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News, insight and tips from the social web.
The Hoop blog covers the evolving digital landscape, social media, mobile communications, content marketing and also includes 5 top finds and Fish on Friday. Feel free to make comments.
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5 top finds #41 »
Hyperrealistic drawings, sun assisted QR code, Android mirrors, fully automated student bedroom and a handmade suit for....a hand. It's a great end to the week with 5 top finds.
1. Photo realistic drawings
[image from The Sun]
Yes, this image is what the title says, a pencil drawing. These amazingly real pieces of art are by Paul Cadden, who recreats photographs using little more than a pencil.
The Scottish born 47-year-old's work is described as hyperrealism and has earned him a spot on the Artist of the Year 2011 shortlist for his drawing, 'Painted context.'
Currently, Cadden's work is on show at the Point One gallery - which focuses on hyperrealism - in Pimlico, London. For a full range of his work, visit his website here.
2. Sunny QR code
E-Mart, Korea's answer to Wal-Mart, found themselves struggling to sell during the lunch hour. Many of the shops were close to empty and their sales graphs looked like a shopping basket, dipping in the middle of the day.
However, rather than accepting the slump in sales and making cuts, E-Mart decided to embrace mobile by installing a 'shadow QR code' outside stores that is only scannable between 12 and 1PM.
The unique QR code works by using the shadows available when the sun is at a certain point in the sky. At mid-day, the shadows fall perfectly into place to complete the code, making it available to scan. The most amazing thing is that it worked, pushing lunch-time sales up by 25% and giving the company more media exposure. Then again, we aren't that shocked as we know mobile works.
3. Android rearview mirror
[Image from Tech Beats]
The car and the mobile have always had a close relationship, with mobile telephony in cars dating back to 1960. Even now, with the huge popularity of handheld devices, many people integrate the two by having the phone synced to their dashboard.
Of course, this wasn't going to end there and the next step has been made, in a rather James Bond gadgety way. At this year's CES, one company called Rydeen showcased their new rearview mirrors with a built in Android operated touchscreen. Currently, Rydeen state that it is a research tool but a production version could hit the shelves by 2013.
We are not entirely sure if having a touch screen built into your rearview mirror is the safest idea, with texting while driving being such a danger (this video was so close to making 5 top finds) but it is interesting nonetheless. With it, you can unlock the ability to check weather conditions, traffic reports and the Hoop blog without having to pull out your mobile phone.
4. Automated dorm-room with emergency party button
There probably isn't any demographic lazier than the male undergraduate student. Waking times usually vary between 12PM-3PM and making dinner means finding a pizza coupon. However, one student was particularly proactive about being inactive as he built, what he calls, B.R.A.D (Berkeley Ridiculously Automated Dorm).
Controlled by motion sensors, remote controls, iPhone, iPad and speech, the Berkeley student's room is set up so well that throwing a party is as simple as hitting an emergency red button. What must have taken a while to set up, the hours put in are saving precious time throughout the day.
5. A handmade suit
[Image from Wallpaper*]
UK based design, fashion and art magazine Wallpaper* recently commissioned Dutch artists Lernert & Sander - along with London based production company White Lodge - to make a short film showcasing the handmade quality of Brioni's bespoke tailoring.
The short film, which shows the making of a particularly tiny suit, was shown at Brioni HQ for Wallpaper*'s handmade exhibition, celebrating quality hand made products.
It is amazing to see how a bespoke suit is made, let alone a very small one designed for a hand, who models the suit with such grace you'd be forgiven to mistake it for a human model.
Categories: 5 top finds
Tags: Android, Art, Hyperrealism, Mobile, Paul Cadden, QR code, Wallpaper
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Jakob Nielsen: 'mobile sites vs full sites' debate. The Hoop view. »
Jakob Nielsen's views on mobile sites have caused some controversy in the developer community. Hoop look into what he said and whether he has a point or is off the mark.
Recently, one of the world's leading web consultants Jakob Nielsen discussed his thoughts on the mobile sites vs full sites debate, based on his company's - Nielsen-Norman Group - research. The post has been a subject of controversy since, with many people blasting the developer for an outdated view on mobile browsing.
