All posts in Blog

As a leading mobile app development company in Ireland, we naturally look ahead to new technologies coming on-stream. Not just that, we adopt mobile software solutions, responsive web languages and web OS trends in advance of market adoption, a strategy that positions the agency to consult with authority on mobile innovation. We give our clients competitive edge with concepts that deliver impressive digital user experience and brand engagement or remarketing.

One such mobile platform that is on our radar for twenty twelve is Windows Phone. Microsoft, the undisputed King of desktop software, is but a minnow in the mobile operating ecosystem. Google’s Android and Apple’s iOS mobile systems hold the majority market share with Blackberry and Windows Phone 7 mere back-markers.

Everyone loves the under-dog! With Microsoft joined at the hip to Nokia (still a mobile hardware powerhouse, albeit recently pipped by Samsung in volume sales) and Windows Phone 8 due for release later this year, high street shoppers will see a lot more devices running Microsoft’s mobile OS through 2013. We’ve been trialling the Nokia Lumia 800 running Windows OS. In-hand, it has a solid feel to it, reminiscent of a slick external hard-drive rather than a phone with its wrap-around casing and mixture of sharp and smooth edges. It boasts high-end hardware specs but it’s the software that interests us.

As Forbes points out, the stand-out feature is the alternative Windows 8 UI, a tile grid style more akin to what we are seeing in web OS standards now with live feeds aggregating at one central interface instead of individual apps. This dashboard display approach dubbed Metro is a key differentiator for Windows Phone. It spearheads Microsoft’s mobile strategy of achieving a uniform media experience across digital devices, be it tablet, desktop, mobile, TV, xbox; any connected screen in essence. Microsoft envisages an internet that renders the device irrelevant, much like Google. They champion advanced proprietary cloud technologies (who isn’t!) and backing ubiquitous, cost-effective hardware.

Integration is the name of the game, and Microsoft knows better than most that the wheel turns very slowly when it comes to technological change. It is easy to brand them complacent, lulled in to a false sense of security with windows and office dominance but the winds of change are blowing and Microsoft has more than ruffled a few feathers with some major market swoops such as Bing, their facebook “friendship”, Nokia and Ovi Maps. Tie in cloud services in the form of office 365 and sharepoint and suddenly Microsoft has more than the requisite weaponry to join the battle for mobile supremcy!

Our advice, do what the smart money is on. Centralise and unify your development IP in HTML5 to take advantage not just in booming iOS and Android App markets but across Windows Phone Marketplace and others. You’ve got to be in to win, and out team picks itself!

Fi (Fantasy Interactive) designed the much talked about new HTC.com. With minimal clutter but maximum content, Fi have created a beautifully easy to navigate, user friendly website, with nice interactive features such as the phone wizard and the 360° view of the HTC phones. Rich in video content and craft style graphics, this website makes HTC phones very attractive, though I am an easy target as my iPhone battery life makes me want to throw it under a passing bus.

Although I like the concept & design of the Phone Wizard which helps one choose the most suitable HTC for them based on how they use it, selecting various combinations of productivity, video, music, gaming, imaging & messaging produces the exact same results. So really it’s more of a catwalk than a wizard. It seems as if Fi have taken the ‘Quietly Brilliant’ tagline of HTC and ensured this be reflected in the websites interface.

A great insight into the way the team at Fi work, is their case study section of their own website. They show there work-flow & stage-by-stage development of the project. The case study gives a real insight into the thought and consideration that goes into making a great piece of design. Understanding the clients needs, & most importantly the potential customers needs was key to the decision making processes.

At Mercury Digital we take a similar approach to our projects, defining the needs of client & user is our first step. In my recent blog about design & entrepreneurship I spoke about understanding the objectives of the project, this may not always be what the client envisaged from the start, but we ensure that the best solution is found in order to meet their users/customers expectations and more. As a team of designer, producers & developers that work closely together we are always discussing projects from every angle.

Mercury Digital, a highly exciting Dublin based software company is looking for a smart intern. The commitment would be around 15 hours a week for the next 8 weeks with a view to extend the position to a paid position after the initial period.

You would be based on Barrow street beside Google and you would be exposed to a very high level of software development and cloud based technology.

We are looking for a candidate that is smart, quick thinking and proactive. You must have great internet research skills and computer experience.

You will have an interest in web, technology and or entertainment technology and software.

Ability to work in any of the following technologies is a plus.

• Final Cut Pro
• HTML
• CSS
• Java
• Javascript
• OO
• C/C# / Obj C.
• Adobe Photoshop
• Adobe Illustrator
• InDesign.

Transport costs and lunch expenses would be covered.

Please send C.Vs to
hello@thisismercurydigital.com

@wellsriley hits the nail on the head! Design & Entrepreneurship sitting in a tree, M A K E G R E A T T H I N G S! Ok that may be a very long winded version of the childhood tease but it’s pretty accurate.

As Riley discusses on his (beautifully designed) website http://startupsthisishowdesignworks.com/ [A guide for non-designers], design is an essential aspect of successful start-up businesses. As a designer myself I may seem slightly biased but I honestly think it is very short-sighted to think that a start-up can get to a successful level without heavy involvement of a designer or two.

Designers by nature are problem solvers; it is not all about good looks and charm! A product must make sense to the users. It should be easy and smooth.

With so many new products appearing on the market everyday, businesses need to lure the users in with the promise of a useful, fun, interesting or time-saving product, but how do they hold on to users? With good design, well thought through user-interface and architecture!

I’m specifically talking about web design and mobile applications as these are our specialities at Mercury Digital. I for one will not use a beautiful looking product if it doesn’t do it’s job, but equally I get frustrated with great ideas executed badly and with a lame interface. The users experience is crucial. You want them to use, explore, interact, and share this experience with their friends and colleagues.

