Tuesday, March 29, 2011

PAUL RAND & THE LANGUAGE OF FORM

"Don't try to be original, just try to be good." - Paul Rand

I LOVE this trailer created by Imaginary Forces for Paul Rand's posthumous induction into The One Club's Hall of Fame in 2007.


Paul Rand Retrospective from Jeremy Cox on Vimeo.

 BRAVO! Did you like it?

Sunday, March 27, 2011

MAPPING THE TRANSMEDIA EXPERIENCE

Henry Jenkins Keynote, Sandbox Summit 2010

The MIT Sandbox Summit 2011 is right around the corner, April 28-29. Confirmed speakers and presenters include: Brendon Boyle from Ideo, Wendy Bronfin from B & N, Sara Dewitt from PBS and Carla Engelbrecht Fisher, a game designer & researcher. You can see the full list here.

Listen to the keynote from last year: "TOYING WITH TRANSMEDIA: THE FUTURE OF ENTERTAINMENT IS CHILD'S PLAY" by Henry Jenkins.


Find out more about the SANDBOX SUMMIT 2011 here.
follow: @sandboxsummit

 Are you going? Looks great, especially with all the gamification BUZZ whirling around these days.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

POWER TO THE PIXEL & SOCKS INC

I really dig what Jim Babb is doing with transmedia and kids.  Very COOL.  Looks like #transmediakids to me!  ;  >  )
Check out his presentation and the panel comments at POWER TO THE PIXEL. Well worth watching if you are ready to pitch.

ENJOY!



There are some good ideas and constructive comments from Saneel Radia from BBH Labs, Marc Goodchild BBC, Matt Locke from Channel 4, Nuno Bernardo from beActive and Judy Adair from Disney on how to move a kids brand forward.

Monday, March 14, 2011

Creating Transmedia Narratives

More transmedia food for thought.

INTERACTIVE NARRATIVES: CREATING THE FUTURE OF STORYTELLING
SXSW Interactive, March 14,2011



Here's an older presentation by Leo Rayman from January 2010.

TRANSMEDIA NARRATIVES: FACT OR FICTION?




Enjoy the read.








Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Laura Seargeant Richardson of Frog Design Media Talks about Creativity & Kids

"I fully believe play is the the greatest resource in our creative economy. Let's help kids make more."
- Laura Seargeant Richardson

"The resourcefulness of children's culture has eroded, as children appear to have become less skilled at transforming everyday objects into playthings." - Howard Chudacoff

Listen to her SANDBOX SUMMIT LECTURE:



Read about the lecture on the MIT WORLD, Distributed Intelligence Blog here.

You can read her SHAPING THE FUTURE OF PLAY piece here on designmind.frogdesign.com.

ARTICLE ABOUT HOWARD CHUDACOFF:
Read the New York Times article, by Patricia Cohen entitled, Child's Play Has Become Anything but Simple.


Enjoy the read!

Direct Action Games Panel at the Games For Change 2010 Festival

"What happens when we assign points to real-world civic actions? This controversial panel will explore the realities and theories of extending games into “real” actions like donating, giving voice, and volunteering - we might call them Direct Action Games. Featuring a designer of new game genres, several working games, technical and “spectacle” experts, this panel will challenge us to reconsider the bridge between civic learning and direct action. PANELISTS: Stephen Duncombe, author of Dream: Re-imagining Progressive Politics in an Age of Fantasy; Alex Eberts, co-founder of Akoha; Tracy Fullerton, Game Designer & Director, USC’s EA Innovation Lab; moderated by Benjamin Stokes, Co-Founder G4C, PhD student, USC Annenberg." -Games For Change Vimeo Channel



Direct Action Games: Games Meet The Real World from Games for Change on Vimeo.



Read the Henry Jenkins article: Akokha-A Direct Action Game? here.


Watch this interview with Jane McGonigal by Games For Change:



Jane McGonigal Interview with Games for Change from Games for Change on Vimeo.



FOLLOW: @henryjenkins @avantgame (Jane McGonigal)


Enjoy the read!



Sunday, March 6, 2011

Putting the FUN in FUNctional: Applying Game Mechanics to Fuctional Software by Amy Jo Kim

Take a look at this Game Mechanics Primer by Amy Jo Kim featured on GOOGLE TECH TALKS.



FOLLOW: @amyjokim
LINK: http://www.shufflebrain.com/
Amy Jo Kim is the Co-founder of ShuffleBrain. What is ShuffleBrain?
"ShuffleBrain is building smart games for a connected world." They're "Passionate about creating personalized, lightweight,socially connected games that keep you sharp."

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Extending Kids IP StoryWorld with APPS & Games

I LOVE TODD PARR! His zany characters and simple message exist in the most colorful FUN PACKED world. I want to live there!

I can't count how time many times I have given this book away. Event to adults! Kids always giggle knowing it's a FUNNY & ODD for an adult to be talking about UNDERWEAR!
But that is the power of TODD PARR, in his colorful safe world, he can talk about anything.
Here are a few spread of the book UNDERWEAR DO'S & DON'TS, published by MEGAN TINGLEY BOOKS, Little Brown & Company.




Check out his Sesame Street video.



The voices are really GREAT. Voice plays a huge part in animation. APP developers should take this to heart. The APP for UNDERWEAR DO'S AND DON'TS falls short in translation of this great KIDS IP.
I would have liked to see something between the book and the animated short in quality. I think the APP experience could have been improved with more attention to detail.

DON'T RUSH It looks like the APP was produced quickly with very little attention to the details that can make a big difference in APP experience.

VOICE I think a kids voice would be more powerful than an adult voice. Not sure if that is Todd in the voice over. I think the voice in the Sesame Street video is perfect!

NAVIGATION BUTTONS The buttons on this APP are designed using pastel colors. WHAT! Just looking at his art, you could see endless possibilities for a FUN COLORFUL user interface. This was major FAIL.

TEXT BOX This is another design fail, in my opinion. Perhaps the APP developer, didn't have a design budget? Or didn't take the time to design something specific for TODDS ART. Placing the text over a white screened background just doesn't work. It's annoying and masks the illustration.

Whatever the reasons, it is the simple details that make a great APP experience.

On the other hand, THUMB ARCADE, created a really SILLY, FUN game experience for the book UNDERWEAR DO'S AND DON'TS.
Everything about it screams TODD PARR, and extends the TODD PARR STORYWORLD with games. I especially like the underwear eating monster! It made me laugh. They did a really great job at extending the TODD PARR STORYWORLD.

By the way, TODD PARR books are also available on iBooks and NOOk color too.


You can find the trailer for the game here on TODDPARR.COM.
Find MY UNDERWEAR in the APP store here.
Check out TODD WORLD here.

DO: Create a StoryWorld to extend kids IP
DON'T: Rush and undermine the brand