Another App or Future Necessity?

Have you ever lost your car keys and had your friend be “that guy” who says, “Why don’t you call it to see if you can find it?”  Obviously they are poking fun at the fact had you lost your cell phone you could easily locate it by calling it to set the ringer off.

This got me thinking, why haven’t they created a chip in car keys that can be located by a smartphones GPS.   This could save many from ever losing their keys again.

Then I took too Google, wondering, “Is there an app for that?”:

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How Print is the Future of Interactive Design

Mike Kruzenski, Interaction Designer for Microsoft Mobile, presentation contained with theory and examples of how print design aesthetics can be applied to interaction/digital design. 

The 6.5 take away -  flat is ok. Not all interfaces need 3d/dimensional feeling or a physical analog. Users are more sophisticated than many designers give credit.

Our concept of a desktop stems from Vannevar Bush and his Memex concept.

 

This metaphor was extended by Xerox PARC when they designed icons for a UI using items normally found in a desk - scissor, folders, tape, pens, etc… GUI interfaces since have tried to emulate a virtual environment and hyper-realism has been the dominant aesthetic. 

Technical limitations of graphics processing, earlier version of HTML and user ignorance on how to interact in a new medium, have all led to functional UIs which are often difficult to interpret and aesthetically unpleasant.

With improvements in technology, user sophistication and the increased adoption of touch interfaces, there is an opportunity to improve the aesthetic and build upon the 400-500 year old learnings of print design. 

Design using information architecture and not relying on artifacts.

Examples are Zite, Pulse, Fliboard, apple.com, nikebetterworld.com and photoshop.com. All of these feature elements of print design. The use hierarchy, grid design and white space.


Zaarly…It’s Like GrubHub, but for EVERYTHING (!)

Zaarly is a proximity based, real-time buyer powered market. People can upload and browse offers for just about everything… even for events that don’t have tickets! The possibilities are seemingly endless.

The company is planning to launch their product during SXSW this year, and I for one am very excited. If you want to get in on the ground floor go to zaarly.com and enter your email to receive an exclusive invite from the company.

So I ask all of you, is this the future of mobile money and markets? Audrey Waters of “Read Write Web” seems to think so. She’s reported that the company has been getting tweets from celebrity Demi Moore promoting the pitch, while Ashton Kutcher, Paul Buchheit, and several others have helped Zaarly secure $1 million in funding.

Submitted by @katidfcb

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