Tight

New app: Drops Førstehjelp

Fri, 11 May 2012 17:52:00 +0200

This is our attempt at making the ideal app for first aid training on the go. Quick enough to be used in an emergency, yet thorough enough to be taken seriously by medical professionals. To achieve this, we divided the instructions into three levels of depth:

Brief summaries, for when every second counts
Step-by-step videos, showing you exactly what to do and how to do it
Lengthy text/image instructions – for a complete instruction

The project was initiated by Ann-Kristin Johansen and her company Dynamisk Helse. She hired us to design & build the app, and Helmet for the videos & vfx. All of us worked closely together to create the concept, which we’re really proud of.

Drops Førstehjelp is available for $1.99 in the App Store.

Check out all the photos from behind the scenes over at our Facebook page.

Pollenvarsel – now with push notifications

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 23:36:00 +0100

As the new pollen season comes along, so does a new version of our app. We worked together with the guys in NAAF to take it further, and this year’s new feature is push notifications. Now you’ll get notified whenever the forecast looks grim in the area you choose. We also did some minor UI tweaks by adding a custom tab bar, as well as changing up the settings to make room for the push feature.

You won’t be able to update the old one, so you’ll have to get the new one for 0.99$ in the App Store. The old version will continue to work for those of you who have it installed though.

Available in the App Store. Cheers!

Quora highlights

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 19:58:32 +0100

We’ve put together some of our Quora favourites on Kontribit – the social interest network made by our friends in Lemonade and Funkbit.

Nearbite in the wild

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:17:00 +0100

Over the past seven months, we’ve spent as much time as we could on our upcoming app Nearbite. We’ve sketched wireframes, coded the backend, designed graphics, programmed the app, built an admin interface, shot a promo film and refined the concept along the way.

Even though there’s a long way to go, we’ve finally been able to put the alpha version in the hands of some friends. It’s being used in Oslo as we speak, and nothing gets us more excited. We even found an awesome pizza place using the app.

Another Nearbite shoot

Sat, 12 Nov 2011 22:42:00 +0100

We didn’t get the chance to shoot the opening scene for our Nearbite promo the last time, and needed another go before the winter.

The camera is supposed to be the eyes of Embla (the actor) using the app, which turned out to be quite a challenge. In order not to be crushed as the camera tilted midway through the scene, she had to pull off a crazy limbo move just as things started moving.

We did however nail it, and were enjoying our new jobs as leaf decorator and focus puller. There’s still a heavy round of post production left, so no need to bring out the popcorn just yet.

VG Tech

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 23:58:00 +0100

VG is Norway’s most visited website, and has a development team with a lot on their minds. We were asked to help them express this, by designing and developing their blog — VG Tech. So we dived eagerly into the task.

Despite being our initial thought, we quickly agreed on steering away from the clean sci-fi look. This is a gang that’s out there every day and gets their hands dirty, and we wanted the blog to reflect just that. The design we landed on is therefore a tactile, textured site with a touch of the early days of computing. Field notes rather than glowy blue elements. We also made a logo, as well as icons for different categories to complete the package.

The VG Tech team tackles challenges on a broad range of platforms, so it was important for us to craft a proper experience on mobile devices as well. The blog is therefore fully responsive.

It recently went live, so be sure to check it out.

First steps towards a Nearbite promo

Thu, 06 Oct 2011 19:57:00 +0200

Between client projects, we spend as much time as possible on our own app called Nearbite. It’s a simple and personal approach to finding great places to eat, and we really think we’re onto something amazing here.

When the time comes, we want to show what the app is all about in the best way possible. We reached out to the fine folks in Helmet to help us make a promo. They went all-in, came up with an awesome concept, packed their gear and drove to Oslo to shoot the first scenes with us. We wanted to feature restaurants that we love ourselves, and Villa Paradiso was an obvious choice with its fantastic pizza, location and atmosphere. After five hours, six wasted pizzas and seven melted desserts, we were able to get our precious seconds on tape.

We were supposed to shoot another scene outside in the lovely autumn of Oslo, but the weather didn’t play along. So we went underground instead, and got some nice footage from the metro station in Nydalen.

Helmet will be doing more scenes in the coming weeks, and we’ll continue working towards the private beta. We don’t want to promise anything in terms of a release date, but will definitely show you stuff as we’re progressing.

