A new user research and user experience (UX) lab has opened at Bristol’s Harbourside arts centre, the Arnolfini. It has been purpose-built for conducting and observing qualitative research and usability testing by UX and service design specialists Mace & Menter.
The lab consists of an interview room and a large observation room linked with high-quality audio and video streaming. Omnidirectional Shure studio microphones and speakers as well as 4k cameras, 65” screens help make up the comfortable and relaxed, researcher-designed environment.
Using a lab to observe how people use a digital product or service means companies can base decisions around future strategy and development on evidence rather than guesswork so the product has a higher chance of succeeding.
The space is available for use to Bristol’s growing technology sector. Mace & Menter will also use the space to run its own research – carrying out face-to-face depth interviews and usability tests – exploring a problem or a design concept with the people they are designing for.
Mace & Menter are specialists in service design and user experience for complex services. The team work with organisations, including the Government Cabinet Office, DCMS, Policy Lab, Scope, and V&A, that want to significantly improve the way people experience their services.
Bristol was also named the most important and productive tech cluster in the UK in Technation’s 2018 report with 225 start-ups and 35,924 digital jobs in the city.
Sam Menter, Mace & Menter’s Co-founder and Managing Director, says: “Our work is all about the experience of the people we design for, but also of the people we are working with. Experience is about so much more than what we deliver, it’s also about the journey. When we were designing and building the lab, we thought carefully about both the participant and the observer experience.”
He adds: “User research is fundamental to the way we work. We involve the users of a service in discovery and throughout the design process. Running research in a space where a wider group can observe means you get much more out of the work.
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More InformationWhat’s your favourite place in Bristol/this area?
There’s a little curved edge on the corner near the Arnolfini, and if you look across the water towards the giant giraffe cranes at the right time, the sun comes around the M-shed and it is quite stunning. Whether you’re a student hanging out there, dangling your legs over the edge with a cider, or you’re taking the baby for a stroll, that little spot is particularly special.
There are so many wonderful things about Bristol, things that just don’t exist anywhere else. It’s so unique.
What are you most proud of as a business?
There was a real sense of pride when we moved into our new premises. Every single time we’ve done something big, whether it was moving or buying a bit of kit, it’s always been such a morale booster, and we get re-energised. But moving into Temple Studios at the beginning of the year was so different because it was suddenly our space, we had this ownership that we hadn’t had before.
Overall, we’re proud of the fact that every step we’ve taken has led to the creation of something that’s been a benefit for someone, as well as being beautiful and enjoyable to watch. So, any little production whether it’s a small 30 second piece or a TV campaign, we’re massively proud of what we can actually create as a team.
What’s your favourite office gadget?
Everyone else’s favourite is probably the coffee machine or PlayStation, but mine is our old 1930s film projector. It was a prop for a TV ad we created. We were so happy because it actually works! We’ve got Tom and Jerry reels and these amazing documentaries from Africa; it’s absolutely incredible. It weighs a tonne… But I love that thing.
What exciting plans have you got coming up this year?
Historically, we’ve organically grown by one or two people a year, but with the amount of work that’s coming in that’ll be accelerating very soon. We’ve already taken on another animator and we’re currently advertising for a camera operator. By next year we might be a team of 10!
The investments we’ve made in kit this year will mean that we can really throw ourselves at some huge projects. We’ve also been working on our passion projects, one in particular that we’ve been creating looks into masculinity and it’s gone really deep. We’re hoping to push that towards a broadcast commission next year. And this is all under the assumption that we’ll survive the Christmas party in Athens!
Whose work do you admire and why?
Aardman’s work is beyond amazing. I went along to Nick Park’s ‘Cracking Conversations’ event recently, and I just have a huge admiration for someone who can imagine what he can and just create it. I think they are really leading the way in Bristol.
But there are so many incredible companies in the area that are doing new things, like the Ultrahaptics team.
If you had one piece of advice for someone just starting out, what would it be?
