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Makemedia will be exhibiting at ITEC on 22-24th May 2013. You can visit us on the Presagis stand as we will once again be partnering with the software company. We will be showing work from our latest projects in the construction and defence industries so visit us and find out what we can do for you!
To arrange a meeting with Makemedia at ITEC 2013 call us on 0845 017 8777 or email info@makemedia.com.
We are currently looking to fill a number of production management positions. Please do get in touch if you are looking for a new challenge, or perhaps you know someone else who is?
Makemedia are a buzzing and hard working company that offer:
Digital Project Manager (full time/permanent)
Strong organisational skills, good web project background and high level of attention to detail. Able to manage clients and coordinate team members to deliver projects. Agile experience preferred.
3D Project Manager (6 months full time/contract with option to permanent role)
Strong organisational skills, varied project background desirable (web, digital, games), plus good administration skills.
Please send your CV and a covering letter to jobs@makemedia.com
However, if you are an agency please DO NOT get in touch!
2012 was an exciting year for Makemedia in Australia, with the launch of the Building Leadership Simulation Center featuring our simulation work in Melbourne and with Makemedia winning the Presagis Best Visualisation Award for the project.
In March Makemedia were asked to represent the UK at the launch of the GREAT Britain campaign in Melbourne, meeting many dignitaries and racing legends at the event, not to mention signing a new contract with VM Technologies.
Makemedia strike a deal at Melbourne launch of GREAT Britain campaign! Left to right: Paul Madden the British High Commissioner to Australia, Alderman David Wootton the Lord Mayor of London, Robin Scott MD of Makemedia, Julie Weatherhead of VM Technologies and Hugh Robertson MP the British Minister of Sport and Olympics
In fact, we liked it so much in Australia that we have now launched Makemedia Australia in Sydney and are looking forward to doing a lot more business there in 2013.
Are you interested in what Makemedia Australia can do for you? Email us on info@makemedia.com now to arrange a meeting with our team.
The HTML5 specification encompasses all manner of exciting web technologies, but these can appear intimidating to those deciphering the benefits without technical knowledge. A great starting point for those taking their first steps happens to be the most familiar aspect of the spec: markup.
HTML has been around for some time (published specifications first appeared in 1995), and refers to the simple tags used to give structure and meaning to content on the web. Paragraphs surrounded in <p> tags, a list in a <ul> and so on – all familiar to anyone publishing on the web since the last century. HTML5 adds a host of useful new tags, allowing for even more meaningful markup around your lovely content.
So why is markup a great place to get started with HTML5? Firstly, support is excellent across the browser landscape, and even older browsers can be encouraged to behave like their newer cousins. The new or revised HTML tags bring enhanced definition, offering your content extra semantic goodness.
Whereas more generic structural elements such as the age-old <div> gave little indication of the content encased, a host of new elements allow for more thoughtful page structure. Even previously tricky customers like audio and video with their endless formats and embed codes benefit from simplified, standardised markup in the HTML5 spec.
Added semantics are useful for content consumers (search engines, screen readers, or even humans), but have development benefits too. The more meaningful, readable nesting of HTML5 markup can afford more ‘hooks’ for developers to harness without adding extra weight to their code.
Leaner code can reduce loading times, another boon in an era where speed is paramount, particularly for devices where connection speed can be limited. Functionality such as form validation can now be handled through HTML alone where additional server-side scripts may have been previously required.
At Makemedia we’ve been using HTML5 markup for nearly 18 months, including some of our largest projects. Although not as ground-breaking as some of the more attention-grabbing aspects of HTML5 (Graphics, Online, File Access) the new markup is reliably supported by all modern browsers. Where support is lacking, there are a number of widely used techniques to force older browsers to play nicely.
The learning curve for the new markup is relatively shallow. There’s no shortage of great resources to check you’re doing things properly, and these have been hugely helpful while the Makemedia team have been familiarising ourselves with the how best to apply the new markup.
We’re now well practised at developing with HTML5 markup at Makemedia, and we’re not alone in using the new elements in the wild. By September 2011, 34 of Alexa’s top 100 websites were already using the new tags, a statistic which now includes the likes of Apple and Microsoft.
