Bloggy | Musings from a Graphic Design Studio

Have you found your balance in the social media scene?

We are endlessly being told we must engage our brands in social media. Brands of all types and sizes are seizing the opportunity to be in the mix of conversations that are globally consuming us – and our time. We have the tools to communicate with audiences we once only dreamt of, in the simplest of ways, and via mediums that are preferential to each individual. Yet getting your brand involved in social media comes with many questions...

View

Have you found your balance in the social media scene?

we love - beertone.

Beertone is a pantone-style guide for true beer enthusiasts and colour lovers alike. Created by Alexander Michelbach and Daniel Eugster the guide references 202 Swiss beers, sorted from lightest to darkest. It captures everything you could ever want to know about the featured beer from alcohol volume to the colour information breakdowns (CMYK, RGB, SRM and HTML) and everything in between. To create the edition the duo travelled around Switzerland collecting their samples (can we app...

View

We love – the 3rd dimension.

It is fascinating to think about the speed of the evolution of computers and the internet. Just a few decades ago computers were solitary creatures, not connected to each other, only able to communicate to the world through a rudimentary phosphor-monochrome monitor.

View

we love - google glass.

Google has entered the realm of sci-fi with their new product 'Glass'. Project Glass is a wearable computer with head mounted display that lets you interact with what you are looking at in a hands-free format, controlled simply by your voice. Step into a world of augmented reality to take snaps or video of what you actually see, use google maps to get directions, access real time translator services and scroll through messages with your eyes. While the first versions of the glasses...

View

we love - mod men.

The clever people at Shutterstock have come up with this quirky series of images comparing symbols from the TV show Mad Men to it's 21st century counterpart. Each image portrays to the left an iconic item from Mad Men, and on the right a match to it's modern day equivalent. The result is entertaining and an interesting reflection on the differences between now and then. Instead of lunchtime liquor we are opting for an organic smoothie, and the daily grind is made infinitely easier ...

View

we love - playing with food.

Artist Hong Yi, nicknamed 'Red' is an artist who loves to play with her food. She creates inventive art pieces by slicing, dicing and arranging pieces of food on plates to make simplified artworks made entirely of edible ingredients. She has recently created a series entitled '31 days of creativity with food' where she has challenged herself to make a food-art scene every day with a white plate as her canvas. Some of her creations include rearranging the seeds of a dragon fruit to p...

View

Retail Leaders Forum review - part 2.

My last blog listed my key takeaways from the Retail Leaders Forum. What I didn't touch on was the keynote speaker Sir Stuart Rose, former Marks and Spencer executive chairman and current Ocado chairman. An inspiring and insightful presentation Sir Stuart Rose said that sustainability is the next big topic for large retailers and if businesses fail to take notice they must prepare to fail.

View

we love - stitched typography.

Graphic Designer Aries Wan has come up with this beautiful experiment combining traditional hand embroidery with CMYK colours to produce her own unique typography. It's an exciting combination of modern design and traditional techniques which urges people to appreciate type for more than something that is simply computer-generated. She says that "The idea of this is to tell non-design people that type is not cold but also contains feeling". Each letter uses two slightly offset prim...

View

Retail leaders Forum review.

Last week I attended the Retail Leaders Forum, which brought together some of the biggest names in Australian retail, each offering insights into their operations and marketing. I wanted to share a few of my key takeaways which span the customer, service and inspiration, innovation, experience, location and relevancy.

View

we love - google experiments.

Welcome to Web Lab. A series of interactive chrome experiments launched by Google and the Science Museum London that brings the extraordinary workings of the internet to life and demonstrates how the web has forever changed our connection to the rest of the world. Google describes it as 'the magic of the web brought to life' which is true as this first-of-it's-kind web-based exhibition is a fun example of what we can do together thanks to the internet. The exhibition features 5 exp...

View

Get some, gamification!

Organisations are looking to the world of gaming to influence behaviour and stakeholders, improve morale and drive common business goals.

Creating missions and progressing to the next level, as in most, if not all, games, is an indication of motivation is at its highest. This is the fun factor that “gamification” can inject in your campaigns.

View

we love - old school photo manipulations.

If you thought that these artworks were created in Photoshop then think again! These intriguing images by Thomas Barbéy are the work of many hours tucked away in a darkroom with film based photographs, sandwiched negatives, the double exposure of a camera and sometimes a touch of airbrushing. The result is a unique collection of surrealist style images that really play on your imagination and leave you feeling totally immersed in the black and white world before your eyes. We love t..

View

we love - old school photo manipulations.

how often should you redesign your website?

I recently attended DrupalCon Sydney, a full-day event aimed at business leaders and managers who are using, or exploring using, Drupal in their websites. Drupal is an open source content management system and is used in ⅕ of the world's top 10,000 sites. While I was listening to two great studies about how SBS and Flight Centre were in the process of turning their websites around with the use of Drupal, I got to thinking about how long a website should last?

View

we love - sustainable packaging.

