OUGD504 Studio Brief 04 - Study Task 12 - Augmented Design Critical Questions

The potential of interactivity in print is a subject that I believe is much closer to its conception than it is to it's end, if it will ever end. The progression of digital interactivity with print has developed with the development of technology, the two grow together. The introduction of QR Codes and their appropriation to be used alongside smartphones is still to be classed as a recent development, the introduction of augmented reality apps such as layar is an even more recent development. The future potential of print interactivity is dependent on future technology, how much easier it is possible to make this interactivity and dependent on how questionable the ethics of source users such as advertisers are willing to attempt. The growing questioning of true privacy, using the recent U2 album invasion onto Iphones may impact the development of interactivity, advertisers using methods to force themselves upon a specific audience may be the future, the interactivity with a printed or digital subject may become non consensual.

http://www.wired.com/2014/09/apples-devious-u2-album-giveaway-even-worse-spam/

How much easier can the task flow of interaction really become, in a current context, I believe it to be incredibly easy, a simple app and photo may be the smallest that is needed, I struggle to see how this can become easier while still staying in the consensual mind of the audience.

A seamless link between the exposure to the target audience and the desired call to action is what I believe to be the aim of any interactivity, an efficient method of promotion that considers the conceptual and practical elements of the subject through form and function; Making advertising enjoyable, easier and creating a positive brand perception.

The benefits of augmented design described above can be tainted; the fine line between these positives and the negatives of such a method such as overexposure, too much pressure on a user and debatable privacy issues need to be considered and avoided.

Can augmented design help to draw people to your website. I believe so, talking subjectively as I have participated in advertising campaigns both using augmentation and simple analogue methods, I believe augmentation within advertising has the ability to attract an audience. Augmented design adds depth to a campaign, the interaction can be enjoyable, it can add a sense of personality as well as improving the perception of a brand, as a user can feel involved and open up to the commonly cold world of advertising. I believe it can help draw an audience yes but there are exceptions, augmentation is not for every campaign, some campaigns are not suitable and would in fact benefit from excluding interaction.

 A message, idea or concept is to be communicated through an advertisement, it can harm the campaign if the inclusion of augmented design is not necessary, making the advert more complicated than it needs to be. Function is to be considered primarily, if the function is met effectively without augmentation, then there is no need. I need to consider this, is it appropriate to include such an element; I believe so, my website is about contemporary graphic design, the progression and experimentation of graphic design at this current time, the growing inclusion of augmented design is a part of graphic design, this correlation between the two is strong enough to justify the inclusion of an interactive element primarily. It is also to be used as tool to promote my website more efficiently, ethical, cultural and conceptual values are to be considered when choosing the form of these advertisements.

Gimmicky? Is the inclusion of interactive elements in advertisements simply a gimmick or are they effective?

As previously mentioned, I myself have interacted with augmented advertisements, I wouldn't have interacted with the same advertisement if there wasn't such an element. Augmentation takes the effort away for a user, instead of remembering a website until you have the time to find it online, it's much easier to take a photo of a QR code or tap your phone against a bus stop, as lazy as it sounds, from my own experience, taking away the minor link between exposure and the call to action is incredibly effective, the difference between interaction and dismissing.

There is only one thing in life worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about. - Oscar Wilde

In relation to the gimmickry and the quote above, if a user interacts with an augmented element simply for the fun or interest, is this not still a success?

Referring to my target audience and the product/ service I am promoting I am to determine what kind of interactivity would be the most effective.

OUGD504 Studio Brief 04 - Study Task 11 - Rationale

Draft notes:

Rationale - Studio Brief 4 - Augmented design - 3/12/14

Currently not started on development of brief

Purpose/ Reason: To promote and attract traffic to my website.

Audience: 18 - x Creative students and professionals

Message: Promoting and showcasing visual rebellion in Graphic Design. Embracing rebellion and rejecting modernist principles. Creating links with professionals through links and showcasing their works.

Tone Of Voice: Informal, non- derogative, Objective not subjective.

Format:?

Materials:?

Budget:?

Placement/ Distribution: In universites, creative atmospheres, Social Media interaction. Design related publications.

Must do’s: All promotional material must communicate visual rebellion. 

Must not: Contradict the content of the website with design.

Time frame: 5 weeks until module deadline. 3/11/14

Rationale written:

The purpose of creating a print based, augmented design advertisement is to promote and attract traffic to my website. A website focused on showcasing and promoting designers of ‘visual rebellion’ in Graphic Design, embracing rebellion and rejecting modernist principles. 

