Or are kids just getting clever-er.
Not sure where I plucked this from. Benjamin & Caroline?
Putting it to good use...
I was walking down Leonard Street, over in those Shoreditch parts the other day and I noticed this. It's on the side of a building site and I guess it's where people have scrawled various tags and the building firm has painted over them, so it doesn't look abandoned and a bit of a sh*thole.
The thing is, I actually quite like it in a weird way. I wondered if there was an opportunity for the likes of Dulux or similar to team up with someone like Matt from MWM Graphics (who I noticed in France last year - and who's work is stunning) and make something amazing out it... all in one colour but varying tones. That way people would be less inclined to graffiti all over it and the building company would give some people something nice to look at.
Digital Shoreditch - Part I
So, I've already posted part II, and that's because Part I was going up on Inferno's blog, but the agency's website is undergoing a refurb and it's not happening... so I thought I'd put it up here. It's a big old post, so perhaps save it for when you've got a bit of spare time.
@DigiShoreditch
Last week I was fortunate enough to get an invite to the Digital Shoreditch Summit. But first, I’ll tell you a little about what Digital Shoreditch actually is…
Now, if Silicon Valley (& SXSW) is the forefront of digital innovation in the States, then Digital Shoreditch, is based in the aptly named ‘Silicon Roundabout’, and endeavours to be the forefront of Digital creativity.
With this being the first year in existence, I didn’t really know what to expect when attending the Summit on the Friday. The event itself had been running throughout the week with a number of events, workshops and talks, such as Gamification, Digital to Analogue and back again and right down to the ‘Geek Off’ pub quiz - there was something to cater for pretty much everyone’s tastes. More here
Anyway… back to the summit, arriving for 8.30am in Tower Hill was no mean feat, I’d managed to postpone some work duties for the day and head down for the event. (Big thanks to Inferno for their support on that one). The aim of the event itself was to bring together some of digital’s finest talent with the hopes of creating a community that far exceeds the ability of an individual, and it was just that. Talent.
The first thing I should say is that there was so much going on throughout the day that I’m going to talk about the bits that stood out for me.
The morning’s events kicked off with the usual meet & greet, although there was a little twist… make of it what you will, but I always find these things to be a little bit gimmicky but in the spirit of things I contributed…
Networking was of course encouraged and on the way in pictures were taken for the ‘dating wall’ - a wall of mugshots of everyone in attendance that you could arrange convenient times to meet up outside of lectures.
After an introduction from Kam Star (One of the founders of Digital Shoreditch) the event kicked into full swing. There were a number of top speakers from the likes of Matt Hawn fom Last.FM, Macolm Poynton from Sapient Nitro & Michael Acton Smith from MindCandy and many others. Talking about topics from music metrics to Moshi Monsters. The most interesting statement of the morning for me, came from Jon Kingsbury of NESTA when talking about how technology can improve our public services: “1/3 of all CO2 emissions are trying to find a parking space”. Now there’s a problem to solve… the solution: Parkopedia
People were encouraged to make notes and ironic statements on the ‘paper’ table cloths and these were later used as a gallery for all those who participated in the event… and yes, that’s a perfect representation of me right there).
One of the highlights of the day for me was the Pecha Kucha talks, a 6 minute talk on whatever it was that you wanted to share. Some people (Names are not my strong point) spoke about their background and why they were there, but the most interesting talks that stood out for me were ones that were a little bit more personal less ‘preachy’. Of course, these are in no particular order (probably got something to do with my notes more than anything).
First up was Android developer, Kevin McDonagh from Novoda talking about his British Council funded trip to China and the similarities he found in the start-up culture emerging there. A hugely expanding market that has an endless supply of desire.
Andrew Brown from the Leeds Agency: Brass who fell into ‘digital’ as he needed a ‘proper job’ starting out with designing graphics for the likes of the Spectrum ZX, a lovely trip down memory lane.
One of the guys from RJDJ, who introduced us (despite technological failures) to their new iPhone app which is aptly named ‘RJDJ’ and creates personalised music based around gesture controls. My advice would be to use it in private - it’s not the most social app. (you can find out more here). Oh and Theinceptionapp.com – totally mind blowing stuff, you really need to check out for yourself if I’m honest.
