This year the Awwwards conference takes place in Amsterdam in the beautiful “Tropeninstituut” and luckily I got a ticket! The place is really beautiful and a great environment for a conference. The event is organised well. The coffee breaks (including croisants, donuts, cake & cookies) and lunch are also very nice (although 13.45 is a bit late for lunch). For readers who don’t know the awwwards: on their website they feature a lot of beautiful innovative websites. Just have a look: www.awwwards.com
Here are my experiences of day 1:
Intro
The first day of the conference started with a quick look at the web in the 90’s: websites filled with gif images and of course flash website. It was funny to see a couple of example of those website that were really ahead of their time back then.
Josh Brewer – “The Centrality of Design”
The First talk of the day was about how design is playing a more prominent role in companies. Designers came out of their dark corners and became more involved in the company strategies. This is shown, not only by the number of CEOs that have a design background, but also the amount of design companies that are being acquired by big companies like Google and Facebook. The results of taking design as an important part of the brand also included in better company results. The talk also focused on how to use ux design and prototyping in a team. It is something to do together and therefore it can be very useful to use simple tools like pen and paper. Sketching is a language that everybody understands and therefore the ceos and other non-design people within a company can also easily be involved in the process and give their opinions in an early stage of the process.
Anrick Bregman – “Virtual Reality: Evolving Narratives”
This presentation focused on several virtual reality projects, Anrick was involved in, and their cons and pros. With virtual reality you’re not merely a viewer but also a part of a film. When making a virtual reality film there are questions to ask like ” who is the viewer?”. Unlike regular cinema you can’t expect somebody to focus on something in particular, because the viewer can look everywhere, so they are more likely to miss small vital details. Things like depth of field and focusing on details to get emotion are also things that work different in virtual reality. The way how to tell a story is very different than regular cinema. Also there is no ‘behind the camera’, everything is in view, so the whole process is quite different than regular film. Virtual reality is still quite new and also depending on available devices. Recent projects are therefore more small experimental studies than full narratives. But the future changes fast and so will the future of virtual reality.
Josh Payton – “Missed Connections – A Look at History, Bureaucracy, Ecosystems and Execution”
Josh starts his presentation with the past: the world of the 90s and flash. Nowadays the internet has changed. We don’t just have a computer but we have phones and laptops: everything is connected. Personalization is now a big thing. From history Josh goes to “Bureaucracy”. As an example he shows the website, apps and kiosk interface of airline company “United’. Their website looks very old fashioned but their apps looks visually way better. But still it works very badly. This brings us to one of the quotes Josh mentions: “If it looks good, it should work good”. If you see a beautiful designed website you also expect it to work very well. Josh then talks about how to improve a website. A lot of company’s do a to b testing, but this only gives you the local maximum, not a better design overall. Don’t over rely on best practices. The web is constantly changing and best practices of a couple of years ago might not be best practices nowadays. Don’t always try to stick with what you have: “Improve it or remove it”. If you want something new you should analyze what you have done before: data > information > knowledge > understanding > wisdow. At the end of the presentation Josh also points out what a lot of other speakers also mentioned: a majority of the website look very much alike. They all use the same grid: Wide header with an image at the top, some text after that and after that the three blocks with text illustrated by icons.
Chiara Aliotta – “The Future of the Web is Printed”
After the break there was a beautiful designed poster lying on my chair which was followed by a beautiful designed presentation. Chiara has an interesting point of view on how to take designs from the past and use them as inspiration for the modern web. “Webdesign is 95% typography” is a quote Chiara mentions. In a lot of cases this is true. Try turning off the font and a site will become completely different. Some brands rely on their typography. Coca Cola for instance took their design a bit further and created an online Design Machine for their sellers. In this tool sellers could easily use the coca cola branding to create new designs. This saves coca cola a lot of money and time because they don’t have to hire a designer now for every new thing. In the presentation she shows some great typography examples from the past from designers like H.N. Werkman, Karl Gerstner & Piet Zwart. Typography. Their designs are playfull and typography plays a big part in it. What we can learn from them is that they play around the grid. This is something we can apply in modern websites too. A lot of websites are based on a grid and framework like boostrap. By looking at printed designs and typography we can play around this grid and create visually more interesting websites. Material Design Icons by Google is a project where you can see the direct influence of the design of the past. The icon set is very much inspired by Otto Neurath & Gerard Arntz Isotype.
