what probably lacked or came too late yesterday in my presentation
I publish today the portraits of my taxi drivers, and the explaination of the concept which were both already written before yesterday. The oral presentation suffered first from a memory weaker than I thought (the presentation stress decreasing a lot the capacities) and second from the order the ideas were presented in, maybe not in the catchiest way. Hoping to make it up, here it is!
I propose a new way of consulting a city guide, or I should say many city guides.
It firstly came from the admission/observation(/obviousness?) that recommendations are more considered when one can refer to a personality, either a close friend or a clearly target marketing defined piece of information.
THIS GUIDE WILL TEND TO GIVE YOU AN INSTANT IMPRESSION OF WHO IS RECOMMENDING.
Secondly, one should always be able to check different opinions about a same topic, place, activity moreover in a short while.
UBIQUITY ALLOWED BY VIRTUALITY PROVIDES THIS HUGE ADVANTAGE.
What is it about?
It is about a crew of taxi drivers, each with its own character traits. You take on board in one them, at first completely randomly, until you become more experienced and know exactly which one you prefer to refer to according to your requests. You can ask them about general information, personal tips and traps and compare the different feedback they give you. Within the fewest words as possible, the "taxi guiz" must be able to tailor for you the perfect answer however tinted with his personal appreciation. Their skill fields mainly depends on tourists' interest and would also suit to inhabitants as well as frequent-and-short stays visitors as long as it proposes the spectacles program and thus updates frequently.
What this service is attended to do:
-give vital information and good ideas
-cover a broad range of expectations for visitors and even unexpected alternatives
-check different points of view, compare them and helps making a choice among the large offer proposed
The first six taxi drivers, and many other to follow as long as it'll live.
IRMA, a fortune-teller, her little black cat is on the seat near-side. She knows a lot of anecdotes on Paris (most of the time taken from her previous lives) and that makes her very helpful to know more about the History in a non-boring way. She is very moody and can sometimes fall into a trance state, you have then choose between three options: wait, skip the driver or ask the black cat who is a sort of wise sorcerer of the information on the History of Paris.
set: typical caravan interior, at the same time cosy but can make some people feel awkward.
look: between the stylish old lady for the face (malicious eyes in a skinny face) and the gypsy chic. Imagine Coco Chanel coming out from her caravan.
BOUBOU or BOOBOO, black friendly driver coming from Mauritania and laugh very often. He can give you a lot of nifty tips about almost all and every thing in music, going out in Paris East mostly, discounts, flea markets, artists' squats, tricks in the subway, etc. If you're driven in his arrondissement he'll wave at all his friends, too much good temper can very quickly become irritating.
set: fetish or seashell necklace drooping from the rear-view mirror.
look: wears typical colourful African clothes and a leather cap.
DJ KIM, fashion victim and a little bit wired, he is also a very good advisor for music and going out in trendy and famous places. He gives advices on the shops you absolutely have to go according to your style and wishes. He can be very speed in all the meanings of the word and you'll very soon discover his salt, but it's excusable because so delicious coming from him! He speaks a loooooot.
set: photos of Madonna, pack of cigarettes, things style disco.
look: George Michael.
GONTRAND (old-fashionned French name), unbeatable on all the clichés Paris offers, he is a survivor from the staff of luxury hotels, the perfect flunky, offers a red carpet treatment, never adds any personal remark. His personal traits are especially these lack of any critical sense and this exaggerated devotion to his passengers. Can become boring very quickly because of this loss of personality provoked by his previous job but very handy for quick accurate piece of information.
set: very classical taxi, comfort a bit upper than the average.
look: cap, white gloves and towel on the arm.
SHIKHAR DOGAR, not very talkative, easily offended, mulish, will bring you to his friends' businesses because they are the only ways he knows as he is not an orientation geek. So as a matter of fact he is specialised in fast or cheap restaurants and little other unknown places worth to be discovered. He'll very easily eject you from his taxi if you dare insist for something else or make any unpleasant comment.
set: incense, chaplet of flowers, Hindu icons, pictures of the Taj Mahal.
look: sunglasses, turban, beard
and the FRENCHY, alias food-man, ask him about any place where to eat, he'll know them. Very friendly and ready to offer you a complete visit of his town. Find his place the most wonderful in the world but very stressed so insults come out very spontaneously.
set: garlic and cheese and wine tray in the glove compartment, some flies perhaps.
look: badly shaved, doubtful cleanness of the T-shirt, droopy cheeks but kind eyes.
What it is and what it is not.
