julian sykes' notepad

Coming of age

2011-11-06T18:32:00.002Z

While the game itself is still very much the lowest common denominator of a game, the basic shoot'em up. Does the trailer now begin to recognise it's plight? is this an very poignant moment of realisation? will the shoot'em up always be successful? Who knows.

But it is nice that the producers have begun to provide some form of humour instead of the mainstream movie trailer. Hey maybe it was just a blip!!!!

playARK - christmas game

2011-11-04T23:33:00.000Z

We have a great christmas game in store for people. If you are interested you can find out more and buy tickets at http://jokulfrosti.eventbrite.com/

everwake part 2

2011-10-30T09:35:00.003Z

Well this week it begins. All over again. The plan was to have a break, however recent events have pushed part 2 of everwake forward. I am personally really looking forward into developing the second story of everwake and most importantly how we can get the game at the heart of it all. I think I have always wanted to use everwake as a huge experiment in terms of pervasive gaming. Trying to serialise it like you do with tv shows such as LOST. But I think for a game this is harder. How can people be kept abreast of what has happened up to that date and then not feel out of the loop? Well that's the challenge, plus seeing where and if there should be online content for the game.

But before that, I think it maybe time to put on a seasonal game for all of you guys getting a few withdrawal symptoms. We should be announcing it this week so keep your eyes peeled.

when are you role playing? and when are you just being you?

2011-10-27T21:08:00.004+01:00

The pervasive game genre, is an interesting paradox for me and one I have been wrestling with for the last year or so. What I am struggling with it the idea of role play and being yourself.

For me I really got interested in pervasive games because in my mind you did not 'play a character' you were just yourself within the rules of the game given to you. But the more and more I get involved in this there are as ever more shades of grey than there is grey shades. So is there a difference? are there pervasive games that you can be yourself in? and are there games that you have to be a character, and are both of these pervasive games?

So lets go through it and see why I have been thinking about this recently.

Last summer myself and Allie were lucky enough to get to London for the groundbreaking game Conspiracy for Good The game was created by Tim Kring of Heroes fame. The game itself was huge encompassing four weekends around London town. NOKIA sponsored the game and so there was a load of technology involved in the game. For such a big game I was a bit disappointed by it, but I think now a year or so later, I am wondering if it was because I was given a 'fake' character name with certain character traits. So in essence we were asked to roleplay a character. During the game I think there was always an element of detachment, and I wonder now if it was because of the role play element.

In contrast something like 2.8 hours later where you are merely yourself and are asked to interact with the world as yourself feels real and immersive. I am still not sure. Yet it seems like it maybe a mix of both. i.e. the game itself needs to be something you get into so then maybe roleplay doesn't matter? and you have to believe in the story.

Allie's 31st

2011-10-26T23:00:00.002+01:00

After last years birthday I thought the another treasure hunt was in order so Allie could go out and find out clues for her birthday. You hopefully get an idea from the image above as to the game. Very fun making it.

what's in a genre? apparently a lot.

2011-10-26T22:02:00.002+01:00

Since finishing the first episode of everwake we have been looking at ways of developing it for the future. In time we hope to develop it's complexity and make it of equal complexity of some tv series but across different media channels and obviously through games.

Now this is not an easy thing and we are aware it will take along time to bring this to the players but we think the different levels and complexities will make a truly brillant game and experience. But there are two points that have been nagging me about the project. Firstly the argument that games are not stories and indeed stories are not needed to make a game work, and when people say this to me I always think about how I skip through the story of contemporary games such as call of duty which further re-enforce this in my mind. Yet is this the case when it comes to pervasive type games that have real world elements surrounded by a theme.

A really quick way of describing this is thus. If we describe a game through a story or more importantly a cultural understanding then instantly there are rules, fears and all manner of information that people instantly recognise. So as I am talking about stories I will give you two examples:

example one - You are the survivor of a zombie apocalypse, you have to stay alive and make it to safety.

example two - The population of earth has been infected by a virus. billions of people have died from the virus with some people coming back from the dead but having a lust for blood and a desire to kill anything that is considered alive. Among the billions of people who died there are some people who seem to be immune from the virus and are looking for join together for safety reasons. You have to try and find these people are get to safety.

So through your cultural knowledge of zombies through books, films and general myths and legends you understand the who premise of the game and in someways a number of it's rules (such as run from zombies), in a single line. In contrast example two says the same thing but is so hard to understand and also more importantly 'get into'.

So this is a very simple example and I guess you could argue that the game can still be separated from the story. But I think the question is for the pervasive gamers. Is does the story add to the game? but more importantly does the story change the way you play the game? if yes then surely the story is hugely important to the game?

So on to the second part of the blog. The issue of making a story and how it is classified. I was having a conversation a week ago with Kev and allie about how everwake could develop. Looking at if it could have sci-fi elements in it or should it turn more into a thriller or simply stick to a ghost story? while we made no decisions what became apparent is that all three of us had a totally different view point of what stories and films fit into genres.

So as a test what genre would the following films/series fit in for you?

- X MEN
- Misfits
- Heroes
- LOST
- BATMAN
- 28 Days Later

So Sci-Fi, Paranormal, fantasy, thriller what would they be?

I think what I am getting at is that just as things are converging within the media, could that mean that generes are becoming twisted together?

playARK - Games & Talks

2011-10-23T16:34:00.003+01:00

So at the heart of thinkARK we wanted to do projects that hopefully helped us explore social issues within our community. We also wanted to then share knowledge between the group of skills and expertise. More so in the last few projects we have made this aspect of shred knowledge being part of the actual projects we have created.

I think this has been at the fore more than any other event than at the recent playARK festival. As this was our first event fo this kind both in terms of thinkARK but also in terms of games we wanted to explore what play, creativity and games was to people and rather than keep the learning internal why not share the knowledge between as many people as possible? And then for those who have this knowledge or have just learnt this knowledge through the talks how about them practicing certain aspects of game and play through the second day of games.

I think the idea of a multi-discipline event if you like is something that I would like to explore more. In some ways as well I wonder if it could be incorporated and integrated even more. A lot more work i know but I wonder how much more people would get out of it?

HHHhhhmmmm I will have to have a think.

Everwake a social breakdown

2011-10-23T15:00:00.002+01:00

I think alot of people struggle to see how a ghost story could be in anyway a FOR GOOD pervasive game. There has been loads and loads of things written about how games can be designed to make people aware of climate change and also others about how through a game you may do good things.

But what if you want to do this kind of project but think the audience maybe quite small at this kind of game and also the knowledge of how games and games mechanics work needs to be looked into?

Option 1 - You wait and don't do the project because you never quite have the right amount of experience/skill

Option 2 - You start to create games and slowly bring more and more social issues into the game.

Well I guess by now you know I took Option 2. So the initial everwake game has a very small social element (most of these being the intrinsic nature of pervasive games). The social aspects being people coming together to meet talk and share. These are some of the most powerful aspects of pervasive games and what set them apart from other experiences such as theatre and film.

Secondly there is an environmental aspect to the game with people 'experiencing' a place they thought they knew and a places being revealed to them. There was also a re affirmation with everwake of good and bad, which while quite broad still seems relevant to bring up.

So as everwake is hoped to be a series of episodes the questions is can we develop the game to have more and more sophisticated ways of introducing other socially good elements?

Well simply for me yes. We are working on an over arching story line for everwake as we speak but we have already broken it down to 6 episodes. With each episode slowly gaining more and more 'socially good sophistication'. It's an experiment and something that in time we will be able to give some idea of how it is going.

experience and a life in BETA

2011-10-23T14:45:00.004+01:00

Over the last two years I have tapped into something that has always been with me. The concept of journey and experience is within us all but there is a difference when you decide to use this within how you live and how you work. I am passionate about always pushing and developing and ultimately doing.

This has led me and a group of others to be constantly developing new projects that challenge everything from time restrictions right through to technology and how businesses operate. I think what is also interesting is how this has always been with me but never really focused on it some how. The work I do for Hoffi for example is always very different we try to look at the company and design things to fit we do not design something to a house style for example. This has gone even further with the recent projects with thinkARK and the games I have been working on with Allie through everwake and playARK.

So what am I getting at? Well I think the concept is to realise failure is GOOD and should be embraced. And while I don't want to get too philosophical you only get one chance in this life, so why not leave it with the idea that you tried everything you could have in all the fileds you thought of. Remembering every minute you put into a project or journey is a minute closer to the goal or a minute more of rich content and understanding within that field. You put the time in and you get the results (in time). I guess finally the one point to leave you with is the idea of if things arn't moving fast enough in a project then keep at it and if you find yourself with some extra time on your hands why not start something else that might feed into the project later on down the line?

Everything will help you even if it to simply say that isn't what I want to do. Hope that wasn't too much of a rant.

everwake

2011-10-14T17:58:00.002+01:00

Well I have not posted here for a while. Mainly due to us setting up a personal blog on Hoffi.com. I think however with the production of everwake it might be an idea to reopen this blog. So I have somewhere to discuss and think about the idea of game and what I am really interested in.

"How technology story and game come together in physical and non physical spaces."

