I recently uncovered this - back in September 2005 (click the graphic for the original post) I was asked by Hyper Island in Sweden if they could ask me some questions. Of course I said yes. When I read this, I realized that even though it was close to 2 years ago, I feel exactly the same way. I guess thats how you know you're on the right track.

 

September 2, 2005

I got an email last week from Hyper Island. If you haven’t heard of them and are in the digital space - check them out. They pride themselves on creating freethinking digital idealists. Something that I think more of us should be taking the opportunity and initiative to do.

Pretty cool. They asked me about whether I might be able to answer some questions about what Digital Trends/Influences might be. 

 

Of course I was happy to share some ideas on my favorite topic. Digital. I’ve included the questions and my responses below.

 

1a. In the upcoming 2-5 years what do think the biggest digital trends/influences will be?

 

I’d like to see people get out from behind their computers. I know I’d certainly like to be able to engage outside of the traditional “digital” experience. More development and innovation in terms of interactive projections, the graffiti research lab stuff, more interaction between communities in general. I think consumers are finally ready to have the

kinds of experiences we’re now able to produce. I think we’ll see a lot more installations and digital production as art. It’s what’s next in my mind. Websites and banner ads will become a necessary component in terms of media-

but I truly believe that open source/guerilla style technology will turn the industry on it’s ear. It has to get beyond desktop. The future is multi-tasking, anything that enables people to do this more easily is going to be a key influencer.

 

b. What kind of industry research does your company do regarding future trends?

 

To be honest, I’m not sure we do enough of this. I think a lot of companies get caught up in the day-to-day work and it’s hard to stay involved/in the loop as a company. I think it comes down to individuals keeping themselves informed and up to date on what’s out there, what can be done, and what’s coming next. The interest has to be there at the individual level. I rely heavily on my team in addition to my own network to stay engaged on what’s next.

 

c. What does your company do to keep up to date with industry trends?

 

It really comes down to working groups within the company. I think individuals do their own research and networking to stay involved in emerging trends. I learn most about what’s next by just keeping an ear to the ground and trying to stay as up to speed as possible with what everyone else is working on. Dialogue between companies is important. I think we have to get past the idea that sharing erodes the industry - I think not sharing is eroding it.

 

2. In your opinion what is missing in the industry today?

 

Production Management training in addition to cross training of creatives.

Much emphasis is put on the education and training of

development/programming talent, and creative skils like design, copywriting etc, with comparatively little emphasis being placed on the overall management of the production. As projects become increasingly complex, it’s essential to have talent who have a general understanding of the actual

production. I’d love to see Producers become a greater segment of the market. Broadcast producers have long been a creative asset and resource in execution of a project, I’d like to see the same emphasis on Interactive/Digital Producers. I think to some extent the idea of an

Interactive Producer or Project manager brings with it the idea of pencil pushing and a pretty rigid perspective. I’d like to see the term Project Manager be eliminated from our vocabulary as it pertains to production management. The last thing I think that’s missing - or that could be done

better is communication. I think the industry in Europe has done a much better job of staying in contact with each other and keeping an open dialogue that we have in North America. I’ve been working towards trying to get the industry in Toronto talking again. I think it’s imperative to the evolution of the industry.

 

3. What skills are you looking for in future employees?

 

I tend look for 3 things. Multifaceted Creativity, Innovative thinking, and Passion. You can’t be a true contributor, whether on a development, creative or production level without being engaged and passionate about the work.

It’s really a spark. I usually know right away whether I think someone is going to be able to be a contributor. I think of what first got me into the industry, and it was really my desire to produce cool work on whatever level. I think that helped me to stay involved and engaged all of these

years. It’s an industry that’s ever changing, evolving, the job I did 3 years ago, although the same in title, is completely different in execution due to the evolving nature of the business and industry. There’s something inspiring about that.