From the beach to the bottle, this innovative packaging solution is the world's first design made from recycled ocean plastic. Millions of tons of plastic end up in our oceans every year so it's nice to come across a design that thinks about it's sustainability. Method ran a campaign, asking for the help of volunteers to clean up a beach in Hawaii. Using a blend of post-consumer recycled plastic and the rubbish that was collected, they were able to create a formula that they used a...

View

asos hackathon 2011.

In December 2011 ASOS opened up its eCommerce data to developers across the business to come up with an interactive + fun solution for online shoppers. Following 24 hours of gruelling and intense coding, the winning idea allowed shoppers to view saved searches and categories in RSS readers.

View

we love - creative fonts.

This stunning font designed by Dalton Maag has been revealed as the official typeface for the 2016 Rio Olympics. We instantly fell in love with the smooth curves and flowing lines of the design. It is bold and strong but still has it's own unique style which resonates with Brazil, it's people and the spirit of the Olympic Games. Each letter is a combination of thick and thin strokes which, when reading about the design process, was explored by putting brush to paper and writing by h...

View

Content strategy for mobile: book review.

A review of Content Strategy for Mobile— a fantastic little A Book Apart book by the wonderful Karen McGrane. It's a hard-hitting, practical, put-straight-to-use guide that should be read by anyone who manages, designs, builds, writes for or thinks about websites. If you have a website you NEED to get your content onto mobile devices and this book will tell you how.

View

we love - geometric sandcastles.

In the spirit of the summer holidays we thought we'd bring you something that takes us back to the good old imaginative childhood days. These intricate sandcastles by Calvin Seibert are perfectly constructed into ornate pyramids of intertwining geometric shapes.

View

we love - gravity defying snowballs!

These beautiful gravity defying pieces are the work of German artist Cornelia Konrads and it's not just for Christmas snowballs! Using natural and found objects in open spaces she creates pieces that are whimsical and almost supernatural. You can't help but become awestruck at how these weightless sculptures seem to disintegrate right before your eyes.

View

Twitpics.

2013 is fast approaching and you’re probably thinking of new ways to reach your audience and extend your brand.

We know that staying abreast of policy updates, feature updates and new platforms can be quite tricky so we wanted to let you know about the latest evolution of Twitter. All Things D are reporting a new feature, due to launch before the end of 2012: photo filter.

View

we love - christmas dubstep lights.

Since it's the silly season we thought we'd go all festive on you! Synched your lights in time to Gangnam style? That's so yesterday. This Christmas it's all about dubstep. A house in Meridian, Idaho has been wired up with 35,000 LED lights to create an electronic sequence that flashes on and off to the beat of Skrillex. Take a look and brace yourself to see an impressive display where Christmas meets dubstep. So worth a watch!

View

Round up of the digital goodness from iStrategy 2012 in Melbourne.

Key takeaways from iStrategy - an inspirational, two-day, digital marketing conference held bi-annually in North America, Europe and Australia.

View

We love - clever campaigns.

We aren't surprised that this public safety campaign by Melbourne Metro has gone viral. The brilliant combination of humour, cheeky animation and a catchy tune delivers a serious message in a fun way. Never has death looked so cute!

View

Facebook advertising - Sponsored Stories.

With Facebook struggling to warrant it's value on the stock exchange I've been interested to see it's plans to monetise the platform. After all, it is most likely to be through advertising. What does that mean for businesses trying to engage with their target market online and what does it mean for their target market, is it being done in the right way?

View

We love - public art.

I stumbled upon this great typographic artwork recently in Montreal. It's over head high so you can walk amongst the poles, and when viewed from the correct angle the letters come together to create a message (if you can speak French!)

View

The rise of branded content.

Felix Baumgartner recently jumped from 39 kilometres above the earth, breaking the speed of sound and various other records on his way back down. This was the result of a seven year project, created by Red Bull, some say the masters, of branded content. This got me to thinking about branded content. Who does it well? Is it about reinforcing brand positioning or is it about a product sell, or can it be both?

View

We love - great advertising.

Thanks to The Gruen Planet, a great TV show on the ABC channel here in Australia, I got to see the 'Three Little Pigs' ad for The Guardian newspaper in the UK. It is a great example of how there is a future for newspapers if they understand that they are there to begin, continue, facilitate and/or aid discussion, rather than act as an isolated printed entity. Take a watch...

View

Any excuse to party - Happy Birthday to Philter!

We had our 10th birthday party last week and a fabulous time was had by all (well definitely by us at least)! There was food and drink a plenty, and we got to have a boogie and make use of our enormous shiny disco ball. Check out the pictures here!

View

Any excuse to party - Happy Birthday to Philter!

philter turns ten years old.

Happy Birthday to us! Philter Group is turning 10 whole years old and we are throwing a big ol' party to celebrate. We wanted to give you a sneaky peak of the invitation. Being your own client is always so much harder than you think it will be but we are really excited about the outcome.

View

top-notch graphic designer wanted.

We are a boutique studio in Darlinghurst who deliver smart creative that connects. Whether brand, print or digital every communication must be purposeful, achieve measurable results and contribute to business success. We're looking for a top-notch graphic designer to join our team...

