ONE STEP AHEAD.2016 DIGITAL TREND HIGHLIGHTS, CURATED BY ORANGE BUS.

2016KEEPING AN EYE ON DIGITAL TRENDS

Our trend forecasting is focused on 3 areas:

PERSONALISATION,TECHNOLOGY& DESIGNWE ARE ALL EXPOSED TO A DIGITAL WORLD

EVOLVING WITH EXCITING PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND INNOVATIONS.

While most of us simply consume and interact

with digital, allowing it to make our lives easier and

more efficient, at Orange Bus, it’s our role to actively

pursue it.

By nature, we seek out the latest developments;

feeding insights into the creation of digital solutions

that blaze a trail for our business and the businesses

we partner with.

Here are our 2016 digital trend highlights, carefully

curated by Orange Bus.

A few trends may be familiar, as they simply become

more prevalent in 2016. Other trends are completely

new, challenging existing thinking and processes.

These insights and innovations present us with

opportunities to help organisations make deeper

connections with their audiences. We look forward to

working with you to bring these to life.

Contents: PERSONALISED EXPERIENCES

1. Getting to know users

2. Share your world

3. What are micro moments?!

4. Privacy by Design

5. Innovating luxury services

6. Reimagining the employee experience

TECHNOLOGY

7. The next step for wearables

8. 3D scanning and printing

9. Accepting VR and augmented reality

10. Atomising apps and services

DESIGN

11. Designing for larger experiences

12. Explanimations

13. Telling Stories

14. Do it like Digital Government

PERSONALISED EXPERIENCES 

03.

Share your worldPeriscope

What are micro moments?!

LAUNCHED LAST YEAR AND WIDELY ADOPTED BY GLOBAL AUDIENCES IS PERISCOPE, A LIVE-VIDEO STREAMING PLATFORM THAT LETS USERS ‘EXPLORE THE WORLD THROUGH SOMEONE ELSE’S EYES’.

The Twitter-owned iOS and Android app lets anyone

broadcast video for free, giving businesses a fun and

affordable way to communicate with customers in

real-time.

WHAT COULD YOU LIVE-STREAM ON PERISCOPE?

• Q&A sessions

• Mini interviews

• Behind the scenes footage of an activity or event

• Responses to PR issues

• Interactive support

• Customer service

• Product demonstrations

• Messages from senior staff/board members

• The reveal or response to breaking news

MICRO MOMENTS ARE RAPID, INTENT-DRIVEN AND FOCUSED INTERACTIONS THAT SATISFY A MOBILE USER’S IMMEDIATE NEED, SUCH AS PROVIDING A RESPONSE TO ‘WHAT ARE THE OPENING HOURS OF A CONVENIENCE STORE?’ IN JUST ONE GLANCE OF A MOBILE INTERFACE.

You can consider:

SERP & METADATA

• Google is displaying answers for many search queries

directly in its search results. By strategically constructing

page titles and meta description tags that provide clear,

direct answers to questions, you can gain eye-catching

listings in Google’s organic search results, which become

useful micro moments for your users.

CONTENT

• Establish a point of authority through content creation to

establish pots of content that also bring your business into

Google rich SERPS (search engine results pages), again

aiding micro moments for users.

01.

Getting to know the usersARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) MADE BIG WAVES IN 2015, YOU MAY BE FAMILIAR WITH PERSONAL AND VIRTUAL ASSISTANTS SIRI, GOOGLE NOW AND CORTANA.

Two objectives have been set to build on this digital

breakthrough:

• Reducing user effort: not all users are comfortable

submitting personal data online, however if this

led to an effective personalised experience that

required less ongoing admin effort, adoption would

increase. Advancements forecasted include a users’

emails being monitored for event details that are

then automatically added to their calendar in iOS.

• Predicting the bigger picture: timely notifications

of worldly activity that might affect a user will rise,

making use of several data sources, habits and

trends to provide relevant notifications and actions.

Swedish train operator Stockholmståg announced

it had developed an algorithm to anticipate train

delays two hours in advance based on historic data

and weather, letting them inform customers and

provide alternative routes.

02.

06.04.Privacy by Design

EMPLOYEES, LIKE ALL DIGITAL CONSUMERS, ARE LOOKING FOR A PERSONALISED EXPERIENCE WHEN IT COMES TO THEIR CAREER.

