A great competition where you have to ‘improve’ famous classical art by adding graffiti. Make sure you post a link to your entry in the comments of this blog 
Classical art made better with spray paint
December 2, 2009
Leave a Comment » | 
Art, Cool, Funny | Tagged: banksy, classical art, competition, graffiti | 
Permalink
Posted by andypearce
Animating a P&O Wave (or How to use Peanut Oil in a Website).
November 30, 2009Last week we launched the new P&O Website [cue the trumpets because it took a year!] Whilst e-commerce websites aren’t generally considered somewhere you can ‘get creative’ we decided this should be an interesting challenge …which it was. When we did our early research we found some very interesting insight about that “twilight zone” where air meets water (see images below). We realised there was something here to play with and decided that if we could execute it well enough it could be an important design feature on the site… but execute it poorly and it would just look tacky. (Let us know what you think).
Above Video: The making of the wave: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWCsS7W3yQk
Creating a ‘wave’ was not as simple as we first thought. Animated tests trying to simulate the wave in 3D or in Flash just didn’t cut it. We wanted something which felt as realistic as possible. We next moved to the real world but equally found that water on its own did not work well at all when we filmed it. To cut a very long story short we finally made a glass tank (very lo-tech – a vase with half a CD case fixed using a glue gun) and filled it with 50% water (tinted blue with food dye) and 50% clear peanut oil. The two substances allowed us to create and film the illusion of water moving very realistically but a much slower down rate. Some After Effects magic with the raw film and we now have a looped, low bandwidth wave for the P&O site.
Final Website above: http://www.pocruises.com.au/Pages/default.aspx
Above: During design research we found a ton of wonderful images which were part of the inspiration for the final wave.
Above: Other features in the site include “Full Screen Experiences” that work without leaving the current page you are on. It’s slightly buried but an unusual feature – especially for an ecom website.
Posted by
7 Comments | 
Amnesia Projects, Art, Cool, Design, Digital News, E-commerce, creative, technology, youtube | Tagged: animate, animation, create, how to, motion graphics, oil, water, wave | 
Permalink
Posted by eunmac
A very festive Robot Dance
November 26, 2009
Leave a Comment » | 
Cool, technology | Tagged: Christmas, dance, robots | 
Permalink
Posted by gregorybrine
Amnesia Razorfish does Movember
November 26, 2009The month of mo-growing, mo-itching and mo-ridicule is almost over. Amnesia have shown sterling character with their Movember efforts … and raised rather alot of cash. For the benefit of our overseas friends, the rules are simple: Grow a ‘Mo’ and raise money for men’s cancer and depression charities.
Now many of you (yes you – working in other Razorfish offices around the world) haven’t donated yet. Please dig-deep and support the Amnesiafish crew and this very worthy cause. Ends Monday when we will announce our final team total.
@handypearce (Team Captain)
Leave a Comment » | Avenue A Razorfish, Cool, Funny, razorfish | Tagged: Amnesia Razorfish. sydney, charity, Movember | Permalink
Posted by andypearce
List of Australian Domain Name Disputes 2002-2009
November 25, 2009Since 2002 auDA have been handling disputes over domain names (brands and individuals who believe they have the right to a domain/URL but are not the registered owner). Whilst some disputes appear to be clear cases of cybersquatting, others are just co-incidental making for an interesting debate.
VS 
Above: It’s not always cyber squatting. But if it is, auDA is here to save you*
“GIVE ME BACK MY URL!”
In all about 160 cases are in the system which is not many considering this covers the last seven years. Although it’s a cost effective option (usually between $2000 and $4500 AUD) many companies still use a below the counter/direct approach and simply buy out a domain direct. Having been involved with quite a few of these direct URL ‘transfers’ there are sometimes good reasons to go direct – for instance if you lose the case at auDA, you may end up having to pay a LOT more as a result – so it pays to do your homework first to decide which route will work best.
Some interesting brands in the list below that have used auDAdrp: Facebook, Neilsen, BT, WhitePages, IBM, Telstra, Calvin Klein, Virgin, True Local, Hey Hey it’s Saturday (to name just a few). Current records show that roughly two thirds of cases were won by the complainant.
