Summary

Don’t let the “interactive” title fool you. First and foremost we are looking for the ingredients of brilliant design; problem solvers, meticulous creators, collaborators, analyzers, makers and communicators. Our designers bring elegant and transformative solutions to complex problems. Essentially, it is all about being passionate about great design. It sounds cliche, but we are serious.

We are an agency for the digital age. With that said, our designers must have an innate understanding of the user experience. Our interactive designers swim in a broad range of design disciplines such as industrial design, UX, motion, interaction design and visual design. They beautifully craft complex information into distilled, relevant and resonant interfaces and experiences that are easier, more useful and incredibly satisfying. They must produce the best possible result and continually embrace what is coming next in order to stay on top and push the boundaries. We expect it. Our clients demand it.

Responsibilities:

• Work closely with your team to execute on the creative strategy for projects
• Participate in all aspects of your team’s projects, focusing on design innovation and quality
• Collaborate with production designers and engineers to conceive and prototype interaction models, information architectures, and user interfaces
• Understand and work within project parameters: technical constraints, client goals and requirements, usability, as well as budget and schedule
• Desire to innovate and infectious passion for emerging technology
• Be a leader in great design, layout and typography as well as provide a clear vision and personal aesthetic

Requirements:

• Experience working on small to medium-sized teams
• Portfolio that represents a range of design styles, diversity of projects, and user-centered design
• 4+ years hands-on experience with commercial projects in an interactive agency setting
• Excellent verbal and written communications skills
• Responsible for the content layout, pixel-perfect visual appearance and usability design
• Understanding of web technologies and grasp of the tools
• Strong organizational skills and an attention to detail
• Outstanding proficiency with InDesign, Photoshop, Illustrator

Location

Charlotte, NC – We are located at the North Carolina Music Factory near uptown Charlotte. Our office sits back-stage to the Road Runner Mobile amphitheater and is directly in the middle of all the NC Music Factory nightlife. Not that it is an incentive, but our space comes fully loaded with Wii Tennis, Rock Band and Xbox Kinect.

How to Apply

Please send resume and portfolio to charlotte@myjive.com.
Applications must be received by Friday, May 25 2012.

Stephen Coles from FontFeed explains it in terms of music:

When you talk about how much you like a tune, you don’t say: “That’s a great MP3”. You say: “That’s a great song”. The MP3 is the delivery mechanism, not the creative work; just as in type a font is the delivery mechanism and a typeface is the creative work.

Another way to show this difference is to literally show you the anatomy of type(faces) vs the anatomy of fonts.

The Anatomy of Type

The Anatomy of Font

Fonts can often times be a tricky and frustrating component of design and development for the web. Designers and developers face licensing and font compatibility issues across operating systems; not to mention browser compatibility issues.

Traditionally fonts were only sold with rights to print, with no mention of their use on the web. Thus, websites have been limited to a few selections of font families that work across different operating system and browsers.

With this limited number of fonts, developers have found a few “work arounds” to allow additional fonts to be used on the web. One consists of placing images of the content in the desired font instead of using text. Another other uses JavaScript to force fonts to be displayed through Flash. Unfortunately, these work arounds are often complicated, increase page load time and may not be particularly legal.

Another problem fonts face is that not all fonts work across different operating systems and browsers. Operating systems such as iOS and OSX generally do not have problems rendering the two main font types, PostScript and TrueType. Meanwhile, Windows operating systems have had some difficulties rendering PostScript fonts over the years.

Font foundries are now making “web safe” fonts, which contain additional information required by different operating system and browsers. This coupled with the fact that different OS’s are becoming more friendly to all font types, is making this issue easier to solve for developers.

As more fonts become web friendly, font embedding with CSS is being utilized more and more. This is greatly expanding the diversity of fonts that can be used on the web. With easier methods to include different fonts, I believe we’ll see even more uses of selectable typography and visually more interesting websites. I also believe that we’ll see even more influence from print design bleed over onto the web, where traditionally typography-rich designs were too problematic to build.

