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Airports are not fun.

If you’ve ever been on a commercial airline you can attest that many words have been used to describe airports, but “fun” is likely not one of them.  Unless you’re 5, then everything’s fun.  Gone are the days of a leisurely, civilized journey through an open and trusting environment where people can come and go freely.  It’s been replaced by a gauntlet of labyrinthine parking structures, impersonal ticketing kiosks, 4th-Amendment-violating security checkpoints, and a never-ending sea of cookie-cutter retailers.  And your gate always seems light-years away. Add to that the ever-increasing cost of traveling by air and it’s enough to make someone want to take the train.

But news reports in the past year have hinted that the winds of change may be shifting in our favor.  Airlines, facilities planners, and even the TSA have begun to acknowledge that delivering a satisfying customer experience is not only the right thing to do, but it makes good business sense as well.

Since  9/11, the very nature of the airport experience has involuntarily shifted.  Most existing airports were designed during an era when it was commonplace to arrive at the airport a mere 30 minutes before your departure time.  Today, travelers need nearly three times that to ensure we get through security and they spend more time there once through, resulting in a greater demand for a wider variety of amenities – especially food, since meals aren’t served on flights as they once were.  Pre-9/11 airports were designed with one primary goal: get people in and out as fast as possible, and most have not yet evolved to meet the shifting behavioral needs of the 21st Century traveler.

New airport experiences have begun to arrive on the scene, though.  New projects like JFK’s new JetBlue terminal and imaginative renovations like SFO’s international terminal have the customer experience at their core – focusing on comfort, hospitality, and sustainability.  From simple touches like intuitive wayfinding signage and more natural lighting solutions, to technology enhancements like digital avatar guides and timely, relevant information fed directly to a traveler’s mobile device.  Many airports have even begun to offer free wifi and waiting area seating options that offer more functional – and humane – options beyond huddling on the floor near the occasional power outlet.

Airports and airlines have also begun exploring how new technology can help reduce traditional pain-points and bottlenecks in existing terminals – in lieu of a complete overhaul or redesign.  Replacing barcodes and paper boarding passes with RFID-enabled travel documents, or geo-fenced secure mobile apps, that automatically check-in passengers as soon as they enter the airport and display their boarding criteria on their smartphone.  Augmenting traditional security screening procedures with “cumulative biometrics” that allow travelers to build up a reputation with TSA the more they fly – with rewards for frequent flyers such as being granted access to the TSA “bypass” lane for trusted travelers.  Augmenting cumbersome and generalized wayfinding signage with personalized digital maps, turn-by-turn directions, and augmented-reality views tied to the traveler’s itinerary and their triangulated location in-terminal.  And much of this experience will be further streamlined as wearable technology – like Google’s Glass project – become more pervasive.  Google Glass could provide support or validation to a retinal scan ID via an NFC connection to the security screener, display the fastest route to your gate (or a family restroom with a changing station), or quickly identify your bags amongst a river of similar luggage on the carousel – all while leaving your hands free to manage carry-ons or wrangle squirmy offspring.  And for international travel, the added stress of navigating a foreign language could be mitigated by automatically translating signage and other text into the user’s native language.

A growing trend in the realm of the airport experience is community-driven apps.  Startups like AirportChatter are working to provide a conduit for travelers, airports, airlines, and retailers to keep each other informed about important happenings and make the most of their time in-terminal.  Crowdsourcing their data provides a greater level of freshness than traditional models, as it’s being provided by people experiencing it in real-time, thereby enabling others to make better decisions that impact their own experience – from determining which security checkpoint is moving faster to which airport pub has the best happy hour prices.  And for singles, there are apps and sites like meetattheairport.com that are banking on this new spin in online dating, if that’s your thing.

