Last week, thanks to the good graces of one of my greatest friends (really, she’s more like a blonde sister), I attended Ted Salon at the Unicorn Theatre near London Bridge for Unseen Narratives, a TED storytelling event. I came ready with my own printed copy of the program, which opens with the following proposition: ’our bodies are made of atoms, but our lives are made of stories.’ Kristina and I are both shy writers. While each of us (and I speak for her here because we’re sort of kind of related) would claim to be writers by instinct, we’d equally admit that pressures exist which often make it difficult to tap into our own styles and write something. Anything. It’s appropriate, then, that she would encourage me to put on a decent dress, join the TED community for a night, and hear stories that might inspire me to write. If I could, I’d tell her to do the very same thing: listen up and put it on paper.

As you may expect, it was a night of inspiring stories, some of which spoke to the very things I treasure most. Filmmaker and co-founder of Film Club, Beeban Kidron described how film transforms young people, acting as a dynamic catalyst for confidence and reflection. Film is an underdog in education, because educators and parents — perhaps rightfully, due to a lack of  positive case studies — often doubt its ability to teach. Film club disputes this assumption; youth who participate emerge with new critical thinking skills, a new-found passion for the medium, and a level of engagement only film can draw from audeinces. She also spoke of the import role Vittorio de Sica’s Miracle in Milan has played in her life, having attended a screening of the film on her father’s birthday as a child. There were a few moments during her talk where I projected my own experiences onto her story, as if they were speaking to each other, with film at the core. I often joke that I was raised by movies, and spent my childhood dreaming of being an actress. I studied film history in college, and the work of the Italian neo-realists, de Sica in particular, moved me more than any other period, perhaps because we can still see their influence in film today. Is there anything better than a broody, Italian-cinematic take on social promises that never come to fruition? I would count  de Sica’s Umberto D. and Spike Lee’s Crooklyn as two films that changed my life. They beautifully address ordinary human journeys set against challenging and unequal social contexts. Umberto is denied the opprtunity to grow old in the way we would want our grandparents to, and the ‘magic of childhood’ is also a dark cloud for Troy. Truly, I have never loved two characters like I do Umberto and Troy. Benjamin Braddock is  a close third.

Tracy Chevalier spoke about why entering an art gallery should be like eating a meal at a restaurant (go with your gut and spend time with a few pieces), and Andy Puddicombe, a former monk and current meditation teacher, alerted us to the power of doing nothing. Amanda Renshaw took us through the challenge of building the World’s Greatest Art Museum, the most crucial hurdle being where to start and end when curating the largest ever collection of art. The evening ended with Pam Warhurst, one of the founders of Incredible Edible, an action-based programme that has helped turn the northern English town of Todmorden into an edible landscape and newly-empowered community. From transformed parks and gardens to urban agriculture education in schools, Todmorden is an example of living, breathing shared responsibility and, in Pam’s own words,  the ‘power of small actions.’ Pam got a standing ovation from the crown and a watery-eyed response from me because her extraordinary story, like all the speakers’ stories that night, is ongoing. Her sincere delivery and reassurance that strategy documents do far less than people organised around a shared goal echoed the aims of the aims of the evening, as stated by TED and frog design: to remind us that ‘stories help us relate to others.’ I can’t wait to visit Todmorden. And to write about it.

The exhibition included work by a variety of artists, photographers and experimenters all challenging the meaning of photography and cameras in the modern age. Curated around the notion that everyone is in their own way a photographer these days — whether they shoot a few quick snaps with their digital camera or post a series of photos from Instagram on social networks — the ability to effortlessly record moments in time is unlike it’s ever been.

My favourite pieces included (previously mentioned) Rob and Nick Carter who assembled over 100 diamonds in the shapes of constellations, and then captured the images by exposing the configurations to a single flash of light on light-sensitive paper.

Also noteworthy was the work of Turner Prize nominee, Steven Pippin whose response to the phenomenon of the everyday photographer was to fire a gun straight at the lens of a vintage camera, and to capture the moment before the camera is destroyed. The result is an eerie depiction of somewhere between inside and outside the camera, a photograph and a void.

Lastly, the brilliant works of Chris Bucklow were on display. Somewhat lost in the digital version, these vibrant pieces from his “Guest” series were made by drawing a life size silhouette on a sheet of aluminum foil which is then penetrated with thousands of pinholes that act as the camera’s lens. Using a homemade camera, the artist then exposed the work on photographic paper using direct sunlight, resulting in an ethereal and ephemeral portrait.

