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| 1. KDLab is an interdisciplinary
design firm dedicated to exploring the blurred boundaries between
architecture, graphics and film. How would you define a contemporary,
new media designer? |
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Competent in all digital mediums [2d,3d,DV, audio] and
fluent in at least one.
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| 2. Do you foresee
architecture playing a more predominant role in the future
of branding? |
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I do. This seems to be a growing
trend. I believe that most branding companies and advertising
agencies are beginning to warm up to the idea that architects
are coming after their territory. The education and training
that architect's are currently undergoing is focused more
and more on solving problems for businesses outside of formal
solutions, that in turn yield opportunities for new media,
graphic, and architectural design. The focus has become extremely
aligned with that of management consultants in that architects
understand the point that a brand extends far beyond the identity
of a company into their environs, culture, and the public
psychology. One may refer to Rem Koolhaas when understanding
the impact an architect can have on a brand. Perhaps we should
be rethinking the question and asking why branding firms and
agencies have not been more aggressive in pursuing architecture.
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| 3. What are your
thoughts on the progress of green architecture? |
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We did a lot of work with the Department
of Energy between 1999 and 2001 designing hypothetical projects
with that focused on burning fossil fuels [coal + natural
gas] cleanly and efficiently. We just signed on with them
for another series of digital projects through 2004 and there
is a new emphasis on alternate sources of energy, particularly
hydrogen. Obviously that is due to the widespread realization
that the US needs to decrease its dependancy on foreign energy
sources...What was the question? |
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| 4. Can you give
us any insight into the progress of your Ornament and Crime
project? |
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The
project is gaining significant momentum as we are beginning
to tie in key players from the film and gaming industry for
the final design and development push. We anticipate a 2005
release of the project, across all mediums. Ornament and Crime
is the brainchild of one of our strategic partners, Ed Keller,
of a.CHRONO, who sums up the current state of the project
as follows:
"Ornament and Crime is a work of "hard"
science fiction set twenty-two years in the future. We are
developing the project simultaneously as an online computer
game, graphic novel, short digital animations, and two feature-length
film projects. The project draws its premise from the notion
of the singularity, as developed by theorists like Ray Kurzweil-the
idea that accelerating technology will lead to the emergence
of a demiurgic artificial intelligence, which will revolutionize
all aspects of life. In Ornament, we forecast that this
event will not only radically transform social interactions
and cause global political change, but that it will also
breed a range of competing realities, each of which is spun
out as a scenario in the computergame. Each of the competing
realities is articulated through our design of the capabilities
and attributes of the player, the spaces with which the
player interacts, and the rules of the game. Every player
has the ability to chart a path across possible futures,
altering his or her own destiny as well as the destinies
of thousands of other players."
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| 5. As is evident
in the KDLab demo reel ( Large [22.6mb] -- Small
[5.4mb] ), you have a strong grasp on photorealistic simulation.
Which 3D applications do you use and which renderer do you
prefer? Do you prefer global illumination methods to HDRI
lighting? |
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Our primary 3D platform is 3ds
max in combination with mental ray. Although we often use
versions that aren't available publicly...yet. We primarily
use photon mapping and final gathering for lighting. HDRI
is something we are definitely interested in pursuing, especially
as we do more live action/CG integration. |
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| 6. Do you see the
progression of broadband penetration as being an opportunity
for designers to work within larger file sizes, or do you
see this as a challenge to maintain fast download speed? |
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This is an interesting question.
On one hand, I would love to say that designers will have
the freedom of not dealing with bandwidth constraints, but
it also is evaporating a condition that was fruitful for innovative
design solutions. Prior to accessible broadband, designers
were forced to rethink how to communicate their messages and
ideas in a constrained environment. We saw the emergence of
a unique combination of artistry and technology in designers
like Erik
Natzke, who began exploring lightweight tools to deliver
powerful shifts in the way we use the web. The entire flash
community has thrived on the fact that the tools they were
using were maximizing potentials on a communication network
that was beginning to choke. www.the5k.org
is a great example of what manifests when restrictions are
set. Perhaps opening up the pipes will introduce new challenges
for designers, but if it becomes a world of inefficiency because
content can be delivered without optimization, I feel that
there will be opportunities missed. |
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| 7. Do you own any
wireless applications or hardware? How often are you "plugged
in"? |
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I have a wireless card for my laptop.
I plug in whenver I am away from work, which is not very often. |
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Once Dell comes out with a 5 lb,
dual-processor, 17" WUXGA laptop, 1" thick, I'll
consider it. |
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| 8. Society has grown
more and more comfortable with technologies that we keep close
to our bodies, such as cell phones, pdas, gps, mp3 players/headphones.
What are your thoughts on the future of our wireless world? |
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At the moment, I think it is promising,
but that we have not truly explored what it will mean to be
wireless. Being able to surf my PDA in Starbucks is not really
progress in my mind. I am looking forward to the day that
the availability of wireless will change the way we experience
our environments. How will corporations take this opportunity
to extend the experience of their brand, and how will we as
consumers benefit from this. What will it mean when we are
able to check into a hotel before our plane ever touches the
ground? How will this impact our experience? Will the seamlessness
feel sterile, impersonal, or will we feel empowered? Will
formal space feel extended if we can take with us remnants
of it [sound, smell, light]? Once these questions present
themselves, it will become interesting. |
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See our latest project, "iSpec"
[to be posted for release during SIGGRAPH] |
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| 9. Has there been
anything that stands out in your mind as being a strong influence
in directing you towards the profession of design? |
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Both Joe and I come from engineering
backgrounds with professional technology consulting experience.
When we met at Columbia's Graduate School of Architecture,
we were able to immediately share views on how various problem
solving techniques from our backgrounds had pretty much nothing
to do with how we were being directed to approach the challenges
of architecture…eventually, we were able to align ourselves
with critics that shared our interest in surveying the various
approaches to design and quickly learned to employ our ideas
both inside and outside of the traditional architectural practice.
It was this crossbreeding of idea sets and methodologies that
was most influential on my decision to pursue design as my
profession. |
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Mechanical Engineering 101 "Visual
Thinking" - Stanford U.
One of our first assignments involved climbing into an inflatable
hemisphere with wall to wall shag, laying on our backs around
a crystal ball, holding hands, and watching "Powers of
10" projected on the ceiling. Damn I miss California...
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| 10. And as the final
question, after careful inspection, deliberation and study,
would you say that supergreg
is the same guy as Ali
G ? |
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Can me Uncle Jamal repeat da question? |
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Personally I prefer Larry D to
Ali G..."You my caucasian?" |
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