Emerging technological breakthroughs were once synonymous with lab coats, thick-rimmed glasses and dodgy haircuts. In more recent times, (much like the motor industry) the technology industry – especially the ‘gadget’ and ‘gaming’ sectors – have been promoted through the use of pretty woman, often scantily clad or in latex, hired to give products some ‘sex appeal’ and entice consumers to get up and personal on the stand. The gaming and gadget industry may still be driven primarily by male consumers, but does this cheap marketing ploy still work, and is it acceptable with the ever rising female user-base and woman working in the tech industry? What are your thoughts on ‘eye-candy’ at expos? Tasteless? Harmless? Unrepresentative? Would you rather someone who had more than a one minute briefing demonstrate their wares? Are you offended as a male, to be targeted as being a hormonal schoolboy – won over by a pretty lady, or as a female, that women are used as the products themselves?

Some women at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas have expressed their frustration at the scantily-clad “booth babes” hired by some companies to promote their stalls.

The BBC’s Matt Danzico investigates whether this practice is an effective marketing strategy, or merely a reflection on gender relations in technology.

WATCH THE REPORT HERE: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16533289

(Opinion: Jon Price – designer)

As we welcome in another year, so everyone’s favourite software bods, Microsoft wave goodbye to Internet Explorer 6. Web developers the world over* rejoice and we all look into the html 5 driven future with great joy and enthusiasm.

Microsoft revealed this week that less than 1% of US internet users now use the program to surf the web. Microsoft held a light-hearted celebration to mark the imminent demise of their IE6 browser by baking a ‘Goodbye IE6′ cake. Microsoft themselves have been  keen to kill off this old version of the browser which was first shipped with Windows XP over 10 years ago. They even launched an IE6 countdown website last year to chart the demise of its usage.

Like an elderly relative, IE6 has been causing headaches for web developers for many years with its blatant disregard for any kind of web standards and it’s frustrating array of display quirks. This milestone has been a long time coming and makes for a very welcome introduction to a fresh new year.

Read the BBC article here

Opinion: Simon Farrow, web designer

* Based on US usage dropping below 1%. The UK is reportedly 1.4%, but China still have over 25% usage. DNA as a company decided to stop supporting IE6 for new web builds last year, but approach each new site individually, assessing the necessity for backwards compatibility by client and target market.

Article by: Paul Mabin, Managing Director.

Not surprisingly the theme of the show seemed to be heavily digital weighted with key speakers including Google’s MD for the UK & Ireland Matt Brittin discussing ‘how the web is changing the world for consumers,’ giving reference to Google+ and the importance of social. The show rather poignantly witnessed the distribution of the last traditional print version of ‘Design Week’ as proof of this merge into the digital (only) age…

There were plenty of exciting technologies on display including the very latest in 3D and AR. Touch-screen technology was also making a big impression in Point of Sale/Purchase arena. One product which kept Jon and I busy was the Paradigm interactive multi-touch table (below) that allows interaction between projects with the swipe of your finger using a familiar iOS-like interface. It delivers efficiency and plain fun to the office and we hope to be seeing one in the dna boardroom very soon!

The exhibition is free to attend, so if you want to visit the show for yourself next year visit www.marketingweeklive.co.uk.

(Opinion: Sarah Znideric – Client Services Director)

Do I even use cookies on my site?

Most websites use cookies in some form or another, be it for tracking users via third-party ad networks or simply displaying a different font size or colour based on users’ preferences. Beyond one small caveat in the rules they do not distinguish between those that grab your details and track your every move to those that aid you in using a site.

As a simple example, do you use Google Analytics on your website? If you do then the new law states you must tell users and get them to tick a box to say they are OK with this before accessing your site!

What should I do?

Well here’s the problem… firstly the suggested fixes have not yet been agreed upon and secondly asking users to opt-in to every website’s privacy settings before use is not only annoying to the user, but could greatly hinder business! The reasoning behind the law is a sound one but, we feel that the practical solution is currently unworkable.

