Presenting the iPad. Coming soon... keyboard, additional screen, mouse and desktop unit.

As the iPad nears it’s launch date, coverage is starting to focus on the content, or lack thereof. It seems that several apps are missing for reasons that seem obvious to professional app producers (like us) and perplexing to others.

The simple reason is space. The iPad can run iPhone apps in a scaled up version. The issue is that (forgetting the pixelation if there is not a HD version of the app) the original apps were designed for a screen substantially smaller. Increasing this proportionally will disporportionally increase white/ negative space in the app. And that is just going to look bad. Real bad. This is one of the reasosn why we are working with clients right now in parallel development of their iPhone and iPad apps.

So let’s put aside personal views on what the iPad means for consumers, Apple and web developers and focus on the facts that it will sell. As a branded app content owner, you (the client) need to make an informed decision regarding the ROI value (even if just PR) of developing an iPad specific version of the app because it is not going to be a straight copy of the iPhone app, though unfortunately, that’s what we can happening right now as people look to save money on a quick port.

Why not also read our developers viewpoint on the iPad.

EDIT***

John Gruber has touched on this same point on his blog.

The Topman trouser shoot did not go to plan.

We’ve been working with Topman on their social media and developed their profiles from a standing start to thriving communities providing rich consumer insight and sales. One of our recent projects for London Fashion Week was identified by Yahoo! as the most viewed and searched show during the period. This is a great example of how involving the community demonstrates real value, providing more impact and exposure than competitors. Independent pat on the backs from brands like Yahoo! are always welcome but we also have our own way of tracking results – just ask about our social rating tool.

The press release is below but we think it is a powerful testament to our social work when our male only campaign trumped unisex campaigns by other brands.

***TOPMAN REIGNS SUPREME ON LONDON FASHION WEEK’S CATWALK***
Men’s Growing Passion for Fashion Revealed By Yahoo! Search

Friday 26th February 2010.  As the curtain falls on London Fashion Week, Yahoo! Search has been looking at who reigned fashion supreme as King or Queen of this season’s catwalk.

The Yahoo! Search data over the last week revealed the Topman Design collection made the greatest impact and buzz.  Proving that consumers still have a passion for high street fashion the show generated the highest search reaction and greatest keyword spike of the entire London Fashion Week.

Usually incorporated into the successful MAN event, this year’s AW2010 showcase is the first time Topman Design stepped out on its own.

Following on the smartly polished heels of Topman’s premium collection, the ever popular Vivienne Westwood and Burberry collections ranked in runner-up positions.

Top 5 London Fashion Week Collections by Popularity

1 Topman Design
2 Vivienne Westwood
3 Burberry
4 Jaeger
5 Jasper Conran

We at Neoco have always liked to embrace new technologies and whenever something new or exciting comes out we naturally get excited. This happened with the iPhone, which we now make applications for, and this is bound to happen with the iPad.

The rumour of an Apple tablet has existed for over a year and now that it’s soon to be reality, developers must look at ways they can create applications or adapt their current ones to best fit the new format. Thankfully, the iPad runs the same operating system and contains the same frameworks as the iPhone and iPod Touch so many developers can immediately get to work. The transition, however, may not be as simple as might be suggested by the fact that they both run iPhone OS.

It runs iPhone applications doesn’t it?

It’s well known that the iPad will run most current iPhone applications. Some won’t work due to hardware differences, some because of changes to the underlying frameworks.

The lack of a camera, which many expected to be included, means that all the fun photo adjusting applications become boring (since you must use an old photo form your library) and augmented reality applications (like those that point you to the nearest Tube stop as you look through the camera) obviously cannot work. GPS seems to only be included in the 3G model, so again like with the iPod Touch, this rules out turn-by-turn navigation programs for many people.

Some changes to iPhone OS 3.2 have curiously broken code from past versions. This is presumably an effort to improve the range of functionality, yet in the past they managed to find ways to do so without forcing developers to re-write their programs. Case in point: the Media Player Framework. It’s not clear whether this is just an iPad issue or whether it will affect all devices upgrading to 3.2, but essentially, the mechanism to play a video won’t work. In the past, the only way to play a video was to launch a full screen player. Now you will be able to play videos in smaller boxes, but you have to do so in a different way. Fortunately even if your application featured heavy use of videos, this should be easy to correct.

Then there is the size. Yes, it can run iPhone applications at their native resolution and, yes, it can scale them up to fit more of the screen, but both forms result in an appalling user experience.

At first it might be tempting to just increase the window size to take up the entire screen and leave the rest of the interface in the much the same form, but it should be pretty obvious that this will not make for an attractive application.

Because of these points and more, it is clear that users will expect developers to make iPad-specific applications. In fact, not just iPad-specific applications, but universal applications that work across the range of Apple mobile devices.