Movin' on up to the east side

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 23:50:00 +0200

We’re changing scenery these days, and will be sharing a new office with our friends in Bakken & Bæck. Located at the top of lovely Grünerløkka it is closer to the things we love the most in Oslo, so we can’t be more excited. Reducing our chances of being Robbed & Raped™ is an added bonus.

We’ll put up some more pics when we’ve emptied Tobias’ car.

Nearbite in the making

Sat, 09 Jul 2011 12:54:00 +0200

So yeah, Nearbite is happening folks.

For those who didn’t guess it already: it’s an iPhone app guiding you to the best eating experience nearby. If you’re keen on beta testing it, send a mail to beta@nearbite.me or give us a shout at twitter.

(Anders, you’re slacking off on Spotify for the whole world to see -G) (Gjermund, are you sure you wanna play this game? -A)

Productive summer exile

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 10:04:00 +0200

We are holed up at Opera for two weeks, participating in the hackathon StartupSummer. There’s 25 lovely peeps here, and we’re excited to see what each team brings to the table.

As for our product, be sure to sign up and get notified when we’re shipping.

Our new and improved Pollenvarsel

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 11:54:00 +0200

Today we’re happy to release a major update for our app Pollenvarsel (Pollen Alert). Among the changes is a new map feature, a revamped UI and a new owner.

The Norwegian Asthma and Allergy Association acquired the application from us a few months ago, but decided to keep us in the loop with further development. This gave us the opportunity to refine the app further, and we will continue to do so even though the app is at a point where it does its job very effectively.

Will it remain free? Probably not. Gathering the data requires two full time scientists counting pollen samples from all over the country, manually through a microscope. So it will most likely cost a small amount starting next year.

We hope you like the updated app as much as we do, and we look forward to reveal our next creation when we’re comfortable releasing it into the wild.

Images doesn’t do it justice, get it at the App Store now.

Type rendering modes in Chrome

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 14:47:00 +0200

Google Chrome seems to have two type rendering modes on Windows, and also a CSS-trick to toggle between the two. Apply text-shadow with rgba and an alpha .99 or less, and it’ll render your text more smoothly and generally less buggish. Tends to fuck up the smallest font-sizes though, so be aware…

EDIT: With the latest update of Chrome, this bug/feature seems to be gone. Stick to OS X if you want your fonts rendered smoothly.

How to tell HTML from HTML5

Sun, 13 Mar 2011 01:37:00 +0100

Try it out on Internet Explorer.
Did it work?
No?
It’s HTML5.

— Kent Brewster at SXSW11

"We considered border-radius back then, but I thought it looked way too 70s"

Wed, 02 Feb 2011 11:17:00 +0100

“We considered border-radius back then, but I thought it looked way too 70s”

- Håkon Wium Lie, about the birth of CSS

Photoshop tip: RGB blending using gamma 1

Wed, 02 Feb 2011 10:53:00 +0100

If you haven’t already, make sure to enable Blend RGB Colors Using Gamma and set the value to 1.00 in Photoshop. This is found under Color Settings > More Options > Advanced Controls.

There are loads of articles explaining linear workflow online, but in short: do this to avoid the grimness shown in the example below:

Thanks to Alex for being nazi on this one.

Custom stamp in da hizzouse

Fri, 21 Jan 2011 11:15:00 +0100

Come by and get our custom Gowalla stamp.

Pro tip: fastest Google Doc in the west

Sat, 15 Jan 2011 19:59:00 +0100

Concerned citizen: Is there a fast way to create a new Google Doc?
Dept. of Tightness: Calm down sir. Type docs.google.com/?action=new into your browser, or use our shortened version: tg.ht/new

Introducing Tight

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 00:12:00 +0100

Today we’re thrilled to announce our new studio: Tight Interactive.

We first met as freelancers on a project for Plan Norway in 2009, and have been collaborating ever since. Long did we think about making the alliance formal, and now’s the time.

We’re setting out to create glorious interfaces, with a special focus on apps for iPhone and iPad. Divensis & Bitshift will continue to exist and do their own thing, but we hope to be doing most of our work within Tight.

Our portfolio will launch when it’s ready. Until then, check back here at the blog or come by our office.

All the best,

Gjermund & Anders