We’re just touching the surface of HTML5 here; Javascript API’s, offline storage, and 3D animation all offer exciting development prospects we can start using today. But as a first step to embracing HTML5, understanding and implementing the new markup is an important starting point.
If you would like to know more about what Makemedia can bring to your web project call us now 0845 017 8777 or email info@makemedia.com.
Over 80 people from a variety of backgrounds gathered in Brighton to share knowledge and professional methods on a wide-range of subjects related to User Experience Design (UXD). Some of the topics covered included:
Grid Scramble at UX Camp Brighton 2012
The sessions were of a really high standard with a multitude of practical takeaways that can be applied in our day-today work. Coverage of the sessions can be found on the event page and attendee comments have be really positive.
Three of our Makemedia folks each held well received and jam-packed sessions:
Expect to see these talks and slide decks up on the Makemedia website shortly.
In addition to providing the framework for learning and networking, the event also raised a good sum of money for local Brighton charity Spark and Mettle, thanks to the generosity of the attendees.
The next event is planned for December 2013.
Interested in how our in house UX expertise could work for you to create efficient targeted results? Get in touch by calling 0845 017 8777 or by emailing info@makemedia.com.
You might have missed the recent IGNITION: Future of Digital Conference in New York but slides from the BI Intelligence team (a new research and analysis service focused on mobile computing and the internet) are online here.
However, if you don’t have time to read through the whole slide deck, we’ve picked out our top 10 slides of interest, especially for publishers.
Until we get our Google specs…
Positive for publishers selling online ad space.
Bad news for any publishers who lack a strong digital strategy.
We can expect a lot more growth in mobile markets.
Mobile users are shopping online.
Trust in mobile devices is growing.
A massive opportunity for publishers to create an online community around content.
Now that’s what we want to hear!
Are you taking advantage of this opportunity?
Mobile is the growing market.
Thanks to the BI Intelligence team for this presentation and you can see the whole slide deck here.
Want to talk mobile strategy or about building engaged online communities? Get in touch by calling 0845 017 8777 or by emailing info@makemedia.com.
Sign up to the Makemedia newsletter here.
The Master Builder Association of Victoria’s Building Leadership Simulation Centre, aka BLSC (built in conjunction with Schrijver Project Management), was conceived using both digital and real life aspects to create the most realistic and effective database, created using Presagis Creator and Vega Prime. This means that trainees are immersed in a familiar physical environment, with portacabins, accurate documents, live phone lines, construction equipment and actors, and can also explore realistic 3D simulations of different types of building sites at varying stages of completion.
This training experience is tailored for building site managers from international construction companies. Makemedia provided detailed 3D content and hardware setup for the project.
From the award-winning Makemedia simulation for training building site managers.
BLSC General Manager Marc Lyon said,
“The Building Leadership Simulation Centre will revolutionise the way training is delivered across the construction industry. Utilising state-of-the-art simulation technology, the facility will help building companies enhance workplace safety, improve construction quality and reduce project costs.
Makemedia helped turn our vision for this groundbreaking facility into a reality. Their skills and professionalism have helped us reach a quantum leap in training now and for years to come.”
Makemedia Director Nick Wood said, “We are proud to be showcasing UK talent across the world and it is of great satisfaction to myself and the team to be recognized for our innovative simulation projects.”
The Award is given to the client or partner whose application provides a high degree of realism and performance. To be eligible, the application must be deployable as an independent application. Additional criteria for evaluation include the scope of both the application and its configuration.
Want to talk about innovative 3D training projects for your company? Please do get in touch by calling 0845 017 8777 or by emailing info@makemedia.com.
For those working in the digital media industry, the value of ensuring a product is useful, usable, intuitable and satisfying for it’s users is a given. However, achieving this is not always easy and can require a wide-range of practical knowledge from many disciplines and expertise of a variety of methods and practices.
UX Camp’s are one of the best ways to gain this understanding. They are all about sharing learnings, tips, tricks and best-practice with your peers in a supportive, collaborative environment. The breadth of subjects covered is amazing, with 50 talks to choose from in one-day! And with most sessions being practically-focussed, there are takeaways that you can use immediately in your work. You don’t need to have a UX or IA in your job title to benefit – if you work in the digital media, you’ll find plenty to apply to your day job.
