Adam Montandon's blog

Read my latest news and digital adventures updated every day.

I was in Bristol to present the half-way stages of our project for Media Sandbox working with HMC Interactive alongside Aardman animations. The presentation was so much fun, very high energy and very interesting for everyone. You can find out more on our Media Sandbox blog here.

I just had a great time on the panel at Bridging the Gap at ice08. Talking about the very nature of ideas in creative business. It was such a fun and inspiring talk. I will be putting key points from the topics online in the next few days.

Labels: ICE08, speaking

Today was an amazing day at Ice08, as I took part in the Demo Camp session. It was so fun and fast paced.

The idea is to present something really interesting in 5 minutes exactly, not one second more or one second less.

It was so much fun putting everything together and sharing it with everyone it was just so exciting.

The title of my talk is "The most interesting job in the world" and you know what it's true, I really do have the most interesting job in the world!

Labels: Barcamp, democamp, ICE08

Well, I am in Toronto getting ready for DemoCamp at Ice08 and I am very excited. My presentation will be called "The Most Interesting Job in the World".

Its going to be very fast paced.

The normal rules are to do 20 slides in 15 seconds, making a total of a 5 min presentation.

I have decided to go a bit crazy and do 40 slides in 7.5 seconds each, making it a super-fast explosion of information.

This is possibly the fastest powerpoint presentation I have ever given so there is no room for error. I will be rehearsing all night getting ready for tomorrow.

I am also excited to see what will be going on at ICE08 as there should be all sorts of cool stuff on show.

(This paper takes its title from Dr Oliver Sacks’ Book: The Island of the colorblind , Vintage Press, 1998)

The project I have created exists in outside the traditional domain of computer culture of physical installation. I have created a new sensation, a cyborgian extension of the human perception system residing in the brain of on student. Neil Harbisson.

I first met Neil at Dartington College of Arts whilst I was giving a talk on practical cyborg techniques and applications. Neil was especially interested in my earlier MyBorg project work that allowed me to extend my sensory system with 16 additional digital nerves including 4 light sensors on my back that allowed me to “see behind me” or to follow the cliché more closely “have eyes in the back of my head”. Neil became very excited about this idea.

He explained to me that he had a rare condition of achromatopsia (a rare hereditary vision disorder which affects 1 person in 33,000). One of the effects to achromatopsia is monocharmatism, the inability to perceive colour. To him the world was black and white. He explained to me how, in his paintings he had only ever used black and white paints, and when shopping for clothes he would only where black, white or grey. “Why should I wear something that I cannot see?” He explained. Ironically, because everything in his world was black and white, he never went shopping alone, requiring a friend to point out the black jeans as opposed to the blue jeans.

“I never used colours to paint because I feel completely distant to them.
Colours create a mysterious reaction to people that I still don't quite understand.”

Neil had become aware of the existence of colours since his childhood, but he had been completely unable to distinguish red from green from blue. Even names of colours where useless even purely as labels to identify one shade from another. He described colours to me as “being an energy that I can't see because it moves too quickly. I've imagined colours as fast moving energies.” Neil became curious as to the possibilities of a cyborg-like extension of his sensory system. A new input based prosthesis.

Several months beforehand I attended a lecture by Professor Kevin Warrick from Reading University, who described a project that enabled him to approximate proximity to moving objects whilst blindfolded. By using ultrasound sensors connected to an implant on his arm, he was able to feel a tingling sensation in is arm whenever something moved towards him. However, he noted that his brain quickly adapted away from providing a “tingly feeling” in his arm to being “the feeling that something is coming towards” him. In short, his project demonstrated that the brain can quickly re-map existing parts of the nervous system to new senses.

I decided that using Neil’s existing senses as a host for new artificial senses would be an effective approach. I gave Neil the difficult decision of deciding how he would like to perceive colour, since he could never “see” colour in the traditional way, I was curious as to how he would like to receive colour signals through his existing senses. Neil chose to use sound, as he felt that it would give him a good approximation of colour as he has very good pitch perception as he is a keen musician. I was confident that shifting colour into sound would be an appropriate and effective way of re-mapping Neil’s brain, as the natural occurrence of synesthesia seems to suggest that the visual and auditory senses can in some case become overlapping.

