Search
Interactive examples
AP Chile earthquake interactive under utilizes navigation
I recently came across AP’s Chilean earthquake interactive via Interactive Narratives, and my immediate reaction was one of confusion with their navigation. Five headings were presented, three of which were based upon the medium used (“Maps,” “Gallery,” and “Video”) while the other two were based upon the content (“Deadly Quakes” and “Aftermath”). However, the “Deadly Quakes” section contains a map, so why isn’t it in the “Map” section? Furthermore, “Aftermath” contains maps and images, so why isn’t it within the corresponding “Map” and “Gallery” section?
New York Times aggregates plethora of 2010 Winter Olympics multimedia coverage
The New York Times has been pushing out new multimedia coverage of the Winter Olympics daily for the past two weeks, and frankly it’s been difficult keeping up with them! Thankfully, they created a landing page to promo all of the packages – all 24 of them – for our convenience. Personally, I would argue that the best part of this gallery is the ability to see a broad overview of their extensive coverage, which allows me to think about the decisions that went behind what medium to use with what story. As you can see, some packages are step graphics, while others are map-based interactives, while others are video vignettes.
Providing HTML and Flash versions of same site … worthwhile or waste of time?
During my User Interface Design course today, we discussed the site “Museumsinsel Berlin,” which used 3D models, graphics, and interactivity to depict the changes to this famous collection of German museums. While the interactivity is comparable to other online infographics, our attention was drawn to the navigational option to switch views back and forth between an HTML and Flash version. I’m impressed that they duplicated their bilingual content, but I’m not sure it was worthwhile …
Starbucks Love Project promotes philanthropy, creativity, and music in interactive interface
Investing in an interactive digital marketing campaign is a very clever move in my opinion. Add in user submission tools, social media, and a humanitarian cause and you’ve got yourself a winner in my book. After spending some time with Starbucks Love Project, I knew I had to pass it along to II readers so you could also smile and enjoy being serenaded by people of all ages from around the world. Then, if you feel inspired, feel free to upload your own video singing the melody “All you need is love,” or create your own “love drawing” with their simple Flash drawing board. If that level of interactivity is intimidating, you can continue perusing their video archive of singers, or browse Starbuck’s red products, all the while helping promote a campaign to fight AIDS in Africa.
RENCI pioneering the visualization industry with innovative interfaces
Today I flew through a digitally enhanced simulation of an ear canal, looked at 3D manipulations of static 2D images, and watched a seamless video projected simultaneously on four surrounding walls. The Renaissance Computing Institute (RENCI) is based in North Carolina and oddly enough it was my first visit to this extremely innovative and eye-opening interactive institute. Not only did it get me excited about information visualization, it gave me tons of inspiration for the future of immersive and interactive multimedia.
USA Today tracks US federal taxes in customizable graphic
Last week, USA Today launched “Tracking taxes: A look back at tax rates and spending.” Although it doesn’t cover state or local taxes, this tool enables Americans to get a quick snapshot of how their federal taxes are being spent, and how that has changed over time. The user interface is clear, inviting, and customizable. Although several assumptions were made to calculate the figures, I still enjoyed the interactive and I encourage you to spend some time with it.
El Mundo wowed me with their Haiti multimedia coverage
I have been tracking multimedia work documenting the Haiti earthquake since I wrote about the initial packages I saw two weeks ago, and I can say without a doubt that El Mundo’s multimedia coverage is the best I’ve seen thus far. In particular, their graphics team constructed three excellent step graphics depicting the scope of the earthquake, the inefficiencies in building construction, and the use of the USNS COMFORT, a Navy hospital ship, during the relief efforts. Regardless if you don’t understand the Spanish text, I highly recommend that you spend some time navigating around the graphic and admiring the high-quality 3D illustrations, smooth animations, and detailed analysis of these topics.
STLToday launches interactive speech analyzer
This month numerous U.S. governors are giving their “State of the State” addresses to their constituents. In response to Missouri Governor Jay Nixon’s speech last week, the online staff at the St. Louis Post Dispatch created a video “pop-up edition,” complete with an interactive video console, periodic call-out boxes with complementary information, and a searchable transcript linked to an interactive word cloud. Despite several major bugs in the functionality, I am highly impressed with their attempt to incorporate several innovative features into an otherwise standard video.
American Heart Association promotes CPR with interactive “hand symphony”
Seth Gitner, assistant professor at Syracuse University, recently sent me “Hand Symphony,” an innovative piece by the American Heart Association that helps promote their new hands-only approach to CPR. Users can create their own music track by mixing 12 video clips of hands clapping, snapping, tapping, and more. The final result is a customizable dance, hip-hop, or latin track that you can then send to friends and share via multiple social networks.
Two interactive energy maps, one main difference: usability
I recently came across two interactive energy maps, one by the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) tracking dirty heating oil in New York City, and the other by Renewable Energy Policy Network for the 21st Century (REN21) displaying a wide range of renewable energy information around the world. Both display countless data points on a map mashup, but after playing with both it is evident that distinct decisions regarding the UI and interaction design resulted in two drastically different user experiences.
Categories
Subscribe to RSS Feed
English
Español