Lauren Dyer from Stink Digital cleverly took us through the background of what it was they were about in typical A-Z fashion. Finishing seconds before her time was up. I have never seen anyone speak so fast, that being said it was an amusing ride along the way. Even if I can only remember that ‘Z’ was for Zelous.
One of the girls from Tonic Music – who informed us of the biggest & coolest tracks coming out in the near future… cleverly, everything about them and their latest releases you can find on their FourSquare Brand page.
Chi Hang Li from Special Moves was the probably best presentation of all in my opinion... Less ‘presentation-a-fied’ in short. He spoke about his passion for gaming and that the future success in gaming was down to minimalist controls & simple design. Think about now, with the advancement of technology, how actually complicated & intricate games are becoming, when the likes of the Megadrive only ever relied upon A,B,C & the D-pad. This is perhaps where iPhones are succeeding, by only using pure basic necessities of control. Probably why angry birds is doing so well, eh?
One of the games he mentioned was Cow Clicker, a craze that had exploded through the internet and formed somewhat of a Cult where you customize a cow and click on your it once every X amount of hours to unlock prizes. Although it’s hugely successful, I refuse to check it out, as I tend to have an addictive nature when it comes to games.
After Pecha Kucha, it was back to the main room, where all the tables had been moved round, (which honestly confused the hell out of me) for some hardcore presentations from some of the top industry folk.
First up was Vassilios Alexiou from Less Rain - who spoke about their latest project for Landrover called Being Henry, a high-end finished, almost independent film-style piecem which helped you make the decisions to spec out your perfect Range Rover. A lovely visual piece and experience to play with but a lot of hard work with a relatively low pay off. He also spoke about one of their earlier projects, Vandal Squad, which, although initially fuelled and created by Less Rain has since been passed on and now become a fully self-sustaining project where Graffiti is championed and documented online.
Jon Andrews, Creative Technologist from BBH London – who mainly likes to fiddle around with things and make them work in new and exciting ways such as prototyping, hacking and ultimately playing.
His main point was that there is three ways technology can evolve… You can be the first to create it, enhance an existing technology and making it better or combining technologies to make some new & unique. In his opinion the most exciting and biggest opportunities lay in pushing the boundaries of existing tech rather than jumping on the bandwagon of emerging technology.
Gavin Gordon-Rogers, Interactive Creative Director at W+K London – who I seemed to make lots of notes about, amusingly likened the digital word to the Wild West. He said the digital industry is often viewed as the Frontier or the Gold Rush to make a quick buck. This is how he broke it down:
The Natives or Indians… These are the Super Geeks, the likes of the guy who created chatroulette, ultimately, the code whiz-kids).
The Outlaws… These are the guys who are frowned upon, using tech for tech’s sake. One reference he gave was the guys who created ‘Asianate Youself’
The Sherif… The Awards bodies & trade press, trying to sift out ‘The good’ from the Outlaws.
The Bounty Hunters… The Freelancers, have the power to make or break everything you do, but at a price.
The Railroad Tycoons… The likes of Nestle & Facebook are they really out there to make interesting stuff and push the boundaries or to earn their money destroying everything in their wake and getting out whilst the going’s good?
The Saloon Girls… The Ad Agencies, who’s job it is to service the clients with creative nourishment.
Pretty amusing analogy, I’m sure you’ll agree. It made me smile at least. Gavin then went on to explain 5 key points that we should adhere to in order to make sure the creative people don’t turn into a mindless drones, that pursue a 9-5. (My words, not his).
5. Think Zombie – Have no fear, lust for brains (or learning), utter simplicity Zombie’s are single-minded and focused on what their objective is.
4. Be a Mutant Farmer – Experiment with what you’ve got. Put in the Hard work of a farmer, it’s hard work but it pays off. Don’t forget to rotate your crops, so they don’t grow stale.
3. Will Anyone give a shit? You need to seduce your audience into wanting to be involved. Our role is the role of an actor, taking on many roles, the modern day Laurence Oliviere. Make people give a shit.
