Working with Eric Rosenthal, I've been building a CNC milling machine for ITP. The first goal for that device is to have a functioning machine that can cut out circuit boards. The second is to do small scale modeling.

When we first started this project, there were two trends in how people conceived of the project.
Some wanted a tool for making things. Others wanted a more flexible tool for creative input. Everyone agreed that once this machine was at ITP, it wouldn't be long before someone put an unusual drawing device on it (e.g. cake icing squirter).

With this in mind, the midterm for this class would be to build a second machine, similar to the one used for cutting. This second machine would be the one that the hordes could descend upon, adding new input and output methods, while the original machine would be kept ready to cut in the standard way.

The project will involve creating a wiki-style database of code to send to the machines, documenting their abilities, but a platform without implementations on the platform doesn't provide enough of an interaction. To that end, this project would also include the development of a few example modifications, by myself and with other students.

The first thing to know about Saul Bass is that he was amazingly prolific. While his logo design work is amazing, he is also well known for his movie title sequences and posters. A testament to his ability is that his Academy Award for Why Man Creates (1968) appears as a mere footnote in most summaries of his work.

He is so well known that even his matchbook designs are documented. I have never before heard of someone recognized a matchbook designer.

The font used in a lot of his work is often associated with him.

Here is a collection of some of his best known logos.

This movie illustration (taken from this site) is a good sample of his trademark style:

A few more movie examples from this site.

And from this site.

Finally, even though this post isn't about movie title sequences, it wouldn't feel complete without a couple of them.

For the Psycho 1960 title credits, click here. Saul Bass also storyboarded the famous shower scene.

This drawing machine is a quick prototype that surprised me by being strong enough to draw on its own.

I was inspired by Matt Richard's work with inverse kinematics from last year, and I remembered that he had also used this work to create a drawing machine. My intention was to put the math onto the Arduino so that I could simply send it positions, then use that to create some sort of drawing.

As it got late, I realized that although that's would be interesting, it wasn't necessary for the assigned simple drawing machine. Although this machine could make fairly precise marks, I set up a random walk in the dimensions of the two motors' angle measurements and then let that draw for five to ten minutes. Here are the results.

(The phone number is fake.)

Class feedback:

• remove the border around the image
• add more space between image and my name
• observe the golden ratio in spacing
• make my name smaller
• look at the smaller text in dark grey, but that might make my name too bold
• look at texturing my name like the circuit board
• remove the dash between my website and my phone number
• maybe put the website on the back (although I personally like blank backs for business cards)

This is a map of how my computer might reach the fifty most popular sites on the internet:

Here's an example of that map if you started at NYU instead of at my apartment:

And this is a map going from NYU to the top 500 sites on the web:

Update: Adam Harvey used the data I collected cross-referenced with geo-coordinates to create a cool physical map.

From Yankee Stadium
Problem: The sign on the back of the seat can't be seen read from the seat.
Suggestions: Put the sign on the top of the seat.
Remove the warning about slung bats in the upper decks.

From Waverly Place
Problem: Ambiguity as to which door is indicated.
Suggestion: Place sign on door. Remove arrow.

From Yankee Stadium.
Problem: Brooklyn Lager etc. aren't imported. Imported and Beers of the World should be the same.
Suggestions: Change wording from "Imported" to "Premium." Change "Beers of the World" to "Draft Beers." Also separate O'Doul's because it's non-alcoholic.

From Astor Place
Problem: The signs indicate that a left turn can't be made when it actually can.
Suggestions: Remove the first one way sign or add a two way sign in front of it.

From 8th Street
Problem: Signs are cluttered and confusing.
Suggestion: Make signs follow uniform pattern. Remove clutter like anti-littering message.