So for as long as I can remember me and Allie have been working on everwake. It's now pretty weird that it's all over. I think because we did it at the same time as the playARK talks and games festival then in retrospect we probably bit off a bit too much, as I still havn't recovered a week or so on. But what I have been really shocked by is the emptiness and almost depression of the event being over. I am slowly coming around but the first few days were really very challenging.

What it chowed me was that everwake had obviously touched a nerve in an area of my brain that i have rarely accessed. I remember the last day of uni I had a similar reaction. The moment it's over there is silence and then nothing. The world moves on and the event is gone. Well at least for you anyway.

So back to everwake this is about the third tim eI have tried to sit down and write about it. I got pretty far on some occasions but then lost interested and either deleted it or forgot where I wrote it. I think everwake is something that has always been there for the last 10 years. The need to develop something that is an experience for people in many levels. A story first and foremost that you participate in rather than merely just view. A hybrid between story and ARG and a pervasive game. None of them really seeming to fit the description of it.

The idea of leading with a strong story a narrative people can be drawn on to create culturally understood rules. An ability to bring people together who may have never met and to give them an experience of a lifetime with an element of empathy and genuines choice. So many things were thought and planned during us creating the game that it was clear we would not be able to do it all. curating it down to something manageable was key to us creating a great game and also keeping within a very veyr very tight budget (thank you all the volunteers :-) ). This realisation led us to realise that an interesting thing was possible. Why dont we do a serialised pervasive game with story and online content?

Why don't we use the routines and language that has been established through television to create a six episode series? exploring the abilities of each platform/media such as audio, paper, blog, video, physical, app to best bring narrative to the players and viewers or lurkers.

but what about the reason I started doing games. What about the social good? what about the exclusivity of the game (only having 60 people being able to play the street game for example). Well while the initial game it is not immediately obvious there are huge amounts of commentary built with in the game. The good and evil the choice of should I shouldn't I and also the more basic social aspect to the game have all started a small community centred around everwake.

What we have really done however and more what we now hope to do is we hope to develop more and more social aspects within the makeup of the game to bring more obvious signs of good and effect. So as the player develops within the game so does their understanding of the issues that surround us. As it has been said 1,000's of times a journey starts with one step. I guess we hope that the steps are so easy that they do not really notice and they develop as the game develops.

But I think what has come back to me again and again. Although this is so hard to do when it is your work. We have come to realise that failure is good. Testing, prototyping and developing are the key elements of developing stuff that works. This kind of goes beyond the game word. In everyday life for example come back again and again and you will succeed.

I realise that has not really covered anything about what everwake was in terms of story and perhaps I will write that up in another blog. But what I have realised on this project. I have realised that there are some people in Cardiff that are truly world class at what they are doing in their fields. The skills and creativity we have available within Cardiff is really quite staggering. Also creative integrity is a really interesting paradox its a pain in the arse when you want to move forward but you know that it's key to listen adapt and develop or you lose exactly what you are paying for. Let the people do their job.

Which I think for this blog gives me my final thing to talk about. That is basically management and producing a story like everwake. Basically its huge. I think in the future there is indeed something to be said for the development of what a producer really does. Traditionally on one platform a producer would pull all the threads together about the same story told in the same way through the same channel.

But now we have the producer developing a project on multiple platforms using multiple types of media to create fragments of a single story. Each being pulled together so as a whole they can be consumed and totally understood. Yet also consumed individually and still seen as enjoyable and worth while. And finally the biggest I think of them all working with 'real' and non real. So basically on and offline line content and as it develops further how things like apps bring a further step in complexity.

This has been one hell of a ramble but I hope it has given an insight into initial unedited thoughts on everwake.

playARK - Games festival and talks - 30 September - 1 October

2011-09-07T18:15:00.000+01:00

As most of you know thinkARK have been meeting at Cardiff Arts Institute every wednesday for nearly two years. During that time we have created loads of events and projects that have tried to bring the people of Cardiff together. You can see some of the projects on our website. This year to celebrate our second birthday we are putting on a great event centered around games, learning and play called playARK. The day is split up into two days. The first being a series of talks surrounding games and storytelling and how people are becoming participants as opposed to mere spectators. The speakers, are a great range from Alice Taylor (formerly channel 4), Matt Locke (founder of storythings), right through to Dan Dixon who will be talking about games for good.

The event is perfect for anyone wanting to know about the latest thinking in interacting with customers and how storytelling is key within that.

On the second day there is going to be a great event where people will be able to actually play a load of games. You can see a video of a similar day we did last year that will hope fully give you an idea as to what the day will be like below. But this year it is going to be alot bigger. As well as the street games you will also be able to play the latest board games, and digital games and even relive your youth by playing retro games.

It even happens in NYC

2011-03-10T20:31:00.003Z

This isn't exactly a grouping of cups, but it was heartening to see the same starting point of how cups collect on things happens across the pond as well as in the UK. This was found in the heart of New York.

Scalability

2011-02-12T21:53:00.002Z

The week after New York has been knackering. For the first few days it was like I had cotton wool in my head, and I woke up in the middle of the night at least twice for no apparent reason. It was also busy work wise. Ecodesign Centre held another of their E:DN events on the tuesday. The event concentrated on Design & Social Entrepreneurship, with recent work in this area both through Hoffi and also thinkARK, what I came away with during the event was scalability. Over the last year this has come back again and again. I think for many years the idea for many in the social area has been that you pilot a scheme and then scale it up to affect as many people as possible.

The funding and the way these schemes have been developed in the past have all been gauged as successful if they are able to become big – or 'scalable'. Yet what was refreshing about this weeks event was people discussing the idea of projects have a certain size that shouldn't then be increased, because if it did then by scaling it, it may then become unsustainable. This fits with a number of elements within marketing and also with recent projects I have been involved in.

If for example there are a number of businesses that all need space and they may all need admin, and other resources, but they would struggle to provide that for themselves then maybe by producing multiple projects/companies these resources could be shared. Secondly in a social entrepreniual sense, it fits into the old traditional marketing plan of multiple exposures to a brand or product. So by producing a number of businesses/projects that all have the ultimate goal of some kind of 'social good' you could setup a number of small niche type businesses that all do their small things towards 'social good'. you are much more likely to like on of these businesses due to it being niche small and personal and the business then is more likely to be successful. Yet it needs the bigger group to help out with admin etc.

So through a hub and spoke type setup multiple businesses can be setup and be successful each paying for things that they all need.

Back from the second snowiest month on record

2011-02-05T21:01:00.003Z

A month or so ago I wrote a piece about the snow we had in Cardiff this Christmas. The piece was about who clears the roads and gets the city moving again. Recently me and Allie were lucky enough to go to New York. It was my first time in New York so I was interested in seeing how their service culture compared to our's. We were greeted by the second snowiest month since records began. As you can see from the picture above it was pretty big, all of the snow however had and was pretty much cleared in one evening allowing roads and pavements to be walked on and accessed the next day.

I wondered how this was possible and what had made it possible. I wondered if it had anything to do with it's service culture. Well generally it is pretty much true the service you receive is high and so different than in the UK. There are obvious reasons for this, firstly there is a tipping culture, in general 15-20% of the bill. The tipping culture has gone so far that it is seen as almost a right with people telling stories of waiters chasing after them to ask why they have not been tipped.

There are other things that seem to be reasons how the snow was cleared. Obviously there are a lot of tall buildings in New York with a number of them having a reception with someone working to take delivers and look after the general deals on the apartment block. Interestingly in New York City law residents are responsible for the pavement directly outside their house or shop. So when snow comes they have to clear it. So the mass action of the people of New York clearly has a huge effect on clearing snow quickly.

What about the roads? As well as gritting they have a number of ways they tackled the snow. Firstly they had their own city workforce and also hired in help from the private sector to further strengthen their work force. It is also interesting to see their rubbish trucks were used as snow ploughs, So instead of needing a whole set of new vehicles to deal with the snow they could use vehicles that already existed with an additional bolt on. Finally I also think the personal nature of having a mayor that seemed to be responsible for the success or failures, so people had something/someone to be represented by.

So that's one way to look at how mass actions can be achieved in this case through a mixture of the individual and the state. I am hoping to get out to Sweden to visit a friend soon and will be interested to see how their system differs. While all of this for me is interesting to see how people deal with the same situation. I wonder if there are also other benefits that the New York setup have instigated. Firstly their is a different feel to New York people are more social, brasher, they seem to be part of something that is only for New Yorker's.

Seminar's at Hoffi

2011-01-22T20:15:00.001Z

Cardiff City bars - losing their soul

2011-01-21T22:12:00.005Z

As I sit here writing this post, I can hear the repetitious thud of base from yet another anonymous dance song. The song is coming from a bar next door to my flat. With the bar in question going through a major change over the last few months. For those that don't know the bar it is known as Floyd's and until recently came with a clothing shop below that was open in the day.

The clothing store was recently victim to a fire and has since been closed with it only recently being cleared up. At first it seemed like they would expand the bar downstairs, however with a recent extension to a nearby clothes store also opening a cafe it seems like they may have changed their plans and decided to let it out instead (still vacant).