View

Star account manager wanted.

Are you tired of working long hours for large agencies and want to be in a dynamic environment where your ideas can really make a difference?
We are a boutique studio in Darlinghurst who deliver smart creative that connects. Working across brand, print and digital for a range of clients we have an energetic team who are really going places and need a star account manager to join us for the journey...

View

We love - Bike NYC campaign.

Loving this typographic campaign by Mother New York encouraging people to cycle. Great design combined with clever copywriting, and it's for a good cause!

View

Responsive web design examples.

We have been having lots of conversations with clients recently about future proofing their website for all users no matter what device they are viewing the website on. Throughout our research, and referencing possible ideas for clients, I have looked at many responsive web designs. Here we have key screen grabs from some great examples.

View

We love - snail mail.

I don't receive much snail mail except for bills and junk mail (boring!). Which is why I'm loving Australia Post's Postcards app. You can brighten up someone's mailbox by sending them a custom postcard using any photo on you iPhone. It's quick, easy and fun.

View

Augmented reality best of class.

I was out with a girlfriend having coffee (her) and cake (me) the other day and we were discussing buying glasses. ‘Ooh you should have read my recent blog post on top five things the most successful websites have (catchy eh?) it reviews a great site that uses augmented reality for you to try glasses frames on’. It got me thinking...our last post on augmented reality was back in November 2011 - blimey - time flys when you’re having fun! Time for another review...

View

We love - videos that give us goosebumps.

John Butterill's Virtual Photo Walks is a must watch video and a great use of Google+ hangouts. We challenge you not to get goosebumps!

View

We love - videos that give us goosebumps

What's on your box? Stakeholder workshop insights.

We are continually researching, developing, implementing and honing our processes for web strategy, design and development to ensure we connect with the end user in the best possible manner. Imagine your company's website is being sold on a supermarket shelf. Not the company itself, or it's product or service, but the website itself. You are sitting amongst a sea of other boxes selling websites within your industry, so what is going to make the consumer choose yours?

View

What's on your box? Stakeholder workshop insights.

We love - paper art.

Beautiful, intricate paper creations by Helen Musselwhite.

View

Top 5 things the most successful websites have.

Throughout our work here at Philter, we often speak with clients who have some great ideas to help the business in the digital arena, but before they can be realised, there is a large amount of work to be done to convince the powers-that-be, that it warrants the budget and/or resources. Read on for some ideas...

View

mid-weight PHP developer with frameworks.

We are looking for a Senior developer to join our team in a full time permanent role. You are a talented developer who has excellent written and spoken English, great initiative and strong attention to detail, confident in testing own work to get projects to a deliverable solution and experienced in quoting and speccing. We are dying to hear from you!

View

We love - Finding new friends.

Our lead developer Byron spotted this - one to take note of for those of us who have to travel lots with work, or just those of us who get to travel lots (lucky things!). Grubwithus. Read on...

View

Quality or compromise?

The other day a client approved a large web project and they went with the most comprehensive solution, they then proceeded to ask me why I was surprised. Good question. Not many people choose to do things properly anymore. It's always how to do things faster, or cheaper, or with less effort – with little concern about whether you are connecting with people in the best way possible. So when did compromise become the norm?

View

We love - Green graffiti.

Another great find from our developer Adrian, Green Grafiti! We love it when a little outside-the-box thinking, produces something pretty darn noticeable! Have you seen any brands doing this?

View

Social media research and training - part 2.

I recently attended 2 training days held by Social Media Knowledge (SMK). Billed as Australia’s only dedicated social media research and training business, it exists to try and help people become more effective users of social media. In this second installment of this 2-part blog (read the first installment) I thought I would share my key take-aways on all things Facebook.

View

We love - The cardboard revival.

Cardboard, so humble, so...brown. So imagine our delight (and impressed-ness) when a former colleague of ours launched her new company Flat Out Frankie. Flat packed cardboard toys designed to inspire creative and active play! Dutch stroller manufacturer Joolz, has also printed instructions on the packaging of its products to encourage customers to tturn the boxes into something new and useful.

View

Social media research and training.

I recently attended 2 training days held by Social Media Knowledge (SMK). Billed as Australia’s only dedicated social media research and training business, it exists to try and help people become more effective users of social media. In the first installment of this 2-part blog I thought I would share my key take-aways from the first day. Sharing is caring kids!

View

php developer - ninja required!

We are looking for a mid to senior developer to join our team in a full time permanent role. Read on for more details...

View

We love - great ideas.

Our newest developer in to the philter family, Adrian, spotted this digital guitar, not yet even released but we think it's a great idea. In the creator's own words: "The gTar is a fully digital guitar that makes it easy for anybody to play music, regardless of experience. All you have to do is dock your iPhone in the body, load up the gTar app, and an array of interactive LEDs along the fretboard will show you how to play."

View

Finding the answer to a little question called 'why?'

