BRACAU 27 BLOG'S

The students of Hyper Island are pleased to announce The Experience Animation and Technology Exhibition 2009, an exhibition of interactive and digital art.

The exhibition features the work of 120 students who are currently studying at Hyper Islands long term programs, Digital Media and Motion Graphics in the cities of Karlskrona and Stockholm.

Four weeks ago the students at Hyper Island were introduced to a new assignment.
The assignment was to get into 23 groups and create a solution that involved one or several technical components that was assigned by the school.

The components:
· Wii Remote
· Audrino
· Phidgets
· RFID
· Web-cam

The goal with the assignment was to not have the main focus on digital media and online environments. We were asked to explore an area much more likely to be new to us independently of our background.


Working with tangible technology highlights the importance of creating an experience, one of the key differences between traditional and digital media.

We have now prepared 23 different, exciting and innovative audiovisual installations on a exhibition for everyone to come and explore.
How about getting in physical contact with your distant partner by the use of a new invention. Or how about creating art in Jackson Pollocks virtual studio, both by simply using the wii remote?

Experience these installations and many more...

All students have worked hard with a strong focus on exploration and creativity to create one of the best Hyper Island Exhibitions ever.
So do not miss out on this chance to be a part of new interactive and digital art.

Since this is a big opportunity to network with industry people and potential future students we have put all effort into making this as great as possible.


Also, the best prototypes of the exhibition will be taken to London for a second exhibition after being reviewed by a school jury (exact date to be announced).


The exhibition opens on Saturday October 24th
Gallery hours: 11:00AM. to 5:00PM
Tickets: Free of charge

Address:
Telefonvägen 30
126 37 Stockholm

Subway to Telefonplan


View Larger Map


For further information please contact:
Nina Amjadi
PR - Exhibition Group
nina.amjadi@hyperisland.se
+46 (0) 73 948 80 12

Hyper Island's Digital Media and Motion Graphics Designer students' Experience Animation & Technology Exhibition will take place in Stockholm on Saturday, October 24th, from 11AM-5PM.

Find out more at:
http://www.eat09.se/

And check out the students' blogs:
http://www.eat09.se/blogs/

Digital Media 2010 Stockholm student Sanna Wickman tells Web Designer Magazine about her class' promotion site 53 Colors.


Says Sanna; "To get attention by the digital media industry it just isn’t enough to shout as loud as you can, you have to have something important to say and say it in a creative way. (...) The challenge for us as students was also to find that exact tone of voice that is suited for our target audience; the industry, and to be present not only on our own site but also where the industry already is: in social media and forums that they visit every day.

The short term benefits is that the project gives all of the students a chance to be exposed and promoted in the industry, so that we more easily can get internships and get to know the industry and the people within it. The long term benefit is that we through the process learn about marketing and promotion, by actually doing it! We learn the tools of branding, strategy, and public relations, which will be useful throughout our coming careers."

Click here to read the rest of the interview!

Hyper Island Digital Media 2008 graduate Markus Lundqvist and his colleagues at Chimney Pot just won an MTV Video Music Award for Best Special Effects for Lady Gaga "Paparazzi".


What were your first thoughts when you found out you'd won an MTV Video Music Award?
I was proud for all of us at The Chimney Pot working on the project. It was good milestone :).
Great that Chimney got some direct international attention for all the music video work we've been doing for so many years. Often the people actually making the video are forgotten in the public eye.

What was the most interesting aspect of working on the project?
The most interesting aspect of working with the video is of course the client, Lady Gaga. You know that when it leaves the house it's going to be seen by millions and there's not really room for failing.
We did the VFX, look and graphical design at Chimney but the video wouldn't be that great without excellent work from everyone else in the production.

What's it like working with Jonas Åkerlund?
Jonas is a great guy to work with and easy to talk to. He usually has quite a good idea of what he wants but we often try new things and give input on how to make things even better.
We have been working for years with him at The Chimney Pot so the trust between us is quite strong when it comes to make the film as good as possible.
Still it requires loads of hard work and all the extra time you can put into the shots. Often that means weekends and long days. We usually work until 5 minutes before deadline because all the extra bits and pieces you can push yourself to do makes the video better.