The case of how to convert colours into sounds was a difficult one. At first I experimented with the idea of playing different musical elements for different colours, for example Drums for red, Violins for Blue, piano for green and so on. This abstract approach however would only “label” colours with sound. Much like having a voice that whispered in your ear “red, red, red, green, green, green” for everything you looked at. After much consideration and collaboration with Eduardo Miranda it became apparent that I would have to create an audio experience that, like the light spectrum, would transcend labels. I used a physical model of transposing light into sound. After all, both light and sound are waves. Although light waves are far too high to hear, it is possible to mathematically transpose them down until they sit within the audible wavelength.

Clearly the lowest colour in the spectrum (Dark red) becomes the lowest note in the scale. I created colour to sound conversion software that would dynamically scale the colours from a miniature camera (A “spy” type camera) into audible frequencies. The audio output was not limited to the scale above. Instead of having one note per colour I wanted Neil to be able to hear subtle differences in colour, just as the human eye can distinguish between many different kinds of blue, I wanted Neil to be able to do the same.

I created software in collaboration that takes an average colour sampling from a selected area. This average RGB value (additive Red Green Blue, the signal most commonly used by computers) was then instantly converted into HSB (Hue, Saturation and Brightness). The software focuses purely on Hue. There are 360 different hues, one for each degree on the colour wheel. Each hue was assigned an audible frequency. This approach allows us to disregard brighter and darker variations (due to lighting conditions) and also to disregard colour saturation (The camera may over or under saturate colours depending on the environment) and instead gives us pure Hue perception.

Neil was able to run the software on a small laptop that he mounted in a backpack. The laptop was modified to run the software even when the lid was closed, allowing him to comfortably wear it in “sleep” mode. This meant that the battery time lasted for long enough periods for him to go through the whole school day without a re-charge.

Surprisingly, within 15 minutes of Neil using the system he was able to instantly recognise similarities and differences between hues, something he had never previously been able to do. Conclusively, this project exists not in the software, or domain of so called “virtual” reality, but in the reality of Neil’s perception of the world, unveiling, quite literally, an invisible architecture of energy.

The culmination of this project is the following statement:
“Neil Harbisson’s favourite colour is Red.”

Labels: colourblind

This is the full text from an interview I did several years ago for .Net magazine in the UK.

It was talking about taking a university degree in order to become a web designer.

The course I studied was called Media Lab arts, it is now called b dat and has changed a lot over the years.

It wasn't strictly a web design course, but did have strong digital elements.

Here is the interview in full:

NETMAG: What did you think of the course?

MediaLab Arts was a really interesting degree course, because it seemed really unusual in its approach. It wasn’t a standard web design course at all! It combined a wide scope of digital arts and science, and pulled in outside references from biology to art to architecture to performance. It was a fusion of art and science, and it takes a really positive approach to technology. During the course you really do have the freedom to do anything, online and offline, and this freedom brings a lot of creativity and innovation to the field of web design.

One of the things that really impressed me about the course was not the use of technology by the students, but their ideas. The work generated by MediaLab Arts students was so ahead of its time that even the projects done ten years ago still look and feel fantastic. Technology ages quickly, but ideas stay with you forever, and this is really important on the course.

If you’re thinking of taking a degree, look at the projects the graduating students are working on. If that’s what you want to work on, take it, if not, walk away.


NETMAG: Would you recommend it to people who want to get into web design?

I would not recommend the course for someone who wants to get into web design exclusively. I would recommend it to people who take a wider interest in the fields of digital media. There is so much shear variety and excitement on the course that you really have to be interested in everything.

The diversity of people on the course is massive, and that really helps to make the most interesting teamwork happen. Imagine building websites with actors, musicians, mathematicians, designers, cartoonists, unicyclists, Cyborgs, robotics experts and video game fans! Working with a wide range of people broadens your skill base hugely, and helps you think about your talents in different ways. This is what keeps the innovation strong.

NETMAG: What's the best things you learned there?

That’s a good question. I learnt so much. The most essential thing to learn is just how important it is to work well with people, not just work well with computers. After graduating, not only did I make a lot of friends on the course, but we decided to stick together and create The company HMC interactive, in order to keep the strong teamwork and diversity that we had grown on the course. Many courses churn out students who can all do the exact same things, with the exact same skill base, but MediaLab Arts generates people who work in film, TV, Audio production, web design, installations, art, management, education, the list is endless.

NETMAG: Did you teach yourself as well, or did you base your web design career entirely on what you learned on the course?

