Unfolding the Napkin

I am working my way through the book Unfolding the Napkin by Dan Roam. This is a companion book to The Back of The Napkin also by Dan Roam. As a buddy architect, I have found lots of valuable material in this book about how to present ideas more effectively. This book is very accessible no matter what your comfort level is with drawing, or presenting information visually. And while I’m regularly trying to create pictures to explain things, I think most people can benefit from reading this book. If nothing else, it might help all of us get out of sitting through Powerpoints that are nothing but bullet points. This book will definitely help you to think about how you present ideas both at the office and at home.

There are also some interesting youtube videos by Dan Roam. If you aren’t ready to invest in a book start with this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GwhpLHpDUug and then search for others.

Please let me know what you think about the book if you read it.

Spark AR

I recently played with Spark AR to create a filter for instagram after reading this blog article https://later.com/blog/create-instagram-stories-filter/?utm_source=Later&utm_campaign=2e57946726-newsletter_igARfilters&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_ed013a3012-2e57946726-38100551.

While Spark AR is an interesting tool which allows you to create a filter it has a bit of a learning curve. If you are interested in learning it there are some great tutorials to get you started from Facebook. https://sparkar.facebook.com/ar-studio/learn/documentation/tutorials/ar-studio-player . I highly recommend going through at least the intro tutorials rather than just diving into the program, even if you have used programs like Photoshop before.

I followed several tutorials and did a couple of filters just for fun, I haven’t gone through the process to publish a filter officially, but I have a limited number of downloads of my filters (these may disappear over time, so if the links break, sorry). In order to use the filter, you have to click the link below on a phone and them open them with the instagram or facebook app based on which link you click. The facebook filter will use the rear facing camera, the instagram filter uses the front facing camera. I happen to like the instagram one a little more.

It is pretty cool to play with AR, and this helps to put it in the reach of many users, even it it is limited to Facebook and Instagram platforms.

Illini Facepaint

https://instagram.com/a/r/?effect_id=2355869451336880&ch=MDQyMGZhNzdlMzEzMDVlNmIzNjUyNWNhNTQ1ODAxZjQ%3D

https://www.facebook.com/fbcameraeffects/testit/759542881142953/OWVjYWE4MGExM2NkZDU2MmQ2MDczOWViMGFiYzkxOTc=/

Hotdog

facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/fbcameraeffects/testit/1784674805011503/MWYyZGVkYWZkNDg3YzUwZDM0NzdhMDBjZDMzNmYwYWE=/

instagramhttps://instagram.com/a/r/?effect_id=2420409611615156&ch=ZThiZTU4OGNmNGM0ZGQ1YWNhODQ3ZTllMTU3NTQ3MDc%3D

Biking

https://www.facebook.com/fbcameraeffects/testit/976500566021057/MzUwYThmYWMwZTc0ZDcxMDJmM2MzNGE4YTAyODZkMTA=/

https://instagram.com/a/r/?effect_id=517611895475915&ch=OTAzZWFhYzlmNmYzZmNjZTcwM2Y1ZjYzNDc2N2ExYTQ%3D