-produced video:
So what??It's always interesting to consider alternative ways of representing the cultural?staples we tend to take for granted.
And this is a very creative, innately shareable piece of content that?adds a totally different?dimension to these 'wallpaper products'.
#fashion #fonts #empathy
Going Against the GrAIn
Has the constant march of AI left you assailed and overwhelmed? Gen AI, in particular, feels like it's increasingly removing a crucial human component to creativity.
Well, in a move that's certainly bucked the current trend, James Cuda , the CEO of iPad/iPhone design app, Procreate, announced that when it comes to Gen AI features within its programme:
"We're not going there. Creativity is made, not generated."
Check out the full, no-nonsense statement in the video below:
A bold stance and one that has gathered a warm reaction from the creative community, with a particular pointed comparison to Adobe's current approach to embedding Gen AI within its creative product suite.
So what??Although it can sometimes feel like humankind is on a hiding to nothing, with AI seemingly offering an answer to whatever challenges we can throw at it, it's great to see big tech defending big (and little) creativity.
Will it stick? It's hard to say, but in the face of faceless change, drawing a line in the sand (not just on your iPad) provides Procreate a very human - and very authentic - point of difference within the industry.
#humancreativity #AI #evolution
[Credit: Thanks to the font of human creativity, Amelia Shepherd , for spotting and sharing]
Delving into how stimulating an emotional response can help deliver increased empathy and effectiveness for the experiences we create isn't just confined to Little Wonders.
In fact, we'll be hosting renowned cognitive scientist Katherine Templar Lewis to discuss just this at our Wonder Together event on 25th September 2024.
For information on the event and how to be there, follow this link.