This sign was created to help celebrate Toorcamp, the biennial hacker campout.
The entire sign was designed and completed in under 4 weeks. I was lucky enough to work with Bill Kinlaw, who led the construction of the letters, and managed the team of carpenters and painters.
Live Coding
This project uses a technique called live coding, allowing colors and animation to be modified instantaneously. Users can connect a laptop via USB cable, launch an application, and edit the animations simply by typing code. At Toorcamp 2018, I conducted an hour-long live coding "performance," starting at midnight.
I gave a talk about this experience at Hackaday Supercon 2019, and demonstrated live coding on stage, using a grid of LEDs. Complex animations can be implemented in seconds. The delay between having an idea, and implementing it, virtually disappears.
Top row Garrett Birkel