The medium of information gathering and sharing has change drastically over the past few years. With the introduction of newer devices to consume information, the spectrum gets wider day by day.

Information sharing  is happening at a pace that is unprecedented. Before you know it, the information is reached to a an audience that would have been unthinkable a few  years ago. With a lot more people consuming information on their personal devices like the cell phones and the other personal gadgets, information is ready to go at all times. Just to give an insight, when the

The seamless blend between the network and the product in hand and the ease of reaching to the social network adds an extra dimension to the whole information dissemination and information consumption life-cycle. Information is also not only being sent out, but also being re-worked upon and shared across networks again and again.

One of the most interesting videos that we came across was this Ignite Talk Flash Mob Gone Wrong by Tom Scott. The event in the video did not happen all in the same sequence, but it give a great illustration of whats possible in the times that we are living it. Go watch it Now!

If media reports are to be believed , here comes another one with the NBC deciding to do away with their iconic peacock and range of colors logo to give way for something more simple.

Old Iconic NBC Logo

NBC Universal New Logo

More news and comments here.

Here’s a link to the history of  the NBC Logo

Would love to know more about what people think about the logo change.

Republic Day Greetings from Deskala

Interested candidates can email their updated CV along with the Portfolio/Sample work tocareers@deskala.com mentioning the Job code of the job you are interested in the Subject Line.

At Deskala we would offer

• A certificate to signify your contribution to the growth of Deskala on the successful completion of your internship
• A wonderful experience with lots of stories to tell
• Works that are worthy of putting in portfolio
• An opportunity to join us full-time after you graduate or after you complete the training period.

Present Open Positions

1. Management Interns (1) Job Code MI
If you

• Are currently pursuing a management course at a reputed institute and are looking for industry experience
• Have a keen interest in Marketing and Market Research
• Possess excellent oral communication, organizational and analytical skills
• Are a good team player, are open to criticism and can handle it well
• Are good at social networking and making friends
• Can dig through the internet and find valuable information
• Are self-motivated to take up responsibilities and execute them to perfection
• Are ready to travel to any part of the country
• Want to experience working in a dynamic startup environment
• Are proficient in Hindi and Kannada as an added bonus advantage

Your responsibilities will include

• Working closely with the team to understand markets, domains and brand positioning
• You will help us in defining the Marketing Strategies for the company and various projects inhouse
• Explore the possible areas for Design research and make proposals for the same
• Work on a live Market/Design Research project led by a research expert at Deskala
• Interact with consumers/users and record information
• Evangelize about services at Deskala by leveraging Social Media and Social gatherings
• Get involved with online communities and engage in discussions with global thought leaders to drive adoption of the services

2. User Experience Design Trainee (1) Job Code UXDT
If you

• Have just finished Design school or are currently pursuing a design course in your final semester at a reputed institute and are looking for industry experience
• Have a keen interest in the different aspects of Design in the industry
• Are eager to learn from experts and mentors in the industry
• Possess excellent oral communication, organizational and analytical skills
• Are a good team player, are open to criticism and can handle it well
• Are good at social networking and making friends
• Can dig through the internet and find valuable information
• Are self-motivated to take up responsibilities and execute them to perfection
• Are ready to travel to any part of the country
• Want to experience working in a dynamic startup environment
• Are proficient in Hindi and Kannada, as an added bonus advantage

Your responsibilities will include

• Working closely with the Senior Design Team to  team to understand markets, domains and brand positioning
• Learning industry standard Design processes and apply to a live project.
• Help in defining the Design Strategies for the company and various projects in house.
• Explore the possible areas for Design research and make proposals for the same
• Evangelize about services at Deskala by leveraging Social Media and Social gatherings
• Get involved with online communities and engage in discussions with global thought leaders to drive adoption of the services
• Write articles related to Research and Design in India

We are not looking for coding skills,Knowledge of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, any scripting, but it is great if you know them.
Interested candidates can email their updated CV along with the Portfolio/Sample work to careers@deskala.com mentioning the Job code of the job you are interested in the Subject Line.

All positions are based in Bangalore.

