Each week, we share the top five articles that caught our attention. Here are your must-reads, published here and abroad, for the week of February 6th 2017.
Lego, king of social media
Lego may have started 85 years ago, but it still continues to innovate. In addition to the toys, movies, books and video games, the brand has jumped into the world of smartphone apps. In order to encourage kids to share their creations, the Danish company has launched Lego Life, a social network for children. How did Lego manage to create a safe website for kids that’s also appealing to their young minds?
→ Read it on WIRED Pocket
Chatbots predicting the future of web
Uber, Facebook and Frank + Oak are just some of the companies that are using chatbots—that is, virtual assistants that answer user questions, help them shop and even keep them entertained online. What can chatbots teach us about the future of the web?
→ Read it on Ina Global (In French) Pocket
Radicalized brands
Regardless of the changing political and cultural tides we’re facing, one thing remains the same: brands will continue their efforts to sell us product. What will change, however, is how. Suzanne LaBarre, Editor at Co.Design, interviewed designers from a dozen agencies about the major trends that will influence brands in 2017.
→ Read it on Fast Company Pocket
Mobile no longer first
The concept of mobile-first is the process of building a website with the priority on mobile. With the meteoric rise of smartphones in the last decade, it’s no wonder that designers have abandoned other approaches for mobile-first. Marli Mesibov, Director of Content Strategy for Mad*Pow and Managing Editor at UX Booth, and Jason Levin, User Experience Lead at Mad*Pow, are suggesting a shift towards the journey-driven approach.
→ Read it on Smashing Magazine Pocket
The interactive movie revolution
The tech world may not have tapped into it just yet, but interactive films are innovating in leaps and bounds. The idea of having users decide the fate of characters has long existed in literature and now feature-length movies are also asking viewers to decide how the story will end. Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert, two directors known as The Daniels, were naturally drawn to this new format. Is the movie world about to get a big shake-up?
→ Read it on The New Yorker Pocket
In your earbuds: Being Boss
According to Emily Thompson, Designer/Owner of Indie Shopography, and Kathleen Shannon, CEO of Being Boss and Co-founder of Braid Creative, being a boss goes beyond orienting a company—it’s an attitude. Each week, these two hosts and their guests share advice and anecdotes to help creative entrepreneurs boost productivity.
This week’s favourite thing
For Super Bowl LI, Cards Against Humanity, a party game for horrible people, wanted to create an “outside the box” ad to impress viewers… But it went so far outside the box, that it flopped hard. In an effort to learn from their mistakes, the brand has unveiled the content strategy that led to this sad, sad campaign.
Image from Lego
