ProjectsErik Loyer : Eloquent interactive media

The Vector Space

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Design and Programming by Erik Loyer
March 2005

Launch Project

The Vector Space is an “intellectual paint program” in which users draw “vectors,” freehand lines which represent individual essays in the experimental academic journal Vectors: Journal of Culture and Technology in a Dynamic Vernacular. Multiple visual interpretations can then be applied to the drawings, revealing unexpected interconnections between the essays.

Vector Space Screenshot 1

1. Users select a project and then click and drag to draw a vector representing its intellectual force.

Vector Space Screenshot 2

2. Each project has its own look and feel, and project vectors from different issues of the journal can be drawn in the same space.

Vector Space Screenshot 3

3. Once drawn, vectors can be interpreted in various ways--shown here is the “intersections” display, which shows keywords that intersecting projects have in common.

Vector Space Screenshot 4

4. This is the “textracts” display, which mixes short excerpts from the text of all the projects together in the same space.