Brilliant though Google and other search engines are at bringing some level of sense and order to the billions of web pages out there, they all still rely almost completely on our ability to look for something in the right way. Keywords are really that – KEY!

Luckily as the amount of content online grows so does the average level of skill of people using search engines. Two years ago the average number of keywords entered into Google’s search field was not much more than 1.5, today it is more like 3.0. We are being more specific when we search which is a good thing – finding a million or more results is hardly a badge of honour now is it?

In spite of this there remains the ‘Did you mean?‘ problem or the ‘Did we mean?‘ problem as I would describe it.

As an agency advising our clients on SEO or search engine optimisation one of the toughest tasks is convincing businesses to think like customers and ensure the way they write about themselves online does likewise. By all means ‘build it’ but they won’t be coming unless the way you talk matches the way they search!

Take Last Exit and PaperVision for example. We are a Papervision3D agency and would like to be found as such when potential clients search for this kind of service online. Because PaperVision is a new technology however the challenge is to make sure we talk about it in the right ways. The correct description for this Flash plug-in is PaperVision3D but a quick check within Google’s Adwords Keyword Tool reveals a whole host of ways people are looking for it – papervision 3d, paper vision 3d or even pay per vision 3d are all commonly used. 

This wouldn’t be a problem but as I say above search engines rely on keywords in a very exact way. Try it yourself – a query of ‘paper vision 3d agency‘ will deliver very different results to one of ‘papervision3d agency‘ regardless of the fact both may be intended to find an agency supplying PaperVision3D.

Granted this all sounds very anal indeed but the truth is that Google and the other search engines are very anal indeed! Words, and the exact way they are used, are all they have to go on when routing that important query of yours to a handful of those 3 billion web pages!

The solution is writing for the web, making frequent reference to important keywords, and writing like the customers you want to attract would ask for you.

The solution is really not rocket-science, or should that be rocket science!

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papervision3d - paper vision 3d

I have to admit that I had become more than a little tired of the use of Flash online over the last 10 years or so.

Deepend, the original business I launched back in the mid 90s, was a huge fan and follower of Flash. In fact many of the creative awards we were fortunate enough to win in those days were for client website projects built using this technology – launch of the Volkswagen New Beetle into the UK market, creation of the first online presence for Terence Conran’s Design Museum in London, delivery of an aggressive challenge to James Dyson’s vacuum cleaner products for multi-national electronics business Hoover, as well as a wide range of projects for broadcasters like the BBC and Cartoon Network.

What was becoming clear though was the danger of over-indulgence, and I started to ask myself if the ‘whizz-bang’ impact delivered by some of these Flash experiences might be getting in the way of the client messages as opposed to amplifying them?  I began to suspect many of these sites were becoming a bit of a task or challenge to use as opposed to guiding the visitor from query to answer as they were initially intended. Most worryingly I started to suspect that our business might be using client projects to showcase individual designers’ wish-lists as opposed to thinking like end-users as we had always done before to build our success as a client’s digital partner.

I had seen many extensions to Flash like Swift 3D make their mark and then seemingly lose favour since the days when Flash alone was news-worthy. When I saw Paper Vision 3D in action (or Pay Per Vision 3D as I first understood it!) I found myself falling in love with Flash all over again!

At Last Exit, we have quickly become huge fans of this open source development in the world of Flash technologies, and feel that PaperVision might be finally delivering on the promise made by Flash back in the mid 1990s!

So, why is a seasoned cynic like myself thinking like this about what is seemingly an incremental addition to the Flash plug-in armoury?

Some of the key reasons are driven by the ability PaperVision3D has to offer:

• Significantly improved levels of end-user-interaction within a delivered website
• Fluid and intuitive styles of animation and motion whatever the task at hand
• Realistic 3D visualisation and environments including elements such as depth-cueing that were normally reserved for ‘proper’ local 3D applications
• Open source technology advantages when it comes to development and innovation
• Technical speed and agility within play-back – for example the handling of large numbers of media assets without any obvious end-user experience degradation
• Relatively seamless integration within Adode Flash making the development process very effective and efficient
• A significant step forward from what went before in terms of perception – providing that ‘wow factor’ for website end-users
• Ability to provide a genuine web 2.0 level graphical experience engaging even the most jaded site visitors
• PaperVision3D also provides fresh levels of inspiration and opportunity for web designers encouraging new ground to be broken within client tasks

This last argument is clearly an internal as opposed to an external one for any digital design agency, however it is so important that a team of designers feels inspired and engaged by any new project, and PaperVision3D provides this fresh impetus.

