Interview with Johan Halse from Doberman by Edu2
- Do you know about Hyper Island? What do you think of it?I know about it. Graduated some eight years ago. It’s still providing the industry with good talent :)
- What is the hottest on the mobile market right now? (apps/web design)
Everyone is waiting to see if the iPad will make the splash it’s been predicted to make. It has the potential to further monetize sectors like newspapers, audio books, and suchlike - but only if the customers decide it’s good enough and it manages to achieve a big enough market. There is a lot of development going on behind the scenes here in Sweden; publishers and content companies want to be quick off the mark when the iPad is officially launched here.
- Do you specialize in all platforms or just iPhone?
We have done some multi-platform work (not just on smartphones, general accessibility studies and web design for mobile handsets) and a few forays into Android, but our main platform is iOS. It’s what our customers are currently asking for.
- What media do you follow to keep up with the mobile app market?
Personal networks, mostly. Twitter.
- How do you think the pricing of apps will develop? Free + ads, cheaper, more expensive?
I’m guessing that current pricing models and cost per app will stay at about the same level as today, but in-app purchases will become more and more important and free stuff will be used to as a lure to sell premium content.
- How much mobile do you do at the moment?
We are currently developing four apps in-house at the moment, I think. Hard to keep track of all our projects, but that’s an educated guess.
- How many people are involved in the development of an app?
Depends on the scope of the app, but it ranges from three people (designer, programmer, project manager) up to perhaps six.
- What trends are there at the moment?
Multiplayer gaming, augmented reality apps, development shifting from small independent developers and hobby projects as the larger companies all want apps of their own.
- What’s your prediction of the future?
Companies providing the services we’ve come to depend on the Internet for - banking, maps, booking tickets or travel, that sort of thing - will need to move into the mobile space soon, or lose market share. Most handsets will not be getting them as native apps, though. As mobile browsers evolve and competition shifts back and forth, HTML, JS, and CSS with progressive enhancement is the more obvious choice to maximize your reach.
- What are you excited about in terms of mobile?
Standardization! We finally have capable mobile browsers with blazing fast JS engines and accelerated rendering. Suddenly you have all the tools you’re used to, with the one-two punch of immediacy and localization.
- Are you able to accept interns from Hyper Island in the future? And if, what do you expect from them? Attitude, skills etc.
Yes, we are. We like them to be open-minded, comfortable with giving and receiving honest feedback, and equipped with curiosity and respect for those who use the services we design. We’re all about creating natural everyday experiences that nevertheless should feel magical. And that takes empathy, passion, and a fair bit of sweat.
