Archive for ‘Design

5 Takeaways from re:build 2011

Posted by Justin Shimp
Aug
2
2011

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Filed Under: Culture Design Development

Last Friday I attended re:build 2011, which took place in Indianapolis. The stage was aptly located right below a basketball goal (Hoosiers, anyone?). I wasn’t too sure what to expect but I was blown away by every speaker and the attendees. The speakers were intelligent and captivating and I walked away super inspired with ideas to bring back to SmallBox.

Here were 5 of my takeaways

1. We shape the future of the web.
Faruk Ates brought up the topic of how designers are the sole architects of how the web will be in future. It is up to those of us using the web to continually push boundaries and evolve the web by experimenting with new technologies and devices. Technology is a field of lifelong learning, and you can easily fall behind. But the rewards for keeping up to date are priceless, as we are shaping the future interactions of our children and our children’s children. It’s a truly marvelous privilege when you shift your perspective this way.

2. Content has experience.
Every day since working at SmallBox the big buzzword seems to be content and its importance to the web. Rightfully so, because content is what drives user experience and is at the core of what people use the internet for. Users will gravitate toward content that is rich and intuitive to use, and over time websites with poor content will be weeded out. Keeping content as a priority in the web development process can have amazing results if done correctly.

3. Take a step back.
Too often we are so deep in our work, with our noses to the grindstone that we rarely take time to reflect and look at the big picture. Faruk Ates and Nevan Morgan both discussed this and described how artists take breaks and move away from their work and reflect on it without being able to alter anything. This reflection can help determine the next move in a thoughtful and planned manner.

4. Limitations breed creativity.
SmallBox CEO Jeb has talked about this before with our team and I keep it in mind often throughout the work week. It was not too surprising that these bright and intelligent speakers also talked about putting limitations on ourselves to foster and grow creativity inside a project. Putting restrictions on our work gives it scope and usually leads to more interesting and introspective work. A painter has the limitation of his canvas, a musician has the number of tracks/instruments he can put on one song, and a web designer has only so many pixels to manipulate in a browser window/device. By setting limitations, we force ourselves to be resourceful and creative.

5. I want an iPad.
Okay, so this one is a joke, but seriously I had iPad envy throughout the day.  I saw how useful they were during events like this for communication and for sketching out ideas/notes really quickly. I am going to start saving up.

Re:build was an amazing event that I was happy to attend. I recommend it to everyone interested in web philosophy and emerging trends on the web. It was a delightful experience and I cannot wait to go next year. Many thanks to the events organizers for a fantastic job with a Hoosier touch.

Meet the interns!

Posted by lydia
May
26
2011

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Filed Under: Culture Design SmallBox

This summer we’re lucky enough to have Cody and Neil, two talented design interns helping us get things done and working on various projects around the ‘Box. Both are already doing great work and infusing themselves into the team. We pulled them away from taking out the trash thinking of greats ideas to answer a few questions. Say hi to Cody and Neil!

Intern CodyCody the Intern

Cody just finished his junior year at Ball State where he’s majoring in Visual Communication. He’s created designs for a number of mobile applications and dabbles in photography as well.

IMPORTANT STUFF
Bands you listen to: The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Vampire Weekend, Bob Dylan, The Postal Service, Phoenix, Modest Mouse, The Killers, The Strokes, MGMT, Louis Armstrong, Frank Sinatra.

Special design skillz you bring to the team: I have been designing for web and electronic devices (iPhone/iPod/iPad) for about 2 years, and really enjoy doing it. Something I bring to the team is that my design is very adaptable to each project. I can design fun, bright and flashy or clean, serious and professional.

QUESTION TIME
What is your favorite typeface? Helvetica Neue Thin
What is your favorite Photoshop or Illustrator tool? Pen tool
What is the square root of pi? 1.772453850905516027298167483314
What are you excited to learn this summer? I REALLY REALLY want to learn how to code a website from the ground up!
What do you do in your spare time? Video games, listening to music, playing guitar, being outside, and playing sports.

LIGHTNING ROUND
Write the first thing that comes to mind when reading each word.

Helvetica: The documentary
Cheetos: Cheesy Fingers
bicycle: Riding my bike at my grandparents when I was a youngster
drop shadows: Should be used like an expensive cologne (or perfume), less is more and only acceptable in special occasions.
angry birds: DAYS and DAYS of my life gone.
molecular biology: Ha Ha… Seriously? Im for it?

LAST BUT NOT LEAST
Anything else you want folks to know about you?
I work best under pressure. I really appreciate feedback, negative or positive. I like using all caps when I want to emphasize something in text!

Intern NeilNeil the Intern

Neil is a graduate of the Media Arts & Science program at IUPUI and creates his own music.

IMPORTANT STUFF
Bands you listen to: This list could go on and on, but for brevity’s sake I’ll just narrow it down to a select few: Aloha, Dodos, and super talented local friends.

Special design skillz you bring to the team: A mad sense of minimalism and swiss design.

QUESTION TIME
What is your favorite typeface? The Scandinavian in me wants to say Helvetica – but I love Caslon, and lately have been on a pretty big Trade Gothic kick.
What is your favorite Photoshop or Illustrator tool? Does the type tool count?
What is the square root of pi? 1.77245385 – Did I look that up? Absolutely.
What are you excited to learn this summer? Looking forward to further honing my design skills and learning a lot more about CMSes.
What do you do in your spare time? I play music and I ride bikes as much as I can. Currently, a lot of time goes to wedding planning as well.

