DigitalAgency

A review of the Vodafone Netbook:

A couple of months ago, I blogged about the vodafoneliveguy project created by Dare for (not unsurprisingly, er), vodafone.

If you don't know the back-story, vodafone demonstrated the go-anywhere, super-portable aspects of the Dell Mini 9 Netbook by sending a chap called 'vodafoneliveguy' out and about to 11 cities across the UK.

Anybody in these cities who sussed out where he was, deduced from clues left in real time online via Twitter, YouTube, his blog etc, could win a Netbook by tracking him down and challenging him f2f.

I was determined to be the first person in the UK to track him down, as he kicked off his nationwide tour in Edinburgh.

How did I get to him first?

I cheated of course.

Sending him a DM via Twitter inviting him for a coffee at Edinburgh's Social Media HQ; Centotre.

Incidentally, I also excluded myself from winning a Netbook, I hasten to add, as I wasn't playing by the rules. (Nothing new there then. Ed.)

He sportingly turned up for a chat, along with Alastair from Dare who was riding shotgun for vodafoneliveguy throughout the trip.

And what a good chat it was, I was particularly interested in the marketing strategy, the planning and creative that had gone into the project, how many in the team on the road and back at base, etc. (Full credits here.)

I also shared a few names of pals in other cities who might give them 'social support' in spreading the word, if needed. (Shout out here to @ewanmcintosh, @realfreshtv, @martinsfp, @JohnBradford.)

Once vflg had hit the road to other cities I tracked, searched, shared, blogged and tweeted the story; for a couple of reasons:

1. To support the cause, I really did buy into the idea. (Altruism.)
2: I thought at the end of it, there might be some recognition of my contribution from a brand to a blogger. (Self-Interest-ism.)

And guess what?

Over Christmas, I got a call from Dare asking me what my house address was.

They wanted to thank me for the support during the campaign and were sending me a Netbook.

"Wooooo, Flippin' Hooooo!"

(I know this is geekily sad in the extreme, but I couldn't resist doing a flickr unboxing set.)

Arriving all gleamy, shiny and new early in the New Year, I couldn't believe my luck, (or, if you will and that's the way your mind works; my Machiavellian genius.) .

Result.

(Incidentally, over the course of the campaign, I also got a massive spike in traffic to my blog, and more than a fair few new Twitter followers. = Result. + Result. Even had there been no Netbook swag in the pipeline.)

So what do I think about the Netbook, having given it a fairly rigorous work-out in the 10 days since first opening the lid?

(Full and frank disclosure: I am a Mac nut.)

Well, it it's small and hellish portable that's true. Very light, runs windows XP, has Bluetooth, wi-fi and of course the built-in vodafone mobile broadband.

How have I used it? Well, I've pretty much taken it everywhere, giving my MacBook Pro a rest for a while.

I was out shooting some digital stuff yesterday, hooking my camera up to the Netbook to get the shots online.

A few recent train journeys where considerably enhanced by having the NB to hand.

It even fits in the back of my cycle jersey to check Google maps, (and tweet of course), while out riding my bike. (Mainly there though for posing points/bragging rights with other roadies.)

It's dinky size is also a heck of a conversation starter in wi-fi spots.

And in some ways, it's a more practical alt to my iPhone, which is my usual mobile internet device du jour.

For my size hands and erratic typing style, I did/do make quite a few typos when using the keyboard, but as in many areas of my life I do need to s-l-o-w down, and I'm sure my accuracy will improve.

The only real bad news for and from me, (and something that has nothing to do with the Dell hardware or vodafone's connectivity), is that, of course, this little puppy runs on Microsoft Windows.

Just a personal thing, if you are cool with the Microsoft OS, and software, (as over 90% of the planet is, I hasten to add), no problem.

But me, I'm a Mac I'm afraid.

And find XP, er, wanting.

However even this is no biggie, as I tend to run most of my online life via the cloud, so once the browsers up and running, (I installed FireFox), I'm a happy bunny.

Then the only thing to remind me it's a windows bit of kit is that I keep forgetting where the @ symbol is on the keyboard.

So overall, does the Netbook float my boat: Definitely.

Would I pay my own money to have one: Very probably.

Did I actually pay for this one: No.

Fitting perfectly between my mobile phone, and 15" laptop, it's a heck of a handy addition to my Social Media armoury.

So thank you Vodafone. And thank you Dare.

My blogging desk:

This morning, Iain asked in a post, about the desks we blog at.

This is mine.

Wanted to get it posted early as I'm out most of the day, but will post fuller report later.

The shot below is demonstrates the power of cropping, my desk area is in a mass of wires, papers, files and boxes etc, but the good old crop tool comes to the rescue.