Several surveys have also cited the importance of a good experience before a traveler is anywhere near their local airport.  From the moment we check in for our flight online, thoughts of our jaunt through the airport begin to creep into our minds – along with the laundry-list of preparatory to-dos.  Apps like Mozio and Uber extend the realm of convenience and comfort beyond the terminal to provide fast, cost-effective, and up-scaled travel options to and from your local airport.  Cloud-based apps like Wunderlist and Clear offer travelers an effortless way to log and track the list of tasks related to their upcoming trip, including the ability to share and sync tasks with a friend or colleague.

As technology continues to infuse itself into everyday items, scenarios involving “umbilical” products may become more prevalent – imagine being able to track your GPS-enabled checked baggage from the moment it leaves your hands and get an alert if it happens to end up on the wrong plane.  Ideally, these “smartbags” would also have RFID or NFC that communicates with airport and airline infrastructure to ensure that the lost-bag nightmare becomes a “when I was your age” story we tell to our grandkids.

International travel could also benefit from connected experiences that bridge the analog and digital worlds.  One idea we are exploring spawned from work we did recently for the youth market using “smart-toys” designed to interact with a mobile device’s on-screen UI:  digital passports.  Rather than the traditional book-style passport, the digital version is stored securely on the user’s mobile device.  When the user arrives at customs, geo-fencing automatically fires up the passport on-device and begins communicating with the airports infrastructure to pre-screen the traveler.  ID is confirmed by the customs agent using visual inspection and/or biometric scan (fingerprint, retina, voicewave scan or a combination of the three).  The traveler’s passport is then digitally “stamped” with an e-signed device that is tapped on the traveler’s screen.  The benefits we see in this scenario include peace-of-mind and security for the traveler, passport information that is always up-to-date, faster customs processing to reduce airport congestion, and parallel authentication for travelers with dual citizenship.

Can fun be had in airport?  Granted, security and shopping will continue to define our travel experience, but one hopes that the evolution of the world’s airports and the technology that connects to them might help.  Fun isn’t a word that people have come to expect from airport environments, but there are many passionate folks exploring ways to change that.

We have been working on a beautiful interactive book application for over a year now, before we ever knew of Disney’s new Oz the Great and Powerful. You can imagine what a terrific coincidence this was for us when we did learn of the new movie’s release though.

Developed by our brilliant, Ben Roberts, who brought you the interactive book apps Alice for the iPad, Jungle Book and Pat the Bunny, and beautifully illustrated by artist ShaunPendergast, we are excited to share the new The Wonderful Wizard of Oz for iPad app.

The standalone app is based on one of the best-known original fairy tales in American pop culture, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, by L. Frank Baum, published in 1900. We created a new world of storytelling by taking this classic and re-imagining it as an immersive interactive journey with Dorothy Gale, her dog, Toto, and her faithful friends making their way through the land of Oz.

While there are interactions, sound effects, animation and real-time physics throughout the app, we didn’t want to kill the experience with interactivity and take away from the beautiful illustrations. The overarching goal was to make this the most beautiful illustrated book yet made for the iPad.

Shaun’s illustrations can be found in both the Random House Children’s eBook and this interactive app. For him, this project was a personal dream come true. When he was very young, his father gave him his grandmother’s set of L. Frank Baum’s original Oz novels. He was instantly enthralled with the world of Oz and ecstatic to team up with Smashing Ideas and Random House to bring his version of the classic tale to life.

The app boasts two separate ways to experience the adventure, the Original Novel mode and Picture Book mode, both creating a rich new world of storytelling with vivid illustrations throughout.

The Picture Book mode offers readers a brand-new abridgement of the classic tale, designed for younger readers and fully narrated. In this mode almost every page is illustrated and many have real-time physics, animation, touch and swipe interactions and sound effects.

The Original Novel mode offers readers the full original text interspersed with the interactive illustrations from the Picture Book.

The app is available in iTunes now for $3.99 and is already ranked #100 in paid entertainment apps for the iPad. Check it out now.

With interest in “Connected Experiences” abound, we’re testing the hardware to software loop, and thinking in terms of physical to digital and back. From clocks that respond to movement, to robots, and just about anything interactive the heart desires, our club will build it and push the boundaries of digital. Using different technologies for hardware and software, and learning new ways to push their limits to create immersive connected experiences, will help us create some really cool stuff for our clients that will take them to the next level.