Saving money is all the craze these days. Sites like Soap.com offer manufacturer’s coupons with a click of a check box.  Reality shows like Extreme Couponing on TLC idolize the new hobby. Email specials like GroupOn and LivingSocial continue to grow in popularity.

Gen X and the Millennials are officially smitten. So what’s the latest? Wrapp wants you to give low-value gift certificates for free as birthday presents. It’s no joke. The European-based coupon king is coming to America and bringing the social side of saving money.

Rather than another “Happy Birthday!! xoxo,” the Swedish company wants you to post a $5 gift card to H&M, Gap, Sephora or 7 other brick-and-mortar retailers… so long as your social media birthday buddy meets certain demographic criteria.

The idea? Brands offer $2-$5 gift certificates online to gain exposure. You endorse the brand by posting it on a friend’s wall. Your friend gets a barcode sent directly to a smart phone, ventures out of the virtual world into the store, and spends far more than the original value based on your advice. And the brands only pay Wrapp when the gift certificate is redeemed. It’s a win-win.

Wrapp forgoes Facebook ad costs by convincing users to post for free. A few thousand posts later, and brands show up in newsfeeds across the country without so much as a cent going to Zuckerburg.

Last week, the big story around the net was that Tupac had made his big return at this year’s Coachella event via holographic technology. A lot of people were comparing this performance to the 3D holographic projections we are most familiar with from the Star Wars movies. Sorry to burst your bubble, but this version of Tupac was not a 3D hologram. This image of Tupac was basically a very expensive illusion. Tupac’s “holographic” image was merely a CGI animation being projected onto a reflective surface. 19th Century magicians referred to this as the Pepper’s Ghost technique. Read this Gizmodo article for further insight.

Now if you really want to see what today’s holograms look like, check out Zebra Imaging’s Holographic 3D visualization displays. These are just like the Marvel Universe holographic trading cards that I collected when I was a younger… but pumped up on steroids! I would love to tile a room with these and walk around as if I were Godzilla. Of course cool things like this often come along with a hefty pricetag. According to the Zebra Imaging website, a 12×12 panel will run you $600 in color, a 24×34 panel will run approximately $2800! I wonder if Zebra Imaging will be interested in trading one of their panels for my 1990 Silver Surfer Marvel Universe card? Probably not.

Upon further research, it seems we are many years away from enjoying the likes of the Star Wars’ version of 3D holographic projections. All I want to do is watch 3D holographic television shows and communicate with holographic representations of my friends and family. Is this too much to ask? Although I might not be able to enjoy this luxury in my lifetime, 3D holographic projections are being developed in Japan as we speak! Check out the G4tv’s video with Morgan Webb!

I really hope this technology eventually makes it into my living room… without killing me, of course. I can only imagine what my children and grandchildren will be wasting their free time with. 3D holographic projection will most likely find their way into televisions, mobile phones, maps, textbooks and advertisements. Video games will resemble Star Trek’s Holo-deck or the X-men’s Danger room. The future of holograms is promising!

Star Wars Image Source

Mobile users are content consumers. In fact, consumption in many categories nearly doubled between 2010 and 2011 including: health information, reference and entertainment. This growth can be attributed to not only overall growth in mobile users, but also increased data speeds, ubiquitous connectivity, mobile formatted content and the proliferation of social integration.

Mobile users are gamers and the demographic is not just young males. In fact, women over 30 are the most avid players of mobile games. A recent report shows that 64% of users who downloaded an app in the past 30 days downloaded a game. Games are the most popular app category particularly amongst paid apps with 93% of app downloaders willing to pay for a game.

Listening to music on mobile devices is huge. Currently, 70% of Pandora’s traffic is from mobile devices. Along with Spotify, iHeartRadio, Last.fm, Rhapsody and many others, music apps offer the mobile consumer free, ad-supported or paid access to a nearly infinite library of music. Integration of mobile devices in home theater electronics and vehicle stereos, coupled with pervasive internet connections has turned the mobile device into the consumer’s music headquarters.

Certainly mobile devices are used for socializing. Facebook (33%) and Twitter (55%) are experiencing a large increase in percentage of traffic from mobile devices and the numbers are expected to continue growing. Many social networking platforms either originated as an app or exist only as an app. Location-based apps like Foursquare prominently feature social sharing features. Even photo-sharing apps such as Instagram have millions of users.