Have you ever wondered WHY you do what you do? Coming across the inspiring Simon Sinek TED talk a couple of years ago had me spending a lot of time pondering this question. Seeing him speak in Sydney this year, thanks to Business Chicks, helped me transform these thoughts into a black and white answer that feeds back into everything we do...

View

We love - Pantone colours.

The Queen's Jubilee is not something we would normally blog about, but when Pantone is involved, we can't resist! They created a colour guide featuring her iconic monochrome ensembles. Genius!

View

The importance of mobile site design.

I read an article on Google mobile ads blog the other day that carried the tagline: 'Small screen. Big opportunity.' I just LOVE that. I've been looking at awesome mobile sites for the last 12 - 18 months, I know how much I love it when something I need to do or find can be done (and here's the clincher) quickly and easily on my iPhone. Over that period I've also have heard an ever increasing amount of seriously persuasive stats that make me think 'how can businesses ignore mobile?'

View

We love - jamming on the iPad.

Our art director, Ben, came across this app which has a pretty awesome interface design, allowing four people to play as a band on one iPad.It's all in the fingers kids!

View

Semi-Permanent 2012.

Our team attended Semi Permanent last week. In it's own words "Semi-Permanent is a world leading design conference that to date has hosted 29 events in 9 cities, covering 5 countries, with over 200 speakers and 50,000 attendees. In 2012, Semi-Permanent celebrates ten years of events- that's a decade full of stories and wisdom from industry idols." I thought I'd share my highlights...

View

We love - Paris vs New York.

It's amazing how much you can communicate with so little! Each illustration in this series by Vahram Muratyan captures both cities (Paris and New York), highlights how they contrast and makes you smile at the same time. The combination of the simplicity plus humour is what makes them so effective. It's not surprising that what started out as a blog has evolved into a book and series of prints.

View

It's good to share.

Attending conferences and working with clients on their social media strategies, gets a girl (OK, woman) thinking about the changes that social media has brought about. More and more, for me, it's that word 'share'. It used to be that if you knew something you kept it close and secret. Now, however, there is far more potential in sharing your knowledge and establishing yourself as a thought-leader. Take a peek at my daily go-tos for everything print, digital and brand.

View

We love - the reinvention of the book.

Printing of the written word is being reinvented in awesome ways! I can't take credit for this find and have to name-check Springwise, a site filled with awesome ideas from around the world. As with the web, it's all about usability, a song book that you can recycle for rollies while you listen to the music and written recipes that you can actually then use in the cooking (OK so you've then lost the recipe but it's something different and I want to try it!). Yes please.

View

Social Media steps up its role in connecting professionals.

If getting a new job is often more about who you know rather than what you know, why not take advantage of your established network of Facebook friends? That’s the idea behind BranchOut, an app that builds on your existing Facebook profile and connections and extends them into a professional network. This also means you don't have to maintain two separate profiles on Facebook and LinkedIn. We’re hearing more and more about BranchOut, so it a LinkedIn killer?

View

We love - how a little thought can go a long way.

Check out these amazing images for Stiftung Berliner Philharmoniker. They have taken the instruments of the orchestra and created the illusion of concert halls or large spaces you could wander through (for hours if you're daydreamers like us!)...just beautiful!

View

We love - how a little thought can go a long way

Stakeholder workshops.

So, you are about to embark on a nice, juicy web project that’s going to take your business to the next level. You’ve got the team sorted, and you know what you want to achieve, and vaguely how you might go about achieving it. Everyone involved has imparted their two cents worth to the project, making sure their goals and objectives are covered. The brief is being written, revised, re-written, tweaked, written… again. And so by now, your nice, juicy web project is turning into a bit...

View

We love - Instagram.

Ah yes, the app phenomenon that's taking the world by storm. We really love Instagram. It makes even the most mundane photo so awesome. The guys at mashable.com asked the team behind it to rate their favourite images. Check a few of their favs here. It's amazing to think that these were all taken on a Smartphone.

View

The wonderful world of HTML5.

The latest buzz word to hit the Internet is HTML5. It’s been thrown around quite a bit lately, and most developers have a vague idea of what it is and what it actually means to the end user. There are a number of interesting technologies at work here; HTML5, CSS3, and JavaScript APIs. We’ll take a look at some of these new features, and how they can be used to enhance your website.

View

We love - stop. motion. videos.

If you like guacamole, stop motion video, or just random cool creativity, then check out this vid that we stumbled across.

From the director who goes by the name PES, he transforms familiar objects into a tasty little guacamole treat. The animation is brilliant, but it's the sound effects that really make this come to life. Enjoy!

View

PHP Developer - Ninja Required!

We are looking for a mid to senior PHP Ninja developer to join our team.

View

istrategy and schmart marketing conference round-up.

I recently attended iStrategy, a global digital media conference, held in North America, the UK and Australia. It's billed as an inspirational, 2 day digital media conference for senior executives who believe that the success of their business requires a sound digital strategy. I also attended the Schmart Marketing Conference, which is aimed at business and marketing professionals who want to challenge the way they approach business. It tackles the art of strategy, creative, social...