Pebble Typeface:

(Update:Thanks Nev for pointing out that I'd actually mis-spelt my own company name and missed an 'a' in an earlier version posted. Er, who am I? Where am I? What does it all mean? Doh!)

This is what 'Digitalagency' looks like in The Brighton Typeface.

It's from a very interesting character called Tom.

On Summer 2004, Tom found a pebble on Brighton beach in the shape of the letter B, and set to finding the rest of the alphabet.

You can noodle around and generate your own words and headlines in the typeface here:

Very nice, as is the interface to Tom's site, and indeed his observations and photographs of MOT stations, where he flips the photographs to read TOM instead of MOT.

via: Coudal.

BONUS POINTS:

What does this say?:

Answer:

What it is to be a designer:

Ben of Noisy Decent Graphics has written a terrific post about being a designer.

As a copywriter, I wish I'd written it.

As a blogger I wish I'd written it. The chronological use of photography makes the post and the content flow really well. To my mind, it's kind of a mashup of a well-informed presentation with a twist of Pecha Kucha.

And it's a great post to follow up this earlier one which is also terrifically good.

Motorway map:

(Click on image for larger version in pop-up.)

This is a nice thought.

A reworking of the UK's motorway system in the style of Harry Beck's iconic London Underground maps.

via: Coudal, via ThingsMagazine.

A poster that asks questions:

BoingBoing pointed out this terrific poster from EbOY.

A nice, graphic, celebration of some of the great Web 2.0 brands.

But as I was looking at it, a few questions popped into my head.

If I worked in an ad agency, or a design company, or was a Marketing Director, I'd probably be aware of quite a few of the brands here.

And presumably many of these people have bought into the idea that online is going gangbusters, and that close professional attention should be paid to the tools, opportunities and developments that are coming online every day.

But how many marketing directors read blogs on a regular basis? How many have set up Google alerts with their brand name punched in and those of their competitors? Do they use rss habitually? Have they tried wandering around SecondLife? Or are they happy enough just to read about it in The Economist?

How many designers have a myspace page, or a Flickr account. (And if so do they do enough with it?)

How many ad agency creatives, or new business execs keep a del.icio.us account, and share it throughout the agency. (How many actually know what del.icio.us is?)

My point is, that many people in Marketing, Design and Advertising, buy into the idea of online revolution. They genuinely see it as the 'big-deal' that it is.

But how many truly spend enough time and effort noodling around these Web 2.0 brands, how many set up any number of free accounts to learn about what's happening and is possible. How many do the 'homework' required to really to get to grips with what's going on?

My guess is not nearly enough.

And if that's true, then how can they possibly advise clients on the opportunities of Web 2.0, if they aren't too clued up or immersed in it themselves?

Obviously more commitment, education and experimentation is called for from ad agencies, design companies and marketing departments.

Some, of course are already getting stuck in and it's paying off. Most however, still seem to be still sitting on their hands, waiting for the 'other guys' to make the first move.

Pixelnotes:

Designer Duncan Wilson takes post-it notes to a new level with this great wallpaper idea. (Or is it a huge note-pad idea?)

Consisting of four layers of varying grey tones, with a vibrant bottom sheet, the wallpaper has post-it note sizes perforations so you'll never be stuck for a bit of paper again. The more notes you make the more the pixelated look of your office walls change.

Created on collaboration with Sirkka Hammer you can see more of Duncan's work here.

Update: Thanks to Pavel of Whitespace who commented and brought to my attention a really nice post-it note stop-frame animation film here:

Basic design tips:

(Illustration by Jeremyville.)

I realise I'm leaving myself open to criticism of the 'Granny sucking eggs' variety, and to post about;  '50 tips for designers' might be so, like, yesterday.

But as a writer interested in design, I still find this basic stuff pretty interesting.

ComputerArts has a good article of 50 do's and don'ts for designers. (Suggested by designers themselves.)

In truth, it's stuff about the creative process that most experienced designers will already know by heart, and so, it's probably more useful for younger talent coming on stream.

However, no harm in anyone being reminded from time to time of the basics. (I wish someone had drilled the habit of Cmd+Save into my workflow technique years ago. Remember the days? When Mac's used to crash 3 times a day. How easily we forget.)

And there are a few things in the list copywriters, planners and even account men might benefit from reading.

Not least if it flags up to them that designer's don't just 'crack the brief' because they are good or have some mystical abilty to 'deliver the goods' out of thin air, but rather that the solution is often arrived at only after masses of hard graft. Where a gazillion questions have been asked, many routes/thoughts have been explored/discarded, or a some good rules/disciplines have been followed. (Rules which of course, on occasion you can break. But some good advice missing from the list is that it's probably best to only break the rules, when you know what they are.)

