Backstageprat

  The Early Days of Digital DesignIn this episode Lightning Jar founder Alan Ruthazer takes a walk down memory lane. We hear the story of how Alan got started in digital design. We also discuss what has changed and what has stayed the same in his over 17+ years leading the company.   This episode addresses the questions: What makes a successful digital agency? How has digital design evolved in the past 20 years? How have changes in computer and mobile device technology affected the evolution of digital design? If you're interested in learning more about Lightning Jar or ask Alan a question about the early days of digital design and digital agency life get in touch. “No matter how the technology changes over the years or the software that we use, it’s design that is the fundamental... creating something that’s meaningful and has design at its heart is what we do.” — Alan Ruthazer      Episode InfoTitle: The Early Days of Digital Design Date: 5/31/2018 Length: 00:32:57 Host: Kevin Peckham Episode Guest: Alan RuthazerAlan Ruthazer was the featured guest for episode 2 "The Early Days of Digital Design".  Alan is the founder of Lightning Jar and a pioneer in digital design, and digital agencies. Connect with Alan: alan@lightningjar.com Episode Notes0:46 - The origins of the name SiiTE Interactive 1:50 - Designing corporate presentations and CDROMs 2:05 - Macromedia Director & Visual Basic 2:58 - Introduction of the first iPod to the world 3:21 - The advent of MP3s 5:19 - GenX and the conditions that led to the digital creative industry 6:18 - Early home computers 6:55 - Prodigy and early dial-up internet 7:18 - Booting up a computer from floppy disks with MS-Dos 8:18 - Delivering laptop presentations from a motorcycle 9:09 - What led Alan to start SiiTE Interactive 10:10 - The early days of email marketing 10:48 - “You’ve Got Mail” and the introduction of email to a broad audience 11:11 - Working with Oprah 12:14 - Other early digital agencies 12:29 - March 1st and early failed agencies 13:10 - The Dot Com bubble 14:36 - The advent of Google 15:40 - The Y2K Computer Problem 17:01 - What was the category name for “digital agency” in the early days? 17:49 - The advent of Flash and the Flash era 19:32 - The end of Flash 20:16 - The advent of the iPhone 21:02 - The origin of the term “Above the fold” 21:34 - The advent of Responsive Design 22:31 - The advent of Retina Resolution 23:22 - The Apple Watch and wearables 24:11 - The financial crisis and the Wayback Machine 24:30 - The first SiiTE website (2001) and a quote from Buckminster Fuller 25:02 - Hypercard, and how it got Alan hooked on interactive technology 25:37 - Digital design as a discipline vs. print graphic design and architecture 26:28 - Alan went to school for architecture 26:56 - SiiTE client list from 2007 and evolution into web design 28:26 - Our philosophy: design and narrative 30:18 - Advice for young digital designers: quality is really important Links from this EpisodeSiiTE.com Splash Page, July 2001 (Courtesy of The Wayback Machine) SiiTE.com Website 2007 (Courtesy of the Wayback Machine) CD ROM (Wikipedia) Macromedia Director Microsoft Visual Basic iPod (Video - Steve Jobs first introduces the first iPod) MP3 Napster MS-DOS Microsoft Disk Operating System "You've Got Mail" (Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan 1998) Oprah MarchFirst Dot-com Bubble Google circa 1999 (Courtesy of the Wayback Machine) Y2K Adobe Flash The iPhone (Video - Steve Jobs introduces the iPhone) Origin of "Above the Fold" Reponsive Web Design (Book - Ethan Marcotte, 2011) Retina Resolution The Apple Watch (Video, Apple Introduces the Apple Watch) The Financial Crisis / The Great Recession Buckminster Fuller Hypercard About Thunderclap is the Lightning Jar podcast. It covers topics at the intersection of design, technology, and marketing. Subscribe Apple Podcasts Google Play iHeartRadio Stitcher TuneIn RSS Podcast Services Lightning Jar produces custom branded podcasts for clients. If you have an idea for a podcast and need help making it a reality get in touch. Contact Us >  

  An Introduction to PimcoreResident Pimcore expert Jim Wagner and Lightning Jar partner Kevin Peckham discuss the ins and outs of Pimcore --- the open source Product Information Management (PIM), Digital Asset Management (DAM,) Content Management (CMS), and eCommerce platform for enterprises.    This episode answers the questions: What Is Pimcore? Is it right for my company? How do I get started? If you're interested in learning more about Pimcore or would like help getting started with your own custom implementation please get in touch. “Pimcore says, ‘here are the things that you need to do it your way.’” — Jim Wagner      Episode InfoTitle: An Introduction to Pimcore Date: 4/22/2018 Length: 00:41:03 Host: Kevin Peckham Episode Guest: Jim WagnerJim Wagner was the featured guest for episode 1 "An Introduction to Pimcore".  Jim is a business analyst, data architect, and UX designer at Lightning Jar and also our resident Pimcore expert. Jim lives in Brooklyn and works out of the Lightning Jar New York office. Connect with Jim: jim@lightningjar.com Episode Notes1:20 - History of the need for Product Information Management 2:36 - Origination and the philosophy of Pimcore 3:25 - Definition of (DAM) Digital Asset Management 4:18 -Definition of (CMS) Content Management 5:00 - Who should be interested in Pimcore 6:30 - Why Pimcore isn't a turnkey solution 7:30 - The value of a unified data approach 10:30 - Why it makes a lot of sense to have an integrated PIM, DAM, CMS solution 11:40 - API distribution of data from Pimcore 13:10 - Why should companies consider Pimcore? 14:20 - What are the advantages of open source? 15:50 - Centralized code control for Pimcore releases 16:48 - History and duration of Pimcore project + releases 17:14 - Workflow management with Pimcore 18:47 - Localization and multi-language support 20:00 - Why companies are unhappy with current solutions 20:33 - This fist Pimcore project in the United States 21:35 - How Lightning Jar discovered Pimcore 24:24 - How eCommerce is an iceberg (in terms of complexity)  25:00 - How well Pimcore integrates with other systems 26:00 - Product data architecture as a common pain point 28:43 - How to get started with Pimcore 30:14 - Getting started, the next steps after installation 31:16 - Typical scenario for new Pimcore user, seeking guidance and advanced help 32:20 - Why Pimcore is exciting for data architects and system architects 33:10 - What content managers say about Pimcore 34:02 - Why designers like Pimcore 35:19 - Getting support for a Pimcore project 35:45 - What to look for in a Pimcore partner 39:30 - How to learn more about Pimcore Links from this EpisodeGetting Help with Pimcore Pimcore.com Download Pimcore on Bitnami About Thunderclap is the Lightning Jar podcast. It covers topics at the intersection of design, technology, and marketing. Subscribe Apple Podcasts Google Play iHeartRadio Stitcher TuneIn RSS Podcast Services Lightning Jar produces custom branded podcasts for clients. If you have an idea for a podcast and need help making it a reality get in touch. Contact Us >