Ben Fogarty's Blog

Imagination(Interactivity+Technology)

2007-10-30T17:17:00Z

Last Month, Stephen and I attended Flash Forward. I came back charged up and totally inspired. We have reached a point where the potential of the technology we work with (Flash, PHP, .NET, hammer, nails) has exceeded our ideas, and we need to take advantage of it. What a beautiful place to be in! We get to think bigger, smarter, crazier, more creative... and outside of the desktop. I'll be honest, I can hardly wait to break free.

Craig Swan: Imagination+Technology

The best reason for me to attend an event like Flash Forward is inspiration. Seeing the amazing ways people are playing and experimenting really gets the ideas pumping. Craig Swan from Crash Media gave a presentation on imagination and technology, where he showed off a number of pieces he has worked on. In this first example, he challenged what he could do by accessing the camera object in flash (the isite on his macbook). He discovered that he could analyze the bitmap data coming in through the computer and use that to trigger different events in the flash environment. Flash can determine where his hand is at, how fast its moving, what color his shirt is, and any number components of the video. With that he was able to move objects around in flash by moving his hands in front of the camera on his laptop. He then asked the crowd to imagine a crowd in an international museum filled with people who speak different languages. With everything he was doing there, he could cause exhibits to interact differently with them based on stickers they could wear on their shirts. Brilliant and totally simple to execute.

Next up he brought out his MAKE board and an IPAC. The make board is a microcontroller that is used in robotics, interactive exhibits and other types of research. You can really take advantage of and explore its potential without a degree in electronics or software engineering. The IPAC is like having a full keyboard without the keys. You can attach anything to its screws that will complete a circuit. When the circuit is completed, it is like hitting a key on a keyboard. Craig showed an example where he used a wind chime connected to an IPAC to capture how the wind could interact with his work. While this opens up potential for fine art, it really begins to make my wheels turn for our clients.

Jared Ficklin: How Sound Can Control Flash

Jared Ficklin from Frog Design took a similar angle but focused on the compute spectrum function in Flash. The first example he showed was an experiment he made called Auto Crowd. Essentially, he used flash to analyze a sound spectrum and determine when certain types of events begin or end. With that, he was able to create a music player that has a built in crowd that reacts to the current song being played. The second was a simple physics experiment called a Rubens' Tube. There is a glass tube with holes drilled in it, a propane tank on one side and a speaker on another. If you pass a frequency through it, you can create a standing wave of fire. The cool part is if you play music through it, it acts like an equalizer. Check it out on YouTube. This experiment gets you thinking about what could be accomplished by analyzing the sound spectrum with flash.

This stuff sounds really cool, but...

This doesn't mean that we need to sell our clients on some totally awesome way they can harness fire with Flash at their next tradeshow exhibit. It means that we now have the tools to create deeper, more meaningful experiences for our consumers. New ways to interact. New ways to participate in and build communities. The challenge is that we who are the experts in interactivity need to ditch of notions of what interactive means (websites, microsites, touch screens, mobile devices), and start thinking outside of the computer. In the Quicksliver ad above, Saatchi & Saatchi turned a bus stop sign into a ramp. Interactivity is the bare minimum now, so we have some awesome opportunities in front of us. I don't know about you, but I am stoked.

Forward07

2007-06-11T19:02:00Z

A couple of Fridays ago I attended Forward07, an American Marketing Association conference on innovation and sustainability. I’ve attended a few conferences in the past year and none were as inspiring as this one. Huge thanks to all the folks who helped pull this one together.

The Challenge

Ray Anderson, CEO of Interface, was the first speaker of the day. He told his story in a very simple and authentic way without the aid of any of the usual presentation tools. His pure honesty and passion held the room in a way I have seen very few speakers pull off. More than a decade ago, Ray was 61 years old and had no concern for anything but his bottom line. He was challenged by Interface to have a stance on the environment and a month later he approached them with ‘Mission Zero.’ By 2020 his company would not only have zero footprint on the earth, but every day of production would be giving back to the earth. He believed that his company could make this a reality while dramatically increasing their margins (‘doing well by doing good’).

