Analysis of the Intel Sound Identity

An amazing video analysis of the Intel aural identity (aka sound identity), or how music is used to drive consumers marketing / advertising messages. Created by P. Tagg from Université de Montréal in 2005.



SML Thank You
I would like to thank Ken Kraemer for sending this over.

Related SML Universe
+ SML Advertising
+ SML Music
+ SML Identity Design
+ Symphonic Electronica

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©2007 See-ming Lee 李思明 SML / SML Pro Blog / SML Universe. All rights reserved.

The Science of Happiness

Tal Ben-Shahar teaches Positive Psychology (PSY1504) or "how to get happy" at Harvard University. He claims that you can be a "learned optimist" too. Just simplify.

His advice, as appears on NPR's Web site, are:

1. Give yourself permission to be human. When we accept emotions -- such as fear, sadness, or anxiety -- as natural, we are more likely to overcome them. Rejecting our emotions, positive or negative, leads to frustration and unhappiness.

2. Happiness lies at the intersection between pleasure and meaning. Whether at work or at home, the goal is to engage in activities that are both personally significant and enjoyable. When this is not feasible, make sure you have happiness boosters, moments throughout the week that provide you with both pleasure and meaning.

3. Keep in mind that happiness is mostly dependent on our state of mind, not on our status or the state of our bank account. Barring extreme circumstances, our level of well being is determined by what we choose to focus on (the full or the empty part of the glass) and by our interpretation of external events. For example, do we view failure as catastrophic, or do we see it as a learning opportunity?

4. Simplify! We are, generally, too busy, trying to squeeze in more and more activities into less and less time. Quantity influences quality, and we compromise on our happiness by trying to do too much.

5. Remember the mind-body connection. What we do -- or don't do -- with our bodies influences our mind. Regular exercise, adequate sleep, and healthy eating habits lead to both physical and mental health.

6. Express gratitude, whenever possible. We too often take our lives for granted. Learn to appreciate and savor the wonderful things in life, from people to food, from nature to a smile.

A related article called The Science of Happiness by Craig Lambert is published on Harvard Magazine (January-February 2007), where he discusses how psychology explores humans at their best.

From closed to open

If Web 1.0 is about information authoring, then Web 2.0 is about information sharing (1).

This change is evidential when we look at the climate of information representation: from FAQs to forum discussion, from personal homepages to personal blogging, from closed-development to open-source movement, from categorizing to tagging, from trees to wikis.

In other words, from closed to open.

Being open is a good thing. A prime example is opensource development. You initiate an idea and concept, and a whole world of developers is available to improve and improvise on it (2). IBM reaps the benefits of open-developing their Eclipse platform as a successor to their VisualAge family of products.

In the world of knowledge, Wikipedia became statistically evaluated to be as accurate as Encyclopedia Brittanica, eclipsing Brittanica’s once dominant sovereign in the world of knowledge (3).

In the world of business, corporations open up their communication channels and invite the whole world for discourse. Blogs like the Google Blog, Adobe blog and Microsoft’s Channel 9 created two-way communication channels, and thus benefits, with the users. Web users learn the insider tips on different companies’ products and services, and the companies in turn gain tremendous amount of user feedback on their betaware with very little upfront investment.

Interactive agencies see blogging as a free PR device to influence the industry. Organic has Three Minds, Frog Design has the Frog Blog. I find myself reading these quite a bit to learn where the industry is going and how different companies are utilizing upcoming technology to do amazing things.

In turn, I noted that while I took note of Razorfish in the early days (~1997) via the RSub–the Razorfish lab that sells company merchandise and all kinds of ‘experimental’ ideas that their employees create–it appears that the same business model of social marketing has now transformed to corporate blogging.

References / Citations

1. Inspired via discourse with Tom Nicholson.
2. Via discourse with Adam S. Kirschner.
3. CNet | Study: Wikipedia as accurate as Britannica by Daniel Terdiman, 2005-12-15

Photography = Composition

Photography is a very good and effective way to study composition.

I started using photography as a mean to study composition when I bought my first digital camera. For the first time, I was able to capture and review my visual decisions instantly. The immediate visual feedback is very powerful.

For most people, photography brings back memories of particular moments and events. For me, photography brings back memories of how I used to see. It serves as a visual diary of how I interpret what my eyes see. It enables me to analyze and criticize my visual decisions, and enables me to catalog my progress along the way.

Related SML Pro Blog entries

Functional = Beautiful
HDR: Manhattan Bridge in Black and White
Manhattan Bridge HDR
Photography / Philosophy
SML Collection
Theorizing aesthetics

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Copyright 2005-2007 See-ming Lee. All rights reserved.