The next “killer app”. How many times have you heard this before? Well apparently, we have one more to add to that list and I sure hope that this one really hits that benchmark. Anyone that has read my previous posts over the past couple of years probably came across a couple I wrote about Drew Wilson of Pictos, Firerift, Yoggrt and Builditwith.me fame. Drew creates highly innovative web applications with a fantastic eye for interaction design that feel incredibly intuitive and natural. This is what the evolution of web development is all about!

Drew Wilson is on to his next project and this one looks to be just as amazing as his previous ones. I’m going to leave it from here and allow Drew to explain it himself in this video he posted on Kickstarter about Dialoggs.

Shannon (the secretary) has lost her cat and has asked David (the graphic designer) to help with a lost poster. This is their email correspondence…

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 9.15am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Poster

Hi

I opened the screen door yesterday and my cat got out and has been missing since then so I was wondering if you are not to busy you could make a poster for me. It has to be A4 and I will photocopy it and put it around my suburb this afternoon.

This is the only photo of her I have she answers to the name Missy and is black and white and about 8 months old. missing on Harper street and my phone number.

Thanks Shan.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 9.26am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Poster

Dear Shannon,

That is shocking news. Luckily I was sitting down when I read your email and not half way up a ladder or tree. How are you holding up? I am surprised you managed to attend work at all what with thinking about Missy out there cold, frightened and alone… possibly lying on the side of the road, her back legs squashed by a vehicle, calling out “Shannon, where are you?”

Although I have two clients expecting completed work this afternoon, I will, of course, drop everything and do whatever it takes to facilitate the speedy return of Missy.

Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 9.37am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Poster

yeah ok thanks. I know you dont like cats but I am really worried about mine. I have to leave at 1pm today.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.17am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Poster

Dear Shannon,

I never said I don’t like cats. Once, having been invited to a party, I went clothes shopping beforehand and bought a pair of expensive G-Star boots. They were two sizes too small but I wanted them so badly I figured I could just wear them without socks and cut my toenails very short. As the party was only a few blocks from my place, I decided to walk. After the first block, I lost all feeling in my feet. Arriving at the party, I stumbled into a guy named Steven, spilling Malibu & coke onto his t-shirt, and he punched me. An hour or so after the incident, Steven sat down in a chair already occupied by a cat. The surprised cat clawed and snarled causing Steven to leap out of the chair, slip on a rug and strike his forehead onto the corner of a speaker; resulting in a two inch open gash. In its shock, the cat also defecated, leaving Steven with a foul stain down the back of his beige cargo pants. I liked that cat.

Attached poster as requested.

Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.24am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

yeah thats not what I was looking for at all. it looks like a movie and how come the photo of Missy is so small?

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.28am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

Dear Shannon,

It’s a design thing. The cat is lost in the negative space.

Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.33am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

Thats just stupid. Can you do it properly please? I am extremely emotional over this and was up all night in tears. you seem to think it is funny. Can you make the photo bigger please and fix the text and do it in colour please. Thanks.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.46am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

Dear Shannon,

Having worked with designers for a few years now, I would have assumed you understood, despite our vague suggestions otherwise, we do not welcome constructive criticism. I don’t come downstairs and tell you how to send text messages, log onto Facebook and look out of the window. I am willing to overlook this faux pas due to you no doubt being preoccupied with thoughts of Missy attempting to make her way home across busy intersections or being trapped in a drain as it slowly fills with water. I spent three days down a well once but that was just for fun.

I have amended and attached the poster as per your instructions.

Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 10.59am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

This is worse than the other one. can you make it so it shows the whole photo of Missy and delete the stupid text that says missing missy off it? I just want it to say Lost.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.14am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.21am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Poster

yeah can you do the poster or not? I just want a photo and the word lost and the telephone number and when and where she was lost and her name. Not like a movie poster or anything stupid. I have to leave early today. If it was your cat I would help you. Thanks.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.32am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Awww

Dear Shannon,

I don’t have a cat. I once agreed to look after a friend’s cat for a week but after he dropped it off at my apartment and explained the concept of kitty litter, I kept the cat in a closed cardboard box in the shed and forgot about it. If I wanted to feed something and clean faeces, I wouldn’t have put my mother in that home after her stroke. A week later, when my friend came to collect his cat, I pretended that I was not home and mailed the box to him. Apparently I failed to put enough stamps on the package and he had to collect it from the post office and pay eighteen dollars. He still goes on about that sometimes, people need to learn to let go.