List of Domain Names that auDA have handled and resolved 2002-2009:
|
|
|
You can do a search here and see who won what and why:
http://www.auda.org.au/audrp/search/
Post by:
~@eunmac
* UPDATE:
Since posting this article I’ve had several people contact me complaining about auDA and its process. One person explained to me that they were told by auDA that their case (their registered business name taken) had been “investigated” and denied even though the domain had not been used in seven years, no trademarks, no business name, noe events etc. This person also claimed to have discovered a direct connection between the board of auDA and the holder of the domain. The following article “auDA a Law unto Themselves” goes into other issues with auDA.
http://www.domainnews.com/en/auda-a-law-unto-themselves.html
Any more stories? Post them in the comments.
Leave a Comment » | Digital News, Research, Useful, fake, politics | Tagged: auDA, cases, cyber, domain, hijacking, legal, squat, URL | Permalink
Posted by eunmac
A new way to type on a touchscreen phone
November 25, 2009The inventor of the T9 predictive typing system has created a new way of typing on a touchscreen called Swype.
You type with Swype by literally swiping your finger from one letter to the next as fast as you can.
check out the comparison with iPhone
Phones with Swype built in will be launched next year. the first phone to use the technology will be the Samsung Omnia II (a Windows Mobile phone). But Swype will be included in a new Android phone in the first quarter of 2010.
found here
5 Comments | Mobile | Tagged: comparison, iphone, omnia II, samsung, swype, touch, windows, writing | Permalink
Posted by stephanlange
Introducing Razorfone: Simplifying Buying Decisions in Retail
November 25, 2009
Razorfish is proud to present Razorfone. The latest multi-touch project from Razorfish’s Emerging Experiences Team.
From the Emerging Experiences blog:
“Customers are being faced with increasingly complex buying decisions, especially when it comes to technology and services. As a result, increased pressure is being placed on store associates to provide knowledgeable service to customers. Our Emerging Experiences team used this opportunity to develop a solution to demonstrate how an immersive interactive experience can assist customers and store associates with complex buying decisions in a retail setting.”
Using Windows 7, the Razorfish Touch Framework and NextWindow touch screen technology, Razorfone is another example of how multi-touch experiences are going to become a bigger and bigger part of our lives.
Kudos to the Emerging Experiences Team!
Leave a Comment » | 3d, Applications, Cool, E-commerce, Microsoft, Research, gadgets, marketing, multitouch, razorfish, technology | Tagged: multitouch nextwindow wpf windows7 razorfish rtf | Permalink
Posted by Brady
3D models easily with your webcam
November 24, 2009The Cambridge University Engineering Department developed ProForma.
ProFORMA (which stands for ‘Probabilistic Feature-based On-line Rapid Model Acquisition’) is some cool system that turns any ordinary webcam into a powerful 3D scanning tool.
The 3D models are constructed on the spot while you slowly rotate the objects.
As the user rotates the object in front of a stationary camera, a partial model is reconstructed and displayed to the user to assist view planning. The model is also used by the system to robustly track the pose of the object. Models are rapidly produced through a Delaunay tetrahedralisation of points obtained from on-line structure from motion estimation, followed by a probabilistic tetrahedron carving step to obtain a textured surface mesh of the object.
Pretty cool I say – check out the video
found here
Leave a Comment » | Cool, Tech | Tagged: 3d, cambridge, model, proforma, webcam | Permalink
Posted by stephanlange
Digital campaigns that caught my eye this week
November 20, 2009I’ve been running around like a fly with a blue backside the last few weeks. However after a bit of down time today I came across two great campaigns that I would hold up as shining examples of great digital work.
The first one is Sony’s Fantasy Festival partnership with Last.fm. You have an imaginary $1M to spend on your fantasy festival line up and the winner is the person whose selection has the most buzz online- kind of like Fantasy Football for music. Here’s my effort…
Why do I like this?
The communication is tied into a product. Once I’ve picked my line up and named my festival I can listen to it on Last.fm and share it with friends. Simple idea but cool.
It’s a genuine experience not just a prize draw. I spent ages battling with my consciousness. Do I put some super bands like Muse in that have a lot of buzz even though I don’t like them, or ‘keep it real’ and stick to my favourites. Seriously have a go, you have to make some brutal decisions.
The second campaign is from HP who is raising the awareness of the Global clean water crisis by supporting a team of climbers looking to reach the summit of Mt Kilimanjaro.
They don’t start till January but you can track their progress via a website that is the equivalent height of Mt Kilimanjaro in pixels – check out the scroll bar! Neat idea from Goodby
2 Comments | Strategy | Tagged: Campaigns, digital, Fantastfestival, Goodby, HP, Lastfm, social, Sony | Permalink
Posted by carlmoggy
The Visual Thesaurus
November 19, 2009From the vault: I do like this visual thesaurus tool/website http://www.visualthesaurus.com. Creatively it’s never easy finding that perfect word but this tool makes life a lot easier. Hopping between words is effortless and the definitions are always to hand. The default animation can be a little distracting at times but you can tweak the settings somewhat. The only downside – trial is pretty short, and then you’re up for $2.95 per month or $19.95 a year.