View

Are you just what we are looking for?

We are looking for a top notch client relationship manager to join our dynamic and close-knit team and create new business across key sectors.

View

we love - little things.

Good things come in small packages don't you know. And it doesn't come much smaller than the Little Printer. We saw this the other day and it's so cool. It's little enough to fit in the palm of your hand, and can be programmed to print news updates once or twice a day from your preferred news publications, social networks and data-collecting apps. Updates appear in the form of paper strips about the width of an iPhone and up to 10 inches long. Due for release sometime in 2012, we c...

View

Google Plussification - get plus happy.

Google are taking the word of mouth style recommendation influence on search results one step further by recently announcing their Search, plus Your World movement. It’s all about delivering personalised search results to you based on your Google+ world and it has big implications for your content strategy. Australia doesn’t see it all just yet but Google plan to launch it internationally and anyone who publishes content on the web should be prepared.

View

We love - glow in the dark snowboarding.

Ok, so even though technically it's still summer (for want of a better word), as avid snow bunnies we just had to share this one with you. Check out this awesome video by Jacob Sutton titled L.E.D Surfer, of Artec pro snowboarder William Hughes lighting up the snow-covered French hills in a bespoke L.E.D.-enveloped suit. Truly amazing, not just in a "snowboarding-at-night-in-a-glowing-suit" kinda way, but from a cinematography perspective as well. Enjoy!

View

Responsive web design for mobile, tablet, desktop... and beyond?

We’ve been looking into best ways to approach mobile site design, as well as integrating it with established desktop design and content for some time now. As part of that quest I’ve just read a book called Responsive Web Design by Ethan Marcotte. This book suggests that websites could be independent of a ‘canvas size’ and should flow and adapt to whatever device it is viewed on while maintaining a high level visual and functional experience.

View

Responsive web design for mobile, tablet, desktop... and beyond?

We love - a green lane.

We've just heard about something interesting that's coming up in a couple of weeks time, and wanted to share it with you. The people at Pop Sydney: Sussex Lane are taking over Sussex Lane in Sydney for two days in March, and turning it into a lush, green oasis in the heart of this fair city of ours. We love a bit of grass action down a dark lane! It's your chance to feel the grass under your feet whilst listening to some interesting speakers talk about the City of Sydney's plans fo...

View

Showrooming. A discussion.

What is it? I recently read an article about the practice of ‘showrooming’, where shoppers visit stores to check out merchandise and then buy it online cheaper, leaving the bricks and mortar store’s role as little more than a product showcase, and very often not as an online destination as well. The subject is gathering speed in the media and here I discuss options to combat it.

View

We love - a good reply.

A very clever ad campaign from BMW.

View

Colour and its impact.

Colour is a crucial design element. It can be used for emphasis, directing the eye, identifying recurring themes, differentiation or to trigger emotions and associations. It has been proven that colour improves memory and in the case of brands, colour has been shown to improve brand recognition by as much as 85% (source: Practical eCommerce). There are a lot of considerations when choosing colours and colour palettes for your brand and communication collateral...

View

We love - having our creativity exhibited.

Our creative type Steph has recently completed a photography course at the Australian Centre for Photography here in Sydney.

View

We love - having our creativity exhibited

Don’t underestimate the power of content.

Blogging. It seems every man and his dog has a blog these days; well over 100 million men and dogs if you want to put a figure around it (source: www.pingdom.com). So what is the key to a successful blog? We’ve said it before and we’ll say it again. Content is king and is one of the most powerful ways to increase your viewership and send your communications into the stratosphere.

View

Don’t underestimate the power of content

A new way to reach clients and customers.

I’m always on the lookout for new and interesting ways to communicate in the online world. It seems every day there’s some new site to do this, sometimes they’re different and quirky, but not really useful in the scheme of things, but others just have something about them that makes you want to jump on board. Introducing Pinterest.

View

A new way to reach clients and customers.

we love - our client's photoblog.

Shout out to one of our clients Beck! Senior Marketing Manager for ipac securities limited, Beck is a great example of how just because you may live in the corporate world from Monday to Friday, doesn't mean you can't unleash your creative side for the rest of the time.

View

Consumer trends for 2012.

The site trendwatching.com has put together their list of crucial consumer trends for 2012. Whilst some trends are probably more relevant to some regions and industries than others, there are a few that we think are definitely worth planting firmly in your consciousness this year.

View

We love - personalised messages on chocolate bars.

Our new years resolution for 2012 is to share more of the things we love with you. Short, sharp bursts of of cool stuff we see on our travels and during our research. It may be an awesome viral campaign, a great photographer, a beautiful piece of typography, or an iphone snap of a cool poster on the way to work (other phones can be used) all sorts really! Here's a great augmented reality campaign that has come all the way from Greece, and the chocolate bar brand, Lacta.

View

We love - personalised messages on chocolate bars

Christmas is a coming - get shopping!

Our last post before Christmas! So we thought we'd each share one of our favourite sites for (often last minute) shopping or gift ideas...the weird and the wonderful! 5 more sleeps to go!

