Sign of true problem solving

I came across this on Twitter and wanted to share this invention for two important reasons, the first is; it's a brilliant idea. (Yes it's still in development and needs certain things to be ironed out but it's still a great idea especially an idea that has come from students so young. Both Thomas Pryor and Navid Azodi are undergraduate students at the University of Washington (UW) studying Aeronautical & Astronautical Engineering and Business Administration, (Bet that looks good on your CV :) The two met in their freshman year and connected over a shared interest in invention and problem solving. The invention idea came from a personal experience of Navid's. During the first seven years of his life, he used non-verbal communication. Notice their interest in 'invention and problem solving' this gets onto my next important point; how can we in our multi-million pound industry of ‘digital transformation’ or ‘digital marketing’ or ‘engaging content’ whatever we decide to call it, try to replicate that sediment when in reality the work that is been produced is such pointless, worthless crap?

Rob Campbell a spanner for anyone outside the East End it's Cockney slang for Planner. Anyway Rob at W&K wrote a brilliant blog piece last week canning the industry for producing dumb ideas such gems as the ‘smart peg’ worth a read for me this was bang on. And the reason why? The big problem with our industry is we aren’t problem solvers anymore we are just confused. (The industry is changing at such a rapid rate we are desperate to find a meaning on what we and our brands are about). There was a small few but now we have heaps of people who think they are really solving problems, they think they are super clever but in reality they are so wrapped up in their little bubble, they are blinded to the fact they are producing utter bollocks. It’s not and repeat not ‘digital transforming’ (By the way there’s another phrase that has surfaced that’s adding to the bullshit) I do honestly believe it hurts our business and screws a brand and a company’s reputation as most people in the real world just think; WTF. A casing point last week I read that some company ‘invented’ an umbrella that tells you when it is about to rain. Please just stop and just fuck right off. Really? I read it thinking it was a joke but sadly it wasn’t. Now just push the creative pause button. Let’s stop what we are doing and look at ideas like SignCloud and celebrate that people are out there really trying to change and transform people’s lives, we as an industry have so many smart people it’s time for us to channel it and produce work on a par with SignCloud – the bar has been risen, and for many in our industry they won’t be able to compete and keep pace in innovative thinking. The others can so make a difference and seek them out and create brilliant ideas.

The future of shopping is now

Innovation and creativity all under one house

Lovely piece here from HAKUHODO Kettle Tokyo, in the fact they took a simple obvious idea for moving house and did something completely left-field - a very sweet and powerful eco-social experiment. Tapping into something that people care about and turned it on its head. With the behind the scene builds which puts it all into context this makes for a very watchable piece of content, that's so good on all fronts. Hat tip. I wish I done.

Clever Interaction in one easy swipe

Good morning beautiful people, Don't worry about the rain - people either run from getting wet or there's people who feel the rain - anyway this was very interesting; interesting in that yet again online meets offline - neat simple idea - that harnessing something that is as old as Keith Richards - the pin badge - what is also interesting my 16 yr old daughter sent me the link from Kickstarter - times are changing - this generation will be the next marketing directors, CEO's CCO etc. They don't see digital and an offline experience - they just see an experience - enjoy your day and think positive creative thoughts https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pinscollective/pins-collective

Breakfast hacks for the kids

Here's a cute little social content idea - We asked ourselves; 'Are our Tip & Sip bowls the ultimate breakfast invention?' We asked Dominic Wilcox a wacky inventor to put it to the test and asked him to create even more fun ways to get the kids to eat their breakfast #BreakfastHacks - with my little troop going back to school today - I reckon the cranehead is the one in my household.

Google Mobile in parts

Still beta phase but here is what Google have been up to regarding developing what they call Project Ara, custom build almost like a lego kit the mobile you want

Sounds A Great Idea

As a lover of old school Soul and with my love of vinyl and tech, by the way my record boxes and old school stack system is still out in display in my living room. (My kids still aren't quite sure what it is).So when I came across this idea, I must admit I did break into a bit of a two step across my living room floor. By harnessing conductive printed onto the vinyl cover, when tapped you can play a percussion sound. The ink responds to touch, interrupting a circuit that connects to a sound system. Sounds a great idea.

An invention that has left me speechless

Sorry for the pun but this really did leave me speechless and here's why; the inventor is 16 years of age!! and here's what he did; Arsh Shah Dilbagi from India developed a micro controller which turns your breath into speech - now that is bloody amazing, here's how it works. Using a basic $25 Arduino microcontroller as the core of the device, a special microphone called MEMS Microphone converts the breathing pattern into electrical signals. This technology uses a pressure-sensitive diaphragm etched directly onto a silicon microchip, and an amplifying device to increase the sound of the user’s breath. The user gives distinguishable exhales that vary in length and intensity and this can then be translated using Morse code into speech or other commands. Microprocessors compute the electrical signals and convert them into speech, with the device currently offering 9 different voices.

“After testing the final design with myself and friends and family, I was able to arrange a meeting with the Head of Neurology at Sir Ganga Ram Hospital, New Delhi and tested TALK (under supervision of doctor and in controlled environment) with a person suffering from SEM and Parkinson’s Disease,” Dilbagi explained. “The person was able to give two distinguishable signals using his breath and the device worked perfectly.” As I said earlier; speechless.

Sticker Beacons - Welcome to Nearables

I came across a company called Estimote,with a great offering, not only is this very functional but the design is just delightful. I love this. Here's how it works; they are tiny adhesive beacons that can be attached to any surface to help unconnected objects interact with smartphones. Smart. Despite their thin shape, each Estimote sticker contains an accelerometer and temperature sensors, as well as a processor and bluetooth connector. If an item is picked up, extra information from the price or user reviews can be automatically pushed to the customer's phone. Estimote is calling its stickers 'nearables' (I like that. They provide similar benefits to wearables without having to be attached to the user, and offer more information about the immediate environment. The Estimote stickers Developer Preview Kit can now be pre-ordered from the company's website To me this is great concept where tech connects to a much greater experience, great connected thinking. A 'very good' sticker goes to Estimote, top of the class in tech for you matey.

Beautiful Me - well maybe

What a beauty? No no not me this little beauty called BeauitfulMe, quite simply it taps into all the buzz around people's desire to discover more on their health and wellbeing. With this little app you almost feel you have your very own dermatologist or beautician to tell you how to take control of your skin issues everything from what colours and types of make-up to wear for your skin tone. The app can scan up to 500 photos from your Facebook profile and can analyze a ton of information from your face, skin tone, skin type. The interface is very user friendly too, very neat and useful for when you need to take those selfies.

Teachers Pet

Well well, look who's teacher's pet SapientNitro's end of year report - great effort from the whole team within the offices, till next year.

See the future of TV now.

Here's a whole new TV viewing experience, I know you've seen this in all those Hollywood films, but this is a reality now, it takes watching TV to whole new level. TV isn't dead it just evolved into something that I find bloody amazing.