Design and interaction

For all their systems, Apple publish Human Interface Guidelines that describe how they envision all application user interfaces and behaviours. For the iPad they say that a few things need to be different from the iPhone/iPod Touch paradigm:

Orientation

If you spin the device round into any orientation and the interface must follow – this happens in a few iPhone applications, but far from all. Curiously, it sounds as though Numbers form the iWork suite for iPad will only work in landscape.

UI

You shouldn’t just make it bigger. As stated above, with such a large and rich screen this would make your application unappealing on the iPad. But it’s not just a case of aesthetics – Apple want applications to look more like the things they act model from the real world. Their Contacts application, for instance, is modelled after a pocket address book. Naturally this won’t make sense for all applications, but Apple is trying to encourage designers to think slightly beyond the traditional iPhone OS interface elements.

• Downplay controls such as buttons and drop-downs
• Avoid full screen transitions – present information in place where possible to improve the overall visual stability
• Use high quality, physically realistic graphics
• Present lists and their detail views together – e.g. the mailbox list and email preview are on the same screen side-by-side in Mail on the iPad
• Reduce modal interfaces (these interrupt the user flow) – e.g. avoid alert message pop ups by presenting responses inline

Having said that, developers shouldn’t attempt to make desktop-style applications – Apple still maintains that across the iPhone OS family applications should each perform one main task in a clear and concise way. I.e. an application shouldn’t sprout new features – only a new interface – and shouldn’t deal with a file system model of opening and saving files (all changes made to something should always be preserved, and only loss of data such as deletions should ask for explicit confirmation).

Actual Multi-touch

The iPhone and iPod Touch have had multi-touch technology for years, but in very few applications, beyond games, is it used. This is probably because there are few situations where it can be put into practice in a meaningful way on the small screen. With the iPad, Apple is encouraging a more touchy-feely approach to applications.

The crux of this? Lots to redesign for existing applications, lots more thinking/sketching/prototyping before making new applications.

Another worry is the increased fragmentation of hardware and capabilities of the devices an application is expected to run on. Fragmentation is one of the much maligned facts of the Android platform. There are so many Android devices with differing screen sizes and system resources that it is hard for developers to accommodate all forms. The beauty of the iPhone OS family used to be that it was simple but now you have 3 iPhones, 3 iPod Touches and 2 iPads, all with varying capacities. With new models coming out almost yearly, it’s foolish for developers to only focus on the latest systems and cut off the millions who bought one just last year.

What exactly is it for anyway?

All in all, Apple’s choices for the iPad suggest that they’ve carefully thought through what sort of niche the device sits in. The fact that it runs iPhone OS is great for developers as there’s not too much to learn and great for users as it will feel natural to those who have used iPhones or iPod Touches. They haven’t overloaded it with hardware features and focused on the software. Despite being both a hardware and software manufacturer, Apple have explicitly stated that it’s hard to compete in hardware – they will be matched very quickly by others. It’s software where they can claim to stand out above the rest.

It’s a little less clear what this niche is though… The iPad is too big to carry in a pocket / have with you always. In contrast, an iPhone would barely leave your side. The iPad isn’t the most convenient things to hold and you probably can’t use it with one hand or on the move. In contrast, you can type a text message on the iPhone with one hand while walking. Its giant screen will wow you, but will your eyes get tired of the bright light and colours after reading more than a few pages?

So be certain of one thing – the iPhone is going nowhere and will remain popular. But will the iPad succeed? We think so if the developer community can build great applications as they have done for its predecessors.

“Every major browser is about to support the ability to link to a font. That means you can write a bit of CSS, include a URL to a font file, and have your page display with the typography you expect. For designers and developers, this is a significant step forward. No longer will you need to trap your content in images or Flash just to express yourself visually. Pages will be more usable, accessible, and indexable. This is a massive upgrade for the web.”
(http://blog.typekit.com/2009/05/27/introducing-typekit/)

this is all well and good, but what about the legality of this? All fonts are protected by copyright, and very few allow you to link to them via CSS. However, a new application called Typekit (http://typekit.com/) has come onto the scene that claims to have “been working with foundries to develop a consistent web-only font linking license. We’ve built a technology platform that lets us to host both free and commercial fonts in a way that is incredibly fast, smoothes out differences in how browsers handle type, and offers the level of protection that type designers need without resorting to annoying and ineffective DRM.” This is all very exciting and has been causing a bit of a stir in the web design community. As Andy Clarke puts it “Typekit will revolutionize the way that we work with, and purchase typefaces in the same way that iTunes revolutionized the way we buy and listen to music and the App Store opened the doors to millions of iPhone/iPod customers for their developer community.” (http://forabeautifulweb.com/blog/about/why_typekit_will_change_everything)

In the wake of the buzz about typekit, there have been other services that have been popping up promising to provide a similar solution to web typography, and this is going to have a major impact on the way that designers are going to be designing, using and paying for fonts. Typotheque (http://www.typotheque.com/) have put together a bespoke solution handling fonts from their own foundry, and it could be that others follow down this path.

