Debating the impact of digital habits on the design industry; adapt or die.Dutch Design Week, 25th November 2012

A conversation piece for design professionals by Marijn Driessen author of Marketing to China’s Netizens.

Our own digital habits ....

marijn@fluidnations.com

A borderless perspective .... digital habits in China

A global perspective .... how do digital habits affect the design industry

Not so long ago I flicked through the papers and magazines, as part of my morning ritual.

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source: Dina LV H on Pinterest

Digital kiosk habit: Hello digital newspapers, magazines, even my own personalized newsstand !

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What happened?

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WAP enabled mobile phones were launched in the late nineties during the hight of the internet bubble.

The user experience was terrible and didn’t have the power to change consumer habits.

1998

It took over a decade for the market to mature with smart phones shifting from a

niche product to providing digital access to the masses. In 2009 we also saw social

networks habits solidify for the first time.

2009Smart phones, tablets and apps are fast changing our habits. Content access is

controlled by users, not publishers.

2012 beyond

Flipboard has 20 million users, adding one user per second!Pinterest is the fastest website to grow beyond 10 million users.

Digital content (r)evolution

This has become my morning ritual. What are your own emerging digital habits?

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Our own digital habits ....

marijn@fluidnations.com

A borderless perspective .... digital habits in China

A global perspective .... how do digital habits affect the design industry?

marijn@fluidnations.com

Internet population = 500+ million (biggest in the world)

Internet access via mobile device 66% of users

Smartphone sales highest in the world

Weibo (microblog) = 300 mln users posting 100 mln / day

China’s digital habits

For every digital platform we have, China has its own version and more.

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“To express yourself needs a reason, but expressing yourself is the reason” Ai Weiwei’s first Weibo post

SICK BRIC country

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草泥马 cǎonímǎ = Grass Mud Horse 河蟹 héxiè = River Crab

sounds like harmoniousalso sounds like mother fucker

Meme habit: symbols to encourage subversive behavior online

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Meme habit: Digital street art in support of Chen Guangcheng

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social relevance

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Meme habit: digital street art in response to CCTV censorship.

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Memes thrive in China’s digital society where creative expression is the only escape from censorship.

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Celebrity endorsement for Vancl by Wang Luo Dan and Han Han: “I love racing, I love 29 rmb Tshirts, I am like you, I am Fan Ke”

inspiration

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(amateur) creativity habit: Netizens love to show off their creativity and jumped on the photoshop app Vancl supplied. Sales went up 300%.

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(amateur) stylist habit: Vancl Star offers wannabe stylists the opportunity to share in Vancl’s profit when their fans buy their style.

promotion

Our own digital habits ....

marijn@fluidnations.com

A borderless perspective .... digital habits in China

A global perspective .... how do digital habits affect the design industry?

Google Arts Project & Hangout first launched in Feb 2011. People can explore collections, create their own galleries,

have conversations with friends and experts.

More than 150 museums, from over 40 countries contributed 32,400 high res. art objects.

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social relevance

‘sharing love for art’ habit

LACMA, MOMA and Guggenheim recently launched ipad apps that re-create the museum experience.

“Through videos with conservators, fabricators and engineers, visitors or users of the app have a better understanding of how the installation was created and the works were hung.”

Beth Levy, Guggenheim

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inspiration

‘extending the gallery experience’ habit...

SAATCHI ONLINE is a global platform for emerging artists.

Collectors, art lovers and anyone in between can

discover and buy work from artists from over 100

countries. Empowering artists to have sustainable careers

and enable collectors to buy directly from artists.

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distribution

promotion

‘Cutting out the middleman’ habit

BLURB is a company and a community that empowers

anyone to design, create, share and sell books - be it for

personal or professional use. - distributed as an ebook or

printed version. It has a ProLine range for high-quality

paper options suitable for professional portfolios.

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Self publishing habit

promotion

distribution

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Digital inspiration habit: Pinterest mood boards by professionals.

Digital habits:

Digital kioskInternet memesDigital street artAmateur creativesAmateur stylistsSharing the love of artExtending the gallery experienceCutting out the middlemenSelf publishingDigital inspiration

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How do these new digital habits affect the industry and ourselves?

If you are a talented young designer who can help create a

series of digital magazines, kickstarted by the content of

this book, get in touch.

marijn@fluidnations.com@fluidnations

book and preview available via www.fluidnations.com