Hi-ReS! – “Let’s make the Internet great again!”
We all remember the time in the 90s when flash become popular. Flash was an empty canvas where you could do and make almost everything you wanted without being it depended on browsers. Nowadays we don’t use flash anymore and a lot of new options are there, like css3. But for some reason a lot of websites cling to the same idea and structure. This also happens in the movie industry. Movie websites used to have great artistic websites to make the people interested in a movie before it was released. As an example they showed the website of the movie “Requiem for a dream”. Nowadays people just look up a trailer on youtube and the artistic websites are sort of forgotten. It’s a pity that the web isn’t used that much anymore for artistic websites and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. As an example they showed a website they made : Void. This interactive experimental project is not just about interaction from the user but also interaction of other users. On this project they got some comments that it isn’t working properly in every browser. But Hi-Res says in order to get things working in every browser you just have to start doing things in order to push the web forward.
Inayaili de León Persson – “Realistic responsive design”
This was for me the least interesting presentation of the day. In a list Inayaili presented the basics on how to work on a project: How to split things up, using post its, planning, prioritizing, testing, styleguides, user checks, etc. It’s interesting if you’re new to big projects or if you’re looking for a better way to handle projects but for me there was nothing new.
Vitaly Friedman – “Dirty Little Tricks From The Dark Corners of eCommerce”
This presentation was about the right and wrong ways to approach the check-out-cart of a webshop. Friedman is a great talker and even if eCommerce is not your expertise the talk was still very inspiring. In a couple of examples he showed in a very direct way the best practices like avoiding hidden costs, using local currency, dealing with choice paralysis , using both unit pricing and total pricing, sorting, filtering out used items, show complimentary projects (not the same products) as related products, quick cart access, quick access to recently viewed items, best practices for rating and pagination, etc. And also things you don’t think off straight away such as hiding the coupon field behind a link(50% of users will actually think a product is overprized if they see a coupon code field without having a coupon themselves) and tracking gestures (showing a pop over when scrolling up again for instance “do you want to add this to your cart?”).
Eva-Lotta Lamm – “Kickstarting your Sketching and Visual Thinking skills”
After all the technology we’ve seen today the most difficult thing still seems to be connecting a laptop to a projector screen. After finally getting it to work there was no time anymore to show the slides so we went on straight to the sketching. Eva all wanted to participate in this so we would understand the meaning of sketching. It is not just for artist or children but for everyone. Sketching is a way to easily get your ideas out but also a very good way to organize notes and make them better scannable. The talk was more a workshop but it was very interesting and definitely inspired me to make more use of sketching and drawing small icons in notes.
Mediamonks – “Fusing Code and Celluloid: Why Agencies Should Integrate Film and Digital Production”
The last talk of the day was a presentation of several projects of mediamonks which illustrated the ways and shifts in the combination of film and code. At first it was more about personalization. This resulted in various projects where the main interaction was pasting a picture of your face into interactive websites or youtube videos. After that it shifted more to film content in a digital environment. As an example they show a project they did for Geox “ One Man For 7 Days In Nonstop Rain“: a video where users can react to. After that they showed a project where the interaction switched more to seduce and interact. This project was for barbeque brand Weber and on the website you could explore barbeque around the world through videos and learn how to barbecue different kinds of dished along the way. The latest developments in technology and experience move towards 360 degrees experience and virtual reality where the viewer becomes the participant. For this they showed a project they did for whisky brand Johnny Walker. In this project ‘Symphony in blue” you can move through interactive digital landscapes.