2. Really? – Will anyone ACTUALLY give a shit? Be honest and truthful to yourself.
1. GBH. – Give Bountiful Haribo, apparently giving Haribo to clients really makes a difference… I don’t know if this is true, but maybe you should try it.
Scott Seaborn, Head of Mobile stuff at Ogilvy. He gave us an insight into how the internet might look in 2020. Yes, as you can imagine, the focus was on Hyper-connected technology that identifies your personal interests, creating a ‘vapour frame’ that only showed users what they want to see and nothing else. In my opinion, you could argue that you’d never discover anything new, but then again, I’m sure technology would have a way around that anyway!
After the conference had finished it was off to Hoxton Bar & Grill for a little bit of post-conference chill-laxing, couple of bands and the odd free drink. Needless to say, there’s not much to talk about there. ;-) I’m sure Digital Shoreditch will go on to bigger and greater things, all I would say is watch this space… and make sure your diary is free in early May next year.
Oh, and feel free to check out a commentary on the event by following @DigiShoreditch ‘s twitter and their hashtag dsldn
@DigiShoreditch
Last week I was fortunate enough to get an invite to the Digital Shoreditch Summit. But first, I’ll tell you a little about what Digital Shoreditch actually is…
Now, if Silicon Valley (& SXSW) is the forefront of digital innovation in the States, then Digital Shoreditch, is based in the aptly named ‘Silicon Roundabout’, and endeavours to be the forefront of Digital creativity.
With this being the first year in existence, I didn’t really know what to expect when attending the Summit on the Friday. The event itself had been running throughout the week with a number of events, workshops and talks, such as Gamification, Digital to Analogue and back again and right down to the ‘Geek Off’ pub quiz - there was something to cater for pretty much everyone’s tastes. More here
Anyway… back to the summit, arriving for 8.30am in Tower Hill was no mean feat, I’d managed to postpone some work duties for the day and head down for the event. (Big thanks to Inferno for their support on that one). The aim of the event itself was to bring together some of digital’s finest talent with the hopes of creating a community that far exceeds the ability of an individual, and it was just that. Talent.
The first thing I should say is that there was so much going on throughout the day that I’m going to talk about the bits that stood out for me.
The morning’s events kicked off with the usual meet & greet, although there was a little twist… make of it what you will, but I always find these things to be a little bit gimmicky but in the spirit of things I contributed…
Networking was of course encouraged and on the way in pictures were taken for the ‘dating wall’ - a wall of mugshots of everyone in attendance that you could arrange convenient times to meet up outside of lectures.
After an introduction from Kam Star (One of the founders of Digital Shoreditch) the event kicked into full swing. There were a number of top speakers from the likes of Matt Hawn fom Last.FM, Macolm Poynton from Sapient Nitro & Michael Acton Smith from MindCandy and many others. Talking about topics from music metrics to Moshi Monsters. The most interesting statement of the morning for me, came from Jon Kingsbury of NESTA when talking about how technology can improve our public services: “1/3 of all CO2 emissions are trying to find a parking space”. Now there’s a problem to solve… the solution: Parkopedia
People were encouraged to make notes and ironic statements on the ‘paper’ table cloths and these were later used as a gallery for all those who participated in the event… and yes, that’s a perfect representation of me right there).
First up was Android developer, Kevin McDonagh from Novoda talking about his British Council funded trip to China and the similarities he found in the start-up culture emerging there. A hugely expanding market that has an endless supply of desire.
Andrew Brown from the Leeds Agency: Brass who fell into ‘digital’ as he needed a ‘proper job’ starting out with designing graphics for the likes of the Spectrum ZX, a lovely trip down memory lane.
One of the guys from RJDJ, who introduced us (despite technological failures) to their new iPhone app which is aptly named ‘RJDJ’ and creates personalised music based around gesture controls. My advice would be to use it in private - it’s not the most social app. (you can find out more here). Oh and Theinceptionapp.com – totally mind blowing stuff, you really need to check out for yourself if I’m honest.
