Redesign BBC.co.uk

BBC just launched a campaign where they let users redesign BBC.co.uk and submit it to their site. The focus of the new site is web 2.0 (Explanation to web 2.0). We arent talking about a redesign as in a pure "visual" nature but totally as in rethinking the functionality and the focus. Some inspiration could be Flickr, Youtube, Technorati and Wikipedia. We are looking towards a site where the users not only read news, but where they engage in a totally different way.

This was just a matter of time and it doesnt surprise me that BBC takes the lead infront of other channels. I'm interesting in seeing how much time and effort people actually will invest in this. Anyway, it's a great idea from BBC. A true step toward web 2.0.
Go on and redesign BBC.

 

The awards ceremony of the 49th World Press Photo contest.

Yesterday (Sunday the 23rd of April), me and some of my colleagues spent our evening in the Oude Kerk here in Amsterdam to have a look at the World Press Photo awards ceremony. 63 photographers of 26 nationalities recieved awards in 10 different categories.

On the agenda there was (in no particular order):
- Speech from Ruud Lubbers (Current Minister of state and former prime minister in the Netherlands)
More info about Ruud Lubbers on Wikipedia

- Singing by Nynke Laverman (Famous dutch singer that translates poems to her local language, Fries)
Visit Nynke Lavermans site

- An animation made by the motion agency CCCP that presented all the categories.
CCCPs portfolio

- Speech by the managing director of World Press Photo, Michiel Munneke

- Speech from the chairman executive board World Press Photo, Gerrit Jan Wolffensperger More info

- Live interviews by a reporter from the dutch Volkskrant with three different photographers. Visit De Volkskrants website

The categories
The different categories for the awards where nature, daily life, portraits, contemporary issues, sports action, sports features, arts and entertainment, general news, spot news and people in the news. Each category was also divided into two sections, the first one was story, where the photographer told a story by a series of photo and the second category was single.

Photo of the year (!)
The photo of the year was won by the canadian photographer Finbarr O'Reilly, who shoots for Reuters. He won for his shot of a mother and child at a feeding center in Tahoua, Niger. Finnbarr O'Reilly will recieve a cash prize of 10.000 Euro and Canon will also donate him a Canon 1ds MkII.

View the winning photo

You can view all the winning photographies here

Post-ceremony
After the awards ceremony, all the winning shots will go around the world in an exhibition. Check the World Press Photo site for the the dates and locations

 

Crack the Da Vinci Code and win!

Fancy winning a two week trip around the world, taking in London, Paris, Rome and New York?

Step this way! Get yourself to Sony Ericsson's The Da Vinci Code Trail campaign site and prove yourself worthy of such a prize.

Yes! It's another Media Catalyst production for our good friends at Sony Ericsson. This time we've made the interactive parts of an integrated, global campaign, which launched on 15th April and is now live in 22 languages.

What's it all about?
Here's how it works: the competition mixes online and real life challenges. First of all, users are drawn to the site via a mixture of rich media banners, advertising and point of sale promotions (check out the seamless on/ offline integration). Once there, they are faced with a series of puzzles, which they have to solve as fast as possible before registering their score to qualify for the real life contest in Paris. There, sixteen finalists from five continents go head-to-head to solve a number of brainteasers during a treasure hunt-style competition that takes them all over the city… after which one winner will emerge to claim the prize - "the ultimate Da Vinci Code trip".

Because the online games are pretty tough, and because the competition to get to Paris will be pretty fierce, we thought it would be nice to give participants a prize even if they don’t qualify. Exclusive mobile phone content is made available for them to download from the Fun & downloads part of the Sony Ericsson website as a reward for completing the online phase of the competition. N.B. These downloads will not be available until May 19th.

Here's a few pics of the work in progress:

The creative process behind the site
The creative team made all the games on the website from scratch, so as to provide a real challenge to the competitors. These aren't just reskinned engines of games you've already played, or things you can solve by accident - you'll actually have to think in order to make your way through all the puzzles. The site keeps tabs on your performance by timing how long it takes you to complete the challenges: the total overall time is your final score... and you're free, not to say welcome, to do the whole thing again to improve your time and increase your chances of being selected for the real life contest in Paris.

The sequence of games follows the way the original story unravels, so you start in the Grande Gallerie of the Louvre, trying to decipher a code written on the parquet floor. From there you have to search for keys, then get into a high-security bank, open a cryptic device... and so on.

I really like the feeling of the site - I think the designers pretty much nailed the look and feel of the games, matching the overall Da Vinci Code aesthetic pretty much exactly. We built it using Flash 8, which allowed us to do the fancy lighting effects without overloading users' CPUs. It also gave the designers the chance to (over)indulge their long-held affection for lens-flare. You should have seen their eyes light up! (Pun intended).

Give it a try - let us know how you get on
Get in there! Sony Ericsson's The Da Vinci Code Trail is online now!

...as are some other quest/ puzzle based games - e.g. the Google Da Vinci Code quest, which features some really nifty integration with Google video/ homepage to keep users coming back for more day after day. Very nice.

