Presenting 11 things from Thought Den, on 11th November 2011! These dates don’t come around very often, and while we’re all wearing poppies in remembrance of the real significance of this day, we also quite like maths and numbers. And you don’t see that many 1s in a row very often. So apart from the obvious (we’re number one!) here are 11 things from Thought Den

1. We are moving office on the 1st of December! It’s bigger and better and nicer and has a swanky new meeting room. It’s still in Stokes Croft
2. Before leaving, we have managed to change the layout of the office about 3 times in a week (in binary that is eleven) !
3. Dan likes the 11 times table because it’s so easy to remember. He is actually pretty good at coding things.
4. Dan is also an experienced “piper” having Grade 6 flute and Grade 5 saxophone (which equals, uhm, 11)
5. Antoine can do 11 pullups on the office RSJ, which is impressive because it DESTROYS your fingers. No-one else has come close.
6. Dan likes binary. Today’s date is 1023! (1+2+4+8+16+32+64+128+256+512) -> 11/11/11 11:11:11
7. Current studio intern Peter Simon likes sandwiches and liquorice. But presumably not liquorice sandwiches.
8. Ben Templeton and Ben Webb are currently redesigning the Thought Den website. Turn it up to 11!
9. George Rowe is skiving today. Apparently he is having his legs waxed at the Clifton Lido. Or something.
10. Our bike suspension system currently holds up 2 bikes (next to each other, like 11) but when we move it’ll be expanded for all the office. No more director’s privilege.
11. oops

Source: besttechInfo.com

A rumour that spread like wildfire across the web a month ago has now metamorphosed into a big, exciting News butterfly. Facebook is on a journey to take on the might of Apple and Google in the mobile market, much like Leonidas and his 299 fellow under-dressed men.

Project Spartan, as it is known, is Facebook’s plan to develop their own new App Store; think iTunes but through Facebook. While not too much has been said yet (Spartans are men of action, not words) it is not too difficult to imagine what the project could lead to.

This will allow for e.g. making better use of some features like Facebook Credits for sales, in-app purchases and thus making more profit.  It is a clever battle-plan which the Financial Times and Playboy have already kicked off.

Apparently about 80 outside developers and companies (including Farmville and The Huffington Post) are contributing to the project, and we also know now that Apple is giving a certain level of support.

This effort from Facebook to bring a whole new experience to the iOS devices is something to celebrate. It would be nice to see this new platform being spread through other mobile devices, let’s say… Android OS for instance!
It may very well push developers and the rest of the industry to have more interest in HTML5 and CSS3 features, pushing forward new web standards.

source: Slashgear.com

The exciting news for our clients however is that it is a new contender in the app market with Facebook’s 750-million users behind the top brand.

Thought Den’s experience with the technology, HTML5 and Javascript will allow our clients pretty much instant entry to the service.

Now less talk about the naked men fighting please!

A credit card that rounds all your spending up to the nearest dollar and automatically puts the difference into your savings account. “Keep the change” is a neat little idea that lead to hundreds of thousands of new accounts being opened at Bank of America.

How to make recycling more fun and save time in the garden while you’re doing it? Seeds embedded in compostable packaging are a cute reminder there is life after the trash can – a tangible way to highlight the real benefits of composting that could also lead to some unexpected garden growths.

From the humble egg whisk to the shopping cart, from the first smart-phones to children’s play toys, there isn’t a field in which IDEO have not innovated. This company has an incredible talent for understanding how real people solve real problems. Humans are undoubtedly intelligent creatures but understanding the nuances and occasional contradictions of our behaviour requires a particular skill. Even sophisticated and intuitive touch-screen units sometimes need a low-tech alternative to suit the realities of daily life. A room-booking system that clearly shows availability as you peer down the length of a corridor because the lights are mounted in a particular way; this user-friendly solution was designed for busy workers requiring instant feedback for last-minute availability.