Lauren Dyer from Stink Digital cleverly took us through the background of what it was they were about in typical A-Z fashion. Finishing seconds before her time was up. I have never seen anyone speak so fast, that being said it was an amusing ride along the way. Even if I can only remember that ‘Z’ was for Zelous.
One of the girls from Tonic Music – who informed us of the biggest & coolest tracks coming out in the near future… cleverly, everything about them and their latest releases you can find on their FourSquare Brand page.
Chi Hang Li from Special Moves was the probably best presentation of all in my opinion... Less ‘presentation-a-fied’ in short. He spoke about his passion for gaming and that the future success in gaming was down to minimalist controls & simple design. Think about now, with the advancement of technology, how actually complicated & intricate games are becoming, when the likes of the Megadrive only ever relied upon A,B,C & the D-pad. This is perhaps where iPhones are succeeding, by only using pure basic necessities of control. Probably why angry birds is doing so well, eh?
One of the games he mentioned was Cow Clicker, a craze that had exploded through the internet and formed somewhat of a Cult where you customize a cow and click on your it once every X amount of hours to unlock prizes. Although it’s hugely successful, I refuse to check it out, as I tend to have an addictive nature when it comes to games.
After Pecha Kucha, it was back to the main room, where all the tables had been moved round, (which honestly confused the hell out of me) for some hardcore presentations from some of the top industry folk.
First up was Vassilios Alexiou from Less Rain - who spoke about their latest project for Landrover called Being Henry, a high-end finished, almost independent film-style piecem which helped you make the decisions to spec out your perfect Range Rover. A lovely visual piece and experience to play with but a lot of hard work with a relatively low pay off. He also spoke about one of their earlier projects, Vandal Squad, which, although initially fuelled and created by Less Rain has since been passed on and now become a fully self-sustaining project where Graffiti is championed and documented online.
Jon Andrews, Creative Technologist from BBH London – who mainly likes to fiddle around with things and make them work in new and exciting ways such as prototyping, hacking and ultimately playing.
His main point was that there is three ways technology can evolve… You can be the first to create it, enhance an existing technology and making it better or combining technologies to make some new & unique. In his opinion the most exciting and biggest opportunities lay in pushing the boundaries of existing tech rather than jumping on the bandwagon of emerging technology.
Gavin Gordon-Rogers, Interactive Creative Director at W+K London – who I seemed to make lots of notes about, amusingly likened the digital word to the Wild West. He said the digital industry is often viewed as the Frontier or the Gold Rush to make a quick buck. This is how he broke it down:
The Natives or Indians… These are the Super Geeks, the likes of the guy who created chatroulette, ultimately, the code whiz-kids).
The Outlaws… These are the guys who are frowned upon, using tech for tech’s sake. One reference he gave was the guys who created ‘Asianate Youself’
The Sherif… The Awards bodies & trade press, trying to sift out ‘The good’ from the Outlaws.
The Bounty Hunters… The Freelancers, have the power to make or break everything you do, but at a price.
The Railroad Tycoons… The likes of Nestle & Facebook are they really out there to make interesting stuff and push the boundaries or to earn their money destroying everything in their wake and getting out whilst the going’s good?
The Saloon Girls… The Ad Agencies, who’s job it is to service the clients with creative nourishment.
Pretty amusing analogy, I’m sure you’ll agree. It made me smile at least. Gavin then went on to explain 5 key points that we should adhere to in order to make sure the creative people don’t turn into a mindless drones, that pursue a 9-5. (My words, not his).
5. Think Zombie – Have no fear, lust for brains (or learning), utter simplicity Zombie’s are single-minded and focused on what their objective is.
4. Be a Mutant Farmer – Experiment with what you’ve got. Put in the Hard work of a farmer, it’s hard work but it pays off. Don’t forget to rotate your crops, so they don’t grow stale.
3. Will Anyone give a shit? You need to seduce your audience into wanting to be involved. Our role is the role of an actor, taking on many roles, the modern day Laurence Oliviere. Make people give a shit.
2. Really? – Will anyone ACTUALLY give a shit? Be honest and truthful to yourself.
1. GBH. – Give Bountiful Haribo, apparently giving Haribo to clients really makes a difference… I don’t know if this is true, but maybe you should try it.