So this brings me back to the bar. With the bar now seeming to be the only source of income it has been re-branded and opened for longer. It still has the same name but as you can see the new mark has fallen into the standard generic black with metallic treatment. This 'shouty' type brand has also been continued to the new barriers outside the doorway and also the loud speaker which now pumps out their dance music (which as you may now have guessed the music is also brand new). So where am I going with this?

Well let's describe my first experience of Floyd's BAR. I was around 19 and I was with some friends from college and one of them suggested Floyd's BAR? I was intrigued because firstly I didn't know about it and I didn't know where it was. So we started walking down one of the main streets into one of business areas of town. We were by a doorway with a buzzer. Hair pricking up on the back of my neck by now we press the buzzer and are greeted by a voice saying hello and to come up. We walk up a narrow set of stairs and we are met with a small intimate bar with some tables and chairs. The lights are low and the music was mellow allowing us to talk. So the experience of exploring and finding a unique intimate bar made me feel part of something special and different. It has also led me to take great delight in introducing other people to the bar and it's experience.

So time will tell if the 'new' Floyd's is successful. But for me the experience has now been lost and changed forever. No more finding it, the speakers find you now and the secrecy and exclusivity has been lost. It seems to have lost it's story and also it's fundamental values.

NOTE:
since I wrote this I have learnt that the café was rejected planning permission due to their saturation policy. Due to the café being on the same street as many other bars and clubs the plan was rejected. It seems also in the next few months there will be further pressure for empty shops within Cardiff as they will have to start paying rates even if unoccupied.

Seminars for 2011

2011-01-18T17:11:00.003Z

We have three branding seminars available for businesses looking to gain more understanding of how it can be used within your business. The first one is in April so if you want to learn more drop me an email. Will pop a fuller post on the blog as soon as we have the confirmed dates etc.

Stepping back

2010-12-30T20:59:00.003Z

We went through some of Allie's old boxes this year. I had the same tape as her, spider ate the fly remember anyone?

We also came across this electronic battleships game which we managed to play for about two hours, although were never quite sure if it was working properly. Also check out Allie's 80's jumper, retrotastic.

Two years on - what will language look like in 2021?

2010-12-30T20:32:00.002Z

As 2011 fast approaches I came across this video of us filmed about two years ago. Over the next decade or so I think the concept of language and protecting language will be ever more challenged and discussed. With new technology quickly allowing text to be translated through applications like google translate, and the latest Augmented Reality apps such as World Lens pushing the boundaries of visual translation it seems only a matter of time the spoken word will be translated on the fly as well. So what does this mean for 'language' and preserving the ones culture?

Community get togethers

2010-12-19T18:49:00.002Z

Christmas is less than a week away and I am glad to say I am going to try and do nothing over the week (although I will more than likely get bored and start working in a day or two). The snow fall in Cardiff has been pretty heavy – for us anyway – with at least 6 inches. Walking into town from Canton really struck me with a few things about the lack of foresight and lack of community. Whether that is business community, social community there is a serious lack.

Firstly a bit of context. This Saturday is the last weekend before christmas potentially the busiest weekend of shopping of the year. Potentially the first chance to begin that christmas feeling. So the shops are pushing out all the stops to get you into their shop and say a big thank you for their custom in 2010???? The photo's above are some of the cleaned areas on the main road form Canton into the City Centre in total there were about four blocks of snow that had been cleaned off the pavement by I can only assume the shopkeepers.

One of them ironically is a toll shop so you would expect that to be done however why where they all not cleaned? On one side you have the belief that it is the council and highways to clean the pavements.

But lets think about another scenario. It's the last chance to make an impact on your customers. If the pavements arn't cleared are customers more likely going to your shop or a bigger shopping centre? In money terms, shops coming together and working together to create an area of community would surely be advantageous to everyone involved.

On a social aspect there was also the responsibility issue of people slipping on ice as they get to your shop. Firstly I was wondering if you clear ice, are you then responsible for the area? Anyway it's about service added value and a better experience. For a couple of minutes of exercise in the snow. Below is the street a day later. Now compacted ice it could definitely be advertised as an ice rink.

tactileBOSCH tenure

2010-11-27T21:03:00.002Z

On the wettest evening of the year me and Alison managed to get out to the tenure show of tactileBOSCH last week. I am ashamed to say this is the first time I have been to the art gallery. For the show tactileBOSCH had a number of artists produce installations from small pieces through to fully immersive walkthrough spaces. For me the show itself was interesting but nothing really stood out. What was interesting to me however was the space itself. The gallery is an old Victorian Laundry warehouse and the layout and dilapidated nature of the building was fascinating. As we went around the gallery me and Allie were talking about how the space would be amazing to play a game in it.

There are so many opportunities due to the unique spaces within the gallery that would be great to explore. We have been thinking how we might be able to move the ARK in the PARK forward and develop it into a small but annual game festival that allows new games to be tested, old ones to be re-loved and the skills acquired to be then introduced into new and exciting ways of involving people through games workshops.

Development and delivery of the new

2010-11-19T10:33:00.001Z

Before the recession the words strong, fast, bigger were what was heard time and time again. Now however with this weeks budget announced there seem to be a new set of rules that will be looked at. Agile, boutique, slow They have been with us for a few years already but it seems they maybe the new developments for brands and services in the next few years.

The interesting thing about this is that it does not preclude the big corporations it just makes them look at how they are structured and respond differently. Tim Brown CEO if IDEO has for years now being raising awareness of design thinking and the concept of introducing designers and creative thinkers into the highest reaches of corporations. The thinking being that with these people in areas of influence the larger companies will be able to be adaptive and agile You can see it within IDEO itself last count I believe it had over 400 employees yet each project is taken on by a small team of generally no more that five people. This hive type working allows a independence and ownership to be given to the team yet also when necessary they can plug into the larger brain to gain feedback and thoughts.

On another level the largest company in the world Google has a number of initiatives within the organisation that are based in a similar way. So the largest company in the world is massive yet also boutique. The boutique nature allows them competitor advantage as people believe they are being given relavent information, with this type of information only getting more and more sophisticated. Just look at Gmail if you have have an account then I am sure you will notice how spookily relevant the ads are to the subjects you have been writing emails about. At the moment it hasn't quite got it right. For example as a designer I mention brand, design alot in emails. So the ads shouldn't really try and sell me graphic design? However I think as I said before it is only a matter of time until this will be fixed. And no matter what you think about the invasiveness of this you have to admit it is very impressive.

I recently completed listening to Seth Godin's book Tribes. In it their is a passage where he describes being on holiday up at 1 or 2am in the morning in a hotel lobby checking some emails. A couple walk by and he overhears them say how said it was that he was working while on vacation. At first when readin I though the same then as he explained I totally realised the opposite. As he thought internally Seth threw this notion on it's head. Commenting something on the lines of. 'After thinking about this for a while I thought to myself it is not me you is sad here, I love what I do and I am passionate about what I do. I don't find it hard to get up in the morning because I want to get on and do things I love. So for me it is the couple who go away and shut their phones off and laptops are hidden away that are sad because they have to forget their jobs for two weeks of the year'. Now this doesn't mean work 24 hours a day never stop what it means is that you have to find a passion and follow it. Sounds very American I know but it makes a lot of sense.

So slowness, the total antimatter of the commercial western world we live in. I am wondering if passion is a slow element? does passion allow us to do things because we are less stressed? I mean in my experience as I designer I am far less stressed now than I was five years ago before we started Hoffi? I think my passion has slowed this down. It's made it personal and as long as what you do is 'you' then it can't be wrong even if people disagree. It's quite raw at the minute this thinking but thought I would share to see what people thought.

New Service for Orange Phone users

2010-11-07T17:55:00.004Z

The recent Orange Phone advert for their pay as you go customers is really interesting. Apart from being a really fun advert it does have a few other things that has been really interesting to investigate. Firstly there is an interesting idea of 'pay as you go' versus 'contract'. Traditionally my experience of the treatment of these two types of customers has been very different 'pay as you go' being seen as the lesser 'customer' compared to contract. While this may be only a perception and perhaps something to do with the fact of the culture within phone shops that seem to be catering much more for contracts (maybe due to commission??).

So the new service that has been introduced for pay as you go customers to pay for your next phone. In terms of service and adding value compared to their competitors it seems like it is a great idea. On another level their is also the element of you saving for a new phone. The idea of having to save and building compared to the last decade of spend spend spend is also I feel important and seems to bring an awareness to this. I almost think this could be made more obvious in contract phone contracts.

Finally for me there is also an interesting development of consumption and knowledge of consumption. What I mean by this is that by introducing people to the idea of saving and also the idea of products being hard to buy and not instant then it perhaps may also give an appreciation of the real value of phones and the elements they are made up of.

Would be interested in what people think?

ariel advert

2010-10-31T19:29:00.004Z

Traffic in Cardiff

2010-10-31T18:12:00.003Z

Having personally heard!! the roadworks and restructuring of Cardiff over the last few months (it was such a nice flat, but note to self, never move into somewhere that has been designated to have a huge development next to), there seems to be no plus point to the development???

