Yesterday marked our 9th year in business. Every year I write an anniversary post (8,7,6) and try to reflect on where we are at and what we have learned over past year.

After 9 years we have made the transition from a start up to an established business. So much of our identity was wrapped up in the idea of us being a scrappy upstart that it is tough to admit we aren’t that anymore. This past year we came to terms with this fact.

The company we are today is interested in, and capable of, taking on much larger challenges. We spent a lot of time this year thinking about where the digital channel is going over the next 2-5 years and we are shaping ourselves towards that.

As Bob Marley says, “in this great future you can’t forget your past”. We can’t change without remembering what got us here.

When Geoff and I started this company it was because we wanted to do great work. We didn’t want to become Creative Directors who were abstracted from the work. We wanted to be creating the work. So we built a company that allowed us to do that. That still is at the heart of this company. As Geoff says “great artists ship” and that is something we hold very dear. We love creating epic work. We love it when other companies create great work.

A lot of you have probably used our various PSDs. We get a lot of thanks from the community of developers and designers for these tools. I often respond to these thanks with “You’re welcome – Now go make epic shit”. Colloquialism aside, it is ultimately what I think, we are all in this business to do.

So after 9 years I need to thank the clients who give us the opportunity to do great work for them and their users. I need to thank all the people, past and present, who have worked here to get us to 9 years. Happy birthday to us.

Earlier this year we were working on an update for our iPad app TweetMag. We were having some issues with how the app was retrieving content. Since we were using Readability’s API we thought we would send them an email and see if they had any suggestions. They responded immediately and within 24 hours we had solved a major technical problem that had plagued us for months.

That initial email led to them giving us some amazing support on TweetMag, which led to meeting at SXSW 2011, which led to conversations, which leads me to this blog post.

We are very excited to announce that we (Teehan+Lax) are partnering with Readability.

Truth be told we’ve already been working together for several months on some upcoming Readability releases. We’re just now ready to talk about it.

Why did we do this?
1) When we worked together on TweetMag we just slipped into an effortless collaboration that felt right. This is when design is at its best. We were both passionate about making the product as good as it could be.

We have incredible mutual respect for what we each do, they respect our design/UX skills, and we are in awe of their technical skills. This lets us focus on what we are each great at and then work towards a common goal.

2) When Rich began discussing his vision for Readability we had a lot of ideas of how we could help him realize it. Ultimately, thinking about how we interact with content online is such a fascinating problem to solve, we jumped at the chance to work on it.

What are we doing?
At a high level we’re designing new products and features for Readability. We’re also involved in the product roadmap and vision.

When can we see what you’ve been working on?
Soon and it is quite awesome.

What are the terms of your deal?
We believe so much in Readability we’ve invested both our time and our money in the company.

We just wanted to let everyone know that we are very excited with this venture. Not since Rush toured with Kiss have Canada and America come together in such an awesome way.

You can find this cross posted on Readability’s blog

Start a conversation

In the past writers wrote traditional ads for a collective broadcast, as people viewed ads together gathered around the TV or radio. Now we’re an audience of one; we surf the web in solitude, so the experience must be more of a one on one conversation. That’s why it’s important to talk in the voice of the brand and sound like a real person. Whether the personality of the brand is funny, absurd, or inspiring – it should be authentic. A good tip is to “write the way you talk.” Use a voice that’s familiar, relatable and casual as opposed to being formal and preaching to the user. If the tone is right, the user should feel as if they’re having a chat with a trusted friend. Good writing is one of the most important ways to establish a brand’s voice and identity. The Mini is well known for it’s innovative advertising and has a defined fun and cheeky voice. The Mini blog extends the brand’s personality and starts a conversation promoting urban culture, art, fashion and Mini competitions and events.

Allow users to respond

With the Internet, advertisers can easily involve the user in a conversation or solicit a response with a click of the mouse. They can take advantage by calling out offers and creating response mechanisms for immediate gratification. Social media allows users to speak their mind and even participate in campaigns to help build brand identity.

