It’s interesting to see how many people are quick to make comments about QR Codes.
“No one is going to open an app on their phone to scan a little black square that takes you to a website or worse, another app”. Although this does indeed sound convoluted, in reality QR codes are pretty simple. In fact, I even had a practical example of this recently when I found myself at Sculptures by the Sea in Sydney (a must if you haven’t been).

During my visit there, I found a crowd of people gathered at one point on the walk, and rather than looking at the art entitled ‘message in a bottle’, they were fixated on a A4 laminated instruction board. The board gave instructions on how to download an app using either a web address, or a QR code to discover more about the art and, as it turned out, a cause. Admittedly the board could simply have been used to hold a printed message telling you about the art instead, but people of all ages with a bias to baby boomers were successfully giving it a go and preferring the QR code to typing an address on mobile.

This leads me to the next story, of the $175+ million MONA gallery in Tasmania and their assisted gallery experience. I could either bore you to death or ruin the experience by talking about how amazing MONA is, so I won’t spoil the surprise. However I will chat about the technology.

When you enter MONA, you receive an iPod (with custom case) and headphones. By clicking on the ‘near me link’ you will see a brief summery of each work, and more detail via the ‘art wank’ button (funny in itself). The device will automatically hook up to any live media that is associated with many of the works, keep track of your tour and will email you afterwards with details of everything you saw and items that you didn’t. It gives gallery metrics on the more popular pieces, and how long people spend looking at some pretty weird and wonderful stuff. Of course, owner and curator David Wash wishes to use this data to remove the popular items.  Which you can do if you own the gallery and it’s work and want to make a random statement about your eccentricity.

There have been similar tech setups in the other museums across the world as well. MOMA New York, not to be confused with MONA Tassie, have also had a go here with their augmented reality exhibition. Of course, only Melbourne would come up with a hybrid of these ideas with (un)seen Sculptures, an augmented reality version of art where you can only see it though your mobile device.

But the real question is, “should people have to have the art explained”.
I went to art school - well the commercial sell out equivalent, ‘design school’. This obviously means that I should have some appreciation of the material already.

But there’s no doubting that the technology at MONA turned my experience from a 3 hour run-around, into an 8 hour immersive experience. A great job to the in-house team who did the project, I can only imagine the headaches in making the technology work as well as it does.

Let your head think about the possibilities using this technology as a basis for a retail experience, then take a couple of pain killers and go lie down.

If you haven’t heard of the term ‘responsive design’ before, take note — you will soon hear a lot more about it. It is a concept that has already received its fare share of discussion, from both the code and design sides of the fence.

“But what is responsive design and how might it be of use to me?”

As this year marks the first time when mobile phones and tablets are now outselling PC’s, it’s become even more paramount your website can be viewed on more than just your standard desktop.

In an age where new platforms and products are released every day, the question has been asked about the feasibility for developers to continue to produce unique versions of one site for each device. It is time consuming to produce numerous sites — let alone populate them and maintaining numerous platforms.

This is where the concept of ‘responsive design’ comes into play.

In a nutshell, Responsive Design (RD) refers to a design methodology for websites and other digital communications, where the layout is designed to morph across various platforms. So whether you’re viewing a site on your mobile, tablet or browsing from your PC, the site will adjust to suit the viewing size and orientation of your screen.

This is done by re-flowing, resizing and restructuring various sections of content within the layout. However responsive design requires designers be more selective of content and consider information hierarchy more carefully up-front. Therefore all responsive sites must be built by first considering mobile. In this way, RD allows for designers to produce one single site — which adapts to all platforms.

Previously, the only option was to build websites and applications to suit the product. Businesses were paying big bucks for numerous versions of their websites; iPhone apps and Android apps, tablets, desktop computers and of course — the various other smart phones that are beginning to flood the market.

Another benefit of RD is the usability factor for the viewer. Opening a full desktop version of a website on a mobile device can result in some serious latency (lag time). A responsively designed site produces a mobile site that is optimised for mobile viewing.

Responsive design not only solves some of the ongoing logistical issues of supporting multiple devices, but also provides reassurance by provisioning for future products as well. This is why responsive design has become such an exciting discussion.

Of course, any new technology or approach to development will have its critics. There are those that believe that people like the familiarity of the standard desktop view — and don’t appreciate an altered or cut down version of their normal viewing site. Its is also thought that designing for mobile first will result in the viewing experience being reduced to a stripped down one.