The event will be held on Saturday 8th December 2012, from 9.45am to 5pm, at the Cogapp offices (21-33 Dyke Road, Brighton, BN1 3FE).
It is free to attend and the second batch of tickets will be released on the Eventbrite page on Friday 15 November 2012 at 12:30.
More information is available on the UX Camp Brighton website and on the UX Camp Brighton Lanyrd page.
The BBC has recently relaunched its news offering for mobile users, directing the majority of smartphone users to a dedicated mobile-optimised website. This is a smart move with so many of their visitors now arriving via portable devices:
“In an average week, 13.3m users worldwide use their mobile or tablet to visit the BBC News site and apps – around one-third of total users to BBC News Online.”
We have noticed the same trend in our own website visits with an increase of 64% from mobile visits year on year – with this in mind, we’re in the process of a responsive redesign which will go live in 2013.
It’s worth noting that the BBC news mobile website is not responsive, rather an adaptive design which enhances the mobile experience depending on the capabilities of the user’s device. The BBC team chose this route of progressive enhancement in response to the vast range of browsers used to browse the site:
“We have ~80 significant browsers / operating system combinations regularly using our application across the globe and a long tail of hundreds more… So this is the conundrum of our project from a technical perspective. How do we continue to support the vast number of older and less capable devices while delivering to our brief of creating a world class news experience tailored to smart phones and larger resolutions?” BBC Responsive News Blog
The BBC built a simplified website that would work for the lowest common denominator (IE6), and then add layers of improvement depending on the device used. By identifying the browser, it’s level of feature support and connection speed, the BBC then service enhancements to the UI complexity based on the detected capabilities.
Adaptive design techniques are often used in conjunction with Responsive Web Design. Whereas Responsive websites adjust layout based on viewport size, applying the progressive enhancement ethos of adaptive design brings an extra layer of optimisation based on device capability. Those who can’t benefit from the extra enhancement are still delivered a good baseline experience for their device. The video below shows how the responsive design of the Infrastructure Journal Online website works to deliver optimised navigation and layout depending on the user’s screen size.
Responsive websites are designed to be device agnostic and can save on development costs (as this is one build as opposed to building multiple Apps for devices) and can communicate a cohesive design no matter what device they are accessed from, therefore providing a better experience for users and more value to subscribers.
However, projects such as this should be judged on a case by case basis; truly understanding all aspects of a business and their targeted audience could mean you oversee an alternative – and potentially more appropriate – solution. Although demand for app development as a mobile solution has been extremely popular, it is an example of a technology which may not be appropriate in all cases. Responsive web design allows organisations to cover a greater user base by using technology most modern devices understand, although web technologies cannot utilise all of the hardware on some smartphones and tablets like a native app. Whether web or native is appropriate for you will depend on your businesses audience and goals.
Businesses with an online presence should be aware of competitors who are beginning to offer a better web-based mobile experience using Responsive Web Design. Where a business relies heavily on website visitors as a source of revenue (either through selling services and products, data collection or advertising to them) an un-optimised experience risks users jumping ship for better mobile options with competitors.
In conclusion we are seeing more and more big players relaunch their websites responsively, either as a whole or in parts as a staggered rebuild. To do so is to meet the needs of your mobile users, increase your ability to generate revenue from those users and set yourself ahead of the competition.
If you would like to learn more about the Infrastructure Online project or how Makemedia can help you with you mobile strategy or large scale website build please do get in touch by calling 0845 017 8777 or by emailing info@makemedia.com.
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Allister Frost implores us to “Make Marketing Noble!”
(If you want to understand what Makemedia do you can check out our creative digital projects here)
Firstly, a big thank you to the organisers of both events; I feel very lucky to live in a town that holds a month long digital festival. It’s particularly useful to hear from and meet other marketeers, especially if, like me, you work in a small or one-person marketing team. It’s a chance to bang heads and discover some new tips and vantage points that will benefit your own marketing strategy. I would recommend BDMF for all round marketeers looking to build up knowledge across new areas. BrightonSEO is more specialist, although they do invite speakers from other areas of expertise such as UX and even linguistics (e.g. Lynne Murphy, who was particularly amusing). It didn’t seem quite as controversial as previous years (reference: angry blog 2011) but there was a whopping turnout of attendees (circa 1500).
