martyn reding - juggling with water

Spotify extends its music reach by hooking up with Uber

2014-11-20T13:40:00.001+00:00

Those clever music pixies at Spotify have hooked up with hire company Uber, to extend their already brilliant music UX.

You can now pre-select the music to be played, when your car arrives and throughout your journey.

Not a huge functional upgrade, just a little touch that makes Spotify's world of music even more portable.

Recent book cover design work

2014-11-06T12:10:00.001+00:00

A small 'out of hours' project for a writer friend. Although this is a print mockup, the layout was composed primarily for digital publication.

Why don't we have arbejdsglaede?

2014-10-28T08:54:00.001+00:00

Some Scandinavian countries have a word "arbejdsglaede" to describe happiness at work.

It's used to describe a sense of contentment and fulfilment from your chosen vocation.

This word doesn't exist in English. We have a million ways to describe being drunk and even more ways to describe the weather. But this state of mental wellness at work isn't common enough to warrant a distinct word.

The Future of Programming by @worrydream

2014-10-21T16:45:00.000+01:00

I recently attended a two track conference (one track design, one track dev) and for the sake of not watching a presentation I'd already seen and for the sake of forcing myself to open my brain beyond design I decided to spend the morning in the Dev track.

It turned out to be a fantastic idea. One of the references during the presentations was this presentations by Bret Victor. Most of the Developer attendees nodded along knowingly, however none of my design friends have heard of it.

Yes it's a presentation about programming, but wait! It's probably one of the most creative presentations you'll see. Bret Victor gave this entire presentation from the perspective of a 1970s Californian computer scientist. The idea of looking at the future, from a historic view is total genius. Bret's attention to detail is wonderful. He dresses as a stereotypical 70s computer operator, complete with pocket pen pouch. He even delivers the slides using an overhead projector.

One of the key messages in this presentation is that technology moves quickly, but people's behaviour takes much longer change. Which brings back the argument that because we know how to do something, does it mean we should do it?

It also nicely frames the notion that in order to really understand where we (the digital industry) are going, we have to fully understand where we've come from.

On @jiggityk Steve Jobs Watch essay

2014-09-15T14:09:00.002+01:00

Last week I read Jong-Moon Kim's essay on what he felt could have been better about Tim Cook's product unveiling and how Steve Jobs would have done it better. On reading the essay I initially felt uneasy and morbid, but since then I've been unable to shake off the content.

Whilst I don't deny the essay is an interesting piece of writing and I don't want to take anything away from the creative execution of the concept, I think it's in real danger of overlooking the fact that it's pure fiction. The characters and events in the essay are real enough, but the contents of the essay is total pulp.

I agree that Apple's current product strategy is confusing and I also agree that the product launch left me with mixed feelings. However to suppose that anything is worse for Apple now than before, is a huge leap of imagination. Firstly many people I know at Apple are much more optimisitic under Tim Cook's leadership. Although Jobs will always be recognised as a icon in the tech world, he was not renowned for being a brilliant manager. What we see on the exterior of Apple may not represent the seismic changes that have happened inside. With a product cycle that spans over at least 5 years, the output from Apple today is most likely the matters put in motion whilst Jobs was still at the helm. One thing is for sure; Apple don't make any moves without a forward facing strategy behind it. What seems defensive now, is most likely playing out over a longer timeframe than we can see.

Secondly the crux of this essay assumes that everything Jobs did was positively received. This is simply not the case. During his tenure at Apple Jobs undoubtedly launched some huge products, but the reception was not always warm. Following the iPhone launch journalists and industry observers lined up to point out the limited colours, the restricted networks and high prices. Equally the iPad was derided for its "awkward" size and social value, with many pundits calling it 'a failed attempt to recapture former brand glory'. Assuming it would have been better if Jobs had launched the same products is just revisionist history at its most destructive.

Lastly the idea of this essay turns Steve Jobs in to a fictional character. An icon maybe. But not something for the public to re-animate and fill with their own words. Imagining how Steve Jobs would think, speak an act, then dressing that up as a real event has seriously dark undertones and shows a huge lack of respect to his family, friends and colleagues.

Overall I would say that this essay does far more harm than good and is not contributing our industry in a way I'm at all comfortable with.

Guardian rolls digital design in to print

2014-09-12T13:30:00.000+01:00

This article makes me feel happy and hopeful. The guardian is taking the design guides that it developed for its digital editions over in to the printed material.

Regardless of what you think of the design choices in here, the principle has to be admired.

Article via Design Week

Two design observations on the Apple Watch

2014-09-10T10:25:00.000+01:00

So the 'big reveal' is done. The speculation can die down for a few months and the crowds of early adopters have at least 5 months to whip themselves in to a rabid frenzy, before they can get their hands on Apple's Watch.