The exhibition is on at the Fine Arts Society until the 26th of May and is definitely worth a visit.

Drawing on the behaviour, priorities and motivations of 48,000 people across 58 countries, Mobile Life is the largest study into mobile usage. It develops recommendations on activating business and marketing strategy via mobile.

To visualize this we devised an interactive map-based solution using colour to represent potential usage of apps and features on mobiles, supported by simple iconography and infographics to convey the global depth and breadth of the report.

Visitors to the site will get an overview of potential future users of mobile around the world and can uncover more by comparing countries and discovering key facts.

Make sure you check out the animation we created to complement and promote the study.

I’ve developed a reputation as somewhat of an irrational Beyoncé fan here at Digit. Perhaps because I have a knack for connecting my work as a Strategist to the bronzer-and-stiletto halo (pun intended) that surrounds the Beyoncé brand. For instance, I recently argued that the parameters of what we’ve come to know as ‘All-American’ now include the likes of Knowles herself. A departure from the white, middle class norm of old, but not entirely inclusive (more on that after a pint). To add hairspray to the way I might come across, I’d add that there are definite learnings Gen Y feminists and self-esteem slashing brands alike can glean from how women in particular consume and interpret Beyoncé. Take this: when asked for his thoughts on the Beyoncé Effect, my fellow Strategist, Tom Barnes answered, ‘yeah, girls love her. If she walked into the room I’d be intimidated.’ Always on the money, Tom alerted me to something I hadn’t thought about enough: there is real ideological and consumer power in my fandom (*insert Pinterest). Of course, the sentiment is not universal among women, but one thing is for sure — something Beyoncé-related is blogged, tweeted, ‘liked’  and disliked online, from a mobile, tablet or computer, somewhere in the world every minute of the day.

Beyoncé’s new tumblr, created by Designed Memory, has cemented her place as the PR envy of many celebrities. Regarded as fiercely private and secretly shy (this is integral to how she performs her identity), the star’s global website was recently relaunched, along with this genius piece of work — seemingly antithetical portrayals of a private person’s life. When it comes to her image, Beyoncé appears to have full control. Pregnant? Announce it on your own terms while millions of people are watching in real time. Just gave birth? Upload a few pictures of your baby days after she’s born, asking your fans to respect your privacy. Not a peep more from a gossip magazine or a renegade tweeter was thereafter echoed. And as Gawker recently pointed out, not a squeal or finger wag of disapproval at the fact that what we see via tumBleyoncé (see what I did there?) is, mostly, an extended stream of a star’s jaw dropping wealth.

What Beyoncé and her team teach us — and what they can teach brands — is that acting tactfully upfront protects you from external distortions of your narrative. ‘Privacy’ has to be very well managed, and social media can enable that. It is not an inherent threat. Tumblr was the perfect platform for Beyoncé:  fans can view content, reblog it, export it to other networks, and comment until glitter and YSL bodysuits pour from the sky. They can own the content, and each image is continuously reproduced and reused. Why go anywhere else to see intimate pictures of Beyoncé when the most reliable and engaging source is the singer herself? Sounds simple, but it’s not common. Arguably, only a star of that stature can create Beyoncé Digital. But that’s a question of scale rather than strategic tact, something this brand seems to have in leaps and bounds.

The internet is aglow with praise and analysis. For how long? Who knows. But right now, Beyoncé Knowles, who has tweeted only once, is the queen of social media.

*PS: all pictures = courtesy of Beyoncé. For more on tumblrs that matter see, well, Solange.

The real show, for me, began in the third act when dancers clad in costumes by fashion designer Gareth Pugh (who was  once a ballet dancer himself) appeared behind a gauzy screen, illuminated by glowing side lights, creating an ethereal, almost halo effect as they moved from one side of the stage to another. The screen then rose to reveal an on-stage band that remained at the back for the duration of the show starring Mark Ronson on the bass guitar who was then joined by an all star cast of singers, rappers and musicians including Boy George, Hero Fisher, Alison Mosshart, Jonathan Pierce, Andrew Wyatt, and Black Cobain. The combination of the sometimes understated (and sometimes not) costumes, upbeat, more melodic live music and fabulously graphic lighting was the perfect match and made for a modern, pop culture inspired performance.

This picture was taken from the window of our meeting room at 6 Corbett Place four hours after the concrete you see was awash — almost beyond recognition — with young people waving their phones at a group of skaters I could barely make out from the fifth floor. The room overlooks the Old Truman Brewery, just off Brick Lane in East London.