Vorige week heb ik foto’s gemaakt tijdens het openingsweekend van de nieuwe zaal van De Bakkerij.
Hele serie is te bekijken op flickr:
Vrijdag: https://www.flickr.com/photos/vriendenvandebakkerij/sets/72157659303539890
Zaterdag: https://www.flickr.com/photos/vriendenvandebakkerij/sets/72157659270555608
Rectum Raiders op de vrijdag
Openingsakkoord van de wethouder op zaterdag
Collectief Explosief
Pene Corrida
Pene Corrida
Pene Corrida
Vandervens
Wakepoint
Ten Hut
Woof Woof Ridicule
Woof Woof Ridicule
Bazzookas
Ik houdt op mijn blog al een tijdje bij welke films en series ik kijk. Nu ben ik dit al een tijdje vergeten dus hierbij een langere update :)
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.
After the Battle of New York, the world has changed. It now knows not only about the Avengers, but also the powerful menaces that require those superheroes and more to face them. In response, Phil Coulson of the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division assembles an elite covert team to find and deal with these threats wherever they are found. With a world rapidly becoming more bizarre and dangerous than ever before as the supervillains arise, these agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. are ready to take them on.
Cijfer: 10. Meer meer meer! Spannend, leuk, goede verhaallijnen, goed uitgewerkte personages, interessante raakvlakken met andere marvel verhalen die voor en tijdens de serie afspelen (Avenger, Captain America Winter Soldier) en ook andere marvel characters die ook voorbij komen (Thor, Lady Sif). Seizoen 3 is nu op tv in Amerika dus hopelijk snel online!
Sense8
Sense8 tells the story of eight strangers: Will (Smith), Riley (Middleton), Capheus (Ameen), Sun (Bae), Lito (Silvestre), Kala (Desai), Wolfgang (Riemelt), and Nomi (Clayton). Each individual is from a different culture and part of the world. In the aftermath of a tragic death they all experience through what they perceive as dreams or visions, they suddenly find themselves growing mentally and emotionally connected. While trying to figure how and why this connection happened and what it means, a mysterious man named Jonas tries to help the eight. Meanwhile, another stranger called Whispers attempts to hunt them down, using the same sensate power to gain full access to a sensate’s mind (thoughts/sight) after looking into their eyes. Each episode reflects the views of the characters interacting with each other while delving deeper into their backgrounds and what sets them apart and brings them together with the others.
Cijfer: 9. Je blijft maar doorkijken. De eerste episode vond ik een beetje wazig en wist niet wat ik nu moest verwachten maar verder in de serie komen de links tussen de personen en hun overeenkomsten en verschillen steeds beter naar voren.
Black Mirror
Black Mirror is a British television anthology series created by Charlie Brooker that features speculative fiction with dark and sometimes satirical themes that examine modern society, particularly with regard to the unanticipated consequences of new technologies.
Cijfer: 8,5. Elke episode is eigenlijk een korte film. De verhalen en werelden zijn absurd en zullen nooit zo worden maar ze zijn wel heel metaforisch naar hoe de wereld nu wel is en waar de wereld wel heen kan gaan.
Finding Neverland
The movie details the experiences of “Peter Pan” author J.M. Barrie, which lead him to write the children’s classic. He got to know four children who have no father. Drawing from his time with the kids, he writes a story about children who don’t want to grow up.
Cijfer: 7,5. Mooie film over het verhaal achter de schrijver van Peter Pan en hoe eigenlijk ook het liefst zijn fantasywerelden tot leven zou brengen.
Daredevil (series)
As a child Matt Murdock was blinded by a chemical spill in a freak accident. Instead of limiting him it gave him superhuman senses that enabled him to see the world in a unique and powerful way. Now he uses these powers to deliver justice, not only as a lawyer in his own law firm, but also as vigilante at night, stalking the streets of Hell’s Kitchen as Daredevil, the man without fear.