The event itself was a fairly standard Apple affair (excluding some chronic streaming glitches). On reviewing the new product alongside Apple's product line up I was left with two design questions buzzing around my head.

1. Will Apple ever regain a distinct or consistent UI design?

When Apple launched the original iMac, iBook, G3 and OSX they achieved something special. Their hardware and UI design was unlike anything else and consistent. The shiny, bubbly curves backed with a subtle pinstripe was everywhere. Over time their design was copied to hell. It also aged pretty badly. The hardware design went off in a new, cleaner direction. The UI design was draped in skeuomorphism.

With the recent unveiling of iOS8 and Yosemite OS it looked like Apple was making a move to bring things closer together. However the Watch showed another new branch of design thinking and the iPhone 6 has moved against the UI design. On a desktop you've got mixtures of flat UI and 3D elements. On a handheld device we've got squarcle app icons. On the Watch you've got circles and bouncy animations.

The hardware is equally disparate. The MacPro is dark, glassy and curvaceous. The iPad is slim, sleek with sharp edges. The new iPhone curved, matt and available in gold. Throughout the range there are drops of high colour, but in each instance it's a different colour range.

Whilst the new product launch was certainly exciting I felt Apple are still lacking a design language that you could say is "very Apple".

2. Do Apple have the design chops to take on watch designers?

Questioning Apple's hardware design capability seems foolish, but in previous products they've taken on categories known for poor design. Mobile phones, Computers and portable music players were all pretty ugly sights before Apple gave us their view. But watch designers have been making beautiful timepieces for many, many decades. The likes of Omega, Rolex TagHeuer, Cartier and Breitling have been refining their trade for a very long time. Is Apple's Watch good enough to displace a family heirloom? Can it hold its own against fashion brands like Armani or Gucci?

I have no doubt that initially there will be a huge rush for the Watch. For a period it will be seen in all the right places. Perhaps with the likes of Marc Newson and Paul Deneve onboard they can steadily build a presence in the fashion world. But the real test is going to play out over a much longer period.

King & Man - a new side project

2014-08-08T12:13:00.000+01:00

I've been working in an in-house design team for more than four years now and like any designer I'm drawn to opportunities to design for different types of brands.

Recently I've become involved in a side project called King & Man. It's essentially an online journal for 'modern gentlemen'. The idea of designing a 'lifestyle' brand was something I didn't want to pass up.

At this stage King & Man is still very much in 'startup mode' running a minimum viable product, but it has a very clear plan for progression. My role has been designing the identity and directing the overall tone. I'm currently working on future app releases and revenue generators.

More King & Man work samples here

Perfectly executing the wrong plan (from Google I/O)

2014-07-16T14:54:00.003+01:00

You Didn’t Understand The Problem You Were Solving
You Asked Your Friends What They Thought
You Listened To Users Instead Of Watching Them
You Didn’t Test Your Riskiest Assumption
You Had A "Bob The Builder" Mentality

Harsh but worthy presentation from Google. Full article available on FastCo

Hey Guevara doesn't like IE

2014-07-11T09:17:00.000+01:00

Hey Guevara is a new peer to peer insurance service currently in Beta. Probably not a disrupter, but certainly something that could cut through the overly complicated, bad user experiences of most insurance providers.

Mostly importantly unlike most insurers they don't take themselves too seriously. Check out their browser response page.

Old clip, but still a great presentation. Designing Obama's election campaign, by @simplescott

2014-07-10T13:46:00.001+01:00

Not only did this team understand and implement an agile environment, before we turned it in to commonplace, but they also demonstrate the importance of bringing offline and online brand decisions in to one stream.

Tomorrowland music festival wearable faff

2014-07-08T14:28:00.001+01:00

Well it's a good try and a broadly speaking it's a good concept, however it falls down in the execution. The finite details of setting it up and how everything has to be so precise sounds like far more work than it's worth to ultimately get emails and some random Facebook suggestions. Ultimately it doesn't do anything more than signing up on a website or getting a standard lanyard. The effort/reward ratio is way off.

Perhaps if the bracelet had unlocked extra access that would be something. Even better if it recorded locations and activities to produce a personalised summation to enjoy after the event. For triple points it could have acted as a payment service or alerted you to your favourite acts starting. Sadly not.

That said the launch vid (above) is really nicely produced. Good animation, charming voiceover and it's pitched just right for the Tomorrowland identity.

Google's Creative Lead joins a bank!

2014-07-02T14:35:00.003+01:00

Dan Makoski, one of Google's Creative leads is leaving the search giant and going to work in-house for Capitol One.