Permission to Fail

Ray spoke about how giving his staff permission to fail created an environment spawned innovation. One story that particularly impressed me was how an engineer’s idea to tear down their production line and reinstall it would cut energy usage dramatically. Because they installed all of the equipment prior to running the pipe, the plant had narrow diameter pipe winding throughout the entire line. The friction created by the narrow pipe and the excessive length caused by the winding resulted in the need for high power pumps to push fluid through the system. By tearing down the entire line, running large diameter pipe first and then installing the equipment, Interface was able to use pumps that ran on 1/14 of the power than its predecessors did. The money saved by not using 86% of the energy dramatically increased the companies margins and significantly reduced their footprint (‘doing well by doing good’).

Interface could have looked at the capital cost, the potential for failure and denied the engineer’s proposal. Thi’s is just one of many stories Ray told that illustrated how being less afraid of failure inspired the innovation that has made Interface an icon of sustainability.

Looking to Nature

Interface’s designers and engineeres looked to nature to see what it does well and what they could take from it. Among other things, their designers noted how nature isn’t perfect. That while humans have a natural drive towards perfection, they dream of a natural place when they imagine the ideal. They designed a rug tile production system that produces no tile the same. This resulted in their quality assurance people not being able to find any imperfect tiles, easier installation and zero waste.

Ray said that the ‘best way to have good ideas is to stop having bad ideas.’ It sounds simple but you can tell he really means it. By expecting exactly that from his company, they are on a strong path towards their mission for zero footprint. He is an inspiration and I believe his vision will fundamentally change the way business is done. As he finished his story, the crowed roared into a standing ovation. One woman stood and shouted that he should be President. I don’t think Ray wants to do that, but I hope he inspires the next one.

The Tools

The rest of the day was filled with a panel of sustainable businesses and some motivational fun with Kevin Carroll. Kevin spoke about the importance of play and surrounding ourselves with tools that get us excited. He challenged the crowd to ditch their mission statements in favor of ‘inspirational dreams.’ I couldn’t agree more with that idea… It is my experience that you can people and companies who expose their spirit and passions are magnets. People just want to be a part their lives, projects or work.

I could go on and on about this conference and all of the amazing stories I heard. The important thing is leaving feeling energized and inspired.

Pop Art Launches Two New Freightliner Trucks Sites

2007-05-05T04:51:00Z

Pop Art has launched two sites that we’re really excited about, Visit Cascadia and Drive Cascadia to promote the launch of a groundbreaking new truck, the Freightliner Cascadia™.

Visit Cascadia

Visit Cascadia is a tourism site for a fictional town called Cascadia. Imagine the perfect trucktopia that inspired by the features and benefits of their official truck, the Freightliner Cascadia™. In Cascadia, you can drive on North America’s smoothest pavement, go swimming in the world’s largest cupholder, or even cheer on the state champion truck-kart team. Visit the explore page to help you plan your visit with the interactive map. Head to Silver Dollar Drive-In Theater where you only pay 5 bucks per cab and trucks under 35,000 GVW get in free. While you are visiting, fill your belly at the Weigh Station and back your truck up to the Cab-Inn for a good night’s sleep. There’s a ton of fun to be had exploring the site, so head on over and send some postcards to your friends.

The team for Visit Cascadia was Ben Fogarty, Thom Schoenborn, Stephen Braitsch, Ryan Parr, Christina Gonzalez, Kelly White, Justin Garrity, Ben Waldron, Christi Stahl, Marci Marshall, Dave Selden and Chris Tacy. Meris Brown from Fancypants Design did some amazing illustration work on the city in the header of the homepage and the map in the explore page.

Go to Visit Cascadia›

Drive Cascadia

The launch of a new truck presented itself as an opportunity to really try something new on the Freightliner Trucks site. The team brought the content alive and gave the truck a visual presence and personality that lives up to the truck’s promise. The site walks you through an extensive tour that highlights the benefits of the truck that illustrates Freightliner Trucks’ drive to develop a truck that answers the needs and wants of their customers (fuel economy, uptime, performance, comfort, and safety).

The team for Drive Cascadia was Dave Selden, Thom Schoenborn, Stephen Braitsch, Ryan Parr, Christina Gonzalez, Kelly White, Justin Garrity, Ben Waldron, Christi Stahl, Marci Marshall, Ben Fogarty and Chris Tacy. The 3D Truck is a project by The New Group.

Go to Drive Cascadia›