Sadly, at the time, POPA was not compatible with my old iPhone. I preferred (still do) the first iPhone with its rounded metal back and so I had to wait until I had to upgrade which I did a few weeks ago. By then, I almost forgot. Luckily a friend of mine, David Hughes who also wrote a review about POPA, published a post about a sale at Beep Industries which reminded me that I could finally get POPA & now it feels like I have my camera back – via this beautiful big red button :)

the POPA project

If you have a not heard of POPA, or Brendan Dawes yet – just a little bit of background.

I’ve been a big fan of Brendan’s for ages, going back to my flash days years ago. His love for design, evident in all his work, and his enthusiasm, shining through in his talks, is inspiring & infectious :)
If you ever have the opportunity to see him speak – do! Don’t miss the chance to be entertained & inspired. I was lucky to see Brendan speak a few times, most recently at the #naconf and he was amazing ;)

POPA was originally called Red Pop and was one of the successful projects on KickStarter. In this promotional video, Brendan introduces the prototype, telling the story behind the concept. If I wasn’t taken with the idea of this wonderful red button already – the fact that it is dedicated in such loving memory to Brendan’s father would have surely won me over.

the POPA site

While the POPA itself is a wonderful little gadget – beautiful in concept and execution – the website is also designed with the same care and love for detail. A rhythm of squares, displaying photos, video and text, presents a site which is playful, engaging and fun ~ showing off the best features of POPA.

When preparing slides for my webdesign sessions – I find myself returning to it time and time again as a perfect example of how it should be done. Excellent branding, beautiful design, well written copy ~ all coming together in a wonderful website.

unpacking POPA

Ordering the POPA was a breeze, easy and quick without the demand for too much info.
It arrived in a cute little cube box, with a lovely pouch and a handy strap which can be screwed into the tripod hole on the POPA.

Once the outer package was unwrapped – the quality of this product became immediately clear: the box, the strap, the pouch and the POPA itself. The POPA feels like a very sturdy and finely crafted product: beautiful to the touch and reminiscent of old cameras with the leather grip and silver casing. I love the fact that I can mount my iPhone camera to a tripod via POPA now, brilliant! The strap and the pouch are of the same quality as the POPA itself- simply gorgeous :)

using POPA

The POPA is only compatible with the newer iPhones and needs its custom app to work. The app is free and can be used without the POPA as well.

Using the POPA is sweet: simply pop it onto your phone, the app starts automatically and you’re ready to go :)

The very first time I tried it out – I was a little too careful, too gentle with it. The connection between the POPA and my iPhone did not quite work. But I soon realised that the design of the POPA is not as fragile as I thought – and it was merely a matter of ensuring a solid connection – and all worked as intended.

The amazing thing is that this immediately changed the way I take photos – the phone’s camera now feels much more like a ‘proper’ camera and I never miss a shot. I always liked the iPhone’s camera – very intuitive and easy to use. But due to the focus taking a bit of time, or my wobbly holding, I do occasionally miss the moment I wanted to capture, or I miss the touch-button entirely.
The solid grip and the lovely red button of the POPA means I know when I take the shot – it responds quickly. I love the way I can now get a proper grip on the camera, hold it steady, hold it straight or at any angle – it feels safe in my hand and the red button makes taking the shot so easy, it just feels great :) Though I do end up with the odd blurred shot – I like the overall interaction and quality of photos.

the POPA app

The POPA app is a thing of beauty in itself designed with a retro feel, it is a treat to use. When you first open it – you see a simple and clean interface, offering a flash, a timer, a camera button and the camera roll.
I love this kind of simplicity ~ easy and intuitive, no need to learn the functions: open – use, done.


And there are more gems to find in this app:
the camera roll shows the taken photos like old negative strip with running as well as total number clearly shown, a pencil to select images, the app info itself is beautifully presented…

all in all – simply a pleasure to use.

