The Periscope

Kinetics in West Seattle with Jason Rudolph

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 20:58:52 -0500

Remember back before Chuck E. Cheese? Showbiz Pizza Place was the original family fun spot, with the animatronic performing band...Rock-a-fire Explosion, powered by '70s technology.

This "show", or set of pneumatic-driven band members (originally designed and manufactured by Creative Engineering) are being rebuilt and upgraded by Jason Rudolph in West Seattle, currently at a large, vacant retail space (formerly Petco). Jason is looking at new ways to control the band and to create new shows. First step is to rehabilitate the vintage band members.

Under-the-latex, all moving parts are actuated with compressed air-powered cylinders.

This is essentially a communications hub, which handles all of the switching for the pneumatic controls-currently a Tivo is sending the show controls' timing through a bundle of wires with data that tells the band how to move and when to move, so that it syncs with the music.

Watch the Rock-afire Explosion documentary on Hulu.

"Macro-Micro" installed in South Lake Union

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 16:15:43 -0500

What do Mark Twain, Marie Curie, and Nikola Tesla all have in common? They are all part of South Lake Union's latest design installation by Belle & Wissell titled "Macro-Micro", part of a series of artful and sustainable design projects commissioned by Vulcan Real Estate. This project is just one part of Vulcan's vision for the new Amazon.com campus in the neighborhood.

We invite you to come see it in person at this location.

The graphic metal sculpture, located on Boren Avenue (between Thomas and Harrison) is made from 8,640 multicolor, individual pucks-capable of being rearranged into future compositions to give this project an extended life (a total of 10,000 pucks were produced). The initial theme is based on "innovators", a reflection of the neighborhood's past, present, and future.

This Belle & Wissell design project was realized in collaboration with Vulcan Real Estate, Amazon.com, and fabricator McNae Metals

Giant mesh racks were made to hold and support thousands of metal pucks.

Since there was not an off-the-shelf option, McNae's solution involved marrying 10,000 studs with 10,000 pucks. No big deal.

Phew.

Once the pucks were joined, it was time to paint.

Mesh installed, pucks painted, next comes the paint by number part. Each puck was hand set in the mesh on site using a detailed grid guide.

The finished piece.

"Your Face is Puzzling to Me"...now collecting faces

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 11:25:45 -0500

This isn't a cloning experiment but rather it's South Lake Union's latest installation titled "Your Face is Puzzling to Me", an interactive exhibit commissioned by Vulcan Real Estate for the new Amazon.com campus on Thomas St. (between Terry and Boren). This project is part of Vulcan's larger vision for Seattle's most up-and-coming neighborhood.

Contribute your face (in person) at "Your Face is Puzzling to Me"

This Belle & Wissell design project was realized in collaboration with Vulcan Real Estate, Amazon.com, and fabricator Turner Exhibits.

The concept behind "Your Face Is Puzzling To Me" is to elevate the diversity of the people in the South Lake Union neighborhood, bringing together faces that make the neighborhood special. Folks passing by can use a capture station to add their photo to the project. Once your photo is taken, it is processed and juxtaposed with previously submitted faces. Also in the rotation are faces from the past, a few inanimate objects, and some other surprises.

The result? Some weird looking folks.

Bellevue Arts Museum: George Nelson Exhibit

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 17:59:00 -0500

Drooling over well-designed furniture is one of our favorite after hours hobbies. So you can imagine our excitement when the Bellevue Arts Museum opened an exhibition featuring the king of sexy modern furniture; George Nelson. On loan from the Vitra Design Museum in Germany, the Seattle area is one of four lucky US stops to be able to take a peek.

The exhibit, open through February 12, features his accomplishments in office, house, exhibition, and corporate design. Each piece inspires, making us a little bit happier having seen it in person.

The man himself

Marshmallow Sofa, delicious but oddly colored

Clock wall at the exhibition

Nirvana Exhibition Drawing Crowds

Tue, 17 May 2011 20:42:31 -0500

Nirvana: Taking Punk to the Masses, an exhibition that pays homage to this significant Northwest band and the music scenes that surrounded it, has only been open a month, but is bringing museum visitors out in droves to EMP in Seattle.

Both local and national press have been covering the exhibit, including The Seattle Times, MTV and Rolling Stone, and praise the exhibit design approach for it's complexity, innovation and style.

Exhibition Curator: Jacob McMurray
Exhibition Graphic Design and Interactives: Belle & Wissell, Co.
Exhibition Design: Wonder Mine

Programming Positions at Belle & Wissell, Co.

