Tag Archives: internet

var t; Learning about art, using JavaScript. by Jenn Schiffer

var t; an inspiring coding project

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I wanted to write a quick post about a really amazing project that I stumbled onto a while back and has been getting progressively better with every post. Created by Jenn Schiffer, she describes var t; as:

a writing, art, and code project that I started to teach me and you about art, as well as to create interactive works that may motivate art lovers to program their own stuff.

Since September 2014, Jenn has tackled the art of Mondrian, Magritte, Matisse and Cassatt. With every entry, she describes her approach – why she has chosen each artist and what they mean to her as an artist and programmer. Then she shows the process of creating a really cool tool inspired by that artist.

The most recent post features the work of Mary Cassatt, an incredible artist of whom I was not previously aware, and I urge you to check out the post by clicking here. I totally dig her style, and I love reading her take on artists as they relate to her life. I’m already looking forward to the next instalment!

Coding Kata – Mars Rover

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UPDATE: The Sandbox is now deactivated

As part of the preparation for the IronHack course that I am doing in July, we have some homework… There are four modules of pre-work to complete: HTML & CSS, Unix Cli & Dev Environment, Git & Github and Ruby & OOP.

I’ve just completed the HTML & CSS section which finished with something called a “Coding Kata”, a brand new concept for me. Essentially, it’s a small coding exercise that can be repeated and solved in various ways to practice different skills.

The Kata we were assigned involved moving around a grid. It’s explained in more detail here. My solution can be found in my Sandbox. I haven’t solved it completely, but it was actually a really great challenge – and one that I think I will repeat.

Choose your own language

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One of my favourite sites is AirBnB. I like the concept, I like their design and I have used it to book accommodation for almost all of our trips while we have been in Europe. Sometimes the site switches to German from my profile selection of English which is a minor pain but it also brought home an interesting function of the website: the language picker.

On AirBnB, the language dropdown (or, dropup, actually) uses native language names or characters and the only icon is a globe on the actual dropdown. This struck me as interesting given the emphasis on colour throughout the rest of the site. This function felt a little boring and I wondered why they don’t use flags as I have seen elsewhere. Continue reading Choose your own language →