To share the photos – you get a little wheel which even makes little clickety noises as you turn it – so nice. I love design and when you see/use something that has been treated with such love and care – it is just wonderful.

customer service love

And finally, I just have to share this little story about my pouch and BeepHQ’s wonderful customer service – which is the reason for this post and which makes me love my POPA even more ;)

As you can tell by now – I am quite taken with my new little gadget :) I was so happy with it that I took it with me everywhere, still do, of course. It’s the kind of thing you want to show everyone, to share the joy of using it. So much so that I managed to lose my little pouch last week :-\

Now, I’m not the kind of person who loses things. I tend to look after what I have quite carefully, taking care of keeping my gadgets, tools and toys in pristine condition. You can imagine that I was quite upset with myself for losing the pouch. I considered stitching up a little bag myself to keep my POPA safe – but I was keen to have the original so I went to the site, hoping to find a way to buy a replacement.

As I couldn’t find anything – I emailed BeepHQ instead, no harm in asking, I thought. This when things got even better :)

I received the usual confirmation email but this one was much friendlier than expected. It confirmed my email would be answered but also stated that a ticket had been opened for me and that I would get a personal response soon. I liked this friendly message so much that I went to have a look at my ticket anyway, always curious to see customer support in action. And what a perfect way to deal with an enquiry – my email and name were already submitted. All I needed to do is to set my password & done :)
This was so pleasant and hassle-free, why is this not the norm? – This is how it should be.

I received an email reply the very next day, telling me, to my surprise, that a pouch was in the post for me. And there it is – a lovely red package with a replacement pouch ~ wow :) I would have happily paid for it – feeling very spoilt now, I am simply impressed & amazed by this response from the lovely team from BeepHQ :)

To Bren & his team

Thank you so much. Not only for such a lovely product which brings me joy every time I use it, and for such a beautiful app — but also for my replacement and the most wonderful customer service, ever! You are amazing!

solution:
This issue is a conflict between the Javascript library’s use of $ which results in conflicts, causing some of the functions to stop working when combined.

jQuery.noConflict()(function(){
// code using jQuery
});
// other code using $ as an alias to the other library

source: eyelearn forum post, thanks, Nazim :)
reference: jQuery.noConflict() on api.jquery.com

solution:
Apparently the ShellExtLoader problem, in my case, can be solved by quitting SugarSync. Phew :)

source: How to quit shellextloader

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client

Phil Maggs for JJ's Cider

brief

create a promotional website, edit existing logo as new online badge.

work done

badge design, including original logo; background illustration of the West Country landscape; website with product listing, sales info and contact form.

solution:
for detailed info – do read the original article.

1. download Lion installer from AppStore : it will be downloaded as Install Mac OS X Lion.app inside your appications folder
2. ctrl-click the installer > select Show Package Contents
3. open Contents > see InstallESD.dmg
4. open Disk Utility (found in /Applications/Utilities)
5. drag InstallESD.dmg into left sidebar of em>Disk Utility
6. click Restore
7. burn InstallESD.dmg to DVD /or/ setup on external drive via restore

source: How to make a bootable Lion install disc or drive

solution:
OPTION 1
top menu > go
go to folder… > type ~/Library

OPTION 2
hold down ALT key
top menu > go (Library is now listed as item)

source: Access hidden user library files | Mac OS 10.7 Lion

solution:
This is merely a very brief summary of the steps involved – please do read the original article for more in depth info.

1. install additional instance via Terminal:
   bash
HOME=$HOME/Dropbox-personal /Applications/Dropbox.app/Contents/MacOS/Dropbox &
2. create custom app via Automator:
   - create new workflow via Application template
   - add Shell Script action
   - add same code (as above)
   - save file (add to login items to launch at start up)

source: Use two Dropbox accounts on one computer

solution:
It’s the little things ;) This little app will simply lock your keyboard so you can wipe it without causing your mac to throw a fit, easy.

source: How To Make Cleaning Your Keyboard A Little Easier, found via @cameronmoll

UPDATE: the first videos and slides are going online and I will be updating this post accordingly. As there are a total of 8 speakers - this will of course affect page load, so please excuse the slowness.
Rather than worry about this - I'd like to keep all related material on this single page, as a little piece of memory of a fantastic day. Thanks to the speakers for sharing their slides, and the #naconf team for putting up the videos of the talks. :-)

our lovely host Simon Collison with fellow organiser Greg Woodphoto © Kitty Crawford

