Image+Spark

=ImageSpark=

[|www.imgspark.com]
//A picture shows me at a glance what it takes dozens of pages of a book to expound.// -Ivan Turgenev

ImageSpark takes the Web1.0 activity of saving pictures and images into the the Web2.0 realm by allowing users to upload and tag others' pictures and images and gather those images onto moodboards.

This design tool can be used to inspire, create, interpret, and express ideas through the use of images. Images that are uploaded can be tagged by any users. These tags can be terms that identify the object in the image, but also the thoughts that come to mind when viewing the image. For instance, an image of a girl in a park holding a red balloon, can be tagged //girl//, //park//, //red//, but it can also be tagged //childhood//, //peace//, //innocence//. Each free account allows users to create two moodboards, a canvas on which images are gathered to convey a thought. Moodboards can be used ImageSpark does spark creativity, but the users creativity as expressed through moodboards is confined to the website. Moodboards can not be downloaded or saved as images, unless a screenshot is made. Images are monitored as they are uploaded and can be removed at the discretion of Teehan+Lax, but some images may be inappropriate for students. Once images are made public, they can not be deleted from another user's library. Lastly, only two moodboards are allowed per account. Moodboards can be edited, but ImageSpark was created to allow constant development and change, to express thought not create a final project.
 * to gather ideas for a home design project
 * to express a thought (visualize a blog)
 * create a commentary
 * to illustrate a story
 * to brainstorm

Example
ImageSpark can be used as brainstorming tool or an illustrative tool for an oral history project. The following moodboard was created as an inspiration tool for creating the questions of a future interview for an oral history project. The oral history project involved interviewing family members. As tags were searched, the following images were gathered onto this moodboard that the user felt portrayed her mother and father's lives before they were married. The search of the tags, gathering of images and subsequent creation of the moodboard helped the user find the theme/topic of her oral history project.