At Deskala we offer:
Challenging and exciting projects to keep you updated with the field at all times.
Creative work environment with freedom to experiment.
Good remuneration and bonus and perks on performance basis.
Great team to work with and good mentors.
Open Work Culture where you get to be your own boss.
Flexible Work timings with the option to work from home.
Dynamic startup culture with opportunity to interact with other startups.

FULL TIME POSITIONS (Positions to be filled immediately)

1. User Experience Designer (3 Positions) Job Code: UXD
Required Work Experience 0-2 years.

Required Qualification, Skills and Competencies

2. Design Researcher (1 position) Job Code: DR
Required Work Experience 1-2 years

Required Qualification, Skills and Competencies

Here’s wishing all a very happy and eventful New Year 2011.

The first part of the talk aims to cover the interesting and exciting things happening in the UI field, along with the possibilities that one can explore.

The later part of the talk is to cover these aspects

1. How is design evolving?
2. New Emerging trends in Design?}
3. Social Entrepreneurship and Design and how online social entrepreneurship is helping children in Bihar.

Will be sharing the key takeaways from the talk after the talk is over.

UX Fun

More information on this location: http://www.uxfun.com/index.htm

2. USID 2010, Hyderabad, 18-20 November 2010

USID 2010

More information can be found on this location: http://www.usidfoundation.org/usid/

Both of these have an amazing line of speakers lined up and I am sure would be interesting to attend!

With the introduction of more phones that are based on the Android and the Symbian 3 platforms, it is but natural to have more applications that will make use of it.With the 3G network slated to come on a larger scale in the market too in the next month (Tata DOCOMO has already started the promotions for it), the number of applications will only increase. If there is anything that is sure, it is that the interactivity level of the users with their devices will increase.

It is this aspect of Interactivity that is the focus of this article. One can imagine and agree people spending more time on their devices (the phones, ipads, tablet pcs etc). With everyone trying to create solutions for different user groups keeping technology in mind, the number of possibilities are vast.

The down side of this would be the vast pool of information that will be available at the disposal to the user. In such a scenario it is very important to get the right piece of information in the shortest time possible.  And that is precisely where the QR Codes (and another thing called Data Matrix) come in handy. Just feed in the information that you need to be coded, into many of the freely available, QR code generator like this one here.

We tried this for our company name and you can see the result here.

QR Code for Deskala

Data Matrix

Let us take a couple of points to illustrate the usage of the QR codes to improve the User Experience of the viewer when they peruse through the ad. scenarios that come to mind.

The first and foremost value ad that this provides is that one can prioritize the information that is being presented to the user. The user is thus given only sufficient information to show their interest in it. Beyond that a lot of the information can be presented to the user. The QR code could contain video links, links to photographs, multimedia presentations to name a few things. You could also introduce simulators and other stuff after the user has accessed the QR codes.

The rise of the QR code

These codes are also in a way bridging the gap that exists between the print / static medium and the devices that the users are carrying with them. It’s the communicating channel that exists in-order to make sure that the appropriate information reaches the user. So in a way its making them interact with each other.

Also the fact that the user can get the code and save up the information to be consumed by them at a time that is convenient to them is an added advantage. Take this scenario: You are in a hurry and are flipping to the papers and you spot this ad with the QR code. You glimpse through the ad, find it interesting, take the QR code and read it later at your time.  Now all of a sudden you as a user are actually interacting with the advertisement, unlike earlier where all one did was see and forget or at max call up for more information.

QR Code in the Ford Figo Ad

The down side of this is that there is always the case of not all phones featuring the applications (and cameras) that would make the camera function as a QR code reader. However that is a bet one can take with the rate at which the mobile industry is growing. To make things simpler and to use the existing way of pulling information through SMS, the new advertisements also are educating the user and providing the link from where the code readers can be downloaded. Also the way things are one might think likely for a scenario where every mobile phone will come with a built-in camera.

In Conclusion; Mobiles, the 3G network, the Rich Applications and the information seeking consumer; form a formidable team. A team that is on the move always and is always going to be in the fast lane. By introducing this layer of Interactivity, one is bound to open gates to a universe of information that was just lying there somewhere.

Thank You for your support