Ralph Ammer - Sinnzeug

The problem of every archive

The wish to select information as easily as possible from a huge pool of information is probably at least as old as the history of the library. With the advent of the internet this desire became a burning issue again. Now we hope to develop strategies to solve this problem with the aid of computers.

Visualization of a database

Sinnzeug is a small step in the search for good software interfaces to databases. It is based on two simple ideas:

One should always keep track of the whole content of the database.
There should be a possibility to intuitively make individual selections.

A collection of links serves as a demonstration example of a database for the online version. A single element of the database is represented by a dot. Every input of a search word creates a new center of gravity. Each item of the database will be attracted or repelled by this word according to its relevance. If the user places several search words in the window, the items which are relevant for all of them can be found in the center of the search words. This way one can determine sets of intersection. Search words which are not necessary any longer can simply be deleted by dragging them out of the window.

The items that is websites recently selected are connected by lines. This history feature makes it easy for you to track your way back.

Application

Sinnzeug was refined for DaimlerChrysler. The concept of gravity and overview was extended and adjusted to huge amounts of data and practical applications.

Images

Link

http://www.sinnzeug.de

Credits

Concept, design and programming:
Ralph Ammer and Stephan Huber