That’s not to mention that the millennial generation are

now entering employment with seemingly innate digital

skills and expecting an equally tech-savvy operation.

Employee experience (EX) design is set to be a big

focus in 2016, with emphasis on optimising processes,

creating an inviting company culture and tailoring career

progression plans.

How can we help reimagine your EX:

• Evaluate and optimise your digital tools and processes

• Create internal campaign and programme branding

• Deliver inspiring induction and training material design

• Internal comms strategy and design support

Reimagining the employee experience

THE EXPLOSION OF ‘BIG DATA’ ONTO THE DIGITAL SCENE HAS MEANT GROWING PRIVACY CONCERNS FOR USERS.

Digital data practices ensure

the protection of users’

personal information, and

in 2016, all technology and

product design processes

will begin to embed official

‘Privacy by Design’ standards

as listed in the EU’s General

Data Protection Regulation.

Companies such as Microsoft

are leading the way with

fierce privacy programs and

processes, such as employing

a Chief Security Officer,

investing in new platforms

and technologies and making

the online experience as

human as possible with

empathetic design.

05.Innovating luxury services

DIGITAL INNOVATION IS ENABLING BUSINESSES THAT DELIVER LUXURY SERVICES TO BREAK OUT OF SMALLER MARKETS

They are now creating

highly tailored experiences

for a wider audience

that were once reserved

for the wealthy, such

as personal services

like Uber (chauffeur) or

Deliveroo (restaurant

delivery).

TEC

HN

OLO

GY

THIS REVOLUTIONARY TECHNIQUE ALLOWS THE PHYSICAL FEATURE DATA OF A 3D OBJECT TO BE COLLECTED AND SYNTHESISED.

Already making big waves, this trend will be maximised in

2016 as researchers iron out the kinks in the technology and

further explore its possibilities.

The Xbox Kinect, for example, can scan an object and resolve

features as small as a centimetre, but new developments

will allow scanners to exploit the polarisation of light,

improving resolution and allowing the scanner to resolve

features at one-thousandth the size.

Experts suggest that it may one day be

possible to send a 3D scan of your product,

which can then be received and replicated

at the other side by a 3D printer.

08. Scanning & printing

in 3D

The next step for wearables

07.

THE WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY LANDSCAPE IS FAST BECOMING A NORMAL (SOMETIMES VITAL) PART OF OUR DAY-TO-DAY ROUTINES.

Smart-watches, health monitors, pedometers, activity

trackers and virtual reality headsets are changing the

way we exercise, communicate, way-find and plan.

The increasing availability and capacity of self-serve

devices and data is transforming the health and

wellness industry, as people are empowered to be

more proactive in monitoring and improving their

diets, fitness and overall health.

So whilst mobile and wearable devices and

applications aren’t new, creators will focus on the

timeliness of notifications in 2016.

TIMELY NOTIFICATIONS

Access to better sensors, mobile and wearable will

give users more accurate and detailed information

in notifications. Bolstering this further, the use of

algorithms will use the data to anticipate your

needs so that notifications are proactively ensuring

that users, for example with health and lifestyle

technologies, move more, drink more water, and pick

up the dry cleaning!

“ONCE IT WAS THE CONSUMER THAT SOUGHT OUT THE BRAND, TODAY THE BRAND MUST INCREASINGLY COME TO THEM.”*

ln the same way - in 2016 - apps will look to no longer be

controlled by users, instead they will proactively power a

user’s life.

Across the board, services and apps are examining users’

life information and taking relevant actions - gaining more

intelligence and bettering integration. Apps are prioritising

the service moments that matter most to users, with journey

maps, service blueprints, touchpoint reframing - crucial at the

initial development stage.

‘Atomised’ brands - e.g. Spotify - are also taking a non-

standard approach to service distribution, retaining brand

identity as they reach users across their own and third party

platforms. Toggling between apps might be a thing of the

past as new and transforming apps, such as WeChat, will look

to host multiple third party apps within themselves, removing

the need.

*Source Marketing Magazine, Anatoly Roytman, 21.09.2015

http://www.marketingmagazine.co.uk/article/1364264/why-brands-prepare-become-atomised

10.Atomising apps & services

VIRTUAL REALITY (VR) AND AUGMENTED REALITY (AR) TECHNOLOGY IS BECOMING INCREASINGLY MORE MAINSTREAM AND ACCESSIBLE.