For a Designer this seems like a strange story and indeed a strange career move, but according to Dan "here are few spaces as ripe for technology and human-inspired re-imagination as how people relate to their money"

He also goes on to point out that Capitol One has been building a significant internal creative team for some time. Just check out there offices

In my book that's one big hurrah for in-house design.

via FastCo

Thoughts on Google's Material Design language

2014-06-26T15:30:00.001+01:00

At yesterday's IO conference Google announced a new common design language called Material Design. Strangely the announcement didn't come with a new product launch. Instead they've laid out their intention for redesigns and new projects.

Hats off to the Google design team for the depth of work that's clearly gone in to this. The visual details are beautiful. The colour palettes are delicious and the breadth of information on how to achieve the design standards are unlike anything else i've seen before.

As yet there are no mainstream products that have carry the new design language, so it's impossible to offer any real commentary on how successful it is. However there is little evidence that Google has something 'own-able'. Unlike Apple's 'aqua' UI and Microsoft's 'metro' UI there doesn't seem to be anything that you can say is distinctly Google. They've used a lot of existing design trends and skilfully woven them together, but does it mark them out as unique?

My belief is that a design language is a brand's own personal tone of voice. It's the distinct accent in which you communicate and if you want to appear alternative to others talking you need to seem different. Perhaps this was never Google's intention. Perhaps their strategy is more subtle and they want to be quieter. Perhaps Google is making the effort to seem 'everyday' and therefore more accessible.

Either way the visual design rigour that has been applied here has to be admired. I'm looking forward to seeing it appear on the biggies like Maps, Search and Gmail.

Skype Design team put Windows in your iPhone

2014-06-23T13:30:00.001+01:00

Sneaky bunch at Microsoft!

They created a beautiful new design language for Windows Mobile, that's since made its way all around the Windows brand. Since purchasing Skype there has been signs of the Skype brand slowly and subtly adopting elements of the MSoft brand.

When it came time for Skype to redesign their iOS app those clever pixel wranglers threw away any references to the Apple iOS language. They've taken the Windows Design language, smashed it with the Skype brand and put it in your iPhone. Possibly one of the trickiest UI/Brand design challenges imaginable and the team at Skype have done a lovely job of it. The translation of the Windows UI is subtle enough to make it feel distinctly Windows, but the details in the surrounding elements (moving clouds, wobbling menus etc) keep it firmly in the Skype personality.

Along with the new UI comes this nice little clip that plays in the app when it first loads.

The Skype Design teams showing huge talent in bringing together facets of the UX.

I'm looking for a Senior UI Design Wizard

2014-06-09T15:24:00.000+01:00

The Global Digital Design team here at RSA is expanding again and I'm hunting for a Senior Designer to join me.

THE COMPANY
RSA is over 300 years old. Although it has a rich heritage we recognise that digital technology is a critical factor to its future. We are big. I mean *really* big. Being big comes with benefits (good pay, big budgets, stability, discounts, pensions, annual bonus etc), but it also comes with challenges and our team has been tasked with breaking the old rules.

THE TEAM
RSA Digital is an agency style internal team that covers UX, Design, Analytics, Content and Build. We work across RSA's entire global network (from Canada to Singapore and most places between). Our work touches every aspect of the insurance experience, across multiple RSA brands, as well as partner brands (e.g: John Lewis, Argos, Tesco). We want to change the way things are done and we will fight for the user at every step.

THE ROLE
You'll be working with the Lead Designer (me) and Junior Designers to create low fidelity prototypes and high fidelity mockups. You'll be the bridge between the UX Strategists and Frontend Developers.

As a Senior Designer you'll be expected to actively support the more junior members of the Design team, present your work to clients, develop new ideas to share with the team, get your hands dirty helping mould the team.

RSA is a Windows based organisation, but the Design team is kitted out with MacBook's and Adobe Creative Cloud. You'll get paid in money and the tea flavoured water is free.

There is lots more I could tell you about the job, but the best thing would be to drop me a message (ideally with a link to your work samples) and we can talk over a coffee.

@martynreding

Jony Ive biography by Leander Kahney

2014-05-27T17:05:00.000+01:00

OK this book is not brand new, but it's taken me until now to create the time to read it.

Getting any decent info on Apple and Jony Ive's design process is notoriously difficult. Not only is Apple wrapped in secrecy, but Ive himself has always been reluctant to offer any details of practical design matters. Instead in interviews he tends to stick to general design philosophies.

Leander Kahney's biography could easily have been an exercise in hero worship and conjecture, but it's surprisingly insightful. The book is comprised of interviews with former Apple staff and suppliers. The level of detail is unlike anything I've read before on Apple. It details team members, roles, structures, equipment, disputes, difficulties, triumphs and discarded design concepts.

