I worked on automotive online advertising for a few different automakers and they all had one thing in common when it came to online - they wanted to be BMW. Starting with the launch of the visionary BMW Film every other car marker has been chasing to catch BMW and their consistently innovative use of every aspect of the interactive medium. So I was more than little excited when I got a note that BMW had re-launched their Web site right before the Christmas holiday.

After spending some time with the site I found myself so frustrated that another brand I expected so much from gave me nothing but a bad case of deja vu back to the mediocre adobe.com re-design of a few weeks ago. The most notable change is the site design that took a step backwards to be painfully generic with the use of so much white space and small photos that there is no visual hierarchy or energy to the design. It is that lack of energy that is most disappointing because I am car guy who would kill to have a 6 series but there is nothing in this design that gets me the least bit excited about any of these cars. The upgrades to the site seem to have come in the form of a more visual configuration tool that incorporates images and 360's of every possible accessory combination in the 'build your own' sections. I think this is certainly a worthy addition since I know how useful of a sales tool it can be but I just wanted more.

I have been writing this piece for about a week now and I haven't been able to hit the publish button. I had everything written but it just didn't feel right and keep rolling around in the back of my head. Today I finally sat down to work out what was bothering me and why this had become a lot deeper for me than I expected. It's probably partially because it will be the last thing I publish in 2007 but it also had me looking back over my work from the past year and all the work I have seen created by our industry. I keep coming back to one word for all of it - safe.

Safe makes me mad. It's a four letter word. It's like good. Who wants to be good? They are compromises. What made me so mad about the Adobe and BMW sites were that these brands who's audience looked to them to be innovators and they took the safe route and squandered the opportunity. If this year the iPhone and Wii have shown us anything it was that there can be a mass market appetite for something innovative that pushes the envelope. I am going to pass on the hollow New Year's resolutions and just work to keep safe out of my work in 2008.

Labels: Site review

So I have been using some of my holiday free time to make my way through my Netflix backlog nd finally got my hands on a copy of Helvetica. For those of you who don't know it's a documentary film by Gary Hustwit that takes the main title type faces as uses it to look at typography, graphic design, and global visual culture. I really recommend that any designer take the time to watch this because it is an interesting study of the current state of global design as well as talking to a lot of the key type and graphic designers. It will probably bore the wife or girlfriend to tears but if you can get you can get a copy it's really worth watching.

Labels: Great exhibition, Great resource

With the holidays fast approaching I thought I would share two interactive greeting cards worth checking out.

Grow A Xmas Tree
Grow A Xmas Tree is a simple site where you can type a holiday message and the letters and words wrap around to make the tree. You customize two elements of the card by choosing from 5 different backgrounds and the colors of the type.


American Airlines Snowflake
The first half of the American Airlines Snowflake Builder really isn't any different from other site I have seen that let you customize the various dimensions of a snowflake and release it out in to the storm. What does set it apart from those other sites in the last half of the site where American Airlines encourages customers to spread the holiday cheer and donate AAdvantage miles to worthy causes like the Make A Wish Foundation. This is one time it is nice to see no up sell, hard sell or any sell besides the attempt to get people to donate to worthy causes.

Labels: Consumer generated content, Design and user experience, Digital culture, Site review, Unique interface design

I was cruising through Amazon.com today look for any last minute Xmas deals and saw they have updated the design of the main nav on the site. I have to say they did a beautiful job with this refresh by simplifying and condensing the nav structure, updating the design and keeping it all in a very compact space. Let the cloning begin...

Labels: Design and user experience, Exceptional design, Site re-launch

Burger King in the U.K. has launched a new microsite called Angry Gram to promote their new spicy Angry Whopper. You create an Angry Gram by filling in six blanks on form letter and you much choose from available options for each blank. You get a lot more options for each blank than you would think and you can create some very funny combinations. When you are finished with the rant it is played out by a 3D animation of the Angry Whopper himself. I have seen this execution done for other products but this works for several reasons. The fact that you can really customize the message, that the product is kept as the center and hero of the concept and that the animation is entertaining and well done make it work. Plus isn't everything funnier with a British accent?

Labels: Consumer generated content, Design and user experience, Exceptional Flash, Gaming, Site review

Back in 2001 the launch of Ultrashock.com really got my attention as it was the first Flash resource site at that time that catered to professional Flash designers and developers. Sadly, the site never picked up steam and died a slow death as it was rarely updated with few tutorials or useful content added after the initial launch period. Now the site is back with version 2 sporting a new design and all-new content. A review reveals that all the useful and cutting edge content that first got my attention is gone and has been replaced with low grade stock photos, sounds, illustration, forums and a blog. It is easy to see that this re-design was little more than an effort to see how little they could do to revive the site as a revenue stream using the halo of the old site. The only hope is that the site is labeled as beta so maybe there is some small hope that they will try ad restore the site to it's former glory.