Scott Seaborn, Head of Mobile stuff at Ogilvy. He gave us an insight into how the internet might look in 2020. Yes, as you can imagine, the focus was on Hyper-connected technology that identifies your personal interests, creating a ‘vapour frame’ that only showed users what they want to see and nothing else. In my opinion, you could argue that you’d never discover anything new, but then again, I’m sure technology would have a way around that anyway!
After the conference had finished it was off to Hoxton Bar & Grill for a little bit of post-conference chill-laxing, couple of bands and the odd free drink. Needless to say, there’s not much to talk about there. ;-) I’m sure Digital Shoreditch will go on to bigger and greater things, all I would say is watch this space… and make sure your diary is free in early May next year.
Oh, and feel free to check out a commentary on the event by following @DigiShoreditch ‘s twitter and their hashtag dsldn
Young Creative Council...
I've just polished off the Weekly Score for the Young Creative Council... over on the site, featuring a legend of AdLand's past and present Mr. George Lois... hop over here and enjoy some wise words of creative controversy ...and er, wisdom.
Digital Shoreditch - Part II
I realised I haven't posted part one up yet, but I'll get around to that.
A couple of weekends ago I went to the 'Digital to Analogue and Back again' workshop put on my London Metropolitan University (& Digital Shoreditch)...
The day included playing with 3D printers (all the rage right now) - printing in 3D, scanning objects in 3D and messing around with some digital imaging software. I'm going to completely geek out now, but I thought this session was wicked, having studied product design before advertising, I love seeing objects materialise into 3D from designs on scraps of paper...
3D Printing.
The first about this that amazed me was the level of detail that you can print to, this first example was printed using some 3D modelling software like Maya to create the object and then your standard but not an industrial sized 3D printer. The printer then uses a layering technique much like a normal printer... but with layers of glue and a plaster like dust... when put together they form the desired objects... if you look close enough you can see each individual layer on the objects.
I was stunned by this stuff, I thought 3D was fairly primitive, but this just blew me away. The first couple of images were created in Maya but look as if it's been plucked from the depths of the ocean somewhere. Anyone want to join me in a business producing rare 'fake' coral? The level of detail is phenomenal.
It's also possible to create objects a lot quicker but with a lower level of detail using styrofoam, take this Ostrich head for example, having played, sanded and crafted this stuff myself, it's quite nice to know that a 3D printer can do most of the hard work for you and just leave a little bit of sanding for you to do at the backend.
There are a range of viewing types, black and white, neutral palettes and this actually quite cool multi-colour platform (not the technical term) that allows you to see the contours and reflection of light from the face. Facebook profile picture... I think so.
A couple of weekends ago I went to the 'Digital to Analogue and Back again' workshop put on my London Metropolitan University (& Digital Shoreditch)...
The day included playing with 3D printers (all the rage right now) - printing in 3D, scanning objects in 3D and messing around with some digital imaging software. I'm going to completely geek out now, but I thought this session was wicked, having studied product design before advertising, I love seeing objects materialise into 3D from designs on scraps of paper...
3D Printing.
The first about this that amazed me was the level of detail that you can print to, this first example was printed using some 3D modelling software like Maya to create the object and then your standard but not an industrial sized 3D printer. The printer then uses a layering technique much like a normal printer... but with layers of glue and a plaster like dust... when put together they form the desired objects... if you look close enough you can see each individual layer on the objects.
I was stunned by this stuff, I thought 3D was fairly primitive, but this just blew me away. The first couple of images were created in Maya but look as if it's been plucked from the depths of the ocean somewhere. Anyone want to join me in a business producing rare 'fake' coral? The level of detail is phenomenal.
It's also possible to make some more solid object that aren't so fragile, take this key door stop for example. Talking to one of the developers this stuff does take a long time to print... From what I could gather something like this could take up to 25 hours for this one object... and that's with no idea of the costs... practical, perhaps not, cool... definitely.
