anna y lin
projects |
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⏲ professional work |
⇱ roots, the html review 03 |
⇱ diaspora radicals, Taper #11 |
⇱ badwatercolor |
⇱ creative coding |
workshop |
⇱ hacking with the browser |
about this website
the last time i completely changed my website was in 2018.
websites are always a work in progress; this change has been due for a long time--when my old website no longer reflected my thoughts and aesthetic as a person who both continues to work in, and have a love-hate relationship with technology.
if the old website described me as a person, it would paint this picture: someone getting into complex javascript libraries, server-side bundling, and a bit of a code-hoarder for fear of needing it later in the future.
i hope this new website is a better reflection of how i feel about websites now--they can be plain javascript + html, and they can be fun (!) because it leaves room for more important things--like accessiblity, maintenance, and room to grow.
my old website had ~406 MB of assets; this one has ~50 MB
handhold mouse
![A table display with the handhold mouse, on top of a light blue mousepad, connected to a iMac G4 computer--people to play with an old drawing program called Kid Pix (2000) on the iMac.](public/handhold.jpg)
The handhold mouse--connected to a iMac G4 computer, inviting people to play with an old drawing program called Kid Pix (2000) on the iMac.
Why
Computing can be a lonely experience, and sometimes when you go through a difficult virtual experience it would be nice to still have a hand holding you through it in the physical realm.
How
This was a project created with Kat Kitay.
The model was a modified version of a hand model that was 3D-printed, and lovingly spray-painted. The hardware was taken from an HP optical mouse, and fit into the back of the handhold mouse.
Conclusion
A conversation that I had with a lot of the people about this project was about how playful the past of personal computing was. Thank you to these people for reminiscing with me, and for sharing those insightful conversations, and i'm happy to share more.
What are alternatives for personal computers today? What are the ways our computer acknowledges our corporeal body?
Special thanks to: pedro, josh, jo, sim, shuang, hank, cindy, and kai.
Read more about it here.eeg cloud
![Two kids with black EEG headsets on stand in front of 2 pairs of LEG lights suspended from the ceiling--the pair of lights on the left shine green and the two on the right shine orange.](public/eeg.png)
Twins using the EEG devices and controlling different sets of the lights in the EEG cloud, based on activity levels in their brain.
Why
Communication often fails us--mispronunciation, misinterpretation, other mishaps; we wanted to explore a different way of communicating our thoughts and feelings about a situation, using our brainwaves.
How
This project was created with Daniel Wai, and with a lot of advice on EEG devices and how to read its data from Jason Snell.
The EEG cloud consists of two sets of LED lights suspended in the air. Each pair of lights is connected to one of the two Muse 2 (EEG sensing device) devices. Participants are invited in pairs to put on one of the Muse 2 devices, which will record their brain activity. The EEG data is sent to the Arduino paired with the LED lights via WiFi, and the LED lights reflect a different color based on the state of the participants' mind.
Conclusion
This was an interesting exploration of what alternate forms of communication and expression could look like. When this project was presented as part of the ITP 2023 Spring Show (for the class Intangible Interactions by Yeseul Song), we received a lot of interesting ideas from people.
For example, what if we could have EEG-controlled lighting in our homes--a pre-anticipation of mood lighting? Or what if we use this as a trauma recovery therapeutic device, to guide us in our mental state on how we feel about a certain subject before we can verbalize it by allowing us to express it in a gentler, passive way?
Read more about it here.ai loves horror
![An old tv set with a green screen surround by piles of books sitting atop a lace-covered desk.](public/ai-loves-horror.png)
A horror text-based adventure game made using OpenAI's GPT-3 (Davinci model) API. This project was shown during the ITP Winter Show, 2022.
Why
It's an homage to old-school text based adventure games, and an exploration of AI's ability to write an emotionally compelling story for the player.
How
The app sends a prompt to Davinci to write a text-based adventure game that will give players choices numbered 1-3. When a choice is made, it is added back to the entire story and sent as a prompt to Davinci to send more choices, until the story is finished.
The story changes every time it is run, and it is generated live during gameplay. Ony Davinci has control over the choices and when to end the game.
The pace of the text also increases the longer the player plays.
Conclusion
It's interesting how Davinci is able to create a cohesive story that follows the theme of a horror adventure game. The stories Davinci generates usually consists of one spooky figure in a strange place, and the player is given choices to confront the figure or run away.
Somehow, the story always ends in about 5 minutes or so, and Davinci almost always gives a somewhat optimistic ending.
Read more about it here.text me smth nice
![Phone receiving texts from the text-me-smth-nice app.](public/text-me-smth-nice.gif)
A messaging app that uses the Twilio SMS API to send out nice texts periodically.
Why
During the pandemic, i wanted to remind my friends and myself that there are brighter times ahead.
How
I created a Python app that runs on a scheduler to use the Twilio SMS API, sending a text to subscribed numbers during random times of throughout the day.
Conclusion
Texting seems to be a pretty non-intrusive way of reaching out to people that can be made into a positive experience.
It made me happy to hear from a friend that the random texts throughout the day did help them through a tough time.