But responsive design offers a solution to so many compatibility issues that will only become more expansive as new products are introduced into the market.
The movement to RD is slowly taking shape within the tech-world, but uptake in Australia has not been as prominent and is being driven by some of the more forward thinking digital agencies.

Some exciting examples of responsive design are coming out of Melbourne digital agency, Square Circle Triangle (SCT) including The Council of Textiles & Fashion Industries Australia (TFIA).

The newly released TFIA website is the love-child of responsive design

Brad Smith — SCT’s Creative Director, believes that responsive design is an ideal meeting between UI design, technology and efficiency.  “We’re creating elegant, accessible and versatile sites that publish across multiple devices — while our clients need only pay once and populate once.”

Digital Designer at SCT, Nathan Davis thinks responsive design is the way forward. “SCT is in the an enviable position to be at the forefront of this exciting and developing trend. The challenges presented in creating responsive web designs are far outweighed the benefits… responsive will become the direction the entire web design industry moves in.”

After completing my graduate diploma in graphic design from RMIT, I landed an internship with Square Circle Triangle in February 2011. In my six weeks working at SCT, I learned a lot about the business, graphic design, website design, website development, project management and a little about just working with creative people. The staff were all really welcoming, and they were patient in guiding me through the work they do—and allowing me to make contributions in a number of ways.

During my short time there, I participated in brainstorming sessions, attended client meetings, met with a local printer, created slides for potential client presentations, prepared entries for national award competitions, redesigned a website template to a new specifications, helped test a new website before its public launch and, of course, I did a little of the usual intern grunt work too.

I hope to operate my own design business someday, and I learned a few valuable lessons that I think will apply to that and to any design work I do in the future. Here are three things I’m taking away from my experience:

• When beginning a project, don’t think about what you can and can’t do, but dream of all the amazing possibilities. In the early brainstorming sessions for new client pitches and presentations, they open the floor to any and all ideas. Even if no one knows how to actually implement what someone proposes, the idea still gets jotted down, because you never know where one new idea can lead you.

• Creativity is a tough business. The staff work hard to create stunning client presentations, often putting in extra hours to make them perfect, but that doesn’t mean they’ll win a job. Often they do, but occasionally—despite their best efforts—they don’t. They examine what they think worked and what didn’t in a pitch and then move on to the next one.

• Design studios maintain a fast pace. Clients all want their work done tomorrow, or even better, today. So what I would have spent weeks working on in my design classes, the staff at SCT flies through in under a week, and sometimes in just one day! I quickly realized that it’s essential to know your software programs (and other necessary tools) inside and out, so you can keep up.

I really appreciated the opportunity SCT gave me to improve my design skills and absorb all I could about how design studios are run. I’d highly recommend this type of experience to design students and recent grads.

And to future interns, I think the best advice I can give you is to ask questions whenever you can. As an intern, you have some knowledge and skills, but you still have a lot to learn. Luckily, everyone understands this, and they generally take the time (if they have it to spare) to teach you what they can. Although I tried not to bombard people with too many questions, I did try to ask a number of them, about both little things, like how to create an effect in Photoshop, and big things, like why they took a particular approach to the design of a project. I think this helped me gain a better view of how projects are handled by individuals and the team as a whole.

If you’re interested in interning with Square Circle Triangle and gaining some great on-the-job training, the studio still has a couple positions available for 2011. To apply, just send your CV and samples of your best work to info@sct.com.au. Good luck!

If you’re in the market for a mobile app, you’ve probably thought long and hard about the investment and considered the decision from all angles, right? Maybe, but have you also discussed it with the people who will build it? Involving the team that will make your app right from the preliminary planning stages can help your business get the best results, in the least amount of time and in the most cost effective manner.

Our expert design and development team at Square Circle Triangle has noticed that the same few issues seem to arise in almost all app projects. More often than not, these issues tend to increase the time it takes to develop a mobile app and the cost of the project too. So, in the interest of your time and budget—and the time and sanity of designers and developers everywhere—here are five questions you should consider, and discuss with experts, before you begin working on the app.

#1: Do you really need an app?

Do you really need a mobile or native app? Wanting an app because everyone else has one, or because it seems like the “it” thing right now, is not needing one. Apps are great for finding an ATM, determining when the next tram or bus is coming or figuring out how much something in a foreign country costs in dollars. Notice, however, that these are all very specific needs users would have when they’re away from their homes and offices. And that’s what a mobile app does—it addresses a specific user need when he or she is away from the computer. If your target audience will probably access your information from the comfort of their own homes or offices, you should probably consider a website.

