Hornall Anderson Blog

A Day Made of Glass

Ashley Flanagan — Thu, 24 May 2012 14:55:31 GMT

Pulse: Art Meets Data in a Mobile Game

Zak Menkel — Thu, 24 May 2012 14:41:40 GMT

On Monday, in collaboration with 4 Culture and King County Metro, we launched PULSE, a mobile game designed for riders of Metro’s RapidRide B Line. (www.blinepulse.com)

We were charged with creating a game that demonstrated innovation and artistry while improving the rider experience. From the outset, we were drawn to the tension inherent in public transit: it is a fundamentally communal and shared experience, yet people tend to isolate ourselves in bubbles of personal space. We saw an opportunity to use a mobile game to connect that community in a new way.

As mobile devices and connectivity become more and more ubiquitous, we both consume and generate more and more data. What if we could turn that data into something meaningful and shared? Something like… art?

Riders respond to daily questions or prompts based on weekly themes. Pulse takes that response, along with other data like time of day, location and speed and translates them into a unique visualization. Those “data points” are then plotted along with the responses from other riders to create a piece of evolving public art that reflects the “pulse” of the rider community.

Pulse applies the mechanics of a game to create a social experience. It uses the medium of a mobile game to turn data into art.

Go to www.blinepulse.com to learn more or to join the game. (you can see the daily art on any computer, but you’ll need to use your smartphone to play!)

HTML5: Should You Care?

Zak Menkel — Thu, 17 May 2012 09:46:12 GMT

The rumor is that HTML5 is going to save the world. Brand and marketing folks are convinced that this new technology is going to obliterate the barriers between them and the web experience of their dreams. It’s going to be sexy, streamlined, and seamless across all devices.

They’re right. Mostly. Eventually.

Before it becomes the next misunderstood buzzword, let’s take a moment to ask why it matters. HTML5 is—as reported—quite badass, but it’s not exactly new technology. In fact, it’s not really a technology at all. HTML5 is the fifth iteration of a standard governing the primary codebase (HTML) used to build websites. That standard is what defines the common language – the molecular pieces – from which all the complexity of the internet grows.

So what’s the fuss about? The internet works pretty damn well right? HTML5 is a big deal because HTML4 is 15 years old. Do you remember what the internet looked like 15 years ago? No YouTube, no Facebook, no Netflix, no iTunes, no smartphones. Video Chat was science fiction, the cloud was just something that prevented you from getting a tan. There has been nothing short of a revolution in the way we use the internet over the last decade and a half, and the old standard has been pushed beyond its breaking point to accommodate the demands we’re putting on it.

Before we throw a parade, let’s remember that HTML5 is a means to an end. As with any new tool, what matters is what we can do with it.

Fundamentally, HTML5 is striving to get the technology of the web out of the way, so that you can enjoy (and we can create) hassle-free online experiences.

So there’s a lot to be excited about, just ask any developer (if you speak developer). But what do all these tags and elements and APIs and style sheets actually mean to your average Joe User or your average business? It means your online experience can be faster and simpler. It means building great web experiences will be cheaper and easier. It means we can begin to expect even more from the almighty internet.

UNDERSTANDING THE BENEFITS

Faster: Part of the reason websites chug and freeze and bog down is because they’re trying to serve you content that they weren’t really built for—like videos, music, animations or heavy graphics. Doing that heavy lifting requires some clunky (albeit genius) workarounds, all of which make your computer flex more muscles to load a page. HTML5 is designed specifically to work with this type of content without requiring any plugins or workarounds. This means your cute cat videos will load faster and play more smoothly, even on slower devices or over weaker connections.

Simpler: The internet no longer lives solely on our computers. Its infamous tubes have snaked their way into phones, TVs, cameras, cars and more places by the day. Most of us use multiple browsers on multiple devices to perform many different and complex functions - sometimes simultaneously. In short, we expect the internet to work harder for us on a wider variety of playing fields. We expect businesses to provide multiple online experiences to cater to our many devices and unpredictable appetites. If you are that business, you currently have 2 choices: build to the lowest common denominator, or fork out to build multiple sites.