A huge differentiator in the mobile versus desktop consumer market is the concept of apps. Desktop users purchase a limited number of software titles and are often very deliberate with these often expensive purchases.

Meanwhile, the now $100 billion mobile app market is growing at nearly 100% per year. On average, mobile consumers have 33 apps on their phones. The relatively low cost of apps and the ease of purchase, download and installation has turned buying “software” into a cheap and trivial task.

The miniscule cost and easy adoption of apps has resulted in a volatile market. New or popular apps can see astronomical growth. Consider these stats:

• AOL took 9 years to reach one million users
• Facebook took 9 months
• Mobile app Draw Something took only 9 days!

Of course, with finite time to spend on their devices, mobile consumers can be quick to abandon apps. Popularity may be fleeting. As Draw Something rapidly gains users, the popular Words With Friends app has seen a steady decline in usage.

Shopping and spending using mobile devices is becoming mainstream. Nearly 38% of mobile consumers have used a smartphone to make a purchase. This was reflected on Black Friday, the busiest shopping day of the year, as 14% of web traffic was from mobile devices that day in 2011.

Mobile payments are also growing via services like PayPal and Square. Paid media content such as downloaded music, books, movies, magazines and TV shows has become big business, particularly amongst tablet users.

The mobile consumer behaves inherently different than a desktop user. Mobile devices make information, games, music, socializing, downloading and shopping immediately available. This changing behavior will only continue to grow. Internet users will double in the next 3 years and most will be using a mobile device.

Consumers are different in the Mobile Future.

Additional References:
State of Media: Consumer Usage Report
Play Before Work: Games Most Popular Mobile App Category in US
Mobile made up 14pc of Black Friday Web traffic
Mobile Shopping Goes Mainstream
The Future of Mobile

At the moment, it appears to be a two-horse race between Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS with Microsoft and the rest lagging behind.

Android currently leads the market with a large number of device models and multiple carriers for those devices. However, it appears iOS is now the preferred platform for developers. And why not? Revenue from iOS apps are six times that of Android apps.

Microsoft appears to be the greatest threat to Android and iOS. Windows 8 tablet is emerging as a viable competitor to Apple’s iPad. Windows 8 is also a desktop operating system, making it an OS that works on all consumer devices: PC, tablets and smartphones. Microsoft’s approach with Windows 8 is to introduce the new OS via new PC sales, thus ensuring millions of users will not have a learning curve when using the OS on their tablets and phones. If Microsoft can continue to beat iPad in price-point and leverage Windows 8′s equity in the PC market, it could become a successful mobile OS.

The race isn’t completely over. The past few years have featured the demise of three mobile platforms: Symbian, WebOS and BlackBerry. As users migrate away from these platforms, what platform will they choose? Also keep in mind, there are a large number of global consumers yet to migrate to smartphones or tablets. The choices of these two groups will have a huge impact on the outcome of the platform war.

A few possible outcomes:

• Microsoft has success with their Windows Phone and Windows 8 focusing on touch.
• Android maintains its lead, perhaps with a unique device like Project Glass.
• Developers revolt and focus on HTML5 or other independent development technology.
• Apple wins and we all use iDevices for everything.

The Platform War rages on into the Mobile Future.

Additional Sources:
Listen up, Google: Here’s what Windows 8 can teach you about tablets
Mobile Platform War: Why Microsoft Is Likely A Winner, Again

To understand how this is even plausible, we first have to look at the decline of dumbphones. You know, those mobile phones that don’t run advanced apps or have a touchscreen. In the U.S. we’re already halfway through the dumbphone conversion cycle – the transition of consumers from dumbphones to smartphones.

Why the rise in smartphones? There are the obvious additional features: touchscreens, multi-touch, millions of apps, internet connectivity, etc. But we all know consumers care the most about price. The average smartphone handset price has now dipped to $135 and often that cost is subsidized by a mobile service provider. As a result, the demographics of smartphone users are expanding beyond young adults and the wealthy.