The best piece of advice I can give anyone is just keep swimming. You have no idea where any little decision might take you. If I could go back in time and speak to my younger self, I would definitely say chill out, everything will work out the way it’s meant to. There are certain things you have no control over, so why worry about it? Make mistakes and learn from them.
In terms of actually getting work, we get a lot of emails from people wanting work experience with us and that’s absolutely a great thing to do; but on the flip side, there’s no problem in just making your own stuff. You can build a great portfolio of work when you’re not making it for anybody but yourself. It’s good to show off your own individual offering.
What’s the biggest challenge your industry/organisation is facing at the moment?
The constant changing landscape in the world of content is a challenge, people are being told they should be doing certain things, producing content like video and suddenly they’re thinking they should be doing that. Rather than thinking ‘what’s the problem I’m addressing?’ As a production company, we’re navigating through all the noise. And there’s a lot of noise out there that isn’t contextually relevant to anything or anyone. The big challenge for us is cutting through that noise with original, authentic content that tells a story and will make a brand sing.
To check out the full member profile for Jones Millbank or get in touch with the team, click here.
Since winning Our City 2018, winners Patch De Salis and Michael Doran have been busy creating new content and gaining experience with top production agencies in the local area. We spoke to them to find out more about the inspiration behind their films and what they’ve been up to over the past year.
“I originally saw the ‘Our City’ competition advertised at a networking event. It looked like a great opportunity that I wanted to be involved in, so I started planning what was to become ‘BeBristol’.
“I knew right from the get-go that I wanted to feature my friend Urban Mckenzie (the star cyclist) in the film, since we had worked together before and he would tie my selected scenes of Bristol together nicely.
“My brother Wilfred de Salis offered to compose the music and co-direct the film, so I graciously took up his offer as he is an excellent film composer. We contacted friends, clubs and groups to showcase in the film before we began filming. It was important to me to show varying locations, cultures and people.
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More Information“The highlight of my experience has been the exposure, which has led to current work. I have been filming for various clients and musical artists, as well as creating my own films and working towards starting my own limited film company. My most recent film featuring Bristol’s acclaimed rap artist ‘Jay0117’ is about the day in the life of an inner-city Bristolian, reflecting on societal issues, lifestyle and UK culture. (Check it out on YouTube – Jay0117 – A Day In The Life.)
“The companies I met along the way that provided work experience have been a great influence and I hope to gain future collaborations with them.”
“I heard about Our City on Twitter in 2017. I follow Marvin Rees and he tweeted about the opportunity. However, I knew for my idea that I needed to film the city’s summer festivals and by this point I’d missed that opportunity, so I waited until the competition returned the following year.
“I watched a video on YouTube made as part of Detroit’s pitch to Amazon to have their new HQ built there (obscure, I know!). It celebrated the history and culture of Detroit in a way which I believed lots of the tourism videos of Bristol available online were missing. Needless to say, I was massively inspired and felt I could use this as the foundations of the film!
“The montage nature of my film meant filming across the year at a variety of locations and events. It was the first time I created a film whereby I had to collate footage in this way which was a great experience in itself. However, it also taught me how to keep motivation going on a project once you’re over a year into it.
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More Information“It was also my first time collaborating with another creative, my incredibly talented friend and fellow Bristolian Joey Mitchell who wrote and performed the words for the voice-over. This was an invaluable experience as it opened my eyes to the potential of working creatively with others as prior to the competition I’d only ever worked by myself.
“Of course, the prize money was also very useful as it enabled me to invest in some new equipment which has further improved my production quality.
“Since winning, I’ve completed my A Levels and began my gap year, I’ve been undertaking several other projects and doing some freelance work. I’ve also completed a week’s work experience at Icon Films – an opportunity that I was fortunately offered thanks to the competition and its partners.”
We’re now welcoming applications for this years’ Our City competition, and the deadline is the 30th November. To help anyone wishing to apply, we asked Patch and Michael if they had any advice for future applicants:
Patch: “If I could give a piece of advice to future applicants, it would be to try and show Bristol in the unique way that you see it rather than accommodating to an audience in an un-natural light.”
