ONE STEP AHEAD.2016 DIGITAL TREND HIGHLIGHTS, CURATED BY ORANGE BUS.
2016KEEPING AN EYE ON DIGITAL TRENDS
Our trend forecasting is focused on 3 areas:
PERSONALISATION,TECHNOLOGY& DESIGNWE ARE ALL EXPOSED TO A DIGITAL WORLD
EVOLVING WITH EXCITING PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND INNOVATIONS.
While most of us simply consume and interact
with digital, allowing it to make our lives easier and
more efficient, at Orange Bus, it’s our role to actively
pursue it.
By nature, we seek out the latest developments;
feeding insights into the creation of digital solutions
that blaze a trail for our business and the businesses
we partner with.
Here are our 2016 digital trend highlights, carefully
curated by Orange Bus.
A few trends may be familiar, as they simply become
more prevalent in 2016. Other trends are completely
new, challenging existing thinking and processes.
These insights and innovations present us with
opportunities to help organisations make deeper
connections with their audiences. We look forward to
working with you to bring these to life.
Contents: PERSONALISED EXPERIENCES
1. Getting to know users
2. Share your world
3. What are micro moments?!
4. Privacy by Design
5. Innovating luxury services
6. Reimagining the employee experience
TECHNOLOGY
7. The next step for wearables
8. 3D scanning and printing
9. Accepting VR and augmented reality
10. Atomising apps and services
DESIGN
11. Designing for larger experiences
12. Explanimations
13. Telling Stories
14. Do it like Digital Government
PERSONALISED EXPERIENCES
03.
Share your worldPeriscope
What are micro moments?!
LAUNCHED LAST YEAR AND WIDELY ADOPTED BY GLOBAL AUDIENCES IS PERISCOPE, A LIVE-VIDEO STREAMING PLATFORM THAT LETS USERS ‘EXPLORE THE WORLD THROUGH SOMEONE ELSE’S EYES’.
The Twitter-owned iOS and Android app lets anyone
broadcast video for free, giving businesses a fun and
affordable way to communicate with customers in
real-time.
WHAT COULD YOU LIVE-STREAM ON PERISCOPE?
• Q&A sessions
• Mini interviews
• Behind the scenes footage of an activity or event
• Responses to PR issues
• Interactive support
• Customer service
• Product demonstrations
• Messages from senior staff/board members
• The reveal or response to breaking news
MICRO MOMENTS ARE RAPID, INTENT-DRIVEN AND FOCUSED INTERACTIONS THAT SATISFY A MOBILE USER’S IMMEDIATE NEED, SUCH AS PROVIDING A RESPONSE TO ‘WHAT ARE THE OPENING HOURS OF A CONVENIENCE STORE?’ IN JUST ONE GLANCE OF A MOBILE INTERFACE.
You can consider:
SERP & METADATA
• Google is displaying answers for many search queries
directly in its search results. By strategically constructing
page titles and meta description tags that provide clear,
direct answers to questions, you can gain eye-catching
listings in Google’s organic search results, which become
useful micro moments for your users.
CONTENT
• Establish a point of authority through content creation to
establish pots of content that also bring your business into
Google rich SERPS (search engine results pages), again
aiding micro moments for users.
01.
Getting to know the usersARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) MADE BIG WAVES IN 2015, YOU MAY BE FAMILIAR WITH PERSONAL AND VIRTUAL ASSISTANTS SIRI, GOOGLE NOW AND CORTANA.
Two objectives have been set to build on this digital
breakthrough:
• Reducing user effort: not all users are comfortable
submitting personal data online, however if this
led to an effective personalised experience that
required less ongoing admin effort, adoption would
increase. Advancements forecasted include a users’
emails being monitored for event details that are
then automatically added to their calendar in iOS.
• Predicting the bigger picture: timely notifications
of worldly activity that might affect a user will rise,
making use of several data sources, habits and
trends to provide relevant notifications and actions.
Swedish train operator Stockholmståg announced
it had developed an algorithm to anticipate train
delays two hours in advance based on historic data
and weather, letting them inform customers and
provide alternative routes.
02.
06.04.Privacy by Design
EMPLOYEES, LIKE ALL DIGITAL CONSUMERS, ARE LOOKING FOR A PERSONALISED EXPERIENCE WHEN IT COMES TO THEIR CAREER.