Whilst this per-foundry approach could find an audience, the ideal solution is one like typekit that has a more uniform solution covering multiple foundries. One other solution that is gathering some interest is Fontdeck (http://fontdeck.com/) a solution being put together by Clearleft (http://clearleft.com/) and OmniTi (http://omniti.com/), and with those heavy-hitters behind it, could be the one to watch.

There are still a lot of unanswered questions, such as what kind of pricing model these services will employ, and what kind of reliability and speed we can expect from the service, but With the arrival of these new services the future appears bright for online typography.

Fred Flade – The Private Life of Digital Typography. This event hosted by The Typographic circle tomorrow night (Thursday 20th November @ 7pm) is something we at Neoco are really excited about. It’s a must for anyone interested in typography or digital design. Fred Flade, of digital creative agency De-construct, will be talking about typographic design in the digital space and celebrating exceptional examples around today.

This is an event designed to explore communication through type in an environment with shrinking technical limits and flourishing creativity. The Typographic Circle is also a client of Neoco’s and we’re proud to be responsible for their website and email management. A group of us will be heading down to Knightsbridge for this event and not just for the free drink!

Why not come join us. You can still book a place by emailing info@typocircle.co.uk

Tickets are £15 for non-members, £10 for members, and £5 if you’re lucky enough to still be a student.

Watch this space for our review of the evening’s events…

So I got my magazine debut earlier this week, in none other than the Computer Arts ‘Round table’ discussion panel. The question: ‘What’s the value of a design degree? So, regardless of being the token graduate in the group (despite the fact I graduated over a year ago) I quite enjoyed my 15 minutes of fame. The only mood dampener was the fact that I felt my opinion was only taken into account as that of an ex-student, rather than a professional designer – though perhaps this was to do with the fact that I’m (1) a female, and (2) a junior in a – shock horror – (3) DIGITAL agency. I mean, come on guys, it’s a digital magazine for crying out loud, yet there were lengthy discussions about the negative effect technology has on design education and how students shouldn’t be allowed near a computer (most of which wasn’t printed for obvious reasons).

Computers encourage a generation of ‘mac monkeys?’ No degree worth their salt churns out graduates like that, but in an industry with a rapidly merging skillset there has to be a level, surely? Not many agencies can afford to employ a student that faints at the sight of technology, no matter how great their ideas are. Even in a print agency nothing’s done on paper anymore!

However, as my opinion on this matter wasn’t exactly sought, it was hard to get a word in edge ways! Though I do appreciate the unfortunate pull out quote I got about my old course at the UCA

My tutors would be proud I’m sure (!) or at least they would if they took an interest in digital design. Should I be worried?

duck and cover artwork from the old nuclear bomb warnings... yes, the Government advice was to Duck and Cover

Duck and Cover have recently re-focused their branding, which now has a modern and industrial focus. The website redesign will incorporate this within the look and feel, whilst also implementing a community focused concept that we have developed – building a community and lifestyle around the Duck and Cover brand. The site will be enhanced by a raft of ‘2.0′ functionality including a YouTube channel, Flickr book, Twitter feeds, social bookmarking and more.

The site will re-launch with its new Neoco design in Sept ’08, to coincide with the launch of their autumn/winter range ‘08. We will be sure to keep you posted when it’s live so you can take a look! And keep checking back because this is one site that is really going to evolve.

duck and cover logo - the current one

The pitch win means Neoco will be working with Duck and Cover on seasonal campaigns for the remainder of 2008 and throughout 2009, including the evolution and launch of their Flagship retail store in the next 12 months, delivered by Me, Him & Her. Future projects will include a B2B customer site with stock re-ordering functionality and a B2C viral campaign, so watch this space for more info on these…

I’ve just finished my second year at UCCA Epsom doing Graphics and Benn had done a presentation there about work experience and neoco. The agency looked really impressive, and seeing as it was a digital agency I didn’t think I had a chance to do an internship there, as I have no experience in new media. Nevertheless, I enthusiastically pursued an internship and was fortunate enough to win him over, and here I am, 4 weeks later and writing this blog. All I can say is I’m happy I got to do an internship here and not anywhere else…

Not only are they a nice, funny bunch of people, but they are really good at what they do too. They have taught me a lot during the time I have been here and made it a thoroughly enjoyable experience too. I’ve been active within the design process of real projects and included in brainstorms and client meetings. Not only that, but I haven’t made a cup of tea the whole time I’ve been here. (I bet I will once Benn reads this though!) Do you know how lucky that is? My friend, who is also doing a work placement at another agency, has been shoved in a corner on a Mac and left to her own devices all day. Whether or not I have been of any actual use to them during my time here, I don’t know. But I’m grateful that they recognized my eagerness to learn and that they gave me these chances.