Well the last few nights coming home for work have started me to think perhaps there is. The traffic around the Callaghan Square has been crazy with huge jams around rush hour. So by default with the bad traffic will people be persuaded to use different forms of transport? cycling perhaps??

a full day of indulgence

2010-10-31T18:09:00.002Z

I took this a good few weeks ago now. I found this one particular interesting and hoped the story was as follows. Gentleman buys two cans of special super strong tenants beer, full and by now quite drunk. Man needs to come around and needs a strong cup of coffee to get him back on track.

You can see other articles about this here

Wales and the Welsh Brand - how do you get people to come to Wales to enjoy and invest?

2010-10-28T16:06:00.003+01:00

2010 promised to be a big deal for Wales in terms of branding and marketing. The sporting world looked at Newport for Wales' first Ryder Cup. Indeed the Cup was a great success, baring the weather and the upset Americans for either missing the last day or watching their country lose (kind of think that was a blessing in disguise). ONe of the tightest finishes in decades ment the spectacle was all that could be hoped for. But what about the other things. Why was the Ryder Cup so heavily pushed and advertised above other events? why did the government concentrate on the event? In simple terms it was about Business.

Firstly it must be said that the Ryder Cup has been planned for a very long time and it was perhaps untimely that the Recession came when it did. Also the concept of bring Golf's premier spectacle to the our fair isles seems a fantastic idea, due to the facts such as:

"54% of Business professionals see golf as the business of Sport."

Source: Fairway to Finance - WDA and MORI research

"69% of executives believe the Ryder Cup will attract Global Business attention."
Source: Fairway to Finance - WDA and MORI research

Indeed the classic Destination Branding technique has been employed. Create a festival/event bring it to your area and watch people's perceptions change... So what is the impact of the event? has it led to this investment? should one of the richest sports be supported so much? were their other choices?

In time we maybe able to get an idea of how the Ryder Cup increased peoples perception of Wales. If some form of measurement system has been devised it would be great to understand what it has changed.

What I want to look at is the following:

- Are these huge events appropriate in todays market?
- Should we be looking at trends such as Mass Localism and niche in answering the future of Destination Branding?
- Is business about the many and not the few?

Last weekend saw the fourth (?) swn festival which took place in Cardiff. For those that are not aware of the event it is a multi-venue music festival that takes place in Cardiff every year. It has private sponsors and has no obvious government help (no supporting logo's at least). As a resident of Cardiff I heard a lot of people talking and discussing the swn festival and the gigs that were going to be on (I am nosey). When the Ryder Cup took place I also saw the odd lost American looking through the Victorian Arcades near my flat.

I however must now get back on track and re-read the quote "69% of executives believe the Ryder Cup will attract Global Business attention" Ok but I guess I am technically an executive or at least a Director of a company and have been for over 5 years. So why do I not agree with this statement? Well for me there is a confidence in Wales that is about niche, creativity and skilled workers. We are never going to be able to compete with the larger countries that can churn out thousands of machined parts a second. More importantly we shouldn't as one of few countries looking into how to be a true 'sustainable' nation we have to see producing for the sake of producing as a dead end. We must see also the fact that by concentrating of highly skilled production (manufacturing or creativity based) is the way forward also we must see the idea of service and the importance that will have in further adding value to our proposition within the World's market.

So is it about time that the unique Wales Brand advertising about bad reception, clean air two hours away the very uniqueness of Wales should be further pushed into supporting unique and niche projects? That while only attracting a few small groups of people, with mass Wales can become a truly special place? People want bespoke, customisable and unique so why don't we give that to them?

I would be really interested in hearing what people think about this subject and whether there are new ways to look at Destination Branding for the future... Finally as I wrote this I was sent this video my Carwyn enjoy, all about the uniqueness of us...

TESCO mobile phone offer

2010-09-27T12:03:00.005+01:00

A recent television advert struck me from Tesco mobile. In many cases for all the wrong reasons. For many years there has been the constant battle within mobile phones for the latest model. While Apple has not really changed this at the moment I wonder if this might be the case in the future? with the advent of the touchscreen tablet type phone. The 'whole' package is now very different. The design of the phone is not everything. The phone is now the portal into a world that is multi-program system that allows you to play games, play music etc. So now that the phone can update itself is the actual physical element of the phone about to change. Will we now become fond of worn phones, like we are with our favourite t-shirt or trainers?

Can this be a way of extending lifetime of electronic items in the future? So bringing this back to the tesco advert, and the question of when business is responsible within a marketplace?

Late at night

2010-09-27T11:08:00.002+01:00

Took this last night when waiting in the car struck a memory of a painting by Edward Hopper called the Nighthawk. Not as grand but still very much like it.

Bouldering lifetime achievement

2010-09-27T11:02:00.002+01:00

This is one of the all time classic boulder problems at a place called Stanage. Right nest to the path. It's not the hardest in anyway but it is beautiful and pretty tall without a rope. I managed to get up this during my holiday with Alison, was a great feeling getting up one of me long term goals. I had been to Stanage a number of times before, but I had never managed to get around trying it. I think I might start a list of climbs and see if I can tick them off.

- Crescent Arete - ticked

Conducting Interviews

2010-09-23T21:52:00.003+01:00

Over the last few months we have been doing a number of different projects that has required us to interview people. As they say interviewing is an art and the very best people manage to get huge amount of information from people.

I can across this piece which covers the basics really well. Hope you like it.

Public spirit

2010-09-22T15:22:00.002+01:00

After the exploits of igfest (which I still need to blog about), I decided to go climbing to stretch out the muscles. I was not looking forward to it as I thought it would be a rubbish session, in the end though got up a fair bit and felt alot better for it. When I finally came around to catching the bus home I saw the ticket stuck on the window of the bus stop.

I already had a day to go so couldn't use it, but it did get me thinking about this and whether it is a good or bad idea etc. If for example someone developed a system that openly tracked where tickets were people could exchange tickets all the time bringing travel costs down massively. However the reverse of this is that this would in turn increase the original ticket price. There is something to the social idea of it and how people can exchange rather than sell.

ARK LAB games day coming up

2010-09-14T09:56:00.002+01:00

A quick plug for something else I am involved in. On October the 2nd ARK LAB is running a mini games festival if you fancy coming along. check out the blog here.

Why do you clean paving stones?

2010-09-14T09:48:00.005+01:00

Well the development on the High Street leading into St Mary Street is coming along, it's taken months to get around the corner below where I live but I am finally managing to have a slightly more peaceful nights sleep. That is until a new noise has introduced itself into my life. For the last few months a company has been asked to 'wash' the newly laid paving slabs. It happens from around 11pm and goes on for hours. With the worse and loudest generator powering the whole thing.

For your own health avoid these vans.

- firstly I have to ask why do you need to 'wash' paving stones?

- secondly it's not just water it is soap as well?

- thirdly if you are doing it do you have to repeatedly have to bang into the fencing time and time again just to make sure I am paying attention.

Sounds dangerous I wonder if it melts rubber tyres? also it's not wet because they have just been washing the floor it's just rained which seems to have done a pretty good job of washing and cleaning?

Lovely film about my passion

2010-09-02T22:27:00.002+01:00

Although an obvious advert for Pod Sacs love the feel of this video, and makes me feel how I feel climbing should be.

Podsacs North Wales Bouldering from Podsacs on Vimeo.

Filming in the Bay

2010-08-31T14:59:00.001+01:00

really made it easy for me...

2010-08-15T18:58:00.002+01:00

just seemed amazingly simple packaging that really worked. The only hurdle for me was the cost, and the lack of knowledge what I would get out of the pack.

all for six dollars and seventy cents

2010-08-15T18:06:00.000+01:00

Design story: The Decanter from Landor Associates on Vimeo.

Customer service and a small little juice bar

2010-07-25T15:44:00.003+01:00

Well it's 2010 and the recession is still on-going. While we have all been cutting back there has been one indulgence that I have allowed myself. Over the last year or so, if I was not climbing I would have a lazy sunday, walking around the city and going to a smoothie bar called Vive. More recently due to the changes in the city centre they have moved from one place to another. so I was really happy to see that they have now got a new unit right in the cross roads of the new shopping centre. So for the last two or three weeks I have had a number of smoothies from their new place.

So where is this blog going? well today I arrived at 3:35pm wanting one of the 'Gin Slings' (a mixture of ginger orange and apple), there I was eager for my hit of fruit when I was told that they had packed their juicer away for the day and the customer before me had had the last juice drink of the day?????? Ok so now I am confused. I can understand if they had run out of the ingredients. But a full half an hour before they close and they are already packing away. I thanked them for the information and walked off. Then as I started to walk off I began to think about how bad the situation was.

Firstly in today's economy, customer service is key. Companies have to go beyond selling products and give them something they can't get from their competitors.

If they are going to close early then they should have signs saying so.

If for them it is all about money then lets say on average they work 300 days a year, and this happens every day they are open. I ordered one of the cheaper ones so lets use that as an example, I think it comes in at £3.50, so times that by 300 that's £1.050 per year less in the bank.