Leave a Comment » | Strategy, Useful, creative | Tagged: thesaurus, tool, visual | Permalink
Posted by eunmac
Stay fit and save the world at the same time
November 18, 2009These concept pants called “Dancepants” will generate energy to power you MP3 player from the kinetic energy from the movement of your feet. Basically as long as you keep running (or dancing) you will be able to hear your music.
great concept? definitely!
Will it make me run longer? probably not, but I didn’t waste any energy
found here
Leave a Comment » | Tech | Tagged: concept, energy, kinetic, movement, pants | Permalink
Posted by stephanlange
Infinite Awesome, Now In 3D
November 16, 2009Fractal lovers, brace yourselves. Here you will find some awesome pictures of the 3D Mandelbrot, “Mandelbulb”. Infinite awesome, on infinite levels. Here are four of the more impressive perspectives:
Leave a Comment » | 3d, Art, Cool, Design, General | Tagged: 3d, mandelbrot, mandelbulb | Permalink
Posted by garymoon
Orange friend-o-meter
November 13, 2009An interactive quiz to promote the launch of the Motorola Dext (‘The Super Social Networking Machine’). This quiz connects to twitter, facebook and myspace and tests how well you know your friends by pulling data from their profiles and feeds.
Pretty cool ‘eh.
1 Comment | Cellphone, Cool, Facebook, Game, Mobile, MySpace, Social Networks, twitter | Tagged: dext, facebook quiz, frend-o-meter, motorola, Orange | Permalink
Posted by andypearce
Radical Authenticity: MC Hammer at Social Media Club Sydney
November 11, 2009
MC Hammer at Social Media Club Sydney
Social Media Club Sydney (SMCSYD) was transformed Tuesday night, 10th November 2009, spellbound by one unique individual, the one and only MC Hammer. As programming director I was the one of the first to find out that MC Hammer was coming to Sydney thanks to Iain McDonald and his Twitter relationship with Hammer, which again shows the power of connections made in social spaces. We moved venue to the University of Technology Sydney to accommodate the format that Hammer had used with the Harvard Business School, and it gave the talk the gravity it deserved.
Hammer, listed as one of the top social media users on WeFollow is passionate about social media and entrepreneurship. What makes him so engaging is his deeply personal point of view: everything was related to his own experience with Twitter his blog, and the people he interacts with online.
Hammer’s insights are related to what he’s gained transforming his personal brand into a social personal brand
- wanting to engage directly with the audience and he tweets for himself – “never let anyone else tell your story”
- he’s a “supergeek” and is connected all the time – “I have this phone and that phone and this device and that computer”
- Likes to be at “the centre of the flow of information”
- he uses Twitter to address any issues as they arise because “perception is most important”
- if people are negative – “you block ‘em”
- what you can’t touch – “you can’t touch the concept Hammer time”
- transparency is paramount, its important to be yourself
- the way he’d reinvented himself more than once from rapper > social media advocate > Harvard Business School lecturer
- the power of social media to transform the world
Hammer also spoke a lot about being an entrepreneur and music and the people he’d met and become friends with like @Ev. He did have some advice for brands not to run and hide from social but to embrace and own the space Sure, it may have been stuff we knew from our own experience or had heard before, but not like this. Hammer was transformative because he had lived every moment of it – none of it was theory, it was all personal truth.
What made it complete for me was to watch him live his personal brand, to the last degree, to talk individually to all the people who waited for photos and autographs. He responded to questions, engaged genuinely, one-on-one.
I’ll finish with a story he shared with us when commenting that he really liked my husband Mal Damkar’s tie. He told us the story of how he went to an upmarket restaurant in NYC with Ev from Twitter, and it was the kind of place that they wouldn’t let you in unless you wore a tie. Ev, being the casual kind of guy, had to go out and buy a tie to get into the restaurant. Hammer (immaculately dressed for SMCSYD in a suit, tie, shirt and cufflinks) thought this was hilarious, so he took a photo of Ev and tweeted it out.
Hammer, to me, represents the new type of social brand: radical authenticity, when social persona and reality are one.
