A few weeks ago, while browsing the iPhone App Store for free stuff (I've yet to find anything useful enough to warrant payment), I happened upon Shadows Never Sleep by Aya Karpinska. I was, and to an extent am still, lost for words.
The thinking behind the project is explained here. I found it particularly engaging as probably the least cynical and most creative use of the iPhone's application capabilities I have seen by a country mile.
John Sparrow, in his Itch Away Blog, has written, more in thought than criticism, about the impracticality of having what is essentially a children's story on something as child unfriendly as an expensive iPhone, but elicited a response from Aya herself about such devices and their constraints on art.
I was more taken with the contradiction between the very traditional, innocent images and the cutting edge technology. Aya styles herself as an 'interactive designer' and to my mind this piece is as important in the early genesis of iPhone apps as the infinitely more commercial Carling iPint. The zooming and moving around the page of the story makes for a truly interactive and involving experience, and I hope Aya Karpinska continues to add such great value to digital experiences (and isn't upset at me for using screengrabs of Shadows Never Sleep!).
the more screengrabs the merrier - how can you prevent people from downloading images anyway? thank you for your kind write-up!
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