[Image from Use It]
Nielsen stressed that companies should have a mobile optimised site, highlighting why full sites do not work for users on mobile devices. The user experience conversation has been going on for a while and, as any company that is aware of the growing numbers of mobile users will know, having a site optimised for smaller screens can bring about a very decent ROI.
Nielsen said:
"Good mobile user experience requires a different design than what's needed to satisfy desktop users. Two designs, two sites, and cross-linking to make it all work."
Hoop's business developer Gabriela Lacaci gave her thoughts on mobile browsing.
"As a non-technical person, I believe we should have everything. That is, desktop website, mobile responsive design and apps. I find it time wasting to have to revisit the same sites through mobile browsers, when an app sits nicely on your screen. However, this can easily be worked around by making apps that solely redirect to a mobile optimised site. A mobile optimised site for mobile users visiting the main site is a definite for me. And yes, if necessary, have more than one if the main website is a mammoth for content and activity.
I say: if you have too much content, cut it, you are probably saying too much anyway. If it's complicated, simplify it. We want it to be easy and are likely to spend more the easier it is to get to the checkout page. Personal conclusions? Apps, even if just to link to, and tablet/mobile optimised for users of these. As for desktop, maintain older versions for now but don't invest in them, instead phase into responsive designs. And please remember, I am not a technical person.
As a non-technical person, Gabriela is a voice of the public, even though her digital savvy allows her to articulate it much better than most. She realises there is a noticeable difference in experience when browsing a site optimised for mobile. Gabriela also indicates her liking for apps, because of the convenience of hitting the site instantly, rather than dealing with loading time.
So yes, Nielsen was spot on in his assessment that there has to be a different design for mobile users, including cutting out unnecessary content and taking into consideration 'fat thumbs'. What the web design community isn't happy about however, is his inability to mention responsive web design, eliminating the need for two different sites.
As conversations continued online, web designer Josh Clark labelled Neilsen's advice on mobile as "just 180-degrees backwards." Clark continues to state that many people use mobiles as their only access to the Internet, stressing that users should not be patronised and offered a limited experience or forced to browse a full site on a tiny screen.
"When you see a 'full desktop site' link on your phone, you're looking at an admission of failure."
Clark argues that building separate sites for different platforms during an era when new devices - with differing resolutions, screen sizes and portability - hiting the market every week is poor strategy. There is also the issue with separating mobile and full site URLs. According to Clark,
"[Nielsen's] suggestion that there should be a distinction between desktop and mobile website URLs is damaging, too. Any piece of content should have one address on the web, not several. When I'm on a phone, that content should be formatted appropriately for the small screen, and when I'm on a tv-based browser, it should be formatted appropriate for the giant screen. But the URL – the 'uniform resource locator' – should be uniform across devices, one place to go no matter what I'm using to browse.
Nielsen was given the opportunity to respond to the large amount of criticism on the same site, in an interview with Tanya Combrinck. When he was questioned about his apparent neglect to mention RSW, Nielsen response was rather baffling.
"...I was writing about user experience, not implementation. As mentioned above, responsive design is one of the ways to achieve different user interfaces for different devices. It should be up to the engineers to determine the most efficient way of achieving the user experience goals. All we usability people should decide is how the site should work for users, not how this is implemented."
It seemed apparent that he was talking about implementation in his blog post, but now he is arguing that it was about user experience. Was he only talking about user experience? Does implementation not affect the user experience? Surely, if implementation became so hard to maintain because of several sites for different platforms, it would directly affect the user... and their experience!
When reading the interview, it feels as if Nielsen is backtracking. He even goes as far as to give negative comments on RSW design, ironically, because as Mat Marquis' Tweet points out, the very platform Nielsen used to ignore RSW was responsive!
Hoop's experience manager Nick Smith uses his expertise to articulate where we at Hoop felt Nielsen went wrong:
"I agree with him that a desktop site is often not suitable to mobile. However, I think his approach to always have mobile separate from desktop is flawed. My approach would be to start with desktop functionality and work out how (if) it translates to mobile.
This is a quite a complex conversation that he's boiled down to a binary decision. His approach doesn't work in the real world. This post seems solely about the user experience, but I think he's not researched well enough if he doesn't take new technology into account (he doesn't explore responsive techniques at all). A friend in UX recently told me he's not sure he can keep up with all of the new technologies in web design. He was staggered at the pace of change and the way it affects his work.