What other projects have you worked on at Chimney Pot?
I have worked with artists like Pink, Lady Gaga, Animal Kingdom, Madonna, Rammstein, Dizzee Rascal and more.
In terms of commercials the latest clients has been Alecta, Mercedes, Tele2, McDonalds, H&M, Unibet and Boxer.
Also I've done a bunch of shots for recently Swedish feature films such as Wallander & Falk.

What advice do you have for those who dream of working with VFX?
Learn everything you possibly can but don't get hung up on software. 
It's not the software that will make you a good VFX artist, they are all just tools and nothing else.  Still If I would point out one program you should learn it would be Nuke.
Keep yourself updated what's happening in the industry and new technology.
Get a long-term internship or a nightjob at a VFX house to be able to work on some big projects and build up a good showreel.
Don't be afraid to call companies and offer extra help.
Prepare to work long and hard :).

How has what you learned at Hyper Island helped you in your career?
To take on projects even if you don't know directly how to solve them even if it means working 24/7.
Since I'm working as VFX / Autodesk Flame artist most of my time is with a client/director in the same room and Hyper Island really improves your social and communication skills.


Click below to view some of the projects Markus has worked on:
· Lady Gaga "Paparazzi"
· Dizzee Rascal "Bonkers"
· H&M Summer 2009 Matthew Williamson
· H&M Christmas 2008 Most fashionable gifts
· Unibet Play


Thank you, Markus!

Here's Digital Media 2011 Stockholm - looks sponsored, but isn't:


For more snapshots from Hyper Island - follow us on Twitter!

We were curious to find out what the Hyper Island Interactive Art Director 2010 students have experienced since beginning the program in August this year. Here's what four of the students had to say:

Paula Kreuger from Brazil

How did you find Hyper Island?
Google and destiny. :) I was searching for inspiration last January, and I found the DM09 website. At that time I had no idea about what Hyper Island was, but I was very curious, so I went to the Hyper Island's web page and the more I read about the school and the programs, the more I felt I had to be a part of it. I don't regret my choice at all, I'm loving the Hyper Island experience.

What's been your two biggest learning experiences so far?
There is a continuous learning experience about how to work with groups. This experience is so great because it is useful not only within the Digital Media world, but you can apply in whatever group you are part of. We learn a lot about ourselves and others, become more tolerant with differences and start to see them as a positive aspects of life. Our class is based upon diversity, and that is a great learning experience: people from different countries, cultures, ages and backgrounds, sharing their knowledge and life experiences. More than interacting with technology, we learn how to interact with people, and that is something very valuable.

What was the first module about? What did you learn?
The first module was about understanding group behaviour and leadership, and how to build teams. It's a deep experience, since it is based upon a lot of reflection and feedback and this is something that we usually don't learn at school, at least in Brazil, where I come from. I became more aware of my attitudes, enhanced my perception of how other people behave and became more tolerant. I also learned how to give and receive feedback, not avoiding conflicts but actually learning how to deal with them, which is definitely not something easy to do but extremely important.

What's the new module about and what's your group working on?
We have a great client for this module, a really challenging one: IKEA. In the next 7 weeks we will be working full time in order to find an interactive and digital solution that can attract more people to IKEA's stores. This is great, since the company is successful, open-minded and global. How to take something great to the next level? We shall find out the answer to this question by the end of the module.

Most exciting thing at Hyper Island this week?
Hyper Island has always something exciting happening, whether it is coming from the staff or the students. :) For example, this week we started with workshops, organized by the students who are experts in a certain field and are willing to share their knowledge with the rest of the school. We have no teachers, no books, no homework, so this is a great opportunity to try something new and take the initiative to teach, to research more about what you love to do or always wanted to know about, to improve presentation skills, share and raise the good vibe among the students and of course, have fun! This week, we had workshops about Programming, HTML and CSS, Processing and a lot more are scheduled for the coming weeks.



