This is my first sketch for ISS294 - Interactive Graphics. I first set out to play with text, animation, and randomization. I landed on this interactive and visually sporadic sketch. The user is meant to interact with the sketch by moving their mouse around the canvas and typing. Whatever letters, numbers, or symbols they type will then spring from the cursor, moving pseudo-randomly as they decay in size, randomly changing colors until they fade to nothing.

Example 1

There are several ideas being portrayed by this sketch, all of which pertain to the dissemination of information across social media. With the speed at which information now travels, breaking news rapidly makes a large impact, but just as quickly fades out of the spotlight as the public moves to the next popular topic. Additionally, as information spreads, it often becomes distorted, either becoming twisted to fit a new perspective or losing its original meaning entirely. Lastly, with the ease of spreading user-generated content, important ideas can easily be lost amongst the overwhelming amount of information that is available.

Example 2

Check out the sketch here or look at the source code!