Tue, 10 May 2011 17:52:19 -0500

Belle & Wissell, Co. is looking for interface developers for full-time and contract employment. The scope of our projects is uniquely vast, so interest in new challenges across various mediums is key. We are currently working on: public art projects, museum media installations with software/hardware integration, single and multi-touch interfaces, programmatic motion design, WYSIWYG content management tools, projected works, experimental filmmaking, and 3D game engines.

If you can use 'interactive' as a noun and have experience with any of the following, you could be a good fit for our team: Flash/Silverlight, WPF, C++ (Cinder, openFrameworks), C#, and/or Unity (for media installations, interactive kiosks, and Web experiences). If you've got more, we'd like to know about it.

Email resumes and links to work samples: info@bwco.info
Please provide examples of practical experience that show past successful results.

Nirvana: Taking Punk To The Masses Exhibit Opens

Wed, 20 Apr 2011 17:57:56 -0500

After nearly two years of preparation, fans and contributors came together to view the April 16th opening of the Nirvana: Taking Punk To The Masses exhibit. A unique combination of artifacts from Nirvana's heyday including hand-written notes, clothing and instruments are incased amongst streaming video interviews, life-sized photographs, and graphic-based maps. The collection is designed to depict the musical layout of the Pacific Northwest landscape and tell the story of a band that helped shape Seattle's history.

Along with exhibit graphic design, Belle & Wissell, Co. designed a confessional booth that serves as an interactive recording station for visitors and fans to contribute their personal Nirvana experiences to an ongoing video database stream. To use the interface, viewers watch other, prerecorded, Nirvana "confessions" and answer a queued question about an experience they remember having with or about the band. For example: "When was the first time you heard Nirvana?"

Beyond gathering the perspective of guests, the exhibit contains several interactive touch tables (Belle & Wissell, Co.) which display streaming interviews, music and album art, all selectable by by the viewer. Since the viewers' relationship to the band varies greatly, the interface allows the user chose how expansive or general their experience of topics is.

Addressing such a complexly personal piece of Seattle history was challenging, but by combining past artifacts with new technology, the Nirvana: Taking Punk To The Masses exhibit is a powerful and dynamic composite of experiences - connecting fans of all ages to a band and an era that changed music history.

Exhibit Graphic and Interactive Design: Belle & Wissell, Co.
Exhibit Design: Wonder Mine.
Curatorial: Jacob McMurray and the EMP curatorial team

Communication Arts Interactive Annual 17: Winner

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 14:52:19 -0500

Belle & Wissell's Born Presents: 417 • 903 project was selected as a winner in the Communication Arts Interactive Annual 17, which hit newsstands in March.

Belle & Wissell would like to thank and congratulate all of the contributors who made this project possible:

Scott Benish, Lead Designer
Gabe Kean, Design Director 
Thomas Ryun, Art Director
Amy Spreadborough/Anmarie Timble, Writers
Craig Ernst, Online Editor
Chad McMurray, Sound Engineer
Marq Dean, Project Manager
Edrea Lita, Associate Art Director
Adobe Systems, Inc., Consultant
Born Presents (Born Magazine), Client

For more information, please visit:

http://www.bwco.info

http://www.bornmagazine.org/bookpreview/index.html

http://www.commarts.com/interactive/cai11/BookPreview.html

Paccar Hall Wayfinding System: A Finalist for the Flash In the Can Awards

Thu, 14 Apr 2011 14:32:33 -0500

Finalists were announced last week for Toronto's annual Flash In The Can Awards. Belle & Wissell, Co.'s Paccar Hall digital wayfinding system for The University of Washington's business school is among those nominated for a Flash Usability and People's Choice awards.

See a video of this project here.

An interactive directory provides students and faculty with real-time information from multiple data sources, revisions to locations of people and departments, and navigation through the complex floor plans and multi-level building entrances. The project also includes a digital donor program with touch interfaces and passive digital displays to clearly credit the contributions that made Paccar Hall possible. Additionally there is a business Twitter feed interactive that streams constant news from up to twelve Twitter feeds like The Economist and The Wall Street Journal.

Winners for FITC will be announced at the ceremony on May 3. Fans of Belle & Wissell can cast their vote for the People's choice by visiting the nominees page.

Nirvana Exhibition Opens April 16

Thu, 24 Mar 2011 18:45:29 -0500

Exhibit runs: April 16,2011-April 22, 2013

http://www.empsfm.org/exhibitions/index.asp?articleID=1548

Belle & Wissell, Co. collaborated with EMP to create an exhibition celebrating the music and history of Seattle grunge luminaries, Nirvana.