I'd be interested to hear your comments about your reactions to any/ all of the above. Did you like the games? How do you rate the overall experience of the Sony Ericsson competition, compared to the Google one? Did you manage not to get killed by an albino monk? etc.

UPDATE:
The Sony Ericsson Da Vinci Code Trail is Site of the Day on The Favourinte Website Awards today (05.05.06)
And it was also Site of the Day on yesterday's E-Creative Best Web Sites of the Year list (04.05.06).

ANOTHER UPDATE:
Woo and also yay - Adobe have picked The Sony Ericsson Da Vinci Code Trail as their Site of the Day for May 13th.

 

We have an opening for a Senior Designer

You are a ridiculously talented, professional designer who loves the web.

People are consistently amazed by your instinctive ability to create magnetically engaging digital work that exceeds your clients’ expectations.

Your Photoshop chops are matched only by your uncanny knack of bringing out the best in the people you work with.

Inspired? (Read more...)

 

Are you a Middleweight designer? Would you like a job?

A rising star in digital design who’s hungry for a challenge.

You’re driven by the need to bring your dreams to life, and undaunted by the commercial realities of working to a brief.

Your work rate makes people wonder if you ever sleep. Also, you have great shoes.

Inspired? (Read more...)

 

Seeking a Senior Project Manager

You’ll get it done.

Because you expect a crisis. Because you know the budget will be tested. And because you can predict you’ll have to do a little sweet talking, with all due respect.

The larger the scale, the more complex the structure, the more dynamic you become. And they love you for it.

Inspired? (Read more...)

 

Senior Flash Developer, looking for a challenge?

You are a leader in groundbreaking interactive design.
Your exhaustive vision is as powerful as your meticulous skill. Your codes are as well-programmed as your own DNA.

And you are just as capable when pushing our creative teams to produce pioneering new media.

Inspired? (Read more...)

 

Currently looking for a Senior Account Manager

Contact and communication are your greatest assets.

You know how to listen to clients, interpreting their needs… but are not afraid to offer candid advice when necessary. You are skilled at translating new media concepts into understandable terms.

And you can maximize the value of clients’ investments, paving the way for new growth opportunities.

Inspired? (Read more...)

 

Business Analysts, we want you!

You are all eyes and ears when it comes to identifying new business opportunities for all parties involved. You are representative of clients, assuring their needs are correctly translated in structure, functionality and design.

And you have an envious talent for defining exactly what others can not express.

Inspired? (Read more...)

 

Seen the new Sony Ericsson website?

Over the past couple of weeks we Catalysts have been very proud to see the fruits of our labour go live, in the shape of these new designs for the Sony Ericsson global websites.

There's a new global homepage, a new global corporate site, new local country homepages - and a new, integrated campaign zone within local country sites. There's also a new Member area within the Fun & downloads zone.

As you can see, the new pages are more attractive than the previous versions. Colour, movement, energy, and a lighter, more open feel has been brought to the whole site. We even redid the top navigation for good measure.
It's not all about pretty pictures and increased screen resolution - although moving from 800x600 up to 1024x768 was an important part of the redesign - no indeed: we also sorted out the information architecture to simplify user flow through the site, especially at the global level.
These releases are the latest work to come our of our longstanding strategic digital marketing relationship with Sony Ericsson. Watch this space for a new campaign site... coming soon.
Go check em out and let us know what you think.

 

Creative Capital

Amsterdam may be the first city in the world to have its own creativity exchange – the ACX, where ideas are the currency.

With the motto ‘ideas breed ideas’, the newly formed ACX hopes to inspire creative bling-bling by bringing creatives and entrepreneurs together onto a trading floor for ideas - an initiative inspired by the same city that claims to have invented the first stock exchange and lent the name ‘Wall Street’ to the fomer New Amsterdam now known as NYC. Who knows, old Amsterdam may soon be written on the maps as the new ‘Creative Capital’ of Europe.

I found this an inspiring thought… enough to send out a call to my colleagues, asking them: ‘If creativity were a currency, what would it look like’.

Antonio was kind enough to send his rendition of this Creative Capital:

These conterfeit bills were drawn by hand, from memory, by prison inmates.

Keywords: ACX,creativity,currency,creatives,Amsterdam,exchange,trading,floor

 

The 2005 Technology Brand Scorecard

The research giants Forrester have made a research about the top technology brands in the year 2005. They have gathered input from consumers on 48 consumer brands, including 22 that produce consumer electronics. These where then ranked in two different dimension; the growth of the brand and the thrustworthyness towards consumers.

If we have a look at the outcome, the fact that Apple has high trust from consumers isn't something new. But the fact that Bose (the hifi company) are in the top was quite a surprise. It's interesting that Bose marketing themselves as a high-end (but yet not audiophile) brand is working towards the consumers.
Most of the PC manufacturers are cluttered together in both dimensions, something that isn't very surprising. But the fact that HP almost has the same thrustworthyness as Sony is quite interesting. I guess that Sony's DRM missteps have been a part of this.
The only PC manufacturer that peaks out is Dell, which shows that their separation from the other brands has been successful.