Listen and adapt

Once a conversation has been established it’s important to consider customer feedback. Whether it’s monitoring social media or analyzing “click throughs,” it’s helpful to listen to the user, especially within customer service channels. People are usually satisfied if they know their opinions are being taken into account. Over time, a company can implement change, evolve and represent the common interest and voice of their consumers. Starbucks uses crowdsourcing to boost public image on the site My Starbucks Idea. Customers and employees can converse and post ideas about products, services and community involvement. This is an example of how great brands establish a conversation and allow for effective communication. An authentic voice that resonates with the public is more likely to build loyalty and trust among consumers.

Today, we are proud to launch a new online presence for Teehan+Lax!

Digital is changing, and so are we. We believe that 2011 will be a defining year for our company, and the new Teehanlax.com is a great way to mark the moment as we move ahead. Here’s a little bit about what you’ll find on our site:

Multi-screen from the start

From the get-go, we wanted to create a site that would work across a wide range of devices and screens sizes. We sketched out our mobile screens first, then worked up to tablets, standard, large and extra-large desktop resolutions. It was important to keep context in mind. For example, the mobile homepage simply displays contact information and a map. For layout and design, Matt and Andy worked together to design and develop a scaleable framework based on a 50-column grid. Design elements, styles and typography were all then built on top of this framework. You can get a sense of how this works by resizing your browser window.

Fresh new work

We finally get to share some of our latest and greatest work! Check out new case studies for Virgin Mobile, Bell, Weather Network and Logitech, to name a few. Travis, our resident WordPress expert, created an incredibly robust back-end solution which will let us content manage the site much more effectively. Stay tuned for more regular updates to this section as well as a new demo reel coming soon.

Dropping the new science

Labs now has a new home at teehanlax.com/labs. This is where you can see what we’re up to in the Lab and join the conversation. We are super stoked about our new labs initiative. If you haven’t heard about that yet, check out the announcement here. Don’t forget to follow the Labs crew on Twitter @tllabs.

Downloads

We love making stuff to share with our fellow design community, and now you can now find all of our biggest hits in one place. Check out teehanlax.com/downloads to see the latest and greatest in templates, stencils, and more.

Big thanks

Thanks so much to everyone who played a role in the project—especially to Matt, Andy and Travis who all dedicated late nights and weekends to pull this off in a relatively short period of time. And thanks to our fans, followers and commenters for continuing to track with us online (and IRL).

You like?

We’re also launching our Facebook page, which is where folks can get more of a behind-the-scenes look at who we are and what we’re getting up to.If you appreciate what we do, enjoy using some of our resources, or are just feeling friendly, give us a like and stay posted on what’s new at T+L!

Rapidly evolving technologies – cloud computing, powerful mobile devices, modern web browsers, and connected TVs to name a few – are creating opportunities for serious innovation. Already we’re seeing the early stages of convergence and seamless communication between devices. The digital channel is being reshaped, as are the experiences we deliver through it.

Of course, this comes at the price of higher complexity in both ideation and execution, but what’s opportunity without challenge? For most agencies the biggest challenge won’t even be technical, it will be temporal – time to learn, to experiment, to share, and to see ideas from start to finish. Compounding this will be the need to think in terms of problems and solutions. Ideas are dormant and lazy. The meaningful application of an idea requires that it has context in real-world problems.

Today we’re excited to announce Teehan+Lax Labs, our answer to the challenges of the future. Labs is a small, independent innovation unit operating within the agency. It’s tasked with not only exploring new technologies in the digital channel, but also framing the possibilities they empower.

Framing possibilities in the digital channel.

Of course, it would be a mistake to entirely split off a skunkworks team from the agency, removing employees who focus on client work from R&D. We want to foster a culture of innovation, not displace it. To that end, we’ve designed a high degree of integration. Client-working employees contribute the bulk of experimentation along with the Labs team – who provide all necessary direction and resources. We’re all members of the brain trust.

Sharing is also an important characteristic of Labs – not only for employees and clients, but also the digital community as a whole. We’ll be talking about our successes, failures, and experiences. Labs is our mouthpiece for bleeding edge technology and design thinking. It’s meant to reduce technical complexity for the agency, but also we hope to contribute to advancing the industry we love. Over the next few weeks, we’ll be launching supporting feeds, a blog, and project pools for anyone to follow. We hope you do.

