Poetry in Technology

Let's continue to be innovative in the way we present our art.

A couple of hours ago, I was digging around some of the poetry I wrote for an undergraduate class. There was one file that stuck out - David and I are not so different. Is it my best work? No. It was a result of one blistering hour at Panera - free-form, loosely structured, and stream-of-conscious writing at it's best.

But I remember wishing that the line-breaks would be more prominent. I wanted a breath between words, or some way to tell my reader "sit on these awhile". I was never satisfied with the result.

Tonight, I tried something different. I took the same poem and tossed it in PowerPoint. I translated stanzas into different slides. I tore out subtle pauses and made them visually evident. I tried not to mess with the typography and design too much, but you'll see that there were a couple of times where I just couldn't help myself. The point of this exercise is less a visual experience and more an experiment of pacing.

So sit back and enjoy.
(Note: Please use full-screen mode. I think it is much more immersive)

David and I are not so different

View SlideShare presentation

How did it work for you?
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Fonts: Too Much of a Good Thing is a Terrible, Soul-Sucking Thing

A couple of weeks ago, Creating Dew posted a list containing 11 of the Highest User Ranked Free Fonts. The list is fun, and I've already found myself playing around with several of them.

But (and there's always a but), please please PLEASE use them sparingly. Let's face it, a majority of people who read this site are not designers, which means your mind immediately jumps to PowerPoint. And it's tempting, I'll be the first to admit it. It's fun to elicit an "ooh" or "ahh" when queuing up your presentation. You feel like you are establishing your PowerPoint street cred. You are proud that you aren't using Times New Roman or Calibri. And for a fleeting moment, you should be.

But then you ruin it. You ruin it for everyone.

You get excited about your new toys. You put them everywhere - you use and abuse them like a sadistic 5th grader with a Tomagatchi. Before you know it, your presentation goes from being Cinderella at the ball, to Cinderella at the night-club. You don't fit, no one understands you, and yes, they are all looking at you strangely.

Want to know what a portion of this post would look like in Jellyka Castle's Queen font? Just look on below (WARNING: the graphically minded may want to avert their eyes):


So once again, please PowerPoint responsibly.

Please PowerPoint Responsibly

Being a bit of a PowerPoint perfectionist, I enjoyed stumbling across a blog entry from a Master's student at the School of Informatics at Indiana University: PowerPoint: How it should and should NOT be used.

I'll save my presentation rantings and ravings for later postings, but I think you'll particularly enjoy the second video in the entry. It should be mandatory viewing for anyone who speaks.