Any creative working today will be painfully familiar with the feeling of searching through thousands of files on their computer, trying to find that one specific image or document – titled something like “V3 Final (FINAL) (actually final this time)” – on a deadline. It’s a soul-crushing and particularly unglamorous part of the job. But what if things could be different? Is this really the best that the tech world has to offer?
In 2020, the artist Jake Harper launched SOOT, an information-mapping tool that tries to do things differently. Instead of trawling through file names, users can dive into their entire archive via a visual-first interface, organised with the help of AI into a cloud of colours, textures, or “moods”.
“Artists, architects, and designers know that the computer can be a void where ideas get lost,” explains Harper, SOOT co-founder and CEO. “The problem isn’t how disciplined someone’s workflow is, or the creative process in general, but a fundamental flaw in the design of computers. Interfaces trap information, because grids and lists obscure how ideas connect. The magic happens when you can throw everything into one wild mosh where ideas don’t have to fall in line – they can stay alive and reveal a deeper clarity through the interconnections.”
To showcase the power of the new tool (sign up for the early access waitlist here), Dazed has teamed up with SOOT, inviting five visionary creatives to take a deep dive into their digital archives. In the first episode of Hard Drive Reveal, a series of films directed by Guy Gooch and produced by Stink, we get to see renowned London graffiti artist Fatzoo reflect on his life and career via years of street art, gathered in one place for the first time.
Elsewhere in Hard Drive Reveal, SOOT helps unpack the archives of Anita Chhiba (AKA the driving force behind Diet Paratha), the directing duo bedroom (Soren Harrison and Amir Hossain), creative designer Paul Nicholson, and the SFX make-up artist Tilda Mace, who you might know from her work with the likes of FKA twigs and Megan Thee Stallion.
“This software is completely transformational,” says Jefferson Hack, co-founder of Dazed Media. “It takes all the images – both visual references and past work – scattered across folders over the years, and instantaneously organises it into your own personal archive, one that’s easy to research and be inspired by, to shape and focus your approach to work.” The film series, he adds, puts this powerful tool into perspective, “as a bright set of creatives come face-to-face with their own archives”.
Watch the first episode of Hard Drive Reveal, featuring Fatzoo, above, and explore the artists’ playgrounds here.