We are in the midst of some heavy riffing on what makes for a good digital app here at F/F, and have noticed that many of our favourite apps fall into what we are calling the 3S formula:

Simple + Social = Successful

A highlight app on heavy rotation across mobile and tablet at the moment is photo sharing app Instagram. It exemplifies the 3S formula perfectly.

Simple: Take photo, apply filter, share. View photos from other and Like.

Social: API connectivity to your existing social accounts (twitter, Facebook, Flickr etc). Internal user follows and easy activity streams/notifications.

Successful: In the case of Instagram, it has recognised that content, not connections is the primary currency. Users come together through mutual content appreciation as well as existing connections.

I only have one personal experience of content bringing two people together as users in say Facebook (excluding people joining a page). In Instagram it’s a given much like Twitter that if you post interesting images you will attract followers, likewise if you see interesting content you will follow.

Flickr before it managed this social connectivity by content appreciation well as a website, but their app has never quite delivered for me – so much so that Instagram is my workflow tool for day to day photo saving to my Flickr account.

This is where the Simple factor is such a fine balance and increasingly we are finding an attraction to the most controlled and refined in terms of number of tasks the app performs.

Better 3 or 4 focused apps for individual tasks than a one stop does all – especially with the limited real-estate of the smallest mobile and touch devices.

As is said in these parts Keep It Simple Idiot.

Our top 5 3S apps will follow soon.

Yes it has been a while, however being quiet is just a reflection of also being busy. The months have ticked on and Melbourne has passed abruptly from one season to the next.

We have lots of WIP projects across, brand, traditional web and NextWebTM as well as having completed projects for the likes of White Labelled, Melbourne Museum, Brotherhood of St Laurence and The Royals.

We are collaborating with InFrameTV and John Warwicker (Tomato) on an exciting new InFrame project.

Also just round the corner is our 4th birthday which will see the launch of our brand spanking new website.

So while quiet you can rest assured we’ve been busy at F/F.

I’ve been thinking about how this can be useful to both users and publishers – within apps such as Foursquare, that generally work at a macro level.

A question that gets raised is what is a location how micro can we go before it stops being useful, or is it down to the users perceived value of the data.

It’s also becoming a general topic in a number of macro data projects we are working in to establish that macro and micro seem to have different audiences. We generally follow content by a number of authors whom we don’t know but, trust, admire, respect, find interesting etc – we consume their macro data, but is it useful to be able to remove their micro data, or at least turn it off at the highest level. Comparatively we are much more interested and intent on consuming micro data from our closest network members.

In platforms where there is a distinct difference between public and private or restricted level data this becomes a powerful requirement.

How best to manage this is throwing up some useful and interesting opportunities in projects at the moment.

Posted via email from ThinkingOutLoud™

Posted via email from BGreen-Now™

As we sit at the dawn of finger based interaction vs the old mouse method, I’m looking at how to best establish the differences this interactive method causes to the user experience?

One question that initially came up was if using your finger is in some way similar to what users who use a graphics tablet rather than a mouse experience on a standard desktop machine.

One exception being the difference in feedback between smart touch devices and a standard computer OS in that there isn’t really a hover state for the touch device as you are either taped on or not, ie you have clicked or you haven’t.

Note there is in some cases hover activity as if you move you finger away from say a button before releasing then you don’t actually activate that trigger and you will have seen the hover state. Having experimented with this behavior it is interesting that this isn’t intuitive in the way hover with the mouse pointer is – with our finger we click and release instinctively, we almost don’t expect a hover or intermediate piece of feedback to occur. We just tap around until we find the buttons/trigger so to speak.

Well hope to have more in depth notes to share on this subject over the coming days and weeks.

Posted via web from ThinkingOutLoud™

However we will go into what we think about the device so far in some depth in another post – here we want to look at some general observations about content and specifically eMags like Time, GQ and Popular Science.

In short the big thing we noted very early on is there are a few commonalities in usability and interaction like left right finger scrolling to move through articles at a first page and ad level and then vertical (top to bottom) scrolling to read through the actual article. This seems to have been adopted widely and for all of us is familiar from the early Wire videos we saw. However beyond this things get a little messy in that, each mag has it’s own take on deeper interactions – like scrubbing through thumbnails, launching embedded media or launching to a website.

This is interesting for the user as switching from eMag to eMag or between eReaders for your eBooks and then back again involves learning and remembering a number of subtle interaction models for each title or platform. This is a major difference between real print titles and their eVersions. In print we pretty much get to read from front to back or from back to front, a page is a page it’s there in front of us to read or scan.

Now things have got a whole lot more interesting in terms of content layers, relating embedded media and creating a very immersive experience, but they have also got more complicated – how to interact with each and everyone of these experience has it’s own unique twists.

Beyond the interaction itself there is another area of usability that is already creating problems – the design elements themselves. In our experiences so far most titles we have tried have used graphic devices from their print cousins that become misleading in the eVersion. Certain shapes and devices can give the user the impression they are buttons. Round shapes, outlines with rounded corners even some ratings devices have lulled us into tapping with the finger thinking we will see more content, an overlay or another image. Obviously you learn quickly but at the moment we only have hand full of eMags to compare what when we have access to the whole newsstand – again there aren’t really shared conventions for this stuff – in print this has never been an issue, you just look decipher and consume you don’t interact.

