08/02/2010
Phil on hidden technology – the use of creative technology to implement creative ideas on the web
What’s the most “creative” website you’ve seen recently? Did it realise an innovative idea? Or perhaps it had particularly impressive graphic design? Maybe it had an innovative approach to user experience? Or was it technically creative? Chances are you’ll get a different answer if you ask say a strategist, a designer, a user experience consultant or a developer; essentially whether or not you think something is creative depends on which way you look at it. I’ve been in the technical field for some years, and what gets me out of bed in the morning is creative technology. But what is creative technology?
For me, creative technology isn’t necessarily about clever programming - it’s about using technology in a clever or innovative way. And often the best technology is invisible; in fact what makes some technology great is sometimes that it is so clever you don’t know it is there.
When it comes to websites, there are often interesting things going on behind the scenes which you’d never see. We had a client recently who had already chosen their technology, and the creativity was finding a way to get it to do what they needed it to. They had an existing corporate content management system and were using Google appliances for site search. They needed a better way to allow users to find relevant content from 15,000 pages in just a few clicks. In this case the trick was to have the whole site generated through search queries - even when you think you are browsing, you are in fact running filtered search queries. This wasn’t how the technology was intended to be used, but it was a creative use of that technology to solve a problem. (As it turned out, generating tailored related content links using Google appliances required a fair bit of creative thinking as well.)
With common interfaces to applications and information, it is becoming ever easier to incorporate services into websites and applications. Technology-agnostic Web standard APIs and web services can be integrated easily into your website and applications. For example, the new Kia UK website (www.kia.co.uk) E3 has just launched pulls together a number of external services (data services, mapping etc.) into a cohesive online experience (HTML and Flash versions).
I would argue that most technical creativity is based on other innovations; the creativity is in spotting what you can do by pulling these technologies together. Augmented reality as a technology is a great example of repackaging technologies. The underlying technologies have been there for a long time, but the brilliance is in their combination. Webcams have been around for a long time; so has image recognition and tracking, as well as image compositing. But bring these things together (in say a Flash or iPhone app) and suddenly you have something which is no longer a set of somewhat geeky technologies, but something altogether different with brand new application potential.
So how does creative technology come about? I think that most people would assume you start with a problem and look for a solution, but in reality often new technology comes about simply because of the possibilities provided by other “enabling” technologies. For a simple example, when the iPhone was released with its motion sensing, it was only a matter of time before someone came up with the first marble-rolling game – the underlying technology enabled and encouraged the further step for the app developers.
But how do you foster technical creativity? Given that it invariably relies on other underlying technologies, knowing and keeping abreast of what is out there is key. Then there is spotting the opportunity – either being presented with a problem and being able to see the solution, or taking what you know and finding a problem to solve with it. But the problem is that you can’t easily teach creative thinking (technical or otherwise) - it is hard to put your finger on how someone joins up all their knowledge and thinking, to come up with something novel. And sometimes creativity happens by accident. But certainly the more influences you have and the wider you can draw your inspiration, the better.
So next time you look at a website - any website - spare a thought for the creativity that’s gone in to it, especially the technical creativity. It may not be obvious or even visible, but you can be sure it is there - in many layers.
By Philip Clarke, Head of Technology posted by E3 at 11:16
For me, creative technology isn’t necessarily about clever programming - it’s about using technology in a clever or innovative way. And often the best technology is invisible; in fact what makes some technology great is sometimes that it is so clever you don’t know it is there.
When it comes to websites, there are often interesting things going on behind the scenes which you’d never see. We had a client recently who had already chosen their technology, and the creativity was finding a way to get it to do what they needed it to. They had an existing corporate content management system and were using Google appliances for site search. They needed a better way to allow users to find relevant content from 15,000 pages in just a few clicks. In this case the trick was to have the whole site generated through search queries - even when you think you are browsing, you are in fact running filtered search queries. This wasn’t how the technology was intended to be used, but it was a creative use of that technology to solve a problem. (As it turned out, generating tailored related content links using Google appliances required a fair bit of creative thinking as well.)
With common interfaces to applications and information, it is becoming ever easier to incorporate services into websites and applications. Technology-agnostic Web standard APIs and web services can be integrated easily into your website and applications. For example, the new Kia UK website (www.kia.co.uk) E3 has just launched pulls together a number of external services (data services, mapping etc.) into a cohesive online experience (HTML and Flash versions).
I would argue that most technical creativity is based on other innovations; the creativity is in spotting what you can do by pulling these technologies together. Augmented reality as a technology is a great example of repackaging technologies. The underlying technologies have been there for a long time, but the brilliance is in their combination. Webcams have been around for a long time; so has image recognition and tracking, as well as image compositing. But bring these things together (in say a Flash or iPhone app) and suddenly you have something which is no longer a set of somewhat geeky technologies, but something altogether different with brand new application potential.
So how does creative technology come about? I think that most people would assume you start with a problem and look for a solution, but in reality often new technology comes about simply because of the possibilities provided by other “enabling” technologies. For a simple example, when the iPhone was released with its motion sensing, it was only a matter of time before someone came up with the first marble-rolling game – the underlying technology enabled and encouraged the further step for the app developers.
But how do you foster technical creativity? Given that it invariably relies on other underlying technologies, knowing and keeping abreast of what is out there is key. Then there is spotting the opportunity – either being presented with a problem and being able to see the solution, or taking what you know and finding a problem to solve with it. But the problem is that you can’t easily teach creative thinking (technical or otherwise) - it is hard to put your finger on how someone joins up all their knowledge and thinking, to come up with something novel. And sometimes creativity happens by accident. But certainly the more influences you have and the wider you can draw your inspiration, the better.
So next time you look at a website - any website - spare a thought for the creativity that’s gone in to it, especially the technical creativity. It may not be obvious or even visible, but you can be sure it is there - in many layers.
By Philip Clarke, Head of Technology posted by E3 at 11:16