These developments allow computer-generated content to be

superimposed over a live camera view of the physical world.

In 2016, we’ll see the launch of many new VR and AR products

and services, including Microsoft’s HoloLens and Sony’s

SmartEyeglass. Even Disney will release digital colouring-in

books, brought to life through AR.

The future of VR and AR could benefit all kinds of industries

including healthcare, music, and manufacturing. It could also

enhance business interactions by introducing VR conference

calls and virtually working collaboratively on site at a client’s

office, while actually operating from a different location.

EXAMPLE: MAGIC LEAP

www.magicleap.com

www.youtube.com/watch?v=kw0-JRa9n94

09.Accepting VR and augmented reality

DESIGN

RESEARCH FROM ECONSULTANCY HAS SHOWN THAT UP TO A THIRD OF THEIR WEBSITE VISITORS USE SCREENS AT LEAST 1,680 PIXELS WIDE, HIGHLIGHTING THE IMPORTANCE OF A DESIGN THAT IS OPTIMISED FOR A WIDER SCREEN AS WELL AS MOBILE.

In recent years, the term ‘responsive web design’ has had

more focus towards consideration of mobile and tablet

devices. However, in 2016, as smartphone handsets grow

in size, as do desktop monitors. Designing for widescreen

will regain importance, and a design that is optimised for

all devices will gain precedence.

image source: dropbox.com/business

Explanimations

THE USE OF ANIMATED VIDEOS TO SPREAD IMPORTANT OR COMPLEX MESSAGES (OR AS WE LIKE TO CALL THEM, ‘EXPLANIMATIONS’) HAS GROWN IN POPULARITY OVER THE YEARS.

Short animated videos are an effective and lighthearted

way of putting across and explaining concepts to your users.

Explanimations could cover product/service features, research

findings, important business updates or training, but try to

keep them to 75 seconds or less to avoid losing the viewer’s

attention!

Set to continue in 2016, this trend will be further enhanced

through virtual reality and 360 video capabilities.

12.11.Designing for larger experiences

13. Telling Stories

STORYTELLING BY BUSINESSES IS CRUCIAL FOR CONSUMER ENGAGEMENT, AND IN 2016, MODERN BROWSER TECHNOLOGIES, SUCH AS PARALLAX, CSS AND HTML5 ANIMATIONS, WILL PROVIDE AN OPPORTUNITY FOR BRANDS TO CREATE TRULY IMMERSIVE STORY-BASED CONTENT.

Techniques allow a the reader to embark on a journey,

moving through the narrative at their own page, unlocking

deeper levels of the story as they continue.

EXAMPLES AND IMAGE SOURCES:

sbs.com.au/theboat

sonsofgallipoli.com

fiveminutes.gs

14.Do it like Digital Government

UK GOVERNMENT ARE TRANSFORMING PUBLIC SECTOR SERVICES, AIMING TO ENCOURAGE USERS TO SELF-SERVE ONLINE BY IMPROVING THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE.

In 2016, businesses will take note of effective design

guidelines set by the Government Digital Services (GDS),

looking to optimise their own user experience and

following standards set around:

• Plain language - simple and focused on content,

structure, navigation, grouping and completion.

• Sensitivity - these kinds of transactions are important

and often anxious experiences (e.g. childcare following

separation, immigration, tax submissions, lawsuits).

Bring humanity back into citizen interaction.

• User research - rich insights that spark innovations

- understand the people, places (where is service

experienced), products (software, digital tools, physical

products), processes and performance of the system

Source: https://www.gov.uk/service-manual

1 START WITH NEEDS

2 DO LESS

3 DESIGN WITH DATA

4 DO THE HARD WORK TO MAKE IT SIMPLE

5 ITERATE. THEN ITERATE AGAIN.

6 THIS IS FOR EVERYONE

7 UNDERSTAND CONTEXT

8 BUILD DIGITAL SERVICES, NOT WEBSITES

9 BE CONSISTENT, NOT UNIFORM

10 MAKE THINGS OPEN: IT MAKES THINGS BETTER

Source: https://www.gov.uk/design-principles

ALWAYS ONE STEP AHEAD.

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