That’s not to mention that the millennial generation are
now entering employment with seemingly innate digital
skills and expecting an equally tech-savvy operation.
Employee experience (EX) design is set to be a big
focus in 2016, with emphasis on optimising processes,
creating an inviting company culture and tailoring career
progression plans.
How can we help reimagine your EX:
• Evaluate and optimise your digital tools and processes
• Create internal campaign and programme branding
• Deliver inspiring induction and training material design
• Internal comms strategy and design support
Reimagining the employee experience
THE EXPLOSION OF ‘BIG DATA’ ONTO THE DIGITAL SCENE HAS MEANT GROWING PRIVACY CONCERNS FOR USERS.
Digital data practices ensure
the protection of users’
personal information, and
in 2016, all technology and
product design processes
will begin to embed official
‘Privacy by Design’ standards
as listed in the EU’s General
Data Protection Regulation.
Companies such as Microsoft
are leading the way with
fierce privacy programs and
processes, such as employing
a Chief Security Officer,
investing in new platforms
and technologies and making
the online experience as
human as possible with
empathetic design.
05.Innovating luxury services
DIGITAL INNOVATION IS ENABLING BUSINESSES THAT DELIVER LUXURY SERVICES TO BREAK OUT OF SMALLER MARKETS
They are now creating
highly tailored experiences
for a wider audience
that were once reserved
for the wealthy, such
as personal services
like Uber (chauffeur) or
Deliveroo (restaurant
delivery).
TEC
HN
OLO
GY
THIS REVOLUTIONARY TECHNIQUE ALLOWS THE PHYSICAL FEATURE DATA OF A 3D OBJECT TO BE COLLECTED AND SYNTHESISED.
Already making big waves, this trend will be maximised in
2016 as researchers iron out the kinks in the technology and
further explore its possibilities.
The Xbox Kinect, for example, can scan an object and resolve
features as small as a centimetre, but new developments
will allow scanners to exploit the polarisation of light,
improving resolution and allowing the scanner to resolve
features at one-thousandth the size.
Experts suggest that it may one day be
possible to send a 3D scan of your product,
which can then be received and replicated
at the other side by a 3D printer.
08. Scanning & printing
in 3D
The next step for wearables
07.
THE WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY LANDSCAPE IS FAST BECOMING A NORMAL (SOMETIMES VITAL) PART OF OUR DAY-TO-DAY ROUTINES.
Smart-watches, health monitors, pedometers, activity
trackers and virtual reality headsets are changing the
way we exercise, communicate, way-find and plan.
The increasing availability and capacity of self-serve
devices and data is transforming the health and
wellness industry, as people are empowered to be
more proactive in monitoring and improving their
diets, fitness and overall health.
So whilst mobile and wearable devices and
applications aren’t new, creators will focus on the
timeliness of notifications in 2016.
TIMELY NOTIFICATIONS
Access to better sensors, mobile and wearable will
give users more accurate and detailed information
in notifications. Bolstering this further, the use of
algorithms will use the data to anticipate your
needs so that notifications are proactively ensuring
that users, for example with health and lifestyle
technologies, move more, drink more water, and pick
up the dry cleaning!
“ONCE IT WAS THE CONSUMER THAT SOUGHT OUT THE BRAND, TODAY THE BRAND MUST INCREASINGLY COME TO THEM.”*
ln the same way - in 2016 - apps will look to no longer be
controlled by users, instead they will proactively power a
user’s life.
Across the board, services and apps are examining users’
life information and taking relevant actions - gaining more
intelligence and bettering integration. Apps are prioritising
the service moments that matter most to users, with journey
maps, service blueprints, touchpoint reframing - crucial at the
initial development stage.
‘Atomised’ brands - e.g. Spotify - are also taking a non-
standard approach to service distribution, retaining brand
identity as they reach users across their own and third party
platforms. Toggling between apps might be a thing of the
past as new and transforming apps, such as WeChat, will look
to host multiple third party apps within themselves, removing
the need.
*Source Marketing Magazine, Anatoly Roytman, 21.09.2015
http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/article/1364264/why-brands-prepare-become-atomised
10.Atomising apps & services
VIRTUAL REALITY (VR) AND AUGMENTED REALITY (AR) TECHNOLOGY IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY MORE MAINSTREAM AND ACCESSIBLE.