Read more about it here.tableware zine
![tableware - by anna y lin; credits to jaxon wang portrait of family of projects](public/tableware1.png)
![cups - sanded plywood 5 small, stacked wooden cups](public/tableware2.png)
![tissue box - laser-cut finger joint plywood box hand pulling a tissue out of a tissue box](public/tableware3.png)
![topograpghy bowl - laser-cut plywood a round bowl holding balls of pink and orange yarn and crochet hooks](public/tableware4.png)
![fan candle holder - cut poplar wood with yarn a wooden candelabra shaped like a fan and holding colorful birthday candles](public/tableware5.png)
badwatercolor
![Amateur line illustration of a cat?](public/watercolor.png)
filmotography
Yosemite
![Daytime at a beach, somewhere on the north-western coast of California Waves crashing onto a lone rock on an empty beach, somewhat overcast clouds in the sky.](public/yosemite/Daytime-Beach.png)
![Evening at the beach Evening shot of a rock in the ocean.](public/yosemite/Evening-Rock.png)
![Evening at the beach Evening shot of the waves receding on the beach.](public/yosemite/Evening-Beach.png)
![Sunset The waves crashing onto a beach at sunset.](public/yosemite/Sunset-Waves.png)
![Dusk at El Capitan El Capitan in all its glory at dusk.](public/yosemite/Dusk-ElCapitan.png)
Alaska
![Sunrise by the seaside in Valdez. Sunrise dawning on the Valdez mountain range.](public/alaska/mountain-sunrise.png)
![Vertical shot of sunrise on Valdez mountain range.](public/alaska/mountain-sunrise-vertical.png)
![Vertical shot of sunrise](public/alaska/skater-buds.png)
![Near evening shot of a snowy mountainside in Alaska.](public/alaska/mountain-evening.png)
![Hiking a lot in the cold with this one. Motion shot of a lady in hiker gear in the middle of an ice field.](public/alaska/little-friend.png)
![Stepping on these are not good for the soul. Shot of partially-broken ice in a dry frozen river.](public/alaska/ice-field.png)
![A big, baby blue shed on the side of the snowy road, with mountains in the background.](public/alaska/shed-blue.png)
![Blurry shots of lonely sheds on the Alaskan road, from Fairbanks to Valdez. A small white shed on the side of the snowy road, with mountains in the background.](public/alaska/shed-white.png)
East Coast
![Cathedral, NYC Shot of top of cathedral against the blue sky.](public/eastcoast/Cathedral.png)
![Cathedral Interior, NYC Dark shot of the interior of a cathedral, the pews and the altar lit by candlelight.](public/eastcoast/Cathedral-inside.png)
![Sky-scrapers, NYC Vertical shot of window cleaners on side of skyscraper.](public/eastcoast/Skyscrapers.png)
![Skyline, NYC Gloomy shot of concrete jungle skyline.](public/eastcoast/Skyline.png)
![Domed building, NYC Shot of domed building reflected on side of mirror-like skyscraper.](public/eastcoast/Dome.png)
![Spring Street Metro Station, NYC Blue and white tiles spell out Spring Street, for the metro station.](public/eastcoast/SpringSt.png)
![Downtown, NYC A large copper and red-bricked building at an intersection, against an overcast grey sky.](public/eastcoast/Downtown.png)
![Residential storied-buildings, NYC Colorful tenement buildings side-by-side, against an overcast grey sky.](public/eastcoast/Storiedbuildings.png)
![Buildings, NYC Large red-brick buildings side-by-side, against an overcast grey sky.](public/eastcoast/Buildings.png)
![Chinese Breakfast, NYC Blurry shot of a bright-green okra dish, a fried fish dish topped with red chili peppers, with a plate of fried rice and a basket of dumplings in the background.](public/eastcoast/Brekkie.png)
![Brooklyn, NYC Shadow of a tree on a softly-lit yellow wood-paneled building.](public/eastcoast/Treeshadow.png)
![MBTA, Boston-Cambridge Blurry shot of two rapid transit passengers looking down at phone while sitting down on the train.](public/eastcoast/MBTA.png)
![Art Installation, Boston Art installation of iridescent geometric shapes together form a mesh wire, hung amidst the buildings.](public/eastcoast/DowntownArt.png)
![Boston Commons, Boston People sitting around a lake, generously shaded by a large willow tree hanging low.](public/eastcoast/BostonCommons1.png)
![Boston Commons, Boston A wedding photoshoot underneath a large willow tree, the vast lake in the foreground.](public/eastcoast/BostonCommons2.png)
![Boston Commons, Boston Boston skyline from the Charles River, set against an overcast grey sky.](public/eastcoast/BostonCommons3.png)
about |
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hiya, i'm anna (she/her)--a creative technologist and fullstack developer, making interfaces in both the physical and the digital world. currently, i'm exploring yarn in the NYU ITP masters program. |
previously, i built interfaces to help people access data at MITRE and Schwab as a fullstack UX engineer in the realms of cybersecurity, policy, finance, and briefly in data-vis with the wonderful people at Stamen Design |
this winter, i finished: 100 days of websites |
besides making things on the internet i also like to make things with my hands and read |
say hi |
you can find a photo of me here |
github, instagram, twitter |