Minimal movie poster for Superman

One of the challenges of design education is to explain the concept of ‘Simplification’ or creation of ‘Minimal Design‘. In principle, it involves usage of essential elements, getting rid of every unnecessary element from the design. It also involves limiting the total number of elements and colors used in the design.

As a design mentor, I am always on a lookout for interesting exercises to explain the concept. Michal Krasnopolski just helped the cause. He has created a set of Minimal movie posters using a circle, a square and two diagonals. It’s surprising to see how many posters could be created using this method.

Jaws

Midnight in Paris

Lord of the Rings

Could you imagine just a diagonal stroke representing Superman? Krasnopolski has used such simple elements used to dish out 22 fresh minimal poster designs.

Such brilliant exercises reinstate the fact that design can be interesting, fun and educating at the same time. Do you like these posters?

What are the other design exercises that you like?

Pixelonomics

The Tea Calendar

Which are the two important things to start one’s day?

A calendar to keep track of the date and day and a drink to transform passive state of mind to active. For some, tea is one drink that starts their day. What could happen if we combined the two?

Wafer-thin pressed tea leaves for 365 days

Kolle Rebbe, a German agency combined these two important ingredients for Hälssen & Lyon and created an innovative product – The Tea Calendar. Tear off the day’s tea strip from the calendar, add boiling water, let it brew and enjoy the unique flavor of the day’s pressed tea leaves. For now, Hälssen & Lyon has shipped this calendar to “select business partners” only. It is not available for purchase just yet.

Savor the tea calendar

This concept is absolutely fresh! And we can just hope that other noted brands also wake up to the power of creative thinking.

Pixelonomics

Mercedes Smart

A friend in need is a friend Indeed sounds like old adage for sure, but still holds true. More and more brands are trying to be your friend, being there when you need them the most.

Case to point

Moscow, Russia, where people are obsessed about big cars and owning a small car is not socially appreciated. The result is nothing but escalating parking problem on one side and social status playing a seesaw battle. On most weekends, it goes from bad to worse leaving most people with no option but to park illegally, vehicles getting towed and people running after the authorities begging not to be reprimanded are often the best snapshots of life  on the ‘mean Russian streets’.

Big cars + Parking problem = Chaos + frustration.

Introduce Super Cars to the rescue

Following Chevrolet’s “Rescue Drive” and MINI’s “cars turned stores” intelligent test drive campaigns, Mercedes’ isn’t going to be left behind either. Making the people of Moscow understand the importance of smaller cars with their new Rescue Smart cars, Mercedes started an ‘Unexpected Test Drive’ and acted as a Superhero to the rescue for them. These smart and often labeled “Cute cars” comes to the rescue of people in their DIRE times of misery (when their vehicle got towed and they are left stranded and in a lurch) and drops them to their destination. This campaign drew out accolades on Social Media, followed by bloggers and news portals who further accentuated the brand’s positive move, and I can’t help but admire the ingenuity too.

The result

In less than 3 days, 623 people were rescued. Test drives increased by 10% and sales went up by 300% in just a matter of two weeks. Mercedes’ move created a positive brand image which reflected reliability, care and empathy for people and indirectly advocating the use of smaller cars (rescue cars) while showcasing that sometimes, small is beautiful in a big-car-obsessed country.

Indian case

Do you envision this kind of service in India? Will people actually appreciate the move and post their good experiences on Social Media? Will the companies want to shell out the big bucks for this kind of campaign where they want to be a viewed more as a friend and savior rather than just a car company?

The ever-growing traffic density and parking problems of our metros are indeed creating mess all around. So even though, small cars have the largest number of buyers, the growing number of cars and decreasing availability of space for parking is definitely of concern sprinkled with the hassles of cars getting towed every now and then. Are brands trying to tap on the positive side of life and helping people in achieving their dreams? As a result getting associated with good deeds for society and simultaneously push their brand image forward.

In my opinion, Indians do spread a word if they like something.  It’s been a long tradition that Indians are so close to even the shops where they buy grocery from, that they form an emotional bond – they talk to each other, and they suggest to their peers.

Cracking markets is a tedious job but cracking the mindset of customers…. Hell it would be tough! More and more brands are trying to be friendly and have that emotional connect with their customers, being there when they need them the most is in my opinion something that needs to be tapped.  Especially among  ladies and the growing graph of women car owners.

