I was initially dismayed by the influence of algorithms on design, but after doing my research I decided to approach algorithms in a new way. I thought: ‘If you can’t beat them, might as well join them.’ I begun to look into the way in which algorithms helped designers. The Facebook algorithm is particularly powerful and it was really amazing to see
its capabilities. The light bulb really went off for me when I saw how easy it was to setup and how it could really help small businesses like designers and freelancers to grow their business in a very real way, and the scale-ability was amazing. Facebook is a tool the BIG companies are using to cut their advertising budgets, and its freely available to all these small businesses and startups same service scaled down and easy to use!
When I started talking about this to other people I realized it was sort of an intimidating topic. People hear the word Algorithm and they want to hit the snooze button. So for my project I wanted to create a helpful guide for designers to encourage them to embrace the power of the algorithm and show them how to use it to their advantage! I wanted to let designers in on a secret: Algorithms shouldn’t be difficult, intimidating, or scary. To grab
designers attention I thought I could use a friendly monster to best illustrate the concept of taking a second look at algorithms in a non-scary way.
From this brainstorm “AL” the Algorithm Ogre was born. He was created in an almost Frankenstein-esque way. I drew his long arms first knowing he would need a lot of ‘REACH’ to get to customers. Sharp teeth to grab and hold attention, and a well feed by advertisements plump belly. As I numbered my list of monster features a ‘happy accident’ appeared transforming my circled number one and a rather large period into a head with binary eyes. It made perfect sense- so he could read the code!
Al became the guide to tips and tricks on using the algorithm to your advantage. He’s got his own Facebook Page, website, and a handy infographic to help navigate you through the adventure of using algorithms to improve and help you as a designer.
View the website mock up: http://www.thealgorithmogre.com/
View Al’s Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Al-Gorithm-148716635762412/
Download the infographic: Algorithm Ogre Infographic