Over the past few weeks we have been learning the basics of electrical engineering, along with using Arduino to read physical input. In our last meet up, we used potentiometers to make color-changing night-lights (see photo above).

Soon, we’ll build light-sensing robots for our first ever Robot Races. We’ll be sure to share that here in a later post.

There will be some fun projects coming out of our Makers Club throughout the year so keep an eye out and be sure to follow us for updates here, on Twitter, Facebook or LinkedIn.

EverydayFamily.com published data on kids and mobile technology called “Kids and the Mobile Technology Takeover.” This study also found that kids are exploring mobile technology at a younger age and exploring tablets while still in diapers. Among the mobile apps out there for kids, the focus areas receiving the most time and effort are:

- Games for Fun 46%

- Math & Puzzles 42%

- Art & Music 28%

- Character based apps 19%

- Other 16%

It’s interesting to note too, this study found only 11% of children ages 2-5 can tie their own shoes yet 22% can use a smart phone app.

What does this all mean? Other than an increase in demand for velcro shoes, it means companies and brands need to turn their digital efforts for kids up a notch (or more). Kids expect more with digital. You can’t just put pretty colors, fun music and a silly character on a screen and call it good for a child; they’re too digitally savvy for that. Children’s digital content and experiences need to be well planned and purposeful, not gratuitous.

We’ll get into content focused on education more in a later post, but it’s important for children to have purposeful digital experiences. Of children ages 12 and under surveyed by EverydayFamily.com, 57% use tablets for educational purposes. This makes sense, as almost half of the mobile apps out there targeted at kids are Math & Puzzle apps.

Creativity, learning and play are core to any childhood experience and should be extended to their digital experiences. Companies who target the youth & family market have a big opportunity this year to create immersive connected experiences that are deeply engaging and purposeful for children, as long as they take a step back to ensure content and context are aligned. You can find the full Everydayfamily.com infographic below.

Creating a definitive application on sharks was no easy feat, but when MyDiscovery asks you to be their partner on the endeavor, you know it will be a very deep dive into treacherous waters to bring these creatures to life on the iPad, and that’s exactly what we did, right in time for Discovery Channel’s Shark Week.

We cannot ignore the fact, that this is the third generation that has grown up playing video games. It is a part of our culture and kids are drawn to them over any other media. Integrating game elements into children’s books for pure-entertainment can lead to increased “replay-ability” of a reading experience, having a stealth effect of actually encouraging kids to read more.

However, entertainment in this case should not be gratuitous, but rather, have a purpose. Curriculum and learning-based gamified elements within a digitized story encourages comprehension, alphabet skills, understanding of word families, math concepts, etc. and will surely be supported by parents. Adaptive learning companies like Knewton, clearly see the value in gamification applied in education, tapping into the reward and progress/level models of gaming that kids are already comfortable with. Gabe Zichermann’s definition appears to be the most applicable in this sense: “Gamification is the process of using game-thinking and game dynamics to engage audiences and solve problems” (more can be found on his Twitter feed, @gzicherm).

If solving problems via engaging experiences are at the core, then rewards and achievements for a child’s progress within the story, attributable to measurable goals, provide a satisfying result for both the child and parent. In the case of The 39 Clues series, Scholastic shifted the gamification element to a complementary (but core) online experience, without disrupting the reading of the books. In this example, entertainment and imagination live in their purest forms on both mediums. This tactic can be applied within an application as well through content that is only unlocked when associated progress in reading takes place.

Most reading is for fun and about being transported into another world, life, or situation. Storytelling can evolve in many ways on the digital page, and if tastefully done with an eye towards balancing the experience, gamification will succeed in satisfying both kids and parents expectations.

By, Brian Burke, Smashing President

We’re honored to be a part of this list. But how did we get on the list? Well, we think that would be best answered by the main reason we made the list, our smashing people. Here’s what they had to say when asked, “Why is SI a great place to work?”

