01-Early iterations of the Granimator Ul were designed to be'ascool as possibly" but the team toned it down when they realised that this risked alienating sciential users
Down a backstreet in London's achingly cool locale of Shoreditch lives an anomaly amongst app designers. Forget any ideas of stuffy developer types when it comes to ustwo. "We call ourselves the'studio of dreams7 says co-founder Matt Miller - better known as Mills. Just take a look at ustwo's output, and you can see why.
Most user experience (UX) studios, Mills argues, take themselves far too seriously: "We create experiences that we'd want ourselves," he shrugs. "We're as much the users of our work as the creators." Adding to his folio of portmanteau phrases, Mills dubs this'profreshion'- a desirable fusion of professionalism, freshness and passion.
Started five years ago with two staff {Mills and co-founder John Sinclair, AKA Sinx) and a £5000 loan, ustwo has grown into a thriving operation, with offices in London and Malmo and new outposts set for San Francisco andTokyo. "To many on the outside, we're still a two-man band creating small but original applications,"admits Mills,"In reality, we're a 50-strong studio working on high-profile next-generation digital concepts for some of the biggest brands in the world."
It's this commercial side of the business that generates the cash to conceive, develop and deliver the innovative apps that are fast becoming synonymous with the ustwo brand, such as the recently launched Granimator for iPad. An immersive sound-based wallpaper creator made in collaboration with leading designers and illustrators including Airside, Pete Fowler, RexBox and James Joyce, Granimator takes the studio's iPhone offerings to the next level.
In the ultimate bandwagon industry, Milts suggests, trying too hard to tap into the latest'gold rush'trend isn't the way to make a lasting mark. So how does ustwo go about getting a trend-setting app off the ground?,rOne of our strengths is that we don't follow the'normal' route to release,"he explains. "We create what we want to produce, not what the world thinks it wants. More than likely it's what they don't want, but through impulse are happy to buy anyway."
Despite the recent spat between Apple and Adobe about the Flash CSS packager. Flash remains an integral part of the prototyping process, enabling designers to test ideas quickly - although for an established studio like ustwo the solid codebase work in Objective-C was never going to change, and the studio boasts an equal mix of designers and developers.
Lead designer Andy Lafferty (AKA Laffers) enjoyed the challenge of tackling the studio's first iPad offering:"Havingthe extra screen-size did change things design wise,"he reflects."Concepts previously not possible on the iPhone can now be pursued, and Granimator is a great example of that'The first iPad app from the creators of iPhone hits MouthOffand Instrumental, Granimator was a concept that had already been "bubbling around the studio" for some time.
"It started a while ago as an abstract Flash experiment, where you could draw shapes and so on,"Laffers continues. "When the iPad was announced, we knew we wanted to be there for the launch, and therefore Granimator seemed like the perfect one to go for,"
Starting out as a simple drawing tool for users to create a colourful background graphic for their iPad, the app really came alive when the idea of bespoke artist'packs'was mooted. "We approached some designers and illustrators who we respect and love, and they all started saying yes,"he reveals. "It snowballed from there,"
Laffers admits the design and development was a race against time before the release date of Apple's much-anticipated tablet "We also only had an emulator to work with, so we were designing in the dark, without an iPad to test it on," he continues, "From previous experience, this is always a big risk, and usually ends in tears."
As soon as the iPad was released in the US, ustwo had already submitted the app,"We also got one shipped over to test Granimator on it,"grins Laffers. "Let's just say there was a little touching of cloth going on."
Big, bold, simple and intuitive are Laffers'go Id en design rules when working in this space - but he admits that even his experienced design team got a little dazzled by iPad magic at first."When we first did the interface design for Granimator we went for quite an aloof approach," he recalls. "It was as all about being as cool as possible, so you only truly understood what it was about by playing and engaging with it. After some user testing, we guickly realised thatthis alienated and confused a huge proportion of users - basically anyone who wasn't interested in interface design."
With thousands of rival apps to catch the eye of the fickle cool-hunter, you don't have long to pique someone's interest. "If people don't understand what's going on within the first two minutes of using your app, they'll probably never use
"We create what we want to produce, not what the world thinks it wants. More than likely it's what they don't want, but through impulse are happy to buy anyway/' Mills
"The true battle is to drive awareness. Our stories are the power behind our great releases." Mills
it'advises Laffers, who warns that it's dangerous ground to assume complacently
that your target audience will 'get'your app immediately.
"When designing Granimator I took it for granted that people would
understand how things worked, simply because I did.'he confesses - and the
user-testing process was a valuable wake-up call. "When we came back to the
interface design, the first things we added were instructions and text explaining what
everything was. It was lucky that our UX team was there to rein us in."
Of course, the other critical relationship in the app creation process is
between the designers and the developers who actually make the thing tick, and
ustwo uses a management system called Agile Scrum, which breaks software
development projects down into a series of short stages - or'sprints'- that last a few
weeks apiece.
"Because a designer doesn't know all the technical restrictions of the
platform, it allows them to experiment with concepts and designs more freely." reasons
lead developer Victor Essnert.'But ideas are constantly shared and discussed with the
developers, so anything too crazy or unfeasible is caught early on."
Conversely, developers can bring a better understanding of the technical
capabilities to the table."We tend to know more about the hidden features, and often
come up with ideas for features based on this,"says Victor, "which helps to push the
device to its limits."
During the initial conceptualisation, the designer and developer will also spend a fair amount
of time working independently. "Design concepts and mood-boards might be
worked on by the designer while the developer works on technical prototypes
and feasibility studies.'Victor continues.
"Of course, while implementing we often find that we need to change and adapt
the designs."
"It's important to keep the design fluid and adaptable to deal with any issues
that arise, which is often the case on such a new and fast-changing platform as the iPad
or iPhone - and it's essential for the designer to be a part of the implementation process too."
While there are stories of bedroom developers hitting the big time,Mills believes that as the market begins to saturate specialised studios will prove
Some of the many designers whose creations feature in the app
Airside
www.3irsidc.rn.11k
— Working across graphic design, illustration, motion and interactive, creative studio Airside proved well placed to contribute a selection of assets to the Granimator project.
Pete Fowler
mmnionaleiism.net
— Psychedelic creature creator Fowler bundled plenty of background elements with his characters, even offering to make all the accompanying monster sounds himself.
Moving Brands
www.movingbrands.com
— With outposts in London, Zurich, Tokyo and San Francisco, award-winning branding and graphic design studio Moving Brands also contributed a bundle of assets to the project.
Biiro Destruct
www.hiirodestrurt.net
— Starting life as an initiative to promote young artists, Hiiro Destruct has grown into a world-renowned studio that blurs the boundaries between art and graphic design.
James Joyce
www.onc-finc-day.co.uk
— London-based designer Joyce produces limited-edition prints of his work from his design studio One Fine Day.
RexBox
www.rexbox.cnuk
— Little Big Planet creator Rex Crowle, AKA RexBox, blended illustrations, photographic elements and patterns with his trademark characters for his colourful Granimator pack.
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