Going to University is a strange experience because you really do have to take responsibility for your own learning. Lecturers on MediaLab Arts don’t spoon-feed you every mouse click. They do point you in the right direction and give you the ambition to learn and experiment with a wide variety of software and techniques. In many cases students write their own software to do what they need. So it is a very personal learning experience. However the “lab-culture” of MediaLab Arts is a fantastic learning environment. It was a massive advantage to be able to go to other students for help and advice when you get stuck. Learning from other people in the same situation as you can be one of the best ways to learn.

Also the course features a Placement Year. The 3rd year is taken in industry, working for a web-design or digital media company. As each student works for a different company that really brings a variety of skills back for the final 4th year. The placement year is a good way to learn about the inner workings of a company, how to act professionally, and how the world works outside of studentville. It also gave us at HMC interactive a strong insight into many of the mistakes these companies were making, and we made sure we overcame them before setting up a business.

In some ways, my career is based on what I learned on the course, especially with regards to teamwork, creativity and a strong ethos of creating the future of digital design, even though many of my practical skills were self taught. University gives you the time and the environment to put your independent learning to use, and to push you towards a greater understanding of all things digital.

NETMAG: What kind of job did you get after graduating? And how important was the course to your career?

During the course, I worked with Mike Cobb who specialised in design, Andy Early who was a database programmer, and Korash Sanjideh who took care of audio production. Together we created a series of online / offline webgames combining Shockwave technology, mobile phones and real world merchandise. We created a business model around the games and marketed it as a product. The team worked so well together we won First prize for Commercial Value at the Submerge 2003 graduate awards. With help from Submerge (www.submerge.org) we planned out how to transform ourselves from regular students into a leading development agency. It took a lot of planning and hard work. We spent 4 months after graduation learning new skills specifically for setting up a business. In the end, HMC Interactive was based around a 60 page business plan and a 1 page website. This turned out to be the perfect balance. – Whatever you do, don’t do it the other way around :-)

The course was important to our careers, as it was the perfect testing ground for our new and creative approach to web design. At University you can take risks with edgy projects that you just can’t normally do in the commercial world. Once we had proved ourselves as a talented team at university, our business clients were more likely to trust us to create unusual projects.

NETMAG: Do you think web design courses are really worth doing, or are a natural talent, quality work and some experience alone enough to secure a good position?

Yes. I would highly recommend it. I would recommend short courses if you want to be a web designer as a hobby, but if you’re serious, a degree can be so useful. The industry can change so much over the course of a 3 or 4 year degree, so chances are the software you learn in your first year will be out of date by the time you graduate, but the concepts always stay current. Experience is also important; it’s good to have a mix of academic and commercial work. If you are a “bedroom web-designer” then you put yourself in a bad position for the long term if you don’t have any formal training. Qualifications can help your clients believe in your ideas and abilities, and that gives you the freedom to break boundaries of web design.

Courses can also give you the confidence to take on new challenges. We approach every project from scratch and try to come up with the most unique, fitting response to the brief. Even if that means learning new languages, picking up new skills or using new technology, we can do it. Often we build custom hardwear and software to get the job done, and bring huge benefits to the people we work with, from independent artists to large corporations.

Web design is no longer something you can do alone. You need to get out there and meet people who are doing what you’re doing. Whether that networking comes from a course, or just taking along your portfolio to a local media event, it’s important to realise that the best web design happens in front of people, not in front of screens.

I believe strongly in continued education, and that anybody who wants to learn should be able to learn, not just in the classroom but out in the wider world. Because I want to keep HMC Interactive at the forefront of new technology I teach as a guest lecturer at other universities, not just passing on my knowledge but developing fresh ideas and new collaborations. One of these collaborations has been nominated for the Europrix Top Talent award in Vienna, proving that successful digital media relies on ideas as much as technology.

NETMAG: What's the best way to get into web design in your opinion?

There are so many ways to get into web design, my advice would be “Stay interested in everything.” Call up local web design companies and ask if you can visit them. Look at the designers or companies you admire and approach them, let them know what you do, and ask them what they need. You need to be constantly changing and evolving your skillset. Try to understand what is going on under the surface of the web. Any 12 year old with a demo copy of Dreamweaver can call themselves a web designer. You must show passion, integrity and vision, technical accomplishment will follow.

Labels: education, europrix, interview, magazine, submerge, university

It gives me great pleasure to announce that HMC Interactive just won the Outstanding Contribution to Innovation award at the Media innovation awards last week.

Also a huge congratulations go to Luke Angel for winning Best Newcomer!