Cas Lemmens from Belgium

How did you find Hyper Island?
My dad's company worked together with some students from Hyper Island. So he gave me the link.

What were your expectations before beginning the Interactive Art Director program?
I was really looking forward to work with passioned people, people who lived for digital media like me. And besides that I had really high expectations on the lectures we would get, and the study methodology Hyper would have.

What was the first module about? What did you learn?
In the first module, we researched the current digital industry and tried to make a vision of the future. It was something I wanted to do for a long time, and finally gathering all the information I've been researching in the passed few years together with the research of the other group members, really gave our group good insights. It became clear you had to do this almost every year, so you could keep track of the trends, and keep in my mind what really is the future.

What's the new module about and what's your group working on?
In the second module we have to come up with a new idea for Ikea on how that can improve their services in the future. We're still in an early process and figuring out the bits and pieces. At this moment, we're doing research, learning more about Ikea, the company, the future, the competitors and their marketing in order to find holes or malfunctions where we can work on.

What's been your two biggest learning experiences so far?
The first one was the UGL. It made me realize reflection and feedback are really important when it comes to working in a team. And besides that I got to know myself a lot better.
The second one was the first task we had: the research task. I worked together with really interesting people who taught me to expand my boundaries and think further than I normally do. I made me smarter in some kind of way...

Most exciting thing at Hyper Island this week?
I think that would be the workshops that are going on. I gave mine yesterday, and was really pleased with the result. And I'm curious about the coming workshops since it will handle the material I've been wanting to learn since long.

What do you think you can learn from your classmates?
A better question would be: what can I not learn! The people here are great, they all have their experience, knowledge and own interest. I haven't met anyone yet who couldn't give me an interesting talk. I think the best thing you learn from your co-students, is the fact that you'll see a solution from different angles, which helps a lot!



Sougwen Chung from Canada, pictured with the rest of the LapOfLuxury™ group

How did you find Hyper Island?
I found Hyper Island after watching an animated flash self-promotion video by one of the Digital Media students in the previous crews. I think that was about 7 years ago. I was excited to come here after I attended their recruitment tour 2 years ago, I recommend the experience.

What were your expectations before beginning the Interactive Art Director program?
I wasn't sure what to expect, actually. I described it to people as "a digital experiment: what would happen if you stuck x-number of creatives in a room for a year and had them make a handful of amazing projects."

What did you learn during the first module?
The first module included the UGL course. It was helpful in gathering insights about self vs self, self vs group, and the Collective Experience. I wrote about it here.

What's the new module about and what's your group working on?
The current module revolves around 7 weeks of ideation for furniture giant, Ikea. In addition to conjuring up some forward-thinking and fun ideas for the brand, our group is making creative "webisodes" (web+episodes) documenting the process of working together. Check out the teaser and the first episode of our show, LapOfLuxury™ here or follow our daily progress on our website here.

Most exciting thing at Hyper Island this week?
Aside from LapOfLuxury™, I'm probably most excited about all the wonderfully executed programming workshops by some of the Hyper Island students. Today we cover the Processing language, I'm looking forward to it.

What do you think you can learn from your classmates?
Aside from learning skills, I'm looking forward to the discovery process of what I can learn over the next few months.



Thomas Björk from Sweden

How did you find Hyper Island?
I heard about it a few years ago, that it was a really good education, but I never really understood what they where doing. Last year a friend of mine went here and I heard from him what they did and how they did it.
I went to a few "Open Houses" and got really impressed.

What's been your biggest learning experience so far?
Importance to actually practice how to work in groups. It's hard sometimes, but the only way to master it is to practice.

What did you learn during the first module?
I learned so much about myself. And how people around me see my actions. To change my own behaviour I need people around me to tell me what I do.

What's the new module about and what's your group working on?
We are working on a new way for Ikea to communicate with their customers.

