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Posts from Experience Design

The world revolves around the user.

August 7

oEmbed

oEmbed is a relatively simple concept, which can be basically thought of as hyperlinking to the next level. According to oembed.com: “oEmbed is a format for allowing an embedded representation of a URL on third party sites. The simple API allows a website to display embedded content (such as photos or videos) when a user posts a link to that resource, without having to parse the resource directly.”

Today, if I want to embed this Youtube video into a Wordpress blog (such as this one), I need to complete these steps:

Start typing my new blog post
Switch browser windows, and go the Youtube video’s page

Copy the “embed” code, which is kind of crazy looking:

<object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Pube5Aynsls&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Pube5Aynsls&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>

Switch back to the Wordpress window, and paste the embed code (as HTML) into my Wordpress post

Clearly, that’s not ideal. Figuring out where the embed code is, and how to copy and paste it as HTML into Wordpress is not very easy, or intuitive. Now consider a future where Wordpress is an oEmbed consumer, and Youtube is an oEmbed provider. To do the same thing, these are the steps:

Start typing my new blog post
Click the “embed” button in Wordpress
Enter the regular web browser link to the Youtube video in the box
Click “OK.” Wordpress will automagically figure out how to embed the video, and do it for you.

No copy and paste, no tabbing between pages, and best of all, no code. The user doesn’t need to know what oEmbed is, or how it works.

oEmbed can be used in more creative ways, too. For example, if you link to a Youtube video on the microblogging site identi.ca, the link will get a little paper clip next to it, and when clicked on, the video player will open in a lightbox. For example, take a look at this notice.

At this early stage of oEmbed’s lifetime, there are not many providers or consumers. To jumpstart the process, Deepak Sarda created oohembed, a service that acts as a provider for many sites that don’t yet support oEmbed themselves (since Youtube isn’t an oEmbed provider, identi.ca uses oohembed, and that’s how the video embedding notice example works). oohembed supports a number of popular sites, such as Youtube, Vimeo, Hulu, Wikipedia, and Wordpress.com.

Hopefully, we’ll see more and more sites and pieces of software support oEmbed as both providers and consumers to improve their user experience. Wordpress 2.9 will likely be an oEmbed consumer (so the theoretical process I gave above may soon become a reality), and I’ve created a plugin that makes Wordpress an oEmbed provider. Here’s to an easier (to embed, at least) future!

This post was originally published on my blog at http://candrews.integralblue.com/2009/08/oembed/ – please comment and discuss this post at that location. Thanks!

posted to: Experience Design, Technology, Web 2.0 & Social Media | No Comments »

July 27

Resetting Smart Objects in Adobe Photoshop

by Hakki Yemeniciler

I have been asked this question many times from junior level designers to seasoned creatives:

How do you reset the Smart Object transform values back to their default (the original resolution of the embedded object)?

It would be very nice of Adobe to add a contextual menu entry as a right click or ctrl click on the smart object that said “reset smart object”, or even better a sub menu that states the current dimensions like “80% of original” with the reset option. Since this functionality doesn’t exist, I’m going to share with you a simple method I use to reset the smart object dimensions:

1. Select the smart object in your layers, use Cmd+T or Edit > Transform > Scale:

Scaled down smart object

You will notice the ratio in your toolbar reflect the modified scale:

Modified ratio

2. Enter 100% for both width and height to reset the smart object back to original:

enter original ratio

And there you go:

original ratio, reset by transforming to 100%

Piece of cake! As easy as this is, its usually overlooked.
Hope you find this useful.

posted to: Creative, Experience Design | No Comments »

July 17

Flickr – Most Popular Cameras

by Ricardo Salema

Thought this was a very interesting statistic even though it is not very surprising. The most popular camera on Flickr these days is being challenged by the simple photo abilities on the iPhone. I am sure it is a reflection of many things including mobility, and even audience type. It does in the end become the most versatile tool for capturing life’s moments and Flickr may be more popular now with casual photo enthusiasts and not serious hobbyists or pros.

Lot of other great information here as well. Check it out when you get a chance - http://www.flickr.com/cameras/

posted to: Creative, Data & Analytics, Experience Design, Industry Trends, Mobile, Technology, Web 2.0 & Social Media | No Comments »

July 14

MITX Event: The Convergence of TV and Video: Digital Marketing & the New Video Ecosystem

by Rebecca Reuben

Event header

Last week I had the opportunity to get a look at where the future of TV and Film is headed in the digital world. As video consumption converges with the Internet, TV and Mobile Devices, a new breed of consumer behavior is growing. An interesting panel of experts, Keith Johnston, Brian Cusak, Adam Kasper, Mark Marvel, and Chris Pape, presented thoughts on where this trend might be going, who the true benefactors will be, and how marketers can take advantage of it. Below is a compiled list of notes recorded by myself, as well as my fellow co-worker Kusum Thummalapalli who were fortunate enough to attend this event.

The power of video:

There’s a huge misconception that TV is dead, when in fact there is still record consumption of TV (the word is that the recession could be playing a huge role in it), as people are staying home to decrease spend and watch TV instead.
TV is still the center of the living room, that will never change (per some of the speakers). What will change is how we get content onto the TV and how we interact with that content.