This service is to be referred once you are in the place (Paris in the example shown here). It is a screen with a keyboard-remote command that you will find in museums, galleries and private places such as bars, restaurants, concert halls, nightclubs, mentioned in the guide. The display is offered by the company running this guide, ideally non-sponsored. Proposing this service for such private places is a privilege and make them enter the network of "places you should go or cannot miss" (still according to strong personal preferences and not only because it is trendy).
This won't help you to plan long in advance your trip or to book your hotel. It keeps along the idea that a personality development is inherent to the city it takes place and that you can fully appreciate it once you are in the spot. It must stay a reservoir of unpredictable things to happen (mostly used for plans in a short time or advices), and make you able to experience lively what the city is about, people and communities interacting in a constant renewal.
How is organised the information?
For every topic make a list of the different possible answers, from the expected ones to the most surprising and then I'll dispatch them according to the different personalities or categories of personalities.
Example: How to move in Paris?
-taxis, subways, buses, tram...----->vital infos, no need of unbiasing, given by all the taxi drivers
-walk, proposals of strolls----->Gontrand and Irma have nice ones
-run: paris marathon ;-)---->Booboo's humour
-bike: advices, equipment...----->all of them able to give info except Shikhar Dogar and the frenchy who complain about the lack of room on the drive-ways
-roller skating: roller friday pride program and other tips----->DJ Kim and Booboo provide interesting unbiased moods
How the personalities are organised:
The aesthetic
My fondness for cinema makes me dream about an aesthetic relayed by real film directors. Although it would require much more work, I believe that in a near future technology will make it easier and more affordable, and as story-telling tends to develop more and more through the diversity of points of view, I tend to expect as Brenda Laurel (writer of "Computer as Theatre") real interactive movies on the cinema. The photography of every taxi driver set adds to the sensitivity perception and has a great impact on the comprehension of the character. I wanted, as a very first intention, something willfully beautiful as it could subsitute the pictures hanging and decoration on the walls of the places it is proposed.
What's possible with the actual means. Part of the choice for taxi drivers characters was the ability to discuss with somebody physically here but seen from back-face or three-quarters back. Nevertheless the atmosphere, the silhouette and the voice provide already a lot for the physical part. The look visible in the central rearview mirror adds colours to the answers given such as sarcasm of astonishment for example. It could be the only video taped part in a set which could play on a more abstract level. Moreover, using the look is a shortcut to comprehend a character, in almost every culture in the world, with some nearing translations, the look is said to be a window of the soul.
I propose a new way of consulting a city guide, or I should say many city guides.
It firstly came from the admission/observation(/obviousness?) that recommendations are more considered when one can refer to a personality, either a close friend or a clearly target marketing defined piece of information.
THIS GUIDE WILL TEND TO GIVE YOU AN INSTANT IMPRESSION OF WHO IS RECOMMENDING.
Secondly, one should always be able to check different opinions about a same topic, place, activity moreover in a short while.
UBIQUITY ALLOWED BY VIRTUALITY PROVIDES THIS HUGE ADVANTAGE.
What is it about?
It is about a crew of taxi drivers, each with its own character traits. You take on board in one them, at first completely randomly, until you become more experienced and know exactly which one you prefer to refer to according to your requests. You can ask them about general information, personal tips and traps and compare the different feedback they give you. Within the fewest words as possible, the "taxi guiz" must be able to tailor for you the perfect answer however tinted with his personal appreciation. Their skill fields mainly depends on tourists' interest and would also suit to inhabitants as well as frequent-and-short stays visitors as long as it proposes the spectacles program and thus updates frequently.
What this service is attended to do:
-give vital information and good ideas
-cover a broad range of expectations for visitors and even unexpected alternatives
-check different points of view, compare them and helps making a choice among the large offer proposed
The first six taxi drivers, and many other to follow as long as it'll live.
IRMA, a fortune-teller, her little black cat is on the seat near-side. She knows a lot of anecdotes on Paris (most of the time taken from her previous lives) and that makes her very helpful to know more about the History in a non-boring way. She is very moody and can sometimes fall into a trance state, you have then choose between three options: wait, skip the driver or ask the black cat who is a sort of wise sorcerer of the information on the History of Paris.
set: typical caravan interior, at the same time cosy but can make some people feel awkward.
look: between the stylish old lady for the face (malicious eyes in a skinny face) and the gypsy chic. Imagine Coco Chanel coming out from her caravan.
