Places
A new Inkdryer Daily project based on the theme “Places.”
A few days ago ago I went to a Sigur Ros concert with my good friend Jeffrey. Sigur Ros is a band from Iceland and their music is … unique. Most of the time I simply describe their music as “weird.” If you don’t know the band it sort of helps you know what to expect and if you do know them you are probably nodding your head right now in agreement. It was a fantastic show, almost a spiritual experience.
The concert was at Riverbend Music Center, a popular outdoor venue in Cincinnati with a large section of pavilion seating fanning out from the stage. Behind all of this is a massive lawn area. I’ve been to a handful of concerts there over the years. Dave Matthews Band, John Mayer, Lil Wayne. You can imagine the atmosphere: tons of people everywhere, lots of screaming, standing, drinking and just general merriness.
The Sigur Ros show was very, very different and it completely transformed the place. First of all there was no lawn seating and the crowd only filled up about 60% of the pavilion seats. It was very quiet, almost reverent the whole time. We all just sat and listened in the dark. There were no band introductions, no “thank you for coming” between songs, no one yelling out song requests. The only words spoken were the Icelandic melodies sung by the lead singer that sound more like another instrument than a voice. They just played music. It reminded me of being in church. The reverence.
I snapped one photo with my iPhone after the show when the lights came up and all the crew started tearing down the set.
I took this photo and then Jeffrey and I started filing out with everyone. If felt the way you feel when walking out of a movie that moved you and you are jarred for a few moments that the world around you hasn’t changed all that much. As I was walking I started thinking about technology and how no one has come up with a good way to use mobile or tablet devices to experience an event like this. I looked around at the people and thought, “We all just experienced something together that was downright spiritual. What if there was a way to use technology somehow to share this experience?”
And then I had an epiphany and it’s totally changed my thinking.
The reason no one has come up with a great social app for events like this is because the best user experience of watching a Sigur Ros concert is the real, actual one with your own eyes. You shouldn’t have your iPhone out tweeting or holding your iPad in the air snapping photos. I remember a musician talking recently about looking out into a crowd and seeing people taking photos with their iPads and how much he felt like it ruined the experience. When I first heard that I felt like how most of you probably did when you just read it: “Who does this musician think he is? I can take a photo with my iPad if I want!” But I sort of get it, I think. Sometimes the best UX solution is no technology at all.
As much as we shouldn’t snap photos with our iPads at Sigur Ros shows, we also don’t need to go to the other end and completely give up on technology. I believe that we all just need to look around sometimes. Smell the trees before you forget that those trees are the source of the air you breathe. And sometimes you just need to tweet about it, and that is perfectly ok. We are all guilty of burying our faces in our phones more than we should. I do it all the time. And I’m trying to make a living building apps. Interestingly though, the more I obsess about technology the more I realize that we need a better balance of on/off time with our devices.
All of this (and daily conversations with my friend Jeffrey over the past 2 years) has led me to think a lot about the idea of place. Every single experience (sometimes called memories) that makes up the story of our lives is about place. It’s about people and place. We have been so focused for the last several years on the people part, through social media. Everything is about social now, it seems. But maybe we have lost sight a bit of place. And maybe that is because to really engage with and experience a place you just need to see it with your own eyes and not be distracted by the supercomputer in your pocket. The same is probably true for social experiences.
I don’t know exactly how to build apps that engage you deeper with the real world around you than what is on your screen but I’m sure as hell going to try and figure it out. Because it’s important. And it’s my way of contributing to society in a positive way.
“Study how water flows in a valley stream, smoothly and freely between the rocks. Also learn from holy books and wise people. Everything — even mountains, rivers, plants and trees — should be your teacher.”
-Morihei Ueshiba
Starting today, I am designing and releasing a new wallpaper every weekday. You can download each day’s paper for your desktop or mobile device. The theme of this batch of wallpapers is called Places. I love to travel, explore, learn and just be generally curious about life. So these wallpapers will reflect that. I don’t design them in advance so I don’t really know what is going to come out each day. You’ll have to just stay tuned.
The first wallpaper is inspired by one of my favorite places on the planet: Denver, CO. I am currently sitting in Denver, visiting for a couple of weeks with my good friend Brandon. I love these mountains. I first came to the mountains almost ten years ago and I remember very vividly how the horizon line changed about 20 minutes or so outside of Denver. It went from the barren and flat landscape of the plains to something that looks more like today’s wallpaper, at least in my imagination. It is basically the view if you are standing in Denver and looking west towards the front rage mountains. Here is a photo of Denver for reference:
The Daily Wallpapers are are handcrafted for the sole purpose of inspiring, humoring and/or amusing you. Enjoy.