So, all in all, a good piece from ComputerArts and well worth a read.

And for younger, (and indeed older) designers, there's more good stuff to be found in this series of excellent video interviews Hillman Curtis shot for adobe with luminaries such as Milton Glaser, Mark Romanek, Paula Scher and Stefan Sagmeister.

Being a Kraut in Britain.

(My Missus has hijacked the blog today, to post her thoughts on a typography presentation she attended the other night. Wisely, I stand aside, and give her the floor.)



The headline to this post are his words, not mine. (Erik Spiekermann that is.)

This was how he opened his presentation on Tuesday night at the Glasgow leg of the ISTD’s Kern Up The Volume tour.

I (and my Whitespace colleagues) only got to hear of this last week as we were huddled around the staff dining table eating lunch and reading Design Week. So I can only assume that that was also the case for the scores of others in the Scottish design community who failed to turn out for the event. Either that or the fact that Barca were playing Chelsea on TV.

Which is a shame, not least because such a big hitter in the world of type and type design as Prof Erik deserves to have a better hearing, but because we can’t expect speakers to come and talk to half empty halls if we don’t support them. Everyone complains that the best gigs are always in London – on last nights evidence, I can understand why.

Any road (I’m from Lancashire), it was a pretty good evening, albeit quite long, but as there were three spiekers, it helped the pace along.

First up was Graham Walker, Creative Director from Graphic Partners* who did a clean, simple presentation showcasing some of the clean, simple design work for which he has (deservedly) won many awards.

After him came Colin Raeburn from Glasgow’s Graphical House. He showed some nice animation work done for the BBC but also an ad for ESPC which I have to say annoyed the hell out of me the first time I saw it. Why is there a French soundtrack? And why the choice of Copperplate Gothic? Oh, because Edinburgh has lots of brass plaques I guess.

After a short but welcome beer break, we were treated to the very entertaining Mr Spiekermann. He sort of reminds me of an older (maybe he’s not), slighter, less scary John Malkovich. And he is funny – yes a funny German! Now I know that he will not mind me saying that, because one thing that Erik Spiekermann does do is take the mickey** out of himself. And he is not afraid to admit, that in most cases, almost all the work he has ever done as come about as a result of his working in collaboration with colleagues. People who can take his not very good (again, his words) sketches and turn them into something wonderful.

As he said, and something with which I wholeheartedly agree and indeed abide by, ‘always employ people who are better than you’.

At one point of his talk I got all nostalgic when he referred to the old German (Berthold) typesetting methods using glass grids and I instantly thought of the large black case-bound type volumes which to us typographers, were like bibles.

Sadly, I seem to remember them being used to prop up mac screens in a later life. Ah well.

The company of which Erik is now a director, www.uniteddesigners.com, have just moved into new offices in Berlin. His explanation of what they wanted in terms of a workplace, resonated particularly closely with myself and what we were looking for when Whitespace moved into it’s new home in Edinburgh’s Randolph Place.

He said they wanted a space where no-one was behind closed doors, where people had to walk through and interact with other people’s spaces to get to the loo or go to the coffee machine. (And apparently, their’s is the best coffee in town.)

As it turns out, the office space they have created looks quite similar to ours. I rather liked that.

At the end of the talk I managed to wangle a couple of business cards (see below), but didn’t get the opportunity to ask him what the relevance of the numbers are. Ideas anyone? I guess I could just email him to ask.

Anyway, I hope the good people of Manchester turned out in their droves the night after and subsequent nights in Bristol and London to support these people who are willing to tour the country (and a foreign one to boot – or should that be Das Boot), sharing their knowledge and educating us along the way.

*I have since found out that Graham Walker handed his notice in that day.

** ‘Taking the mickey’ not understood by my Polish colleague Pavel (himself a very good designer)

Carol Coulter is Design Director of Whitespace based in Edinburgh.

UPDATE: Saturday 04 November:

Erik replies about the Business card design:

From: erik spiekermann|udn <erik@uniteddesigners.com>
Date: Sat, 4 Nov 2006 00:39:20 +0000
To: Carol Coulter <carol@whitespacers.com>
Subject: Re: Thank you

On 03.11.2006, at 09:15, Carol Coulter wrote:

I’d just like to ask you what the significance of the numerals are
on the front....
Erik replies:
We had a large poster printed with 256 rectangles on it to represent
the 256 "websafe" colours (that is  2 to the power of 8, or 16 by
16). Every rectangle has one number out of 256 and the hexcode number
for that colour’s RGB value. In my case that is quite a bit of Red
(FF would have been 100%, i.e. a value of 256), and no Green and no
Blue. WE print the cards on the front and just cut them out of the
large sheet.

Thanks for the write up.

best from London (exhausted)

e