LIGHTNING ROUND
Write the first thing that comes to mind when reading each word:

Helvetica: Switzerland
Cheetos: Orange fingers
bicycle: Underused & freeing
drop shadows: Great – when used carefully
angry birds: Temporarily life consuming
molecular biology: People that are smarter than me.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST
Anything else you want folks to know about you?
Anything else you ever want to know – just ask me!

Beyond Gaming: A full interactive experience

Posted by Justin Shimp
May
4
2011

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Filed Under: Design

A new gaming experience on iOS has taken interactive to a new level, and it’s SuperBrothers’ Sword and Sworcery EP. Beyond angry birds or slicing fruit, Sword and Sworcery EP delivers a multimedia experience you can’t have on any other system.

I cannot say that I have played such a rich and original game since the Team ICO games on the PlayStation. Heavily influenced by Jungian viewpoints on mythology and storytelling, Sword and Sworcery EP puts in your pocket an entire world that you can carry around and jump into anytime. The graphics are nothing short of breathtaking. Beautiful pixelated graphics with amazing painstakingly rotoscoped animation, in the same vein as Price of Persia for the Apple II. This game fits my ideal aesthetic of graphics in games. I am more a retro type of gamer and feel very unimpressed by big fancy 3D cinematic sequences. I would much rather have dazzling and fine attention to detail that creates a world that is not realistic but I can still place myself inside of it.

Double Rainbow all the way?

What’s different about it?

A Game with a Soundtrack

The music, scored by Jim Guthrie, is the biggest reason why the game is so powerful. The game was created alongside the music, a rarity in the creative process of game creation. Music and videos were traded back and forth to get the perfect aesthetic for the game and it shows.

What is also great about the music is that the entire score is released on 180 gram vinyl LP. It’s titled “Ballad of the Space Babies.” So cool! This just adds another layer to the concept of the game. The combination of tangible and digital allows you to revel in the sweet EP goodness that comes out of your iDevice, as well as enjoy the physical release of the album and its distinct artwork.

Built for Social Sharing
Directions and Dialogue in the game are all presented in short sentences, all under 140 characters. Any text you encounter in the game can be immediately tweeted to your twitter followers with the hashtag of #sworcery. In fact, they purposefully went with a unique spelling so that #sworcery stream will only have mentions relevant to their game.

The hashtags works well in their case especially because the content is so great. I wouldn’t mind someone tweeting every single thing in the game and flooding my twitter feed mainly because the writing is top notch and humorous. You can tell the writing team are fans of Tim Schafer and the Monkey Island Series.



The Verdict: If you game, get it.

Needless to say, this is one of the best reasons to own an iPad or iPhone and at five bucks it is a steal of an experience. Cerebral, funny and dark, this one is going to be in multimedia history for sure.

I didn’t even tell you about the story. And I think there is a reason why, it’s best to be experienced on your own. So go get it!

How to Get Inspired Off the Web

Posted by lydia
Feb
23
2011

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Filed Under: Design

As a designer, I spend a lot of time in front of the computer creating designs and solving design problems. Sometimes, I get tunnel vision and find that I’ve spent the last four hours staring at the screen, wrapped up in the details of this color over that, this element here or there. If I stare too long and too often, I usually get what I like to call the Brain Numbs. My whole head feels foggy and I seem to have run out of ideas for a little while. I start mumbling incoherent phrases and my office mates start looking at me funny. I can’t be the only person who experiences this, so I thought I’d share ways to take a break, come up for air and find inspiration in the world outside of the computer screen.

A nature-inspired photo taken with the Instagram app

It’s the little things
The first thing to do is get up off your chair and take a walk, preferably outside. If it’s too cold or the outside doesn’t lend itself to exploration where you are, a stroll around the office will do. Take a deep breath in, then let the air rush out. Look up, look down, look at something up close, look at what’s far ahead. Take a few more breaths. Look around as though you’ve never seen this environment before. Notice and find the little things. Snap a photo of them. (If you have an iPhone, I suggest trying out Instagram or Hipstamatic.) We tend to get used to the environments we see everyday, so making a point to look at things from a different perspective forces us to use different parts of our brain, which in turn can open different pathways to solutions in other parts of our lives.

Get out and about, play, stretch yourself
You can do obvious things to find inspiration, like visit an art museum. But also consider things like heading to a playground to play, making shapes in the sandbox, or grabbing a box of sidewalk chalk to doodle with in your driveway. Take a walk in nature and find interesting patterns or color palettes. Roam the streets to check out band posters and other neighborhood art (or you can cheat at gigposters.com). Stretch your brain with a crossword puzzle (also fun to do collaboratively) or try some sudoku.

Cruisin’ the magazines

Consume (sort of)
Head to your favorite grocery store and check out how items are packaged and labeled. Go to your favorite local, independent store and browse handmade wares by local artists. My favorites are Artifacts, Chelsea’s and the Village Experience — they always seem to have something neat and eclectic I get inspired by. (Buddha board, anyone?) Or next time you’re at your favorite restaurant, check out their menu and the decor. What paint color do they use? What other details exist? Head to a movie and pay attention to its style and art direction. Or, really, just get lost in the movie. Lastly, one of my favorite ways to get inspired is to head to the bookstore to browse not only the magazine section, but to check out the latest books and book cover designs.

I know there are tons of other ways to get inspired, hopefully these ideas will get you started. Next time, we’ll talk about how to take inspiration from some of these places and apply them to various aspects of design work.

In the meantime, how do you get inspired?

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