SOLSTICE - 5 | Masterfully Visualizing Scale

Solstice—5: Forgotten Archives offers remarkable visuals that capture the scale of interplanetary exploration. It also delivers a powerful cautionary tale about our exploitation of nature and potential future uses of AI right here on Earth.

The art direction and design by Paul Chadeisson are remarkable. The narrative weaves together suspense, discovery, and the ethical dilemmas of tampering with newly discovered planets. With its blend of mystery, technology, and human curiosity, SOLSTICE—5: Forgotten Archives offers a compelling journey into the unknown, inevitably forcing us to think about how we continue to explore and exist on our own planet.

The visualization masterfully captures a sense of scale. The world it presents is one of immense, forgotten technology — massive spacecraft and towering mechanical platforms that stretch far beyond the horizon. These colossal structures are not just remnants of some distant technological age but monuments to lost ambition, crumbling slowly in the face of time and erosion. What gives them true gravity, however, is their juxtaposition against vast natural landscapes — windswept deserts, jagged cliffs, and still valleys that seem to whisper stories of long-past industrial glory.

The visual storytelling is precise and intentional. Human figures are shown only sparingly, but when they appear, they are small — almost invisible at first glance. A lone explorer, a maintenance worker, or a robed traveler might be standing on a catwalk or dwarfed by the base of a landing gear the size of a city block. These moments are quiet but powerful. The contrast between human and machine scales invites reflection: not only on the limits of human capability but also on the haunting beauty of what we leave behind.

The Unreal Work of William Faucher

This process video by William Faucher does an excellent job of capturing the process of photogrammetry and applying remarkable digital visualization skills to capture a scene inspired by Norwegian fishing villages. This current generation of visualization tools is powerful, but, in the end, the artist must, as always, master the medium that makes the work remarkable.

Photogrammetry is a sophisticated technique that involves the process of extracting precise three-dimensional information about objects, structures, or landscapes from two-dimensional photographs or images. It is widely used in various fields, including surveying, cartography, archeology, and remote sensing. Photogrammetry relies on the principles of geometry and trigonometry to determine the spatial relationships and measurements of objects within the images. Modern photogrammetry often combines traditional methods with advanced software and technology, including aerial and satellite imagery, to create highly detailed and accurate 3D models or maps. This technology has numerous applications, such as creating topographic maps, reconstructing accident scenes, and even producing 3D models of cultural heritage sites, making it an invaluable tool in a variety of industries.

AI-enhanced post

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Captured In Stone

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This beautiful documentary by Eyes and Ears masterfully captures what it means to be a sculptor. The courage, intuition, methodic attention to detail, planning, and patience all come through in this short film. Well done, Anna Rubincam. May you inspire a new generation of stone carvers.

Rubincam, who trained at Weymouth College and City and Guilds of London Art School, is a qualified stonemason, letter cutter, sculptor, and stone carver. With over a decade in the stone industry, Anna has worked on projects in the UK, France, and Italy. For more about her work, visit: www.annarubincam.com

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Things Come Apart

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"Things Come Apart" is a fascinating book that offers readers a unique perspective on everyday objects. Authored by Todd McLellan, a talented photographer and designer, the book takes a deep dive into the inner workings of everyday items, meticulously disassembling them and arranging the components into visually striking, intricate compositions.

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Through this artful deconstruction, "Things Come Apart" invites readers to appreciate the beauty and complexity often hidden within the objects we use daily. Whether it's a vintage typewriter, a modern smartphone, or a classic camera, McLellan's stunning photographs showcase the precision, engineering, and craftsmanship behind these items. Beyond its aesthetic appeal, the book also encourages contemplation about the evolution of technology and design, offering a thought-provoking exploration of how things come together and, inevitably, how they come apart. It's a visual celebration of the artistry that underpins our material world, encouraging us to see the beauty in the details that often go unnoticed.

For more perspectives, that might help as you design. Take a look at other bivouac-recommended readings.



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Through the Myst: Creativity and Constraints

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The bivouac recently came across this War Stories video by Ars Technica in which Rand Miller recounts how challenging it was to publish the seminal interactive title Myst. Launching such a beautifully immersive interactive experience was a remarkable feat in 1993. It required creatively navigating the technological constraints of early personal computers, reminding me of embracing the constraints of technology in my interactive work around that time.