View

Future of Digital 2012 presented by AIMIA - review.

I recently attended the future of digital forecasts and predictions for 2012 hosted by AIMIA. Industry experts included Jennifer Wilson, Director at the Project factory, Mark Wilson, MD at Wilson Fletcher, Mark Szulc, Senior manager at APAC Consulting, Tim Devine, Creative Technologist at DT Digital, Todd Wackrow, CEO at Pocket Vouchers and Angus Stevens, Director of Online Video and Television at Southern Cross Austereo. I wanted to share the key insights with you.

View

Customising your Facebook and Google+ business pages.

Customising is the key to standing out, and this applies in particular to Facebook and Google+, where the vast majority of pages look and feel the same. We are going to look at some simple techniques across Facebook and Google+ that can be used to engage users and make business pages stand out above the rest...

View

Customising your Facebook and Google+ business pages.

Mental Notes card deck.

What a great idea, think psych 101 for web design… Mental Notes collects many insights into human behaviour from psychology, then distills these complex ideas from many different sources into 50 short and succinct cards with an example of how each principle can be put into practice to aid your users experience. They feel just a bit special packaged in their faux-leather case, with excellently quirky illustrations by Kevin Cornell which help to bring life to each principle...

View

Website analytics, Google and beyond - maintaining your site health.

A website these days is not a set and forget endeavour. It’s an integral part of any business, community or organisation, which means at the base level if you don’t have one, you really should. Having a website means you need to look after it, keep it healthy and performing well, and make sure it’s doing its job and stays relevant to the ever changing online world. That’s why a website is a long-term commitment which needs ongoing monitoring, maintenance and updates...

View

Designing for emotion.

It seems we spend so much time focusing on designing for practicality and functionality, that sometimes we overlook the emotional aspect of what drives people to engage with the online realm, and don’t consider the heart. It’s all well and good to create a technically correct website, but at the end of the day is technically correct what attracts the online user, let alone keeps them on a site? What drives users to hook onto a particular site and keep coming back time...

View

Apps review - augmenting reality.

We know that Smartphones are now the way of the world – in 2010 they out-shipped the combined global market of laptop, desktop, and notebook computers, 2 years ahead of predictions (source: SmartOnline). It seems everyone and anyone has a Smartphone, whether it’s an iPhone, Android or Blackberry, to name a few. Mobile phone technology has leapt from merely a device to make and receive calls and text messages, to a hand-held magical portal that allows one to effectively manage their...

View

Mobile first approach.

The more I look into designing for mobiles, the more I become convinced that mobile users cannot be ignored. The amount of Smartphones being purchased, and also the amount of time spent accessing the Internet via Smartphones, are both rapidly increasing. I have just read the book Mobile First by Luke Wroblewski and he not only provides a very strong case for the necessity of mobile design but also suggests a novel approach – design for mobiles first...

View

Curating social media.

We all know that Social Media is a great tool in so many ways – it helps spark discussion on a variety of topics, allows you to gather relevant information to pass on to those you know that have a vested interest in a subject, and provides a vehicle for you to spread the word about your product, service, or even just your thoughts. Anyone with an Internet connection, a half decent computer and something to say can publish endless amounts of information, footage, images and sounds...

View

Content audits and card sorting.

I recently conducted a card sorting session with a company for their internal knowledge base system; a place where they record all their processes and learnings. As the navigation, sections and content could be added by anyone, it had grown out of control and nobody could find anything or where to put new content. Card sorting is a great workshop tool used to help define the information architecture of a new or existing site. Ideally around 5 groups of 3 participants...

View

Social media and higher education.

Gone are the days of printed brochures, careers expos and open days… well, maybe not gone, but just inching that little bit closer to the back of the classroom. Higher education has become a rather competitive industry, and for those seeking tertiary qualifications the choices have never been so great. These days, the way tertiary institutions market themselves, and the tools they now have to do so, has been turned on its head. Never before has there been so much information...

View

Mobile sites vs mobile apps.

A mobile website delivers web content to your mobile device through its basic web browser, which means it is accessible across most mobile platforms. A mobile application is built for a specific mobile device operating system and as a result can tap into all the extra bells and whistles that platform has to offer for a much more fluid and immersive experience. The 5 factors on deciding which way to go are reach, costs, requirements, freedom and payment options...

View

Facebook changes – what it means for businesses and business networking.

Users have more control over the content they see in their News Feed. Facebook’s own blog explained this perfectly stating “When you visit Facebook, you should see the things you’re most interested in…”. Rather than the Two-Option News Feed, where you could have either Top Stories (stories in order of popularity) or Most Recent (chronological order), you now get a single News Feed that shows you both top news and recent stories...

View

Facebook changes – what it means for businesses and business networking

Scenarios to sketches workshop.

I recently attended a workshop as part of the recent UX Australia 2011 Conference in Sydney. Titled ‘Scenarios to Sketches’ and conducted by Kim Goodwin, it was an extensive look at personas and scenarios, through to the next step of sketches. I found it to be a great validation of what we already know and implement in the studio, but also a great source of many new and interesting tips to guide the overall process when you are thinking about developing a new or existing site...