Most exciting thing at Hyper Island this week?
When Mary got lost at IKEA and Fatih had to call her on the speaker system. Hilarious!

What do you think you can learn from your classmates?
If I have a question I ask the classmate with best knowledge about it. Almost whatever I ask them about, we are so many people with different backgrounds and knowledge.
More important, I learn about myself by receiving instant feedback all the time!


Thank you all! Can't wait to see what your groups come up with for this module.

A big welcome also to Digital Media 2011 Karlskrona!


Digital Media 2011 Karlskrona also started on Tuesday this week. The class consists of students from Sweden, Norway, the US and Poland. We look forward to spending the coming 2 years together with you!

Welcome Digital Media 2011 Stockholm, one of Hyper Island's four classes starting this week!


The students come from Sweden, Italy, Ireland, Norway, Spain and the US. We look forward to spending 90 productive weeks together with all of you!

Fantasy Interactive blog about their workshop with Digital Media students in Stockholm.
Check it out here!

"For the last 5 weeks we’ve been doing ‘Specialization part 2′ at Hyper Island. A module where the class divides up in different specializations (Technology, Management and Design) and gets special assignments for each specialization.

We (design specialization) got a very interesting brief from 3 young Swedes that had a dream to produce jeans in North Korea. They had an incredibly well documented story and both an interesting and unique concept. Our brief said to design a graphical profile, web concept, launch strategy as well as package design for a future perfume and the launch strategy behind it.

Quite the brief – and with only 4 weeks of production it seemed like we were in for a real challenge!", writes Digital Media 2010 Karlskrona student Ole Martin Kristiansen.

See some of his group's designs and read more at Ole Martin's blog!



Check out more student work at the Hyper Island Student Gallery!

Hyper Island Crew 7 (Digital Media 2003) graduate Linda Gavin is one of the creators behind the Twitter logo. Well done!

Linda told Swedish newspaper Express that the logo was just a sketch among 30 suggested designs. Read the whole interview:
· in Swedish
· in English

Check out our Hyper Island blog interview with Linda from 2007.

Last year, the Digital Media 2010 students in Stockholm and Karlskrona collaborated on a webzine documenting their Experience Technology module.
Check it out here!

We would like to congratulate two graduated Hyper Island students and one of our current Digital Media students on winning awards in the The Norwegian Design Council's 2009 Awards;

Ole Martin Kristiansen, Digital Media 2010 Karlskrona:
The Young Talent Award

Sandro Kvernmo, Crew 10 (Digital Media 2006):
Award for Design Excellence

Magnus Cederholm, Crew 8 (Digital Media 2004) & Lukas Szachanski, Crew 10 (Digital Media 2006):
Award for Design Excellence


Very well done!

"Visual Crook(s) [viso-al kr_oks] a person, or multiple persons in a crew, trying to make the world a prettier place with vicious plans of global domination", says the Digital Media 2010 Karlskrona class who released their site Visual Crooks, as well as a making of blog a few weeks ago. We previously blogged about the class' pre-release site releaseusnow.com.

The students continue;
"Designers, programmers and project managers are divided into different areas of the prison. Every student have got their own cell and prison character, including psychos and mobsters. When scanning the prison the visitor gets an oversight of the locked up inmates, and can click on them to interact, read info and contact them. Watching the prisoners on distance is, however, scary. Do you dare taking a closer look?"


"(...) the 43-strong class put the site together in their spare time, overseeing every element of the project from concept and design to hunting down sponsors. Combining Flash, 3D work, video footage and 2D designs, the interactive site layout depicts a prison, housing students of different specialisms in separate wings that the visitor can explore, with each individual student having designed their own character and cell."
"(...) it's definitely worth checking out"
--Computer Arts, March 20th, 2009

Also seen at:
· CAP&Design (in Swedish)
· Reform & Revolution
· Direto de Forno
· NOTCOT
· irie
· kreativ1
· spyline
· Creative Tools

Visit Visual Crooks now!
Join Visual Crooks on Facebook!