At its core Labs is about technology and the possibilities buried among the clouds, APIs, and screens. While convergence is the theme we’re most interested in exploring, we also plan to undertake projects that push the boundaries on individual platforms. After all, assembling a team of talented tinkerers is bound to produce some fringe but valuable results.

It’s an exciting time to explore and experiment in the digital channel. Of course, Labs is an experiment unto itself and no doubt there will be bumps and bruises along the way. But after all, what’s opportunity without challenge?

TV: passive to active?

Have our attention spans become so short that we cannot simply watch a TV show without posting our thoughts or looking up info on our phones? It’s clear that advertisers and producers recognize this, as they’ve begun to weave digital campaigns and social media into TV programming. It’s possible that as TV and the digital world become more integrated, content will seamlessly be shared across platforms, and watching TV could become a more active participatory experience. A few brands such as Honda and AXA auto insurance have recently created commercials and implemented the use of mobile apps. The spots are well executed technically as content is transferred via QR code and sound-syncing technology. Despite the innovative approach, the importance of these types of ads is to take the user from viewing to product purchase.

In terms of TV programming, the UFC has begun streaming pay-per-view while simultaneously allowing users to interact on multiple platforms by tweeting, chatting and judging the fights. The service is quality programming and might be a look into what the future holds for TV and the Internet. This appears to work better than regular programming trying to incorporate social media, such as a live twitter stream during events and award shows. It seems that social networks are becoming a legitimate resource. The Stream, a news talk show is actually using social media as a basis; producers will script the broadcast using tweets, Facebook posts, and YouTube videos. Furthermore, major events have called for the use of specialized apps that offer complementary information. For instance, the Oscar Backstage Pass app this season gave an exclusive behind the scenes look into the awards show. The problem is that without proper integration of these apps and social media, viewing all the different screens becomes a challenge. It’s hard to tell if this activity will soon become normalized, or if people will always prefer to relax and enjoy TV.

Rewards can make an impression. Inspiration can ignite a movement.

A great way to make a lasting impression is to deliver immediate gratification or offer some type of tangible reward. For example, GranetaPets, a premium dog food in Germany, had key insight to stop dogs and owners when walking by their billboard. The company concealed actual dog food within the billboard; dogs were therefore attracted to it, as they have a heightened sense of smell. Owners that took notice were encouraged to check-in via Foursquare and once they did, a free bowl of dog food was dispensed.

Many great ideas involve the user and depend on them to participate in the making of a campaign. Coca Cola’s latest crowdsourcing campaign got rock band Maroon 5 on board to create an original song in 24 hours with fans contributing to the song via Twitter. Fans were able to tweet lyrics and ideas as inspiration for the band. Once the track gets 100k downloads, Coke will make a donation on their fan’s behalf to the RAIN Foundation (Replenish Africa Initiative). This is not just a campaign, it’s a part of a bigger movement to help make the world a better place, with the ultimate goal of providing at least 2 million Africans with clean water by 2015. Many companies have made similar moves such as Pepsi with their Refresh the World project, and Maxwell House’s Brew some good initiative. A successful campaign can usually create a movement when it’s inspiring, for the common good, and has a unique idea that is cohesive with the brand.

What we’re looking for

We’re looking for a design-minded creative technologist to join our newly formed Labs team. They will be responsible for researching and exploring emerging technology in the digital channel through experimentation and prototyping, free from the restraints of client work. An interactive and graphic design background along with a strong technical understanding are required. On a daily basis, they will work with designers, developers, and outside partners to execute bleeding edge design and technology experiments and share those results. An interest in hardware hacking is a bonus.



Must have:

• Strong visual design sense (portfolio required)
• Demonstrated ability to use technology creatively
• Proven proficiency with HTML(5), CSS, CSS3, and JavaScript
• Experience with a programming language such as Ruby, Python, ObjC, C/C++, or Java
• Experience with the Flash Platform including some ActionScript programming
• Solid understanding of web and mobile development workflows
• Outspoken passion for technology (blog or twitter)
• Good communication skills
• Decent education

How to apply

Hit us on Twitter or email us a link to your work if you think it’s a fit.

