7 PREDICTIONS FOR 2015: HOW DESIGN WILL IMPACT YOUR LIFE

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Part 1:

BIG DATA & ADVANCES IN TECHNOLOGY DRIVE DESIGN REVOLUTION

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New opportunities to rethink and redesign digital experiences in the ongoing evolution of digital are fueled by the proliferation of big data and technological developments. From the death of tabbed browsing to Minority Report driven gestural interfaces, here are the key trends in design and technology that are merging to transform digital user experiences.

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BOUNDARIES MELT AWAY AS USER INTERFACES BECOME INTEGRATED & FRICTIONLESSThe end of the blue link is near, as user interfaces become more fluid and intuitive, redefining how users “surf the Web” and interact with their mobile applications. Technology partnerships, API integrations and UI cards are blazing the path towards more frictionless user experiences that are driven by interactive gestures and sleek visuals.

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BOUNDARIES MELT AWAY AS USER INTERFACES BECOME INTEGRATED & FRICTIONLESSIndependent apps and websites will merge into

more seamless digital experiences

“The idea of having a screen full of icons, representing independent apps, that need to be opened to experience them, is making less and less sense.”PAUL ADAMS

VP of Intercom

Partnerships for integrations like OpenTable and Yelp are increasing as new companies

like Zapier and IFTTT aim to take integration to another level by connecting web

apps you use to easily to sync data and automate tedious tasks. According to

Paul Adams, VP of Intercom and formerly of Google and Facebook: “The idea of

having a screen full of icons, representing independent apps that need to be opened

to be experienced is making less and less sense.” In fact, both Android and iOS have

adopted interactive notifications, where a user never needs to actually visit an app

to complete an action.

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Furthermore, Google Now has already adopted UI card design as a means for organizing

information in a way that is portable across devices and provides a more seamless

experience. More data from devices is also empowering smarter apps. Humin is an app

that takes social communication data to provide relevant, contextual information based

on mobile contacts, designed to enable serendipitous, location-based interactions.

While in its early stages, new open systems that are interoperable across the web are

being created, including Wildcard and Citia. Startups like Vurb, a TechCrunch Disrupt

2014 winner, are challenging current search experiences with the belief that blue links are

a web browsing behavior of the past. Contextual search, with Pinterest-like interfaces are

now being designed to help avoid the dreaded experience of having 20+ unorganized tabs open within a browser. Expect to see (and appreciate) advances in development, driven by big data, that will revolutionize our current digital experiences.

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The inclusion of new technologies within the context of a vivid story has been shown to bridge the gap between current and future possibilities for audiences, allowing them to more deeply understand the potential of advanced technology. The concept of novums, or scientifically plausible innovations in sci-fi narratives, are becoming increasingly important in concept-driven storytelling and prototyping that simultaneously informs and explains new technologies.

The technology of science fiction is sure to become tomorrow’s reality. Qualcomm has partnered with XPRIZE to create a global competition to stimulate innovation and integration of precision diagnostic technologies. This soon-to-be real-life tricorder will help consumers make their own reliable health diagnoses.

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INCREASED ROLE OF PROTOTYPES & STORYTELLING IN PRODUCT DECISIONS

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INCREASED ROLE OF PROTOTYPES & STORYTELLING

IN PRODUCT DECISIONSAdvanced tools for creating more compelling

product roadmaps inspire & guide technology teams

While the concept of having storytellers lead product development has long been a focus in design-thinking and user experience design, new technologies such as 3D

printing and better free video editing software, enables the design community to

have even greater impact in product decisions especially as new technologies

become more sophisticated and challenging to imagine. The more innovative a new

product, the harder it is to explain through simple static images or text. Short movies

or 3D prints are driving the trend of engaging audiences through real-life examples with

interaction and context.

Coin, a connected device that can combine

different credit cards and loyalty cards into one,

launched a short but inspiring concept video that

has racked up 9 million views on YouTube, which

was a major factor in helping it reach $50,000 in funding in just 40 minutes.

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Matt Jones, Interaction Design Director of Google Creative Labs, discussed the

importance of the Google Glass concept video in helping to anchor and unite the product

team throughout the engineering process. In fact, concept videos can be thought of as a

form of prototyping since the visual narrative can elicit valuable insights through viewers’

feedback and comments.

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Video content is a vast pool of unexplored, unmined data that can provide fascinating insights into a variety of fields, from security to entertainment. 100 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute. 90% of the world’s data has been created in just the last two years, with 80% of this data taking the form of unstructured data such as video or photos with up to 13 ZB (that’s zettabytes) slated to be consumed by end of 2016. As more and more data is created with the advancement of cameras and sensors within smartphones, more unstructured data becomes available for experimentation and research, leading to major strides in computer vision algorithms that can lead to structured insights for video analytics.