If you want to listen to all the talks you can expect to see them up on the websites soon. In the meantime, here are my top takeaways from the events.
It takes guts to get up in front of a room full of people and present your ideas and the speakers are brave to do so. However, spending 40 minutes slapping your listeners in the face with how great your company is instead of speaking about something that will inform and benefit them will bore and annoy your audience. Instead, focus on providing information that is of value to listeners, whilst reflecting your expertise. It will be obvious from this that you would be a knowledgeable supplier.
Thanks to Berian Reed (Berian Reed’s presentation slides) for these tips. Copy and paste is still the top way data is shared. You can use TYNT for automatic link attribution when users copy and paste from your site.
You can also use this Google Analytics filter to see full links in your list of referral sites. Perhaps these sites will be more open to partnerships as they are already linking to you?
Mobile mobile mobile! Yes, it’s the “year of the mobile” (again).
Alex Meisl wisely advises to consider you mobile audience not the mobile device, therefore avoiding jumping on the App bandwagon. Aleyda Solis advises a mobile first design, which has the added benefit that what you end up with on your screen is cut down to the most essential information.
The Makemedia mobile website is in the making presently so keep your eyes peeled for a future launch.
Mobile specialist Alex had some interesting points to consider regarding what aspects of mobile marketing are more substantial.
Allister Frost talked about how product reviews with photos are considered more trustworthy – and even more so if a description of the person is included. Research tends to show that reviews and personal recommendations enjoy a high level of trust from consumers.
Marc Munier advised that when you use images of people in your marketing they should be looking at the thing you want your audience to look at – your great offer, call to action, etc.
Nikki Rae reminds us to ensure you have the correct time zone selected in both your Google Analytics and Adwords accounts for accurate reporting (edit profile settings to do so).
Setting up a group on LinkedIn is effective but a lot of hard work so instead you can target PPC campaigns on the site to those groups – James Faulkner has seen returns here.
James also reminded us to include links in PPC ads that will allow users to call directly from mobile phones and tablets.
Dave Trott gave us all something to think about with his talk on “Predatory Thinking.” In a saturated market 90% of ads fail (probably more). Using the example of asking Mrs Trott for a cup of tea, effort is being exerted like this:
Dave Trott’s triangle illustration of where energy is often allocated by advertisers.
Often, the majority of effort goes into persuading. However, if you make no impact then no-one will notice the ad anyway. Communication is still important because if you don’t start the conversation there will be no opportunity to persuade. Therefore, we need to turn the triangle on it’s head as getting noticed is the most important step.
Dave Trott’s triangle illustration of where energy SHOULD be allocated by advertisers.
There’s a good blog on Dave Trott’s talk in the Silicon Beach Training blog.
Dave also told us that the brain picks out what is different so you need to make your ad →stand out← to be remembered.
On the other hand, Allister showed us how you can use this theory to trick the brain. Product listings are often similarly designed to look the same (see below). The consumer will generally go for the mid-price option thinking this is the best option.
Deja vu design
Simon Penson explained that when scheduling content strategy you should utilise peaks and troughs. So you can use regular items – serialised content, top 5s, quick tips, etc. – and then less often you will have your “big bang” content – such as your press and TV campaigns.
Stephanie Troth asked us to focus on one question:
“Do you want to evoke an emotional reaction or a rational act?”
You will be designing your marketing differently depending on this. Your product or the essence of your brand will define which one you’re going for.
Small surprises can really lift our mood! Small gifts, things we didn’t expect, even working out a puzzle in an advertisement or logo – it’s the little things that matter. Allister used the arrow in the FedEx logo as an example:
The Fed Ex logo is an example of a hidden visual puzzle and also a visual signal of what they do – getting something from somewhere to somewhere else.
So that’s my top tips. Please do add to the comments if there are any particular tips that you would like to add and if this article was useful to you please share.
Otherwise, check out our work to see what Makemedia do!