In the first instance we are advising customers to amend their privacy statements to specify the cookies used and their purpose. As with the introduction of website accessibility laws a few years ago, this is going to be a long process for all businesses to be able to implement workable solutions.

The ICO who have set out these rules in the UK use Google Analytics on their own site – and set 5 cookies on your machine when you visit their site. The country now awaits the 26th May to see what the ICO do before following suit.

Read the ICO’s “Changes to the rules on using cookies and similar technologies for storing information” document here >

www.allaboutcookies.org

Opinon: Simon Farrow – Web Designer

Tues 12 April: Feeling the early morning chill on platform 5, I awaited the train with only a cardboard cup of tea and a luke warm bacon bap for company. This trip will be the envy of many, others may possibly even drool at the prospect, but sometimes you’ve just gotta do what you’ve gotta do…

It’s important to keep abreast of the latest developing technologies when you’re working in an integrated design and digital agency. Be it software or hardware developments, emerging new media platforms or routes to market, it’s essential to keep your eyes peeled for the next industry evolution or new standards on both developer/designer and user sides of the table.

Sadly, Tomorrow’s World was canned in 2003 and frankly just reading about new technologies doesn’t cut the digital mustard. You can’t beat hands-on interaction and demonstration. So I took a trip to the Birmingham NEC on an exclusive Press preview invitation to The Gadget Show Live Professional, the largest consumer electronics show. That’s five huge exhibition halls crammed with hundreds of stands sporting the latest gadgets, consumer tech, demos, workshops and presentations from every industry imaginable, giving an insight into technology and trends of the future… FIND OUT WHAT’S HOT!

For a multimedia and graphic designer with an unhealthy interest in futuristic tech this was something special and after spending 6 hours negotiating the bustling halls and exhibitor stands, playing, learning and experiencing, here’s my take on future Tech and ones that dominated the show. Amidst the eco transportation, domestic robots, sound systems, digital storage devices, gimmick-focused toys, customisables and things you’d find in your local Curry’s, the big boys were:

3D home cinema and gaming.
You may still require those dodgy glasses but playing the latest Nvidia 3D vision system on the worlds largest 3D plasma was pretty immersive. Like last year’s expos, 3D was everywhere and 3D PC-powered experiences was chief. With every major manufacturer touting their improved 3D tv engines (LG’s being non-battery powered and shutter/flicker free – RealD cinemas style), 3D video cameras, stills photography and now 3D Bluray recorders, the industry is charging ahead with this stereoscopic mindmelding whether we like it or not. With the Nintendo 3DS paving the way for no-glasses consumer electronics it’s only a matter of time before that hits our home and we’re all pleasantly cross-eyed.

Tablets, slates, touch-screen mobiles and PCs.
These little babies were simply unavoidable. The lines certainly are blurring between these devices – way beyond the Dell Inspiron Duo’s netbook/tablet identity crisis. The new HP touch pad has sidelined it’s Windows slate and opted for WebOS on it’s new 9.7inch tablet. The Motorola android powered Xoom is weighing up a real contender against the iPad2, with Nvidia’s Tegra 2 Dual core processor and using Google’s (built for tablets) version of Android, Honeycomb. Even BlackBerry have jumped on board the casual bandwagon with their ‘executive plaything’, the BlackBerry Playbook. Throw the Xperia Play (the Playstation Phone) into the mix with its D-Pad design and dedicated portable gaming service and you’re spoilt for choice. Mobiles are becoming smarter and tablets are getting lighter, smaller and more portable – surely there must be the perfect middle ground soon? Well, Acer’s Iconica phone has now entered microtablet territory with it’s 4.8inch 21:9 widescreen display. Powered by Android Gingerbread, the Iconica smarts an 8megapixel camera, 720p video capture and HDMI out. A big phone, a tiny tablet or the best of both worlds? Time will tell. On the other hand, sWaP’s tiny Nova phone is the worlds lightest at 43grams cramming top touchscreen tech into the size of a matchbox! The latest word on the future of this big/small conumdrum… expandable smartphones. Oh and that Android is set to win the OS war… Did I say that aloud?

