Everyone say Happy Birthday to our favorite ad medium, the banner ad! Yes, on October 27th, the banner ad turned 15. It’s hard to believe, but in 1994, when the web was still only just graphical and DSL was unknown and downloads were at 24.4kbs (remember that?) the very first…
Ever wonder what those funky square patterns that show up on an e-ticket are? They’re called QR codes— short for Quick Response—and they come to us from Japan where they are frequently used to transfer digital information. Usually, we see these codes read by scanners pointed at our e-tickets, but…
Recently I had the chance to attend the Churchill Club dinner at which Larry Ellison was interviewed by Ed Zander. Always an interesting interview, Larry was in good form that night and talked on topics ranging from his commitment to win next year’s America’s Cup (if the Swiss don’t cheat)…
As we (The Oya Group) are getting more known in social circles, we are getting more and more of these kinds of requests; not so much asking for a service, but asking about what is the algorithm we might use to complete a particular task. Obviously, sometimes there is some…
The eyes of the Starbucks employee who was taking my order lit up when I asked if I could use the app. He said “you’re my first app customer!”. Being in the center of Silicon Valley, I considered it an honor.
The story of stories is starting to take root in the public consciousness, and more and more science is now showing us why exactly people relate to stories so much. Turns out there are a specific class of neurons that are specifically wired to respond to stories. In a recent…
Logos are created to visually communicate the brand of a company, product, or service. In the blink of an eye, with or without prior interactions, the receiver should gain a basic understanding of the core values of the brand. It is the designer’s responsibility to learn about these core values…
Is it me or are sign up buttons getting bigger and sign in buttons smaller? I spent at least 5 mins looking for the sign in button/field on WordPress just now and almost gave up, thinking I just needed to get my morning caffeine boost first. Stubborn and annoyed, I…
The marketing world lost its most influential pitchman on June 28th. Billy Mays, known famously for his infomercials, took countless household gadgets and turned them into million dollar products. He turned direct response advertising into a respected form of marketing by building a personal brand that was energetic, trustworthy, and captivating. His name was so influential that if your product got his blessing, it could mean millions.