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BIG DATA & VIDEO ANALYTICS HELP DRIVE CREATIVITY

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BIG DATA & VIDEOANALYTICS HELP

DRIVE CREATIVITYMore video content means more data

for machine-learning

According to Dr. Varah, CEO of MotionDSP, “True video analytics involves using

computer vision algorithms to analyze video pixels automatically — not only

identifying objects in the scene, but also tracking their movements and behavior.”

In other words, moving beyond recognition to computationally understanding

interaction, composition, and intention within video.

Advanced computer vision and machine-learning can lead to much deeper,

sophisticated insights into video content. High-quality videos have the power to

increase consumer online shopping by 174%, creating a large incentive for businesses

to better understand how to develop optimal videos for driving conversion. Yahoo Labs recently conducted a study of Vine videos to identify characteristics of videos that made

them more likely to be rated “creative” by a random sampling of people, ultimately

developing an algorithm that was able to predict “creativity”. Clearly, the opportunity for

big data to truly advance video analytics provides businesses and governments with a

new source of valuable information from which to derive actionable insights for

everything from self-driving cars to better commercials.

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90% of all new data growth in corporate data centers comes from unstructured data, making the cloud an ideal storage solution for data-sharing, data-mining, and interactive collaboration. As the cloud becomes the default storage solution, real-time data analysis and collaboration becomes more sophisticated, accelerating and transforming businesses.

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A BOOM IN DATA SCIENCE & INTERACTION WITHIN THE CLOUD

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A BOOM IN DATA SCIENCE & INTERACTION WITHIN

THE CLOUD Decreasing costs of storage = more data stored

and available for real-time analysis and collaboration

By 2018 78% of workloads will be processed by cloud data centers and annual

global cloud IP traffic will reach 6.5 ZB by the end of 2018. One natural byproduct

of data becoming stored on the cloud and consequently growing in size is the

corresponding increase for the demand to organize and analyze it.

Google Cloud Dataflow enables users to create data pipelines for both processing

and analyzing data in batch and streaming mode, creating opportunities for live

sentiment analysis for brands using public data from sites like Twitter or real-time

analysis of security footage for governments.

In addition to real-time analysis of data within the cloud, the cloud will also be able

to bring together people in floor-to-ceiling high-definition video collaboration with

shared whiteboards, documents and resources, and voice control in augmented

interactions. Oblong, started by MIT students, focuses on defining the future of work

with Mezzanine, which provides a digital collaborative workspace through the cloud, Minority Report style.

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Part 2:

ADVANCEMENTS IN INTERFACE & DEVICE DESIGN LEAD TO MORE CONTEXTUAL DIGITAL EXPERIENCES

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From technology giants like Google to up-and-coming startups, the race to integrate hardware and software to provide smarter, more contextually relevant experiences is on. The advancement of sensor technologies and communication capabilities is driving the growth of the Internet of Things, wearables (selfie-taking drone, anyone?), and new forms of connected hardware in these key trends.

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INTERNET OF THINGS MESHES DIGITAL & PHYSICAL FOR A “SUPER CLASS” OF CONTEXTUAL TECHThe Internet of Things is still on the upswing. More sophisticated digital and physical integrations are becoming the norm, leading to the harvest of more data for even smarter technologies. Most things that can be automated, and at times done better by a machine, will be upgraded opening up new opportunities for more technology-driven efficiency in everything from manufacturing to housework.

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INTERNET OF THINGS MESHES DIGITAL & PHYSICAL

FOR A “SUPER CLASS” OF CONTEXTUAL TECH

Decrease in costs of sensors contributes to increase in connected physical objects

and a more seamless world

According to Gartner, in 2015, enterprises will spend over $40 billion designing,

implementing and operating the Internet of Things. Since 2013, 650 million new

physical objects and 10% of automobiles have connected digitally. As sensors,

actuators, and communication capabilities of technology continue to advance,

embedding technology into everyday items will become more commonplace.

Connected objects are expected to reach 50 billion by 2020, or 6.58 connected

devices per person.

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Combining low-power technologies and increased memory capacity with the open

Wi-Fi movement and advanced algorithms, the growth of smart objects from sports

gear to crock-pots is accelerating. Tile, Littlebits, and August make it easier to connect

different web-services and gadgets to each other over the Internet, with IFTTT acting

as a central powerhouse of over 153 channels (and counting) to help users customize

commands for seamless cross-channel syncing.