I am thinking about the times at Hoffi we have worked over time and gone the extra mile. Well beyond the 'opening hours' of the studio. While there has to be a cut off point.

So finally to sum up. If you are setting up a brand or business it has to be genuine and authentic. The owners have to believe in it and they have to talk about why they are doing it, rather than what and how. In the same way brands that have been established for years have also got to look at why they exist.

IGLAB - workshop

2010-07-19T10:14:00.002+01:00

One Day

2010-07-14T23:08:00.001+01:00

playmakers

2010-07-08T21:27:00.000+01:00

Playmakers from thinkpublic on Vimeo.

playmakers video 02 : capture the flag and public space from thinkpublic on Vimeo.

playmakers video 01 : alex fleetwood and the sandpit from thinkpublic on Vimeo.

Games and culture - pervasive gaming

2010-07-07T17:40:00.002+01:00

Ok so they are linked massively, but I wonder with the new breed of technology based games whether there is new possible directions to move in. The below video was produced way back in 2004, making a virtual game and placing it in a physical place, in this case PAC MAN in New York. I wonder if this kind of breaking down barriers and involvement could bring further developments for breaking social and cultural barriers where the sole goal is to reduce mis-understanding and the most empathetic is the real winner?

You will like it

2010-07-07T17:03:00.005+01:00

I have been meaning to show this for a while now. I love the story that I have created around the product:

Guy 1: So it has all natural ingredients and is kind to your gums.

Guy 2: but it tastes horrible, no one will ever buy that.

Guy 1: what should we do then?

Guy 2: I know, if we put a graphic on the back that shows how in time you you will get to like it that should be ok, right?

Guy 1: they will never go for that, who's going to buy that...

Well I bought it and I can testify I will not be buying it again. I do however love the story it conjured up in my head.

The week so far

2010-06-30T12:26:00.005+01:00

I remember having a conversation with Andrew a while ago about never being too busy to do something, there is always time to fit something in. So far this has been some of my work starting on Saturday.

Saturday
ARKADE - shop interior and do some voxpop's for research project

Sunday
Day off - (although I did manage to edit the voxpop video's and plan some workshop's for later in the week) also I went to visit the folks.

Monday
Work then me and Car drive to North Wales.

Tuesday
Meeting for Hoffi (hope they liked us), nipped to LLanberis Pass for a quick climb (rude not to) drive home, once home go and do a few things for the ARKADE at Laura's studio. SLEEP

Awesome

Economics never my strong point

2010-06-21T09:59:00.003+01:00

I woke up this morning to the news. Once again doom and gloom, England are crap in the football, recession is going to be a 'double dip' and of course the on-going BP oil leak. One of the more interesting pieces was around the recession and how it is affecting our daily lives. In particular the ex-pats in Europe who are struggling to live due to the strength of the pound against the euro. For some this has meant a radical change in the way they shop. They are ordering their food from Britain and then it is being delivered to them. And to top it all off it's cheaper. In some cases by about a third.

You can see more about it here

Irony

2010-06-17T21:54:00.001+01:00

On our way back from meeting one of our customers. The project is about lactose free and soya based products. Ironic about the company nearby.

London day trip

2010-06-17T21:45:00.002+01:00

Having been deep into two brands for Hoffi and trying to help out all I can for ARK and it's empty shop project, it was nice to get away for a few hours by traveling to London. It wasn't entirely pleasure as i was there to go to an event around design and sustainability. We managed to get around a few areas including Brick Lane area. It was nice to go there after so many years to see the graduates setting up their work. It was quite chaotic but it brought back fond memories of it. I particularly liked the pop-up shop outside exploiting those desperate graduates.

Best picture ever

2010-06-06T17:49:00.002+01:00

This is one of those pictures that I love. I accidently took it this week while working on a project in Cardiff. I love it and think it is by far my favourite image ever.

Genius of Britain

2010-06-05T12:00:00.005+01:00

Has anyone else managed to catch the Channel 4 series Genius of Britain this week? You can catch on their YouTube channel here would have embedded them here but for some reason it's not allowed???

Anyway the series was amazing and has made me realise just how much I would have liked to be that clever. In school I was never that interested in science but I have always been interested in how things work and why things are the way they are. To this end OI wonder wether it may have been just the teaching not being amazingly inspiring. Now though I am going to make a concious effort to try and broaden my knowledge within science and in particular the field of Hamilton's Rulewhich in the basic sense looks at how organisms work together to increase future good. This altruism I think is hugely interesting for me on a personal level and through the work I have been getting involved in over the last year or so.

I think I am going to try and look at this in a number of avenues (maybe to aspirational but hey);

- firstly I want to look at how social media creates communities but maybe also leads to less 'physical' responsibility to the real world's resources. This thinking has been sparked by a recent article I have read by John Thackara and other pieces within the TED talks archive.

- secondly I want to look at how through rules such as Hamilton's we might be able utilise them in the development of new workshops for the involvement of communities within the evolution of social design tools.

- i think finally (and this a really long project that probably dates back to 2002) I want to reinvestigate gameplay with storytelling to utilise in design terms within projects. I am aware of a number of sites that include 'knowledge games' and workshops but I think there is something extra that could be used.

On another note I have finally managed to get around to doing some work on the creative networks project for ARK LAB it's hard fitting it all in with work at Hoffi and also the empty shop project which is taking a lot of time up at the minute. But if there is anyone out there that would like to help out and take this on further please let me know. You can see the full article here.

Other collections

2010-05-30T20:52:00.003+01:00

This is a slightly different 'grouping' than the previous ones, and I must admit I didn't see it at first. This is a signage post near sophia gardens. What I find interesting about this along with the normal grouping and acceptability of stickers is the further development of the stickers. In particular the PAC MAN which is from Cardifferent. This sticker as you can see has been further enhanced by the chewing gum to create an even more emotional response. The need to these emotional responses is hugely important and has been looked at for decades both in design and in psychology. Further to my last articles on this subject, there are things that need to happen to use this type of work in successful design situations.

- We need to create environments that involve people in bringing people or objects together.
- We also need to allow people to adapt or alter in creating emotional involvement within it.

A little vague but it's coming along.

Empty Shop update

2010-05-29T14:18:00.002+01:00

Managed to visit the shop for the ARK project this week. And to put it simply it is huge. We have got loads of work to do to it as well. If we are going to get it ready for the start of July. IF anyone wants to lend a hand please get in touch.

Tilt Photography for climbing

2010-05-25T13:39:00.001+01:00

Alex and Uli speed climbing The Nose on 5.20.10 from Chris Falkenstein on Vimeo.

NESTA Mass Localism - on reflection

2010-05-22T15:29:00.005+01:00

Over the last month I have been lucky enough to experience the thoughts and ideas of John Thackara and also attending the findings of NESTA's Mass Localism discussion paper. I have also through ARK been running a mini project on the creative networks within Cardiff and Wales. In short it has led me to a number of proposals which I hope make sense:

- The volunteer work with ARK seems to tie in neatly with the findings of NESTA and the fact that through small groups doing different things independently we can make real change on major issues.

- This brings a question of what if mini groups are doing similar things? do you leave them to do the same thing or do you try and link them up to create a stronger group. If you take John Thackara's idea then you let them flourish individually which also seems to be in line with NESTA's findings.

- There is then a question of this middle ground of when local has to be scaled up or not. In particular things such as food and agriculture and also house building. For me other recent findings have led me to question the very notion of 'localness' and small farms being the answer to food production in the future. If you havn't seen it then I suggest you have a look at the below video of Dan Barber. And the line in particular about measuring the success of the farm by the number of it's predators and also not feeding its livestock at all. This seems to me a question of scale and something that would be interesting if it can still be local. In the same way house building particularly in Britain seems to be dominated by large companies buying land and developing and building in traditional ways. While legislation is making these companies improve there quality in environmental terms it seems to me at least that legislation isn't the way of making a company or country innovative.

The most obvious and historically proven is to be at war 100's of inventions and developments have happened through war and have formed many of the things we now see as being essential to live day to day. The second and slightly less deadly would be to look at how other companies have managed to change there traditional views and turned themselves into innovative companies and it seems that it is through a huge internal cultural change. So people are not only working up to the legislative line they have innovation in built and use this to gain more work due to them being ahead of the curve.

- The future is also an issue for me in terms of things like hydro power etc. At the moment my understanding is that people/companies are part subsidised by the government for installing hydro, wind and solar energy systems into local landscapes. But if we take it to the extreme and in the future everyone sets up their own power station. Does that mean they will still pay money to buy the electricity? if this stops will these systems then become rundown as they will not be able to be maintained? I do not really know enough about this industry to know for sure, but I think it is interesting to think about these issues now. It also brings up other very interesting questions of one town which is energy rich 'giving' energy to others in exchange for something the other town does well. How can this work? what will energy companies of today turn into???

- This nicely brings me onto another issue which was raised during the NESTA seminar. The issue of power and how far does power move from government to the local areas where they know exactly what is going on. First view point is that 'mass localism' has proven that in general local communities can react and deal with huge issues in a quicker and cheaper way rather than being dictated to by using a universal model. So government has to start giving support to these communities in different ways than it does know. Secondly will government really give this power away to local communities? is it a step too far? will councils etc be disbanded as towns and communities will start doing everything for themselves?

