If you happened to read The Guardian on Wednesday 6th April you may have come across the 'Centre for Science' supplement supported by Birmingham Science City. The four-page supplement focused on emerging low-carbon businesses in the city and the developing digital economy here. An article about the new Library of Birmingham mentions the Augmented Reality project that Substrakt is in early stages of developing with the Library team. I'm also quoted in another article, describing the benefits of having built a business in Birmingham.

I'm not sure why they used my beardy face on the front of the supplement, but it sure made me mum proud!

We've just received the latest copy of Panlibus, a publication we recently wrote an article for. Here it is...

Libraries as gateways to the urban experience
Andy Hartwell, Managing Director, Substrakt

Libraries are already regarded as social institutions. However, their status as visitor attractions is expected to return in the 21st Century. Libraries are primed to become the gateways into a city’s identity. They will enjoy a transformation from inward facing keepers of ‘quiet’ information to vibrant, community-driven hubs. Technology will link libraries with their environment and integrate their resources with the cultural and social assets around them. The concept of linked data has arrived.

Linking data will take libraries a step beyond the drive to digitise the material that each collection possesses. This isn’t a question of turning dusty volumes into scanned, clear images that can be displayed on a screen. It’s also not about encouraging people to go online rather than visit a library, or indeed go online when they visit a library. It’s about providing each visitor with a personalised perspective of the library, transforming their short trip to source a book or see an item of interest into a rich experience that starts with their original purpose for coming and takes them on a journey through spaces and places which has been imagined specifically for them. Like changing the filter on a camera lens to give you a better picture, structured data is set to give a new outlook to users of 21st Century city libraries.

These changes are being brought about because libraries are responding to the needs of their visitors and potential visitors. People’s expectations of public information services are higher than ever before. Currently, what could be a colourful experience can easily become a wasted journey, with the visitor left wondering why something couldn’t have been done to prevent the inconvenience. The perception that smarter technology could combine with better information and make the visitor journey more palatable and personal is growing in the public mindset.

Substrakt’s recent research has highlighted what visitors expect from libraries and how they regard them in terms of their place in the fabric of their surrounding towns and cities.

•  47% of people intend to visit a library in the next 12 months – more than intend to visit an amusement park
•  Two-thirds of people look at maps or site plans before visiting places such as the library
•  Over half of visitors to a library would download information to their mobile phone before visiting
•  60% of visitors to places like the library read user reviews before going
•  Only one in five people want to be directed straight to the thing they came to visit on arrival
•  40% of visitors are frustrated by lack of staff and information when experiencing new places
•  86% of potential visitors to a library would like to use interactive information kiosks
•  Four in ten visitors to the library think their visit would be made more special by meeting people there with similar interests

This research supports the conclusion that libraries have the potential to integrate themselves further with their communities by being more than just a place to use the Internet. They can empower their own data via Internet applications and link it with that of others, to formulate better visitor experiences. By creating relationships between their Library Management Systems and other local information sources, adding partnerships with leisure and tourism facilities and creating accessible and social ways of sharing data, a library becomes a knowledge hub for the spaces and places that surround it.

Technologically, empowering the libraries to become civic gateways will mesh public and private hardware and software. Visitors’ mobiles and laptops will be able to work in conjunction with the data stored in the library and around the city in a more accessible and productive way. Interactive kiosks and on-site terminals will use information from public and private databases and booking systems to link together personalised recommendations and experiences. Applications, Augmented Reality and graphical representation addresses like QR codes and bar codes can be utilised to produce digital mapping, way-finding and 3D modelling solutions. Social media applications can be linked to create user-generated tours and suggestions for routes around a library and beyond into its town or city. An Urban Lens can be created, with a focus on the library.

