Kai Krause
Encyclopedia
Kai Krause is a software and graphical user interface
designer, best known for founding MetaCreations Corp., his Kai's Power Tools
series of products, and for his contributions to graphical user interface design.
, Germany, Krause moved to California
, United States in 1976. He worked with early synthesizer
s and vocoder
s. He worked on almost thirty records and movies. Krause has a Master's degree
from the Brooks institute in Santa Barbara, California
(1996), and a honorary doctorate
from the University of Essen, Germany (1999).
Today Kai Krause lives and works in the 1000-year-old castle Burg Rheineck near Bonn
in Germany, which he called Byteburg. In February 2005, the "DEMO" conference
acknowledged him as one of the Top 15 Innovators of the last 15 years.
interaction for the user, neither of which were widely deployed in the 1980s because of the low graphics abilities of the current hardware, and most users found them too oblique to learn and remember. Krause's products pioneered user interface techniques like soft shadows, rounded corners, and translucency, which were adopted in the Aqua
of Mac OS X
in 2001,http://www.macintouch.com/mx_aqua.html and later became common in Windows XP
and Linux
.
The company which he co-founded, MetaCreations Corp., began as HSC Software, which released the first version of Kai's breakthrough product, Kai's Power Tools (a.k.a "KPT"), in 1992. HSC went on to release a second version of KPT, and the first version of Bryce
, and several other titles before changing their name to Metatools in 1995. This name remained until 1997, when a rapid series of mergers with Fractal Design, RayDream, Specular, and RTG (Real-Time Geometry) necessitated a new identity for the growing organization: MetaCreations.
For the rest of the 1990s, MetaCreations continued to develop a wide variety of successful graphical software titles. Application and interfaces for which Krause was most directly responsible include Kai's Power Tools, Live Picture, Bryce, Kai's Power Show, Kai's Power Goo, Convolver, Kai's Photo Soap and Poser
.
Graphical user interface
In computing, a graphical user interface is a type of user interface that allows users to interact with electronic devices with images rather than text commands. GUIs can be used in computers, hand-held devices such as MP3 players, portable media players or gaming devices, household appliances and...
designer, best known for founding MetaCreations Corp., his Kai's Power Tools
Kai's Power Tools
Kai's Power Tools are a set of API plugins created by Kai Krause that were designed for use with Adobe Systems Photoshop and Corel Photo-Paint. Kai's Power Tools were sold to Corel when MetaCreations was closed....
series of products, and for his contributions to graphical user interface design.
Biography
Born in DortmundDortmund
Dortmund is a city in Germany. It is located in the Bundesland of North Rhine-Westphalia, in the Ruhr area. Its population of 585,045 makes it the 7th largest city in Germany and the 34th largest in the European Union....
, Germany, Krause moved to California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, United States in 1976. He worked with early synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
s and vocoder
Vocoder
A vocoder is an analysis/synthesis system, mostly used for speech. In the encoder, the input is passed through a multiband filter, each band is passed through an envelope follower, and the control signals from the envelope followers are communicated to the decoder...
s. He worked on almost thirty records and movies. Krause has a Master's degree
Master's degree
A master's is an academic degree granted to individuals who have undergone study demonstrating a mastery or high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice...
from the Brooks institute in Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
(1996), and a honorary doctorate
Honorary degree
An honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements, such as matriculation, residence, study, and the passing of examinations...
from the University of Essen, Germany (1999).
Today Kai Krause lives and works in the 1000-year-old castle Burg Rheineck near Bonn
Bonn
Bonn is the 19th largest city in Germany. Located in the Cologne/Bonn Region, about 25 kilometres south of Cologne on the river Rhine in the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, it was the capital of West Germany from 1949 to 1990 and the official seat of government of united Germany from 1990 to 1999....
in Germany, which he called Byteburg. In February 2005, the "DEMO" conference
DEMO conference
The DEMO conference is a technology conference that focuses on showcasing new products from both entrepreneurs and established companies. It is held by IDG....
acknowledged him as one of the Top 15 Innovators of the last 15 years.
History
Krause significantly broadened conventional notions of the graphical user interface by applying innovative design principles and providing realtimeReal-time computing
In computer science, real-time computing , or reactive computing, is the study of hardware and software systems that are subject to a "real-time constraint"— e.g. operational deadlines from event to system response. Real-time programs must guarantee response within strict time constraints...
interaction for the user, neither of which were widely deployed in the 1980s because of the low graphics abilities of the current hardware, and most users found them too oblique to learn and remember. Krause's products pioneered user interface techniques like soft shadows, rounded corners, and translucency, which were adopted in the Aqua
Aqua (user interface)
Aqua is the GUI and primary visual theme of Apple Inc.'s Mac OS X operating system. It is based around the theme of water, as its name suggests, with droplet-like elements and liberal use of translucency and reflection effects...
of Mac OS X
Mac OS X
Mac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
in 2001,http://www.macintouch.com/mx_aqua.html and later became common in Windows XP
Windows XP
Windows XP is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops and media centers. First released to computer manufacturers on August 24, 2001, it is the second most popular version of Windows, based on installed user base...
and Linux
Linux
Linux is a Unix-like computer operating system assembled under the model of free and open source software development and distribution. The defining component of any Linux system is the Linux kernel, an operating system kernel first released October 5, 1991 by Linus Torvalds...
.
The company which he co-founded, MetaCreations Corp., began as HSC Software, which released the first version of Kai's breakthrough product, Kai's Power Tools (a.k.a "KPT"), in 1992. HSC went on to release a second version of KPT, and the first version of Bryce
Bryce (software)
Bryce is a 3D modeling, rendering and animation program specializing in fractal landscapes. The name is taken from Bryce Canyon—a rugged region with many of the same landscapes that were first simulated with the software.- History :...
, and several other titles before changing their name to Metatools in 1995. This name remained until 1997, when a rapid series of mergers with Fractal Design, RayDream, Specular, and RTG (Real-Time Geometry) necessitated a new identity for the growing organization: MetaCreations.
For the rest of the 1990s, MetaCreations continued to develop a wide variety of successful graphical software titles. Application and interfaces for which Krause was most directly responsible include Kai's Power Tools, Live Picture, Bryce, Kai's Power Show, Kai's Power Goo, Convolver, Kai's Photo Soap and Poser
Poser
Poser is a 3D CGI rendering and animation software program optimized for models that depict the human figure in three-dimensional form, mostly used to pose and animate the figures in a similar way as a mannequin...
.
Software
- Kai's Power ToolsKai's Power ToolsKai's Power Tools are a set of API plugins created by Kai Krause that were designed for use with Adobe Systems Photoshop and Corel Photo-Paint. Kai's Power Tools were sold to Corel when MetaCreations was closed....
is now published by Corel Corporation, as "The Corel KPT Collection". - KPT BryceBryce (software)Bryce is a 3D modeling, rendering and animation program specializing in fractal landscapes. The name is taken from Bryce Canyon—a rugged region with many of the same landscapes that were first simulated with the software.- History :...
is now published by DAZ 3DDAZ 3DDAZ 3D Inc. is a developer and broker of 3D graphics software and content. DAZ is most known for its popular line of articulated 3D figures and the large, enthusiastic community that has developed around them.DAZ is notable for its business model of giving away a product and generating...
, as simply "Bryce". - Kai's Power Show, Kai's Photo Soap and Kai's Power Goo are now property of Nuance CommunicationsNuance CommunicationsNuance Communications is a multinational computer software technology corporation, headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts, USA, that provides speech and imaging applications...
. They have been discontinued.