For children about Kubernete, or Fippy’s adventures in space

Kubernetes is a convenient and quickly becoming popular platform for working with containers. Since Cloud4Y offers Kubernetes as a service, it closely monitors developments in the containerization market. And recently we came across the brainchild of a young startup Kasten, which must be told about. The guys decided to make it as easy as possible to understand how IT solutions work, and released several children’s stories about Fippy. They are very nice and clear about technology. We decided to translate the story about Fippy and Kubernetes for you. And at the same time tell how it was created.

When Kasten, a young startup in Kubernetes data management, was looking for a way to teach newcomers the basics of the cloud ecosystem, and they turned to Juiza Martinez-Rivera and Chitlali Tolia for help. They helped a lot in preparing Phippy’s book, which will be showcased at KubeCon 2020.

Yuiza is a PhD in philosophy and artist with experience in architectural design and graphic design in the high-tech industry. She loves visualization of IT processes, as she believes that it contributes to better assimilation of information. Editor and translator Chitlali Tolia is an expert in Latin American literature and cultural studies, with experience in publishing and Ed Tech.

They had long wanted to work on a children’s book together, and jumped at the opportunity to take part in work on Fippy’s next adventure. Writing a children’s book is a tremendous experience, forcing writers to break down complex concepts and processes, making these topics more accessible to new audiences. Working on Fippy in Space was fun, easy and dynamic.

How history was created

A setting was needed to start the story. How to outline the challenges facing cloud storage? From the beginning, it was decided that Captain Cube and Fippy would be in charge of developing the new city. This is similar to the processes that go on in the cloud ecosystem. And although everyone thought it was a great idea, they wanted to come up with something even more interesting. So when Kasten said there was no limit to the flight of imagination, the creative team took it literally. Fippy and Captain Cube packed up and began to rehearse the moonwalk.

The authors decided that this story will take place during the trip to Mars. And served as a dialogue between Captain Cube and Fippy, in which they discuss problems and come up with solutions as they approach Mars. It was planned that their arrival on Mars would be the end of the story and the beginning of the implementation of their decisions, reflecting the role of the book as an educational tool. At the end of the story, readers will need to take action to find providers and begin their journey to cloud solutions

Working through the details of the story required close work with subject matter experts. First, you had to tackle the biggest challenges faced by cloud storage, backup providers, and users, and then organize them logically and find ways to draw analogies at a fictional Martian outpost. In the course of work, it was also necessary to decide which characters would join Fippy. It was necessary to simplify everything as much as possible to avoid confusion, which meant that the list of characters had to be small. The Ruby robot, a backup robot, came about when the team was looking for ways to illustrate processes. She has become a representative of a new, flexible, reliable way of doing things in the cloud ecosystem.

Art creation

Embarking on a space adventure, the illustrators began to discuss ideas and the general mood they wanted to achieve. Converged on a retro-futuristic aesthetic, looking at old Jetsons footage. David Bowie and Flight of the Conchords became the soundtrack of this story.

The created version of space is one of the most surprising and positive ones (although obviously it is a prepared space that can withstand an accidental space accident or a space monster attack).

Yuiza began by sketching the concepts of the characters in their space suits, spaceship, and then in the outpost itself. We wanted the characters to stay true to their original look, and the authors chose an overall simple and straightforward aesthetic, with soft edges and child-friendly characters. Other elements also had to be rounded and minimalistic.

After the characters, structures and visuals were defined, it was time to create the book. At this point, history and creativity moved in parallel, with constant interaction between the technical team and the writing team. As Yuiza brought the Martian outpost to life, the plot’s writers worked to get a clearer idea of ​​how to break down the information and what details would need to be added.

On some of the spreads, such as when Fippy discusses the requirements of the backup policy, work was done in conjunction with the technical team to ensure that the illustration accurately shows the problem. This collaboration enabled the technical team to be more involved in the process, and helped the creative team learn more about the complexities of cloud storage and backup.

We hope you enjoy this book and look forward to the new adventures of Fippy and his team. The book can be found on the CNCF page Phippy and friends

The original book can be downloaded from GitHub: https://kastenhq.github.io/Phippy-In-Space/

Translated into Russian version from Cloud4Y


What else is interesting in the blog Cloud4Y

→ Found a long-lost manual for the world’s oldest computer

→ AI helps to choose the best actor for the role in the film

→ Definitely not Windows 95: what operating systems support space?

→ We tell you about state protected services and networks

→ Inside the Bell Labs data center, 1960s

Subscribe to our Telegram-channel so as not to miss another article. We write no more than twice a week and only on business.

Similar Posts

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *