By PolyU Design invitation, Stephen Black will conduct two workshops and it is highly recommended for you to attend both, though not required. He will also present two lectures for Design Students and the general public.

You are invited to attend one, two, three or all four events.

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WORKSHOP 1

Monday June 11, Registration at 2:15 PM. Workshop 2:30-4:30 PM, Computers Studio V513, 5/F, V Building.

Title: "AR: Define, Think and Do"

To achieve one’s goals, one must use the best words. By defining and clarifying the vocabulary of the AR world, we eliminate inefficiency. Three parts:

1. Explanation and visual examples of terminology
   
   
2. Open time for the exchange of participants ideas, questions and experiences
   
   
3. Group brainstorming and the description of a proposed AR project in which a digital creation would be placed into a physical situation.

Special emphasis is given to the uses of AR in design, gamemaking and arts.

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PRESENTATION 1

Monday June 11, 5-7 PM. Room V1101, 11/F, V building.

Title: "AR in 2018: an overview"

Augmented Reality is starting to be used in every area of our lives, and its uses will continue to increase. This presentation showcases AR projects in art, design, gamemaking, advertising, fashion, education, shopping, marketing, finance and more.

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WORKSHOP 2

Wednesday June 13, Registration at 2:15 PM. Workshop 2:30-4:30 PM, Computers Studio V513, 5/F, V Building.

Title: "AR: Examples and Mockup Possibilities"

Examples of AR in art, design, gamemaking and commerce: U2, Pokémon Go, Magic Leap, 19 Crimes and many more:

• How to make, how to host: commercial and free apps
  
  
• Individual’s ideas, questions and experiences
  
  
• Mock-up creation, either with paper or free software such as HP Reveal

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PRESENTATION 2

Wednesday June 13, 5-7 PM. Room V1101, 11/F, V building.

Title: "Stephen Black: VR, AR and Me"

Artist, writer and producer Stephen Black began working with virtual worlds in 2002. Game-making, VR filmmaking, AR projects and more; the locations being Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, HK and Thailand. An entertaining and informative look at two very dynamic trends, the presentation is for anyone, IT geek or not!

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Event's Introduction:

Coffee and AR: Prepare for Impact!

Augmented Reality will soon be everywhere. How can the coffee industry prepare itself for this revolutionary new technology? (Prepared for Coffee Traveler magazine, a Thailand-based professional journal for the coffee industry.)

2017 can be considered the start of Augmented Reality. Six hundred million iPhones became enabled for AR. One hundred million Android users also gained AR functionality. Facebook, Microsoft, Intel and other companies released or improved AR products. Time magazine, in an issue guest-edited by Bill Gates, used AR on its cover. There is no doubt that AR will become a very, very big thing, as common as GPS.

But what is AR, Augmented Reality? And, in what ways will AR impact the coffee industry?

AR is a technology that combines digital data with the physical world. The digital data can be sound, text, graphics, video or 3D models (like what you see in many computer games.) The ”physical world” can be as large as the Sydney Opera House or as small as a matchbox: books, table tops, living rooms and parks-- anywhere! At present, AR can be experienced with phones and tablets, though special glasses, like Microsoft’s Hololens or Google Glass may become common. AR is used for industrial, educational, medical, entertainment, research and other purposes.

The first huge AR success was Pokemon GO, which hides digital creatures in real world locations. With Ikea’s AR app, customers can put digital furniture in their real homes, allowing them to select the best color and size. Coca Cola and Boeing, like many companies, use AR to aid in the repair and maintenance of machinery.

An Australian wine company called 19 Crimes created an app that allows the photographs on their labels to move, speak and tell stories. According to Forbes magazine, this AR app resulted in over one million cases of wine being sold, and an increase of volume sales by 60%.

AR is nearly unlimited [more]

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About the Speaker

Stephen Black

Artist, photographer, filmmaker, producer and writer.

Stephen Black’s experiences with VR, AR and 3D gamemaking began in 2002, when he was the creative director for WalkerAsia. The company was a platform for both user-generated video and educational 3D gamemaking. Stephen is now planning an AR-based startup featuring original software, stories and characters: Bubiko Foodtour, Secret Donut World, The Dobots and the Dundercats.

Stephen has collaborated with Singapore Literature Prize recipient Cyril Wong (Fires poetry ebook), artist Michael Lee (Singapore Biennale) and Eugene Soh (SPOKEN virtual gallery). 3how, co-founded with Amith Narayan, was an improvisational music/theatre project. Stephen’s art residencies include The Independent Archive and Grey Projects. A short film co-production with Hiverlab, “Beach Road”, was featured in VR festivals in Las Vegas, Singapore and Brisbane.

A graduate of the Rochester Institute of Technology, Stephen has worked in television (CNN, Cartoon Network, France 2, Fox and Fuji TV), as a published and exhibited photographer, and as a teacher (poetry, performance and gamemaking). He has produced concerts, as well as a presentation of Stelarc’s “Prosthetic Head”.

Author of eight books including a best seller, “i ate tiong bahru”, Stephen is now finalizing two books; one about an AR sentient being made of light, the other a journal of IT and food experiences related to the Bubiko Orwell SouthEast Asia Tour.

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About the books

Stephen Black has written eight books, all of which are free or discounted downloads on Amazon for a limited time. www.blacksteps.tv/book-merah-ebook-giveaway-june-2018-hong-kong-beyond/

Free printed booklets will be given away during the workshops!

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Try, the world's first AR photo exhibition here.

Stephen Black curated SPOKEN, a virtual exhibition available here. (No goggles needed.)

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Enquiry

Dr. KRUNDEL Ludovic A., laakrund@polyu.edu.hk

Event's image, poster and flyer credits to Artwork Designer Roman Podkorytov.