This is where HTML5’s single most potent weapon comes into play—Interoperability. The goal (and we’re getting closer every day) is to build one site, exactly the way you want it, and have it be smart enough to adapt to whatever device or browser is accessing it. You get a consistent experience across different browsers or devices, and, suddenly your iPhone can talk to your laptop, which can then chat up your camera, which can then whisper to your Facebook account, all without it turning into a bad game of telephone.

Cheaper: When you can build one site that takes the place of several, or one app instead of one for each phone type, you can reach your consumers in more places for less money. You can then spend your money making your online experiences more awesome instead of just more usable.

Easier: Just as the introduction of steel beams opened up a whole world of architectural possibilities, HTML5 is crossing things off the “can’t do” list. We can design around the content and the interactions we want to have instead of trying to fit them into what we can build. Removing these functional constraints will allow us to build the new skyscrapers of the web—sites that are more functional, more efficient, and more creative.

Exceeding our expectations: To quote web guru Jeffrey Zeldman on the importance of HTML5: "On one level it doesn't matter… a website just works and that's what a consumer expects.” He’s right, except that raising our expectations about technology ultimately drives us towards greater innovation. One gross but true oversimplification of HTML5 is that it enables websites (on almost any browser or operating system) to things that used to require proprietary or purpose-built applications. It’s expanding our imaginations about what the web can do—it can stream videos, play games, have GPS. It can adapt to its environment and to the people using it. All this requires a tremendous amount of technical wizardry and hardware, but this is becoming less and less apparent to the end user—and even to web designers like ourselves. The web is coming into its own as a truly creative medium because the science is finally catching up to the science fiction. HTML5 is enabling that complex technology to fade into the background so that experiences “that just work” can take center stage.

SOME REALLY COOL STUFF (that we didn’t build)

Currently, HTML5 is in a middle ground between the norm and the bleeding edge. It’s stable and proven, but some of its most potent applications are still being explored or may not be fully supported by some devices and browsers. This will not be the case for long. Look for more examples like these that push the frontiers of what a website is.

The website as multi-media experience: The Wilderness Downtown is a music video for an Arcade Fire song that is much more than a video. It uses Google Earth APIs to personalize the video to you and does things with your browser that would make Internet Explorer 6 blush.

The website as productivity software: Wunderkit is a “social productivity tool.” That enables you and your coworkers to remotely collaborate on a creative endeavor (like a design project). Not mind blowing until you realize that this is enterprise level software that runs through your browser in real time.

The website as classroom: Khan Academy is redefining online learning (by making it interactive, fun and genuinely effective).

The website as interactive storytelling: www.slaveryfootprint.org creates a personalized story based on your input to bring home the disturbing prevalence of human slavery in our modern world.

The website as artistic canvas: Cloth Experiment, by Andrew Hoyer is a simple but awesome demonstration of the ability of HTML5 sites to enable you to create and use unique artistic mediums in a web browser. It also shows how we are blurring the lines between designer/developer and coder/artist.

PUTTING HTML5 INTO PRACTICE

OMD.com

We worked with global media giant OMD on a comprehensive rebrand. We created a dynamic identity that shifts forms and is always in motion. It would have been a shame to apply that cool new brand to a static website. So we built them a site that leverages some of HTML’s unique video capabilities—the entire site background is a video that you “play” by scrolling down the page.

HornallAnderson.com

We recently used HTML5 to redo our own website. The new site gives us the flexibility to incorporate video and rich media in ways that better showcase our work. The experience renders adaptively, with content and layout adjusting automatically to screen size and browser capabilities.

“So, do I need to update my site?”

Probably. Maybe. It depends.

There is little doubt that your website could be working harder for you. Sites are not brochures anymore: the way people interact with you online is as much a part of your brand as what you say or what you look like. But you don’t need a new website simply because there is a new way to build them now. HTML5 and other tools can help you create richer experiences that are (hopefully) more future-proof, but they are only effective when they’re serving a higher purpose for your brand. Before you think about what kind of site you can make, think about the kind of experience you want people to have. Hopefully, as HTML5 and other tools continue to evolve, we will continue to close that gap between what we can imagine and what we can create.