The target audience of the website is fairly wide; creatives, both professional and student. To communicate best to this target market, I believe the best placement and distribution of advertisements would be in creative atmospheres, such as universities, events, shops and design related publications. The tone of voice this audience will best respond to is, I believe, an informal, non- derogative, objective manner; denying any hierarchy within the design community.

I must create all artwork for the advertisement in the theme of the website itself; visual rebellion. If I do not do this, all legitimacy is lost. 

I must not come across as an attempt to state selected examples as the ‘best of’ etc, this is a curation of visual rebellion, I am being objective as in, only featuring the work, not giving my own opinion to works.

In relation to format, material and budget, I am unsure as of any of these yet I am in the very early stages of the brief. As of yet I cannot see any clear distinction of these choices that directly relates to my website; for example: a website about beer could use the format of related items such as beer mats, glasses and any other pub related items.

OUGD504 Studio Brief 04 - Study Task 10 - Advertising Considerations

Advertising Considerations

The creative community, artists, designers and the cultural interested are the primary target audience of this website, we need to appeal to this market essentially to attract any kind of audience to the website.  

Male and Female creatives and professionals aged from 16.

 Promoting the brand to this target audience will be done through several effective methods; both digital and print.

An informal tone of voice has developed organically as we are not selling anything, we do not need to try and sell a lifestyle to an unsuspecting number.  We do not need to attract every Tom, Dick and Harry, Tom, Dick and Harry probably won’t be interested and that’s just fine.

We have a specialised audience and this results in us being in a rather peculiar bracket, the target audience is more than likely to find us before we find them. When have you ever seen an advertisement for your favourite blog, I presume you found it of your own accord. This predicament means we have to find the link that binds our audience to our website, the places our target audience are visiting with the intention of being led elsewhere, blogs, online galleries, forums and other creative pursuits.

This is a non – profit website, it is for the creative community, a honest place where the sole intention is showcase and document the contemporary.

A focus on digital is going to best relate to the content of the page however printed matter could be more effective in creating attention and publicity, especially if the printed material is interacted with and then shared on social media. Printed matter is more enjoyable to interact with than digital media;

I believe the content of the website would not be justified by a regular advertising method, how can a website focusing on contemporary graphic design, progression and experimentation within the field be communicated fully through regular print, yes regular print would work but I believe there is scope for the ideology of the content to inform the form of these advertisements. A simple printed poster for example can be developed into a sculpture, an interactive piece, as part of a larger piece, an installation.

Placement of these printed materials in areas where we have a large traffic of this target audience has been considered, starting with the University itself. 

IT IS THE PLACEMENT OF MY ADVERTISEMENTS THAT IS GOING TO DECIDE THE EFFECTIVENESS.

Galleries, Universities, Exhibitions,  book shops, Design/ art/ culture publications and lifestyle stores are going to inhabit the majority of my target market in which I can place printed material.

The placement of other printed material such as flyers, posters and video advertisements are going to be close to pointless as I presume the Reach/Target audience is going to be very weak if the placement is not considered.

Graphic design, art/ culture blogs and online creative stores are going to inhabit the majority of digital target market. 

The placement of other digital material such as adshels, billboards and video advertisements are going to be close to pointless as I presume the Reach/Target audience is going to be very weak.

I would also like to explore more irregular forms of advertising, this being a contemporary affair, how about contemporary methods such as augmented design, embracing new methods of framing as well as guerrilla marketing.

It is vital for us to create and maintain a worldwide creative audience, to create and grow a digital following to build visitor numbers. Keeping followers updated with showcased work, galleries and interviews will help sustain and build a following.

OUGD504 Studio Brief 04 - Augmented Design - Research

This Carlsberg advertisement is efficient as it attracts a user to use the paper the advertisement is printed on to interact with their product, however it can't be assured the user doesn't open another branded beer but the idea is there.

Creating some sense of a semi - virtual reality by imitating the view of a travelling rear view mirror. They are trying to sell the idea of being faster than the next man, being alpha on the road.

Not an advertisement but an exploration of the limits of augmented design, a gallery is created showcasing QR codes, these QR codes are links to artworks. This interaction between reality and the digital world seems to be a sign of the growing acceptance of the merging of the two realities.

Creating the possibility to view something in one reality that in another is non existent, creating a 3d render of a product in a live video. This can be used to imitate a product prototype, images and architecture.

