Although I suppose technically I’m a designer, as you may gather from my blog I’ve got quite an interest in mobile technology and interfaces. Having used Nokia phones for years, and specifically ones running the Symbian OS, I’ve found that although the technology within the device is constantly developing and changing, the operating system has remained more or less the same for the last 4 or 5 years. I’ve changed to UIQ 3 on a Sony Ericsson P1i to see what the deal is, and after a week and a bit of use it seems to be more than user friendly and a nice step up from the limitations of S60.

Since the launch of the iPhone I think a new benchmark has been set in terms of interface design on phones, especially the way that applications work and interact with each other. There are probably hundreds of reviews on the net of the iPhone UI from people much more qualified than myself, so I won’t go into that.

Symbian recently previewed ‘Symbian Touch’, a touch screen version of their standard UI used on N series phones. I’ll let people make up their own minds, but I still think there’s a lot of developments that could have been made to the aesthetics of the interface - without directly copying the iPhone. Now phones have been opened up - the screen is now pretty much the size of the device - companies have almost infinite play over the way they use the screen as a canvas.

The development of the touch screen interface is probably as significant as the change from B+W LCD to colour screens, I think we’re yet to see the real ‘next generation’ mobile phone.

I’ve thought this ever since I looked into QR Codes for my Everyone you’ve ever known poster during my third year of CSM. The benefits of QR Codes are obvious - it’s like an automated form of note taking and means people don’t have to scramble to make notes of websites / products / gigs - whatever.

But - I believe there is quite a large limitation. At present, and I would imagine on launch in the UK, QR Codes launch a browser window on your mobile device. The program to scan the codes is relatively simple - like a hyperlink on a web page. Considering the current state of network providers in the UK, chances are most normal people don’t have a data account, and if they do, the bandwidth is relatively small. You don’t always want to check out a product or site there and then.

I might tie this work into my interface work started a while back (when my current projects have eased off). QR Codes are no doubt going to add a form of interaction to printed media (a kind of ‘primitive RFID’), but they are at present highly restrictive and dare I say it, quite simple. Barcodes in their traditional form have been around for years, it’s not a new technology by any means. Rather than the simple ‘barcode on a poster’ format, is there any scope for things to be taken a step forward, while not advancing the physical technology needed to make and read the codes?

I’ve been slacking a bit in terms of getting content up on here, due to being quite busy.  While I’m on here though, I seem to have noticed a lot of QR Codes knocking around on adverts and billboards (some looking remarkably similar to my ‘Everyone you’ve ever known’ poster - but that’s another issue entirely). I spotted this one on the poster for the new Nokia N81, I guess people are starting to realise what they’re about.

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Got a few things coming up so decided to do myself some new business cards. 60 variations of various pictures I’ve taken - either of work, general stuff, or just plain interesting stuff.

I spent yesterday taking pictures for the annual Future Foundation conference ‘State of the Nation’, at the British Museum. The graphics worked on for the conference were used throughout the day. Some pics to follow.