Aside from campaign-oriented work, our agency focuses on the CMS or content management of new client websites, making sure any new project is disability and discrimination act optimized, as well as built for the best level of search engine optimisation or SEO. These things are undoubtably important, but they are harder to argue as motivational elements when it comes to putting the same brief to an internal studio team of designers and developers, and are unlikely to lift the end result above the norm. Paper Vision 3D is both the new client and industry buzz word and I am certain this can only be a good thing for both parties!

Sure we face some challenges as an agency when developing iPhone applications given that Apple has still not found a way of supporting Adobe Flash, no matter PaperVision3D. And it would be a lie to say that every client brief that lands on our respective desks in Last Exit London and Last Exit New York is absolutely ideal for PaperVision. There are also limitations from both an SEO (and specifically Google search optimization) perspective with a PaperVision3D delivered user experience.

The fact remains however that, in my humble opinion, there are bigger issues at hand.

PaperVision provides fresh energy to the most exciting and user-engaging technology ever offered by the World Wide Web. Not only does it offer a level of user-engagement and entertainment not seen since the late 1990s – it turbo-charges the inspiration and creativity of both designers and developers working within the digital industry.

Given the ups and downs the digital industry has experienced over it’s short 15 year life I think it is fair to say that any fresh injection of enthusiasm is very very welcome indeed. I think a seemingly insignificant, open-source, non-commercial, well-meaning, incremental Flash plug-in like PaperVision3D could well be one thing to make a big difference in the digital near-future.

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IBM T30 Thinkpad / Thinkpads aboard the International Space Station

Serial ports and parallel ports remind me of years gone by – of a switch box to select a printer and floppy discs to move data around. Cars with onboard diagnostics, it seems, still use serial ports – and so I found myself on eBay in search of a used PC laptop that could ‘talk’ to my (frequently poorly) BMW. I could sketch almost every incarnation of Apple’s Powerbook from the 3400c through Wall Street G3, Titanium G4 until the MacBook Pro of today – and argue the case for their inclusion in any museum of industrial design – but a PC laptop? If there was an iconic design among the 8,148 laptops listed then I couldn’t remember it.

You realise you are a geek when you find yourself strangely excited by wading through people’s cast off laptops (viewing eBay’s list by ‘time ending soonest’ helps). But it was on another site that I saw the link ‘RS232 computers’. (If you think DOS is something you do at the weekend then those characters specify a serial port, the things we used to use before USB came along). For sale were a war chest of IBM T series laptops. Now I remember those machines for having a nipple instead of a trackpad and as anyone in the design profession knows that is no way to operate Word let alone Photoshop. They were not, therefore, on my radar. But if you look past the nipple you find a design that has stood the test of time far better than any of its contemporaries. And build quality that means they are still around, and still valuable. Why?

As ever, Wikipedia has the answer. Product of a collaboration between corporate head of the IBM design programme Tom Hardy and industrial design legend Richard Sapper, the ThinkPad is a monument to the realisation that design can be a powerful differentiator in any market; a design that is somehow so ‘right’ that it makes a modern Sony Viao look ever so slightly off the pace. No wonder Nasa’s astronauts took them on the Space Shuttle. These things are cool. They are also from IBM, an Intercontinental Ballistic Missile of a brand that, now it has departed the PC market, I find I quite miss.

They even made the machine for me – a 2002 ThinkPad T30 – the only model that came with a trackpad and a serial port, and mine is arriving from specialist Viper IT today. I can’t wait.

My tip for the new design leader in the land of PC notebooks? Dell, by a country mile.

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So as not to waste a good site, we thought we’d post and host the ExpressJet site we’ve recently done for Dentsu. The site was designed to allow people to submit their stories in/of ExpressJet destinations. It’s a lovely site with a small dose of 3D Papervision thrown in. Check it out and let us know what you think – hey, why not submit a story. The competition isn’t active but you might discover something about yourself in the process. Or not.

http://www.expressjetmicrosite.com/

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As a digital agency, one might think it odd that we’re producing our reel as a hard media, DVD. In deed, it has been a bone of contention for some time and thats why, several months after completing our 2008 Design Reel
, we are only just approving the production. After laboring over the reel itself, we’re spending a fair penny on mastering, duplication, packaging and distribution. So I’m still asking why? when we’ve done a great job encoding at different sizes and serving. Electronic distribution is easy and basically free and above all: immediate. As a digital agency, perhaps we should be committed to the channels we predominantly work within? The answer is punctuated by a single word that my partner at Last Exit often heralds “RELEVANCE”. On top of that, I would like to add “penetration” and “visibility”. Our in-boxes are, unfortunately crowded with enough spam to fill a million cheap sandwiches and whilst we can use many different creative tactics to draw attention to a mailer, we believe in a multi-channel and relevant approach that taps into the the behavioral characteristics of our audience. Ours is splie between CMOs at the brands themselves and producers/CDs at ad agencies. Both sets have spent much more time in TV/Radio than in interactive and whilst the transition is happening it’s important to bridge the gap, speak the right language and not to be too disruptive.