1 Comment | social media | Tagged: MC Hammer at Social Media Club Sydney, SMCSYD, social media, Social Media Club Sydney | Permalink
Posted by Tiphereth Gloria
Climate change journalism meets social media
November 10, 2009
It’s expected that 40 world leaders will attend this year’s COP15 climate change talks in Denmark next month to hammer out the details for what is hoped will be the successor to the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012. Fifteen journalists, winners in the Earth Journalism Awards, are being flown to Copenhagen to cover the two week conference.
The organisers, the Earth Journalism Network, are making great use of social media to plug this event – obviously they’re marketing the awards themselves all over the usual social media, but there is also a final sixteenth award which is determined by user interaction. All fifteen journalists are finalists, and the whole world gets to vote for an overall winner of the Global Public Award using the EJA site, but also on Twitter by retweeting #ejavote and the URL of the story. Additionally, each entry has its own Facebook fan page, for which every fan constitutes a vote.
This is a great mobilisation of social media tools to get what is an environmental/political issue under the noses of the millions of tweeters and Facebook fiends.
Local journo, John Pickrell from Australia’s own Cosmos Magazine (they who brought us HelloFromEarth.net), is one of the fifteen finalists for his piece on ocean acidification and its effects on our very own Great Barrier Reef. You can read his and all the other finalists’ articles on the EJA website and make your voice heard – http://awards.earthjournalism.org/finalists.
3 Comments | General | Tagged: australia, climate change, Facebook, politics, Science, social media, twitter | Permalink
Posted by grayprice
FEED: The 2009 Razorfish Digital Brand Experience Report now available
November 9, 2009
“In today’s increasingly digital world, the experience is the message.” Razorfish’s Group Vice President of Experience Planning Garrick Schmitt (@gschmitt) introduces the 2009 FEED Report, a concise and invaluable output of leading edge digital consumer research.
Topics include:
- Digital Brand Experiences Create Customers
- Actions Speak Louder Than Advertising
- Digital Fluency
- The Language of Love for Brands? Deals.
- Measuring Brand Engagement
…and more.
“This report is probably the best analysis of online consumer behavior” according to Guy Kawasaki.
Check out the blog:
http://feed.razorfish.com/
Download the report:
http://feed.razorfish.com/downloads/Razorfish_FEED09.pdf
If you want to tweet about the report, use the hashtag #FEED09.
2 Comments | Research, Useful, marketing, razorfish, social media | Tagged: 2009 FEED Report, feed, razorfish, social media | Permalink
Posted by iclazie
A socially social campaign fuelled by social – Why Movember works?
November 6, 2009[Sorry, I had to use all the various meanings of the word just to ensure there was no misunderstanding as to what this post is about]
At the moment my Mo looks more like I’ve drunk 10 cans of Coke and licked my top lip, but it is still early days. However this isn’t about me and my Mo, although you can sponsor me here should you wish, it’s about why Movember is a perfect example of marketing in a social world.
It has social object
OK it’s for a good cause and bog paper might struggle to emulate this, but it demonstrates the need to unite people around something compelling enough. In this instance it happens to be a good cause, but it could just be a good idea.
Secondly raising awareness and funds for Men’s health is arguably under represented compared too many other causes; you could say it’s a challenger. Everyone wants to support the challenger.
It gives people something to do
It’s not just a Facebook group where you sign up and forget about it or where you change your Twitter avatar and feel pleased with yourself. It requires people to actually commit to doing something. We all know actions speak louder than words these days.
It makes things spread
It unites groups of people with some real social fuel. There is something to talk about, it’s highly competitive and narcissistic (in a weird and slightly perverse way). Nobody wants to be told they have a dirty lip now do they.
It visualises things happening within groups. People copy each other and the more people that grow a Mo, the more people will a) find it acceptable to grow one or b) Feel left out if they don’t and follow the crowd. Nobody wants to be the first person at the party, so brands need to try and visualise activity and interactions happening, so people feel like everyone else is doing it.
Movember relies on both strong AND weak ties. In order for it to gain significant traction with the population in a short space of time, the ‘handful of influencers’ need to be exposed to the masses – the Mo being the social lubricant and object that is shared across these groups. Brands should ensure that they don’t spend all their efforts on the clump of interconnected cool kids and remember Joe Public needs to be exposed to what is happening.
Social mechanisms
It obviously has the standard Facebook, Twitter and email options so you can spread the word and generate donations, but there is more to the way they feed the fire.
It gives you the tools and reminders to upload and document your progress – as well as fundraising rankings. This keeps you promoting yourself and pushing your efforts through your networks. Brands need to give people something to follow and talk about in order to keep people interested.