View

The power of advertising on Google.

At a time when many businesses are looking to get maximum value for their hard earned dollars, it's advisable to take the time to scrutinise your marketing and advertising spend. Putting big bucks into traditional channels such as print advertising might not be giving you the return on investment you need, especially when things are tight. In many cases press, radio or TV casts a wide net over a broad, fairly distracted audience, making the money you are spending fairly hit and miss...

View

Mobile prototyping essentials workshop.

I recently attended a workshop by Rachel Hinman on ‘Mobile Prototyping Essentials’. The workshop was part of the 4-day user experience design conference, UX Australia 2011. Rachel (who you can follow @Hinman), covered a range of subjects, and here are my take-aways...

View

Social Media for B2B.

After Kristen's (our talking type here at Philter) comments on the age of social recommendations and how social media is impacting business to consumer referrals, it got me thinking about how social media really impacts business to business. We utilise social media here at Philter in an effort to share our thoughts and learnings across digital strategy and marketing alongside web design and development. Clearly, we have a blog and we also have a Twitter account. When preparing blog...

View

What is your website really doing for your business?

Long gone are the days where 'having' a website is an achievement and a business asset in itself. In fact quite the opposite, if your website isn't inline with your other marketing collateral, doesn't give off a professional image and doesn't provide any real value it could be doing your brand harm. It might be enticing to start dabbling in social media because it feels new and exciting, but remember, you own your website, whilst social media channels may come and go...

View

The age of social recommendations.

There was a time, many years ago, when the web was in its infancy; a time when users browsed or ‘surfed’ simple directories like Yahoo in order to find relevant information. The simplicity of this time, in retrospect, is interesting: it was all that we knew, so it was all that we wanted. It was then that we entered the era of ‘search’, and saw the rise of the juggernaut that is Google. Now, however, the way that users are discovering content is changing again. People are more incli...

View

How to help sales on e-commerce sites.

E-commerce websites have one specific purpose – to lead the customer to make a purchase. This makes the user experience particularly important. By keeping the customer happy throughout the process, you shouldn't give them any reason to leave the site, and get them not only to place items in their cart but most importantly through to the final goal of making payment. According to a recent e-commerce study by MarketingSherpa, at least 59.8% of potential customers abandon their cart...

View

Setting the scene for the perfect user experience.

So, the personas have been created, but now what? It's all well and good to know WHO is using a site, but HOW they are using it is equally as important. Welcome to the wonderful world of scenarios! In a nutshell, scenarios are stories, or narratives of how a user would use a site on a particular occasion - either in the most common, or least typical way. Using personas as the characters, it's the story about their user experience; their journey from first point of contact with the...

View

How to utilise the rise of the smartphone for your business.

Nielsen reported back in 2010 that smartphones would overtake feature phones in the U.S. by 2011. It is often true that where the U.S. leads we follow. I have had an iPhone for a couple of years now, as do many of my friends, if not an iPhone then mostly an HTC Android phone. Whatever your predilection for handsets they all allow you to connect with others and in particular services/offers in an easy, quick manner. With this in mind, and the examples I am coming into contact with...

View

How to utilise the rise of the smartphone for your business

Mobile site design: part 2.

Following on from my previous post that looked at good examples of mobile site design, I have created some top tips for consideration when looking at creating a mobile version of a site. Catering specifically for mobile users is something that you can no longer afford to ignore. Gartner’s mobile market report says 428 million mobile devices were sold in the first quarter of 2011, representing a 19% increase year-over-year. A lot of that growth is due to smartphone sales...

View

Is Google+ a game changer?

You hear it said a lot but I honestly believe this could be the game changer. For anyone who works in marketing, PR, small business or just takes an active interest in social media and the web, you'll know that sometimes it can become really tiring having to think about all the different channels you need to stream your information through. You have to remember what you said where and when, as well as ensure that next to each blog post or content entry you have the Facebook Like but...

View

New sketching medium set to save time?

Recently my love of the trusty sketch pad and pencil has suffered a blow by the purchase of a stylus for my iPad and Adobe Ideas app. Before all the traditionalist sketchers get up in arms, I haven't put the 2B down for good, but here are a few things I've found the Adobe Ideas app can do: The interface is simple and well designed, with all controls located down the side of the screen to use with your non-drawing hand. There are more complex drawing apps available but I was surp...

View

Mobile site design: part 1.

Designing for mobiles is a whole new ball game. When redesigning a mobile version of a website two of the main considerations are simplification and hierarchy. Deciding what content should be included in the mobile site (and what can be culled) and how the content should be ordered is key! Compared to desktop and laptop computers, mobile screens are much smaller, internet speed is slower and the way we interact with mobile devices is totally different. Touch screens replace the key...

View

Personas - web design gets personal.

As designers, developers and account managers, we might know what looks great, sounds informative and functions well to us, but not all people are the same and we need to ensure the user experience is right for the target audience. One way to really get down to the nitty gritty of 'what users' want' is by creating personas - fact based characterisations of the people who currently are using, or who will potentially use, our clients' sites...