Some other stuff you should know

Labs is a small independent unit within Teehan+Lax tasked with exploring the creative uses of technology in the digital channel and framing technical possibilities for the agency, clients, and wider community. The team conducts experiments on all layers of the stack between screen and cloud, and shares those results in an effort to simplify technology and innovate experience design.

Useful campaigns

Campaigns and apps that are inherently useful make a more impactful UX. Many campaigns have used augmented reality in their approach, but the World Lens app, is one of the most useful implementations that we’ve seen. The app for the iPhone and iPod Touch offers real time translation of text. You simply point your device’s video camera at a sign and the program translates and superimposes the translated text onto the video.

Another useful print ad for Carlsberg, gives a step-by-step process for turning the ad into an actual bottle opener. Although, you might have missed its intention when flipping through a magazine.

Retail marketing

Shopping retail is becoming an increasingly more immersive and interactive experience. Puma has recently implemented iPads for in-store use, and Adidas is using large LCD touch screens to help explore inventory and allow the user to build their own shoes and even checkout.

Kraft has been experimenting with facial recognition technology to hone in on targeted users. They put a kiosk in a grocery store that asked, “what’s for dinner?” The kiosk zooms in on the users face and instantly determines gender and age group to suggest products that might be appealing. It even goes one step further dispensing product samples like a vending machine. This type of marketing is great for point of purchase sales and is highly personalized. On the other hand, it’s possible the kiosk could identify the wrong gender or age altogether; hopefully, it won’t offend and mistake your Justin Bieber hairstyle for a little girl and suggest Teddy Grahams.

Social media

Many social media campaigns have encouraged themes of kindness and generosity, and have elements of planned spontaneity and tangible rewards.

A Dutch airline, KLM Airlines has used Foursquare as a platform and employed a ‘Surprise Team’ to give passengers personal, unexpected gifts at the airport. As soon as someone checked-in at a KLM Foursquare location, the Surprise Team went online to find out personal information about the person, and delivered a unique gift before they traveled. For instance, one traveler tweeted he would miss a PSV soccer game while he was in New York. The Surprise Team gave him a Lonely Planet guidebook of NYC with all the sports bars highlighted in blue.

Similarly, Interflora, a flower delivery service launched a campaign to brighten up the lives of Twitter users. They monitored Twitter looking for users that they believed need cheering up. Once found, the users were sent a bouquet of flowers. Privacy had to be a big concern during the course of these campaigns, since they are largely focused on social monitoring. Hopefully all of the recipients were pleasantly surprised and didn’t become paranoid that Big Brother is always watching.

Converging devices

The most significant trend that we see evolving in the future is the convergence of mobile devices, computers and TV screens. The key is to understand how devices will interact, and how to seamlessly integrate the entire experience from one screen to another.

Through the use of a banner ad, Gol Airlines has turned the mobile phone into a remote control. Users input their mobile number into the banner, and they immediately get a call connecting them to the desktop. The banner then becomes a flying game controlled by the mobile device. The ad comes together in the end, reminding customers that they can conveniently check-in via mobile phone when they fly.

The Shazam app is evolving, as the logo will be ‘embedded’ into programs ready for users to tag TV shows. This entails using a mobile device to listen and recognize the TV episode in question. Shazam will then provide complementary info; links to exclusive video and previews of upcoming episodes, access to playlists from the series and downloads. This will completely integrate the web browsing and TV watching experience.

Check out other notable ideas:

• E-paper
• Twitter, Secret Santa
• Heineken, The Entrance
• Yahoo, Multiplayer Gaming

What we’re looking for

We’re seeking someone that can lead projects in a creative capacity. They turn strategic goals into coherent design direction and oversee projects from kick-off to launch. They work on unique project based work from clients looking to solve experience issues on a variety of platforms like Web, mobile, tablet and TV. The person we’re looking for doesn’t create microsites, IAB ads or Flash sites – they design holistic experiences across multiple devices. They look to utility to solve problems, not just a story.