People

“The people are awesome and we can have dogs in the office.” – Lindsay Lewin, Producer (It’s true, every Friday)

“This is the most collaborative company I have ever had the pleasure of working at.” – Steve Jackson, CEO

“No drama, no egos, just passion for the work and our customers.” –Drory Ben-Menachem, Creative Director

“We make it a priority to hire people who are young at heart – people who can make just about anything fun.” – Brian Marr, Director of Strategy

Perks

“The seemingly unlimited supply of snacks and drinks that are always flowing in the kitchen.” – Darren Kovalchik, Developer

Work & Clients

“We get to work with some of the best clients and push the envelope with cutting edge products.” –Adam Michel, Creative Director

“We get to work on high profile projects that help define how people will interact with content today and in the future.” – Charlie Barr, Director of Business Development

Not to mention we make cool stuff and have cool clubs. Oh and we’re hiring.

Pat the Bunny and Alice for iPad

In early 2012 Entertainment Weekly featured five eBooks as “Fabulous Kids Books.” We were delighted to find both eBooks, Pat the Bunny and Director of ePublishing Ben Robert’s, Alice for iPad, were both listed in the top 5!

Cyberchase Website Refresh

In 2012 the team won the Web Marketing Association’s “Education Standard of Excellence” for their work on the Cyberchase website refresh.

Award-winning PollyPocket.com Site Redesign

Mattel and Smashing Ideas were also awarded the “Best Entertainment Website” honor by the Web Marketing Association for the redesign of PollyPocket.com, launched in April 2012.

Barbie® Fashionistas® Endless Closet™ App

This app was featured by Apple as a top Education, Just For Fun, What’s Hot in Kids Games and What’s Hot in Simulation Games app categories and named a 2012 Mobi Awards finalist as one of the best mobile apps for branded content.

Julia Child’s Mastering the Art of French Cooking: Selected Recipes App

This beautiful app, available on the iPad and NOOK, made Apple’s App Store Best of 2012 list. It was named one of the top 6 cooking apps in 2012.

Dr. Seuss’s The Cat in the Hat Color & Create! iPad App

This app was featured by Apple in the iTunes Store and was named one of the top 25 iPad apps for kids by Time’s Techland in 2012.

WeatherCaster App

We worked with Belo Corp. to bring you a new weather forecast experience in 2012, WeatherCaster. The app won a 2012 Tabby Award for best in intelligence, information and reference app and was also highlighted in Macworld.

George R. R. Martin’s A World of Ice and Fire – A Game of Thrones Guide

As the first official app guide to George R. R. Martin’s bestselling cycle, Game of Thrones, Entertainment Weekly named it one of the best 10 apps in 2012. This app is available in iTunes and on the NOOK.

Digital Customer Experiences 

Connected Experiences in Retail Environments: Many companies today have an e-commerce site, a mobile app and a retail store, with very little integration between the digital experiences (other than brand) between them. The teams that build these often build them in organizational and technological silos. In 2013 we hope to see companies begin to connect the technology and digital strategy in a way that creates a seamless experience for the customer no matter the customer’s device or location.

Digital Coupons: Although they have been around for a while and have already seen some growth, 2013 feels like the year these will go mainstream. New developments like Passbook, and improvements to Google Wallet, will make digital couponing simple and useful for the average person and easier to implement in retail environments.

Digital Integration in Retail Environments: In 2013 we’ll see more retailers implement interactive digital experiences within physical stores to increase customer engagement, retain sales and maintain brand preference. Smartphones and technology like geo-fencing provide the opportunity to create more personalized experiences for customers. In the way Burberry has recently chosen to implement RFID to alert salespeople of the need for a dressing room, they can also use mobile technology to alert salespeople of a vast array of customer-relationship information for high value customers – including their name for a personal greeting, preferred sizes, what they purchased last time and more.