- Finally I am starting to think about the wider world and how we are making certain materials harder and harder to find. A few months ago I attended an E:DN event where a chemist introduced us to the periodic table with loads of colours on it. At first I thought looks really nice then he went on to explain that due to some of these elements being used in things like phones etc and then spread around the worked these elements are becoming in essence extinct. So as well as designing we much now start asking is there enough of this material to make millions of them. So who decides this in the future? who says yes to one manufacturer and no to the other?

Just a few thoughts I wonder what other people think?

NESTA @ the Pierhead building

2010-05-20T15:27:00.002+01:00

I managed to get to the Pierhead Building this morning to hear a seminar about NESTA's Big Green Challenge and also their publication 'Mass Localism'. Chaired by Peter Davies, Commissioner for Wales, Sustainable Development Commission (SDC). with other attendees being Viv Sugar, Chair of Consumer Focus Wales, Dr Michael Harris, Director of Research, NESTA, Chris Blake, member of the Green Valleys community project in the Brecon Breacons, one of the winning communities in NESTA's Big Green Challenge and Cris Tomos, Chairman of Cymdeithas Cwm Arian Association.

I found the talks very encouraging for a number of reasons. Firstly a number of thoughts and beliefs that we have been investigating in ARK seem to be vindicated by the findings of NESTA's paper. Also within Hoffi it also seems like we are moving towards the findings and ways of thinking that are going to be necessary in the coming years. In particular looking at our role as a company within the marketplace of our community. Looking at how we improve our community and seeing if there are ways we can help generally as citizens. I look forward to the challenge.

E:DN - network

2010-05-13T12:39:00.004+01:00

I have had a busy few days this week. I was asked to take part in the two day E:DN event setup by ecodesign Wales, the two days where fantastically inspiring for me as John Thackara attended the two days. For last years MA I used alot of John's work to base what has become ARK on. His book In the Bubble is a must read for anyone interested in design in general let alone specifically social design. I was also really happy to be asked to do a bit of facilitation during one of the workshops. Helping to try and create potential Design Camps for later on in the year. It was strange to be doing this kind of thing in front of people that I have based my some of my thinking on.

The night after

2010-05-13T12:28:00.006+01:00

I took this the morning after the election and have been meaning to post it for a while. I guess now that an official government has been setup, it seems a good time to write about it. Recently I have not been on the bus to the Bay as I have started riding a bike through the OYBike scheme, but that day I got on and having previously used the bus on many occasions there was a notable change in the aire. It seemed like people where almost sounding each other out. Thinking that these people I travel on a day to day basis could have possibly voted for a party that I dislike. Very interesting experience

Outdoor gym - Cardiff Bay

2010-05-04T15:35:00.002+01:00

Went to a show this weekend in Cardiff Bay, while parking came across some very new and exciting gym equipment. We could not resist trying them out. We managed to understand most of them but some were pretty hard to know what you had to do.

the seed factory

2010-04-30T10:35:00.004+01:00

Got some images back from Jorge Lizalde today, for the seed factory workshop that we have been working on with Ange from attic 2. Really happy with them as they capture the day really well. You can see more of them on my flickr account. Have a few more meetings and workshops to do with the project but looking forward to getting to the insights phase of the project.

Shoppers 'greenwashed by misleading eco claims'

2010-04-30T10:09:00.005+01:00

Following on from my last article about Puma I came across an article in Metro by Fred Attewill. The article discusses a recent report by Which? who have been involved in investigating a number of 'eco' toilet cleaners, laundry tablets and nappies. These products all had varying degrees of 'eco' claims.

Tesco's Naturally label noted it did not contain hazardous chemicals, so by implying others in the range did which is not the case, since the report Tesco has changed it's labeling. Other companies such as Ariel and Persil have used logos suggesting they encouraged greener behaviour which is not been proven. The problem is obvious in a consumer sense, how can we be sure what we buy is the best possible product? in terms of not damaging the environment or improving it when there seems to be very little regulations to bring companies and brands into order?

Puma thinks outside the box with eco-packaging

2010-04-22T09:44:00.007+01:00

After two years of research and designing, Puma have changed their shoe boxes. The new venture aims to cut water and energy usage by up to 60% and it is hoped will save up to 8,500 tonnes of paper usage throughout the company. It should also mean a reduction in transportation costs due to the lighter packaging. The article written by the BBC, has some nice quotes from Chief Executive, Mr Zeitz about the future of the company and it's goals to become a 'sustainable' environmentally responsible company.

"Over time we hope to be 100% recyclable, but at the moment we want to reach standards that are achievable today,"

"Business is part of the environmental problem; and we need to do what we can to fix it - companies need to lead the way.

"Meanwhile, consumers are becoming increasingly discerning in their choices and we need to address this too."

I think what is interesting about the article and the views expressed by Mr Zeitz are the realisation of where Puma are in their development. It is refreshing to hear a Chief Executive of a Multi-national company saying that they are not perfect and they have alot of work to do. The article does raise other interesting questions regarding it's involvement in motorsport's which seem to be in opposition to their new 'green journey'. There seems to be more than meets the eye and maybe another gimmick?

in the air

2010-04-21T11:13:00.004+01:00

Came across this last night when walking past Howells. Made me smile in the current climate.

Lovely service

2010-04-16T16:27:00.000+01:00

Design networks in Wales - why they come and go, and why they are essential to become leaders in the sector

2010-04-16T13:41:00.003+01:00

I must apologise about this blog before I start as it will be a bit of a rant... Over the last few years we have seen networks, or loose collaborations join together to create and engage in various ways. On one end there have been evenings such as ignite and pecha kucha which are fundamentally knowledge transfer events. Through to informal quiz nights such as NakedWales' quiz nights, which are a general get together's and an opportunity for people to meet and become acquainted with like minded people in similar fields. There are other regular events setup by Cardiff Web Scene, and the yearly Design Festival to name a few. Then there is a sea of different people all trying to do what seems like the same thing.

Creative Wales, NOCCI, Cardiff Graphic Design Network, Design Wales Forum, these are just the ones I can think of from the top of my head. So what am I getting at??? Well could it be that the diluted nature of the community is leading to the creative industries not being taken seriously? Is it that the lack of a voice within Wales to fight for creative industries through an actual live breathing network/community could lend a huge amount of weight to funding applications, changes in the sector and general changes. The ability to share knowledge gain contacts and generally raise the standard of creative work in Wales. There also seems to be a reticence to 'join in', from first hand experience trying to support ventures such as NakedWales, Cardiff Design Festival and more recently Creative Wales. These events are hard to get people involved and contribute, and even getting people to actually just turn up is hard enough. So the question I guess is two fold:

- Why do people not want to involve themselves in events that will help them professionally?

- How come there are very few doer's

Font trip - 2010

2010-04-14T11:52:00.004+01:00

Just got back from two weeks in Fontainebleau. It's about my fifth trip there but it is the first time I have been out there for so long. The weather was brilliant save for a few days at the start. I managed to get up this problem on the last day just as it got dark doesn't get better than that.

2010-03-24T15:56:00.002Z

gaming

2010-03-24T15:52:00.002Z

Creativity

2010-03-24T15:00:00.001Z

These are models right?

2010-03-22T12:55:00.001Z

Came across this video and it's got that odd feel of the real and the fake. I love it.

The Sandpit from Sam O'Hare on Vimeo.

AK47

2010-03-19T21:10:00.001Z

Dave Gray-Knowledge Games: A Grammar for Creativity and Innovation from Interaction Design Association on Vimeo.

urban psychology part deux - best things come in threes

2010-03-19T20:23:00.003Z

I have written about social attraction and leaders forming paths for others to follow in a previous blog. I have been on the look out for another example and came across this (you can see another shot here) tonight in the pouring rain. For me these are the fascinating parts of society and how we interact with our environment. It leads me to thinking about the concept of bins again (a recent obsession), and what in some peoples eyes what bins represent. Is it that by using bins it is a sense of being conformist and so people rebel? or is it just plan being lazy?

NOTE TO SELF: I must do something with this.

Homebase adverts

2010-03-19T16:38:00.002Z

I saw this on the tv the other day. It's very bizarre how we have been talking about train stations in ARK for the last few months. Hope you enjoy it.

Fascinated with Barcelona

2010-03-17T16:17:00.003Z

I have finally visited the city that is Barcelona, I managed to get out there for four days. over the weekend just gone. To many people the fact that I didn't see the cathedral or any gaudi stuff would have ment I wouldn't have had a good time. But for me I wanted to get a feel for Barcelona in a local sense. I was lucky to be staying with friends who have been there now for about half a year or so so they pointed us out to different areas which were really great places.

It's an interesting town in the sense that it is only european city i can think of that seems to have been planned. And funny thing is, it actually works. I because quite interested in this aspect of the city and have thought about alot since. I was particularly interested in the idea of public pride in the city, which in many ways feels very similar to the Welsh sense of pride. This is born out in their love of their team Barcelona and also for me the refuge system was of great interest odd I know but the whole different approach to it struck me.

