Assignments

There are five main Assignments: Four small projects due at (approximately) 14-21 day intervals, and a Capstone project with a proposal, check-in, and public exhibition phase.

Additionally, on a weekly basis for the first 10 weeks of the semester, students are be asked to create “Looking Outwards” reports — to browse various blogs and feeds in order to deepen their knowledge of the field, and become familiar with the current state of the art. Students are then expected to report on their findings, with a critical perspective. In some situations, the “Looking Outwards” assignments will be thematically oriented. There is no restriction on the sources of information students may use for a “Looking Outwards” assignment.

  • Thu 1/15 LO#01 Due; no particular theme.
  • Thu 1/22 LO#02 Due: Theme: Information Visualization
  • Thu 1/29 LO#03 Due: Theme: OpenFrameworks & OF Addons
  • Thu 2/05 LO#04 Due: Theme: Generative Art and/or Design
  • Thu 2/12 LO#05 Due: Theme: Artificial Intelligence and/or Machine Learning in the Arts
  • Thu 2/19 LO#06 Due: Capstone Project background research I.
  • Thu 2/26 LO#07 Due: no particular theme.
  • Thu 3/05 LO#08 Due: Theme: Real-Time Interactivity and/or Gesture
  • Tue 3/17 LO#09 Due: Capstone Project background research II.
  • Thu 3/26 LO#10 Due; Capstone Project background III + Capstone Proposal Due
  • Tue 3/31 Capstone REVISED Proposal Due

0X. Logistics (Due January 15)

01. Accounts and other Logistics

1X. Gauntlet I: Form & Data (Due January 27)

This is a three-part assignment intended to both test and stretch the students’ skills as creative technologists (design and computation).

11 Design of a computational dynamic) letterform, using the AniType JavaScript platform
12 Large-scale data harvesting from public APIs, using the Temboo platform
13 Design of an interactive application for unusual hardware (for 2015: the Pebble Watch)

2X. Gauntlet II & Generative Form (Due February 10)

This is a four-part assignment intended to introduce additional arts-engineering tools, and give practice in generative 2D and 3D form.

21. Creation of an OpenFrameworks application involving 2 or more ofxAddon libraries.
22. Creation of a computationally-generated Animated GIF.
23. Creation of a program to Generate 3D Parametric Object.
24. A paper sketch for your upcoming information visualization.

Guest critics for the February 10th review include: Professor Eddy Man Kim (Architecture), Professor Mark Baskinger (Design), and others TBA.

3X. Synthesis and Visualization (Due March 3)

This is a two-part assignment in information visualization and text/image synthesis.

31. A Visualization of large-scale harvested data, using D3, P5.JS, or OpenFrameworks
32. Creation of a Twitter Bot: an automatic generator of culture.

Guest critics for the March 3rd review include: Professor Chris Harrison (HCII), Professor Paolo Pedercini (Art), and others TBA.

4X. Interaction (Due March 24)

Interaction Unit: A Drawing Program. Students must develop an open-ended interactive experience that allows for visual and/or musical creativity, such as a drawing program or paint program.

41. A Drawing Program 

See information below about the new schedule.

5X. Capstone

Students are asked to create a final project on a topic of their own interest. Capstone Projects may explore any topic related to freestyle computing, information visualization, computational design, culture hacking, and/or interactive art. It is permissible to create a revised version of a previous project if your project is significantly re-worked. Deliverables in this unit are staged for different dates, and include:

51. Capstone Proposal (research presentation and/or rough sketch test), Due March 24. Note: Guest critics for the March 24th Capstone Proposal review include: Professor Eddy Man Kim (Architecture), Professor Aisling Kelliher (Design), and others TBA.

52. Revised project proposal (Due March 31)
53. Capstone Review Presentation (Due April 28)
54. Participation in the public exhibition on May 1
55. Project documentation (Due May 8)