A shift in traditional advertising:

Ad spending has not plummeted, but in fact has flattened. With a decrease in traditional television viewing advertisers are not cutting their television advertising budget, but rather moving some of it to online television and digital spaces.
With budgets moving from TV to the Web we will find more productions based around interactive and social technology, as well as some TV shows produced specifically for web. (eg: www.youtube.com/fred, as well as various webisodes stemmed from original TV shows)

Consumers are changing from readers to become more watchers:

The start of “interactive television” is beginning with interactivity such as live tweeting while a show is airing, and having those tweets appear on screen. Also companies like Direct TV are allowing users (viewers) to upload their fantasy football players to the screen while watching live sports coverage.
Why has video become so powerful? Online video, is centered around sharing, community and having interactive emotional engagements in and around the experience of watching this video

Common misconceptions:

TV companies think see pushing content to the web as an additive. Younger generations see it as an alternative.
One common misconception is that the new way to view television should be focused around the device used for viewing. But the device isn’t the mechanism, but just the vehicle. The Web is the mechanism. It should be the users choice where, when, or how they want to access the content.

Hulu

What might be the best experiences incorporating video:

Use video as a hook and then pause at a point to engage customers with interactions . (eg: Show a funny video of ‘French’s mustard’ and then stopping halfway to enticing users to spray mustard on the screen in various shapes, such as star, cloud or hot dog.)
Marketing opportunities with video : sectionalize video, apply tags/keywords to them and make it be searchable. Selling those keywords, relevant section for complimentary ad spaces to showcase products. Also has SEO associations.
There are also opportunities to brand the viewing experience. (eg: You can sponsor an online program commercial free, but instead skin the video player to resemble your brand. Users will think they are getting the program commercial free, but are really being influenced by your brand. There are also opportunities to have your product pop-up alongside the video content as necessary.)

Misc. tidbits:

Users want to be in control of the content they want to see, especially on the web and mobiles
More than 1/2 of the Youtube traffic is from outside of USA
Check out ‘Fred’ on YouTube. He’s become very famous of late. He has his own broadcast channel/show on YouTube. With a following of a million subscribers. http://www.youtube.com/user/Fred . Other panel members were wondering if this was similar to the LonelyGirl video that was a front a few years back. The takeaway here, is someone like Fred who started as just 1 person, now has the potential to attract marketers to hawk brands. Just like what the Super Mom Bloggers are doing I guess. Fred now has two seasons of episodes online, as well as his own line of Fred clothing, and his own web site.
Other people who have their own channels on YouTube: Queen of England and the Pope. Think about that for a moment.

As a member of Generation-Y who has grown up with the shift of television to online viewing, as well as a member of the interactive community I personally found this MITX discussion very intriguing. It is a lot to take in, but to be able to start thinking about this shift as designers, developers, and viewers is a great creative opportunity. It is up to us, members of the digital world to push these innovations forward and start shaping the future of how we view and interact with TV & Film.

posted to: Creative, Digital Marketing, Digital Strategy, Experience Design, Industry Trends, Technology | No Comments »

July 10

Design drives Innovation! Read all about it!

by Brian Gillespie

“Design as a Driver of User-centered Innovation”
“Using Design to Drive Innovation”
“Design Thinking for Innovation”
“Fostering Innovation Culture In An Unpredictable Economy”

Wow. You’d want to be crazy not to involve designers in your strategy for innovation! Right?! There is quite the clamor to replace, or at least partner, strategy with innovation, business thinking with design thinking, and technology R & D approaches to innovation with consumer-driven approaches. There are some great stories, making great headlines, about innovative new products and services, which are the result of a design-driven approach. Some are truly deliberate from the start; others had a happy ending and could rewrite history to fit the good story! And this is a good story. One that has lessons and insights for every business with faith in the need for innovation and a desire to continually improve their customer’s experience of their business, however they interact with the business. It also requires a will to lead their industry and leapfrog the competition, to regularly provide new customer value, and to inspire their internal teams to succeed.

So you are a business leader and you have seen the headlines and you have a few questions. So what does innovation by design mean? How does design drive innovation? Innovating what? Design thinking, huh? What do I need to do? Who can help me? How do I engage their help? Should I worry about ROI or just let the designers have at it? How can I afford to invest in innovation during a recession? How can designers help me? So many questions, so little time so today I will answer the final question…and only in part. Here are three ways that designers can help. There are more than three, but we’ll work with three today!

Designers can provide a framework within which to drive your innovation agenda. A simple and effective framework is an essential strategy and innovation process, revolving around three essential activities:

1. Gathering the business and consumer insights that will drive ideas
2. Generating as many ideas or business opportunities as possible,
3. Visualizing and prototyping the best ideas.

The icing on the cake is validation upon which to base your measurement strategy and return on design investment (RODI), which in these recessionary times is often an essential component of the decision to invest. Within this framework designers can draw from a wide range of proven tools and techniques to reveal ideas that can drive innovation. Experience audits, differentiation analysis, customer experience immersion, creative brainstorming, rapid prototyping, consumer participation, and strategy visualizations are but a few.

Designers can work with consumers, customers, and users to drive user-centered innovation. User-centered designers bring empathy to their investigations into opportunities for innovating product and service experiences. Insights revealed by first-hand immersion in the consumer experience are often the sparks that lead to great ideas. Building these ideas on a foundation of business and customer intelligence guarantees that your design strategy lines up perfectly in sync with your business strategy. That’s a good recipe for success in good times and tough times.

posted to: Digital Strategy, Experience Design, Industry Trends, Strategic Design | 1 Comment »