The Internet of Things is evolving so that objects are not only connected, but through

their connection, can learn to be “smart” and act ambiently. Google has recently

launched the Physical Web to move towards providing interaction on demand, or a

truly responsive web, that provides personalized experiences across physical

touchpoints to provide digital experiences that are contextual and environment-aware.

$40 BILLION

Internet of Things

650 MILLION

Smart Physical Objects

10 %

Connected Automobiles

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WEARABLE TECH GETS SMARTER, BLURS LINE BETWEEN HUMANS & DEVICES

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Siri has been the closest our devices to be personified, with sci-fi rom-com “Her” sparking further conversation about the connection that people now have with their technology. Wearables create an opportunity for devices to become even more integrated into the human experience. Improved sensor and power technology will mean wearables become less obtrusive, and more communicative, fueling this category’s growth.

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WEARABLE TECH GETS SMARTER,

BLURS LINE BETWEEN HUMANS & DEVICES

The decreasing barriers between humans and technology through smarter,

more responsive wearables

According to Gartner, smartwatches will exceed popularity of fitness bands in 2015,

growing to 21 million sold. As technology advances, wearables will be able to

communicate with humans more dynamically, through more direct, immersive haptic feedback, motion, or lighting. Google Now has continued to push responsive

wearable tech forward upon integration with the new

Google watch, which can truly provide information

exactly when needed through an “intelligent personal

assistant”, which will evolve to take on more actions

as wearable technologies advance. Mary Meeker,

from KPCB hints at the future of wearables being increasingly environmentally aware with the advancement of sensors and personalization through big data that will drive opportunities for value creation by wearables, especially as the design of these user experiences focuses on providing information seamlesslyand beautifully.

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At the 2014 Design Driven Innovation Conference at MIT, guest speaker and principal

engineer at Intel, Maria Bezaitis discussed devices becoming smart enough to take on

human behaviors. A wearable drone equipped with a camera to help you take photos

when selfies aren’t an option, Nixie has the ability to “leave” then “return” to your

wrist - boomerang style. Researchers have also been working on a flexible robotic fabric that contains sensors for providing feedback and environmental

information as a wearable for astronauts on space missions. As the

technology matures, wearables will transition from being overrated, to a natural

and necessary part of our lives.

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From seamless HTML 5 powered looping background videos on websites to startups aiming to create sophisticated augmented reality experiences, visual and sensory-driven storytelling continues to evolve, breaking out of the restraints of current computing interfaces to impact industries from retail to entertainment.

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IMMERSIVE STORYTELLING EVOLVES BEYOND COMPUTING INTERFACES

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IMMERSIVE STORYTELLING EVOLVES BEYOND

COMPUTING INTERFACES Design breaks out of rectangle screens

to sensory-driven experiences

Steps toward making the web more immersive have begun, with web design trends

featuring large, immersive background videos, parallax or infinite scrolls and

pageless designs. Trends in entertainment will continue to influence web design.

The Society of Motion Pictures and Television Engineers is working on advanced

technology to make entertainment more immersive, where tactile or motion data is

encoded and broadcasted in sync with compressed audio and video. Oculus has teamed up with Marriott to launch a 4D experience and Samsung to launch Gear VR for an “untethered” experience driven by mobile, opening up opportunities for storytelling and integration across devices. While Google Cardboard shows that fancy technology is not necessary for virtual reality, the role of advanced

technology in the creation of new, uncharted territories of fascinating sensory

experiences is undeniable.

Magic Leap, a company that recently raised $542M from investors including Google

and KPCB, is focused on breaking out of “rectangle fetishism” with Dynamic Digitized

Lightfield Signal™, a technology that generates images indistinguishable from real

objects and can be “placed” into the real world. Advanced technologies and potential

integrations with mobile and web will continue to revolutionize interaction possibilities

for industries from fashion to education.

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ABOUT DIGITAL TELEPATHY

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Victoria Young is a user and data-driven marketing lead bringing methods and insights from economics, psychology, business, and design to help improve user experience and connect products to consumers.

My interest in how technology can shape culture by facilitating the spread of ideas and changing behaviors is what drives my focus on tackling growth for consumer digital companies looking to solve problems and improve user experiences.

Tweet me @victoriahyoung.

Digital Telepathy is a thriving user experience design agency, product development shop, and content publisher. For over 12 years, we have crafted meaningful experiences for mission-driven startups and brands like New Relic, The Lean Startup, Pivotal, Adventure.com, and Fullscreen.

We strive to make the web a better place by removing friction and focusing on simplicity in design.

Learn more at dtelepathy.com.