Hullo hullo,

So the £5 app night last Tuesday was a roaring success. Inspiring ideas, plenty tears (of laughter) and chilled beers were all sloshed together. Speaking of the latter, as a goodwill gesture, we keenly chose to sponsor the booze.

However, we strive to do things a little differently here at ribot, so we came up with an idea to rebrand the bottles in authentic ribot fashion. But, not being satisfied with this, we wanted to take the idea further, showcasing a simplified version of our process at ribot; we produced three stages of ribot beer label: 1 - ideas and concepts; 2 - formal wireframe; and 3 - visual design.

The back of each label would explain what we'd do at each stage in good ol' plain simple english. Preparation for the event was a tight affair - we turned ribot towers into a full-on production factory for 24 hours. Needless to say the feedback was great - people were peeling off the labels to take home as souvenirs, which was nice.

We've documented the whole process on the ribot blog here, and here's a snap of the final product...cheers beers!

More photos available here.

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Hey! We're sponsoring the ever-popular '£5 App' event tonight! Basically, it's an entreprenuerial / development night, with loads of great ideas & always-magical conversations, set in a lovely Regency venue. We're supplying a pretty special treat for those coming along so you won't want to miss out!

The event is to be held between 20:00 and 22:00 at the following address:

13 Brunswick Square
Hove,
England,
BN3 1EH

If you're keen and in Brighton tonight, more information on the event can be found at http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/708343/

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Sadly, it's not all good news at Ribot Towers these days. On the 2nd of July, at 16:54, our bonsai tree was pronounced dead on desk #003. We all mourn its loss and are looking for a suitable replacement to this wondrous office friend. Let us know if you can think of anything.... Maybe a plastic bonsai? Not sure...

Well, as to the reason for said death, fingers have been pointed, but words haven't yet been muttered. We'll see what happens at the forthcoming tree-al.

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So, we're looking for an experienced C#.net / ASP.net developer to help us build reliable, extensible frameworks for our clients.

Job description:

You'll be working closely alongside both Antony and Jerome, working on some very exciting projects.

As the ideal applicant, you'll:

- be independent, interested and inspiring

- be client-facing; your ability to communicate your ideas will be second-to-none

- be known for your willingness to discuss and share new ideas

- show strong appreciation for the importance of Human-Centered Design

- have a great sense of humour, an open, approachable demeanor, and;

- generally be a nice person

The right candidate will have significant weight in the future direction of the company. Your starting salary will be competitive, and will be reviewed regularly. You'll also receive an annual training budget that you'll be in charge of, to boost your skills and getting inspired.

What skills we're after:

Critical:

- Strong communicative ability

- C# .Net

- ASP.Net

- MS SQL Server

- Standards compliant front-end coding (XHTML/CSS)

Helpful:

- JavaScript experience

- Awareness of the importance of solid user experience and interaction design.

- Knowledge of how to save our adopted bonsai tree from imminent death would be advantageous

The job is full-time and no agencies please (however nice you are).

Send us your covering letter and CV if you're interested to contact@ribot.co.uk.

Cheers!

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After a bit of beavering away, we've a bit of news.

Today we proudly announce the launch of the ribot iPhone & iPodTouch site.

We've really tried to think about what's needed when browsing on the iPhone/iPodTouch. Though they're mobile devices, and the context is different to conventional web, they can handle a considerably richer wealth of data than other devices. In this case, we feel we've got the balance just right.

As well as including all our blog and news articles, we've made it very easy to get in contact with ribot, via email or phone call, with the inclusion of a "quick links" panel at the top of the screen.

In choosing to develop this site, though they have a small market share at present, we feel that the spread of browsing with Apple's devices will only increase with time.

Check out the iphone & iPod Touch site here: http://i.ribot.co.uk

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We've got a short article running in this month's .net magazine (in the UK). It focuses on how best to design mobile projects based on the large array of devices out in the market and the tools currently available.

Issue 174 is out now. More information here: http://www.netmag.co.uk/zine/latest-issue/issue-174

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So, the lift08 conference was both amazing and inspirational. We had an ace time meeting many of great minds and ideas people, and we ate a stupid amount of fondue, steak and chocolate in the process! Still, no rest for the wicked; this week it's the Mobile World Congress in sunny Barcelona - drop us an email if you're around for some tapas in the Bourne, or at one of the myriad events that are going down this week. Post the first comment ||

Hello readers... Just a note to let you know that after a splendid couple of large design projects being signed off for Orange, both Maximus and I are off to Lift08 in Geneva in a week's time. It's a nice conference about the challenges and opportunities facing technology in society. If you're around and want to join us for a walk in the mountains on the Saturday, drop us a mail. If not, we'll let you know what it was like when we're back, on the inspirational blog we've just set up.

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And no, it's not ree-bot - we were bullied at school relentlessly for having a french surname that sounds like a bum-bum.

So that's cool, but you may ask what is a 'Ribot' anyways? Well, it's our collective surname. What's that? Ah yes, you're quite right in saying that ribot is run by two brothers, Antony and Jerome, who fight and scratch and pinch and design lovely things for mobile. Clever little you.

So, about that design bit...well, we focus on:

interaction design
(the clever invisible bit that, as a user, you really ought not to see when using an application or device)

user interface design
(how the various elements are laid out on a screen, in what order, importance etc); and

screen design
(the gorgeous pithy bit that everyone should see please).

We also focus on rapid prototyping of mobile applications
(basically, getting something functional and nice together quickly and onto a phone so you can show your eager VCs and get the funding to take you and your little app to the stars).

That's it! Any questions...send us an email innit contact@ribot.co.uk

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Well, we've arrived...

..yes, after many banana & cocoa-fuelled late nights, we've finally completed the first iteration of the ribot site.

Though we're personally very happy with how it looks and functions at the mo, we plan to sneakily add more juicy little features to the site between now and Christmas. Tee hee!

Oh, if you've any feedback on the current site, send it over in an email to feedback@ribot.co.uk with the title "I'm an expert (so listen to me)".

Thanks wizards.

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