Check out this concept of thinking about an analog situation and finding an innovative digital solution. Love the hand gestures, amazing usability.

Multi Touch Light Table: GERGWERK from GERG WERK on Vimeo.

The guys over at Six Revisions have posted a great article on a topic I'm starting to hear more and more about: Native Apps vs. Web Apps on the iPad/iPhone. At Rockfish Interactive we have had the opportunity to work on several iPad apps and lots of iPhone apps and the one thing that gets brought is "...is this better served as a web app?" At first I didn't see why the need but after hearining feedback from users using our aps it makes perfect sense that the web app model is still alive and kicking. Native apps are cool and take full advantage of the platform and what it has to offer but the limitations of being device specific and the case with the iPad not printing and not saving causes complications the user doesn't seem to like. 

Obviously with the power of HTML 5 and CSS3 growing I think the more viable approach will be the web apps but until browsers inherently come with plugins such as Unity or Flash i think most game developers will stick to the native approach.  

A look inside the iAd campaign promoting the Nissan LEAF here

The Executive Creative Director at Rockfish Interactive Bob Robinson said a great quote today that's worthy of a young aspiring artist or ad man, he said: "remember...Branding is who we are. Advertising is what we say and Marketing is who we say it to."

Recently I've had the opportunity to be around some great talent and leadership at Rockfish Interactive and after sharing my passion for mobile and interaction design they shared a few companies and resources for inspiration related to interaction design. Check out the work by both Obscura Digital and Second Story, both create some amazing interactive experiences that go far beyound the browser. Anyone looking to expand in their Interaction Design careers should be inspired by their designs and technology.

Also, I've been impressed lately by how companies are using Microsoft's Surface and they have a great collection of video case studies that can be found here. Check out the interaction from the Sheraton Hotel's app, I can't wait till the world is filled with this type of daily experience interaction. 

NYC IxDA - Tap is the New Click - Dan Saffer from Interaction Design Association on Vimeo.

While doing some research for an upcoming touch screen experience for the iPad I wanted to dig deeper in the realm of Interactive Experiences vs. traditional web design or branding. IxD as they call it, encompasses many things like touch interfaces, gestural interfaces and mobile devices it enhances or aides the user during their time with it and basically provides satisfaction during interaction.

Surprisingly there is very little knowledge on the subject after doing a Google search; after you weed through all the agencies trying to capitalize on the keywords to promote their web company very few stand out as experts on the subject. I did read about Kicker Studio which seems to be doing some impressive work in this field. Also, check out the video by Dan Saffer from Kicker that has some great insight to the subject.

I've been designing websites for the past 6 years and what I've found with a project such as a kiosk or mobile app it's a whole different approach that should be taken for delivering success. In my web design I want users to engage with the content, the content that tells a story and delivers the business objectives. In Experience Design I want the application to become an extension of the brand and enhance the experience for the user and become integrated into their life. I think mobile devices leverage the best chance for this along with devices like the iPad. So when a client comes to me and says they want to take their old analog magazine and bring it to the iPad thus enhancing a new unique experience for its subscribers I can't help but get excited and really want to deliver on the experience. Stay tuned as I keep you updated on the learnings, discoveries and processes as I start working on this project at RFI.