You can see the videos online here

Labels: awards

Hi everyone. You will be pleased to hear there are going to be quite a few updates to Adam Montandon.com and I will be adding a lot more interesting stuff. Myself and the rest of the team have just finished a huge installation at Living Coasts. It was so much fun.

Also we are nominated for 4 Media Innovation Awards this Friday, so keep your fingers crossed for us!

HMC Interactive celebrates its fourth year! Its been an amazing 4 years in the most interesting job in the world! I love it!

I have been working really hard on an amazing new interactive floor for Living Coasts. It should all be ready by next Tuesday, and we are all really looking forward to it. Its been a really interesting job and i have learnt a lot about penguins.

I have been working on an "Eco-floor" that has life sized interactive ecology games where kids can clean up a virtual oil slick or rescue trapped animals. Its going to be interesting to see how people react to it. Rather than just being a simple use of interactivity for entertainment this floor has a real educational message.

HMC Interactive Directors Korash Sanjideh and Adam Montandon will be at ICE 2008, Canada's biggest interactive conference, which takes place later this month (26-29 March). Adam and Korash will be participating in many of the key panel discussions including Not the Usual Suspects: Strategies for Partnerships; Bridging the Gap: Connecting Ideas, Research & Business; Future Forward: Strategies for Change and Brains of the Operation: The Growing Talent Crisis. Adam will also be presenting a case study on the main stage as part of the notoriously fast-paced ICE DEMOCamp. For more information visit www.ice08.com

I get a mention with the eyeborg project in Canada's Globe and Mail

Labels: colourblind, Press

There are many ways of encouraging interactivity in places where people are normally "hands off". We do a lot of museum work that is traditionally a "look but dont touch" environment, so you have to work harder to get people to physically play.

One thing we find works well is to make sure that you have a high level of people-traffic going through the space where your project is. People will more likely interact in crowds or groups than alone. They can learn how to operate unusual interfaces from other people.

Also, allow the information about how to play be discovered organically. What I mean is, don't give clear instructions, give a story or a challenge. That allows people to discover how it works for themselves, and pass on the info to others.

We often find that the kids are more hands on, and try it out first, and then delight at showing their parents what they discovered.

Dress Codes in Creative Companies.

I am constantly surprised to see just how many large creative companies enforce dress code on their employees. They see it as a way to communicate a corporate identity. How your staff dress can go a long way to how you are perceived in the outside world. Dressing smartly and appropriately for work is seen as very important by a lot of people, and many people in large organisations find that certain clothes like hats are completely banned.

A business suit never goes out of fashion, and if we look at images of businessmen they barely change throughout the decades.

However, in a creative company, fashions often change faster than the HR department can update their codes. If you are a cutting edge company you need to be ableto quickly respond to small changes. Having staff display a little bit of cool every now and then can help clients identify with them. If your clients want the latest and greatest services, the staff should be free to express that in their dress code.

Individual expression through dress increases in importance as the size of the company increases. People need to be recognised and stand out from the rest of the pack. By encouraging this, staff are more likely to express their individuality in their work, and bring in additional creativity and personal flair.

You might think that this would lead to a colourful hap-hazard mishmash of styles in the workplace, but in reality dress codes are an emergent phenomenon. If any one can wear anything the staff will ingeneral harmonise their dress codes as they take their cues from their workmates. Peer pressure and the need to fit inin the workplace means that the majority of people will wear roughly the same sort of dress. However the mavericks of the team have the flexibility to try something new. If it is successful it will be adopted by the rest of the team.

A good example is to look back at some of the trends seen at HMC Interactive, who have never had a dress code. The first development was the jeans-and-t-shirt combo, a classic choice. But the T-shirts quickly moved away from the big name brands and towards Threadless, a democratic internet driven design brand. The t-shirts were so creative, unusual and quirky, we would often get compliments on them, and they were a lot more unusual than a standard white T.

As the company got bigger, and the clients got more serious, HMC were able to adapt their dress to become more formal, getting smarter and smarter as the years went on. One nice touch was that each member of the team often wore a small splash of purple, in a stripe on a shirt or a pattern on a tie. What emerged was a completely harmonious team sense of belonging through an unwritten code that everyone had created together. We wear purple not because we have to but because we want to. Our colleagues are often surprised at how we maintain strong individuality whilst maintaining a coordinated look.

Hi everyone. I am setting up a new blog on my site so you can follow all the things that I am getting up to over at HMC Interactive.

The site is still in its infancy so if you have any comments or suggestions for improvements please e-mail me.

Thanks very much.