Michael: “I would say get shooting! I was fortunate as I had a clear vision however that is often rare. Sometimes you just need to get out there and shoot and an idea will come to you. If like me, you do have a clear vision, then don’t beat yourself up if the end product isn’t quite what you imagined – it rarely is. In my opinion, that’s all part and parcel of being a young creative!
“In addition, don’t be afraid to ask for things (politely of course)! I shot many of Bristol’s events with a media pass that were kindly given to me by the events and their media teams. This also opens up the opportunity to make new contacts who you can potentially work with in the future.”
The brief is to produce a 90 second film or animation that captures your view of Bristol and what makes Our City the most creative, rebellious, diverse and pioneering place to be. Submit your entry by clicking the link below – you’ll need to provide an online link.
The winner receives a £1000 prize and the opportunity to work with local partner companies to build your skills and experience. Competition closes on 29th November 2019, we’ll announce the results of this year’s competition in December.
Be sure to follow the updates onTwitter @FilmOurCity
You can follow Patch’s work on his Instagram @patch_productions and his YouTube Patch Work Productions.
You can follow Michael’s work on his website michaeldoranfilm.net and his YouTube Michael Doran.
Main image photo by Vanilla Bear Films on Unsplash
Targeted industry press coverage is worth its weight in gold for new technology brands. When you’re offering a niche software as a service (SaaS) product, there are specific target audiences you want to crack – and for our client BlackDice, we secured coverage in target industry press titles Enterprise IoT Insights and the EC Council before they’d even launched to market. That’s not including the thought leadership syndicated article series secured, reaching over 16m globally.
Talk to us about how we did it.
Quantity isn’t everything. For B2B tech PR it’s not always how many people read about you, but that the right people read about you. The target press titles that you know your audience reads is just out of reach, but we leverage our extensive relationships with journalists throughout the tech SaaS PR industry to get your story out there. It worked for BlackDice:
The successful growth of a technology company is never down to chance: it relies on carefully planning, strategic thought, and leveraging connections in the industry. It’s what we offer, and we do it well.
Whether you’ve launched, are about to launch, or have a new product or service to sell, work with us to land your targeted industry press and reach your customers. Get in touch with us now.
We’re often asked to deliver high quality, consistent, PR coverage for our tech SaaS clients. And so we do. Our client Zeetta Networks has (to date in 2019), been featured in over 100 titles reaching over 147m.
Talk to us about how we did it.
Networking solutions, 5G, network slicing – not topics that make for an easy pitch. Thankfully, our creative pitching strategy and guerrilla tactics has delivered as Zeetta Networks moves into scaleup growth.
Landing press and media coverage for tech companies can be challenging. How much jargon, how much founder – how much is too much?
Our relationships with technology and business journalists removes that uncertainty. We know what journalists are looking for, and we know how to get the stories from your business.
All it takes to get started is one phone call. Pick up the phone and dial 07970233490 to start your journey towards landing coverage (we have email too).
This is the second edition in our featured members series, where we profile our members and showcase the amazing businesses and individuals within our network. In the last edition we interviewed AMBITIOUS PR, if you haven’t seen it, give it a read here.
This month we hung out with Kerry Harrison and Richard Norton from Tiny Giant, here’s what they had to say…
Tell us about Tiny Giant, who are you?
Tiny Giant are all about moving ideas with minds and machines. They’re a studio that wants to create and create and create. They’re a house of ideas, not just a house to inhabit, but to live in and I think that’s what separates them so much…because they’re so passionate about their ideas… it’s very much about feeling like you’re a part of something larger, a part of what’s important.
Well that’s what a neural network would say, but if you asked Kerry and Norts then…
So it’s us, Kerry Harrison, Richard Norton, plus our technical director Derek Ahmedzai. Fun fact, Ahmedzai means the tribe of Ahmeds. Do you notice that the last 2 letters of his name are AI? That’s why we asked him to join our merry jamboree. We also love to collaborate – so if anyone is keen to join forces, give us a call.