Thought Den visited the IDEO campus in Palo Alto, CA in October. Over the course of an hour Danny Stillion, Senior Interaction Designer, did a fascinating show-and-tell, demonstrating the sheer depth and breadth of the company’s output. There is of course an incredible heritage of success in this company, facilitating an abundance of touch screens, break out spaces, project rooms and prototype materials that ensures the creative process is free-flowing and robustly supported.

We learnt:

1) The power of a holistic and human approach – through research and observation you can thoroughly understand the challenge, to the point the solution will present itself.
2) Share and communicate – everyone has something to add, whether tea-boy or the lead technician, and facilitating this knowledge transfer is essential in nourishing a productive ecology
3) Surround yourself with the tools to prototype and play – pens, paper, curiosities and widgets. Make stuff and test stuff. Then make stuff better and test stuff harder.
4) Have an incredible account handling and sales team. Natch.

Rarely have I seen such emphasis on observation and research, the importance of testing and iterative development that thoroughly involves the target audience. Solutions that work because they were informed by and engineered to improve day to day life. But IDEO’s considerations don’t rest solely with the end-user; a firm grasp of the commercial imperative means every solution has a well-formulated and effective strategy for return on investment. So the real magic seems to be in treading the fine line between satisfying both parties. Genuine reward for users and commercial success are not mutually exclusive because a win-win situation is the least we should settle for. Get that right and the cash-monies look after themselves, right?

If you’ve got some cash-monies, we can help you innovate and build real human connections.

An issue that has come up a lot recently: how to successfully exploit technology to create magic and memorable moments. They say “any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic” Sometimes it’s the technology that fascinates and others it is purely the experience that counts. How to design the next generation of media experiences? What devices work? What emotions can be stirred?

Two recent events -  1) A session with @ubistudio in Palo Alto, CA and 2) Our BBC Trainees Immersive Experience Lab in Manchester – both committed to exploring the tension between hypnotic, connected, powerful, emerging technologies and the personal, unique, emotional experiences that entertain us or help us learn.

And so to UbiStudio. It seems Bristol’s Pervasive Media Studio has a few fans here in San Francisco. Rutger and I were lucky enough to attend a session packed with academics, technicians, businessmen, futurists and the curious who regularly convene to reflect on and project the trajectory of media consumption. With contributions from Intel, Nokia, Stanford University, ex-Hewlett Packard staff, transmedia theorists and casual observers alike, the discussions were both inspiring and mind boggling.

Augmented social interaction…

There were three formal presentations, starting with the analysis of an experience designed to encourage people to make genuine human connections at large events. Zorop is the brainchild of Ken Ekland, also known as writerguy, and used a gentle narrative (people dressed as Zoropians, tooled with iPhones) to bring strangers together in search of common affinities. Results were visualised in real-time on touch-screen tables at the Zero One Festival in San Jose. One memorable story described two old ladies brought together who, after some cajoling, eventually found a shared interest in ceramics. They were no longer strangers having found mutual ground, a shared passion. The interesting point here is that for all the technology that enabled this meeting, the resulting impact and emotional experience had no dependence on technology as it played out.

Using LAYAR

Gene Becker, UbiStudio director, offered a retrospective on the challenges of developing an AR app using LAYAR, in a short time frame, with minimal technological knowledge. Ultimately we learnt the development was far more enjoyable than using the tool itself. The technology, using GPS enabled camera-phones, though impressive, was too crude and fiddly to support any memorable or useful experience. Again, we see the challenge of striking a balance between visible technology and user experience.

Transmedia that works

In contrast to this, Robert, who spoke on transmedia and augmented reality, made reference to an iPhone app for use in conjunction with a (real-life) comic book, adding to the depth of experience by using QR codes to trigger additional content on the phone such as ambient audio or back-stories. In this example, the extra layer of technology (camera phone, internet connection, streamed content) enhanced the experience despite having to fiddle with the app.

A conclusion of sorts

So the conclusion seems to be a question of context. Horses for courses. At a vibrant street festival it doesn’t enhance the experience watching through a small screen, whether or not it reveals additional content. However, at home, book in hand, additional un-intrusive content accessed quickly and simply can enhance the experience. Perhaps this is because the conventions are more familiar – background music isn’t a ground breaking revelation; but instantly accessing relevant content using a bar-code is pretty cool So in every case it is about finding a relationship that works – balancing an enabling technology with a desired experience, without one over-powering the other.

Get in touch if you want us to help you engage in ways that work.

Why San Fran?

Thought Den Director Ben Templeton (soon to be dropping 3rd person blog writing) is in San Fransisco. In no particular order, here are some key reasons :

• Knowledge Transfer – our work with the PMStudio has opened many doors to innovation, inspiration and creativity. Now it’s time to step through a few of those doors and meet the sharpest minds of the American creative industry.
• New business connections – in this perma-connected world, why restrict yourself one desk, one office? It’s time to think big, play big and make a splash on the international stage. Next stop, world domination…
• It’s been a demanding 6 months with nearly 10 projects in production. We’re working with the likes of international movie-makers Paramount, London-based cultural institutions Tate and BBC, along with local innovative businesses such as Coaching Creatives and Footprint Television
• San Francisco is the Bristol of America (I have images to prove it) and my creative juices require some re-invigoration.

Cool San Fran idea #1

The Bold Italic is an online magazine that gives voice to the boldest, most inspirational local people of SF, in turn benefiting the local merchants who can post discounts, special events and general nudges to come on down. This very slick, tightly edited and thoroughly usable site is one step ahead of the identikit self-published so-called ‘local expert’ guides, though I imagine there is considerable financial backing to the venture. Interested to see if the business model can work. Take a look.

Networking adventures in SF

Well, if I’m not here to drum up business, what would the point eh? (Ideas on an A1 sheet to the usual address….) Phil Stenton at the Pervasive Media Studio very kindly set me up a few exciting appointments. IDEO (275 employees, offices in London, New York, Munich etc) are one of the modern heroes of design, working across strategy, product development and digital, thoroughly plumbing the depths and breadths of innovation. Rutger and I were lucky enough to have a personal tour around their Palo Alto facility by Senior Interaction Designer Danny Stillion. The trip requires a full post to do it justice -  highlights include giant touchscreens around the ‘campus’ for staff expression, the fantastic smell of glue and steel in the workshop, constant examples of innovation (from cash-cards that round up your bill and stick the extra in a savings account, to ergonomic pizza slicers) and the bike rack – not a patch on Thought Den Towers, but at least they tried…

And so to UbiStudio, Pervasive Media Studio of the Pacific coast, run by Gene Becker, ex HP man much like Phil Stenton. The event itself featured 3 talks, largely around AR and ARG experiments – this again requires it’s own post, highlighting as it did the occasional disparity between sophisticated technologies such as LAYAR and the golden goose egg of genuine, engaging, human experiences. We’re not there yet, but we’re getting closer.

Current project madness

The Den is hectic-busy, even without me there to crack the whip. We can’t talk about all of them, but you read it here first: Thought Den have been commissioned by the Tate and National Galleries of Scotland to produce a game that ties in with the Artist Rooms exhibition that is touring the country. VERY exciting job.

Other work for the BBC includes a top secret online tool for the Learning Development department, along with a week-long training and brainstorm event with the aim of developing a pervasive experience to launch the BBC’s impending mass-move oop Norf.

Portsmouth University have commissioned Thought Den to complete a Virtual Tour of their city-based campus off the back of a glowing endorsement from our longest-standing client, Bournemouth University.

General titillations

So far the best districts are North Beach, Mission, Haight & Ashbury, and then a bit of the Marina District along Chestnut. We’ve found bistros, bars, cafes, taquerias, mojito bars, strip joints, parks, hills, trams but no bloody salad! I need salad!

The Hardly Strictly Bluegrass event was great – a hidden valley of hedonism in the midst of Golden Gate Park. Apparently MC Hammer and Elvis Costello played but we were too busy eating Burritos and drinking Red Stripe. Yes.