At Mercury Digital our working process involves design input throughout the project from start to finish ensuring consistency and quality is maintained. We learn, ask questions, understand, research, ideate, design, prototype, discuss, design, test, design, discuss, design, deliver/launch.

Great design starts with the understanding of the problem. What are you creating, who is it for, why do they need it? Never assume that people know about your product, your interface or what you are about. It is the designers job to make this discovery process easy for users.

I believe that good design has the potential to make peoples lives less cumbersome and more interesting. As Jack Dorsey of Twitter & Square says ’It’s really complex to make something simple’, so give adequate time and scope for designers to create that masterpiece you are looking for.

Mercury Digital are proud to be sponsoring the latest round of Startup Poker. Started in Summer 2010, this is a multi-national event with regular games in both Chile and London. It’s a great opportunity to network, have fun and to earn some much needed capital for the lucky startup who walks away victorious. The event takes place every 2 or 3 months. This is the 3rd round.

The first 2 successful editions were held at Dogpatch Labs. 30 entrepreneurs, coders, designers and investors meet in a informal way. The small numbers encourage networking and continuing business and personal relationships have been built during the first 2 nights. This format has proved as success and the event is always booked up.

Tonight it’s the turn of StartUp Bootcamp to host StartUp Poker, a natural fit for the three month business startup acceleration program that runs quarterly during the year for startups, entrepreneurs and small businesses across Europe to get ready for funding, launching and scaling to European and global markets. We’ve long been enthusiasts of this initiative, supporting Skynet Labs from inception.

To help keep things friendly the tee is 20 Euros + 1 Rebuy max, although the winner of the first two rounds, Shane Grimes, has a friendly bounty on his head.

And remember entrepreneurs, what makes a great poker player also makes a great start up.

Industry executives and analysts often mistakenly talk about strategy as if it were some kind of chess match. But in chess, you have just two opponents, each with identical resources, and with luck playing a minimal role. The real world is much more like a poker game, with multiple players trying to make the best of whatever hand fortune has dealt them. In our industry, Bill Gates owns the table until someone proves otherwise. ~ David Moschella

Mercury Digital is delighted to be working with Champion Sports again. We will be producing an advert that captures the football frenzy that will grip this country when Euro 2012 hits. We’re looking for an actor that can embody a special kind of football fan who lives and breathes the game. If you think the character bio is you. We’d love to hear from you. Audition details are below.

Character BIOS
[Main Character] [GENDER: MALE] [AGE: 25-30]
Our main character is a guy in his mid to late twenties. He’s not the coolest, he’s not the trendiest but he is most definitely a great guy. He is a person that everybody likes, he has lots of friends and they all love him. He is jolly, caring and a good friend. He is a ‘legend’. Our guy loves football with a passion (maybe a little too much!) and this is what drives his life. Fantasy football leagues, all the transfer news, the latest jersey, he has it all. He adores watching football and he adores supporting Ireland above all else.

Want to be part of the action?


Audition Location: National Performing Arts School 
The Factory 35A, Barrow St,Dublin 2.

Audition Date: Thursday April 19, 2012, 12:00 – 4:00 PM


Shooting Location: Dublin

Shooting Date: April 24, 2012


Email: eoin@thisismercurydigital.com

Walter The Wandering Wave is to benefit from a new partnership with Irish mobile creative & technology agency Mercury Digital, as they roll-out the series of short kids stories written by Irish author Shane Janssens. Long-time surfing enthusiast and entrepreneur, Janssens emigrated to Vancouver, Canada & co-founded Belly of Fire publishing. His first Walter book published in paper-back in March 2011, portraying a young energetic wave eager to explore the ocean around him and travel the world. Popularity encouraged Belly of Fire to release a Walter iPhone & iPad app, immediately rocketing to top children’s app in the Apple AppStore.

Book 2, Walter and The Eight Armed Bully, is due for release in May this year and with it will come further interactive mobile applications, including a fully illustrated, read-along app and a Walter activity game. Tim Duggan, CEO of Mercury Digital, is animate himself when asked about the production. “Clearly print media is undergoing a radical rethink globally with more and more readers turning to digital consumption of their daily news and entertainment sources. Kids books is the perfect storm where everything clicks in to place. To line up with these growing new print industry channels, we developed a HTML5 interactive book publishing framework that works well with animations and sprites. We are very excited about Mercury’s future in the interactive ebook publishing space. With ebook readers, smartphones and tablets increasingly household items, children’s authors have unprecedented opportunity to bring their story to life through imaginative visual, audio and interactive experience”.

Janssens is equally enthusiastic that app versions of his books can compliment his print books distributed to date solely in Canada. “It’s a no-brainer” he says. “The app marketplace is massive. It immediately brings Walter to a far wider audience, in to the home of my niece in Dublin just as easily as someone here in downtown Vancouver”. Local book promotions, kids readings and competition prizes have all spurred Walter on, not to mention a radio interview with our very own Dave Fanning on 2fm, conducted across the water of course on the 2fm app! 

We are recruiting a HTML5 developer and an intern. Both of these positions are a great opportunity to be involved in a busy working environment, developing exciting projects for international clients.

See our careers pages for details of both positions.

It gives us great pleasure to announce Screentime Shinawil’s new website shinawil.ie is now online.

Shinawil is the notorious independent production company famous for Irish series The Apprentice, Dragon’s Den, MasterChef Ireland & The Voice of Ireland. We’ve been honoured to reflect their success through a brand new feature-rich website. A showcase for Screentime Shinawil, we’ve created a responsive dynamic web design. Device agnostic, shinawil.ie is mobile adaptive across smartphones & tablets on all operating systems.