What do you do?
We do quite a lot of different things, but I’d say there are 3 main things. We help our clients tell compelling stories with social media, websites and content, we’ve both been doing it for over 20 years. We’re also interested and excited by online bots and smart speakers like Alexa and Google, lately we’ve been playing around with chat bots and voice technology. Lastly, AI, we use it to supercharge our client’s creativity and make headlines with fun things like AI cocktails and cakes.
How long have you been a Bristol Media member?
We’ve both been with Bristol Media for a long time prior to Tiny Giant. Before we took the plunge and set up Tiny Giant, we both worked for other local agencies who were members of Bristol Media. It’s a long history!
What are you most proud of as a business?
In terms of what we’ve achieved so far, creating the first ever AI curator for the Cheltenham Science Festival is a huge highlight for us. It’s been really cool working with them because the person that came in as the coordinator wanted to create some noise and excitement, so she was open to everything. We’ve done some amazing things like live interview with Aida on BBC Radio Gloucester, featured in plenty of blogs, plus an animation is on the cards. It pushed us creatively because we’d never done anything like it before.
What’s your favourite office gadget?
Our Alexa, we can’t even remember a time before smart speakers. Tiny Giant even has its own Alexa skill, Tiny Giant Tales, so you can stay updated on what we’re up to.
Whose work do you admire and why?
In Bristol, we love Fiasco Design, they create beautiful work plus they do an event called Thread which always gets inspiring speakers. Outside of Bristol, a company called Lord Whitney, who create these otherworldly dreamlike sets for music videos and advertising.
What’s your favourite place in Bristol/this area?
[Kerry] The Watershed, I really like what they do there, plus I really love independent films and going to their cinema. A little place out of Bristol I love is the view from the top of Ashton Court, where you can look over the whole of Bristol, it’s gorgeous.
If you could sum up Bristol/this area in 3 words, what would they be?
Welcoming, chilled, collaborative.
What’s the best tip/trick you’ve learnt as a business?
Resilience and positivity. As a start-up it’s not always easy, but it’s much better to DO the thing and think about what could go right rather than what could go wrong. You need to have a positive mindset, keep going and always look on the sunny side.
What exciting plans have you got coming up this year?
We’ve got a few talks coming up, we’ve just finished Social Media Week and K In The Park with the BBC’s Hannah Fry. And there are lots more in the pipeline like the World of Work Conference at the Henley Business School. We’re going to build some storytelling bots, and generally doing a lot of festivals – look out for all kinds of things – bots, AR filters and lots of creative AI.
If you’re interested in collaborations (particularly if your name has an ‘AI’ in it!) get in touch with Kerry and Norts. Thanks to Tiny Giant for getting involved.
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More InformationWe caught up with Marissa Lewis-Peart, winner of the Bristol Media Ben Martin Apprentice Award, two months after her trip to SXSW in Austin, Texas to find out more about her experiences of the festival. Read on to hear Marissa’s story and how she ended up at the world’s largest annual celebration of the interactive industries.
“During Easter 2018 I attended a two-week placement at Epoch Design, after presenting a leave behind in the form of a personalised water bottle label to the CEO at a 3rd year university talk. Later that year, one of the managers told me about the Ben Martin Apprentice Award opportunity and encouraged me to apply for it. I was asked to submit a short video and/or 500 word paragraph about my design strengths. After speaking with studio staff from Epoch, one of them asked me what my ‘why’ was which prompted me to spend the next couple of weeks filming and editing a 40 second video about why I wake up every morning excited to design. One face-to-face interview and a few weeks later, I was announced as the 2019 Ben Martin Apprentice Winner! As part of the opportunity I was able to attend the world’s largest Tech, Media, Music and Film conference festival: SXSW 2019 in Austin, Texas.