Due to the wide streets large bins which are cater for different material waste are set up along the roads, so in essence removing 'bin day' allowing the streets to be cleaner as litter is not pulled apart by animals in the night, and everyone looks after the bins everyone is responsible rather than just looking after your own.

Specialisation in sectors and businesses'

2010-03-08T15:54:00.005Z

NOT A BLOG ABOUT BIKES.

On friday I went to one of the Pierhead Sessions. I managed to get a ticket for the George Monbiot's keynote lecture. (thank you @harri80 for the ticket). For me it was interesting to hear someone who I had recently quoted in my MA thesis. While most of the speech was about climate change and the impact of Carbon Dioxide is having on the planet. I was particularly taken with a small section of the lecture around the concept of specialisation. The sheer complexity of climate change and the science surrounding it has made the language in Monbiot's words, almost impossible for people to penetrate and understand the scientific facts. To such an extent that 'even the scientist don't understand what another scientist means'. There are a number of points that I have been thinking about around this subject;

Over the last few years Hoffi has moved from a company that has tried to do everything for everyone to a much more focused approach where we target branding both on and offline. This specialisation is then introduced throughout all market sectors. It is a classic way of structuring a business. For example can provide many different services for a particular sector or you can provide a specific service for all sectors.

Although it has been documented before this, it is probably Kevin Roberts book 'Lovemarks' that discusses the idea of brands moving away from the traditional attention advertising, to an attraction economy. This is taking place through many different portals both on and offline but there are two things that seem to be a re-occurring themes. The first being storytelling and the second is conversation. So for me the interest lies in how companies / brands / scientists / governments / people, communicate complex issues to the correct audiences in a way that they understand yet do not feel spoken down to or unengaged / uninvolved?

My final part of this brainstorming ramble is the 'missing link'. Recently my work with ARK and investigating other similar co-design programmes such as dott and creative co-op I have come to think that maybe there is a group of people that could be the link between these groups of people. As translators these people could bring information together and then tailor them to the reader. In someways this has been what 'designers' have done for years. However traditionally they have done it through a physical response. It could have been a website, brochure even an tv advert. But what if the designers role were to change from being a 'maker' in this sense and move more to facilitator? The rise of co-production or co-design are some examples as to how this maybe slowly taking place. The role of a designer could ironically become more and more specialised to allow for people to understand each other? Some designers choosing a traditional craft approach. With others using socialising as their 'craft'.

I do believe that people may have differing views of this and indeed if there are groups of people that are this missing link it would be great to hear about it.

"Owning stuff is out," says fashion trend forecaster

2010-03-05T09:42:00.002Z

According to Fashion Futures, a report by trend analysts Forum for the Future and denim brand Levi's, we will exclusively source our clothes locally or in vintage shops by 2025.

"Owning stuff is out," the analysts said in one of their four animations depicting fashion scenarios for the future. Instead, we will be swapping our clothes with each other, buying them in vintage shops or leasing them from companies due to astronomical prices for new clothing, they predict.

"Luxury [will mean] stuff that is good for people and the planet," Fashion Futures stated. Amid the continuing popularity of sustainable clothing, the report also says that consumers will increasingly demand that business be transparent, while shopping less, locally and in higher quality if they shop at all, and invest in vintage pieces for variety.

Another way of dealing with the higher prices of clothes, the analysts explained, will be bulk-buying and sharing with communities. Already, self-sufficient communities exist to alternatively tackle resource shortages in all kinds of fields, but by 2025, this will also be the case for fashion. 'Clothing libraries,' as the report calls them, might develop where people can borrow clothes just like books in a conventional library.

Early examples of these trends can already be observed: there are several designer clothes rental services, such as Wear Today, Gone Tomorrow (http://www.weartodaygonetomorrow.com) and Rent me a Handbag (http://www.rentmeahandbag.com) in the US, the Australian Dressed Up (http://www.dressedup.com.au), or the British service Girl meets Dress (http://www.girlmeetsdress.com), and clothes swapping parties among girlfriends or on a broader scale - such as Shop my Closet in Paris - have gained popularity internationally.

http://www.forumforthefuture.org/

Source: The Independent

the Virtual Revolution

2010-03-04T09:04:00.002Z

I finally managed to catch the last in the episode of The Virtual Revolution TV series on the BBC. I have to say this is one of the best series' I have come across in a long time. The amount of people they managed to get to speak about the subject is incredible. You can see the last episode here.

OK Go - This Too Shall Pass - RGM version

2010-03-04T00:12:00.001Z

AMAZING

2010-02-27T23:16:00.001Z

Thank you AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH

My experiences of design

2010-02-27T21:30:00.005Z

From an early age I was introduced to art and an appreciation for design. I was taken to museums all round the world and was regularly taken to the most stylish country of the time (Italy) on holiday for a number of years. During these times and ever since I have slowly formed ideas and beliefs about what design is for me and what it should fundamentally answer. The things I have realised have come to a head in the last decade through my experiences designing and making furniture for exhibitions in London through to co-creating Hoffi which produces brands for a wide variety of clients.

I am going to try and break down my understanding of design and how it has evolved in a very simple bulletpoint list.

• design was to make something look good
• design should answer a need (but a general commercial (western) one)
• design should be eco (yet feel separated from design)
• introduced to service design and universal design principles (didn't quite get it)
• design should incorporate eco and design together (following simple reduce, reuse recycle principle)
• design should aim to create products that are responsible (have a life cycle journey, cradle to cradle)
• eco design and so as a whole design seem to be irrelevant if we can't change people's ways of using/living etc
• social design is a broad name but seems to be the true design of the future

While a world wind tour of my thoughts I feel it sums most things up for me currently, and there are many reasons for this. The eco design sector and the growth of accreditation in this area firstly disrupts my thought process as there are so many different ways to be eco, so many perspectives so many avenues to cover. I always remember my first experience of being asked about my furniture at an exhibition about how environmentally friendly it was, where the screws had come from etc. Back then I was a bit naive and was struggling to come up with any answers. It was only until a few days later that I had the answers in my head that I felt would correct. The truth was I personally hand crafted my furniture with my father. I bought the wood from a local timber merchants. Granted the screws were not sourced in an eco way but then I look again at the product and it's quality. I believe it is made to last and will age well.

On the other hand do I as a small designer maker ever have the true ability to create products that are eco? What I mean by this, is can I control every aspect of this being such a small company? Equally within Hoffi as a small design agency how can we be sure that we can cause change and be sure the change we are making is the right type?

In short the answer is 'social' sometimes being a mixture of design thinking, service design, eco design. Social design allows an overarching look at how things work and function. It is not a new discipline but I believe it is something that you come to as you develop as a designer. It seems to be the logical progression due in part to frustration through the lack of control of projects and indeed how things work. Films like 'An Inconvenient Truth' have helped to raise awareness on environmental issues and the principle of AL Gore traveling city by city person by person to spread the word is a fantastic goal. Social design works in a similar way but from a different angle allowing for discussion and conversation to create changes that will be sustainable within the community in question.

The critical mass or 'tipping point' of a vibrant Cardiff.

2010-02-19T10:28:00.003Z

Save for three years in university and a stint travelling I have called Cardiff my home. It is only in the last two years or so that I feel like I have found out about Cardiff.

Initially this may seem a bit odd maybe I was just lazy, so I will delve deeper. For a few years now Cardiff has nurtured and seemed to encourage small enterprising businesses to set up shop in the heart and/or outskirts of Cardiff. Companies such as beatbox bars who have opened buffalo bar, 10 feet tall and more recently mr smiths. Or the group that for many years has been responsible for secret carnival, milgi and the newly opened Cardiff Arts Institute. All follow from an older tradition based in the canton area called CHAPTER. This is where my thinking begins. With a question of now the newly developed CHAPTER has become newly refurbished with more space and perhaps a perceived establishment?

While this could be seen as a negative I feel it could be the next stage in the development of Cardiff and it's ability to develop genuine authentic and new creative hubs and works that are no longer in the shadow of other larger cities. With the recent launch of National Theatre Wales the city has gained another asset that can only add to this mass.

I therefore am wondering whether the generation that are now in their mid twenties through to mid thirties are becoming Doers? sick of 'waiting' for funding or things to move on, instead they are actually doing things themselves. This is a personal account of things and something I am hopefully going to flesh out in the next year or so.

Change on the bus

2010-02-19T10:18:00.002Z

OK this may be a well known fact, but having lived in Cardiff for many years I was shocked by the latest bit of knowledge I gained a few weeks ago. As most visitors or infrequent public transport users have experienced. Cardiff Bus seems to be one of the only transport companies that doesn't give change. So if the fare is £1.50 and you have £2 then you lose the 50p. That is until now? well not really sure when it happened. Around two weeks ago I was getting onto a number 6 Bay bus consigned to losing a pound as I had two £2 coins and wanted a day to go. Head down already late I pop the coins into the slot when the driver asks me a question. I don't really hear him at first, then after a Pardon? he repeats these words: Do you want a change voucher for that?

