Last night we were messing around with Processing. It’s a programming language and development environment created for artists and designers. For the LOLs, we made a gif. To keep it simple, we took the idea of an Art Deco sunburst: easy to make from a library of basic shapes. The static image was pretty straight forward, but to achieve the animation effect, we needed to think about what was necessary for it to appear to be moving. For a symmetrical design, running on a loop, the shapes didn’t need to move far to appear to complete a full rotation (say, 45 degrees). But when the animation ran too fast, we missed the feeling of motion: the triangles were spinning, but nothing appeared to be happening. To solve the problem, we had to move the triangles incrementally, degree by degree, at a frame rate that made the change perceptible.

I’ve been thinking about change recently, and how difficult it is to perceive or measure. Personal change, or organizational change: both are very hard to grasp, because we are inside the system we are trying to assess. Day by day, little seems to happen, but when you look back over a year or two, a sizeable shift has occurred. It’s hard to pinpoint why, or how.

I used to keep a diary. Then the internet happened, and it became a blog. (I looked back at my old Wordpress account and realized I’ve been blogging for seven years. Time flies.) Social networks quickly took over, serving to document pretty much everything that was worth sharing. The main difference for me, is that short form writing doesn’t encourage you to create space for reflection. Long form writing forces you to make time for yourself. I am enjoying reading Warren Ellis daily at morning.computer. I applaud Undercurrent’s trimester updates.

As with animation, the trick is to pay attention to the incremental changes. If you can take stock of what has occurred each day, or each week, or each month, you can feel the process of change. And know if you’re still heading in the right direction.