Archive for Hoverblog: January 2005 | Main >
Dropload
| 1.30.2005
OK. The name need a little work but this cool little totally free service is a great way to send files that are too large to accompany your email or upload via FTP. I just found out about it and have used it several times of the last week. good one to add to your arsenal of tricks.
posted at 6:50 PM
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0 comments
Presenting with Air Cover
| 1.16.2005
Whether you’re pitching a potential client or presenting your first round of creative, it typically involves a lot of show-‘n-tell. In the print world, creatives are usually well armed with piles of brochures, catalogs, folders, stationary, etc. These pieces are either free-floating or cleanly mounted on black presentation boards. In the past, this seemed to work out well. The creative lived on paper and paper is what you showed. It could be touched, smelled and passed around the table below a quiet din of critique. Since the inception of web and interactive design, there has been much confusion about presentation styles and protocols. It seems pretty clear—the creative lives in pixels and pixels are what you show. This involves having a projector, laptop and yes; you guessed it, an Internet connection. I know what you’re going to say…”have a local copy on your hard drive” or “show screen shots in PowerPoint.” These are all good points and I’ve tried them all. They’re not bad ways to show work. On your best day, it always seems to feel a little sterile and lackluster. While technology has created and pushed design into new and exciting mediums and formats, the way in which people interact with the work during presentations has not been so quick to change. I think a natural human response to something unknown is to touch first. It’s almost like it makes it more real and substantial. Ever notice how you’re drawn to those beautifully colored glasses at Crate&Barrel but quickly need to touch and pick them up before you can determine how much you like them?
At a past web agency, we started off presenting pixels only. We won our fair share of jobs but always seemed to get large number of requests for copies of the presentation and almost always asked for something to leave behind to show other members of the decision committee or to their bosses. Thinking back, it was for them, not other “members” of their organization. In other words, presenting in a dim room via projector never seemed like enough to them…or to me. It felt analogous to getting together with an old friend you haven’t seen in a while and then going to a movie–little dialog, interaction and narrative.
As a test, I laid out 15 web/interactive case studies on 24” X 30” laminated Gator Board. They looked beautiful! We started to present with both boards and projector. The boards were the primary eye candy with the projector providing “air cover” during the presentation. This unique dichotomy provided an almost perfect balance during every presentation. People would walk up to the boards, pick them up, bring them back to the table, pass them around to other colleagues and even present back to us, what they liked/disliked about a particular concept or idea. They would say things like “I like the navigation in this one.” or “can we change the color of the banner ads on this site?” What was fascinating was the fact that people were interacting with a tactile object (boards) while clearly engaged in speaking about pixels.
I’m not saying I have the answer. I’m only highlighting an issue that’s faced by many and sharing some of my thoughts and strategies.
posted at 9:58 AM
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3 comments
On The Take
| 1.08.2005
I order lots of take-out! Even by take-out standards, I surpass what is considered the norm. If there were a credit card dedicated solely to purchasing take-out food, I would be a platinum member with enough points to upgrade on almost any airline. Being a Foodie, it’s not surprising I do a lot of thinking about food, restaurants and recently, take-out etiquette. I’ve been doing a bit of comparing and contrasting in the differences between Boston and NYC’s take-out culture. What seems like a simple task has so many more layers.
OK. We all know NYC is a take-out city famous for having sundry stores and bodegas on virtually every street corner with hot/cold food bars, pizza and pre-made meals for any time of day. They really understand the take-out nation down in the big Apple. When I worked in NYC, I literally ate every meal out, every day. Many times, at lunch, I would frequent the bodega on the corner of Wall and Broad Streets for a coke. Without saying a word, they would ring me up and put the can in a small paper bag with one napkin and one straw. “Have a nice day” would seal the deal and send me back to work with a sugar high.
After returning back to Boston, I worked down in the South End. I would visit East Meets West every morning for a muffin, yogurt (the kind with the fruit in the bottom) and a coffee. After only a few visits, I noticed they were always on to the next order while my items were still sitting on the counter. They never asked about a bag or napkin, both of which were behind the counter. Thinking It was me, I decided to test this a little further. On my next visit, I ordered 3 muffins, 2 yogurts, a coffee and a Fresh Samantha’s High Protein Smoothie Drink. This time, the women asked “Um..do you need a bag for that?” I replied “Um..thanks but no! I think I’ll balance it back to the office.” She grunted, handed me a bag and was on to the next order. Either Boston hasn’t caught up to the same level of take-out etiquette as the Big Apple or I should skip breakfast.
posted at 9:22 PM
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1 comments
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Hoverblog Archives August 2004 September 2004 October 2004 November 2004 December 2004 January 2005 February 2005 March 2005 April 2005 May 2005 June 2005 July 2005 August 2005 September 2005 October 2005 November 2005 December 2005 January 2006 February 2006 April 2006 May 2006 June 2006 July 2006 September 2006 December 2006 January 2007 February 2007 Latest Links Myallo - Uses an “interest profile” to find the most interesting Web pages on the Internet, and can actually learn over time. Acquisition - Probably the slickest P2P file sharing application on the web. Beautiful and intuitive OSX-like interface. iPod Music Liberator-Great little shareware for copying music directly from your ipod into ITunes and your finder...No Stealing Bad Music! MusicPublisher - For those of us who are not content just sharing the songs within ITunes, this little app lets you also share any iPod you have docked to your computer as well.
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