Literal Reflections on Web
In studio at DSR, we’ve got a teapot in that classic chrome I love, along with an iconic disco ball that hangs above us as we work. Spins, lights and all. That’s what sparked the first thought: what if you put that on a site. I’d also seen a great site for a consultant who replicated the look and feel of a Zoom call, and used an aesthetic recording of himself working. The call to action was to book a call, a great combination of function and form in an idea (unfortunately I’ve lost the name of this site, so if you know of it let me know).
It was this use of the webcam and metallic chrome that created an extra level of interaction, and it was fun. I wanted to execute it quickly, so I turned to ‘uncle claude’. The use of AI in this way is what I want for designers and creatives in the future: one where the idea stays central and the execution is purposeful and controlled, but made a whole lot easier to test with the aid of AI. So I iterated it about eight or nine times and came to the result of something really interesting. Static 3D blue chrome objects on a strong red background. I’d also tested a version driven by scroll, which was interesting to see how the projection and perspective might change based on where you were on the page.
I’d love to see this adopted on sites or programs, but I imagine this working particularly well for art galleries or installations where UI/UX isn’t directly over web. On web it’s a big step to allow a random site to access webcam. But hey, Omegle was as successful as it was, so I guess it’s not too much of a step if the payoff and reward is clear to the user, and they know what they’re getting into when they accept webcam use from a site. So heads up, I’m not capturing any data on these, so have fun and check out the explorations below with your mind at ease.