Library Gazette

On Friday, April 3rd, the ZSR journal reading group met to discuss the 2009 Horizon Report. The Horizon Report discusses six emerging technologies that are anticipated to enter the mainstream in the next one to five years. The technologies discusses were: Mobiles, Cloud Computing, Geo-Everything, The Personal Web, Semantic-Aware Applications, and Smart Objects. Seven members of the ZSR staff and one member of the Carpenter Library staff had a lively discussion about each of these six issues. Erik led a discussion of the semantic web, helping the group better understand what it is and how it will affect our future. Our discussion of mobiles, specifically the iPhone and the various applications available, made me think the WFU mobileU project was just a bit ahead of its time! Our discussion of cloud computing prompted several of us to mention the recent article about Google’s “home built” servers and their efficiency! All in all it was an engaging discussion all around!

Kevin, Mary Beth, Kaeley, and I once again gathered in the “tech cave” for this week’s TED talk video and discussion. David Carson, a graphic designer/grunge typographer, discussed how human emotion and social constraints can impact the meaning and interpretation of printed text. In his designs, Carson rebels against using standard text fonts to create a raw, or grunge-like, product.

Discussion after the video centered on the impact of images and how we can utilize them to make a statement. David Carson made the comment in the video that he doesn’t consider it “heroic” to take a chance with a different font type, but that it is important for us all to be bravely trying new things. We discussed how we might implement some of these ideas in our work here in ZSR.

While it is difficult to put into words Carson’s argument, this 22 minute video (David Carson: Design, Discovery and Humor) speaks volumes.