I have attached the amended version of your poster as per your detailed instructions.

Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.47am
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Awww

Thats not my cat. where did you get that picture from? That cat is orange. I gave you a photo of my cat.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 11.58am
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Awww

I know, but that one is cute. As Missy has quite possibly met any one of several violent ends, it is possible you might get a better cat out of this. If anybody calls and says “I haven’t seen your orange cat but I did find a black and white one with its hind legs run over by a car, do you want it?” you can politely decline and save yourself a costly veterinarian bill.

I knew someone who had a basset hound that had its hind legs removed after an accident and it had to walk around with one of those little buggies with wheels. If it had been my dog I would have asked for all its legs to be removed and replaced with wheels and had a remote control installed. I could charge neighbourhood kids for rides and enter it in races. If I did the same with a horse I could drive it to work. I would call it Steven.

Regards, David.

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.07pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Awww

Please just use the photo I gave you.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.22pm
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.34pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

I didnt say there was a reward. I dont have $2000 dollars. What did you even put that there for? Apart from that it is perfect can you please remove the reward bit. Thanks Shan.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.42pm
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.51pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

Can you just please take the reward bit off altogether? I have to leave in ten minutes and I still have to make photocopies of it.

From: David Thorne
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 12.56pm
To: Shannon Walkley
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

From: Shannon Walkley
Date: Monday 21 June 2010 1.03pm
To: David Thorne
Subject: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Awww

Fine. That will have to do.

You will find more of these hilarious e-mails at David Thorne’s website: 27b/6.

If you live in the U.S. and have been as anxious as I have to get your hands on Spotify, then look no further. Spotify starts as a free service that has an incredible number of songs available for listeners to enjoy without having to download them. However, I tried signing up for the U.S. invite on Spotify’s website over a week ago and I am still waiting. It will probably be at least another week or two or three before I even get it.

I suspect they are gathering data to see how many paid subscribers they can get before the service actually launches in the U.S. Fortunately, if you go to the link I have provided below and sign up, then you should get your invite within 15-30 minutes which was the case for me today. Yeah!

Go here for your Spotify invite and let me know how long it took to get yours. I describe Spotify in more detail below.

Spotify is like Netflix for music. Forgive the lame analogy, but it’s the best one I can come up with for now. You won’t get a trial account or DVDs in the mail, but you do have to download the Spotify app for your PC. The free version of Spotify is ad-supported, with limited streaming and average soundtrack quality. The nice thing is that you don’t have to download and pay for the songs you want to listen to like you do in iTunes and you don’t get to listen to only one song before it shuffles to similar songs like the services offered by Pandora and Last.fm.

Spotify has two paid plans available. The Unlimited plan for $5 is kinda pointless. All it does is remove ads and syncs the music on your PC with Spotify’s catalog. You get unlimited streaming, but it would be better just to upgrade to the Premium plan. Spotify’s Free and Unlimited plans only allow you to listen to the service on your PC and the sound quality of the tracks is just ok. With the Premium plan you get much better quality music, syncing across all devices and unlimited streaming.

I do have to say though that I am pretty impressed with Spotify so far. Just about any song that you can think of is available for instant streaming on your PC and best of all, it’s free. Upgrading for just $10 a month to unlock all the features of Spotify is very enticing. If you suscribe to Spotify’s Premium plan, the let me know how you like it and why you would recommend it. Spotify is definitely going to be a disruptor in the U.S. and I look forward to seeing how the competition responds. Enjoy your Spotify.

My favorite musician for the spring and summer season has got to be Pogo. Millions of people already know who he is on YouTube from music videos that he has created like Upular, Wishery, Gardyn and his latest creation titled ’Bloom‘. I didn’t discover Pogo’s brilliant work until these past few months after watching a video remix he created from clips of H.R. Pufnstuf.

Pogo’s compositions and videos are mesmerizing, delightful and a pure joy to experience. A common thread throughout Pogo’s work is to capture the essence of Disney movies through their use of sound, visual elements, singing and animation. Pogo reworks them into a tapestry of sounds and music that bring new life to the characters in the films. Once Pogo is finished composing a song, he goes to work creating an accompanying video which adds another layer of delight and a new sense of life to our favorite films of the past.