#2: What are the core functions your app must perform?

Even though we just covered it seconds ago, this point bears repeating: A mobile app addresses a specific need users have when they’re away from their computers. You don’t need to cram everything from your website into your app. Telling the world about your company, displaying lots of images and offering in-depth information about your business are all jobs for your website. Apps need to focus on a couple tasks (or even just one) to keep their appearance and functionality for users as simple and straightforward as possible. Remember, your users will access this app on a tiny screen with few navigation options. Your goal should be to create a sleek yet simple interface that allows the app’s usability and functionality to shine through.

#3: Do you need different apps for different devices?

One of the greatest challenges with mobile apps is that there isn’t just one set of specifications to design and develop for. There are Android, BlackBerry OS, Apple iOS, Symbian and Windows Phone 7 operating systems, just to name a few. And each of these different operating systems has its own technical specifications. That’s why you’ll often visit popular websites—like Facebook, ABC and Urbanspoon, for instance—and find that they have different apps available for different devices. Having multiple apps is ideal; however, the cost of making apps for so many different platforms can quickly add up. Determining the one or two most popular platforms used by your target audience and creating apps for those, or creating a mobile website or web app, are much more efficient and cost effective alternatives.

#4: Can you be flexible about your apps appearance?

Unfortunately, screen size and resolution variations complicate the situation even further. Within each of the operating systems mentioned in the previous point, there are numerous mobile device models—all with different screen sizes and resolutions. (For instance, the screen sizes of iPhones are all 320 by 480 pixels, but the resolution varies from the early models to the current iPhone 4; and the screen sizes and resolutions of BlackBerry devices are all completely different from iPhones, averaging about 360 by 480 pixels.) And what happens if the user rotates the device? If the device allows for portrait and landscape screen orientations, then that’s still another size to accommodate. Since your app can’t just be rescaled to all these different sizes, it’s far better to settle on a general design, or persona, for the app that you’re happy with and then allow the design and development team to vary it slightly, where necessary.

#5: Can you allow some extra time in the process for thorough testing?

As you’ve likely realized by now, designing and developing apps can be more complicated than producing a printed brochure or a simple website. So it shouldn’t be too surprising to learn that it’s often more time consuming too. With so many variables to account for, designers and developers need more time to build the app and more time to test it. Testing is of the utmost importance with apps, because even small problems can turn into major headaches when you’re working in such a small medium. And though it can stretch your timeline and your budget to allow for more testing, it’s much faster and cheaper to be thorough once than to have to develop and release numerous updates to your app.

Considering these issues before you even begin to work with designers and developers on your app will expedite the process and make it more cost effective. But most importantly, considering these issues in advance should produce a better app for you in the end.

If you’d like to discuss your own app needs or just get some additional insights into the app building process, please feel free to contact us. We think it’s important that everyone considering an app has as much information as possible, and we’re happy to help make that happen for you. Plus, we just love to talk apps! You can reach us by email at info@sct.com.au or by phone at 03-9486-0223.

For some time, we had been searching for high quality Ruby/Rails developers in Melbourne, but increasingly found these to be a rare local commodity! So we expanded our search radius, drawing an ever wider arc until we landed in the subcontinent, where we quickly found some excellent candidates.  Thanks to the strength of the international Ruby/Rails community we could easily ensure that we were dealing with highly competent developers.

Clear communication is fundamental to how SCT and Blocks™ operate; it is also integral to getting the best out of remote staff.  So when you can’t shout across at someone in the room, or have an impromptu discussion over a cuppa, how do you ensure you retain the dialog and dynamism while working towards a common objective? To get this rolling I spent a hectic week in India getting to know the team and bringing them up to speed on Blocks and our goals.

But day-to-day, how will SCT manage the distributed development environment? Here is my recipe for success:

Ingredients
For the base mixture:
2 talented developers from an exotic location
1 technical project manager at SCT
1 digital job tracking tool

To keep the mixture well balanced ongoing:
A good pinch of regular Skype calls
A handful of planning poker sessions
A continuous line of communication

Directions
1) Mix the developers with the project manager for 1 week in the remote location to allow a good professional bond to form; this should result in smooth, cohesive dialogue.  Once mixed, remove the project manager and return to his homeland.

2) At this stage drop in the job tracking tool - you may use what you find most comfortable, but we tend to use the excellent Pivotal Tracker as it has the strong agile flavour that we find delivers the best product.