Why don’t all students do work experience in their 2nd year? I suppose that the stereotypical answer is that they are too lazy and lack the initiative to try to find a place. But from my experience, I think that most students find the prospect of an internship quite daunting. It’s a brush with reality and a taste of life after uni which most of them try to avoid for as long as possible. The fact is, I feel that if I had left this opportunity any longer, I would have received a horrible shock and those who put off work experience are fooling themselves.

In my first week, I literally thought I was going to die. It was such a massive shock to the system. Having to get up early everyday, travel into central, work 8 hours and get home around 7.30pm couldn’t be further from the student way of life. I was exhausted. (No wonder so many people go on to do Masters.) If you think that sounds like hard work, the team here work even harder and still have the energy to go out and have fun on a Friday night. I found it got easier as time went by, but I really hate to think how my friends are going to cope when they do work experience. The longer they leave it the harder it is going to be for them, especially as employers are looking out for those who have taken the initiative to do work placements already and are constantly on the lookout for the most talented graduates.

Also, what is the point in doing a degree when so many students come out of university without the necessary skills to be employed into an agency in the first place? Tutors always say that it’s important not to be a ‘Mac monkey’ and it’s all about being creative. But I’ve learnt that, yes creativity is important, but it doesn’t matter how creative you are if you don’t have the skills to be able to implement your ideas then you are going to struggle. I thought that I was quite good on adobe programs before I came here, but I soon realised that I have a lot more to learn before I become anywhere near as good as Mark and LB. We haven’t been equipped with the knowledge to make the transition from education to work and you need to be motivated enough to teach yourself more than the basics.

That’s why it is so important for students to do work experience as soon as possible. University now seems like a cushioned bubble in comparison, and I’m just glad I got this insight now, before I have graduated. Leaving university completely naïve to what it’s really like in the working world, in the design industry, will leave you unaware about your real weaknesses. Students, including me, need to work harder if they realistically want to be of any use to an agency once they finish their degree. I’m just happy that I’ve been fortunate enough to discover this with another year of uni to go, to rectify my mistakes and to improve upon my weaknesses.

All I can hope is that my friends are lucky enough to work in a place like Neoco. It’s great to work somewhere where hard work is rewarded with cinnamon buns, you get to listen to music all day and play rock band at the end of a long week (and they don’t judge you even though you are rubbish at it.) It’s been fun and inspiring, but a real eye-opener too!

P.S. Good luck to Laura in whatever she might do in the future.

On Wednesday night me and a couple of colleagues were given the opportunity to see the ‘most influential graphic designer of today’, talk about his work in Hammersmith. As a mere student/scavenger, I know when I see an offer I can’t refuse/normally afford, so I took my chance.

The three hour seminar (by neoco client Quark XPress & I Love Design) provided us with a glimpse at the ‘chaotic’ world of David Carson and some of his favourite work. Two hours in, after the projector had jammed for the fourth time, the audience didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, although fortunately the majority did the former. It was hard not to chuckle when the old machine was literally throwing slides of his work across the room, and vibrating on the spot. Luckily David saw the funny side too.

David Carson was undoubtedly entertaining and certainly had some great work to show and some interesting stories to tell, even if half of them were about his latest surfing accident in California. He liked to use images of his wounds to wake the audience up, which reminded me of when your at school and you want to show your best mate your biggest scab. He seemed to ‘potter about’ a bit too much though, fiddling with things on his desktop, unsure of where files were and you couldn’t help think it might have been an act. When he did get down to showing his work though it was very interesting to see his how he worked through a project and what his relationships with the clients were like.

At one point he made some refreshingly down to earth comments about having to (to paraphrase) bullshit clients. It was moments like these he connected to the audience at a personal level and won us over a bit. I think it would have been better if it was half as long though, leaving you wanting more rather than wanting to leave (which people had to towards the end).

Despite all the subtle hints of the staff (‘we should probably wrap it up now’), he didn’t want the show to end. When it eventually did, some of the hardcore fans queued up to buy some one-off pieces of work which he signed. I managed to capture him amidst his glory. I’m definitely glad I went and it was a great experience for me. So thanks again to the team down here at Neoco!

“A big part of being a designer is seeing stuff which is around you and incorporating it in your own way in your work…”

“…your family, how you grew up, these are the things which are unique to you, no one else has these things so use them in your work“

“a design shouldn’t necessarily be timeless, the fact that it relates to the culture of it’s time is often what makes a design successful”

David Carson 18th June 2008