Labels: Site review

With the holidays fast approaching some of you may not have had time to send out your holiday greetings and SomeEcards.com is a great solution. Hallmark and American Greetings haven't been able to make it old age and past fart jokes for their cards but this site has a range of humor for everyone from pretty mild to raunchy. The site was the brainchild by Brook Lundy who is a friend of mine and fellow creative director working over at Razorfish and he was the twisted mind behind last years smash hit ShaveEverywhere.com. You can see the same great sense of humor in all the cards so check them out and give your friends a laugh.

Labels: Digital culture, Exceptional creative, Viral

In May 2007, photographer Jonathan Harris spent nine days living with a family of Inupiat Eskimos in Barrow, Alaska as they went on a whale hunt. He documented the experience with a sequence of 3,214 photographs which he posted on his new site The Whale Hunt. The photos begin with the taxi ride to Newark airport and ending with the butchering of the second whale seven days later. The photographic sequence was taken in five-minute intervals which create what he calls a constant “photographic heartbeat”. During moments of high activity the photographic heartbeat would quicken to a maximum rate of 37 pictures in five minutes.

He then took the photographic heartbeat and translated it into the visual design of the site. It is displayed like a the line you see on a heart beat monitor. During normal activity times one photograph occupies the space in the line but during more intense times there are multiple photos that occupy the space so you can see the rise and fall in activity. You can also go through photos using Mosaic or pinwheel interface which are equally unique and interesting.

Even the filter, or constraints as the site calls it, is well conceived and designed though you could miss it as you have to click on the whale line art to access it. You can choose from cast, concept (food, games, kids), context (home, ocean) and/or cadence (how many photos in a 5 minute period).

This site is a wonderful example of how concept and design can come together to create a really engaging story and interactive experience.

Labels: Design and user experience, Exceptional creative, Exceptional design, Exceptional experiences, Site review, Unique interface design

Adobe quietly re-launched their Web site this week without much fanfare or PR. I thought this was strange since every other marketing initiative they did this year was launched with a pretty heavy PR and ad push. I spent some time with the site to see if it had the visual or technical innovation I would expect from the company that created the technology we all design with every day.

VISUAL DESIGN
The visual interface design and page layouts feel like they were done by their junior application interface designers with a very boxy, almost corporate white paper feel to them. I have the biggest issue with the combination search box and logo in the upper right corner. You can type what you are looking for into the search box but there is no submit button. If you are going to leave out the button then put in an auto suggest so users can find the best results possible and aren't left fumbling around trying to figure out the most basic user action out there. Also don't put the primary text input field next a navigation items since if you accidentally click on the logo you will go back to the home page. Was this user interaction that was really begging to be changed? Save the energy on things that didn't need to be re-thought and put it into creating a better and more engaging experience.

TECHNOLOGY & TECHNICAL EXECUTION
Flash seems to have been kept to a minimum even then only used as a video player. For a company that wants to tell me at every conference I see them at how Flash and Flex are the wave of the future and are so easy to use I was expecting them at least practice a little of what they preach here to create a more engaging or unique user experience.

I am also surprised by the technical execution issue I found on all browsers. An easy example is go to the 'Products' drop down menu and pick any program you find there. Once the page loads go back up to the top nav, roll over any menu and move th mouse over any item in the 2nd or 3rd position. You will see that the mouse over action bleeds through the menu onto the title of the page, which does work as navigation, behind it.

CONCLUSION
I know there hasn't been any warm fuzzy love for Abobe in this and I wish there would have been. I sat down to talk to Adobe about features for their new site over three years ago and I think after all this time the site is a real let down. I hold them to a higher standard since they create the technology we all use and their site should be leading the way in the use of that technology and not just the e-commerce version of a corporate white paper.

For me this also a larger problem because I am baffled by the overall creative direction of the Adobe's brand and their creative choices from the horrible Microsoft-ish new Photoshop logo, the pointless Flash On site and now the "new" Adobe.com. I think since they have no pressure from any competition in their space they have become lazy in with their even larger market dominance knowing professional designers will use their products no matter how bad their marketing becomes. I find it disappointing that a brand with so much potential chooses only to be content with producing lack luster communications with no direction or point of view that only appeal to a low level mass market.

The words 'HTML' and 'typography' just don't go together since your ability to style the type doesn't go beyond bold or italic and even that can be challenging since the typefaces will appear differently between browsers. TypeTester is a great design tool to let you see exactly what your text will look like in a browser. You can choose from a variety of fonts, including web safe fonts and then adjust settings like size, decoration, alignment, color, etc. which will let you easily figure out exactly how your text, headings and subheadings will look like. The two things I like the best are that it lets you compare different options side by side and it gives you the ability to generate the CSS code for whatever settings and font you pick.