Much of this can be explained by the main difference in interaction between our touch devices and our computers – the lack of a rollover or mouse overstate, it’s a touch device not a hover device, so we don’t get intermediate feedback, we can’t test for interaction once we touch the device will do something on release or it won’t, but you don’t really wave your finger around over things like you do the mouse. It’s not say you can’t but it doesn’t feel intuitive to do this. (note this has in the past day been highlighted as one very valid reason why Flash and this device aren’t compatible at this stage – most Flash video players have playback controls that are revealed on hover, these would just not be there if browsing this content on an iPhone OS device – the user would have the impression it was broken. On this count alone Apples decision makes a lot of sense*.)

But in summary it is still early days, some content apps feels they may have been a little rushed to market, but on the whole it’s a really exciting way to consume content we are used to in print – it certainly questions wether a magazine needs a traditional website anymore – could the not just embed the UGC, and extended news content into these new eMags.

Also the opportunities for advertising are also very interesting and in the these early stages are clearly being missed – we haven’t seen anything yet that is engaging at a tactile level, just embedding a video or overlaying some web content is barely the beginning – even the iAd platform seems to rely on the idea of putting the old school micro-site into the ad rather than making the ad itself interesting in a way that is unique to the qualities of a touch device. More opinion on this to come.

Finally our biggest observation is how quickly this moves from a nice personal intimate entertainment device to something you pass around the group like you would a print mag, likewise when you are gaming it’s so easy to share, take turns, and it moves easily from my device to our device.

For anyone doubting that this is not just computing, well it isn’t this is a new device it’s not a smart phone and it’s not a computer it’s not even as Apple say ‘something in between’ it is so much more.

* read more here regarding on Flash on the iPad

Recent Live projects

Fisher-Price® Expert Series website and press campaign
We were engaged by our good friends Gun Communications to produce creative and develop a website for the new Fisher-Price® Expert Series initiative Step by Step Parenting. The campaign provides practical parenting tips to parents from a ongoing series of Fisher-Price® Experts – the first is Kathy Walker. See the website

Phillip Johnson Sustainable Landscape Systems
We have recently completed work on a new interim website for one of Australia’s leading Sustainable Landscape Designers – Phillip Johnson. Working with Gun Communications we have also taken care of creative for print and promotional collateral for the brand, in time for their involvement with this years Open Gardens Scheme. See the website

Selector – architecture, building, design and landscape products
F/F were engaged by our good friends at Reuten to provide the creative direction and logotype for the new project from Architecture Media – Selector.

Brotherhood of St Laurence
Continuing our work for BSL we have implemented updates to their successful Brotherhood Green website including the new Phoenix Fridges campaign.

Just Auto Group websites
Late in 2008 F/F were engaged to work with Just on the development of a new independent classified network for Australian Automotive. The result is a social media and classified crossover network under the Just Auto umbrella. Spanning Cars, Bikes, 4×4 & Outdoors as well as Trucks and Heavy Equipment the network is the leading destination for genuine Auto enthusiasts, leading the way as the real alternative, in this space.

F/F were responsible for product and concept development, information archtitecture, prototyping and creative concepts for the project. This also lead to us developing a re-design for their existing print publications, to bring the whole portfolio of online and offline titles together. See the website

Clive Peeters e-commerce
F/F were a proud member of the White Labelled team that developed the all new Clive Peeters e-commerce website. F/F worked on the project from winning the initial pitch, through IA, creative development, user testing and continues to provide strategic creative direction for the brand online. The project also included a version for Rick Hart in WA and the company website.

The site is already getting plenty of praise across both the digital and retail industries.

Other News
We are working on some concepts for new tablet devices and WordPress integration – anyone interested in collaborating in this area please email us.

We have a number of other web and brand projects on the go with our good friendsThe Royals and Code Create, stay tuned for updates on these in the coming weeks.

This stuff is awesome – it’s part of a show from Harvest by Haroshi called Skate and Destroy currently showing at plsmis gallery in Tokyo, Japan until the 27th Feb. All the artworks have been created with old worn, or snapped, skateboard decks.

So what is causes the gap to keep growing. The answer is what we ‘WANT’. We want so much and we in the west more so than anywhere are fed messages 24 hours a day that blur the line between ‘need’ and ‘want’. You know when your kid comes up and says daddy I need such and such, it’s an age old story – in truth there is very little that we need. Yet even adults tell themselves that you can’t just opt out the world is like this so we must participate, and in our western society the things we ‘want’ quickly get excused as the things we ‘need’.

So with an estimate by the UN of 6800000000 people on the planet in 2009 imagine the difference just 1% of people sacraficing just $100′s would make. In short sacraficing something each year they ‘want’ that costs at least $100 for providing something someone ‘needs’

Well it would raise exactly $1 per person on the planet, at anyone time, no small sum of money $6800000000 and rising. Given that the international poverty line is $1 per day – that’s 6800000000 days of basic life for people in the poorest countries alone.