Cijfer: 7,5. Leuke spannende serie maar soms ook veel superheroes-cliche-scenes. Wel apart is ook dat de serie een speciale ondertiteling heeft voor blinden.
Star Trek (2009)
On the day of James Kirk’s birth, his father dies on his ship in a last stand against a mysterious alien time-traveling vessel looking for Ambassador Spock, who, in this time, is also a child on Vulcan disdained by his neighbors for his half-human heritage. Twenty-five years later, Kirk has grown into a young troublemaker. Challenged by Captain Christopher Pike to realize his potential in Starfleet, he comes to annoy instructors like young Commander Spock. Suddenly, there is an emergency at Vulcan and the newly commissioned USS Enterprise is crewed with promising cadets like Nyota Uhura, Hikaru Sulu, Pavel Chekov and even Kirk himself, thanks to Leonard McCoy’s medical trickery. Together, this crew will have an adventure in the final frontier where the old legend is altered forever as a new version of it begins.
Star Trek Into Darkness
When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one-man weapon of mass destruction. As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.
Cijfer: 8, Beide films zijn spannend en leuk om te kijken. En de effecten zijn een stuk beter dan de oudere films ;)
Deze post is van januari maar ik was vergeten op “Publish” te klikken, oeps. :P
Ik kijk regelmatig films en series via Netflix. Bij de films is het vaak zoeken naar een speld in een hooiberg want Netflix heeft erg veel films waaronder helaas ook veel slechte films. Het is soms lastig om een goede film er uit te pikken als je de titels niet kent. Bij de series is dat anders: ik vind dat Netflix erg veel goede series heeft. Zonder de series zou ik eerlijk gezegd geen Netflix abonnement meer nemen. Gelukkig staan er nog veel goede series op dus het zal nog wel even duren voordat ik daar allemaal doorheen ben. De afgelopen tijd heb ik deze drie series gevolgd: (nu wachten op de nieuwe seizoenen!)
Penny Dreadful
Horror is normaal niet echt mijn ding maar deze serie vind ik echt geweldig. De serie speelt zich af in 19e eeuws Londen en vooral de scenery is erg mooi: mooie victoriaanse kostuums, donkere mistige Londense straten, duistere figuren & mythologische wezens. Het is niet de standaard verhaalloze-bloederige-zombie-horror die normaal veel voorkomt. Achter Penny Dreadful en zijn mysterieuze karakters (o.a. Victor Frankenstein, Dorian Gray en de mysterieuze Vanessa Ives) zit wel degelijk een verhaal. En ook niet een verhaal wat in één klap duidelijk is, elke episode onthult weer een klein beetje meer. Seizoen 1 heeft jammer genoeg maar 8 episodes dus ik kan niet wachten op seizoen 2!
Cijfer: 9
Nog een foto omdat de scenery zo mooi is:
Once Upon A Time
Mijn moeder en zusje waren verslaafd aan deze serie maar het leek mij in het begin maar niks want het leek me een beetje een kinderachtige fantasy serie. Uiteindelijk ben ik toch maar de serie maar gaan kijken nadat meerdere mensen zeiden dat de serie echt iets voor mij zou zijn. En gelukkig ben ik gaan kijken want ik ben nu ook echt helemaal verslaafd! In Once Upon A Time komen meerdere bekende sprookjesfiguren en verhalen samen (van Grimm tot Disney) en gelukkig niet op de kinderlijke manier waar ik bang voor was. De verhalen en personages zijn volwassener dan in het originele verhaal en ook is er veel meer diepgang en connecties tussen de verschillende personages. Door een curse van de evil queen Regina zitten alle karakters vast in de ‘normale’ wereld in het Amerikaanse plaatsje Storybrooke. Zij herinneren zich niks van hun voormalige leven en ook staat de tijd stil (elke dag is vrijwel hetzelfde en niemand wordt ouder). Tot de ‘saviour’ Emma Swan in Storybrooke aankomt en alles veranderd. Verder ga ik niks meer verklappen want het is veel spannender om zelf te kijken. Plus dat er zoveel gebeurd in de serie dat ik er wel een aantal pagina’s vol over kan schrijven.