A catalogue of possibilities

From stage to shelf
Imagine that a town’s theatre is showing Arthur Miller's 'View from the Bridge' starring Helen Mirren. To promote the play and encourage people to get under the skin of Miller's work, a library’s Urban Lens could feature the 'Five recommendations' from the actress of further reading by or about the playwright, his work, or 1950s America that can be found in the library. People could also be prompted to buy show tickets or purchase a copy of the play from Amazon.com

A walk through the City's history
Many cities have several historical walking tours. Imagine if the library could promote the tours whilst drawing visitors to the Library into exploring further with books and archive material? The way-showing solution could produce a visual map, dotted with literary sources to seek out, old photographs to study, and even user generated content which tells the story of times gone by in the city. Tickets to tours could be purchased, as could concessionary refreshments by clicking on locally advertised restaurants and bars.

Centre to the community
Many cities have many successful community events that don't at first glance concern a library. But what if they could get involved by simply showing people another side to a story? For example, imagine if during a Christmas Market, The library way-finding solution had an interactive map of the market's layout, with user reviews and links to recipe book trails or cultural backgrounds on the cuisine available?

Finding more than just books
Many people will be using the library on a regular basis and will develop their favourite parts of the new building. Where's the quietest corner? What if you need bright lighting or like to be near the coffee shop? What if the way-finding solution could make each visit more personal to visitors by showing them, for example which parts of the Library are busiest today, or how many desks are free in the archive section?

Key to the success of linked data projects such as Urban Lens will be ensuring that all electronic roads in and out of the library lead to the unique catalogues, bibliographies and archives that they contain. Each digital solution must be developed for each library and its corresponding location with the original purpose of the journey to the building in mind – to find a resource contained within. The added unique element for the visitor is two-fold. Firstly, a personalised route to that resource which helps them bypass all the negative aspects of a trip they dislike. Secondly libraries can add an element of unexpected value to visitor journeys – discovery of more than they came for. The benefits are not just social, but commercial too. Librarians and other staff will have increased opportunity to focus their roles. Operational processes will be automatically streamlined and economies possible. Linked data also presents several revenue generation opportunities through retail and commercial partnerships and sponsorships.

The options to connect public information via digital media are a real possibility and will not just put libraries back on the map in their location, they will become the map for their location.

Download a copy of Panlibus.

Excellent film production company, and friendly neighbors, Fullrange popped in to our studio a couple of weeks back to get some shots for a film they've made for Marketing Birmingham's Inward Investment programme.

See the whole film on Vimeo

At the tail end of last year we were approached by a long standing client Tony McKinlay to produce a brand for a new joint venture with traditional Devon farmer Barney Butterfield - a new restaurant nestled within the heart of SE1, under the history-steeped arches of London Bridge Station.

They came to us with two things. The first was a name - Platform (an obvious choice), and a second was an ideology. Described in a few words as 'gate-to-plate' dining. We were invited to visit their farm in Devon where we spoke at length with Barney, whose zeal for traditional farming methods and the subsequent quality of food rivals Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall. We spoke about their vision for the restaurant. We tasted the apples straight from the branch (used for making the various ciders and scrumpys sold in the restaurant). We witnessed the chickens enjoying more open space than any London-dweller could ever hope for.

Returning back to the studio, we had to question - 'Is this anything new?' After all, modern eating, especially in London, is no stranger to such words as organic, fair-trade, sustainable & green. In fact in recent years, after customers have become increasingly more interested in what they are eating and drinking, many eateries, from your local gastropub, the 17 Pret A Manger outlets on your street, to the veritable McDonalds have all opted to use such devices as the focal point for their image.

We had to question - 'Is this anything new?' After all, modern eating, especially in London, is no stranger to such words as organic, fair-trade, sustainable & green.

Interestingly however, Tony and Barney made it clear that their brand message should not shout from the rafters about it's organic sustainable ways. The self-asserting, something-to-prove message was the domain of the gastropub, Pret and McDonalds. It needed to be a subtle gesture, if at all.

Our eyes turned to the building.  The archway under platform 1 of London Bridge station (formerly a lap-dancing club!) is the oldest of the London railway termini and one of the oldest stations in the world. We explored the design of London transport systems; the black and white gloss brickwork, the humanist typefaces synonymous with the tube networks and railways of London.

