Here’s a little Flash demo that I made back in college. It creates a pattern by snapshotting a circle that bounces within the frame, as determined by user set variables. Specific directions are on the page. This was really an experiment in UI design; how to program tabs, sliders and a play-head, and organizing those elements in an intuitive manner. Looking back, I’d like to have added a randomize button (for each setting as well as all at once) and the ability to save playbacks. The tabs could stand to be a little taller and spaced out a bit more. The velocity settings don’t quite work the way that I’d intended, though I was happy with the results at the time.

I have my mac RSS screensaver set to display the feed from Slashdot and came across this interesting site. FontStruct lets you create your own font online, which can then be exported as a TrueType font for use on your computer. The UI is rather clever; with many scaling options and built-in ability to create hollows, bevels, and rounded edges. Early results can look rather blocky because of it’s grid-based geometry, but given enough time and effort, someone could make some very interesting fonts.

ASCII Art has been around since 1966 in one form or another. Well, now there’s CSS Art. Román Cortés has created a portrait of Homer Simpson done entirely with CSS. Here’s an animated version (courtesy of Ned Batchelder) so that you can see how it’s done piece-by-piece. More recently, Román made a portrait of George Bush using the same technique. Very creative (and time consuming!) use of the medium. As it catches on, I’d wager that programs will be created to help automate the process, much like a rasterbator or ASCII generator.