Now obviously poverty is relative to the cost of living in any given country but even so, people in developed countries need to step and think about these kinds of basic figures – every time we buy a pair of running shoes we don’t need for $200!!

I genuinely think there is a campaign idea in this – and sitting there pondering the idea has made me realise how much more I can do even at a monetary level, how little I really ‘need’ vs how much I think I ‘want’.

1% of can equal $1 per person, by giving $100 what a simple idea!!

At BGreenNow™ and Function/Form this is the kind of action we like to see and support. Well done to Sophie, Caroline and Nat for their efforts and good luck with the Three Trees project.

About Three Trees
Vastly experienced, Three Trees’ founders, Sophie Thomas (thomas.matthews), Caroline Clark (Lovely as a Tree) and Nat Hunter (Airside) will continue to run their respective award-winning design practices while working within the industry to share their collective 25 years’ experience in creating effective sustainable design.

When it comes to sustainable design, there are no excuses. Sooner or later our industry will have to rise to the challenge. As creativity is our business, we should be comfortable with the notion of making our design work that bit harder; creatively and for the environment.

via designweak.com

Interesting project by Steve a Plan-B Studio. To celebrate 10 years in business he is going to donate 10 days a month to a different Non-Profit/NGO organisation each month. He’s offering to do anything from give up his creative expertise to working in the soup kitchen – will be following this one to see how it all goes for him.

If you are a Non-Profit/NGO organisation drop him a mail and see if you can take part steve@plan-bstudio.com

Posted via web from arcd

Creative review articulate some of the views on tablets and the future of magazines we’ve been discussing at Function/Form since the arrival of the iPhone and the future of tablet/touch devices.

Great use of both Google Earth and the power of the cloud to map and monitor deforestation rates around the planet. Nice work

Posted via web from arcd

Really like the simplicity and overall design of this great modular storage system from Housefish in the US. Key is a new highly modular storage system that ships flat and assembles easily- the only tool you need is a hammer. The parts are cleverly joined into an exceptionally strong structure by machined aluminum tenon keys. The wood is sustainably harvested, FSC certified maple or walnut plywood, finished with a zero VOC finish. Key is our effort to redefine what sustainable, green, modern furniture can be. Available with optional sliding powdercoated metal doors in a variety of colours.

Posted via web from arcd

Wishing I was in London to see this exhibition both for Rams work but also the great exhibition design by Bibliothèque.
http://designmuseum.org/exhibitions/2009/2009-dieter-rams

Posted via web from arcd

Nice approach from the tcktcktck COP15 campaign

Posted via web from BGreen-Now™

Could this have gone anymore wrong. What does it tell us about the state of the creative vs client culture we work in when at the final presentation the client asks itself ‘why are we doing this?’.

Posted via web from arcd

nice simple concept by VW – great way to highlight they are a think outside of the box kind of brand, while producing some great viral activity.

After a time, ‘Fun’ can no doubt turn to ‘Novelty’ and we all know ‘Novelty’ easily wears off, but I love the notion of causing changes in behavior with positive actions rather than threats or consequences. So far in the climate change debate, for example, too many messages are about ‘Massive Doom and Gloom Scenarios’ – for one reason or another these messages are rarely a catalyst for change with the masses – subconsciously overwhelmed they all too often continue with behavior as normal. VW may well be onto to something here with their Fun Theory…

Posted via web from BGreen-Now™

Lubalin Now will be a new exhibit in the re-located Herb Lubalin Study Center of Design and Typography. Would love to check that out…

Posted via web from arcd

It’s kind of in the post title really Classic Hip-Hop and LEGO, great concept nicely executed… Would be ice to see done with Playmobil figures.

Great follow up to the Wu-Tang covers piece from a few weeksn back as well.

Posted via web from arcd

Check out the createdemocracy.com event brought to you by the team at SUMO. We been invited to include our ‘Brewster’s Millions’ inspired submissions to the exhibition book.

Posted via web from arcd

Great new initiative to raise awareness to the issues of FAKE design within the product design industry. We are all very aware of this issue when it comes to knock off handbags and sports goods, but think less about it when it comes to ‘reproductions’ of well known products like say an Eames furniture design… This initiative addresses the issues of actual quality vs just the look of the product, by reminding us that the more expensive licensed original contributes more to the designers and brands championing good design, will always have better overall quality of manufacture and lifespan and also supports the retailers who supply the goods.

As they ADA asks – Support original design.

Posted via web from arcd

9/10 October sees the Semi-Permanent design conference heading to Melbourne. As always there is a great mix of international speakers offering up a more colourful mix than many of the more serious design related conferences on the annual calendar.

Speakers for 2009 include:
Grafik Magazine
Collider
Industrial Light & Magic
Three Drunk Monkeys
Jeff Soto
Hammer & Tong

for a full list of details, tickets and more got to the event site

Posted via web from arcd