For portable gaming, widescreen media device and work tool, 2011 is the year of the tablet.

From the web getting smaller, to it getting much bigger! Smart TVs are certainly where things are going.
After experiencing the LG PZ950T 3D smart web-connected television with it’s pointer controlled web browsing, on demand streaming and tv-specific aps it was a no-brainer and is set to become a standard in years to come. Also integrating wirelessly with your other devices to stream from phones or computers, I was suprised that no other exhibitors were fronting these features.

My pic of the Gadget Show's Jason playing a proto-type 'whack-a-mole' with the power of his eye-balls.

Superpowers! It sounds far fetched but both eye-controlled and mind-power controlled electronics were on show and any were on sale! Recently appearing on The Gadget Show, the NeuroSky MindFlex head gear works with custom apps using brainwaves for control, be it focus to beat an onslaught of Zombies or meditation to reduce difficulty levels. Not exactly mass appeal though. Likewise, NI’s Waterloo Labs have developed a working prototype of thier Eye Control techology - forget jumping about with Microsoft Kinect, now you don’t have to raise a finger – literally!

Although not as dominating as it might have been Augmented Reality, fronted by T-Immersion was also a key player – blurring the lines between the real and virtual worlds. AR is a relatively young, but actually quite established technology and it’s extremely flexible. I saw examples of product focused AR whereby the user has full control over a 3D model of an animated Nissan, educational focused AR whereby Dinosaurs literally came to life from a picture book, through to in-store interaction and videos to engage you before you purchase. AR has massive potential but it’s still misunderstood, yet to break the novelty barrier into a mainstream form of consumable interaction. However this is set to happen very soon in conjunction with traditional print advertising methods.

Unfortunately my biggest let down were the highly anticipated Vuzix Augmented Reality glasses, capturing 3D video in real time and and overlaying 3D digital creations and experiences before your eyes -great in theory but in practice, well I’ll try again next year.

An animated, lighting box, no circuitry - just ink.

Wireless Power?
While we’re on the subject of futuristic tech and with relevance to digital media, advertising and design applications my favourite has to be the progressive work by Fulton Innovations and their eCoupled intelligent wireless power. Although it appears to be in it’s infancy as far as final applications are concerned, this tech allows phones to charge without wires, food to heat itself whilst in it’s packaging and even animation of the packaging design itself through the use of conductive ink! All you need to do is place said item on an eCoupled countertop or shelf – lets get then in stores pronto!

Finally, some other things to look out for:
3D printing, literally Ink-jetting a solidifying resin into a 3D object from a 2D data file.

Near Field Communications – using mobile devices as secure travel passes, wallets, travel cards etc. Major players like Samsung, Orange and Google are backing this one and a similar tech is already established in parts of Asia.

4G mobile networks – O2 are already testing the super fast 4G system with rumored speeds of 20x faster than today’s home broadband on your mobile device!

Then there’s folding, paper-like touch and display screens to be the norm in 2018, Ultra HD TV is set for launch in 2020 although initial tests have resulted in sickness due to the image appearing as ‘too real’… after that, quite possibly time travel.

Well, the day was an educational and insightful one and although I wouldn’t say my mind was blown, it was certainly frazzled. – lot’s to think about.

Check out the official GSL website here for more information and to sign up for public tickets or watch videos from the show.

(Opinion: Jon Price – Designer)

Since Microsoft allowed developers to legally hack their Kinect and its software, there have been lot of interesting experiments…

This one utilises a 3D user interface, controlled through ‘touchless’ interaction. The flakes adjust their size and perspective in relation to the position of the viewer in the room. The snowflake can be moved with a simple wave of the hand and new snowflakes can be generated with a two hand gesture. But where’s the holographic tennis player from Total Recall…?

