ETR: Blippar

The Go2Web20 website itself is a wonderful tool for me to use. As one interested in teaching production and strategic design, this website saves me a great deal of time to find tools useful in and out of the classroom. I am constantly looking for new tools to benefit myself or others. Just to stay in context of this exercise, one of the  tools caught my attention was blippar.

Meet blippar

Blippar is defined as a “mobile augmented reality and image recognition platform.” Blippar is a free smartphone application for both iOS (Apple iPhone/iPad) and Android platforms.

So what is blippar good for?

As demonstrated in the video, through the use of the mobile phone’s camera, blippar identifies an advertiser’s object and provides online content. The advertiser’s object could be one of their products or print advertising. Content that is demonstrated adds to a user’s experience. Prior to discovering blippar, I experienced advertising in just print and the web via less mobile platforms such as desktops and laptops. Now one could pull up a game or online promotions that hook the viewer on a particular brand or product. One aspect of blippar that I appreciate is how this application allows an advertiser to combine user interaction and three-dimensional rendering to immerse the user in a unique experience.

This is awesome, but…

Some of you may be wondering what on earth would be the value of blippar to a graphic or media design educator? Obviously, some students may not have the will, time, nor money, to create online promotions for mobile devices. To me, blippar or a similar application would be something that I would like to introduce to future students or colleagues on what media channels are available for informational purposes. As I briefly mentioned earlier, I had only experienced advertising in print and online. As a graphic design student, I had to look at the works of art and design of others. In some ways, I am looking at selections of work from a historical sense. In other cases, I am seeking out trends and styles.

But in most cases, I would turn the question around a bit. I would ask the student, what does this do for you?

To me, this is all about inspiration.

Reference

http://www.go2web20.net/app/?a=blippar