This is work done by industrial design graduate student Lai Jiang, at the University of Illinois. Given very minimal information she was tasked to explored interfaces that would let us describe species via individual phenotypes. She did a fantastic job of linking ideas from on-line card games to interfaces that let you define and organize what could be used as anatomy ontology descriptions. The following is Lai’s final presentation on the project.

Taxon Plays: Symbolic representation of organisms interface

Application overview

This application is a symbolic representation of organisms interface. It provides an interesting and convenient way for taxonomists recording and managing data.

The main interface of this app is a virtual light table imitating the real working environment of taxonomists. Note taking is an essential process in the taxonomic study. This app fulfills this process in a digital way. The note is redefined in this APP as a ‘book’. The book is free for editing and can be viewed only by the user. ‘Card’ is a published version of the book which means the user can share his data by converting his book into a card. Users are free to manage the data to be published and card can be referred and used by other users.

1. The Hidden tool bar

  • A multifunctional toolbar is hidden at the left, where users can fulfill task such as saving and uploading the project.
  • The toolbar also creates the interaction between lab equipment and the APP. Photos taken by microscope and camera can be viewed directly in this APP.

2. Online database and My collection

  • The top bar is for online features. All published cards can be viewed in the online database. The users can also save cards to his favorite collection.
  • Books and cards created by the user can be seen in my book and card collection by clicking the icon at the bottom bar.
  • When the symbolic switch is turned on, all cards and books will be presented in symbolic mode.

3. Creating a book

  • Book is a digital way of note-taking.
  • There are two templates can be used. The default template has some preset layout and tags and the customized template will give more freedom to the user.
  • Users can use the radial toolbar at the bottom right to creating and editing text and image

4. Intro to book

  • Select a book from your collection, the book will be shown at the left of the table. Now it’s ready for users to viewing and editing.
  • All the information in the book is clickable. The selected information will be shown at the right of the table for bettering viewing and editing
  • Users can protect their data by locking the section using the lock icon, which means the locked information will not be published when the book is converted in to a card.

5. Symbolic Representation

  • For every book, there is a special page for symbolic representation.
  • The symbolic representation of parts can be created by the user using the radial toolbar. Users can draw the parts from three plan views to cover details.
  • Each component of the symbolic representation can be linked to the related cards. It is another way of creating relations among parts.

6. Editting a book

  • Photos, text are able to add to the book.
  • Text can be created on the right board. Its font, size and cover can be edited using the radial toolbar.

7. Intro to Card

  • ‘Card’ is a published book. The card created by the user appears in My card collection however, the created by other users is shown in the online database.
  • Type the name of the card or keywords using the search box in the top bar. The results will be shown in the online database window.
  • The card has two sides. On the front side, there are the name, description and a photo of this part. A user can use the navigation button on the bottom of the card to see the symbolic representation and relations of this card
  • On the back side, the information is the same as that in the book. A small update icon will appear on the right corner of each section if the information is out of date.

8. Add relations

  • Select the link icon on the bottom bar can open a window for adding relations to cards.
  • Choose a card from the online database or your collection and put it in the center basket to establish the relations.
  • Choose multiple cards an put them in the right or left basket will add superclasses or subclasses to the chosen card.

9. Converting

  • The converting function is in the hidden bar
  • Choose a book and click the converting icon, the book will be converted into a card and published in the online database.
  • The ‘locked’ information will not appear in the published card.

10. Card Evolution

  • The card in the online database is free for all users to use and refer.
  • The number of times the card has been used by other users suggests the value and popularity. And this will help the card ‘evolving’
  • Normal Card: Referred less than 100 times
  • Bronze Card: Referred 100-200 times
  • Silver Card: Referred 200-500 times
  • Golden Card: Referred over 500 times.