Store Management: In the New Year we will see more brands take advantage of digital technologies to improve upon store management as we’ve seen with NAU and Seattle-based Hointer. RFID tags for dressing rooms can also be used for inventory management and theft control. With in-store scanners (or by using their smartphone) customers can scan items to learn more about them, see what other colors are in stock or order the item online for shipment to their house.

Web

Mobile Web: We’re at a tipping point for mobile web use. Data results from the 2012 KPCB Internet Trends Year-End Update confirms this, finding that global mobile traffic now accounts for 13% of internet traffic – up from just 4% two years ago. In 2013 companies need to ensure their content strategies cover desktop and mobile web use scenarios. Context is queen! Companies need to serve the right content to users depending on their context.

Unlocking Content: We’re hearing more and more from clients that their content is not in a CMS, or it’s accessible only to Flash-friendly devices. As more companies realize they’re spending a lot of time making site updates or losing users because their content can’t be viewed on all devices, 2013 will see an uptick in solutions tailored for companies/brands to set their content free on all devices.

Content Management: Even though product schedules and budgets are tight, consumers are demanding more than ever from their online experiences. In 2013, companies will begin work on streamlining their efforts (if they aren’t already) and we’ll see much more content and online tools created, to be re-used on multiple sites.

ePublishing

Publishers Rethink their Business Models: Reality bites for big digital publishing initiatives. Entranced by the iPad launch, many companies have launched high-profile digital initiatives only to see the market isn’t yet there to support them – witness the demise of The Daily. In response to this, publishers will need to fall back on strengths and sustainable business models where economies of scale, industry standard toolsets and re-usable platforms, instead of one-off projects, play central roles.

The Rise of the ULTRA-MEGA-BLOCKBUSTER: In app stores we see revenue focused around a tiny number of apps despite there being more than a million different titles available (see how 25 developers accounted for 50% of U.S. app revenue in November). The combination of very limited distribution channels, limited advertising of titles on those channels and up to the minute awareness of global taste and trends mean, that very few titles go absolutely MASSIVE while most fail to reach a top 25 list anywhere and thus, are quickly forgotten. As book sales shift to digital and consumers shop online rather than in stores, we expect this trend to continue even more in 2012 where the most popular titles sell in record-breaking numbers and others struggle even harder for a piece of the pie.

Design

Adaptive Tile Layouts: Windows 8 has brought a design pattern to the forefront of the industry. Adaptive tile layout will stick with us for at least the next year or so because it’s one of those rare things that solves problems for both content makers and for users. For content makers, it allows for strategic marketing by surfacing their content in the right place at the right time. For users, it works in much the same way – they’re able to customize the tiles to fit their needs and have their most-used content updated real time and at-the-ready for a deeper dive. It’s great that the light is shining on Windows 8, because it illuminates a few truths about building products for their users, and is spreading an understanding and standard for this approach.

Development

Machine Learning Technology: This (specifically deep learning) has made great strides in the past few years. For the first time ever, computers using deep artificial neural networks can outperform humans in vision tasks such as reading street signs. Companies like Microsoft and Google have already taken advantage of this technology to improve their voice recognition algorithms. Have you noticed the huge improvement in Google voice search this year? Improved data mining and analysis from machine learning is becoming key in more industries. The applications for this technology are broad and wide scale use will make it mainstream very soon.

Maker Movement: The hardware/DYI/ Maker/Hacker revolution has been a huge up and coming trend in the past year. In 2013 it will grow even more. Everything from learning to code (Khan Academy, Code Academy) to hardware building (Raspberry PI, Arduino, etc.), this movement is highly important. With stores like Adafruit.com and makershed.com as well as places like Seattle’s Metrix Create Space and Makers Space, being able to obtain just about anything you need to build hardware that manufacturers create makes it so that anyone, anywhere can build anything, cheaply. This also extends to 3D printing. Printers are relatively cheap and anyone can plan and print parts to make anything. The next few years will see the end of scarcity apply to the physical world just as it has the digital.

By, Smashing Executive Producer, Jen Freeman