Reading the lovely #naconf paper - I couldn't quite believe that Simon had decided not to do this again.... were it not for Greg - we might have missed out on another inspiring and wonderful day. Thank you, Greg, for making sure New Adventures 2012 happened!!!

photo © Kitty Crawford

Dan Mall Design-ish: Behind, beneath, and between the comps

Dan Mall was the first speaker of the day and started off with a great talk. Getting everyone up and talking and going onto to talking about his work and design process - Dan discussed invisible deliverables, swapping roles to be a client and learning from this. It was wonderful to hear about the development process of related links with sliders, and see samples of his work.

1. All clients are created equal but some clients are more equal than others.
2. Haste. Make waste. More faster.
3. Encourage "the adjacent possible".
4. Create empathy.
5. Enjoy yourself. Spare no expense.

I absolutely loved Dan's talk. He had me worried initially when he started talking about relationships between characters in Starwars while discussing this project, I did get a little lost with the references (not a scifi or Starwars fan). But he soon moved onto other topics and it was a joy to gain insight into the work with such detail.

I particularly liked hearing about the process of the design of his own site - and the role reversal to client. Dan talked of discussions about a new image and logo for his site with Kevin Cornell which was wonderful, even more so as I am also a big fan of Kevin's work.
Just wonderful ~ thank you, Dan :)

photo © Maykel Loomans

Naomi Atkinson Going beyond

Next up was Naomi Atkinson. I have to admit that I was a little dubious about the topic of her talk, being quoted on the site as a look at "the land of celebrity". But I was hoping that there might be an unexpected angle to this topic. Naomi discussed how 3 celebrities (P. Diddy, Katie Price and Jamie Oliver) had managed their image/brand and kept their name memorable by knowing their target audience. I really hate the celebrity culture which the mainstream media feeds on and so I could not warm to her points at all; her delivery to one corner of the hall alone did not help the matter either. If there were arguments for her points, to me - they were superficial and materialistic, nothing connecting it with design or the spirit of this conference.

Her final point of making money while doing work for the greater good, unfortunately, also felt empty and almost patronising. I don't mean to sound so negative - I'm grateful Naomi took the time to come and give her talk, it just did not resonate with me.

photo © Fabian Tempel

Travis Schmeisser We Used to Build Forts

After a quick break, Travis Schmeisser asked whether the digital space had lost its edge. He talked about how, not so long ago, we all had fun, hacking together various parts for the sake of enjoyment, for fun. He pointed out how people still think creatively - but not necessarily in our field. Are we taking it all to seriously? Have we lost the fun and joy of it all?

Travis showed samples like MySpace and even Facebook and how people just have fun, run with their ideas and are creative for the sake of discovery. I really like the points he made, very true and I agree - time to enjoy the creative process more, to seek collaboration to gain new starting points and, to quote one of his slides, to "loosen the fuck up".

I loved the points Travis made, thanks, Travis ;) - and my notes are full of doodles to reflect this - and just to remember:

stay creative - keep exploring.

photo © David Roessli

Robbie Manson The Mindful Designer

Robbie's talk was a nice follow-on from these ideas - making the point that ideas thought of away from all our tools are often the strongest. He argued that the creative accidents which happen via the functions of our tools are often very telling, worth exploring. Though our drive as designer is the intent for balance, for perfection - experimentation and failures should not be so easily dismissed. Our design process is set in place, rigid and linear to help projects run smooth. Though this can be the case, this method can also break the creative flow.

Robbie spoke of the need for a better process to enable better thinking, like the '6 up sketching' approach which encourages the quick jotting down of ideas in a short period of time, allowing for a free flow of thinking. The more invisible the tool, the better the thinking, the better the process, he emphasised. Robbie believes it is best to share work early in the process - shared and discussed. Design should be informed by our thinking, not our tools.
I really enjoyed this talk, well paced and making some very strong points. Thanks, Robbie ;)

photo © Alessio Carone

Trent Walton Break everything

I've been a fan of Trent's work for quite a while and so I'd been really looking forward to his talk - and he was brilliant. A journey back to his childhood, an exploration of the neighbourhood with his friends and stories of his dad and racing cars being built and broken down. And onto discussing CSS3 and typography for the web.