Peugot's advertisement over 3 pages includes a minute airbag, the advert asks a user to deploy the airbag by hitting the page, imitating a crash. This creates a sense of theatre for the user as well as rememberability, however the commercial considerations dampen this method. I can believe this to be an expensive operation, manufacture, transport and the hours needed to create such an advert question how effective this really is.

Incorporating the use of magnets to imitate the cleaning power of the product. The magnet sits behind the paper as iron filings imitate dirt, a user is invited to 'clean' the shirt.

Originally designed for industrial uses, QR codes have become common in consumer advertising. Typically, a smartphone is used as a QR code scanner, displaying the code and converting it to some useful form (such as a standard URL for a website, thereby obviating the need for a user to type it into a web browser).

QR Codes can be used as large as billboards!

Guinness making use of their unique selling point, this means the advert can't promote other brands, unlike the carlsberg advert I looked at previously.

QR codes create interest as they can't be understood, they create a sense of mystery.

The QR code here is created in shadows, adding an extra layer of interest to the advert.

Welcome to interactive print, the imitation of moving image, text and effects. Layar makes it possible to bring printed material to life through a smartphone, the images and text of a spread act as a link to videos, animations and other effects on the users phone.

Adshels act as giant touch screen platforms when made interactive, a client can enable an audience to do anything possible with this technology, the use of cameras to add an added depth of immersion can also be used.

Adshels usually have this interactive element where a user can either tap their smartphone or use the QR code.

OUGD504 - Study Task 09 - Search engine optimisation SEO

SEO Optimisation


What is Search engine optimisation?

"SEO is the practice of improving and promoting a website in order to increase the number of visitors the site receives from search engines. There are many aspects to SEO, from the words on your page to the way other sites link to you on the web. Sometimes SEO is simply a matter of making sure your site is structured in a way that search engines understand.

Search Engine Optimization isn't just about building search-engine friendly websites. It's about making your site better for people too." - http://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-seo

" Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of affecting the visibility of a website or a web page in a search engine's "natural" or un-paid ("organic") search results. In general, the earlier (or higher ranked on the search results page), and more frequently a site appears in the search results list, the more visitors it will receive from the search engine's users. SEO may target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, video search, academic search,[1] news search and industry-specific vertical search engines.

As an Internet marketing strategy, SEO considers how search engines work, what people search for, the actual search terms or keywords typed into search engines and which search engines are preferred by their targeted audience. Optimizing a website may involve editing its content, HTML and associated coding to both increase its relevance to specific keywords and to remove barriers to the indexing activities of search engines. Promoting a site to increase the number of backlinks, or inbound links, is another SEO tactic.

The plural of the abbreviation SEO can also refer to "search engine optimizers", those who provide SEO services." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Search_engine_optimization

Presentation notes:

Search engines use algorithms to assess the suitability and ranking of websites based on search terms. 

Algorithm - 

In mathematics and computer science, an algorithm ( i/ˈælɡərɪðəm/ AL-gə-ri-dhəm) is a step-by-step procedure for calculations. Algorithms are used for calculation, data processing, and automated reasoning.

Algorithms differ for each engine and are constantly updated as the web develops and grows.

Search Engine Optimisation is a way of making alterations to websites according to the criteria that search engines use when ‘crawling’ web content.

Crawling (aka web spiders or automatic indexers) - 

For instance, Google is constantly sending out "spiders" and "bots" to discover which websites contain the most relevant information related to certain keywords.
As an example, let's say you have registered a domain name and have established a website. You could use the crawling of these spiders and bots to your advantage by having many links on websites with good reputations and related content to that of your own website. Google could then crawl these sites and find the links pointing to your website, and it would associate the content and reputation of that bigger website with your own.

‘Page Authority’ refers to how likely a web page will be ranked in a search based on SEO optimisation, internal linking and content relevance.

‘Domain Authority’ refers to how likely a domain will be ranked in a search based on age, popularity and size.

Notes from:

http://static.googleusercontent.com/media/www.google.co.uk/en/uk/webmasters/docs/search-engine-optimization-starter-guide.pdf

 Personal SEO:

Categorise content with labels to create "unique, accurate page titles", make the website "Easier to navigate" and  such as time period, institute and country of origin. 

Use descriptive keywords and headings to create "Better anchor text" and to "Use heading tags appropriately".

Use rel="nofollow" for links to designers portfolios and further information: