An exciting moment for me… my first blog post for Thought Den, infact first blog post that’s not on my own blog!…

So far I have been designing logos, web layouts and an iphone game, so lots of fun and varied projects for me to get my teeth stuck in to! See the subtlemob site – our latest creation, where I designed the layout with Ben’s guidance! Check the event out while you’re there.. it looks awesome!

I sit here in my room – (a place I am very proud of, my own little Thought Den.. ambient bubble of music and lighting, beneath drapes and walls carefully plastered with creative inspiration) – I think of how to sum up the past few weeks freelancing for Thought Den. My first paid job actually doing what I love to do… and what an amazing thing it is to do what you love every day and be guided by professionals who can teach you more at such a fast rate!! The highlights so far probably being white boards, creative brainstorming, jokes, drinks, paper throwing when ‘in the zone’, learning fast, and being a part of the thinking den!

(more…)

Thought Den are very proud to have launched the new subtlemob 09 site. For those who don’t know what a subtlemob is yet (which could be most of us!), here’s what Duncan Speakman (the producer) has to say about them.

‘as if it were the last time’ invites you to take part in a secret event this November. You’ve seen the people freeze in train stations and the mass pillow fights, well this will be a more subtle experience.’

Thought Den were involved with the (more…)

Is Facebook trying to be the new agony aunt of the Virtual world? The previous design we were asked to share, “what are you doing?”, which was a pretty pro-active question. It had potential to provoke updates like “Daniel is happy with today”, “Daniel is far far away!”, “Daniel has just finished climbing Everest” etc… With the new design however, comes the new question, “What’s on your mind?”.

That’s the type of question you’d ask a friend down the pub when they’re feeling down and need to talk? Something that can prompt the release of their deepest feelings and allows you to listen and understand how they feel. Something that I prefer to talk about face-to-face, one-on-one, mano-o-mano with beer in hand.

So are people going to feel comfortable broadcasting their innermost pains, worries out to everyones’ News Feed? In turn should we be feeling comfortable offering support and a shoulder to cry on with comment responses? In turn do I even want to be bombarded with general negativity every-time I log in!

Just because Facebook is asking the question I don’t have to answer it, I know. But I wonder about those younger than me. Generations that feel more comfortable sharing their feelings over text & e-mail. Will they feel happy sharing their ‘**** I fe3l Cr4p cos Jeeny just dumped me, :’( @}–>   -’,—-’, with everyone? And in turn, is that healthy for them to not be doing it face-to-face? Or infact, should I feel comfortable with it?

For now, I think I’ll be going down the pub to chat through my innermost feelings. At least then I get a beer.

The new Facebook has been released but what are some of the changes about?

Navigating the profile

The profiles have been re-designed to allow you an easier navigation of all the ‘information’ people want to post up about themselves. I suppose with it normally expanding vertically 30 Million Pixels high to accommodate information was becoming tiresome, so tabs will help divide up the mess… I mean relevant information.

With a wider layout they’re not only opening out the sides of the design to counter app bloating, this could also open up more room for bigger pictures, videos and making use of the space allowing people to enjoy each other’s media and bigger adverts.

The tabs are also going to open up screen real estate for more interesting apps to take precedence on people’s profiles, which is good news for any virals like the Euroball widget. I wonder if it’s going to start making people wanting to organise their profiles more often too?

Old

New

Happy Packages – we put some virtual/digital boxes of happiness round the city and by various means, users can access the contents of the happy package, releasing anything from an SMS riddle to a Java game sent from our Bluetooth transmitters.

WHAT WE NEED!
Sketches / doodles / concepts for a brand/logo based on the Happy Package concept, so a box of love, man. Ideally it’d be stencillable…A 3D box with ribbon? We’re thinking simple design, just a box or something, with minimal detail. no more than 3 colours, pref 2.

WHAT WE’LL GIVE YOU!
£30 for a sketch-doodle-concept that we choose to develop (napkin ideas if you wish) Based on an honesty policy! You’ll see the thing develop so no stealing of your ideas for no money, and we want everyone to get involved, read the blog etc so no funny business. More cash available if a final article is delivered, but sketches & doodles are cool.