It's also possible to create objects a lot quicker but with a lower level of detail using styrofoam, take this Ostrich head for example, having played, sanded and crafted this stuff myself, it's quite nice to know that a 3D printer can do most of the hard work for you and just leave a little bit of sanding for you to do at the backend.
3D Scanning & Digital Image Mapping.
The process was really quite simple, you can build a basic rig for under £500 but, the price does reflect the quality, it's built from a projector and a laser pointer device of some description, I'm not up on the tech but it really was quite basic, you then needed a convertor to rig and map the imaging... don't ask me about that either.
Once you've got the gear, you just sit down, it's like having your photo taken, but with a REALLY REALLY bright flash that stays on for a couple of seconds... The more still you stay the better quality the render.
The technology finds it quite difficult to map dark areas and reflective surfaces hence why there are some loose areas that end up looking quite 'bitty'. To be honest I quite liked this effect and ended up playing with some more styles. It gives the effect of the sandman, as if you were being blown away like little particles like dust.
The interesting thing is that once the image is digitalised you can pan round it, as you can see I became a little snap happy. It literally shoots from two angles and maps (in this case) a face and chops it up like and grip before using the reference points to render it on screen.
...and in case you're wondering, this is what the inside of my face looks like...
There are a range of viewing types, black and white, neutral palettes and this actually quite cool multi-colour platform (not the technical term) that allows you to see the contours and reflection of light from the face. Facebook profile picture... I think so.
Here's a couple of shots of Dan, one of my mates, who has a face way more suitable for 3D Scanning... apparently. He can sit still for longer than me. Check out his eyes in the shot below... Dead to the world.
Sony World Photographer's Exhibition
The world amateur photography exhibition sponsored by Sony. It's on until the 22nd of May (Which is this weekend, I think).
It's a bit of a steep £7.50 if you're not a student or an old person... I'd give it a 6/10, but check it out if you're a photography fan. It it was a £5 it may have got a 7/10. I'm not really selling it am I? There's a couple of really nice shots, but I'm not going to ruin it for you...
Ironically, I managed to grab a couple of shots, before I was told I wasn't allowed to take photos at a photography exhibition.
This was the coolest thing there, the installation sponsored by Sony was a range of offset TV brought together as a single canvas depicting some of the work.
Oh and it's at Somerset House.
It's a bit of a steep £7.50 if you're not a student or an old person... I'd give it a 6/10, but check it out if you're a photography fan. It it was a £5 it may have got a 7/10. I'm not really selling it am I? There's a couple of really nice shots, but I'm not going to ruin it for you...
Ironically, I managed to grab a couple of shots, before I was told I wasn't allowed to take photos at a photography exhibition.
This was the coolest thing there, the installation sponsored by Sony was a range of offset TV brought together as a single canvas depicting some of the work.
Oh and it's at Somerset House.
The World is full of interesting...
Thanks to the Likes of Aaron Koblin & Tom Uglow... And maybe one day... me.
(Click the Image for possible one of the best 'I'm being brain-dead moments'.
.
Desktop Interesting...
My desktop was due for an upgrade, this is becoming a monthly thing.
So here's a little scribble to make my desktop a little more manageable.
Welcome to the Rhino Tree.
Those files you're always dragging off of the internet now have a role, each one is a new leaf.
(Click the image for a decent view)
Ping me a comment if you fancy one.
So here's a little scribble to make my desktop a little more manageable.
Welcome to the Rhino Tree.
(Click the image for a decent view)
Ping me a comment if you fancy one.
Dippy Eggs...
As you may already know, I have an unhealthy appetite for Cadbury's Creme Eggs, so each easter I try and do something quirky/interesting with the little egg, so here's a little something from the lady & I.
Dippy Dippy Soldiers!
Here's a little plug for her new-ish blog.
Mind-melt...
So many things I needed to blog about this week, I found myself, not actually blogging about any of them.
I will address this in due course, but in the meantime here's a photo of the lady and I, busy being famous on the Raybans website.
Thanks to a friend, Tom, for pointing us out in a truly subtle style.
I will address this in due course, but in the meantime here's a photo of the lady and I, busy being famous on the Raybans website.
Thanks to a friend, Tom, for pointing us out in a truly subtle style.
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