But what if you have to change customers thinking process and decide as to what they should buy. Personally no one likes radical change.

Some dissonance will be there for sure. Is that enough dissonance for you?

Pixelonomics

Lamborghini Egoista

1 seater monster Lamborghini Egoista, Anniversary special – You beast

Never would you imagine Lamborghini’s 50^th birthday to be such chaotic and wild. Launched at a private event this real top gun was 50^th Anniversary to present. Carrying forward its wildness spree from Lamborghini Veneno, now you got “Lego inspired” Lamborghini Egoista. Such monster I tell you. Conjuring the appearance of an Apache helicopter, Egoista is a 1 seater powerhouse.
Bearing more lines , angles, edges and Formula 1-like nose, Egoista is sure to make some heads turn with bewilderment.

Talk to Design guys and they wouldn’t want to opine on this 600 hp, 5.2 ltr, V-10, orange-hued Hot Wheels. This is the same engine that spurs Audi R8 and Gallardo. Body is crafted of aluminum and carbon-fiber elements, part of which says “no walk-zones”.

Step here

You got to hire pilots for this. With hell lot of joy you would want to enter, but this is a cumbersome job.

• Remove the steering wheel
• Pop the canopy
• Stand up on the seat
• Climb to rest on car’s bodywork
• Prowl to the ground

Sure to say, the Brand sends a troubling message to the Lamborghini Design and its future. Veneno being a disaster for the company (which I’m sure they would try to forget) was the lowest tipping point in the Brand’s history.

Such subversive approach towards Design would actually lead them to nothing more than one more nightmare.

And yeah, you would find it difficult to locate on roads.

Pixelonomics

Dance & Design – what’s similar?

Dance & Design – what’s similar?

Being a mechanical engineer and a dancer/choreographer it was very difficult to gulp down the basics of Design. Design to me is as alien as acting for a geek; No relation absolutely whatsoever.

Being here in this lovely office at Sparklin, where you can listen to Music of your choice, surrounded by passionate, self driven, creative folks and admiring the historical debilitated tomb the moment you turn your head, Design does get a bit easier.  Dance has always been in my DNA. But Design???
Okay, let’s just find out.

The basics

I feel Design and Dance have a long rooted connection in their basics and aspects. The purpose of design is to visually communicate the intended message and so is Dance, which is a visual art form too. Both are Art forms indeed. They both carry a purpose; both bear visual elements and yes, offer joy.

In terms of elements, they overlap quite a bit. Just like a choreographer, a designer needs to carry a vision with him as to what s/he wants to convey, what elements (lines, point, color and texture) would accentuate the message further and initiate the cognitive process of the audience. Design and Dance, both must have that hook that catches people, keeps them tied, enthrall them and pass on the intended message. They both cannot be direct; both have to be abstract and succinct at a level, not boring the audience. Both have to be attended to with minute details, yet be of easy understanding to the audience.

The feedback

Just like a dancer who is quite worried about his feedback that he gets from his/her audience, a designer has the same worries too. Design has to perform well, get its functionality right.

If it is unable to convey the intended message, bores the audience and wears unmatched, dirty costumes, the results are quite evident.

Designers have to think like Dancers and Dancers have to think like Designers. Connect, visualize, imagine and execute the ideas.

Do you also find any similarities between Dance & Design??

Pixelonomics

Nokia Asha with dedicated Whatsapp Button

Whatsapp is big. Period. For those of you who have been living under the rock, few facts and figures to set the  record straight. Whatsapp processed 18 billion messages on the New Year’s Eve 2013 and they are currently rumoured to be in talks for a billion dollar acquisition by Google.

All said and done, Whatsapp is taking ubiquity to a whole new level by creating a product which works cross platforms and yet offers far more possibilities than the traditional SMS. Nokia with its Asha 210 series went the Blackberry route and began offering the phone with a dedicated whatsapp button.

This match of sorts represents the coming of age for Whatsapp which would now be considered competition to iMessage and BBM both of which had been selling points for their specific platforms.

There have been interesting discussion regarding the move, the point remains that Nokia owns the low end market even after facing stiff competition from the low end Android devices.