I think Jakob is suffering from this."
Categories: Insight
Tags: Design, Jakob Nielsen, Mobile, Responsive web design, User Experience
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Startups of the week #15.2 »
Digital communication tools like Skype, Facebook and Twitter allow us to communicate instantly across the world. However, a new iPhone app gives users the private platform to share messages between your loved one all day. It's like they aren't 10,000 miles away.
1. Pair
Even with the internet, long distance relationships are hard work. My partner - who is currently in Australia - and I have been apart for nearly five months. Because of the large time difference, Skype has been reduced to only an hour a day and Facebook chat proved to be pretty useless, especially when on the go. There were times when we felt completely detached from each other's lives. Then Pair hit the app store.
Pair is a new and private platform for couples, especially those in long distance relationships. With 50,000 downloads in its first week, it looks set to be one of the next top apps. This is amazing as it contains no potentially viral content, which other social networks thrive on. Pair is just two people sharing their lives with each other, and no one else.
We had a problem. We had just moved to Mountain View, but our girlfriends were still in Canada. We tried using text message, and Facebook to stay in touch, but we really felt like there should be a better way to stay in touch with our partners. We realized that we were sending over 90% of our messages to a single person using tools that were designed to send messages to everyone you know. There didn't seem to be a better way. So we made one :)
Currently only on iOS devices [iTunes], this intimate network allows a couple to leave videos, pictures, drawings and "thinking of you" nudges. When the couple are on the app at the same time, they can live draw together and "thumbkiss", a virtual intimate moment where matching thumbs prints will make your screen red and vibrate.
Created by developer Oleg Kostour, Pair has received investment from Path's Dave Morrin as well as founder of TechCrunch, Michael Arrington. We would consider that an incredibly smart investment, as the company is now worth around $10million dollars. Not bad for roughly three months work.
While it all may sound incredibly cheesy, Pair has proved to be so popular that even single people want in on the action, with PairMixer allowing users to 'pair-up' with other random singles. The fact is, people are going to post sappy messages on social networking sites... wouldn't it be nice if we didn't have to see them.
Categories: Startups of the week
Tags: Mobile, Pair, Startup, Y Combinator
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Startups of the week #14.1 »
There are vast amount of sustainable smartphone concepts online but a 23-year-old Londoner has seen his design turn into reality thanks to ADzero.
1. ADzero
There are few topics that are 'trending' more at the moment than smartphones and sustainability. AT&T are even about to launch a new program to rate the eco-friendliness of all the devices they sell. The Eco-Rating program will evaluate all of their devices from production to disposal. We think we have found one that will pass with flying colours. Introducing the ADzero.
[Image from ADzero - Photography by Karen Storey]
ADzero are a startup company from both China and the UK after it's co-founder, Jerry Lao, discovered 23-year-old London design student Keiron-Scoot Woodhouse's Sony Ericsson Xperia LED concept back in 2011. Impressed by the design, Lao traced the Middlesex University student back to a product design forum to approach Woodhouse about turning his idea into reality.
For the following few months, Woodhouse began to sketch up new ideas and came up with a beautiful design made out of bamboo. This makes Laura, the companies latest prototype, light-weight, durable and highly sustainable, to the point that farming it actually helps the environment. It also looks fantastic. On the Android OS, ADzero are developing their own ICS user interface.
After an impressive showing at TENT London, things began to quieten down as the team were busy working on the product and Woodhouse started his third year at university. That was until January this year, when BBC picked up on the device and started a plethora of well known tech blogs, including Mashable, TechCrunch and Engadget, to write up about the phone, which includes a unique ring-flash design, allowing evenly illuminated pictures.
ADzero have set the mark for sustainable, individual and beautiful smartphones which would appeal to most eco-friendly consumers. However, the company are targeting the more boutique market, rather than trying to hit the pocket of everyone. With such a beautiful design though, we think they'll shift more than enough.
Categories: Startups of the week
Tags: Design, Mobile, sustainable
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Startups of the week 13.1 »
Feeling powerless about being powerless? What if there was a portable charger that rewards you for use, helps you engage with your friends and is environmentally friendly? Step-up Changers.
1. Changers
There are a plethora of portable chargers out on the market, but one start-up's device tops the list as it not only gives you that extra boost of battery power, it is a social energy marketplace.
