Another Podcast from Dirk+Weiss exploring topics of design, marketing, and technology. This episode explores the term “graphic designer” in all it’s lack-luster nuance. Highlights include tons of banter, personal stories and a phone interview with senior design student Katie Evans.
Note: The views in this podcast are strictly those of Dirk+Weiss and its Interviewees.
Join Dirk+Weiss and AIGA Boston at Pecha Kucha Night. July 22, 1009 @ 6:30pm. The goal of these events is to talk about ‘our’ design work, in a setting that is comfortable and not pretentious. Come support all the speakers and Dirk+Weiss at this open forum type event. Each speaker is given 6min and 40seconds to talk about what they do as a creative professional.
Our topic will include designing for now and the power of interconnecting design concepts with smart technology. For more information: http://www.pecha-kucha.org/cities/boston
What is Pecha Kutcha?
“Pecha Kucha (which is Japanese for the sound of conversation) has tapped into a demand for a forum in which creative work can be easily and informally shown, without having to rent a gallery or chat up a magazine editor. This is a† demand that seems to be global – as Pecha Kucha Night, without any pushing, has spread virally to over 100 cities across the world. Find a location and join the conversation.”
Since we have become certified Apple iPhone developers, we have acquired a few devices to test and try on for development purposes. One device was a iPhone, 1st Generation. On this iPhone was OS software 2.2.1, the latest public release. When I went to update it with our pre-release beta version of OS 3.0, the phone was instantly ‘bricked’. After hitting the developer forums, there was apparently no hope to rolling back to OS 2.2.1.
I then proceeded to the local Apple store to see the genius bar. They told me what I was afraid of. Since I am a developer, and installed beta software, and signed a contract, that there was nothing they could do. And on top of that, apparently my phone had ‘water damage’ because my ear phone jack’s water indicator was red.
Anyway, my phone is most certainly out of warranty now. So now what? A $300 paperweight?
NO! There must be a solution. I did indeed come across a solution that involves a surprisingly simple procedure with some free software you can download from a website.
**At this point, I must advise you, if you are reading this and have a bricked iPhone, this method will most certainly void your warranty. Hence my device was already void so I said “What the hell”.**
This software allows you to install a previous package of iPhone OS Software (available on the web. Links to apple download area) on a phone that has been rendered “Disabled”. In the developer circles this is called Jailbreaking. Freeing your device! Well my device was bricked (jailed) and needed to be free! Google “Jailbreaking iPhones” for more information.
With the Jailbreaking software, I rolled back my iPhone to OS 2.0. Then, through iTunes updated it to a fully supported Apple 2.2.1 update. So essentially I had to hack my device to make it legit. Funny world.
My iPhone is now back in action, just like moment before I “bricked” it with the OS 3.0 software. Looks like I am waiting for an update and trying again.
With mobile applications, your business is online, viral and now.
Mobile applications have not only become cash cows for those who choose to sell them, but they have also proven to be extremely beneficial for building brand recognition and reinforcement.
iPhone users make up more than 50% of all smart phone users and represent over 15% of all cell phones purchased. A pretty large chunk in the grand scope of total US cell phone usage.
From books to card games to promotions, the iPhone can be a platform to help your business. With a combination of an integrated advertising model and a developed markeing strategy, an iPhone app can not only create revenue from app sales alone, but enable you to sell your other products and services.
If you have not already seen our smash hit site AnyoneCanSwiss, please do check it out. In the first 48 hours, 11 thousand unique-visitor, poster submissions, we’re collected and shared on Flickr. And now, AnyoneCanSwiss, is going mobile.
Here at Dirk+Weiss, we have created a new iPhone app that takes the concept of AnyoneCanSwiss, and makes it mobile. In the next few weeks, you will be able to download your own Swissmaker 2.0 App to your iPhone from the App Store on iTunes. And did we mention, its totally free!
The app will not only make instant Helvetica posters, but will allow you to save the posters to you photo library on your phone. From there, the possibilities are endless! Email a poster to friends, or set one as your phone wallpaper. If any other app on your phone can access your photo library, it can also access your posters.
Also included with the launch of the Swissmaker 2.0 iPhone App, is an advertising model that can connect interested brands to a niche viral market. This process of co-branded advertising is a no-risk model in you only pay for the views you receive. If you our your company is interested in co-branding with AnyoneCanSwiss, send us a message.
Over at Convince and Convert, owner Jason Baer expresses his wealth of knowledge of social media and the trends that apply. His theories apply greatly to what we do here at Dirk+Weiss, including viral online marketing and return on investment.
In this video, Jason is speaking about how people use the web now, and mentions some stats from an “internet usage” study that was released. Always great to see how Jasons knowledge aligns with our practice and usage of marketing across social networks.
Very interesting: “Is social media being used more for communication or entertainment or both?”
Apparently, long time software developers are finally making bank by creating one of those $1.99 iPhone apps. I have now read countless articles about struggling software companies who are giving up their pc/mac box development, for the iPhone platform.
So what’s in an iPhone app? Well, from what we can see, besides some code and graphics, there is an underlying philosophy that has put up the white flag to proprietary software piracy. Software companies have, and are beginning to understand that there is no bringing down piracy. The old mentality and business model of “big box, big software, big price” has been eradicated by open, collaborative development, and the iPhone has brought the same software development strategy to a mobile and light weight, if not viral stage.
Lets do a quick calculation for an example iPhone app’s annual revenue:
200 downloads/day x 1.99/download x 365 Days = $145,270!
Now that’s the way to make a six figure salary.
Stay tuned for the Anyone Can Swiss iPhone app!!
Above: Microsoft’s Surface Interface. Proprietary madness. Lets go open-source and make it available to everyone!
In typical Dirk+Weiss fashion, we are building an interface for this years 2009 AIGA BoNE Show. This kiosk combines projection and a touch input device, powered by a custom software interface.
The purpose of this kiosk is to showcase the website winners of this years Best of New England design competition. Our goal is to create an interface that is not only well designed, but extremely intuitive.
The next generation of software interface is well, interface-less. Menu’s are going away and being replaced by hand gestures and organic content design. Thanks to a generous donation from TechSuperpowers in Boston, we have access to a MacMini and other various components for hardware. Come by the show in June, to check it out!
AIGA BoNE Show 2009 Info >>
Go ahead, click around. This is our “Transparent Relaunch” of the Dirk+Weiss Brand. Countless times we have been asked, “what is it you do exactly?” The typical response you may hear is “we are a design and technology firm”.
And we still are, but different.
After some great brainstorming and critically mapping of our original business model, it became instantly clear that what we were doing for our clients was more than just design and programming, and was more in the Marketing arena. We were always trying to find what field exactly uses graphic design and technology combined. Our solution was to re-structure our business model and brand as a fully capable, creative marketing agency.
If you follow our blog, you know that we know, transparency is king. Just like our advice we give to our clients, we applied to Dirk+Weiss. The cases are real, the videos are real, results are quantifiable and we can help make you money. Enjoy.