Trent pointed out how the web would not be evolving and improving were it not for us 'breaking things'. He highlighted how we need to push and break things in order to gain better understanding and to be able to make improvements. I loved seeing some of his work with webfonts and now have plenty of links to follow up (see below). It is reassuring to hear experts discuss their battles with new technologies, hear about their struggles and then see the final results, inspiring. Highlights of Trent's talk were not only all the lovely work with type we saw - but also his message of how we should all appreciate the wonderful web community and actively participate :-) I couldn't agree more. Thank you, Trent :)

photo © Alessio Carone

Cameron Koczon The Potential Impact of Design

Next up was Cameron with an excellent whirlwind of a talk - I loved it! His delivery was electric, full of energy and inspiration... and I was glued to his talk—so much that I didn't manage to take many notes at all - hoping his slides and audio/video of his talk will go online so you can see for yourself.
A few of Cameron's points

• Make something you love.
• Bring on change - change does not have to be big.
• We need realignment.
• Teamwork - go do it.
• Be an entrepreneur (sorry, you had to be there ;))
  1. Everyone should be an entrepreneur.
  2. But they kinda shouldn’t.
  3. But they totally should.

Luckily, just 2 days before the conference - A List Apart published this article by Cameron titled "An Important Time for Design" which echoes a lot of the points mentioned.

photo © Alessio Carone (left) / Callum Hopkins (right)

Denise Jacobs Your Brain on Creativity

After this burst of energy - Denise took us all on a trip through our brain, telling us a wonderful story. She was amazing! Pacing the stage in tune with her story, her narration was enhanced with timely emphasis and sounds, her points - some subtle, some direct - were interwoven gems in a storyline. Thank you, Denise ;)

My notes from her talk are full of doodles and words and I don't think I will be able to do it justice, so here is the write up from the #naconf site instead:

While creativity seems ethereal, mysterious and often capricious, there is a biological side of the creative process that underlies the sense of being animated by the divine. Creativity is not just a state of mind and soul, but is also complex symphony of neurobiology, neurochemistry, and neuroelectricity.

What is happening inside our craniums, amongst the cortex, hemispheres, and neuroglia when we create? How does the science of the creative brain turn concepts of ways to approach things like work, order, serious concentration, focus, and productivity on their ears?
If we better understand the brain on creativity, we can hopefully leverage it's power for increased ideation, innovation, productivity, and flow.

And to highlight a few thoughts which I will want to remember:

• Slow down. Disconnect from digital overload.
• Don't force creativity - allow your brain to relax, get both halves of your brain to work together naturally.
• Switch on your brain's alpha state - close your eyes, slow breaths; go for a walk.
• Stop overthinking. Start experiencing.
• Allow your ideas to flow.
• play ⁓ laugh ⁓ create

photo © Callum Hopkins

Frank Chimero It moves

I had read quite a few pieces by Frank and found them very insightful, quite fascinating and so I was really looking forward to this talk. Hearing Frank speak was enlightning, inspiring and just wonderful. What a perfect closing talk to such a great day!

Again, I won't be able to do this brilliant discussion of design justice at all - but the core message Frank delivered was clear: design moves. And we can never stop moving with it.
He highlighted why we as designers care so much - and how good design can be taken very much for granted, becoming invisible (nicely illustrated by the lovely story of the 'tiny pony'). Frank spoke of so many things that I am hoping his slides will go online soon so that you can get a glimpse of his thoughts.

He spoke of how the world is changing, and changing faster all the time - how our work becomes out of date quickly unless we adjust to the speed of this movement. As designers we are problem solvers but our target keeps moving, old solutions become new problems and "when everything moves - the only solution is to dance" (quoted from memory).
Thank you, Frank ;)

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client

Judith Hackett for Westminster Carers Service

brief

create a new website design for Westminster Carers Service, including a custom design for the WCS Young Carers sub-site.

work done

custom design and implementation of WordPress theme with multi-site setup and integration of social media.