Big Picture Track | Web Directions South 2011

Big Picture Track

Our Big Picture track takes a look at emerging trends and the big ideas that are shaping tomorrow’s web. Expand your boss’s, your client’s or your own mind: local hero Cameron Adams considers what is new when everything is a copy; Andrew Fisher tells us why the web will win the physical world too, with many more big ideas to be announced soon.

Everything Is A Copy

Presenter: Cameron Adams

Where lies the grave of originality? Culture — be it design, music, or film — appears to be wholly satisfied by a spiral of influence, samples & copying that threatens to eat itself. In this new world of facsimiles, what boundaries define the creation of new work and what ethics arise from the ability to copy anything from anyone, anywhere around the globe?

Cameron Adams will take a look at how copying, influence & remixing has shaped the history of creativity and lay out a path that designers can follow to reuse, remix & reinvent their way to the best work they’ve ever done.

Why the Web will win the physical world too

Presenter: Andrew Fisher

In 2020 there will be nearly 10 times as many Internet connected devices as there are human beings on this planet. The majority of these will not have web browsers. When it comes to the “Internet of Things”, web designers and developers are uniquely placed to create, connect and produce innovative new ways for these devices to be used.

We are used to mashing up disconnected data sets, playing with APIs and designing for constantly moving standards in order to create compelling digital user experiences. “Old school” engineers are struggling to keep pace due to long processes for product and service design but as web creators we understand the value of rapid prototyping, user feedback and quick iterations. As developers, we play daily with a bewildering array of technologies that span networks, servers and user interfaces. As designers, we understand the nature of beautiful but usable technology.

These skills, and our innate understanding of how interconnectedness enhances and creates engaging user experiences, mean that web creators will be critical for the next generation of Internet enabled Things in our world. From a potplant that tweets when it needs water to crowd sourcing pollution data with sensors on people’s windows and visualising it on Google Maps these are the new boundaries of the web creator’s skills. Have you ever dreamt of sending your phone to the edge of space to take a picture of a country? Or how about a robot you can control via a web browser?

By exploring examples of things in the wild right now and delving into practical guidance for for getting started, this session will demonstrate how easy it is for web designers and developers to build Internet connected and aware Things.

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