BINGenuity.com : a look at what's on our minds at Bing Design

Bing Design has hit the ground running. Despite the year of 2009 being so turbulent, we still provided excellent service, produced top quality print and electronic work for our clients, and created a refreshed identity for ourselves. We have put together some of our featured work for the Hermes awards coming up in February, and we invite our followers to view our portfolio showcasing many of the elements of marketing.

Not only do we look back, but we are looking forward! We have been keeping our eye on trends for the year, but the best way to predict the future, is to create it.

So, we are approaching 2010 proactively! Diving into the latest new media, engaging followers in the many channels of social networks, and collaborating with our clients to communicate trends and best practices that we feel can integrate in their respective industries. All this and still providing time for our Bingers to stay as flexible as yoga masters.

Looking back at the processes and marketing materials we have designed to take shape, we expect to have a good run with many of our valued partners and clients in the coming year.

Cheers to you 2010, we are bringing original ideas and adding value to them!

This is the time of year where client requests are always fast and furious. As we work steadily, we also take this time of year to get in the holiday spirit, where we unwind for the holiday season. Our annual holiday party brings us together outside of the office setting, where we partake in a fun gift exchange and an elegant dining experience.

Our gift exchange typically turns into an eventful showing of gag gifts and alcohol, but for all those tech lovers out there, Time magazine has the Buyer’s Guide for you. But perhaps you aren’t looking for the typical, tangible gift but more of a getaway.

Yellow Springs is a place like no other, and we at Bing are proud of our village! Approached by the Chamber of Commerce, we were pleased to design and produce an electronic GetawaYS Guide to spotlight the rich and rare collection of unusual shops and galleries where one-of-a-kind gifts abound. Highlighting for others what we see daily, brought new appreciation for the art galleries and unique boutiques, bookstores, wine stores, eateries, a gourmet grocer and the most unusual and creative toy store anywhere!

Produced in just days, it’s a beautiful guide to accompany a walk-through visit of the village of Yellow Springs and all it has to offer! Shop, Eat, Play and Stay in the Springs.

Google has released a BETA version of its Google Maps Navigation for mobile phones using Android 2.0 capability. Now users with supported devices can get from Point A to Point B with turn-by-turn navigation including voice (from user to phone and from Google to user)!

You can read about Google Maps Navigation on the Google website here: http://www.google.com/mobile/navigation/index.html#p=default.

Screen shots of the new BETA application currently on Google’s site are below:

Currently Google says that only users in the US using Android 2.0 can use this BETA application, but more to follow.

Some features listed include the following: Search in plain English, Search by voice, Traffic view, Search along route, Satellite view, Street View, and Car dock mode. Each of these features have more details and videos on the Google page above.

Very cool! Users with mobile phones can already use Google Maps on their phones now. More on Google Maps here: http://www.google.com/mobile/products/maps.html.

It was announced this week that ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) will be instituting Internationalized Domain Names (IDN)s for countries around the world so domains are not just Latin based. It might not seem a big deal to those in the United States, Canada, Mexico, France, Germany, or Great Britain, but elsewhere in the world users who want to go online must be able to use Latin-based text and know it well enough to type in domains to websites in order to see content online.

As reported on NPR recently, users around the world currently have to make their computers temporarily use Latin-based text to enter domain names and URLs into their computers, and then they have to switch back to text, e-mail or shop. For those who may only know their native language, this is a HUGE barrier to going online.

In the next few years, web site extensions will be added for all the various languages in the world. ICANN’s own website has a video that talks about the benefits to local businesses, schools, neighbors, and peers to communicate without having to be held back due to language barriers.

A video from the ICANN website, of the new domain name program is below:

Now there’s an idea! Good job ICANN!!

At the heart of every designer or developer’s office is their browser. The internet provides a plethora of online applications and add-ons. This suite is dedicated to making sure that your browser becomes the ultimate productivity suite.

Browser: Firefox

Because of the useful options already provided by Firefox, its popularity is growing. There are numerous free downloadable extensions and add-ons available on the web for Firefox. Here are just a few add-ons that keep my productivity levels high:

PDF Download – Lets you convert any (unsecured) Web page into a high-quality PDF that’s great for archiving, printing and sharing.

Firebug – Firebug integrates with Firefox to put a wealth of development tools at your fingertips while you browse. You can edit, debug, and monitor CSS, HTML, and JavaScript live in any web page.

Read It Later – Save pages of interest to read when you have the time.

Word Processing: Google Docs

I use Google Docs for word processing. Sure, it doesn’t offer every feature that MS Word does, but it contains almost every necessary feature, function and utility to make it the best online word processor. You can export files in all the necessary formats — .doc, .txt, .rtf, .odt, .pdf and more! — and the online storage is easy to organize, safe and secure, and conveniently tied to your Gmail account.

Online Storage: Dropbox OR YouSendIt

For small files, it’s easiest to just .zip them and email them. For big stuff, you’ve either got to go with one of the many free upload websites (YouSendIt) or get your own upload space (Dropbox). Both allow you to send files up to 2GB. Even the most frugal of online workers can find ample space to store work-in-progress designs, documents and other important files. This also reduces the risks and costs with secure managed file transfer that seem like hours when trying to send via FTP.

Presentations: Prezi

Powerpoint and Keynote are great tools. But with Prezi is a browser-based application. Instead of putting every mindless detail on a separate slide, Prezi allows users to lay out your presentations on a single plane and move through them at their speed, in their own order, and if required, change the presentation on the fly.

Calendar and Scheduling: Google Calendar

This one’s nice and simple, with features that will keep you remembering dates and appointments. Simply set your schedule in the simple interface, decide whether or not you want SMS reminders, and leave it for the week. Check out some features we highlighted using our Google Calendar.

These tools are all part of my office suite. Once you implement all or even just a few of these tools, I hope you will see a dramatically increase in your productivity and make your work easier than ever. Would love to hear what applications or platforms keep you productive.