7
Byte is the most interesting app since Instagram, and 10x weirder (byte.co)
over 7 years ago from Corin Edwards, Interaction Designer at SLQ
23 comments
Jordan Winick, over 7 years ago (edited over 7 years ago )
Hey all! Creative Lead of Byte here. It's awesome to see you having fun with Byte and am happy to answer whatever questions you have about it. You can find me on Byte at http://byte.co/jordan or byte://@jordan if you have the app already.
No Name, over 7 years ago
Sweet. Just started following you.
Clark Wimberly, over 7 years ago
"emoji synth" caught my buzzword eye but I have no idea what that means. Explain?
Corin Edwards, over 7 years ago (edited over 7 years ago )
It's a super simple sequencer, using emoji (and all the semiotics that go along with them) to represent the set of samples making it fast and super fun to create rad soundtracks.
Yup, that's pretty much it. We wanted to keep it simple for people to make music or soundtracks for their Bytes, so we used an input interface that everybody is already familiar with. There are a few twists though: try tapping an holding to access the advanced note controls. There you can swipe up or down to change the octave or add 1/4 subdivisions of each step. Or from the sequencer view, swipe left to add more to the composition.
James MacKinnon, over 7 years ago
As someone who really enjoyed the music composer in Mario Paint for the SNES, this feature tugs on my nostalgia.
Oh didn't know about the octaves thing! Ta!
Bady Qb, over 7 years ago
Has anyone really like this? I'm curious how you usually use this and the purpose
It is a new type of art tool, one in which the creation aspect is as important as the publishing aspect. There are network similarities to Instagram and Vine but those networks publish photos and video, essentially old media. Byte is used to create new media, like little pseudo-sites.
It is being used in very strange ways for immediately utilitarian purposes:
- Gallery show invitation: http://byte.co/~artexhibit
- Business Card: http://byte.co/~hmq6coo99dq
But also for projects which are entirely creative driven:
- Dream journal: http://byte.co/~5ha0v3b82tq
- Social Documentary: http://byte.co/~feels-report-volume-2
- Text adventure: http://byte.co/~st41ggzx0
- Portraiture: http://byte.co/~giuseppe
- Expressionism: http://byte.co/~artexhibit
I personally use it to make quasi-political works about how cephalopods control the media:
wojtek w., over 7 years ago
I think I'm too old for this shit. Snapchat era has begun.
I bet I'm older than you, but I can understand people being afraid of confronting aesthetics...
That is most likely true. I did not mean to touch aesthetics in my previous comment.
While this is a new medium that allows publishing anything you can imagine, I feel as it's just a distraction after distraction that makes it hard to focus on the message. Or maybe that's the idea — to interpret the message however you want.
I honestly wouldn't know how to explain this app to a friend. Just art, eh?
I agree it's very difficult to explain this app to anyone, I think that's what I find most compelling about it. You can't just say it's like X+Y, it's a very weird and very independent thing.
I don't agree with the idea of distraction over message. It does, for me, lend itself to communicating complex abstract concepts, but that isn't inherit to the medium. It's just what's fun to make.
Just downloaded the app to experiment. Curious to see what my friends have to say about it.
I hope you like it!
Oh and it has an emoji synth...
Todd F, over 7 years ago
http://byte.co/~ray-passion I think that link, entitled "graphic design is my passion" says it all.
In his defence it says 'graphics design' Which suggests that maybe it's a joke, that's gone over our head?
Gerald Llorence, over 7 years ago
This app is such a blast. I have no clue what to do on it but it's really fun to just create. Reminds me of how I felt about Line Rider when I first discovered it.
That's what I find so exciting, UX wise, about it. The act of creation is so joyous...
Damn it. This app is super fun. There goes my productivity.
I know what you mean...
Oh, hey! I follow you! And you liked some of my stuff lol.
Login to Comment
You'll need to log in before you can leave a comment.
LoginRegister Today
New accounts can leave comments immediately, and gain full permissions after one week.
Register now