For the spec junkies amongst you simply head over here to see the actual information about the device from the Nokia Website.

The phone coming in multiple variants of single and dual sim at a price of 75$ makes the use of the whatsapp tie up by offering it for free for life. The catch being whatsapp only costs 1$ /year after the initial trial of one year and then too, we tend to get a free extension on most of our devices. How exciting this offer turns out for the end user..is something that would still needs to be seen. But interesting experiments make it all the more fun.

Pixelonomics

Our favorites from Webby

Webby are undoubtedly called the “Oscars of the web”. The annual awards celebrates the best of the internet, ranging from podcasts to websites. Each category gets two winners one decided by the Academy organizing the awards and the other by public voting.

For the uninitiated the Awards are grouped into five major verticals:

1. Mobile & Apps

2. Social

3. Online Film & Video

4. Interactive Advertising & Media

5. Websites

With a number of subcategories further along, the sheer number of nominees could overwhelm anybody even after taking into account those who have been nominated for multiple positions. The candidates range from mainstream favorites to ones which many of us haven’t given much thought to.

We bring you our five personal favorites from “Mobile & Apps”. A category which sees the maximum action and disruption according to us.

1. NPR Music for iPad

Category: Tablet and all other Devices / Entertainment

For the love of Music. NPR Music is the go-to destination for those willing to go a little deeper into their favorite sound. The iPad app makes discovering articles, experimenting with music and streaming content a breeze.

2. Al Jazeera English Magazine

Category: Tablet and all other Devices / News

Al Jazeera is known for its quality reporting and the magazine for iPad just takes it a notch higher. The immersive experience with a focus on large visuals and readability of long form text matched with multimedia content in the form of audio/video makes it a true delight.

3. Annes Amsterdam

Category: Handheld Devices / Education & Reference

An interesting app build around the story of the war classic “The Diary of a Young Girl Anne Frank” to get a conversation going between Amsterdammers and the visitors to the city to give a clear picture of its wartime history. Beautifully done.

4. Paper Baron

Category: All Devices / Best Visual Design

Paper Baron is the one of the most visually appealing game build for the iPhone. The game dynamics are simple, fly a paperplane around. But the visual elements add a unique character and positive emotions for the player.

5. The Verge’s Vergecast

Category: All Devices / Podcasts

Hands down our favorite podcast for our weekly dose of tech news. We have been fans since “This is My Next” days and Joshua Topolsky and the crew never fail to keep each episode interesting. Rock n Roll.

What about you?

We would love to know your personal favorites from the Webby.

Pixelonomics

Microsoft accelerator in Bangalore

There are various reasons why people love to travel. For some it is the love of the food, others the joy of seeing new places yet for others the whole concept of meeting interesting people is rewarding enough that it justifies the action of travelling across the length of the country.

Sparklin made its annual pilgrimage to startup capital of India “Bangalore” with the entire team onboard. What followed were days of learning, fun and action. Here is our pick of the top three highlights from the adventure.

1. Sports Enthusiasts

What do cricket fanatics travelling to Bangalore during the launch of the new IPL season do? They take one of the closest possible hotel to the Chinnaswamy Stadium and during the home matches enjoy the action from the comfort of the room. Six!

If rooms are close to cricket stadiums, then the outdoors have to be adventure sports. Day long indulgence in activities ranging from rock climbing to zorbing. Enough adrenaline for some great work.

Rock Climbing and Zorbing

2. The trip to the Microsoft Accelerator

We met Mukund Mohan during “Reverse Pitch” in Delhi and seeing his passion and love for startups it was obvious that we had to meet the man in Bangalore.

One email, two phone calls and four tweets later we were at the Microsoft Accelerator in Bangalore. And we must lay emphasis on just how much we loved the energy in the space.

We knew a few startups by virtue of our association with the blogging and the design community but hearing stories and seeing the remaining batch in action was altogether a different ball game.

3. The Bangalorean Attitude

The Bangalorean attitude, a type of human behaviour where people who are genetically tech savvy get around to build products only for the love it and leave the distractions like the sale and marketing behind.

The attitude was contagious and we are happy to say that some of that did rub off onto us. Expect more of “new & improved” products from Sparklin build just for the love of them.

