New Advert for Bluephone.com

BluePhone is a subscription service that provides online and phone support for consumers with computer and device problems. Perfectpixels was hired to create an advert spot to appear as a pre-roll for network webcasts. The objective was looking to create a fun take on their brand while representing the main issues BluePhone customers look to solve.

Our solution was to create a campy, fun and tongue-in-cheek set of characters accompanied with a voice over of an over-the-top announcer. The characters and scenes chosen were based on the personas of typical customers. Part of the advert was to create associated banners you can view here.

The Most Cynical Website So Far

Skittles.com takes its website with a far more realistic look at itself as an online entity than most other self-promotional product websites; inconsequential. The Skittles website is not really a site, but merely a portal to finding Skittles on other sites. The homepage and product pages are Wikipedia pages. The photos is a Flickr page, the videos section is a YouTube page, the Friends page is a Facebook group page, and the Chat page is a Twitter page.

Skittles is experimenting with the idea that an offline brand exists online elsewhere on other websites and not within its own branded confines. Its profound in a way with either a cynical look at itself, or a clever way to promote Skittles directly to where users may actually be talking about their product- not on skittles.com. Brilliant.

Best iPhone Apps

The iPhone has thousands of apps and hundreds added every week. The iPhone is unique in not just its breadth, but also the variety in which a user interacts with the device. The API allows you to use standard controls or create custom controls including its ability to detect movement and position. This has created unprecedented freedom for a mobile device developer. Here is a list of the must-haves for any iPhone user.

Vlingo
The best app you can possibly have for the iPhone and is astounding this did not ship standard with the iPhone. You can use voice command for twitter updates, web searches, phone calls and mapping. The importance of an app of this nature since it is converting voice to text is the flexibility to allow the user to make corrections, which this allows you to do by editing the text.

Keynote Remote
One of the great capabilities of the iPhone is its seamlessness to the Mac. This is a must have for any presenter using Keynote as you have control of not only moving the slides, but you can look at slide notes or preview what the following slide will be. I happen to be a wanderer when I present, so an app like this is a life saver.

iTunes Remote
Another Apple provided app that seems almost ridiculous that it doesn't ship with your iPhone. This one allows you to commandeer your computer's iTunes, including volume control.

New York Times
The secret for reading on a handheld device is readability. The New York Times is probably the best paper in the country and having it available and legible while on the go in your hand is worth putting up with the quirks that still need to be worked out with it.

Pandora
As long as you have the 3G version, this is a great utility for music listening. It behaves just like the web app, just a little simpler. The draw back like most iPhone apps is that you cannot have this run in the background.

Classics
Great classics with chapter jumping, bookmarking where you left off, original illustrations and a nifty page turning animation. The cream with brown text makes it easy on your eyes to continue reading on a flight or train ride for long periods of time. They also continue to add to the 18-book library with its free updates.

Yelp
Tell it to locate you and what kind of food you are looking for it will give you all the functionality of the website with a hook into your dialer and the map finder.

i.TV
This app is quite easy to use, especially considering how comprehensive it is. You can view not only what the television schedule is for your particular cable or dish network, but you can also find out movie listings for your area. Using the same panel slide metaphor as the Mac Finder, you can easily select by a genre, location or specific movie to find listings - including booking through the app itself for participating theaters. You can also view previews, view reviews and Tivo shows.

iDicto Recorder
Record notes to yourself and mark them. You can also append to a audio note. The only thing you wish it could do is convert into a text note, but sometimes a dictation tool is just handy enough. The UI has a big fat button to start and stop making it nice and easy.

Wunder Radio
I haven't lived in LA for seven years but aside from friends and sunshine, I miss most KCRW. I can grab it while attached to my computer but having it now available through my iPhone means I can plug into it as well as hundreds of other stations while in my car or on the train. The 3G network is dodgy, so its not reliable to hear for long periods of time while moving, but at least with this app, I can catch Metropolis while driving home. Another great feature it has is a recommender for similar stations.

Easy Writer
For us fat fingered folks, the fact that you can only have a landscape keyboard when in the browser but not in email is maddening. Easy Writer fixes this obvious oversight, but only for new messages rather then also for replies. But at least I can type faster and more reliable when I have the opportunity to start a message screen using this app.

Around Me
The Swiss Army knife of what's around me. Pretty good to have handy when needing a quick idea where to park or the closest pharmacy.

Easy Wi-Fi
Get hooked for free to the wi-fi the next time you are at a Starbucks. Not sure how it does it without the payment normally required, but no UI knowledge necessary. You open it, and it lets you know when you are on.

Happy Valentine's Day

We've made a Valentine greeting to boost your spirits up!
http://www.perfectpixels.com/samples/greeting/ppmg_greeting-card.html

PPMG Announces Strategic Partnership with Usability Service

Perfect Pixels Media Group (PPMG), a web design agency that focuses on branded user experience on the web, and Psychster, Inc., a social psychology and usability consultancy, are pleased to announce a strategic partnership that will offer their clients a holistic solution to user experience that ensures user stickiness and acceptance.

When building websites and online applications, success is dependent upon user acceptance and adoption. When the user can intuitively interact with the site he or she will have a pleasant experience, get the information needed in a non-stressful way, and not only stay on the site, but return.

There is no lack of websites on the internet. Differentiation is key. PPMG and Psychster offer the keys to making a website stand out. We work hand-in-hand to create the most effective user interface that matches up with the strategic goals of the company. From start to finish these two companies offer expertise founded not only on years of experience but also on solid data and user information.

Psychster provides usability studies through a very cost effective, web-based interface. Usability studies give the opportunity to collect deep, individual interview data. The interviews that we conduct will uncover issues, whereas the surveys will show you how common those issues are. A team of PhD level psychologists conducts the usability studies. This gives an added value of looking at user reactions on cognitive, processing, and social levels. This information is then integrated into all levels of the website build, from branding to information architecture to design, to implementation by the senior level team at PPMG. PPMG is all about user experience – both the client’s and the end-user’s. We have a savvy team of experts who have offered integrated solutions for fortune 100 companies, as well as start-ups.

Both companies are agile, work closely with each other and the client, and have a long track record of client satisfaction. Please contact Kate O’Neil at 800.834.9309 x702 for more information.