Earlier this week, three former Hyper Island students won gold in Young Lions 2009 (Young Creatives Sweden)!

Congratulations for winning gold in the Print category!
Christian Egnell, Art Director at Ottoboni and Johan Gustafsson, Art Director at Jung von Matt, both former Hyper Island students in Crew 9 (Digital Media 2005).


How come you ended up working together?
- Because we are cool. No, awesome.

What's your favorite part of the assignment?
- The creative freedom, it allows you to make ideas that might not be 100% on strategy but the joy of making them shine through. And the fact that it’s lion in the name of the award. I want to be a lion.

Why do you think you won print, when your education is based mainly in the digital industry?
- It’s mainly idea based competition. So as long there is strong idea behind the solution the media doesn’t matter.
Hyper Island also teaches the value of good idea.

See their winning submission here!

Read about the winners and the jury's motivation in Dagens Media! (in Swedish)



Congratulations also to Joakim Norman, graduated Interactive Art Director 2008 student, and Martin Ericson, both at Lowe Brindfors, for winning gold in the Web category!

Why did you decide to submit work to this year's Young Lions?
– I guess the same reason as everyone else, trying to prove my worth. Being a hypernaut amongst traditional ad students makes it even more important to prove that I can hold my own in creativity and idea.

What was your favorite part of the assignment?
– My favorite part of the whole weekend was when Martin made a crack at the dinner table at Den Gamle och Sjön, a snobbish seafood restaurant, and I threw my hands up and then down in the air of laughter, accidentally pressing the end of my fork and launching a large chunk of spaghetti and crawfish at myself. Kind of like a pasta catapult. I had a bright shirt.


What's your web idea about?
The name of the idea, Goggle Maps, really explains it all. When you donate your glasses, you get a code that you can enter into Goggle Maps, our Google maps mashup, and it shows you where your glasses went and who’s wearing them now. Then you can browse around for other peoples donations etc. It’s so simple it’s almost stupid.

How do you think your education at Hyper Island helped you in developing ideas?
I think I received a very different perspective from most creatives in Sweden, nearly everyone being ex-Berghs students. Which helps me in being original, but also forces me to continue to educate myself. The knowledge they teach at Berghs is equally important to the ones we recieve at Hyper Island. And I need both.


How thrilled are you?
Extremely.

See their winning submission here

Read about the winners and the jury's motivation in Dagens Media! (in Swedish)

At Hyper Island's Digital Media diploma program in Stockholm students learn to solve problems by facing them. During a four week period they have promoted themselves, a roller coaster which culminates with a slammin' party and release of the site 53colors.com. When the program is completed the students will be ready to face both the economic crisis and a media industry in constant change.

In a world of economic disturbances and bankruptcies higher demands are put on the creatives and their capabilities. We asked Patrick Gardner, founder of Perfect Fools, if he believes insights in group dynamics and conflict management will be worth more in the wake of the financial crisis.

"In a world where change just keeps accelerating, we're not sure what specific tools we'll need 10 or even 5 years from now. What we do know is there will always be a place for smart, creative, motivated team players. People who have learned how to learn and can adapt to and drive a continually changing industry. Exactly the type of person you find at Hyper Island."

Hyper Island's programs focus on a breadth of knowledge within all parts of the project life cycle. Students get to try everything from project management to design in real world projects. Emphasis is put on understanding group dynamics and the students are continually trained in conflict management. These skills are put to the test during the module Marketing and Promotion, where the students promote their class to the industry, left completely to their own devices.

”We've had our ups and downs. We are 53 people, who need to agree about our roles and cooperate on all levels, which hasn't always worked perfectly, but throughout the journey we have developed our problem solving skills,” says Sanna Wickman, who has been one of the project managers during the course.


To express these skills, Hyper Island's Digital Media students in Stockholm have chosen to promote themselves through the project 53colors.com, creativity in diversity. The concept is a direct answer to the global crisis and at the same time a challenge to the industry to dare to bet more on love and warmth. According to the students they have the best bailout package: passion bursting with color.