View

Content: the (new) king.

Shortly after I completed my graphic design studies, at the end of the 90's, I got an insatiable fascination for the web. The layers of problem solving that go into making an interface that is not only usable, but also pleasurable to use, saw me working long into the nights, tinkering away at my own projects to gain knowledge in a field that was seriously lacking in solid educational options. Now with over a decade of web design experience I have learnt a lot! We all have...

View

iStrategy conference round up.

I recently attended iStrategy, a global digital media conference, held in San Fran, Atlanta, Amsterdam and Melbourne. Billed as an inspirational, 2 day digital media conference for senior executives who believe that the success of their business requires a sound digital strategy I found it had some great real-time practical examples of digital strategy. Here are my favourite take-aways from the event...

View

Is your website mobile?

We all know that the web design industry involves plenty of change, and a continuous adaption and development of skills are required in order to stay up to date. In the past few years, one of the biggest areas of change has been the amount of internet users who are accessing websites via smart phones and tablet devices like the iPad. Ensuring that your web design is compatible across platforms and devices is no longer a luxury, but a necessity. It’s safe to say that most users will...

View

Approved membership to Team Australia.

We have just received exciting news that a long time member of our Philter family has been approved residency in Australia! Jo, our talking type and an all-round delightful English lass found out the good news last week. This was such fantastic news to receive on humpday of all days. So in celebration, the team held an impromptu gathering with Sparkle Cupcakes and Moet in the lounge-room, while Dexter serenaded her with 'I Still Call Australia Home'. We would like you all to raise...

View

The important questions to ask.

I've been thinking recently how branding no longer just encompasses a company, but each and every campaign that is run. Every campaign you do needs to be developed with the same thought processes and with the same level of research that was first put into developing your company’s branding way back when. Often when you consider stopping and really thinking about something it indicates larger amounts of money and time. Sure it may take a little more time, although quite often it...

View

Dexter's got game.

We recently welcomed a new addition to the Philter team - tall, dark and impossibly handsome, we like to call him Dexter. Born and raised in the back of a shed in downtown Sydney, Dexter is the brainchild of our art director Ben and technical lead Byron. They set out with one goal - to create the greatest arcade machine the world has ever seen! A grand unveiling was held last month to welcome Dex to the team. Drinks were had, battles were fought and music was played...

View

Split testing key to improving effectiveness of web design and development.

It's amazing how making one tiny change to a website can have such an impact! AB Tests has loads of great case studies that show the before, after and results for different web pages. Who would have thought that changing the text on a button from “play right now” to “instant demo” would have an 83.4% improvement?! Seriously take a look, you can get lost in there for hours. What could be tweaked with your website design or web development to make it perform better?

View

The ‘F’ word - in print.

Digitalpress, a local printer dedicated to innovative digital printing, wanted to produce an alphabetised poster series of all things they are. We were given the letter F and asked to create an A2 poster print design with the only requirement being that it needed to reflect the company and what they do. First step was to brainstorm what we thought of Digitalpress and what they do, and F words associated with that. Secondly we looked at different techniques that could be employed...

View

Web fonts: the new game changer in web design.

It’s been around for a few months, but we can’t help coming back to the Lost World’s Fairs. It's a neat little website that showcases the new typographic possibilities on the web. To most people it looks like just another website, the difference though is the fonty goodness that has all our designers quite excited. Rather than being restricted to good old Arial or Times New Roman the new WOFF format is a web based font format that brings a whole host of new fonts to our little web...

View

Give your users the content they deserve!

You are privileged to have a user visit your site, don't expect them to read slabs of content as well! Users are time poor and task focused so at all times you want to avoid clutter and champion clarity. Great content is useful, concise, compliant and scannable...

View

Real life gift giving via Twitter.

I don't know about you but after the first flush of excitement when sending a virtual birthday cake or congratulatory glass of champagne on Facebook I started to think what’s the point? Digital content is all it is, my friends don’t get to taste any of that cakey goodness or feel the bubbles on their tongue! As always Japan is pioneering the move of digital content into the real world and they're doing it via social media - with Japanese company Giftee...

View

Santa get your gamification on.

In the lead up to last years silly season, we decided that we wanted to create something a little different for Christmas…something fabulously fun that we could share with our clients, friends and family. After much brainstorming, we decided to give the cute old guy (Santa) a well overdue rebrand. With the popularity of gamification on the rise, what better way to get amongst it than to create a site that lets users dress Santa in an array of completely unsuitable clothing...

View

Digital marketing insights from Futurelab 2011.

I recently went to a Futurelab presentation, which was really impressive. While it touched on a number of subjects the direction digital marketing was taking was of real interest to me. As we all know the move to mobile and videos is having a huge impact in the way we create content and how companies interact with their target market. Interesting points flagged for digital marketing were...

View

Shelly Test.

Test

View

interesting bits and bobs about design, web and social media - the useful, the useless and everything in between.