I’m sure you will enjoy his work just as much as I do. Check out his latest creation titled ‘Bloom‘ below which combines clips from Aladdin, Peter Pan, The Little Mermaid and Alice in Wonderland, just to name a few. Then take a few minutes to visit Pogo’s website and download his music. Most of the songs cost only 99 cents each and many others are “Name Your Price”. That alone is worth putting some Pogo in your pocket.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=t_htoSaQFf4

Moshi Monsters is another social network/online game aimed at kids that allows them to take care of and look after virtual pets. I don’t know why they are spending their free time caring for computer characters when there are so many “real” animals that need love and attention. The bond created between a child and an animal is a very special friendship that an online avatar will never replace.

But after watching this fun video below with a great sounding beat, I’m convinced that Moshi may just be a really enjoyable way for kids to confront their fears of monsters that we all had as little children. Maybe Moshi allows them to make friends with the terrifying monsters that we thought hid under the bed or in the closet. In that case, I’m all for it. Moshi, Moshi, Moshi!

www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9rLfNghMNE

I used to play World of Goo on my Mac a couple of years ago. Amazing, amazing, amazing is all I can say. World of Goo was released a long time before Angry Birds and I think it is still much, much better. Sorry for my exaggerated and incorrect grammar usage, but I just love the game that much! World of Goo relies on a 2D physics engine, where you control balls of goo and try to connect them like dots to get through multiple environments and ultimately transport them to the next level. What makes the game so enjoyable to play is the feeling of pulling and stretching the goo to its limit and helping them make their journey along the way. Take a look at the video below to see what I mean.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLI0H–9gsc

So, I thought I would take a look at the World of Goo reviews on iTunes and read what people were saying about it. I knew the reviews would be pretty good, but I had no idea they would actually be stellar. After only being in the iTunes store for about 4 months, World of Goo has about 2,000 ratings with 90% rating the game as “good” or “great” and 82% of people rating World of Goo as ”great”.

World of Goo has wonderful graphics, a very creative and compelling storyline, hilarious audio effects and fantastic music. I just wish the developer named 2DBoy had ported this to the iPhone and iPad a lot sooner, then he would have been the top app game seller instead of Angry Birds.

If you have ever wanted to own one of the most amazing games ever that is challenging and just a delightful joy to play, then I highly recommend you download it today and take a trip to the World of Goo! What’s even better is that the game is now a part of Apple’s Game Center so you can compete with others for high scores. I hope you enjoy the game as much as I have and after playing get the sudden urge to yell “Whooooopeee!!!”

Last week I came across an article about the 90′s smash hit “Trainspotting”. It was a fresh, exciting and compelling independent film that was a huge hit around the world. “Trainspotting” put British film, actors, writers and directors back in world focus and was the launching pad for a few of the Scottish actors like Ewan McGregor and Johnny Lee Miller. It was a breakthrough film at every level from advertising, design, storyline, casting and direction that has continued to be a hit cult favorite today.

So imagine my surprise today when I came across an article about a new foodie iPhone app called “Foodspotting”. It was recently announced at SXSW Interactive in Austin this weekend and ironically it too was a BIG hit. I did a double take on the name of the app and then I noticed the log design was identical to a certain film. You guessed it… “Trainspotting”.

Is it merely coincidence that Trainspotting is celebrating their 15 year anniversary this month at the same time that “Foodspotting” is announcing their app at SXSW? Maybe so or maybe not, but the timing is perfect. I decided to download the app and if “Foodspotting” is anything as good as the film, then there should be a crowd of foodie junkies lining up for more in the future.

- Cue the Foodspotting video:

- Cue the Trainspotting title end sequence:

I came across a great article today from Creative Review UK. It reflects on the design inspiration behind the film “Trainspotting”. It was a bold film in it’s subject matter, writing, art direction and acting. What struck me more about this film before I ever saw it was how it was advertised with a bold sense of design and motion graphics.

The article that follows provides a unique insight into the design process before the film’s release. It really highlights the contrast of what people “think” design is about and what designers actually “create” in the process. So many times a client or partner “suggests” what they think is the “correct” approach visually, but in actuality they are communicating their “desires” and not the “subject matter” behind what will become the actual visuals.

Below is a brief excerpt of the article and a clip from the the incredible title sequence ending.

“Danny Boyle’s Trainspotting film is 15 years old this month. The designers of its iconic, often copied, Helvetica-sporting posters, Mark Blamire (now of Blanka and Print-Process) and Rob O’Connor of Stylorouge, talk to us about working on the project and how they arrived at the designs for the film’s poster campaign…”

Read more to learn about “Trainspotting’s film poster campaign, 15 years on”