A worthy read.

Andrew Wicklund — Thu, 10 May 2012 07:52:28 GMT

I’d highly suggest reading the entire article, but if you’re pressed for time, this about sums it up for me. –Drew

A New Era of Design

“…What is certain is that the design bar has been raised and design-oriented businesses are winning.

Think how swiftly and strongly a design experience shapes our opinion of that brand, company or store, for good or bad. For instance, we know quickly when a website is bad. And we associate that feeling of frustration, or worse, disappointment with that brand…

…As Michael Eisner, former CEO of Disney, once said, “A brand is a living entity—and it is enriched or undermined cumulatively over time, the product of a thousand small gestures.” That thinking still holds true, but it all happens a lot faster now. Thanks to the Internet and a hyperconnected, social-media-fueled society, brands can be instantly undermined and that experience shared with millions.

So this is a call to action for executives to recognize this new era and make the effort to transform even a mundane product or service into something more rewarding and more memorable. Try to assess each element of your service or product and better it—to see design not just as a marketing thing but as a genuine source of competitive advantage, customer and employee satisfaction and, lastly, a route to higher profits.”

Consensus: the other silent but deadly team killer.

Jennifer Johnston — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 11:58:46 GMT

Last week I came across this article from Forbes that made me want to email blast everyone I've ever worked with. The article is about consensus. That thing that happens when a group gets together to accomplish a common goal without assigning a strong leader and clear team roles. You know what I mean. You've been there as slowly (glacially) decisions were brought to the table so that everyone could weigh in and vote. Compromise upon compromise began to whittle away at the core idea. The energy and motivation team members felt at the beginning of the assignment started to ebb and, in the end, you were left with something everyone could live with...but no one particularly liked.

So while the idea of giving so much decision-making power to one or a few people might feel uncomfortable, let's all put on our big kid britches and do it anyway. Consensus thinking is silent but deadly…and the results usually stink.

Show me, don't tell me

Jackie Deluao — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 15:53:58 GMT

I love seeing our strategists, copywriters and designers work together to create visually rich experiences through storytelling on behalf our clients. I stumbled upon an interesting article on mashable.com today that describes how brands are now using visual storytelling to build loyalty and memorable experiences for consumers.

Enjoy!

The Countdown Begins….

Lauren Furgason — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 09:47:10 GMT

Back in October, I entered a contest to win a sub-orbital space flight, sponsored by Seattle’s Space Needle for their 50th anniversary. The Space Race's grand-prize: the opportunity to be one of the first non-astronauts to take an hour-long trip to see the curvature of Earth and the blackness of space. The contest is in partnership with Space Adventures, a company that provides commercial space travel for non-astronauts.

Of the 50,000 that entered, 1000 were selected to submit a video (see mine here) about why they should be sent to space. Those videos were then narrowed down to 20 by the Space Needle, and put up to a public vote to choose the top 5 finalists.

I’d like to give a HUGE thank you to all my colleagues and friends of HA for helping get me to the top 5! And as the only Northwest contestant remaining (the others are from AZ, PA, NH, and DC), I was featured on GeekWire.com and even interviewed by Seattle’s ABC TV Network (interview below).

The next step is an "Amazing Race-style competition" that will occur in Seattle over the course of May 7,8,9. The winner of these physical and mental challenges will win the suborbital space flight.

I look forward to representing the Northwest, Seattle, and Hornall Anderson well in this competition! You can follow my progress on Twitter at @LaunchLauren.

Madison Square Garden Visual Retrospective Debuts this Fall

Angela Gamba — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 16:10:29 GMT

This week Madison Square Garden announced plans to celebrate and honor the building's 132 year history as part of the currently underway historic, top-to-bottom Transformation. The Garden will pay homage to many of the remarkable moments through a visual retrospective entitled "Memorable Moments Every Day,” as well as celebrate the top 20 "Defining Moments" in Garden history with special exhibits that showcase—through amazing photos and artifacts—the incredible history that has made it The World's Most Famous Arena.