Our eyes turned to the building.  The archway under platform 1 of London Bridge station (formerly a lap-dancing club!) is the oldest of the London railway termini and one of the oldest stations in the world.

Taking inspiration from these devices we developed a branding system and signage for the venue which in turn determined the visual style of the website.

One of the requirements from day one was that the menu needed to change regularly (sometimes as much as twice a day) to make best use of the incoming produce, limiting waste wherever possible. This was quite a constraint on the typical menu print delivery. We wanted to avoid the notion of printing menus in-house. The Platform brand deserved better than a word-processor print out on standard A4. We developed a system by which the reverse of the menus were printed in advance on a premium stock, then the details of the menu were overprinted on a specifically chosen laser printer on the day the menu was confirmed, using a template set up by us. This ensured the menus adhered to the brand, along with the rest of the printed collateral.

The launch event was typical London affair, with models, celebrities and paparazzi making a token appearance. The canapes set the standard for the food to follow and the cocktails from the accomplished bar staff are some of the best I'd tasted in London.

Since launch, the restaurant has had much praise (top table, thirtyoneseventyfive), and was also featured in design week for our work, alongside interior design company Sampson associates.

http://platformse1.co.uk

Our work has been published in the British Design 2010 publication! We were approached back in April to include our work in both the Branding & Graphic Design and the New Media Design categories. Jim and I were lucky enough to attend the launch party at the Design Museum last wednesday to pick up our copy! Here's some pics...

Our recent acquistion of CG Media and other stories was featured in the Birmingham Post yesterday:

We had a fun photo shoot today with the help of Kate Beatty. We'll update you with the outcomes shortly...

It was nice to see Substrakt featured in the Birmingham Post, the Metro, and PR Week today.

The Birmingham Post article is about the recent relaunch of walkit.com while the Metro mentions our house warming party at Fazeley last Thursday.

PR Week publishes our recent collaboration with Big Cat Group:

Big Cat Group, the Birmingham-based creative consultancy, has collaborated with online/web services expert Substrakt to create a social media consortium in the Midlands. Big Cat has previously worked on social media campaigns on behalf of the West Midlands Police and Birmingham City Council.

Metro Article

Birmingham Post Article

walkit.com joins Flickr, Amazon, Last.fm and Dopplr in being named The Guardian's 100 top sites for the year ahead.

We are working with the walkit team to develop their website, due for launch early 2009. There are lots of exciting new features, so make sure you hear about them first by subscribing to the walkit.com blog.

(Illustration: Jan Kallwejt)

We were nominated for an Outstanding Business Development Award at this years Creative City Awards. Unfortunately we didn't win this year, the prize went to the Electric Cinema, well done to them.

We did, however, get a bit of extra credit from the judging panel.

Here is an excerpt from the Birmingham Post article that mentions our special commendation:

The Outstanding Business Development (Birmingham) Award went to the Electric Cinema.

The Electric Cinema, the oldest working cinema in the UK, was restored and reopened in December 2004.

Electric Cinema managing director Tom Lawes has recently carried out a major physical expansion of the business with the addition of a second screen and the development of a recording studio in the basement of the building.

Ms Alderson said: “Electric Cinema’s managing director Tom Lawes has done an incredible job since he took over. “As well as giving the building a major makeover, he has led the company through the challenging financial climate and continues to employ staff to his growing roster.”

But the judging panel felt design, marketing and advertising firm Substrakt also deserved special commendation in this category.

“The panel were very impressed with how Andy Hartwell had managed the growth of the business, leading to increased turnover, profitability and number of employees and wanted to commend him on businesses performance,” the judges said.
Thanks to everyone that wished us well on the night, and well done to the other winners including Stan's Cafe, Fierce Earth & IE.

The Substrakt team had a great night, and there will be photos posted up in the next couple of days.