You are now ready to start gently adding tasks into the job tool; once added, quickly get them moving through the development cycle.  To do so, you will need to add one of the Skype calls and a planning poker session - this ensures that the positive dialogue and project understanding are not lost in the mix.

Repeat on a weekly basis.

3) Finally, to deliver a really well molded team, you must have a continuous and transparent line of communication.  We use the campfire chatroom, which has proven to be excellent thus far.

And there you have it.  A recipe for our top-notch Distributed Development Environment dedicated to producing software of the highest quality.

Bots or Bods

Google’s goal is (for users) to be able to find the websites that people most want to see. However, if Google® were truly successful with this, wouldn’t our focus just be on enhancing the site experience of our visitors?

A big step towards this has been Google’s focus on links in to a website to determine its ‘authority’. But it’s not the total answer as sites that work well can:

• Include imagery that makes a huge difference to the user experience but is ignored by search engine bots.
• Allow people to conduct actions that search engine bots can’t - like enter a search string or click a button.
• Contain technology (like Flash®) that practically exclude bots altogether.

So where does the balance lie?
Should you be thinking about your real visitors and their experience, or the search engine bots you need to impress to get the visitors to the site in the first place?

This is our advice.

1. Determine the importance of rankings to your site
Rankings are not equally important for all sites.  For some, being found for their name is enough, for others search traffic is the key driver of business.

2. Never do anything that will put a visitor off
If you want people to take notice of you, the site has to look trustworthy. Especially if you want their credit card details! Visitors are suspicious of any site that looks like it is trying to game the system.  Blatant, spammy, repetitive search engine optimisation techniques will have users hitting the back button instantly.  Poor grammar and spelling mistakes also have this effect.

3. Use a good copywriter
One who understands both your brand and how to write for search engines.  Good optimised content is unobtrusive - it doesn’t sound repetitive.  If your copywriter isn’t doing this, find one that does.

4. Experiential vs content
It’s ok to decide that some sections of the site need to be experiential for visitors, while other sections have more content for search engines.

5. Data, not opinions, should always be your guide
You should be able to determine how well your site is doing based on a quantitative outcome such as dollars or leads generated.  For example, if a change to your website increases total visits (more traffic from search engines) but decreases conversions, then it’s a step backwards. However, if it decreases traffic, but your conversion rate increases so that total leads go up, then you have progress.

6. Remember:
Test! Test! Test!

by Nathan Davis (front-end designer for SCT)

Therefore it’s tragic that web design has been limited to a standard selection of fonts for so long. System fonts such as Arial and Times New Roman are generic, exemplifying the typical qualities of their respective type families, but offering little in the way of individuality. These are fonts produced for the masses, but ill-suited to the rigours of identity design, where originality and visual distinction are of the up-most importance.

Early web designers lamented the lack of choice when it came to fonts and the practice of replacing headings with images was popular, but the increasing demands of SEO and the introduction of content management systems rendered the technique useless. sIFR and Cufon, which rely on Javascript and in sIFR’s case, Flash®, to set text in non-system fonts provided some respite for designers. However these techniques are hacks, so despite their elegance often impose usability and accessibility issues.

@Font-face however is part of CSS specification and therefore isn’t a hack. It doesn’t rely on JavaScript or browser plugins such as Flash. @Font-face therefore has become the recent darling of the web design community, but despite the recent hype it isn’t new. Microsoft® blazed the trail over ten years ago when it released Internet Explorer 5.5, which was the first browser to boast support for @font-face. However it wouldn’t be until March 2008, when Apple® released Safari 3.1 that another major browser vendor would come to the party, but this would trigger a chain-reaction that would see the other major browser vendors rush to support CSS font embedding.

The amount of time that it has taken for @font-face to be widely supported is testament to the disagreement between browser vendors regarding the specification and the bitter corporate rivalry that exists between them. Even as we near 100% support across major browsers, designers and developers walk a proverbial tightrope when it comes to successfully embedding fonts due to the differences between major browsers. Rendering differences between operating systems, licensing restrictions and browser bugs further increase the complexity.

While @font-face isn’t a bed of roses just yet, it is definantly here to stay and services such as the Google® Font Directory, Typekit and Font Squirrel will accelerate it’s usage and encourage consensus amongst the browser vendors regarding implementation. More importantly however @font-face is a sign that web design is maturing and taking it’s place beside more established design disciplines.

From a client perspective this means experienced agencies such as SCT can now deliver digital communications that better communicate your brand online.