I immediately react with yes please slightly quicker than you would normally answer as the excitement is too much. I am informed that I have to take the voucher to Wood Street to get my money back. A very happy smile on my face...

DBA - the edge

2010-02-04T12:02:00.002Z

Nice illustration

2010-01-27T15:12:00.002Z

I came across this on Dave Macleod's blog really like it.

community

2010-01-12T16:55:00.000Z

Lessons from a Tailor. Directed by Galen Summer from Ed David on Vimeo.

social design

2010-01-12T13:38:00.002Z

social design, originally uploaded by julian marshall sykes findings.

I have been meaning to post this image for months, never seemed right until now. With the my recent involvement in ARK being more aware of social design and how people affect people. This image is taken in the middle of Cardiff City Centre Just by where I live. For me the interesting thing about it was the story. When leaving my flat there was one item of rubbish carefully positioned on the door frame, walking past it I thought then that it was strange to see an item of litter there. When I got back about an hour later I saw that there was a second piece of litter now on the door frame. So from never seeing any litter there before suddenly in one day there are two items.

This is really where the story starts for me as I believe it relates to urban psychology and the fact that people are sociable beings. The argument therefore is that without the first putting the rubbish in that spot the second person would not have even dreamed of doing so. I a similar way it's why groups of people in a wide open space will generally inhabit places near tall structures such a sculptures and trees. Ultimately it's how trends start the first leads the way with the other following. I think Malcolm Gladwell's Tipping point is a must read if anyone is interested in this topic. For me though I am wondering how this could be used almost in reverse in a positive none littering way?

Copenhagen and that

2009-12-16T14:32:00.004Z

Having been involved in the recent Eco Network events setup by ecodesign centre coupled with the goings on in Copenhagen. I have been thinking recently about how 'eco' issues are presented to a client and also where the line exists between design and 'eco'

What I mean by this is that historically 'eco' and more recently 'green washing' have become bolt on's to an existing product. "We have improved this product by making it's packaging out of sustainable materials". So the belief that 'eco' is an added luxury rather than being intrinsically linked within an overall approach to a project/product. A recent product that has been introduced by Kenco is interesting for me.

They have recently launched a new form of packaging. Instead of the traditional glass jar they have moved to a re-sealable poly bag. With over 97% less packaging it seems like a huge improvement. But there are a few questions that come up.

Firstly if this is the best solution why are all the other products that Kenco sell not in these bags?

Secondly with the idea of recycling plastic and paper through our council recycling schemes we come up against another issue. Currently the plastic used for the bags are not recyclable and for them to be of further use in other products etc. It is advised on the Kenco website to send freepost to a firm to deal with it. I wonder how many people will do this?

For me I think people making changes in a positive way is a great start and indeed a start of a very difficult journey. That is if the changes are for genuine change to make a difference rather than for marketing purposes and ultimately to sell more goods.

The Year that was

2009-12-15T11:14:00.004Z

Well it's that time of year again when people reflect on the year that is slowly losing it's grip. This year has been difficult for everyone. Financially the recession has hit and it's been all doom and gloom, if the media is anything to go by. For us experiencing a recession for the first time it was initially quite daunting. While we are not fully out of it, we seem to have weathered the storm.

I think what has been different from previous recessions has been access to information. People have been able to look historically to see what happened before and what brands came out stronger from these recessions. From our experiences. People seem to be looking at their businesses and brands ever so slightly differently. It's now seems to be a case of looking broadly as to how a business can contribute to society rather than only making money. It has been really exciting to explore this new way of working with people through the strategy and branding process. For us personally it has been something that has been integrated into Hoffi from the beginning.

Having setup NakedWales - a community space that allows for artists and designers to share information. We set it up with the idea of raising the overall profile of design in Wales. With this added awareness we hoped to raise the overall perceived importance of Design. With the idea of raising standards and exposure of design. In a similar way the recent work I have been involved in through ARK which has been set up to try and answer some of the current social issues.

Finally one thing I really need to remember is when attending launch events I need to take home the goodie bags.

Learning about electricals

2009-12-11T10:54:00.003Z

This last few weeks have been manic getting an advertisement ready for our client Wyeverne Electrical. We have recently produced their brand and have been looking at ways to increase their presence in Cardiff. To this end we have used an empty shop front as an advertisement for Wyeverne's flagship store on Cyfartha street.

This is me being stopped by packaging. Why is packaging always so hard to open?

Coffee machine

2009-11-30T15:57:00.002Z

Coffee machine, originally uploaded by julian marshall sykes findings.

We have a lovely new coffee machine in the studio. A bit late but nice cappucinos.

Another David Thorne email

2009-11-26T12:58:00.003Z

Carwyn came across David Thorne a while ago now about spider. More recently I happened upon this from a twitter. Once again a great piece of work. Love it.

see it here.

Branding Obama book launch

2009-11-24T14:11:00.002Z

Over the last year or so I have been really interested in the president elections in America. For me it was the first election I have been aware of where design/branding of a campaign was used to such a degree that people could have been swayed to vote by the power of media design and in essence branding of a person. See some more related articles here.

Designing Obama from mas / menos on Vimeo.

Chapter subsidence

2009-11-23T16:18:00.003Z

Had a great weekend which included a quick drink at Chapter Arts Centre. In the new Cwtch area I came across this small object. Not being a builder or surveyor I can only assume it has been setup to check that the walls are not moving too much. For me though it leads on from a talk I was involved in a few weeks ago at the unConference. The talk was about the possibility of building 'talking' or reacting to the user. While a very basic interpretation of this I loved the idea of what information the building is giving us as to how this particular wall is reacting to the world. I am sure sensors in buildings are not new but I wonder if they can be used in fun and interesting ways to aid understanding could be very interesting. It also reminds me of some similar work Andrew is working on with the development of the nakedwales site.

Chapter subsidence, originally uploaded by julian marshall sykes findings.

Chipped X-BOXES does that mean they can find stolen ones?

2009-11-12T15:50:00.002Z

With the recent launch of Call of Duty and also the bigger story of Microsoft blocking chipped X-Boxes it led me to think about how much information Microsoft have on the owners of the consoles. As a occasional user I am in no way qualified to know any of these questions but I wanted to theorise if they can track the consoles which have been chipped does that mean they can track the actual physical x-box? if that is the case would it mean that they could track the serial codes of the x-box and if yours is stolen then they could track that and turn it off?

Only a thought...

Independents at their own game?

2009-11-12T15:45:00.003Z

I cam across this post via Moving Brands blog and thought after the recent launches of independent bars and clubs in Cardiff it seems appropriate to highlight the huge corporations and how they are starting to look small. To me it seems similar to innocent in a way of seeming small and bespoke but actually being huge. I wonder what everyone else thinks?

Future of branding

2009-11-12T15:25:00.003Z

I came across this article via marketing week's website and think that the examples of the way branding and communication are potentially changing is very interesting and exciting new direction for this type of design. As the article suggests the future logo's do seem like they will have to be so much more than just a stationary 'mark'. It seems like it is almost mirrored in history by painting, to photography, to animation, to film and now virtual reality and even 3D which seems to be having a bit of a revival recently.

As technology allows this the brand and the ability to move and alter and perhaps personalise is fantastically interesting for us at Hoffi and something we would be really interested in investigating further. There is also a strong sense that with this type of branding then there is a much greater need for a strong strategy and story behind it and it is something I have been looking at in terms of ARK's recent development and how through story telling it is possible to include people from various sectors in complex issues through simple language.

Did Walt have it right all those years ago?

2009-11-07T23:47:00.002Z

As you have probably guessed. This year I have been moving into responsive community projects both through public involvement right the way through to encouraging a different way of viewing business and branding. Bringing it back to basics. Which for me is to concentrate on people rather than profit. While I am not sure Walt Disney was purely about this the organisation chart seems to have a refreshing feel of community.

Cardiff Arts Institute Launch

2009-11-06T14:56:00.002Z

Visited the new Arts Institute in Cardiff Last night. Interesting place. It used to be a Brains pub called Incognito which I very rarely went to but the space now has really been changed will be interested to see how it works after the initial launches.

Twitter, Flutter, Flttr, shutter, shttr

2009-11-06T14:47:00.001Z

I wish I could grow this

2009-10-30T22:05:00.001Z

Came across this from Dan Germain's blog. Love it on many aspects mainly due to the commitment of it.

Time Lapse: My Hairy Commute from :: Fred Abercrombie on Vimeo.

ARK launch

2009-10-29T17:06:00.003Z

After 12 weeks of meeting up regularly on a Wednesday we (me, Simon and Lynsey) finally launched ARK. We were hoping for around 15 people for the event. We were planning to give people an idea of how ARK works and the issues it hope's to address. In the end we had around 25 which is great. There are some more photos on my flickr account and also a few on SImon's as well. Finally I would like to thank ATRiuM - University of Glamorgan for letting us use there foyer for the event. Also for attic 2, Hoffi and EcoDesign Centre for allowing us to put a bit of time into the project.

launch, originally uploaded by julian marshall sykes findings.