Changers believes that social energy is the next big thing – and with their A4 sized solar panel, called "Maroshi", you are able to charge your "Kalhuh-fummi", or portable battery. It will take around 4 hours in direct sunlight to charge you Kalhuh-fummi, which is then in turn able to charge around 2 iPhones. For more cloudy climates, the Maroshi will still charge but at a slower rate.
This explains how it is helping the environment but it is in the social marketplace where Changers gets really exciting. The "Maroshi" records how much energy you have generated and each gram of CO2 saved. You then upload this data to the Changer social platform and you are able to engage other users about your contribution to the planet.
To top it off, every Watt-hour of energy you create, you receive a credit or discount voucher to be used with partnering businesses. The device will set you back $149 (£93) and takes four hours of sunlight to charge up.
Changers, founded in Berlin in early 2011, was launched for beta-testing across the Atlantic in California to take advantage of the tech-savvy valley and it's all year sunshine. The company have now made it available worldwide, with people saving energy in such places as New York, Germany and Australia. It seems to be popular as Europe have sold out of the Starter Kit at the time of writing.
As quoted on the GoGreen website, co-founder and CEO of Changers, Markus Schulz said:
"Each of us takes it for granted that we have limitless energy on tap, and as a result we have become completely disconnected from how our actual energy usage impacts the planet. The Changers System aims to shift our attitudes and behavior by enabling each of us to produce our own energy, measure and visualize the real effect of this simple act, and then share our contributions with others. We think that if you can unite people in the pursuit of renewable energy, even small amounts of energy, it will lead to a dramatic transformation in how we source and consume energy."
Changers are looking to improve the environment, both natural and social, through a beautifully designed bit of kit. If it catches on, and we really hope it does, it could change the whole way we all look at energy saving. Rather than a necessity that is hard work and meticulous, it can be fun, engaging and beautifully designed. It also might be essential when 4G is introduced.
Categories: Startups of the week
Tags: Environmental, Mobile, Portable Charger, social marketplace, Social media
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Responsive web design: another fad in design and development? »
There are high hopes that responsive web design will lead to great online experiences. We take a look at the method of the moment.
Think about the devices you use to access the web. Chances are you use a desktop or laptop computer. But you might also access it through a smartphone, tablet PC, games console or TV. Do each of these devices give you the same useful experience visiting your favourite websites? If not, why not?
The web, up until now, has been designed from a uniform perspective. Taking its lead from print design, web design has strived to reproduce templates across all of the devices that you might use. This was good for a time. But this "must look the same" approach missed the true potential of the medium.
Unlocking the potential of the web
Responsive Web Design is causing great excitement in the industry as it promises to unlock new digital ideas and experiences. RWD is the method of the moment, but before it came Graceful Degradation, Progressive Enhancement and many other design methods aimed at pushing the medium forward. The difference this time is that, where previous approaches chipped away at the surface of pixel perfection, RWD demands a completely new understanding of how a web page works.
RWD increases the value of web content, no matter what device you use to look at it. Value to the visitor is determined by the content, interaction or tasks they can complete. Think of your favourite social network. A responsive version of it would adapt to your device, making it easy and intuitive to catch up on news, find new friends or contacts and update your profile. If the website was not responsive you would need to zoom into the page on a mobile device and struggle with buttons designed for desktop interaction – giving you a poor experience and bad impression of the brand.
The potential for RWD goes beyond mobile. However, the rapid increase in the use of mobile devices, with different resolutions and features like touch screens, has been a key driving force in the return to some of the founding principles of the web. Content is king and, combined with well structured code, you can use it to make your website support your brand values. As many businesses and organisations have found in the digital age; brand value is not about appearance, it is about user experience.
So where do we go from here?
The latest responsive site we launched has seen a surge in traffic from mobile devices. iPhone increased by 275%, Android by 484% and an astonishing 1040% on iPad. There was a clear business case for creating a responsive website in this case. Perhaps there's one for yours?
We're convinced responsive website design delivers a better user and brand experience and we're currently working on new responsive websites for clients and ourselves. If you think your customers deserve a great online experience get in touch.
Categories: Insight
Tags: Business strategy, Content strategy, Digital strategy, HTML5, Mobile, Mobile First, Reputation, thisishoop, User centred thinking, User Experience