Movember gives Mo growers rewards for raising money, including a tickets to the end of campaign party. It inspires people to really push for more money through the month rather than just an email at the beginning. Brands should reward people on a regular basis for giving up their time for you.
Last but not least – it’s useful
For those of us unfamiliar with growing facial hair there is a full on style guide and grooming tips. This should come in handy when rectifying my dirty lip.
Visit Movember and track down your friends and fellow Mo growers
2 Comments | Strategy | Tagged: Campaigns, digital, media, Movember, social media, Social Objects | Permalink
Posted by carlmoggy
A post 12 years in the making…
November 5, 2009A message from Amnesia Razorfish Co-Founder Iain McDonald:
So here it is… This is a personal message to let everyone know that Terry Carney my long time business partner and the other co-founder has left Amnesia. It’s been a long 12 years since we kicked off Amnesia from the back room of a terraced house to being part of one of the worlds largest agencies. One hell of a ride for Terry (TC as he’s known here) and myself. In the last four months we’ve finished our earnout and in parallel with that the company has just taken its fourth owner in under four years (TC and I, then aQuantive, Microsoft, and finally Publicis).
The company is in better shape than it’s ever been but at the same time it’s really been the first chance either of us have been able to consider anything outside Amnesia. After this long you naturally start to think about giving a little back to the people that have had to put up with us during this time (yes, that would be our families I’m referring to 
. This is something I know is very important to Terry right now. He has all the support in the world from me, and importantly the whole Razorfish network. So the official news today is that TC decided to make a clean break and he has resigned – the reality is that this happened a couple of weeks ago. I haven’t wanted to say anything until now because I also wanted to have a good think about what this meant to me and to make some decisions myself.
So whilst TC is taking some time out from the industry, I’ve personally decided to stick around and see if I can continue to shake some more digital apples down from the tree. I haven’t got my future completely figured out yet but the digital landscape is something I want to be a part of and there isn’t a better place to be than here in my mind.
Above: Terry and I working hard.
So despite the sad news (which we only announced to staff today) the atmosphere in here is really positive. Hope everyone will welcome and understand Terry’s decision, and along with me give him a huge pat on the back for a job well done. Thanks Terry – enjoy the break, we wish you well and see you at the pub soon.
Cheers,
Iain McDonald
@eunmac
40 Comments | General | Permalink
Posted by eunmac
5 Amazing and Unique Portfolio Interfaces
November 4, 2009There’s a sea of portfolio sites out there. Of the best ones there are many that look great but don’t stray far from the typical interface design frameworks and information architecture.
Here’s a collection of five seriously impressive efforts to innovate, take chances, do something unique, delight and surprise… Great stuff.
1. Wonderwall Inc. – www.wonder-wall.com
This Japanese interior design firm presents their work via a sproingy, elastic, 3D, slightly off the grid mosaic interface. It’s just fun to play with and tightly executed. It’s not a facade, either – the transitions and detail views are well thought through.
2. Resn - www.resn.co.nz
Not a new site, but if this New Zealand based creative agency ever changes their portfolio I look forward to seeing how they plan to improve on it. The imagination behind the navigation rollover effects and the presentation of the work in the portfolio section are inspiring. Use of full bleed background imagery and subtle audio really surround the visitor. Great balance of creativity and usability.
3. thetoke - www.thetoke.com
Slick, clean, technical. Slightly ambiguous concept around the identity and the intro, but it all makes for good eye candy. Play with the viewing modes in the top right hand corner to see cool applications of 3D in Flash.
4. bio-bak - www.bio-bak.nl
Wow. Also been around a while but something truly bizarre. It’s a game. The object is to find the site’s navigation. This site has balls. And they’re hairy and badly drawn.
5. Futuretainment – www.futuretainment.com
Ok, so it’s a book launch, not a portfolio, but it’s classic Frost and fits beautifully with the others for a range of inspiration on how to simultaneously provide a stage and set a tone.
Enjoy!
Leave a Comment » | Cool, Design, Inspiration | Tagged: agencies, Design, digital, portfolio | Permalink
Posted by iclazie
Smirnoff Mule runner up in Creative Showcase awards
November 4, 2009Congratulations to the Mule team for collecting this award last Friday!
http://www.itstartedwithamule.com/
And hats off to Soap for taking first.
Leave a Comment » | Advertising, Amnesia Projects, Cool, Design, awards | Tagged: awards, film, Games, smirnoff | Permalink
Posted by iclazie