Hornall Anderson has been honored to be a part of the transformation of Madison Square Garden since 2009, see the case study here. The new retrospective, concepted by Hornall Anderson, will wrap the entire circumference of the Arena, creating a visual calendar of The Garden's rich history. While walking the 6th floor concourse, fans will be able to recall and learn about 366 remarkable Garden moments, spanning sports, music, entertainment and politics. This includes legendary moments like Muhammad Ali vs. Joe Frazier, The Concert for New York City, New York Knicks and Rangers Championships, and the Republican and Democratic National Conventions. The complete list of "Memorable Moments Every Day" will be unveiled in the fall when the building reopens following the second off-season shutdown for the Transformation.

In addition, 20 of The Garden's "Defining Moments" will be commemorated through special exhibits featuring photos, memorabilia and additional artifacts representing each of these amazing moments in Garden history. The first 10 "Defining Moments" will be unveiled in Fall 2012 on the 6th floor concourse, and the remaining 10 will be integrated into the 8th floor concourse for debut in Fall 2013. Beginning this week, fans can help determine which 20 moments will be showcased by visiting Madison Square Garden’s Facebook page to vote for their own top five moments; voting ends on May 15, 2012. Fans that vote will be entered to win a variety of prizes, including autographed memorabilia, and tickets to events at The Garden. One grand prize winner will receive a pair of actual seats from The Garden courtesy of MSG-Steiner Collectibles, and a roundtrip flight on Delta Air Lines with tickets to the event of their choice at The Garden.

To see a complete timeline of the MSG Transformation project and receive construction updates, click here.

The Seattle ADDYs Show Honors Local Ad/Design Agencies

Christina Arbini — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 16:19:37 GMT

Anytime the local Seattle advertising and design agencies gather together, it’s always an occasion to celebrate some pretty phenomenal creative people. But when it's a party honoring and recognizing some of their finest work, it’s called the Seattle ADDY Awards Show. Sponsored by the AAF Seattle, the awards don’t stop with the annual Seattle ADDYs. All Silver and Gold winners proceed on to compete against Northwest Regional winners, and those winners then hit the big stage at the National ADDY Awards.

Hornall Anderson was thrilled to receive a Gold Award for our own Website, a Silver Award for the Garlic Jim’s Gluten-free Frozen Pizza Packaging, and a Silver Award for the Redhook Packaging.

This year, the Seattle ADDYs brought in guest judges from some of the top agencies including Ian Toombs, Anomaly NYC; Cameron Friedlander, Designkitchen; Shanky Das, Goodby Silverstein & Partners; Ramina Khachi, rbx Brand Excellence; and Lotus Child, G2.

Additionally, every year one deserving individual is awarded the prestigious AAF Silver Medal. The 2012 recipient was Seattle advertising icon and long-time friend of Hornall Anderson, Ron Elgin, who just wrapped up an illustrious 30 year career in the local advertising business.

Art With Heart Celebrates its "Sweet 16"

Christina Arbini — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 17:38:02 GMT

It’s hard to believe that it’s been sixteen years since Art with Heart first opened its doors—and its arms—to reach and help thousands of kids around the world. And sixteen years later, they are having a stronger than ever impact on children through the use of their positive behavioral intervention tool that promotes healing and trauma resolution.

To help celebrate this fabulous organization and momentous occasion, Hornall Anderson hosted an Art Sale & Happy Hour in our HAX Lab. Attended by community and business leaders, creative colleagues, and other supporters of Art With Heart, this event helped raise funds to allow the organization to assist and benefit even more children in need.

Guests signing in to the event

Shopping "Art With Heart's" several workbooks

Hornall Anderson supporters and board members: (Right to Left) Linda Halverson, Jeff Baker, Lisa Cerveny, and Linda Baker

Art With Heart's Founder and Board Members