Middle of Nowhere Primary Function: Asebter n tuccḍa n usmel web by Yijia Xie

Middle of Nowhere Primary Function: Asebter n tuccḍa n usmel web by Yijia Xie is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2022 Tarbaḥt A' Design Award n Lfeṭṭa in Afeṣṣel n Usmel d Web Competition Category.

LfeṭṭaWeb· 2022

Middle of Nowhere Primary Function: Asebter n tuccḍa n usmel web

by Yijia Xie

Client: IBM Research

Tarbaḥt A' Design Award n Lfeṭṭa Winner in Web Category

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View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

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The Design

About Middle of Nowhere Primary Function: Asebter n tuccḍa n usmel web

Book Text: Middle of Nowhere d asebter n tuccḍa 404 yettwaxedmen i usmel web n tkebbanit n unadi. Asebter 404 yettban-d mi ara yettwasuter usebter web ur nelli ara, u afeṣṣel-agi ittarra tallit-agi d tirza ɣer yimukan i d-yettwaxaylen. Timnaḍin i d-yettwaskanen ttwaxedment s yiwet n tazrewt tagensasit i yemyennuɣen (generative adversarial network), d amudel n ulmud n tmacint yettwaḥeṛṛcen ɣef walef n tewlafin n tmnaḍin tilawin seg umaḍal meṛṛa. Igmaḍ d imukan ur nelli anida yebɣu yili. Asebter yebna am usmel web amsertay, u iswi d asgunfu d usdehci n win iṛuḥen deg internet.

The Recognition

About the Tarbaḥt A' Design Award n Lfeṭṭa

Middle of Nowhere Primary Function: Asebter n tuccḍa n usmel web d amerbaḥ n Tarbaḥt A' Design Award n Lfeṭṭa, tagmat ɛlayen i yisnulfa yelhan, yeḥlan s waṭas. Imerbaḥen n Lfeṭṭa d isnulfa yelhan akk, yesɛan tmusni d tazmert. Middle of Nowhere Primary Function: Asebter n tuccḍa n usmel web ad yili d asnulfu amaynut, yelhan, ad yeǧǧ ddunit tennuɣ.

Behind the Design

Press Kit

Credits, team members and technical details provided by the designer.

Unique Properties: This 404-page design comes from the idea of "The middle of nowhere." "404" means that the webpage doesn't exist, so this project creates an environment that makes users feel lost around the internet data and enjoy the virtual landscapes. By training a machine learning model that combines thousands of images, Yijia creates unique and beautiful places that don't exist in the whole world or even in the universe. They are just the landscapes generated by Artificial Intelligence.
Dimensions & Packaging: Responsive website construction
Tags: Machine Learning, Artificial intelligence, Website design, GAN
Production Technology: Generative adversarial network/Machine learning/UI Design
Design Challenge: It's difficult to collect all the appropriate databases and train the machine learning model. I tested many times and learned the new technology&knowledge during the model training to get unique and beautiful results.
Research: Our goal is to create an unprecedented 404 page connecting to IBM Research's brand identity and focus areas. I came up with different sketch directions, including typography&illustration style, and an interactive website. We finally decided on the concept of "Middle of nowhere" by using artificial intelligence technology. We hope to relay "Welcome to the future" to people through this 404 page.
Inspiration: As a top leader in the AI industry, IBM Research is relentlessly curious about all the ways that computing can change the world. Today's AI is narrow. Applying trained models to new challenges requires an immense amount of new data training and time. People need AI that combines different forms of knowledge, unpacks causal relationships, and learns new things on its own. This 404 page explores a new possibility combining machine learning and design practice to increase the brand awareness of IBM research.
Project Duration: 2021.11-2022.02 New York
Operation Flow: These images/videos of nonexistent landscapes were created using a generative adversarial network. It’s a type of machine learning model that can create novel content after being shown many original pieces of content. In this case, we showed our GAN thousands of images of landscapes from around the globe, and it generated these rather other-worldly images by combining aspects of everything it’s been shown.
Team Members: Design Lead/Art Director: Yijia Xie
Image Credits: IBM Research/Yijia Xie