Middle of Nowhere 网站错误页面 by Yijia Xie is a highly esteemed winner of the very prestigious 2022 A' Design Award 银奖 in 网站与网页设计 Competition Category.

银网页· 2022

Middle of Nowhere 网站错误页面

by Yijia Xie

Client: IBM Research

A' Design Award 银奖 Winner in 网页 Category

61,340
Verified Award Winner
Verify Award Status for #137451

View at A' Design Award Press Release Award Badge

Colors

The Design

About Middle of Nowhere 网站错误页面

《荒芜之境》是为一家研究机构网站打造的404错误页面。当用户访问的网页不存在时便会出现404页面,而这一设计将这一瞬间转化为一场通往虚构之地的旅程。页面所呈现的风景由生成对抗网络创作而成——这是一种机器学习模型,经由全球各地数千张真实风景照片训练而成。最终生成的,是世间并不存在的地方。该页面以响应式网站的形式构建,意在让网络上的"迷失"变得宁静而引人入胜。

The Recognition

About the A' Design Award 银奖

Middle of Nowhere 网站错误页面是 A' Design Award 银奖得主，这是授予顶级、华美而令人印象深刻的设计的极为崇高的认可。银奖得主是极其卓越、极具创造力的作品，展现出其设计师杰出的专业技能、才华与敏锐。预计Middle of Nowhere 网站错误页面将成为一件出色的典范之作，兼具非凡的专业性与深刻的创新性。这件赢得 A' Design Award 银奖的设计是一项备受瞩目、令人钦佩的发明，造福并拓展艺术、科学、设计和技术的边界。Middle of Nowhere 网站错误页面是一件令人羡慕的创作，它唤起渴望，带来积极的情感，并激发惊叹与赞叹。

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