It takes 4 things to be considered for this

1) Craft: You have to be an insanely talented interactive designer.
2) Thinking: You need to possess the ability to speak intelligently to the work and industry.
3) Fit: There needs to be a mutual fit.
4) Proximity: You must work out of our Toronto office.

Everything else is either negotiable or optional.

How to apply

Hit us on Twitter or email us a link to your work if you think it’s a fit.

Some other stuff you should know

We focus exclusively on experience design for the digital channel. Everyone you’ll work with has a desire to create best user experiences possible. Being great at what you do is cost of entry, fit sets people apart – it makes everyone better. 90% of the staff here hold creative positions. That means no account managers, no managing directors – no kidding. The people with the right skills are put on the right projects. We’re about 40 people and we’re nimble. There are no pitch teams, no “B” teams. All of our staff work directly with our clients, so if a client has a question that relates to the design they’ll speak to the designer that worked on it. It’s fun, as it should be. We spend more than a third of our life at work so we’d best enjoy it.

When it comes to building a web experience, most of the effort is typically put towards the tactical objectives that aim to satisfy business and user requirements: Users should be able to easily browse products and buy them; The business should have the capability to manage marketing campaigns; Users should be able to easily move laterally between similar products. Every agency, no matter how big or small has to solve these same problems, and that will never change.

However, it’s the execution of these details that makes the difference between a distinctive experience and one that’s forgettable. This week, the Little Big Details blog has been making the rounds in the blogosphere for showcasing clever micro-interactions across different apps and websites. Mico-interactions can be used to enhance a user’s experience, while subtly guiding and persuading them down a desired path.

Mac OS X’s dynamic date formatting and credit card auto-detection are pretty classic examples of micro-interactions that have become widely adopted and even become best practice. On iOS and relatively new platforms, clever designers paved the way with interactions like Pull to Refresh that quickly became not only widespread, but expected by users (and in this case, open sourced).

These types of interactions delight users because they are the by-product of designers anticipating user needs, and going above and beyond to help them through the experience. They’re often so subtle, that most users won’t be consciously aware of them until after they’ve fulfilled their purpose.

Guiding Along & Enhancing an Experience

The concept behind these interactions isn’t new and revolutionary, but the sophistication and complexity of modern sites and apps is making them a necessity in the digital space. Products have been incorporating smart, thoughtful design tactics for years. Thinking even of just a few objects in my own home, there’s subtle yet brilliant features that make life a little easier.

Vacuum cleaners from Dyson have a small hook at the bottom and the top that you use to wrap the power cord around once you’re finished vacuuming. The next time you’re ready to vacuum your house though, the top hook swings downwards to allow the whole bundle of power cord to come loose at once. Cleaning isn’t something anyone’s particularly excited to do, so removing small inconveniences like having to unwrap the cord makes a Dyson a little less painful to use each time.

Breville has won me over with just about all of their kitchen appliances because of this very carefully tuned attention to detail. Their Smart Toaster is a product clearly designed with a great deal of empathy for its user. It includes a button simply labeled “A bit more” that does exactly what you would expect – the bread is lowered to toast again for a few more seconds. Among other features, it also has a “Lift & Look” button, and a progress bar indicating how long is left in the toasting process. As the designers of the product explain, these thoughtful features comes from considerable user testing and feedback.

My headphones of choice in the office here at Teehan+Lax are Urbanears, and aside from delivering some good sound, they have a pretty clever, if unfortunately named feature called the Zound Plug that allows another person to plug in a set of headphones into your Urbanears. It negates the need for any sort of headphone splitter and makes it nice to share a movie or TV show with a friend on a flight or long transit ride.

Ultimately, the sum of all these small features don’t amount to much, but paired with a killer core product they can move a product from good to great. Paul Bennett of IDEO gave a talk at TED in 2005 and sums it up quite well: “…design need not invoke grand gestures or sweeping statements to be successful, but instead can focus on the little things in life.”