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Hyped Up On Hypercard

The bivouac had its own “war story” around the same time. The year was 1990. Apple’s HyperCard exposed many future interaction designers to the possibilities of interactive media. Simply placing invisible buttons anywhere over an image opened up creative avenues previously unavailable to storytellers and designers. Approachable and powerful, Bill Atkinson’s creation proved to be a friendly gateway to exploring code and non-linear interaction design for a wide range of designers in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

When clicked, these simple “go to” or “play” scripts were executed, taking users to other cards, flipping through a series of cards to create animations, or playing audio clips. Even though the experience was limited to simple black and white dithered images, Hypercard was its time's compelling and immersive platform with its unique combination of simplicity and creative publishing power. Indeed, hypercards preceded the commercial adoption of the World Wide Web and established the precedent of clicking on “hyperlinks” to navigate to additional information pages, which is commonplace using today’s web browsers.

Hypercard was a simple yet powerful introduction to interactive media for millions of users and designers.

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A New Age of Interactive Multimedia

In the early 1990s, at the dawn of the age of interactive media, titles like “Columbus: Encounter, Discover, and Beyond,” produced by Robert Abel and distributed by IBM, set a new bar for empowering students to study a wide range of content in new ways. The title leveraged IBM’s large format IBM Ultimedia optical disc technology and was targeted at educational institutions.

The product description is impressive and reads:

“With James Earl Jones as narrator and Joe Morton as storyteller, these interactive titles span Europe and the Americas from the early Renaissance to the 20th Century from five different cultural perspectives -- White/European, Black/African, Hispanic/Latino, Asian and Native American. The largest multimedia project ever made, "Columbus," is on permanent display at the Library of Congress, National Demonstration Laboratories for new media and technology. Using an IBM CDROM drive, a Pioneer LaserDisc Player, and an advanced concept engine, "Columbus" connects 4400 scenes, 3,500 concepts, 5 hours of video, 180 hours of self-navigable imagery, and over 900,000 soft links on three videodiscs, and one computer optical disc.” This is a testament to the significance of the project.

As a budding interaction designer still in graduate school, I was so excited to see how the team was able to leverage visuals in icon form to help users navigate through the extensive content of the project. The possibilities of placing audio, visuals, and even early QuickTime film loops together, all to enhance storytelling, were influential to see in a commercial setting.

This and a piece focused on the immigration experience at Ellis Island created by Nancy Hechinger, who at the time had her multimedia production studio, Hands On Media. The Ellis Island work influenced my decision to explore using photorealistic points of contact within my interactive thesis work.

Exploring photorealistic points of contact was key to transcending interactive environments, which relied upon metaphor and abstracted icons. Abel’s work bridged the two worlds by providing vivid photos of objects or symbolic images, even on tiny button areas, guiding users across the environment’s functional elements. Hechniger’s work, and it is hoped that my thesis work also pushed the use of interactive elements further, allowing users to be further immersed in a story’s context.

Robert Abel and his team demonstrated the power of multimedia environments in educational contexts.

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The Longest Day: An Interactive Thesis

In 1992, as part of creating my thesis work, I explored the use of photorealistic interfaces to immerse users in content. Meredith Davis guided my thesis work at the College of Design at North Carolina State University. Meredith recognized the power of interactive technology early on, and she had deep expertise regarding pedagogy. My thesis project focused on how interactive educational environments could benefit abstract, concrete, active, and reflective learners.

Content focused on the Normandy invasion. Users could explore content using a photorealistic montage of objects common to the battlefields of World War II as an interface. Different days could be selected by clicking on arrows next to the date on the header of the Stars and Stripes newspaper. Content could be explored hourly by clicking on watch hands in the interface. Active learners developed empathy with leaders of the invasion by analyzing cause-and-effect scenarios using a role-playing map. Audio content from the film The Longest Day helped users understand what it must have been like to participate in the invasion. Finally, users could reflect upon their learnings and compose letters home that included audio and video clips from the film. In this way, creative writing skills could be assessed.

