The Ramp Group, a local digital UX agency, is co-hosting an event on Wednesday with Microsoft you might find interesting. We will be talking about using Windows 8 to extend existing applications into the field via Windows Phone and tablet devices. Along with it being a good introduction into designing for Windows 8, it also should be a great networking opportunity with professionals in the interactive space.

I will be speaking at the event about designing simplified interfaces in the tablet medium, as well as the virtues of branding and usability.

It will be held in the Microsoft Civica Building in downtown Bellevue (108^th Ave and 2^nd Ave).

You can register using the link below:
www.rampgroup.com/register

Agenda brief for Wednesday, 27 February 2013:

8 am Why Windows Phone and Surface make sense for business.
10 am Designing Windows 8 apps for high usability
12 noon Lunch – Sponsored by Ramp Technology Group
1 pm Microsoft Customer Stories and Demos
1:30 pm Interactive Design Session for your business scenarios
3 pm Extend Networking at Sea Star Restaurant

Guest speakers Bill Baxter and Ron Notbohm demonstrating apps they have built at buddy tv and UCIC School and Jason Levine, Creative Director and lecturer at the University of Washington.

Come for any or all of the agenda. Hope to see you there. And if you have some scenarios you’ve envisioned enabling with mobile or tablet solutions bring your ideas and we will see where they can go. Some of the best ideas might be developed as proof of concepts.

You can check out the brochure here:

I hope to see you there!

The Information Architecture class will be focusing on how to structure content as well as creating an intuitive and logical presentation for complex websites so that users can put information to use.

The Masters Interactive Design class will focus on learning how to interpret user needs and placing users at the center of site design by learning the fundamentals of brand and usability.

Last week we launched CareOregon’s new website. The process included user surveys, usability tests, creating user personas, brand exploration, editorial, photography selection, sitemap and wireframing, and design. You can view the video below to hear more about the various deliverables.

The design was targeting to improve the level of user engagement and efficiency in users reaching their intended content. The following stats were pulled for CareOregon’s new site comparing the month since the launch and the previous year’s numbers for the same time period (2/7/10 to 3/5/10 and 2/7/11 to 3/5/11):

• +34.88% improvement in new visits
• -34.44% reduction in bounce rate
• +34.18% improvement in time spent on the site
• +10.46% improvement on the number of pages viewed per user
• +38.36% improvement on visitors sourced by search engines
• +35.77% on new visitors
• .02%of users relied on search (65th most visited page was search results). Previous: 10.1% , the 9th most visited page)

Check out this SlideShare Presentation. You can hit the Play button to hear the voice over:

We just completed an animated video promoting Cobalt’s new ad service. Cobalt is a web hosting and online advertising service for car dealerships. They wanted an innovative and fun video to send to their customers to introduce their new service offering without being boring while saying it. So the challenge was to take on a complicated concept and explain it in 2 minutes or less without putting to sleep the viewers.

PPMG concepted an idea using a rainmaker machine as the metaphor of how the service could create customer traffic. Our process was to break each element into its own separate deliverable.

First, we provided three summary concepts. Then after a concept was selected we made rough storyboard and attached narrative copy to it. We then provided three illustration styles to choose from as well as voice over talent selections. Once each was approved, we just stitched it all together and dropped it in Flash! You can see the preliminary sketches and the illustrations below:

Helen Fisher, the biological anthropologist who developed Chemistry.com’s questionnaire, says the site is designed to predict compatibility based on traits of temperament like adventurousness, decisiveness or empathy. The sites attract cohorts of people interested in slowing down the online dating and mating process, in finding out more information about potential partners — or in ruling out unlikely suitors — before they graduate to the meet-and-greet stage.

Its parent site adds 20,000 new members each day. That amount of “churn” is vital. If success in online dating is measured as an exclusive relationship or even marriage, many lapsed memberships are sure to result. Several researchers estimate that online dating will generate about $1.9 billion this year, with some 40 million Americans active in the medium.

Perfect Pixels Media Group, a Seattle-based interactive branding and design agency with clients like ING Direct, All Recipes.com, Classmates.com, Microsoft and Trulia.com, will be creating interactive applications to further generate connections amongst Chemistry.com members.

“FYB: What about when the CEO wants to to see the numbers?
Jason: The problem with brand marketing on the web is that people want ROI. They want to see clicks that lead to conversions. It’s incredibly hard to quantify. Everyone wants a million hits on YouTube. Anything less is somehow not acceptable. They immediately want high traffic and what they often get is a slow curve of overall acceptance and awareness.

There is a choice every company makes; to be a direct marketing company or a branded company. If you want to be a branded company that does direct marketing you can. But you can’t be a direct marketing company that attempts branding. The brand has to come first.”

Read the full article here: http://www.fuelyourbranding.com/brand-builder-perfect-pixels

On a related note, we also received a mention in Techvibes in regards to our new partnership with a great dev house, Appnovation.

We understand that due to the growing number of applications available, fresh approaches to innovative marketing and product awareness are important. This is why we also offer microsite design and development services to promote each application. Microsites give each product promotional exposure outside of the confines of the app store.

Our team includes 2D and 3D animators and mobile-UI Designers. PPMG is always striving to differentiate our clients’ products with a unique combination of features, strategy, and execution.

We see the tremendous value this new product offering affords our clients and are thrilled to be a part of the growing mobile movement. PPMG exploits this new medium and its capabilities to provide excellence and innovation in all of our iPhone Application design and development.

Review a case study of one of our latest iPhone projects.

iPhone Application Development / Mobile Strategy
. Entertainment and Utility Application Development
. 3D and 2D Animation
. Storyboarding
. Script writing

Features:
. Accelerometer
. Dash-code and X-code
. GPS Maps API
. Streaming Video and Audio
. In Game Voice Use

We save costs by utilizing overseas resources in the US making it essentially half-priced. Though based across the pond, our founders are from the London design scene, so we are able to create a branded, user-centered design experience bespoken to the style, sensibilities and substance that is uniquely British. PPMG experience includes top UK brands such as Virgin, Alexander McQueen, BetFair, The National Lottery and Landor.

With the success of our pilot programme providing Information Architecture, Branding and Interface Design for Trusted Places, we are now ready to roll it out to the public. The new Trusted Places design is set to launch later this fall.

A new site and call number are now available for our UK clients:
www.perfectpixels.co.uk
020 7193 1921

For inquiries, you can reach us at knockknock@perfectpixels.co.uk