1984 Application
This app uses George Orwell’s timeless classic 1984 as the core text to create a new and engaging digital reading experience. I wanted to engage the reader to experience the written narrative in new and unique ways as well as having the possibility to access the text in its simplest form without distractions. Discover the written narrative in 3 ways: READ it in its simplest form, LEARN from a community of built in notes and EXPERIENCE some of the core themes of the novel. Core themes like mass surveillance that Winston, the main protagonist, would of felt of constantly being watched. Letting the user interact with type and digital media to create this tone of unease. Turn a page to find recordings of your day, Facebook statuses, personal codes or photos from social media displayed back within the text. Find various other features that you can discover, interact, surprise or be amused by. The more you read the more it reads you.
Read
This is the core text section of the application, it resulted in a visually pleasing and readable version of the original text on screen. Allowing the reader to read without distractions. The type on the page can be edited to view it how the reader want it by changing the typeface and adjusting the size of the font. Simple functions are available by touching various parts of the screen page, like analysis of your chapter and overall progress when you touch the page number. Or easy navigation and access to the table of contents when you touch the chapter running header. To access the interface just tap the 1984 title.
Learn
The Learn section can be applied directly onto the text at anytime by dragging down the learn icon button from the top slide down menu. The learning feature will scan the text and highlight all notable sections, scenes and sentences. You can find notes, explanations of text and its relevance plus various other perspectives from across the World. It will have a mix of digital media from written sources to videos so you can save how you want to learn the notes in the best way that is suited to your liking.
The transitions throughout the publication are set to represent the flickering of a telescreen which is a two way monitoring screen that watches peoples every move. I wanted to reverse the colour scheme for a dramatic industrial/machine like effect.
Experience
Experience first hand core themes of the novel like mass surveillance and misuse of power. One could turn a page and find written Facebook statuses hidden within the text or photos from your Facebook albums. Certain parts of your day will be recorded and will be played or displayed within the text. These photos could be obvious face shots of you reading or close up details of a photo from an album showing minor details to make you think (how did it get access to that photo). Find personal details and codes displayed within the text only to disappear back to the original text.
Unlock hidden messages from characters within the text by playing with the type. Sound and animations are added depending on the situation. The Wi-Fi awareness button will signal you to let you know if that page is active or not. Once unlocked you can share your location and drop it in that location for some other reader to find and interact with.