Bonus

“The Train Journey”

Unfortunately sending people to jail for no reason is not allowed. So we did the next best alternative, packed the entire team on a marathon 40 hours journey from Bangalore to Delhi.

Want to check compatibility between team members in a startup? Check.

Want to see how techies fare without internet connection? Check.

Want real conversations to happen? Check.

And we are happy to say all of us enjoyed the journey as a team and in the process just got to know each other a little better. What are we doing after reaching Delhi? Getting things into action and obviously drawing up battle plans for our next journey altogether :D

Pixelonomics

Weekend Pixel Vol 06

“Weekend Pixel” is a weekly round up of the best design posts from the dark alleys of the internet. Everything from design thinking to innovation is shared and discussed here.

Futuristic UI graphics to aesthetics of Game Art & Game Design, we have it all with “Weekend Pixel Volume 06”.

1. Futuristic UI

Tumblr – Visual Punker

A one of a type visual collection of the futuristic interfaces from classic 8 bit games to cyberpunk animes to Hollywood movies like Prometheus and Avengers. Will definitely get your head thinking about the future they represent.

2. 3D Printed Guns  (Documentary)

Youtube – Cody R Wilson

3D printing is the new fad. With ever decreasing costs, a future where printing replacement  tools and toys from the comforts of our home would be a reality. But what if people start using the technology to make their own guns? A look at the fast approaching reality.

3. Transitional Interfaces

Medium – Pasquale D’ Silva

Modern day interfaces are fluid. Period. And with that comes the challenge of designing for an interface where things are in motion and user interacts with them. Pasquale offers neat tips and tricks more making those experiences a pleasure.

4. Stack Exchange

UX Thread

One of best source for the community driven Q&A. The ongoing thread provides interesting discussions around challenges faced in UX in our day to day life and their potential solutions and workarounds.

5. The Aesthetics of Game Art and Game Design

Gamasutra – Chris Solarski

Games form a large part of our life. That hint of dopamine means that long hours are spent getting that perfect K.O.. A long form read into the the thought process and dynamics which go behind the art of game design.

6. The Beautiful Lost Art of Patent Drawings

Tested – Rachel Swaby

Patent lawsuits are fast becoming the bone of contention for the startup community. But not long ago filing patent was cool and the amount of work which went into the application process was a marvel in itself. A post down the lane of the art of patent drawings.

Pixelonomics

Weekend Pixel Vol 05

“Weekend Pixel” is a weekly round up of the best design posts from the dark alleys of the internet. Everything from design thinking to innovation is shared and discussed here.

From the online courses on creativity to breaking down the usability of the progress bar on Google Plus, we bring you “Weekend Pixel Volume 05”.

1. A Crash Course on Creativity

Stanford University – Tina Seelig

From the author of popular books like ‘What I Wish I Knew When I Was 20’ & inGenius, comes a massive open online course by Stanford Professor Tina Seelig in the field she knows best “Creativity”.

2. What Aspiring Designers Need to Know About Strategy

Frog Design – David Sherwin

In the modern day role where the designer dons many hats and provides the clients a wide assortments of services. Strategy is often misused and confused. The post clears the hype and helps clear the concepts in black and white.

3. Home: Facebook’s Bold New Vision for Social Smartphones

Fast CoDesign – Kyle Vanhemert

The long awaited Facebook phone turned out to a be “skin” for select Android devices. By creating a layer over the phone’s interface, Facebook has ingrained their reach to areas not possible via apps.

4. Gestural, Wearable, Neural – the new pillars of Interaction Design

Desktop Mag – Nev Fordyce

The job description of a digital designer is constantly evolving and with the rise of a new phase in the field of interaction. Designers have come up with interesting approaches in the gestural, wearable and neural field to create immersive experiences.

5. Redesigning the Save Symbol. Let’s do this

Branch – PJ Onori

An interesting discussion thread on the possibility of having an alternate symbol to denote the “save” state in a number of modern day technologies. Looking at the history of how symbols come about and what could work in the case of save.

6. The Google Plus Progress Bar Analysed

Kera.io – Taige Zhang

An in depth and a thorough look at the Google Plus’ progress bar. Analysing the key features and how it improves the experience for the end user.

Pixelonomics