It was 20 degrees in London yesterday and it’s been warm every day this week, which means the Brewery courtyard has been a crop circle of tech and design types eating sophisticated pork sandwiches and drinking Red Stripe in the sun. But yesterday was different. Twenty minutes before our lunch break (and in the middle of a brainstorm) wafts of adolescent screams made their way up through our meeting room window with undulating intensity until we reluctantly, although without protest, got up to gawk at the circus unfolding below.

Not techies. But Teenagers. Lots of them. Male and female. In black Supreme hats and grey hoodies, queing outside a pop-up shop labelled, ‘OF Sweatshop.’ Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All had descended on Tower Hamlets, making use of the space you can barely see on the right hand side of the picture to sell items from their new clothing line.

Music journalists, critics and fans have written at length about OFWGKTA, and the group has encountered their share of controversy, despite the hysteria they seem to ignite wherever they go. I was excited, too; less for the store opening than for the genuine elation unfolding below which, at certain points, required restraint from security guards in white button up shirts. To me, OFWGKTA are a group American writers, producers and performers who release consistently imaginative, bold music collectively and individually, managing to sound like nothing else I’ve ever heard. Could I do without the violent lyrics? Without a doubt. And I am always willing to have that conversation, as long as it doesn’t seep into a larger more structural condemnation of people who look and sound like Odd Future as inherently menacing and dangerous. Sadly, it often does.

I first came across MellowHype through a friend before hearing about another wildly talented member of ‘the same crew’ who was of part-South African heritage. And then there was Yonkers. And Syd. And the BMW on the cover of Frank Ocean’s nostalgia, ULTRA. Beyond the music itself, I value the entrepreneurial ethos that underscores what they do, and the polished sound (as of late) which nevertheless maintains the meticulous anxiety of home production.

As a music lover with a Social Science chip on her shoulder, I couldn’t help but connect the crowd I saw to a larger context where tertiary education is increasingly unaffordable; where social institutions that seemed a biological and cultural given not so long ago appear less and less relevant to youth; where London is still digesting the threat of underage crowds; and where boardrooms have waning appeal as spaces for building careers next to more glamorous forums touting Ideas Worth Spreading. So despite the noise, I was somewhat comforted by the frenzy of fans waiting to see Odd Future, because it was a case of young people gathered to cheer on their peers. I saw it as a microcosm of the world around us, which I find hopeful in its volatility. Perhaps because I don’t think youth are as materially-driven and disengaged as their elders tend to believe.

Whether the fans were there to get a picture, soak in a breath of Odd Future’s good fortune, see the group break something, or to simply pick up some new gear was indistinguishable from where I stood. I might go in and have a look myself. When it’s less crowded.

Little Machines features raw posts written in the interest of investigating emerging technologies, and in Derrick’s own words, it documents the front line of Creative Technology. ‘It’s a door into the mind of or deepest, darkest geeky interests, and an insight into digit’s R&D projects as they are born.’ LM was asleep for a while, but our tech team recently resurected the blog as we’ve started to devote more time to R&D, an important part of Digit’s DNA.

Check in every now and then to see what Derrick and his team (namely, Alex Coulcher, Mike Naman and David Rosser) are up to.

(Image courtesy of Labortoire de Numa Dancause)

What we like most about them is their honesty and their simplicity. They generally accept us at our most sluggish or unfocused and try and work with us. Take Write or Die – a technological solution to writer’s block. If you procrastinate too long, an annoying bell starts to sound. If you procrastinate for much longer, then your work is literally deleted in front of your eyes. That’s a pretty clever way of making you write with a freedom and purpose you might normally lack.

Or Gym-Pact, a digital punishment box for skipping the gym where you essentially bet yourself that you’re going to go. A minimum of $5 a missed work-out is your punishment (direct debited straight out of your account) plus the added irritation that your lost wager is divvied up amongst the smug people that actually made it in.

We see a big trend emerging around the technology of motivation and plan on playing around with it some more as part of our ongoing R&D stream.. Noel Coward once said to his actors ‘If you must have motivation, think of your paycheck on Friday’. It’s tough to admit but sometimes the reason we want to achieve something in the first place isn’t enough to keep us going. With all the ambition in the world, sometimes we need to find our incentives a little closer to home.

We kicked off the morning by sharing our point of view on the potential great digital content has to truly transform the luxury world. While many luxury brands have now embraced the idea of creating content for online (big tick), they could go a lot further by making it an integral part of their business rather than a nice-to-have, fluffy add-on.

