How dramatic?

1. Client Demand: In the past 2 weeks I have had 3 clients request iOS (iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch) apps and even more request mobile versions of web and micro-sites. That’s right, request, not something we were pitching. We’ve pitched iOS apps before, but a client has never specifically requested one (keep in mind we are not primarily a business-to-consumer agency). To be clear, they’re not just requesting simple HTML5 based apps, but true gesture driven, direct manipulation-designed, Objective-C apps. Previously iOS projects came up maybe once a month, and even then rarely became a reality in StudioNorth’s B-to-B client sphere. Here’s a graph showing the approximate growth curve.



2. Driver Shift: As I mentioned in my earlier post, the entire technology industry has shifted due to mobile. To understand this point go back and read the last part of my post, here’s an excerpt:
   

   The entire technology industry has already shifted right under our very noses. How? The enterprise used to drive the technology industry. People used what IT gave them. IT locked things down to keep the company, and the employees, safe and secure. Now things are different. The consumer is driving technology, not the enterprise. Now the market share swap between AAPL and MSFT makes all the sense in the world.

3. Advanced Software: Autodesk Inc. recently announced that it’s bring AutoCAD® WS to iOS. While this is impressive, even more impressive is what’s going on with 3D and gaming. Epic Games Inc. just released an iOS version if their Unreal 3 Engine. This is, no pun intended, epic. The Unreal Engine is a fully baked real-time 3D engine that can, and will, be used for massive multiplayer online gaming systems. Epic has already released tools for developer to create environments. This is a testament to what’s possible now, and a predictor of what is to come. These devices are personal, intimate, windows into new, uncharted, even uncreated lands. Literally. You can read more about it on Epic’s site, but here’s an except to give you an idea:
   

   “This is a testament to the sheer power of iOS devices as up until now, Unreal Engine 3 has typically been used to create high-end gaming experiences on game consoles and computers,” said Epic Games President Dr. Michael Capps. “And we’re not just keeping it to ourselves. We’re putting Unreal Engine 3 technology into the hands of game developers all over the world, and we can’t wait to see the apps they make next.”

   A small team of Epic’s programmers, artists and testers created “Epic Citadel” in just eight weeks of development time. Unreal Engine 3 is scalable yet packed with the same tools hundreds of thousands of users work with to create games, simulations and animated content.

4. Seven Mass Media: Mobile has the potential to reach anybody through ANY MEDIUM. Mobile can, and is, doing everything that all forms of earlier mass media can do. The previous six are, in order of inception: Print, Recording, Cinema, Radio, Television, and the Internet. In addition to the abilities of these six, mobile has its own unique attributes:
   

   Mobile is the first personal mass media
   Mobile is permanently carried
   Mobile is always-on
   Mobile has a built-in payment mechanism
   Mobile is available at the point of creative inspiration
   Mobile has the most accurate audience measurement
   Mobile captures the social context of media consumption
   Mobile allows augmented reality to be used in media

   Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_mass_media

So, forget about clinging to the past, things are changing more now than ever before. Forget what you knew about what was possible before and start thinking about hyper-local, social, interaction design, and the cloud all in a mobile framework. Don’t say there’s nothing new under the sun, because this is all new. It’s everything that’s old…plus. In my book, that spells new.

Andy leads the interactive offerings and staff engineers at StudioNorth. He consults with clients on strategic technology direction and personally oversees the key phases of the iterative development cycle for many large technology projects. Whether for public web sites, private extranets, or custom applications, Andy uses his rich experience to provide results-driven solutions to our clients. He’s known for being a visionary and for coining the phrase, “conservative wow” in reference to StudioNorth’s ability to create high-impact projects for some of our more conventional audiences. If you want to bring your brand beyond “2.0″, Andy is your connection.

Want to track Andy a little closer? You can follow him on Twitter.

Recently there have been many impressive web sites created with Papervision 3D. Some of these sites are not only used for 3D aesthetic purposes but also used as interactive pieces. One such site is: Absolut’s, “In An Absolut World” http://www.absolut.com/iaaw/. This site features interactive 3D cubes that may be stacked on top of each other to form different shapes. They may be grabbed with the mouse and thrown around on screen. They may be rotated and spun in different directions, where the speed changes depending on the speed at which the users’ mouse moves. It is a impressive site to play with, however it does have its pitfalls. One of its pitfalls is the camera movement and viewpoint. When looking around the site the camera follows the movements of the mouse which makes the user experience less enjoyable. It feels and seems somewhat awkward and annoying when you want to look at the cubes at a certain angle but you simply can’t, the camera moves and changes the view.