Hyper Island staff member Christian Olsson and graduated student Anna Gullstrand, now CEO of Deasign, were interviewed in yesterday's Metro. Click the image to read the article (in Swedish):


- or click here to read the article in a PDF format.
More Hyper Island in the Media!

Myke Gerstein, Executive Interactive Producer at Wieden+Kennedy Amsterdam, held a lecture at Hyper Island Stockholm last week. We wanted to find out more.

What was your lecture at Hyper Island about?
I talked about the production process as it lives in an agency. Some of the differences that exist between digital and traditional agencies and also a bit about the way things work at a development shop.

What new ideas/points of view do you hope the Digital Media students brought with them from the lecture?
I think that the explanation of the basic agency structure was new. It certainly was to me before I got involved in it. I hope that getting into these specifics will help the students both decide if the agency way interests them and also gives them a leg up once they’re there.

Photo: Lea Kovac, Interactive Art Director 2009
What do you think the future holds for digital marketing?
I think there is great potential for digital marketing to not just innovate within its own field, but within the web as a whole. I think we’ll start to see ideas come out of marketers that don’t just use existing technology but trail blaze their own. Public APIs and open source I think is changing interactive the same way that cheap cameras and editing software changed film production. You don’t need a lot of money to make something that a lot of people will see. It puts even greater importance on the creative idea.

What do you think will happen to traditional ad agencies?
I think they’re going in a few directions. Some are trying to build out their interactive capabilities. Compete for their clients’ interactive business. I think a lot of them have a strong shot at doing that but of course it takes time and isn’t always successful. Some will keep doing what they do best and there will always be a need for it. Film production isn’t going anywhere. People are watching less of it on a tv but they are still watching. Same with print to a lesser extent. The publishing industry is getting smaller and the production of print materials doesn’t have the same type of analog as video on the web or another broadcast source.

How does Wieden+Kennedy stay up-to-date with what's happening in the digital world?
We have a lot of people here that are really interested in what’s happening both on an interactive marketing front and in the web as a whole. There is a lot of knowledge that people share with everyone else. I scan all the tech news several times a day and pass on things I think are relevant.

Are there any people / innovators / technologies / other sources of inspirations that have had strong impacts on the way you work?
Probably too many to mention. Every place I’ve worked has been filled with truly inspired and inspiring people. The people at CP+B, W+K, Campfire, Chelsea Pictures. All of them. The sophistication and capabilities of flash are of course influential both because of its predominance in the field and the many things it can do. Every RIA impacts our work. Also great jazz. I listen to Oscar Peterson on repeat.

Any final words of advice to Hyper Island's students?
Find a place whose work you think is great and that you want to contribute to. Do it with great gusto and fortitude. If it doesn’t make you happy find something else.

Thank you, Myke!

Blekinge Läns Tidning wrote about Hyper Island's Digital Media 2010 Karlskrona site yesterday, check it out!
• In Swedish
• in English (through Google translate)
• Photo Slideshow of the prison and prisoners

More Hyper Island in the Media!

Check this out, www.releaseusnow.com !

"Four students. Five days.
We have incarcerated four of our classmates in the cells at Kronohäktet in Karlskrona. The best thing about it... YOU can interact with them. We will post assignments for the prisoners at www.releaseusnow.com and if they are successful we will increase their standards of living. You can follow the live webcam feed from the website."
So says the class of Digital Media 2010 Karlskrona. They have imprisoned four of their classmates and you can follow the whole experiment at www.releaseusnow.com!


If you want to support Jenny & Josefin you go to: Cell 1's Facebook page
- and sign up for their group and befriend Kelly Nedson the group creator.

If you want to support Pelle & Tommi you go to: Cell 2's Facebook page
- and join their group and befriend Charles Abagnale who is the group founder there.

COME ON, SHOW YOUR SUPPORT AND MAKE THE CELL YOU ARE VOTING FOR WIN!