I read an interesting post last night from Garrett Dimon in which he asserts that when submitting design ideas to clients, One Idea is Better Than Three. The discussion thread that follows is as interesting as the post.

I have always asked our designers to develop multiple concepts (while there is no magic in the number 3 – designers may want to check here for a way to calculate the proper number of design concepts applicable in any situation).

For me it is first a design process issue. Every project is loaded with constraints… time, money, workload, customer preferences… and countless more. I like to see a designer deal with the constraints right away. This usually generates a few concepts that meet customer objectives within perceived tangible and intangible constraints. Then the designer is free to break all the rules and push the envelope with a concept that is out there a bit and hopefully over the edge.

Secondly, I am not sure that hard rules can be followed regarding what is presented to the client… because clients differ widely. Some want the one solution… others want to be part of the process. I love it when we show them a unique idea that we don’t think they will go for, and they surprise us.

What do you do?

Posted by Robert Befus at 8:15 AM .

1 Comment »

This is a neat little animated gif of the design process timeline for a Website… starting from a blank page to a completed HTML file with CSS and images.

I bet the same kind of animated sequence of a presentation design would be interesting to see.

Link

Posted by Robert Befus at 6:10 AM .

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I like this idea. Leave your friends location based blog posts that are delivered to their cell phones when they arrive at certain locations.

You arrive at a hotel to do a show for a client and your phone rings. It is a blog post from a Council member with information abouth their experience the last time they worked at that hotel.

Link

Posted by Robert Befus at 6:00 AM .

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Where are all the information designers?
“The field of information design applies traditional and evolving design principles to the process of translating complex, unorganized, or unstructured data into valuable, meaningful information. The practice of information design requires an interdisciplinary approach which combines skills in graphic design, writing and editing, instructional design, human performance technology, and human factors.”

(Via Tony Ramos)

Posted by Robert Befus at 2:56 PM .

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This is fascinating stuff. Will we someday be able to fill a PPT object with a “spatio-temporal gradient”? I sure hope so. Check out the video on the Khronos Projector site linked below.

KHRONOS PROJECTOR – Alvaro Cassinelli
The Khronos Projector is an interactive-art installation allowing people to explore pre-recorded movie content in an entirely new way. A classic video-tape allows a simple control of the reproducing process (stop, backward, forward, and elementary control on the reproduction speed). Modern digital players add little more than the possibility to perform random temporal jumps between image frames. The goal of the Khronos Projector is to go beyond these forms of exclusive temporal control, by giving the user an entirely new dimension to play with: by touching the projection screen, the user is able to send parts of the image forward or backwards in time.

(via Boing Boing)

Posted by Robert Befus at 1:12 PM .

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I just heard from the ICIA that Photodex has decided to exhibit at InfoComm as a platinum sponsor of the new Presentation Technology Pavilion. The Presentations Council has been working hard to enhance the experience and value of this conference for those of us working in presentation media. This year, the addition of both the SuperTuesday session for Pres Pros and the Presentation Pavilion are two big steps towards that goal.

We reviewed Photodex’s ProShow Gold in one of the Council’s Webinar programs last year. In my company, we have used ProShow Gold as a simple but effective way to quickly compile and present “coffee breakers” at live events (candids shot during the event and presented to music during the breaks). While this could be done in other software as well including PPT, ProShow is quick, easy and has very nice transition effects. It also has a nice feature that takes the total number of images you have imported and calculates out the transition time needed so that the images extend to the end of the music you have selected. This saves a bit of time when working in a pressure environment.

I have also used it quite a bit personally for family presentations. ProShow Gold only works with still images. I often have wished that it could handle video clips as well.

Posted by Robert Befus at 9:01 AM .

2 Comments »

Hi All,

I just cancelled my Hilton reservation and reserved the Villa Roma Motel — 220 Convention Ctr Drive.
It’s two blocks from the LACC and I got a rate of $34 per night plus tax. I am sure it’s not as plush as the Hilton but the walk is probably no further to the show floor (or to the Hilton for that matter).

I got this rate on Expedia if anyone else wants to save some money to gamble with. I think it may be the same property I stayed in for COMDEX a few years ago, before it got condemned(!) I take it that it has been resurrected and remodeled. There’s even a pool and free parking.

The pix look okay and since I have no one to impress, I figure it’s a suite deal (sic).

Posted by Tom Bunzel at 12:28 PM .

1 Comment »

At today’s quarterly Webinar, the ICIA Presentations Council previewed their InfoComm 2005 Super Tuesday program for presentation professionals. It looks like it going to be an extremely useful set of sessions covering technology, design, coaching and business strategy.

Please don’t take my word for it. You can see for yourself as they have been kind enough to provide a link to an archived version of the webinar for Visual Being readers. Although the webinars themselves are open to the general public, access to the full archives is one of the benefits of membership in the Council.

Posted by Lee Potts at 8:31 PM .

1 Comment »

Are you listening Mr. Sphere?
I’ve not had the chance to try various mind mapping software packages but this article from the SF Chronicle highlighting a package called MindManager intrigues me.
It seems like it is one more attempt to get away from the slide paradigm of PowerPoint and embrace a more holistic way of presenting information.
According to the author of this article, it’s being used at major corporations: including the U.S. Coast Guard, Genencor International and Oxygen Media.
I would like to hear from other presentation professionals who have had hands on experiences with this or similar products.

Posted by Tom Bunzel at 5:52 PM .

6 Comments »

Here’s an interesting hack (version 1, improved version 2) by Max Rottersman that turns your webcam, laptop and some CD cases into a teleprompter. Look less shifty eyed and more professional when videoblogging or presenting from a script via video conference. After being posted on the Make Magazine blog, the community has continued serving up additional improvements.

[via unmediated]

Posted by Lee Potts at 10:00 AM .

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