The Details of Minimalism

     Minimalism is a design trend that focuses on stripping away any unnecessary elements, leaving only what is core and fundamental to the design. In many ways, there is beauty in this simplicity and many artists, engineers, and designers have taken note. First emerging in the world of visual arts in 1960, it was met with some skepticism and outrage when first displayed in exhibitions. Barnett Newmans, Voice of Fire was commissioned for Expo 67 for a value of $1.8 million, sparking some outrage amongst the public who viewed the seemingly "lazy" artwork as being overpriced, even more so when it was discovered that it was originally displayed upside down. From these early expo's the trend of minimalism reached architecture. Here minimalism entailed that a house is best described as a roof and 4 walls, naturally a one room house isn't very practical so minimalism played a greater role in deciding aesthetic decisions. Sharp square edges, white rooms, natural lighting, and other such themes became the mainstay of minimalist architecture.
     Minimalism is quite commonplace nowadays. The Apple logo for instance is easily recognizable even without any context. Minimalism and UI design go hand in hand as designers are grateful that they can combine easy of use with aesthetics. Reducing the number of elements on a screen allows users with limited technological knowledge to make sense of the core functions of an application. Making this simplicity work requires a great deal of creativity from the designer but the many hours it saves the users is well worth the effort. As computer systems become more complex, and the density of information we take in increases, the role of minimalism will be integral in making sure people get the most out of their applications.

Bibliography

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minimalism
• https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/Voice_of_Fire_photo.jpg
• https://www.dezeen.com/tag/minimalist-architecture

The Heads Up On HUDs

     As an avid gamer I am very familiar with the concept of head-up displays, but it is still strange to think that HUD's have been around for more than 70 years! The term head-up display comes from the first usage of this design technique in the 1940's. RAF (Royal Air Force) night pilots, in order to view a targets location on radar, would have to tilt their head downwards to view the radar screen then bring their heads up to view out their windshield. In order to avoid this unnecessary head movement the TRE (Telecommunications Research Establishment), which was responsible for radar technologies in the UK at that time, created the Head-up embedding the radar display into the planes windshields.
     In the 1950's there were many HUD manufacturers, and this competition led to many advancements in design. The addition of altitude information, holographic cross-hairs, ammunition and fuel information were some of the major contributions in this time period. Nowadays these technologies show up in multiple places including car windshields, video games, and even helmet screens for jet fighter pilots. The most commonly known place is in FPS (first person shooter) video games. Coming full circle back to military use, the use of HUD's in  FPS's is chiefly to display information like Radars, ammunition, objectives (in the form of waypoints), and bodily health.
    The next step for HUD's might make them more common than smartphones. Googles "Google Glass" is already one such advancement. The increasing commonality of augmented reality in both video games and casual use might push HUD's to become an everyday norm. The power of vision and analysis is a major factor when it comes to how humans view the world around them, wearing a pair of glasses that lets you increase the information you are taking in can open up many opportunities. A motorcyclist won't need to spend that dangerous quarter second glancing down at the speedometer, or a person with hampered vision might be able to zoom in on his/her medical prescription. As computers become smaller and more powerful merging them with our established senses becomes easier, opening up more doors for human ability.

Bibliography

• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head-up_display
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radar
• http://auto.howstuffworks.com/car-driving-safety/safety-regulatory-devices/head-up-display1.htm
• http://bodyhacks.com/heads-up-displays-are-about-to-be-as-common-as-smartphones