This semester, I've spent a lot of time working with QR codes. Specifically, I'm interested in how QR codes can be used to facilitate a multimedia, location based experience. QR codes are two-dimensional barcodes that look like this:

You can access them with your web-enabled mobile phone in three easy steps: 1. Download QR Code reading software to your mobile phone. 2. When you see a Gotham Guide QR code, snap a picture of it. 3. Enjoy multimedia content about your current location. Here's a demo. With Gotham Guide, I've tried to create a self-guided tour of Manhattan using QR codes and a mix of curated and social content. My friend Luke Miller from Real New York Tours, which is the number 1 thing to do in New York according to Trip Advisor, provided much of the video content. You can view a demo of Gotham Guide during the ITP 2009 Spring Show.

Here's the final logo I created for Gotham Guide: Feedback welcome.

Here are a few first drafts of the Gotham Guide homepage I created for class: I don't have a design background, and so I found this exercise really fun but at the same time really limiting. I see that I didn't really stray too far from the blog layouts with which I'm much more familiar. I think I might have also limited myself too much by trying to create something simple that I thought I could build rather than trying to create the best possible website and worrying about building it out later on. These are all very similar and really just represent a jumping off point. I'm confident that I can use these combined with the feedback from class to recreate a very compelling site. The above image is a snapshot from the current site, which I can't wait to look at again in a few weeks when this is complete.

Below are the three logos I'm submitting to the class review for Gotham Guide: The first logo uses an uppercase font and an iconic image of the Statue of Liberty. The black and gold is reminiscent of the taxi colors, which is also a strong New York image. While I really like this one, I'm not sure that is indicates how this particular tour of New York is any different from the other tours that already exist. I like the colors and the font a lot, but I'm wondering if it sends the right message.

The second logo is my favorite because the font references QR codes. It might be a bit hard to read, but the black and white combined with the pixelated font is exactly what the tour is about. The third logo is something a bit different. I'm not sure if the green background makes it too hard to read, but I like the hand-drawn Manhattan skyline combined with this font. UPDATE: The class unanimously chose the first logo. I'm going to tweak it a bit for next week, but I'm very pleased with the feedback.