However, a 3D web interface which has excellent camera control is, “The Eco Zoo” http://ecodazoo.com/. The user may control the camera by grabbing inside the viewport and moving the mouse in any direction which in turn allows the camera great flexibility in its movements. Not only does this site have excellent camera control but the interface is very robust, it incorporates both 2D and 3D navigation formats. The main navigation is a cardboard 3D tree with characters making their home on or in it which may be interacted with or they may be selected via a 2D menu at the top of the screen. The interface was created very intuitively and makes navigation to the characters’ specific pop-up books very simple. “The Eco Zoo” is not only an excellent example of a 3D web interface, but is also educational and it handles some current problems with these types of interfaces very effectively.

Current problems with 3D interfaces deter users away from them for the following reasons: They don’t really use the third dimension in a way that is useful or convenient, computer resources demand is high, and displaying large amounts of data may become overwhelming. These may seem like significant problems with 3D interfaces but they may be worked out solved effectively. One site which has worked out a way to display large amounts of information in an intuitive 3D web interface is MSNBC’s “Spectra visual newsreader” http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24207533/. “Spectra” has been able to effectively meld a 2D web interface with a 3D web interface to make it much more useful, entertaining and aesthetically pleasing experience to the user.

In order to make 3D interfaces more useful and convenient we first need to develop simple applications and interactive environments which are intuitive to users. Despite everything we can do today with 3D interfaces we are more than likely able to accomplish the same things with 2D interfaces. However the 3D interfaces are much more entertaining and engaging to users. Such is the case with the White Voids web site: http://www.whitevoid.com/application. White Void could have created their site in a 2D space but decided to go 3D because of the spacial and aesthetic value 3D offered. Use of a 3D interface for their site made the user experience exponentially more enjoyable. It also separated them from the norm and made them nationally recognized and known through out the design world for creating one of the best 3D web interfaces.

However, many people are accustomed to a 2D desktop because that is what we see and use on a day to day basis. We place items on our desks and remember where they are using spatial memory. When we do this in a third dimension we also do the same thing, in both ways we are using spatial memory. Both 2D and 3D interfaces require certain amounts of persistence in that when you put something down you expect it to remain there till you get back to it. Persistence will also be required of the user; the user will need to be patient in order to develop efficient usage patterns, the interfaces themselves will need to entertain in order to maintain the user’s interest.

3D interfaces are mainly used for entertainment purposes such as video games or for presenting data which is naturally three dimensional, (CAD, Architecture, etc.) However we are slowly creating 3D web interfaces which are not only aesthetically pleasing and intuitive but are useful 3D web interfaces. Creating a third dimension on the web maintains a user’s interest, provides entertainment value and creates an intuitive experience. When a user picks up a wrench to tighten a bolt with the mouse or interacts with 3D folders in a tree structure they are becoming more accustomed to interacting with a 3D environment. Intuitive interactive 3D environments will pave the path for 3D interfaces. The more we expose ourselves to 3D elements on the web the easier it will be to implement 3D interfaces in an intuitive, entertaining and useful application. The World Wide Web is going in the direction of 3D web interfaces and we may only hope to take steps in the right direction to ensure its success.

Greg Peczkowicz

Greg is an Interface Engineer at StudioNorth. He designs and develops highly complex and usable Web applications for all ranges of StudioNorth’s clientèle. When Greg isn’t programming ActionScript or creating smooth exponentially eased tweens you can find him snowboarding in Wisconsin or kayaking on the Des Plaines river.

Not a website? What does that even mean? You can classify www.studionorth.com revision 5 as two things, and neither of them count as “website” in my book. First and foremost, it’s an environment. It’s built on a true 3D engine. It’s defined and exists in an x, y, and z Cartesian coordinate system. It has a moving camera and lights. You don’t just go to www.studionorth.com, you go into www.studionorth.com.

Second this is a web application. It runs inside a virtual machine (Flash 9). It has both heavy client and heavy server components. Things like the Brand Focus Calculator run almost exclusivly inside the client and do all their processing there. They share data and processing with the server only when necessary for longer persistence or data storage.

Yeah, this isn’t a website. This is something different. This is something breakthrough.

-Andy

Andy leads the interactive offerings and staff engineers at StudioNorth. He consults with clients on strategic technology direction and personally oversees the key phases of the iterative development cycle for many large technology projects. Whether for public web sites, private extranets, or custom applications, Andy uses his rich experience to provide results-driven solutions to our clients. He’s known for being a visionary and for coining the phrase, “conservative wow” in reference to StudioNorth’s ability to create high-impact projects for some of our more conventional audiences. If you want to bring your brand beyond “2.0″, Andy is your connection.

Want to track Andy a little closer? You can follow him on Twitter.