What does this mean to PCs? It means they face legitimate competition from mobile devices. For the first time in history, smartphones outsold PCs in the 4th Quarter of 2010.

This market trend is expected to continue with the addition of tablets to the mix. The number of mobile-connected tablets tripled last year to 34 million. Led by Apple’s iPad, researchers expect nearly 120 million tablets will be sold in 2012.

In fact, tablets may be an even greater and more immediate threat to PCs. They already outsell netbooks 2-to-1 and some forecasts have the tablet market alone exceeding that of PCs as early as the fall of 2013.

The PC is dead in the Mobile Future.

Additional References:
The Future of Mobile

I love and hate naming projects. They’re tedious, maddening, sleep depriving and also really fun. The funny thing about them, though, is the way they’re constantly with you, to an annoying degree, and then one day it’s over and you’re kind of sorry to see them go.

A rather unpredictable art, brand naming is about conveying the essence of something and all the feelings wrapped up in it – just enough but without giving it all away. Lexicon founder David Placek sums it up nicely: “… The best name brands, like poems, work by compressing into a single euphonious word an array of specific, resonant meanings and associations.”

When it comes to the process of brand naming, I’m sure every writer has their own unique, quirky method suited just for them. My, somewhat haphazard, approach is equal parts art, science and letting go. First I explore, gather and sort all aspects of the brand or product. Then I alternate between seriously hard thinking and stream-of-consciousness writing. Eventually, I walk away, revisit and refine. Sometimes the pieces fall together nicely and a name surfaces out of deep purposeful thinking. Other times, a name comes to me when I’m not even trying, like when I’m dreaming or in a handstand during yoga class. But most of the time, I find it comes down to a gut feeling.

Now for a few naming tips that are pretty obvious, but still worthwhile:

• It’s best to keep it short and simple (relatively).
• Should roll off the tongue: a consonant-vowel-consonant pattern usually works well.
• Should sound pleasant: use alliteration and assonance.
• When in doubt turn to Greek gods (and words associated with them). These guys did: Nike (goddess of victory), Midas, Trojan (a person of courageous determination or energy), Pandora, Lexus (man’s defender).

Sources:
The New Yorker: “What’s In a Brand Name?”
Illustration by  Paula Mills

Even if the name is unfamiliar you’ve probably seen the technique. As defined by Wikipedia projection mapping is ‘any method of mapping three-dimensional points to a two dimensional plane’, in the real world it means amazing animation and special effects projected onto buildings, physical products and performers to name but a few.

The basics of projection mapping are relatively straightforward. In a standard projection setup the screen is flat and lens and screen are positioned parallel to each other to avoid visual distortions. Projection mapping tools eliminate these restrictions by allowing for real time 3D manipulation of the video source material prior to projection thereby allowing artists, technical wizards and enthusiats to make a screen out of almost anything.

Traditional Building Projection
Ralph Lauren – Virtual Fashion Show

Product Projection
Vodaphone – The Evolution of Mobile

As spectacular as the previous examples are the most interesting work being done with projection mapping involves mapping combined with interactivity, gaming, natural user interface controls, real time projection tracking and environmental response.

Real Time Projection Mapping
Ok, so not quite real time but still a very impressive start. The next version will be much faster and will likely use infrared to do the alignment and thus invisible during alignment.

VR Glove Pong
In this example the team built a custom VR Glove using an Arduino to control the a custom version of Pong built to map into the stairway.

Snake the Planet
I won’t begin to attempt to describe the technical awesomeness here, just watch and enjoy.

While the latter examples are largely proof of concept in nature they do a fantastic job showing the path ahead for these technologies and in particular what’s possible when an interactive screen can be literally anywhere.

Sources and References:
Projection Mapping, How to guide
Projection Mappping with After Effects
More Projection Mapping Examples

It’s hard to be creative on demand, but there are some simple creative strategies you can employ to make it easier to create beautiful, unique and inspiring work.

To create is to cause to come into being, as something unique that would not naturally evolve or that is not made by ordinary processes. To evolve from one’s own thought or imagination, as a work of art or an invention. Everyone has the capacity to be creative and contribute to the creative process through their own experiences, perspectives and feelings.