Cijfer: 9
Sherlock
In this contemporary version of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s detective stories, Dr. John Watson is a war vet just home from Afghanistan. He meets the brilliant but eccentric Holmes when the latter, who serves as a consultant to Scotland Yard, advertises for a flatmate. Almost as soon as Watson moves into the Baker Street flat, they are embroiled in mysteries, and Sherlock’s nemesis, Moriarty, appears to have a hand in the crimes.
Cijfer: 9, Spannend, leuk en je blijft kijken. Vooral het Sherlock character, die zichzelf een high-functioning sociopath noemt, is erg goed uitgewerkt. Nu wachten op een nieuw seizoen.. “Did you miss me?”
Hemlock Grove
Hemlock Grove is an American Netflix original horror thriller television series. The show examines the strange happenings in Hemlock Grove, a fictional town in Pennsylvania. Roman Godfrey, heir to the town’s wealthy Godfrey family, befriends the town’s newcomer, Peter Rumancek. Recent brutal murders in the town have stirred up rumors, and the two work together to shed light on the case while also hiding their own dark secrets.
Cijfer: 7tje. Leuke serie, soms wel een beetje teenage-weerwolf achtig maar toch is deze serie wat volwassener en meer op mysterie gericht ipv horror en liefde. Als komen er wel horrorachtige scenes in voor natuurlijk, maar deze zijn wel meer richting ‘mooi’ dan vulgair.
Star Trek Voyager
The Federation starship USS Voyager, chasing a band of Maquis rebels, enters the dangerous space nebula known as the Badlands. Both ships are transported by a distant space probe to the Delta Quadrant, 75,000 light-years from Federation space. Voyager’s crew and the Maquis form an uneasy truce to rescue crewmen of both ships, kidnapped by the probe’s builder, the powerful, dying Caretaker. The Maquis ship is destroyed in a battle with the warlike Kazons. To prevent a Kazon aggression against a helpless world, Voyager destroys the space probe. Without the probe, it will take 75 years for Voyager to travel back to Federation space. With the differences between them rendered meaningless by time and distance, The Federation and Maquis crews unite aboard Voyager. Together, they embark on their new mission: to boldly go – home.
Cijfer: 8. Leuk om te kijken. Sommige episodes dwalen wel erg ver van de verhaallijn af en de visuel effects zijn natuurlijk wel wat verouderd.
Op de terugweg vanaf Oostenrijk hebben we nog een tussenstop gemaakt in Limburg an der Lahn: een heel mooi oud stadje vlakbij Frankfurt.
‘s Avonds aangekomen, ook in het donker is het stadje bijna sprookjesachtig.
Bij nacht..
..en bij dag
Oude postkast
Mooie oude uithangsborden.
De dom.
Hele mooie oude straatjes met vakwerk.
Gewandeld langs de Tiefenbachklamm. Dit werd door meerdere mensen in het hostel aangeraden dus er heen gegaan en de route langs de klamm gelopen. Op sommige stukken is het water heel breed en op andere stukken heel smal en loop je vlak langs de rotswand.
Vergaan huisje waar vroeger energie werd opgewekt uit het water.
‘s Middags zijn we nog achter het hostel de berg opgegaan naar de top van de Hamberg. Helaas bleek het verder dan gedacht. Vaak staat er bij routes 2,5 uur en dan blijkt het uiteindelijk iets van 4 uur te zijn (en dan moet je nog terug). De route ging vooral door de bomen en was vrij stijl. Je liep eigenlijk over de boomwortels (een soort trapje). Eigenlijk hadden we voor deze route een dag moeten uittrekken want dan kan je wel naar boven. Wie weet misschien een andere keer :)
Toch wel hoog gekomen.
Uitzicht over de Stummersberg waar ons hostel zit.
Bluebird Mountain Hostel