Just as with Rand Miller, though on a smaller scale, this thesis work involved overcoming serious technological constraints of the time. Created using Macintosh IIsi with 5MB of RAM and a 40MB hard drive, the Normandy invasion was chosen as a topic in part because the content lent itself well to a greyscale interface aesthetic. Most personal computers at the time were limited to displaying 256 colors, resulting in dithered images. However, computers could accommodate greyscale images acceptably. Similarly, the greyscale QuickTime film clips took less disk space and loaded faster. For further information on this thesis work and the golden dawn of the interactive media era, take a look at this Medium article I wrote a while back.

Upon completing graduate school, I took on a teaching position and, within a year, had shaped and was teaching some of the earliest interaction design courses of the early 1990’s. Working with various undergraduate and graduate students in programs ranging from communications design to painting and sculpture, new interactive media experiences were created with passion. Then, in 1993, Robyn and Rand Miller created Myst, raising the bar for what could be done with the interactive media. It inspired a new generation of interdisciplinary students and creatives to combine the power of computer programming, visualization, audio scapes, music, and storytelling in compelling new ways. Thanks to Rand Miller for sharing his war story and creating an inspirational example of how constraints invite creativity. And thanks for reminding the bivouac of its early 1990s “war story.”

An Overview of The Longest Day

A photorealistic interface allows users to explore the events that took place during the Normandy invasion. Days could be navigated by clicking on arrows next to the date on the Stars and Stripes newspaper and hours could be navigated by clicking on the watch in the photo.

Supporting Varied Learner Types

Active, reflective, concrete and abstract learners were all supported through various means of interacting with content. Users could develop empathy with leaders of the conflict by exploring cause and effect issues using a simple simulation environment.

Being There

Audio content from the film The Longest Day was leveraged to help users further gain a sense of what it was like to participate in the invasion through the testimony of various characters represented in the film.

A Letter Home

Users were encouraged to write a letter home which could include audio or video clips from the film. In this way, their creative writing skills could be assessed as they experiences yet another way to empathize with those that experienced the invasion.

The Longest Day: An Interactive Overview used intuitive photorealistic interaction points throughout the interface.

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A Technological Footnote:

Created using Macintosh IIsi with 5MB of RAM and a 40MB hard drive, the Normandy invasion was chosen as a topic in part because the content lent itself well to a greyscale interface aesthetic. Most personal computers at the time were limited to displaying 256 colors, resulting in dithered images. However, computers could accommodate greyscale images acceptably. Hence, the choice to create the thesis in greyscale.

Have you dealt with constraints creatively? If so, how and when?

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Sci-Fi Illustrator Visionary Peter Elson

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At its best, science fiction provides design inspiration and a powerful means of looking ahead toward possible futures. The term "science faction" refers to things once represented in science fiction that have actually come into existence. I gave a TEDx Talk a while back exploring how the phenomenon of "science faction" can inspire us as we design for the future of education.

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My first encounter with science fiction was during Christmas of 1979. I was twelve and still reeling from seeing "Star Wars" two years earlier. That Christmas, I received "Great Space Battles" by Stewart Cowley and Charles Herridge. Written with the authority and detail of a history textbook, the richly illustrated stories of future space exploration and conflicts captured my imagination. 

For hours, I studied and tried to replicate the exquisite details of Peter Elson’s work and others in my work. Through attempting to replicate their masterpieces, I learned about light sources, shadow play, proportions, shading, perspective, implied materiality, and aspects of physics. Last but certainly not least, I learned about the art of applying" greebles,” or intricate details that make surfaces more exciting and enhance a sense of the scale of objects.

I was honored by a local hero artist named David Morris (who went on to work at Industrial Light and Magic) when he noted how well I applied greebles. That early praise of my drawings, along with supportive parents and an excellent elementary school Art teacher named Ms. Tilson, helped build my creative confidence. Through studying Peter Elson’s work, I learned the power of imagination to take us to new places.

Below are a few early inspirations from Peter Elson. To take a closer look at Elson's work, visit: www.peterelson.co.uk

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Operation Ares by Peter Elson

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