Creative Suite can be a crutch

It’s easy to fall into the bad habit of depending on Photoshop or Illustrator as the sole utility which we use to create art, and that makes for a very narrow view. It’s so easy to throw a filter on it, use a pre-made brush or find a handwritten free font online, but that can limit your creative vision and it’s not very inspiring.

Get off the computer and create something

Sketching and scanning is your best friend. You can make your own textures with paint, pens, markers, charcoal or other media and scan them in to create unique layering elements and scatter brushes. It’s so much more gratifying to create your own assets, and it saves you the hassle of having to search for the perfect texture online. You can also photograph your own textures for layering as well. Experiment with drawing your own type forms, icons and other unique elements. Explore possibilities beyond paper. In college, I once used a piece of acetate on a scanner sprayed with water to scan in water droplets. There’s really no limit to what you can scan.

Sleep on it

You can definitely over work your creative mind. Sometimes you just have to step away and work on something else, or give an idea a few days to marinate in your mind. It sounds silly but this works for me about 99% of the time. I really liked this quote from an article I read about creative inspiration, the author said “Inspiration requires perspiration.” That’s so true. Getting inspired is an important part of the creative process that is often overlooked. Good work doesn’t come easily. Sometimes we need to get our hands dirty and create our own unique assets. In the end, it’ll make you more proud of your work than if you just used stock or freebie assets.

Question everything

Question your design decisions. Ask yourself “Why am I doing this?”— am I doing it because it looks cool or because it supports the brand or message? Design decisions that have conceptual reasoning are easier to defend and generally make more sense. Sure old engraved ornaments look pretty cool, but if it doesn’t relate to your subject matter then it’s just confusing for the viewer and you’re not going to be able to explain to a client why you chose that element or how it relates to them. Design is not just about style, it’s also about communication. Your design, imagery, typography etc. should be inspired by and support the content and personality of your client and the message that you’re trying to communicate.

Do something different

Break out of your comfort zone, challenge yourself to do something different. Following design trends might be comfortable and easy but long-term success requires a unique approach. Challenge the status quo, push against the accepted to make things better for the viewer but do so with reason. Be prepared to explain why this new way is better and more relevant to the client’s needs. Trends are temporary, but good design that communicates a message free of fluff will ultimately stand the test of time. Look outside your industry for sources of inspiration: Architecture, Fashion, Photography, Industrial Design, Editorial Design, Music, Fine Art etc. can all be extremely helpful resources. I often pull color inspiration from fashion spreads or interior design. Finally, follow your heart. If you’re passionate about photography, take photographs and read photography blogs. It may not directly relate to what you do professionally but it can be a source of inspiration for that work.

Remix versus plagiarism

When you’re learning it’s okay to copy people, we all learn new techniques by mimicking the work of others and practicing. Your design is inspired by your experiences and influences. If you’re really into one or two designers and you only ever look at their work you will eventually rip them off. To prevent this, you should diversify your inspirations. The more work you look at the more diluted your inspiration will be and the less likely you’ll be to rip someone off. Copying is not illegal but it’s not ethical. The design community is a tight one, if you are too heavily influenced by someone else’s style someone is bound to notice and point it out. Unless the work is an obvious homage you could be in big legal trouble and possibly ruin your reputation.

On the other hand, it can be argued that there is no such thing as a truly original idea. We’re all influenced by each other—we build upon ideas and put our own spin on them to create derivative but unique work. Our ideas are a mashup or remix of other ideas that we’re encountered. New York-based filmmaker Kirby Ferguson produced a four part video series on the subject called Everything is a Remix. I would definitely recommend anyone in the creative field to watch it.

Sources and references

http://retinart.net

http://www.jessicahische.is/obsessedwiththeinternet/andbeingresponsivelyinspired/inspiration-vs-imitation-2

http://uxdesign.smashingmagazine.com/2012/03/15/symptoms-of-epidemic-web-design-trends

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/04/08/the-dying-art-of-design

http://www.everythingisaremix.info/watch-the-series