BOUBOU or BOOBOO, black friendly driver coming from Mauritania and laugh very often. He can give you a lot of nifty tips about almost all and every thing in music, going out in Paris East mostly, discounts, flea markets, artists' squats, tricks in the subway, etc. If you're driven in his arrondissement he'll wave at all his friends, too much good temper can very quickly become irritating.
set: fetish or seashell necklace drooping from the rear-view mirror.
look: wears typical colourful African clothes and a leather cap.
DJ KIM, fashion victim and a little bit wired, he is also a very good advisor for music and going out in trendy and famous places. He gives advices on the shops you absolutely have to go according to your style and wishes. He can be very speed in all the meanings of the word and you'll very soon discover his salt, but it's excusable because so delicious coming from him! He speaks a loooooot.
set: photos of Madonna, pack of cigarettes, things style disco.
look: George Michael.
GONTRAND (old-fashionned French name), unbeatable on all the clichés Paris offers, he is a survivor from the staff of luxury hotels, the perfect flunky, offers a red carpet treatment, never adds any personal remark. His personal traits are especially these lack of any critical sense and this exaggerated devotion to his passengers. Can become boring very quickly because of this loss of personality provoked by his previous job but very handy for quick accurate piece of information.
set: very classical taxi, comfort a bit upper than the average.
look: cap, white gloves and towel on the arm.
SHIKHAR DOGAR, not very talkative, easily offended, mulish, will bring you to his friends' businesses because they are the only ways he knows as he is not an orientation geek. So as a matter of fact he is specialised in fast or cheap restaurants and little other unknown places worth to be discovered. He'll very easily eject you from his taxi if you dare insist for something else or make any unpleasant comment.
set: incense, chaplet of flowers, Hindu icons, pictures of the Taj Mahal.
look: sunglasses, turban, beard
and the FRENCHY, alias food-man, ask him about any place where to eat, he'll know them. Very friendly and ready to offer you a complete visit of his town. Find his place the most wonderful in the world but very stressed so insults come out very spontaneously.
set: garlic and cheese and wine tray in the glove compartment, some flies perhaps.
look: badly shaved, doubtful cleanness of the T-shirt, droopy cheeks but kind eyes.
What it is and what it is not.
This service is to be referred once you are in the place (Paris in the example shown here). It is a screen with a keyboard-remote command that you will find in museums, galleries and private places such as bars, restaurants, concert halls, nightclubs, mentioned in the guide. The display is offered by the company running this guide, ideally non-sponsored. Proposing this service for such private places is a privilege and make them enter the network of "places you should go or cannot miss" (still according to strong personal preferences and not only because it is trendy).
This won't help you to plan long in advance your trip or to book your hotel. It keeps along the idea that a personality development is inherent to the city it takes place and that you can fully appreciate it once you are in the spot. It must stay a reservoir of unpredictable things to happen (mostly used for plans in a short time or advices), and make you able to experience lively what the city is about, people and communities interacting in a constant renewal.
How is organised the information?
For every topic make a list of the different possible answers, from the expected ones to the most surprising and then I'll dispatch them according to the different personalities or categories of personalities.
Example: How to move in Paris?
-taxis, subways, buses, tram...----->vital infos, no need of unbiasing, given by all the taxi drivers
-walk, proposals of strolls----->Gontrand and Irma have nice ones
-run: paris marathon ;-)---->Booboo's humour
-bike: advices, equipment...----->all of them able to give info except Shikhar Dogar and the frenchy who complain about the lack of room on the drive-ways
-roller skating: roller friday pride program and other tips----->DJ Kim and Booboo provide interesting unbiased moods
How the personalities are organised:
The aesthetic
My fondness for cinema makes me dream about an aesthetic relayed by real film directors. Although it would require much more work, I believe that in a near future technology will make it easier and more affordable, and as story-telling tends to develop more and more through the diversity of points of view, I tend to expect as Brenda Laurel (writer of "Computer as Theatre") real interactive movies on the cinema. The photography of every taxi driver set adds to the sensitivity perception and has a great impact on the comprehension of the character. I wanted, as a very first intention, something willfully beautiful as it could subsitute the pictures hanging and decoration on the walls of the places it is proposed.
What's possible with the actual means. Part of the choice for taxi drivers characters was the ability to discuss with somebody physically here but seen from back-face or three-quarters back. Nevertheless the atmosphere, the silhouette and the voice provide already a lot for the physical part. The look visible in the central rearview mirror adds colours to the answers given such as sarcasm of astonishment for example. It could be the only video taped part in a set which could play on a more abstract level. Moreover, using the look is a shortcut to comprehend a character, in almost every culture in the world, with some nearing translations, the look is said to be a window of the soul.
posted by Héloise at 12:43 PM
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