I'm Starting to See a Pattern

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Mon, 30 Jan 2012 15:00:06 +0000

Circus Dreams. Developmental stills from a recent Flash...

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 13:07:08 +0000

Circus Dreams. Developmental stills from a recent Flash animation.

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Sun, 29 Jan 2012 15:00:06 +0000

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Sat, 28 Jan 2012 15:00:05 +0000

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Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:00:06 +0000

2008. Stills from an e-learning package created to coincide with...

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 15:00:05 +0000

2008. Stills from an e-learning package created to coincide with Julian Opie’s public art installations on Dublin’s O’Connell Street entitled “Walking on O’Connell Street”.

So, who are you really?

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:00:06 +0000

So, who are you really?

Brand identity for fictional charity “True Family”.

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:04:05 +0000

Letterhead

Business card

Logo design

Compliment slip

Brand identity for fictional charity “True Family”.

Inspired by the work of Barbara Kruger.

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:00:05 +0000

Inspired by the work of Barbara Kruger.

2009. Selected works from my Multimedia internship with Dublin...

Sun, 22 Jan 2012 15:00:05 +0000

Annual report document

Logo design & software packaging

CMS restructure and content update

Compliment slip

Development of existing brand

2009. Selected works from my Multimedia internship with Dublin company IMGS.

Feeling nostalgic for Tiny’s World… Found this promo...

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 17:00:00 +0000

Feeling nostalgic for Tiny’s World… Found this promo graphic on an old hard drive. Watch now!

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Sat, 21 Jan 2012 16:28:25 +0000

I recently came across my first ever portfolio website built...

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 15:09:00 +0100

I recently came across my first ever portfolio website built from scratch with HTML and CSS and lots of lovely tables (we’re talking 2007 here!). The code behind it may not be anything ground breaking but I can still say I’m proud of it visually.

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Mon, 10 Oct 2011 15:57:00 +0100

Day & Night. Developmental stills from a recent Flash...

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 19:50:00 +0100

Day & Night. Developmental stills from a recent Flash animation.

COmute is a collaborative project completed in early 2010 for...

Wed, 05 Oct 2011 18:44:00 +0100

COmute is a collaborative project completed in early 2010 for a University module entitled Multimedia Sound & Music.

The full COmute experience takes the form of an audio-visual installation. It follows three typical commuters on their daily commute. The audio features three interweaving internal monologues documenting the thoughts of the characters.

Learning Technologies 2011

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 11:56:00 +0100

The following was written earlier this year for inclusion in a workplace blog.

Wed 02 Feb 2011

I thought I’d write up a post on our visit to the Learning Technologies showcase before I forget it all in a haze of glossy brochures and free branded merchandise (cheers SkillSoft!). There was a huge amount to take in over the two days. The exhibition ran in tandem with the Learning and Skills showcase on the lower floor of Olympia 2 but to be honest there was more than enough in the Learning Tech to keep us busy.

Early on Day One we went along to a talk given by Ben Betts, the lead designer and architect of a new e-learning product called Curatr. Curatr has been developed around three key techniques which are proven to increase learner engagement; Exploration, Gamification and Socialisation. Curatr gives learners full control over their online learning experience, it allows the user work through a game-like system whilst at the same time allowing them share their knowledge and progress within a secure virtual environment. It places a heavy emphasis on mobile learning and is extremely intuitive to use for anyone who has previous experience of a touchscreen mobile device. It is an interesting approach to social learning and I certainly wish it was around when I was in college. Find out more on their website or watch the quick video here. There’s a lot to it. They also had dinosaur-shaped cookies which of course makes them the first stand I remember.

Over the course of my journey through the world of academia, I (and I suspect many other people reading this) have taken various courses and modules which focused exclusively on Adobe products. This always frustrated me but there never seemed to be another option which was as reliable and allowed such scope for importing and exporting of varying file formats. Adobe, being the powerhouse that it is had their own corner of the expo and were showcasing their eLearning suite. I had a good look at Contribute, a piece of software I had been aware of but not experienced. It is very impressive and integrates with the rest of the CS5 suite nicely. The main feature of Contribute being demonstrated was creating a step-by-step instructional video using a screen recording. My only previous experience of screen recording is with TechSmith’s Camtasia, (a much earlier iteration than is available now no doubt) so it was impressive to see how far Adobe have advanced the technique. However it was also good to see smaller companies surviving alongside Adobe in what I have come to realise is a very crowded marketplace.

During our (extremely long!) conversation with French company KTM Advance we got the opportunity to see a few of their previous projects in action. The stand-out for me was StarbanktheGame (which you can play here if you fancy testing your skills running a banking empire!). This serious game is aimed at new starters in BNP Paribas, but is accessible to the general public also. It reminds me of a “serious” version of Rollercoaster Tycoon where the player must manage a successful business by keeping customers happy and ensuring the money keeps coming in. This approach really exploits the addictive nature of simulation gaming to positive effect. I think the game looks really slick and is highly intuitive. It would also work really well on a mobile device.

Simulated real-life experience and serious gaming is something which another company; Skills2Learn employs in their products. Fully immersive 3D virtual reality games guide the user through real-life situations which, if undertaken in the real world would have considerable risks to the user or the people they may interact with. For example, someone training as a nurse or midwife can experience interactive scenarios during which they can assess “virtual” patients with no risk. British Gas also uses Skills2Learn products to train engineers in fault diagnosis.

Something I noticed cropping up again and again at the exhibition was the presence of “ready-made” adaptable solutions to the e-learning needs of any given company. Names like Raptivity, SiteJazzer, Trivantis Lectora and Video Arts all offer pre-made and often customizable content which companies can purchase and re-purpose according to their own needs. Everything from instructional video to HTML5-based mini-games was on offer. I wonder if these generic off-the-shelf solutions are much more than a quick fix for a complex problem. I worry that they would lack the identity needed to really tie in to a branded e-learning experience, despite the claimed customisation. However it is important to realise that where companies like these come into their own will be in helping adapt to the current and ever-growing shift in focus towards HTML5-based content and away from the Apple-shunned Flash, especially for certain mobile devices.

Just time to recommend a quick trip to Neil Lasher’s blog or twitter which will give you an insight into his quirky approach to learning, including SoMeFat (or Social Media Fatigue) and showing a PowerPoint with Comic Sans on the first slide to a room full of designers… Just to illustrate a point about poor learning design of course…

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Sun, 02 Oct 2011 11:15:00 +0100

Dirk’s Chocumentary. This short documentary follows Dirk...

Tue, 25 May 2010 00:00:00 +0100

Dirk’s Chocumentary. This short documentary follows Dirk Schonkeren from Helena Chocolates in Castlebar, Co. Mayo, Ireland. Dirk speaks about his business, his personal background and takes us through the production process with a special batch of Chilli Chocolates.

Share IT Conference 2010. A poster and timetable I designed for...

Fri, 14 May 2010 12:20:00 +0100

Share IT Conference 2010. A poster and timetable I designed for the Intergenerational Learning Project in Dublin City University.

Click to enlarge.