Source: Leo Burnett.

On 19th January, Jeremy Hunt announced that he plans to roll out ‘Local TV’. In his address to broadcasting executives at the Oxford Media Convention he said that the initial scheme would be focused on ’10 to 12′ major cities. The new ‘Local TV’ broadcasting licences are to be agreed by the end 0f 2012. When questioned about his reasoning behind this new approach, he was quoted as saying “Eight out of 10 consider local news important. Nearly seven out of 10 adults feel localness of stories is more important than them being professionally produced.”

In a recent article posted on the Drum website on February 11th, it has also been announced that The Daily Mail and General Trust have decided to sell the Northcliffe Group. The article hints at concerns over new owners/consolidators are not willing to invest in cross platform media due to a series of cost cutting measures. The ultimate concern is that this could spell the end of the local paper within 10 years.

If I were a broadcaster, now would be a great time to create a local TV channel for each county or major city. News and information could be featured on a much more local level. People in Exeter don’t want to hear about what is happening in Southampton. The advent of the mobile platform too will give people the opportunity to view local information on the move and watch video content on demand that is relevant to them.

The alternative, is for each local newspaper to become autonomous and develop their own media channel. Many local papers already have a web presence, but as far as I am aware, none of them have their own TV channel.

This is an exciting time for transmitting ‘local’ news and information. Only time will tell, how it will be delivered. One thing is for sure though, design agencies with a digital focus need to embrace the ‘local’ element and get on board with their local paper or broadcaster as there could be opportunities for collaboration or to simply supply creative content.

Article by Paul Mabin – Managing Director

Motion capture, specifically facial mo-cap, laser/infrared scanning technology and keyframe animation have been used in combination for years to make CGI characters as real to life as possible. However, this new technique, developed by Rockstar Games (the team behind the Grand Theft Auto franchise) uses optical HD imaging and scanning to create a convincing (if slightly freaky) replication of facial movement not seen before in videogames. Their latest offering ‘L.A Noire’, places you in the role of a 1950s investigator, meaning reading facial ticks and micro-expressions is crucial when interrogating suspects. Take a look at the video and see more here.

(Opinion: Jon Price – Designer)

Intrigued? So was I when a review copy of ‘the blue lady’s new look and other curiosities’ landed on my desk and promised to answer such questions. The book has been published by London-based packaging agency jkr as an anthology of their blog, the Design Gazette. The book neatly rounds up core blog articles on industry trends and observations, covering topics around marketing and branding as well as issues such as new/developing technologies and sustainability.

The book is well presented and succinct, dedicating just one page to each topic. It is the perfect companion to a daily commute or for those that prefer to read in brief installments (although I challenge you not to finish it in one sitting!). The concise copy is supported with well-chosen imagery and includes mentions of brands such as KitKat, BP, Playboy and Coca-Cola. The book also contains a featured chapter that discusses the postmodern design era…without getting too intellectual! I particularly enjoyed the section on technology, which includes thoughts on augmented reality and it’s use in packaging design and a short article questioning the future of static graphics in the iPad generation.

If you too are interested or involved in the design or marketing industry and for the very reasonable price of £7.99 would like to read about topics such as ‘trust – a free but priceless commodity?’ and ‘do we need celebrity designers?’ – get yourself to Amazon or check out the teaser below to find out more. It’s doing the rounds in the studio here at DNA, so if you do get yourself a copy we’d love to hear what your thoughts are.

Opinion: Sarah Znideric, Client Services Director.

Article by Paul Mabin – Managing Director

Article by: Paul Mabin – Managing Director

Opinion: Paul Mabin – Managing Director

Article posted by: Paul Mabin – Managing Director.

It was inevitable… Simon finally bullied Paul into investing in an iPad for the DNA web team. The official line is that the iPad is now an established platform and therefore all web work and apps need to be developed for and tested on the iPad. The truth… Si and Rob just wanted to spend the day playing with a new toy, giggling in the corner at the most expensive version of etch-a-sketch ever conceived.