My first day at SXSW was International Women’s Day and so it was only right to begin the day with a women’s led panel talk about how adaptive design is transforming brands. The physical ability and racially diverse panel of four women spoke about how brands are becoming more inclusive to cater to all audiences and the possible downsides such as diversity being a ‘trend’ rather than a genuine brand value. I attended 4 more conferences throughout my first day ranging from a Black Women in Tech conference through to a talk by author Laura Otting about Becoming Limitless – How to Live Your Best Life.
That evening I attended the IPA welcome drinks at a local hotel with Chris Thurling, Chair of Bristol Media and my mentor, and a couple of others where I had the chance to network with many people who are established in their industries. By the end of the day, I was shattered!
I attended many more talks over the course of the next few days however one that stood out to me was ‘An Ad Guy and a Psychologist Walk Into an Ad Agency’ where an ad guy and a psychologist deconstructed a few of the most iconic TV advertisements and explained why they were so successful through behaviour economics. I found it really interesting to see how psychology can have a real impact on how an audience engages with creative media and how I can introduce some of the tactics in my own work. Later that day, Chris introduced me to Ann Hiatt who worked in executive positions for both Amazon and Google for 15 years at her talk; Grit, Reinvention & Pivoting for Success, which was inspiring as she spoke about how she grew to end up in her executive positions. On the final evening at SXSW, Ann hosted an open invite dinner where attendees who work in the tech, media, music or film industries could network and build connections, which was interesting as everyone had such diverse experiences.
There were a few pop up buildings scattered around the local area from brands such as Amazon, Sony, Samsung, LG, Snapchat and Twitter, where I could get interactive with their latest tech prototypes like robots and sensory gaming as well as network or listen to smaller talks. As a graphic design student I’m aware of how artificial intelligence and augmented reality are changing how brands communicate with consumers however, before this trip I was feeling confused as to how I can harness this new technology and take my work to the next level. Having the chance to play around with new tech helped to open my eyes to the possibilities and I ended up including augmented reality in a D&AD submission back at university.
Aside from the overall SXSW experience and opportunities to network being huge highlights within themselves, a smaller highlight of SXSW19 was seeing one of my favourite rappers, A$AP Rocky, talking about ‘Using Design Differently to Make a Difference’ with the Chief Design Officer of Mercedes Benz. As A$AP Rocky is an artist and general creative that I’ve loved for both his music and style for years, it was exciting to see him on stage and for once not rapping but talking about something that I’m also passionate about; design.
Thank you to the companies and organisations that came together to give me this opportunity, I’ve learnt so much and now have a clearer vision of the direction I would like to take my career in. As I’m currently completing my final months at university, having this experience and the support has really helped me to feel more confident in getting ready to start my career.”
Tickets for SXSW2020 go on sale 1st August 2019. If you’d like to find out more about joining Chris Thurling and the Bristol & Bath delegation at next year’s event, please email: [email protected]
If you missed our latest Bristol Media event, fear not! Izzy, our Junior Content Apprentice, has compressed all the best bits into this quick blog, read on to hear about the SXSW 2019 experience…
Bristol Media Chair, Chris Thurling, attended South by Southwest Conference & Festival (SXSW) for his 5th year in a row last week. Held in Austin, Texas, SXSW celebrates the convergence of the interactive, film, and music industries. It is hugely successful and was attended by over 280,000 people in 2018!
On Tuesday, Bristol Media hosted a ‘lunchtime digest’ where Chris shared his highlights from the event along with Ann Hiatt (former chief of staff for Google and Amazon and SXSW speaker) and Nicholas Blake (Head of Data and Digital Operations at Armadillo). Here’s what we took away:
After Chris’s first SXSW visit back in 2015, he left the event in a happy tech bubble, excited and optimistic for the future of technology. Fast forward to 2019, and it seems a dominant theme throughout the conference was the ethical concerns now surrounding this industry, and it has people anxious. An eye-opening talk for Chris was Douglas Rushkoff’s, ‘Team Human’. In his talk, Douglas spoke about how the internet was ‘idealistic’ in the beginning, but it now serves the stock market more than us. We have gone from being the user to the used and are close to automating ourselves out of existence.
