As the world moves forward Royal Mail launches the first ‘intelligent’ post stamp. Not only it is a good example of how AR is becoming a widely used tool to communicate information, but also a good example of how new technology can fit perfectly within traditional ways of communication.
Should we all go to the post office now, get one of them and spend a few minutes writing a ‘real’ letter?
There’s a bit of a debate going on about dead logos in the Metro and a few design blogs. Of course it’s something we feel strongly about…
Businesses need living identities, not dead logos
A brand is an evolving story not an unchanging visual stamp. A logo can help to identify a brand, but in a fast-moving world it is just one of many elements a brand needs if it’s to connect and interact with people. We’re much more interested in the many different ways a brand inspires people to think about – and contribute to – it’s story. This could be anything from a colour to a sound, gesture, image, material or phrase. Think about Apple’s pinch or swipe. Think about Intel’s sonic mnemonic. Think about the brown delivery vehicles of UPS. The way a brand’s different elements combine over time is what really brings it to life. Logos only die when they are part of a fixed system that can’t respond to a changing world. The huge opportunity for designers is to create and express a great brand story using the array of media now available to us, from film to social media, music, environments, graphics and so on. Businesses need living identities, not dead logos.
This is a subject close to our hearts, we’ve just written a paper about it — Living Identity.
Last week one of MB’s Creative Directors, Darren Bowles, spoke at CPH:TYPO*10 in Copenhagen on the subject of Living Identities. Darren spoke after Vincent Connare who designed Comic Sans, which is widely referred to as the most ridiculous typeface ever created. Vincent, however, came to his own and the typefaces defense, explaining that the type was designed to be child-friendly and to be used as part of a child’s first introduction to computing. Vincent could not understand why anyone would want to use Comic Sans in any other way and sparked a discussion on the importance of relevance in design. Elsewhere in the conference, Darren was really impressed by the broad spectrum of topics covered on where typography meets the wider world. Matthias Hillner’s talk on virtual typography and how typefaces can be emotive in multi-media environments, resonated strongly with our own approach to creating moving brands. Darren’s own talk created a bit of a buzz when he showed our Living Identity paper in action, and he came home adamant that, were it to come to it, he would definitely defend Vincent Connare’s Comic Sans though he’d choose a different typeface to write the marching banner.
Guardian Media and Technology reporter, Mercedes Bunz, today posted the first of a two-part look at Augmented Reality. To reiterate our comment on the piece, we are very excited to see The Guardian giving some column inches to this technology. Check the piece out here and check back to the site tomorrow, when Mercedes is covering AR and journalism. Wonder if our Living Identity paper will get a shout out?
Speaking of shout outs, KanYe West gave our work for KEF a nod on his blog over the Christmas break. Thanks KanYe! And on this one, we’re gonna let you finish.
Augmented Reality. from Moving Brands on Vimeo.
Check out our latest film which shows our “living” cover in action. Click here to download the cover and swipe, tilt and rotate your way through our latest content.
Last Friday we launched our first Moving Brands paper, ‘Living identity’. By its nature, the paper is already out of date so we made a ‘living’ cover which uses augmented reality technology to allow people to see our latest thoughts, news and updates. Using just the cover (also download-able here) and a webcam, users can view live Moving Brands content using gestures to browse and scroll. We believe this is the first time augmented reality technology has been applied to a corporate book, as well as being pioneering in its ability to draw in a range of live feeds. Photos and film of both the launch event and the AR in action to follow. To download and try it yourself, click here.
A few of us went to the onedotzero 09 launch party last night at Village Underground.
The showpiece of the night was the projection of a living identity created by former MB creative Karsten Schmidt and W+K London. The identity is build in processing and pulls in conversations through API’s from Twitter, Flickr, Vimeo and relevant blogs. These feeds form the thread like strands of the visualisation. The main type rendering writes out text messages send via a bespoke application that was build for the N900 by Gary Birkett. It was fascinating to send messages directly into the projection, but also moving the phone itself manipulated the animation. A stunning piece of work we all agree.
A few pictures from the night here
for more details or to book your tickets to onedotzero_adventures in motion festival