These developments allow computer-generated content to be
superimposed over a live camera view of the physical world.
In 2016, we’ll see the launch of many new VR and AR products
and services, including Microsoft’s HoloLens and Sony’s
SmartEyeglass. Even Disney will release digital colouring-in
books, brought to life through AR.
The future of VR and AR could benefit all kinds of industries
including healthcare, music, and manufacturing. It could also
enhance business interactions by introducing VR conference
calls and virtually working collaboratively on site at a client’s
office, while actually operating from a different location.
EXAMPLE: MAGIC LEAP
www.magicleap.com
www.youtube.com/watch?v=kw0-JRa9n94
09.Accepting VR and augmented reality
DESIGN
RESEARCH FROM ECONSULTANCY HAS SHOWN THAT UP TO A THIRD OF THEIR WEBSITE VISITORS USE SCREENS AT LEAST 1,680 PIXELS WIDE, HIGHLIGHTING THE IMPORTANCE OF A DESIGN THAT IS OPTIMISED FOR A WIDER SCREEN AS WELL AS MOBILE.
In recent years, the term ‘responsive web design’ has had
more focus towards consideration of mobile and tablet
devices. However, in 2016, as smartphone handsets grow
in size, as do desktop monitors. Designing for widescreen
will regain importance, and a design that is optimised for
all devices will gain precedence.
image source: dropbox.com/business
Explanimations
THE USE OF ANIMATED VIDEOS TO SPREAD IMPORTANT OR COMPLEX MESSAGES (OR AS WE LIKE TO CALL THEM, ‘EXPLANIMATIONS’) HAS GROWN IN POPULARITY OVER THE YEARS.
Short animated videos are an effective and lighthearted
way of putting across and explaining concepts to your users.
Explanimations could cover product/service features, research
findings, important business updates or training, but try to
keep them to 75 seconds or less to avoid losing the viewer’s
attention!
Set to continue in 2016, this trend will be further enhanced
through virtual reality and 360 video capabilities.
12.11.Designing for larger experiences
13. Telling Stories
STORYTELLING BY BUSINESSES IS CRUCIAL FOR CONSUMER ENGAGEMENT, AND IN 2016, MODERN BROWSER TECHNOLOGIES, SUCH AS PARALLAX, CSS AND HTML5 ANIMATIONS, WILL PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR BRANDS TO CREATE TRULY IMMERSIVE STORY-BASED CONTENT.
Techniques allow a the reader to embark on a journey,
moving through the narrative at their own page, unlocking
deeper levels of the story as they continue.
EXAMPLES AND IMAGE SOURCES:
sbs.com.au/theboat
sonsofgallipoli.com
fiveminutes.gs
14.Do it like Digital Government
UK GOVERNMENT ARE TRANSFORMING PUBLIC SECTOR SERVICES, AIMING TO ENCOURAGE USERS TO SELF-SERVE ONLINE BY IMPROVING THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE.
In 2016, businesses will take note of effective design
guidelines set by the Government Digital Services (GDS),
looking to optimise their own user experience and
following standards set around:
• Plain language - simple and focused on content,
structure, navigation, grouping and completion.
• Sensitivity - these kinds of transactions are important
and often anxious experiences (e.g. childcare following
separation, immigration, tax submissions, lawsuits).
Bring humanity back into citizen interaction.
• User research - rich insights that spark innovations
- understand the people, places (where is service
experienced), products (software, digital tools, physical
products), processes and performance of the system
Source: https://www.gov.uk/service-manual
1 START WITH NEEDS
2 DO LESS
3 DESIGN WITH DATA
4 DO THE HARD WORK TO MAKE IT SIMPLE
5 ITERATE. THEN ITERATE AGAIN.
6 THIS IS FOR EVERYONE
7 UNDERSTAND CONTEXT
8 BUILD DIGITAL SERVICES, NOT WEBSITES
9 BE CONSISTENT, NOT UNIFORM
10 MAKE THINGS OPEN: IT MAKES THINGS BETTER
Source: https://www.gov.uk/design-principles
ALWAYS ONE STEP AHEAD.
orangebus.co.uk
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