A lot of material appears to have been taken from evidence submitted in Apple v Samsung which covers the inception of the iPhone and the various prototyping stages it went through.

Of course there is an amount of fluff around Ive's family and "genius", but beyond this padding there is, what I believe to be, the first insightful look at Apple's design approach and how it's changed over the years. If you're in any way interested in hardware design (industrial or otherwise) and if you've admired Apple's work, then I recommend getting a copy.

Do more by Sure (not Nike)

2014-05-07T10:23:00.001+01:00

This new spot from Sure caught me by surprise. At first glance I assumed it was a sportswear brand. The first few shots look a lot like something Nike would produce. The contrast between the lifestyle footage and the final pack shot is way too harsh, like it's from two different campaigns. None the less the art direction of the filmic footage is finely done. The copywriting is pitch perfect too.

Unboxing NowTV

2014-04-29T17:30:00.000+01:00

It's not Sky, but it's got all their content. It's not Apple TV but the product design is just as good and it's not BT Vision because it's not overpriced.

In fact NowTV looks to be the quiet contender for the best TV UX on the market right now.

The product design is beautifully simple. You sign up for one or more package(s). The packages are not categorised by price point (they're all the same) but instead by content type. Entertainment, Sport or Movies. But amazingly you're not tied to your choice and you can easily add other content types, even for a single day.

The service is available over any device and they even offer a set top box to plug directly in to your TV.

The menus are as simple as the remote. All extraneous functions have been hidden away.

In fact it's so simple I was left expecting something else to happen. My experiences with Sky, BT, Virgin and the other usual suspects has conditioned me to complexity. NowTV really is that simple and the UI design across iOS, desktop and set top is very high quality. Elements of the website signup could be improved, but generally speaking it's a killer product.

Living with the Spotify redesign

2014-04-28T15:03:00.001+01:00

It's been almost a month since Spotify launched a "fully redesigned" iPhone app.

The talk around how big the redesign was lead to a fairly disappointing first experience. Considering that this was billed as a "ground up" redesign, it's landed in a pretty similar place to the previous incarnation.

There are only hints of how the brand has been realigned on spotify.com (see the crowd photo on the menu), but on the whole it is reasonably well aligned to the desktop and iPad UI design work.

The unexpected removal of 'starring' tracks caught me off guard. Although they've been courteous enough to leave starred tracks in listing.

Interestingly the term "playlist" has now been removed from Spotify's lexicon. It's simply become "Your Music". I was surprised as it seems to be a universal term and a keystone for sharing, discussing and digesting music.

Some of the visual design elements are very nice. The design team at Spotify has really worked well with the visual language of iOS7. However there are a few UI decisions that aren't so good. Take a look at the Shuffle and Repeat functions above - not exactly fat thumb tolerant or graceful.

Another issue I have with the new version is the new prominence of the Shuffle play function (see above. Not only does it shout from the top of every track list, but it holds a fixed position through scrolling. I've lost count of the times I've hit shuffle, instead of back or instead of a track name. If you're a user that rarely uses the shuffle function it's a real pain in the ass.

These negative points are not enough to put me off being an avid Spotify user. I love the service design and the brand. So far the iPhone changes have not found there way on to the iPad app, but I'll be interested to see how the new design develops.

Patatap - My afternoon has just gone out the window

2014-03-26T13:23:00.000+00:00

just hit your a -z keys and then the spacebar

Getty have opened their photo library to embedding

2014-03-07T11:32:00.004+00:00

Much like the YouTube method. You can now drop Getty images right in to your site. Nice that.

Reebok has a new logo

2014-03-03T13:27:00.000+00:00

The new logo isn't an example of cutting edge design, if anything it's a bit 90s and the launch vid is way too long. But somehow it really does make me want to exercise. So that's a good thing.

Shazam has had a big UI tidy

2014-02-28T12:05:00.000+00:00

I've been using Shazam since it was a pre-iPhone dial code. It's a lovely product. It's central idea is one of those concepts that I can't concieve of ever having.

Of late I'm finding myself using it more, as the connections to Spotify have proved seamless. In fact it's so good at facilitating other products (youtube, spotify, itunes etc) that I'm surprised other brands have not built similar functions in to their apps.

This week they've launched a redesigned version of the app. The functionality is largely the same and the redesign seems to be mostly surface level, but it looks great and I still love Shazam.

Redesign launch video

Shazam team article about the redesign

A new set of ads for @square are being rolled out

2014-02-24T17:38:00.000+00:00

Square has always made excellent use of video and now they're going out with a US nationwide campaign for it's card readers.

It's a simple idea that has obviously got some room to progress.