HEAD Geneve Winter 2025

by Tim, posted on September 28, 2025

How far can you get within 128KB?

Hey and welcome to the 128KB challenge workshop at HEAD! I’m Tim and I am thrilled to get creative with you in the next days (assuming its already december).

This workshop is designed as a vibrant and compact creativity training session. It is not only about working with code as a medium, tool, and phenomenon. It also emphasizes limitation as an amplifier of holistic creativity.

First of all, I’ll give you a few beginner friendly introductions into Processing. That’s the tool I work with and easy to learn (if you haven’t yet) and extremely versatile. If you don’t know Processing, but have worked with p5.js already, you can use p5.js as well, if you want.

In this workshop, we will generate, investigate and work with gif files. 128KB is the maximum file size of the rendered gifs.

The workshop touches on many valuable concepts, from Creative Coding (obviously) to the Demoscene, Permacomputing, and Low Technology.

The associated limitations and the resulting aesthetics raise many interesting questions. Here are just a few:

  • Is the aesthetic of Permacomputing GIF file a suitable antidote to the ubiquitous techno-maximalism?
  • To what extent can the 128KB GIF be explored as a means of communication?
  • What role does resolution play?
  • What functions and effects does it have?
  • Ultimately: How far can we get within 128KB?

Over the course of five days, we will think together, hopefully engage in meaningful discussions, and, of course, experiment.

I am very much looking forward to it!

Brief

Develop a series of experimental applications with Processing. Export motion graphics and convert them to gif fles with these formal parameters:

  • 128KB filesize max
  • 128×128 pixels max
    • Common Formats:
      • 9:16 → 72 * 128px
      • 16:9 → 128 * 72px
      • 9:16 → 72 * 128px
  • Use Processing or p5.js

Try out what ever interests you. Let yourself be free. Enjoy the absense of a briefing. Follow your intuition, create experiments that matter to you. Whatever it is. Get creative! But always stay within the rules.

Staying under the filesize of 128KB will be a obstacle, but don’t worry. We’ll work it out together.

In the end, submit your work(s) via e-mail using the template below.

Timeline

  • Monday
    • Morning
      • Meet and greet
      • Intro: Back to the Future of the Internet
      • Intro: The 128KB Challenge
      • Intro: Processing and p5.js
    • Break
      • Tutorials
    • Lunch
    • Afternoon
      • Tutorial: Rendering Pipeline
      • Project Development
      • Open Workshop
  • Tuesday
    • Morning
      • Tutorial: Images and Typography
      • How to post to 128KB.eu
      • Open Workshop / Project Development
    • Lunch
    • Afternoon
      • Open Workshop / Project Development
  • Wednesday
    • Morning
      • Tutorial: 3D
      • Tutorial: Gif Optimization
      • Open Workshop / Project Development
    • Lunch
    • Afternoon
      • Open Workshop / Project Development
  • Thursday
    • Morning
      • Open Workshop / Project Development
    • Lunch
    • Afternoon
      • Open Workshop / Project Development
  • Friday
    • Morning
      • Open Workshop / Project Development
      • Mockups
      • Documentations
    • Lunch
    • Afternoon
      • Presentation

Resources

Tools

Demoscene, Low Tech and Permacomputing

Tools for editing, optimizing, remixing and dithering gifs