We provoked a debate around the table by introducing a series of ‘what ifs’ around how luxury brands could do more with interactive content. The first suggested that if brands can create quality, interactive content that is connected to the actual business it promotes, then it will transform the way brands promote and sell products.

We showed examples of brands that are already starting to do this, via transforming brand films into ecommerce platforms. The ASOS Urban Tour was one case study we discussed – a great concept, but one we think could have been executed better to really drive sales.

We also talked about how brands could transform physical locations into extensions of the online shopping environment and mentioned recent innovations from Net-a-Porter and Glamour magazine. Both brands have created interactive ‘shopping walls’ in public spaces which allow passers-by to shop from their mobiles and tablets. We also shared some of the more innovative apps that are cropping up in this area. One of the ones our breakfast experts were most interested in was Kaleidoscope, an app that allows users to shop via street-style images (like shopping directly from The Sartorialist).

Our second ‘what if’ asked if business could think about content as a way to embed themselves within the daily lives of their customers, could they then create new products, services, or revenue streams?

Examples we explored included Nike + and Nike Fuelband, ingenious innovations that have seen Nike embed itself into the everyday lives of runners. We also showed some clever inventions from Nokia that allow snowboarders to track their skills via their phones.

Our breakfast guests agreed that they could learn a lot from these technological innovations. If you can create services that your biggest fans will love, you can get more people spending time with your content and therefore your brand.

Our last ‘what if’ suggested that luxury businesses needed to think more like media owners, acting as though content was just another product they produce, and taking inspiration from the most prolific producers. We looked at Burberry as an example of a brand that is behaving like a media owner in terms of quantity of content. However, there was a heated debated around the table as to whether or not what they create is any good!

One thing everyone did agree on though, was our summary illustration below – that content needs to be considered an important part of every collection.

Thanks to everyone who came along on Friday, and watch this space for a proper write-up soon!

Originally created as a tool to teach the fundamentals of development with quick visual feedback, Processing has come a very long way in the last 10 years. Based on the Java language, it is now used and recognised a lot more professionally by artists and programmers for experimenting, prototyping and production. It is mainly known for its powerful graphics and openGL integration (in particular, generative graphics), but can also be used for sound manipulation, networking, hardware integration and much more. Processing projects normally build as applications / applets and as of recently include an option to export to Javascript, allowing scripts to be run in a browser on an HTML5 canvas element.

The 10 year anniversary event itself was a test of endurance. 50 minutes of stomach turning, rage-inducing code pr0n, boasting an incredible collection of videos. These featured work from infamous artists/codes/hackers, and showed just how powerful Processing can be.

Interim Camp

We’re big fans of generative landscapes, and Fields’ Interim Camp video was a brilliant example of it done in an amazing way. The video was like exploring a strange alien planet flying over fields of fluid-like moving vertices, rising and falling to create sweeping mountain ranges and deep valleys comprised of thousands of triangles, correlating to create a huge mesh of colour. To add to the the obscure journey we were on, a custom soundtrack was created producing an even more ethereal journey thought the vast, brightly coloured Class-Q planet. What’s even more amazing is that Field have used the technique in some commercial work for the likes of AOL.

More info on the process and concept here.

Catalina

Moullinex’s video for the song Catalina was also on show. This piece featured Kinnect data being used and re-worked to create amazing visuals. Using a depth point cloud received from a Kinnect, they use Processing to manipulate and clean up the data and then log it, frame by frame, to a file. Having read up on how they created the video, we was a little disappointed to find out that this is where Processing stopped and Cinema 4D carried on. Obviously the level of rendering that was achieved would of been a lot more complex and time consuming in Processing, however, we were at a Processing exhibit and we expected nothing but. (Maybe _some_ post editing). Anyway, the data was then used by a custom Python script. This then produced a huge network of interconnected nodes in 3d space, creating crazy, complex, wireframe looking people playing instruments and standing under umbrella’s. Some cool RGB channel separation and vector based rain made for a visual feast of blobs and lines.

A short how-to, Processing sketch and C4D Scripts are available on Moullinex’s Tumblr.

Audio and beat reaction No. 2 | Processing

Drawing API experiments with code has always been one of my favourite things to do in my spare time. As soon as we saw Diana Lange‘s Processing / audio experiment above we were blown away. The spirographical lines were positioned and rotated on beat detection, and FFT data which is loaded from the sound file. This is one of the prettiest sound visualisations we’ve seen since Robert Hodgin’s Magnetosphere. A visual treat for the eyes.