Nirvana: Taking Punk to the Masses will be a large-scale exhibit that includes media interactives, large-format graphics, and artifacts representing the various communities and music of the Pacific Northwest during this era. It will examine how the energy, youthful angst, and local culture of the time merged to change the music industry forever.

View installation photos here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/empsfm/sets/72157626334265172/

Belle & Wissell, Co. provided exhibition graphic and interactive design.
Exhibit design by Wonder Mine.
Curatorial work by Jacob McMurray and the EMP curatorial team

Jini Dellaccio Documentary Film Fundraiser

Tue, 15 Mar 2011 12:52:00 -0500

This past weekend marked a special occasion for collaborators on the upcoming documentary film about legendary rock photographer Jini Dellaccio. This past Saturday, Northwest Film Forum hosted Behind the Lens: Jini Dellaccio Documentary Fundraiser & Extended Trailer Premier e.

Belle and Wissell has been shooting this independent film for director Karen Whitehead (Five Star Films) over the past year. The production team includes renowned local filmmaker John Jeffcoat (Director of Photography, creator and director of Outsourced) and cinematographer Ryan McMackin (as Assistant DP / Gaffer). Belle & Wissell will also be providing an art direction role as post-production begins.

Among her many supporters, Jini Dellaccio was in attendance. At age 94, she's enjoyed a lustrous career, having captured images of some of rock history's most important figures including: Neil Young, The Who, The Rolling Stones, The Sonics, Merrilee Rush, and many more.

To support the project with a donation, visit:
http://cargocollective.com/dellacciofilm#1066246/Donate

Art Category Finalist

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 18:05:42 -0500

Retrospective Book Preview:
Born Presents 417 • 903 is a
SXSW Interactive Awards finalist
in the category of Art.

The Interactive Awards Ceremony will take place Tuesday, March 15, and will seek to uncover the best new digital work (from websites to web applications and beyond). Born Presents: 417 • 903 (designed by Belle & Wissell, Co.), is a finalist in the category of Art.

Born Presents: 417 • 903 is a retrospective preview of Born's developing multimedia/book project that showcases the creativity and talents of those who have conceived some of its most inspiring work. For over fourteen years, Born has brought together hundreds of volunteers to create an unprecedented history of creative collaborative arts on the web and beyond.

http://www.bornmagazine.org/bookpreview/

"Checking Our Pulse" Exhibition at Northwest African American Museum

Wed, 27 Oct 2010 17:16:20 -0500

Exhibition run: October 29, 2010 - June 5, 2011
Opening reception on October 29 @ 6pm.

Northwest African American Museum
2300 S. Massachusetts Street
Seattle, WA 98144

Belle & Wissell designed an exhibition that highlights the stories and achievements of African American medical professionals and probes the realities of critical health issues impacting the African-American community in the Puget Sound and beyond.

Exhibit components include exhibit design and graphic design, five exhibit films, a central media art installation, and 5 satellite kiosks (traveling exhibit components).

True Evel: The Amazing Story of Evel Knievel (Belle & Wissell Exhibition Design)

Mon, 25 Oct 2010 20:12:44 -0500

Belle & Wissell designed an 8,000 sq. ft. exhibition presenting a surprising
swath of artifacts, ephemera, costumes, and injury x-rays-with massive Evel infographics and a 70s-style arcade game.

See it for yourself:
http://www.bwco.info/player/?f=evel_exhibit

This exhibition at the Harley-Davidson Museum was one of many interesting multi-disciplinary projects that we've completed recently. See what else we've been working on:
http://www.bwco.info

GAMES: Evel Knievel 1970s Arcade Game
Evel Knievel's Daredevil Challenge is fun for all ages and was designed to make reference to the arcade consoles of the late '70s, while utilizing modern technology.
http://www.bwco.info/player/?f=evel_game

BOOKS: Born Book Preview Featured by Adobe
Experience it now. This book preview tells the story
of 14 years of global creative collaboration and presents some of Born's finest work. Read about it on Adobe's website:
http://wwwimages.adobe.com/www.adobe.com/products/indesign/pdfs/us_91030222_bellwissell_ss_ue_fnl_09102010.pdf

EDITIONS Future: limited-edition postcards
Our latest installment (a limited edition of 250) is a special postcard set that allows participants to send mail to the future, unlocking important story elements:
http://www.bwco.info/?p=future

Retrospective Book Preview: Born Presents 417 • 903

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 14:02:33 -0500

Belle & Wissell. Co. explores the future of design and publishing with a book preview:

http://www.bornmagazine.org/bookpreview/

Born has curated and published 417 projects with 903 collaborators since its inception in 1996. This book preview begins to tell that story of global collaboration and presents some of Born's finest work.