Ann on the other hand is encouraged by the opportunities AI and machine learning offer and the overarching message she took away from her time at SXSW was to remember the human aspect of technology. In other words, we still need good, thoughtful people to harness all that potential for the better.
As well as a run-down of her own SXSW talk ‘Grit, Reinvention, and Pivoting for Success’, Ann shared with us some of the tips she took from a talk by Susan Fowler, former employee of Uber. You might recognise Susan as the woman who influenced how Uber and other Silicon Valley companies now treat sexual harassment in the workplace. Susan wanted to remind us all of a few things:
Ann then prompted us to ponder on the idea that ‘nothing extraordinary comes from your comfort zone’ and that we need to ask ourselves the right questions when it comes to machine learning and AI.
Nicholas Blake thought it was really interesting to hear what the experts were saying about artificial intelligence and machine learning, now that it is no longer science fiction and is becoming seamlessly integrated in our lives. A talk by Cassie Kozyrkov, Chief Decision Scientist at Google, inspired a different outlook on AI; that it is just a tool, it is as safe as the people who design and monetise it. Nick explains it in an analogy: if you work on something with another person, is that collaboration? If you use a ruler to draw a straight line, is that collaboration? AI is more similar to the ruler than the person, because without us to input the data, it can’t function.
What did you think about our lunchtime digest, are you optimistic or pessimistic about the future of technology? If you missed it, follow us on Twitter and Facebook or subscribe to our newsletter to hear about future events!
Bristol Media Chair, Chris Thurling, is heading off to Austin, Texas this week to attend the world’s largest annual celebration of the interactive industries – SXSW 2019. Whilst at the festival, Chris plans to meet up with Ann Hiatt, former Amazon and Google Chief of Staff and one of the contacts he made at SXSW last year.
Chris has a packed schedule of keynotes, workshops and networking opportunities over the course of the 5-day digital festival and will be joined by Marissa Lewis-Peart, winner of 2018’s Ben Martin Apprentice Award (BMAA). Dubbed as the “premier destination for discovery,” Chris and Marissa will hear the latest news and trends from the world’s leading tech and creative companies at SXSW.
As a seasoned SXSW’er, Chris will be on a mission to make new connections for Bristol Media, as well as absorb all that the event has to offer. Chris and Marissa will be live-tweeting during the event, so follow us on Twitter @Bristol_Media #BristolSXSW to receive the latest updates.
Ann has kindly agreed to come back to Bristol after the festival to join Chris in a ‘hot off the press’ lunchtime digest on 19th March. They’ll share their thoughts and experiences from SXSW plus a roundup of highlights and insights into the latest trends from the festival. Following the talk, there’ll be an opportunity to ask questions in a 20-minute Q&A.
The talk starts at 12.30pm on Tuesday 19th March at Zone, The Brew House, Tower Hill, Bristol BS2 0EQ. There’s a small fee of £10+VAT for Bristol Media members (£15+VAT for non-members), light refreshments will be provided.
Places are very limited so book asap via Eventbrite!
Rebecca Steer runs Steer & Co, a small law firm specialising in the creative and tech sectors. Over the last few years Rebecca has run numerous successful workshops for Bristol Media members. This particular workshop is a must attend for Digital Agencies and developers who are involved in pitching for and delivering digital development and services projects. It will cover the traditional development models of agile and waterfall from a legal and commercial perspective and give helpful hints to ensure your pitch and associated contract negotiations are successful and minimise project risks.
The session will also cover other legal considerations around using consultants, freelancers and third party/open source software in your projects and is brought to you by award-winning lawyer, Rebecca Steer, who specialises in IP, IT and media law.
Who should attend?
Aimed at executives at Digital Agencies and individual developers who are involved in pitching for and delivering digital projects and who are responsible for the contractual aspects of projects.
The workshop will cover:
This workshop takes place at The Square Club from 4-6pm on Monday 4th March and costs £30.00+VAT for members and £50.00+VAT for non members.
Booking is via Eventbrite
Rebecca’s sessions are always very popular so book early to avoid disappointment!
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