Labels: Great resource

Whoever said imitation is the sincerest form of flattery never worked in advertising because for me it only shows you can't have an idea of your own. The latest poster child for this problem is American Express who seems to be trying to copy the success that Office Max had last year with Elf Yourself by partnering with Oddcast so customers can turn themselves in to a virtal Holiday Rockstar.

Before I even get into the site, I am the only who thinks Oddcast characters are just freakin' creepy? If you don't know the name you have probably seen their work before as they are those creepy characters whose eyes follow your cursor like some virtual mentally damaged digital Stepford wife who starts blabbing away without asking permission. For me they were interesting for about 6 months maybe 4 years ago when complicated animation like that was just starting to emerge in Flash. Since then they haven't evolved and always seems like the easy out for projects that don't have the time or budget to come up with a real idea.

The site experience consists of choosing from one of three pre-recorded songs or do your own, choose a face or upload your own, write a dedication and away you go. I don't even know where to start with this one for so many reasons. I could barely listen to the pre-recorded music as they didn't even get the real version of the songs and instead opted to go with easy listening style covers of the originals. When I tried to upload my own photo it crashed three different browsers multiple times. This may be the worst site I have seen all year because it is a year old recycled idea that is horribly executed on through third party technology with no brand messaging or concept. I have said it a million times but TECHNOLOGY IS NOT AN IDEA. If you don't have a concept, a core human truth or something to communicate all the cool technology in the world can't save you from something like this.

Labels: Design and user experience, Site review

For the first time in its 33 year history, the ONE show has decided to integrate all three shows into one festival week with the complete international jury meeting in New York City for a final round of judging the week of the shows. You wish that the agencies who all clamor for this award would take the hint and put more effort into doing the same. Entries are now open so good luck and have at it.

I just happened to be cruising through Playstation.com and found they had launched a nice new update/content re-design on the site. It seems obvious for sites like this who cater to a technology minded audience to use Flash and video as much as they can but this is the first time I have seen it done well on any of their sites.

Labels: Design and user experience

This is a far too rare example that you can create a great ad that uses nothing but a well crafted headline.

As a counterpoint to an all copy ad, I thought this ad for Heinz does a great job of using a simple visual that puts the product as the hero. In both cases you can see the power of simplicity and that you create a smart, well crafted ad that gives your audience credit for having a brain.

Labels: Exceptional creative

I have no idea what HEMA online winkelen is, what this says or what it is promoting but the animation and effect is very cool.

Labels: Design and user experience, Exceptional experiences, Exceptional Flash

I am very proud to announce that another one of my long term projects for Starwood has launched with the new LeMeridien.com. It was created with North Kingdom who is a Swedish interactive design firm and most recently created the Get the Glass game that won Gold at Cannes.

The goal of the site was to let guests take an interactive journey into the world of Le Meridien by placing them in control of their own experience. This starts with the homepage uses Papervision 3D to create a three dimensional space that allows customers to navigate through the world of Le Meridien by selecting images associated with hotels, LM100 members, brand initiatives, and special offers. This is not only visually engaging but this type of image based navigation is a first for the hospitality industry.

In addition to the visuals we created an original sound experience working with French composer Henri Scars Struck. It uses 300 music and unique sounds samples mixed dynamically with changing background music to create a sound collage that is unique to each user and each visit to the site. The background music that will change depending on the time of day we can do globally depending on where the customer is located. The schedule is 6am – 12pm is Water, 12pm – 6pm is Forest, 6pm – 12am is Market and 12am – 6am is Nature. This experience is mirrored on Le Meridien properties as the sound scape Henri created also plays in the Lobby and elevators.


Destination Canvas
One of the most unique aspects of the new site is its Destination Canvas which is an innovative concept that is unique not only in the hospitality industry. It offers a creative platform that connects guests’ personal interests with Le Meridien hotels and destinations by selecting visuals from an image library that depicts their desired experience and interests. Once they make their selection, the images corresponding to their passions are put on a canvas where they can size and position them to correspond with their what they feel is their importance in the final experience. Once they are satisfied with their creation the sizing and positioning are used as search criteria to find Le Meridien properties that would best match their interests.



LM100
LM100 is a community of creative experts and cultural innovators from the fields of art, architecture, cuisine, design and fashion which are Le Meridien's passion points. All members where photographed by Ralph Gibson who is a legendary American photographer and a member of LM100. My small claim to fame is that part of me appears in one of the Ralph Gibson photographs of world famous chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten. I am standing behind him to create the black background you see in the photo because we shot him in his restaurant in Central Park West early one morning and I was the only large dark object in the room.. I knew being this tall about come in handy some day.

On the site you can explore LM100 members’ videos, gallery, and podcasts providing insights into our members’ perspectives into the creative process. We will also be involving these individuals in curating original experiences for Le Méridien hotels worldwide by offering their creativity for projects and interactive initiatives.

So go and check out the site. Explore, create and have fun.

Labels: Shameless self promotion