Engineers at Realtime Microsystems in San Diego recently moved into a new office. Although this small consultant firm has kept busy over the years without marketing, I created a new website for them just for fun to celebrate the new office.
Does the world need another single page, mobile friendly website with gratuitious animation? Check out http://realtimemicro.com and decide for yourself.
Luke Wroblewski tweeted 3 links about Designing for the thumb:
1. Designing for Thumb Flow features video that shows how you use polar with one thumb.
2. Scott Hurff explains how the “thumb hook” gesture used often in Facebook’s new Paper app might drive the sale of arthritis medication in a few years. He then shares a Thumb Zone template to use when designing for the most comfortable area for one handed touch.
3. Michael Oh demonstrated the Vice Versa UI pattern that bisects the screen diagonally and allows for a more natural thumb motion. This works best for two choices that are the opposite of each other.
Todd Moore’s 2012 book Tap, Move, Shake Turning Your Game Ideas into iPhone & iPad Apps is a great book if you want to build an App for Apple devices. Here are some of the steps that are detailed in this book:
The author shares the code and all of the details to explain how to build a game (in this case- pong) App. In the end of the book, he even shares many of the rejection letters he received from Apple. This book is a handy companion for any new App developer.
For more on Apple App Development see: http://developer.apple.com/library/ios/#referencelibrary/GettingStarted/RoadMapiOS/chapters/Introduction.html
I know its decadent, but there is something special about a great printed piece. There are so many papers, inks and designs and so much that can happen when you skillfully combine them. I love going to the Print Industry Association (PIA) Trade Show in San Diego. This year’s show was a fraction of the size of previous years due to digital, but many of the best paper and printing companies still thankfully remain.
I asked exhibitors to tell me about their favorite marketing pieces or what’s new with their company and the resounding answer was Augmented Reality (AR) Codes. AR codes are like QR codes and they link your printed piece to digital. When you are reading printed material and you see an icon (these can be custom made), you can capture it with your phone, and then your phone displays more information such as a video or even the page where you can purchase the item.
Ricoh called it “Clickable Paper” in their Spark Session talk. SOS Printing is using QR Codes and Augmented Reality with the Printergize app.
Jennifer Lamm at NewPage demonstrated the Layar Augmented Reality app in action.
Watch the video below. It’s one of my favorites because the guy on the cover of the magazine comes to life with Layar.
Eye/Comm focused marketing solutions were one of the first of the exhibitors to mention this technology and they have some links to some great uses of AR in their blog post: Enhance Your Direct Mail Marketing For Better Results. Read this post and be sure to see what Starbucks did, if you haven’t already seen it.
At this trade show you can see and feel the surfaces that are available to print on. All kinds of paper, much not made from trees, wallpaper and even window shades. I met some experts today who I can call upon to get the job done right!
User Experience Design 