So, our belief is that receiving a well designed, beautifully produced DVD (spot glossing and all) will, at the very least, leave an impression in the recipients mind (even if they never actually load the disk into a player) backed by the appropriate and well timed follow up. This is a tried and true and simple tactic that has worked for many reps and EPs in the advertising and motion business and whilst there’s not model for reps in interactive, we’ll give this a go.

Here’s a few screen shots. You can view the reel here, or let us know if you’d like to receive DVD.

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We are immensely proud to announce the launch of a cracking piece of work for the JSF UK industry team – comprising BAE Systems, GE Aviation, MartinBaker, MBDA and Rolls Royce.

Fantastic result reflecting phenomenal innovation in the form of the Joint Strike Fighter which will replace the iconic Harrier Jump Jet in 2012.

Check out the site by clicking HERE.

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Having come from a product design background and being a complete petrol head (cars/bikes not sea birds), I’m always fascinated by latest trends in the automotive world. As a European, I’m particularly into how high design, innovation and quality engineering applied to smaller cars. So, I was a little miffed by this article in the New York Times this weekend expressing the concept that, ys, we need to adjust the way we think about cars in the US, how we need to think of it as much more of a utility and than an expression of self worth, social status etc. Now, whilst I agree Ms Navarro in that our thinking does need shift I also disagree that small cars represent a compromise. The problem that American car companies face is that they have invested all their development into big cars, particularly SUVs and large sports sedans. Don’t get me wrong, there are some amazing vehicles in this class but one thing the European and Japanese car companies did was to learn from the first big oil crisis in the seventies and to commit development to highly attractive, efficient cars able to outperform many of their bigger cousins. New Ford CEO Alan Mulally, quite correctly, suggested that America’s second largest car manufacturer must to learn some essential lessons from it’s European (franchised) relations – in Europe where Ford is a highly innovative car company who regularly sits at the front of the grid when it comes to small cars.

As with many things, you can suggest that the general public must lead the way in forging a new path but it’s up to the industry leaders, the innovators the designers and those holding the purse strings to path a new road, and we don’t have to look very far and in the short term, we don’t even have to worry too much about alternative fuels (the average MPG of American cars is the same as the original Model T Ford!!). There are many, many examples of cars from the rest of the world that are highly desirable and fuel efficient to boot! The Mercedes A class, still has not made it to US shores. Companies such as Fiat, Peugeot and Renault who constantly produces some of the world best hot hatches, still don’t wade through the Atlantic to present their wares here, whilst VW have two smaller cars, Polo and Fox (yes, smaller than the Rabbit) that represent fine design in a small package, are not brought over.

And, there’s more that can be done. Once marketing has driven better product development, more investment and better thinking needs to be applied to branding and advertising these vehicles. Lotus unfortunaltely has not done a good job with the amazing Elise. A car that weighs next to nothing, has only a 1.9litre engine and could outperform many supercars vastly more explensive and gas guzzling. The best marketing example to date, is probably BMW’s Mini Cooper, but let’s take a look at the new Fiat 500,

another European design icon recently brought back to life along with countless other products that will garner a cult like following.

So, we’ll try and love our small cars but give us more and give us something better!

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Last Exit has just (soft) launched a new campaign for our clients MOLI. The campaign is based around a series of 5 short films about a character called Marcus – an insufferable control freak – who runs a young ad agency. Though he’s rather hateful, the aim was for us, the creative class, to see something of ourselves in this insidious person. The question is, whether we rejoice in this or bow our heads in shame. Well, the site goes some way into celebrating control freaks. Yes, it’s something we have to learn to let go of and ultimately chill out as our companies grow but in the early days it may be seen as essential.

So, the site is hosted by the good doctor, Dr. Zizberg – the foremost authority on control freakism. He has developed an elaborate brain scan test which reverse engineers your computer monitor to scan your cranium when pressed against the screen. Amazing!!

The site was a lot of fun to work on and a lot fun to use. And, MOLI are giving away 25 iPod touches as part of a sweepstakes competition. So go in, create a profile, take the test and GOOD LUCK!!!

http://www.controlfreaktv.com/

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Wow, our site hit it again!!! So, go on and help us crush it at PageCrush

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Wow – just been featured on FairSpot.  They just keep rolling in.  I think the next iteration of our website is going to have to be pretty special!

http://fairspot.com/category/studios-agencies/

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