Stewdio Blog » PHP

WindMaker updated

admin — Sun, 03 May 2009 16:00:06 +0000

WindMaker is an ambient weather widget that applies the current wind conditions to (almost) any Web site. First it uses a United States ZIP code to grab local conditions from the Yahoo! Weather RSS feed. It then parses a Web site into individual pieces such as text blocks and images. Finally, WindMaker sets the pieces in motion according to the strength of the wind.

This weekend WindMaker received code updates to alleviate slow server response times under certain conditions. (Fast machines are still recommended for viewing pages with many elements.) Try WindMaker for yourself at http://stewdio.org/windmaker/.

HistoFace blogged by Adobe’s John Nack

admin — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 17:00:57 +0000

HistoFace, Stewdio‘s histogram typeface, received mention on the Adobe blogs today via John Nack in a post titled Slick typographic apps: Hidden Messages & More. HistoFace is a form of steganography, the art of hiding messages within another medium. The medium in this case is a digital image and the vehicle for revealing the message is the Photoshop Levels tool. Don’t rely on it for security, however, as HistoFace makes for horribly weak cryptography. Its purpose was more process driven: How does one craft a unique set of letterforms that handle the impossibly tight constraints of histogram imagery? Visit HistoFace at http://stewdio.org/histoface.

HistoFace featured on Ironic Sans

admin — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 14:00:08 +0000

This morning David Friedman wrote about HistoFace on his blog Ironic Sans. HistoFace is a histogram typeface designed for use in the Photoshop “Levels” window. The character shapes articulate the tight constraints of histogram imagery: Each figure must be constructed from bottom-flush vertical lines, rendering compound paths and concave cantilevers impossible.

It’s a particular honor for this project to be featured on Ironic Sans because it was inspired by an Ironic Sans article on Histogram Hacking and an I.S. reader, Josh Millard. (Thanks to Lan Lan Liu for originally bringing Ironic Sans to our attention.) HistoFace was also recently linked from The Moon Goons.

Stewart teaches interactive design at Yale

admin — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 17:00:33 +0000

This summer Stewart Smith (Stewdio) and Julian Bittiner (Applied Aesthetics) will co-teach an introductory course on interactive design at Yale University’s School of Art. The course will touch upon various forms of interaction but will focus heavily on the Web. Topics include typographic hierarchies, “dirt style” production, and minimal interface design. Students will learn to code HTML, CSS, and PHP using only a text editor. (No WYSIWYG allowed!) Check for updates on the Art167 Class Wiki. Class begins this afternoon.