Have you ever thought about the possibility of international communication? Wouldn't it be great to talk with everyone and everywhere with a language that you all could understand? What would you think, if all this would happen in a visual way?

Kommunikatze website is a testing field for international visual language. Kommunikatze sign language is based on common visual symbols, such as traffic signs and trademarks. These pictures we all know, and they are familiar to us from our normal daily life. These symbols are also understood in a similar way in different cultures and parts of our planet, particularly in western countries.

Kommunikatze is not a competition. The chat itself is more like an interactive game or test, where you can connect to different people from different parts of the world. And it all happens in real time! You'll have the possibility to try how you can express yourself visually. Kommunikatze provides you about 500 different signs, which you can pick up and add in your own message. You'll also face the interesting question of understanding others' messages and weird expressions.

At the same time you can join a real time drawing in a shared canvas with all the other users.

Read users help in Finnish language. Lue käyttöohjeet suomeksi.

 

 

Here is some advice for using

Kommunikatze -a visual sign language-based chat

 

Log in and start

When you enter Kommunikatze, you must choose a combination of two different symbols. This combination is your visual avatar. It will appear under all the messages which you'll send to the chat window. Choosing the avatar takes place on the first page. With a bigger arrow you can pick up the first symbol. With a smaller arrow you'll get a small sign over it.

When you have chosen your visual avatar you should press the start button to open the chat window.

The chat window has two parts

Kommunikatze chat window includes two parts. The left part is the area which you can see only on your personal computer. In this area you can create your own messages peacefully, before you send them to the chat.

The right part of the window is the chat. This part is public, and it changes every time someone sends a message. Here you can scroll down, and you will see the 15 latest messages that different people have sent to this visual conversation. You can also see the dates and times when these messages have been created. Times are Finnish times, because the Kommunikatze -server works in Finland (+2 GMT).

 

 

Creating your own message

Kommunikatze provides you a possibility to build up your own message from about 500 ready-made pictures. These images are categorised and spread up in different groups according to their subjects. You can open up different categories by clicking the title symbols on the left edge of the window.

Each title symbol opens up a group of 24 sings in the lower middle of the window. From these groups you can drag all images into your personal message balloon above. This balloon includes 24 empty squares which you may fill with what ever signs you want to.

You can also change meanings of the signs by adding a ban or a warning sign over it. These and some other grammar signs you'll find just next to the other dragable images, in the lower middle of the window.

If you don't want to fill in all the 24 squares, you may leave them empty. In that case some white blocks will appear in the empty places, when you'll send your message to the chat window.

If you're not happy with all the images you have chosen, you can abolish them just by clicking that square in the balloon.

 

Sending your message to the chat

When you are ready with your message, you can send it public to the chat. You just have to click the image of an envelope in the right side of your balloon with your mouse. Then you must wait for a while to that your computer can send the message to the server in Finland. After that it will be sent forward to all the users around the world. That includes you as well.

Your visual message will appear in a small balloon with your visual login under it. This message will stay in the Kommunikatze archive until 15 other messages have been sent after it.

 

Participating in real time drawing

Kommunikatze offers you the possibility to try real time drawing on a shared canvas. This means that all the users on Kommunikatze website at the same time with you may draw images with you. Drawing happens in a separate window.

You may enter the drawing window from a gray brush button in the upper left corner of the screen. By clicking that you open up an extra window. In this window you can click different colours and then draw your lines onto the canvas. If there are some other users present at that moment, their lines will appear onto your screen too.

To finnish the shared canvas drawing you have to close the drawing window.

 

 

 

Comments

If you have some questions or ideas about the Kommunikatze website and the visual sign language, we are very happy to answer them. There is also a possibility for some theoretical background information. Unfortunately this far it is mainly in Finnish language.

Anyway we'll keep on developing the project. So all the comments are more than welcome!

 

The consept, original idea, image manipulation and theory:

Mira Heija, heimira@hotmail.com

Pyynikintori 8 a 3,

33230 Tampere,

Finland

 

Chat coding (lingo):

Kalle Mäntsälä, kalle.mantsala@uiah.fi

 

 

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