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June 4, 2012 - Comments Off on Megapixels of Metroid

Megapixels of Metroid

Today we are surrounded by grids. Our homes are laid out in grids as are our city streets. As technology has taken over our lives, they have even made a successful invasion of every aspect of our personal lives in the form of spreadsheets. Being spatial animals, regimented columns and rows are as intuitive to us as chewing and swallowing. The irony is that the same technology that helped solidify this victory sees in only one-dimension; a string of ones and zeros. The only reason computers appear to prefer grids is because it facilitates communication with their monkey overlords. A compromise, if you will, between our third and their one-dimensional outlook.

First try at pixel art...zoom out to appreciate?

Many artists recognize the power of the grid, incorporating it directly into their artwork (see the entire Cubist and Pointillist movements). Modern artists have been experimenting with more modern, technological forms, of matrices in works both digital and classical since the creation of digital media. Yet works like those of Brett Freund remind us where we can find such geometry most readily though it is often the last place to come to mind: nature (or more specifically, crystals).

Long Foot 2Cups

As a web designer, grids become second nature. They serve as indispensable methods for everything from storing data to laying out designs. Yet the website for Citytime, a retail and distribution company, embraces the values of squares in an intimate way while recalling pixel art. Besides the gorgeous design, the captivating and original hover states combine with fluid animations to create a unique effect for what is ostensibly a simple portfolio. Best of all, the layout leads intuitively to a brilliant mobile adaptive version (narrow your browser window!).

Citytime

I guess my point is grids can be found everywhere and in everything if just look hard enough. All things are made of components which are made of smaller pieces and so on and so forth. Nothing illustrates this more vividly than the following music video for the band, appropriately named, Blockhead.

The Sketching Mechanism is a series of weekly posts, published on Mondays, containing the artistic musings of Mobile Designer/Developer Ben Chirlin during our Monday morning meeting at the NY Creative Bunker as well as his inspiring artistic finds of the week.

Published by: benchirlin in The Design Mechanism
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