This launch page lay-out with buttons that take users directly to desired content has become ever more popular. The metaphor seems to be an “app comprised of apps.” This app developed for the office of minority recruiting at the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology.

This project was especially satisfying because of the nature of the client’s work, namely broadening the appeal of science, and the validation of Blue Pane Studio’s client focus: scientists. It is a thrill to provide – design and develop – the newest software for this important community within our economy. Instead of forcing scientists to grind through grant proposals and the procurement processes incumbent with large, public entities, we work with their existing budgets, confident that if we deliver on schedule with compelling projects that we’ll earn respect, trust and sponsorship. So far, this formula works. The possible reduced profit margins are exceeded by the satisfaction of helping to introduce new productivity tools to organizations who know what to do with them.

The purpose of the app is to guide summer interns in and around the three NCI campuses of Frederick, Bethesda and Rockville, Maryland. Maybe not as engaging as Angry Birds or an iBook and is the nearly perfect sorts of info to be resident on a mobile device. App delivered on both Apple and Android operating systems.

Learning that Android apps require much more production work than do apps for Apple devices, mainly because there are several versions of Android devices, i.e. 2.1, 2.2, and each view on an Android device requires a little modification to the lay-out. There is a rich supply of related articles, rants, pleas for a common development platform or solution to this matter as clients cannot be aware of the increased complexity compared to design for an Apple device. At first, BPS calculated that it will build for Apple devices and work on the Android version as the Apple build worked its way thru the associated 10 day approval process. The thinking was that converting from Apple to Android would be about 50% of the effort. Not so fast! Ultimately, Android design costs more and has to be priced accordingly in the future. The hidden victims of this complexity are the other device manufacturers such as RIM and Nokia-Microsoft. Until their market share increases, design studios will discourage clients from deploying apps on such devices due to the poor return on investment in design effort. We are all learning this new game.

Six professional societies comprise the Environmental Biology Conference with 25,000+ attendees over a one week period. Events apps are straight-forward to design so long as one permits time for the various testing and approval processes, i.e. iTunes App store requires about one week. We’ll deliver the Android version in time for the 9 April Conference in Washington, DC.

New RTP site designed and developed by Blue Pane Studio of Durham, North Carolina. Full disclosure: Blue Pane is Tessa, my wife’s, studio.

Precisely what I observed at the recent Internet Summit in Raleigh. Social Media is not just a new way of helping advertisers to trap clients. There has to be a legitimate value proposition via a genuine dialogue or back ‘n forth of some kind.

This from a typically excellent program at The Center for Digital Strategies at Dartmouth College (full disclosure: my wife’s design studio develops their mobile apps).

App is for the October annual conference in Hawaii (sigh) of the Association of Science-Technology Centers.

The-APS

Another in the series of iPhone apps designed for scientific conferences. Good work by Seth and Ben. Good partnership with Marty. Download here.

4th Annual Gathering of science blogger and science journalists from around the world. Total attendance of about 260 including keynote address by Michael Spector of the New Yorker. Hosted by Sigma Xi and the RTP.

Additional info: http://www.scienceonline2010.com/index.php/wiki