Some of the DNA Advertising team pushed aside their mice and picked up their joypads as they headed down to Extended Play, Plymouth’s first Games event discussing the future of the games industry and the positive impact it can have on the region’s emerging and talented producers, artists and developers. From console to phone, web to multiplatform, the games industry has become a dominant force in the media and design world. With the southwest traditionally being a fertile breeding ground for game developer talent, Extended Play looks to highlight the slowly emerging games industry in the region and uncover what opportunities exist for studios.

The British Council’s young interactive entrepreneur of the year, 26 year old 
Paul Croft of MediaTonic, took to the stage for his keynote, centering his talk around the ‘origin point of success’, about his experiences in becoming such a recognised player in the industry and the future of brand game design and scope for ‘advergames’.

Traditionally smaller developers take most of the risks without pressure from clients and company overheads, riding the curve and making their mark at just the right time. This window for exploitation however, is extremely narrow. As the technology and route to market become more conventional and a trend begins to form, it’s only a matter of time before well-known development houses grab the monopoly, running with the idea and doing it bigger and better. This is even more apparent today, with a 6 monthly transition in fads, making iPhone apps ‘so last season’ and with Farmville being the biggest game in the world, it’s now all about social gaming and everyone wants a piece of the pie. Although it may still seem fresh, within the industry the App bubble has pretty much burst. There is still money to be made, but with over-saturation of Apps it’s already no longer the method of choice… On the flipside, with over 61.6million active users of Farmville on Facebook, it affirms the potential of social online gaming as the next big advertising and brand building medium… In another 6 months it’ll no doubt be another story.

Earlier in the year, Paul, Simon, Matt, Rob and Jon headed down to a Design In Devon meet to see D&AD president Simon ‘Sanky’ Sankarayya discuss ‘The changing landscape of digital design’. Whilst departing his knowledge of interactive design, social media trends and their benefits to clients and audiences, he used this inspiring video as an example of ‘hacking’ technology and breaking the boundaries of interactivity within non-commercial, self initiated projects. It has to be shared – the amazing EyeWriter, ‘a low-cost eye-tracking apparatus & custom software that allows graffiti writers and artists with paralysis resulting from Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis to draw using only their eyes’.

Article by Paul Mabin – Creative Director / Managing Director

As I recall, back in the early days of the web this was the first business model of most of the newspapers as they dabbled with providing content online for the first time. This model was soon replaced by the user demand for free content online and one by one the papers moved over to an Ad generated model of providing content online, one which was probably a little foreign to most of them.

In recent years though as more and more people have turned to the web for their FREE fix of daily news, newspaper sales have steadily declined leaving the industry wondering what to do next. This is the first solid idea to address this problem but are users prepared to change their habits and fork out for something that they have been getting for free for many years?

Will it work? Only time will tell but we think if it does it will have a knock-on effect across other industries that currently offer FREE online content and could change the way of the web once more. Along side the new revolution of hand-held devices and new user-friendly ways of receiving and even paying for our content this could be the right time for publishers to fight back against the practice of giving away their work for free.

Times Online Article – The Times and The Sunday Times to charge for use of websites from June
BBC Article – Times and Sunday Times websites to charge from June

(Opinion: Simon Farrow – Head of Digital)

DNA Advertising are again proud to be working with Torbay council, Creative Torbay and Torre Abbey on their latest exhibitions. After the success of TACO 09 (Torre Abbey Contemporary Open) and the Ultimate Day Out campaign, DNA have this year created an identity for ‘TAMED’ and ‘Art on the English Rivera’ as well as designing and producing the advertising and literature for the highly anticipated exhibition. Running from 6th July – 30th August and in conjunction with TACO 2010, TAMED brings the work of renown artists such as Richard Long, Heather Jansch and Damien Hirst to Torbay. See the details above or for more information or see the Torre Abbey website at torre-abbey.org.uk. We hope to see you there!