We Are Team Rubber

There’s a lot of advertising books kicking around the office, notably Ogilvy on Advertising (Mr. Ogilvy seems to be the granddaddy of advertising). I love all things vintage, so I thought I’d share this post from Well Medicated which showcases 50 ‘inspiring’ vintage adverts.

It’s great fun looking at these and thinking about everyday life has and hasn’t changed. I want a Can Bag, especially if I can get away with lacy kneesocks. And Levi’s and Burton Cool Suit ads are superb.

How does Team Rubber celebrate it’s 7th Anniversary? By going on holiday, of course. Team Rubber recently returned from a seaside holiday in Dorset, filled with songs, laughter, food and a gale force wind or two.

Many of us enjoyed playing the guitar and the singing of happy songs (despite not always knowing the words). The weather was typically British. Friday was amazing - clear skies, sunny and gorgeous. The rest of the weekend, not so much.

Laura organised the lovely, seasidy holiday cottage for us. Cheers for that! It was situated right on the beach. Inside was “like a maze”, with “cozy” rooms, and “individual and idiosyncratic” beams (quite literally - they weren’t always structural!). There enormous dining room table received many compliments, which accommodated all 18 of us.

Thought the house was spot on, loved the sophisticated-rustic balance, the chance to fully enjoy the sea views whilst staying warmly cocooned from the gales and the fact that it was right next to the pub (allowing me to drink two whole pints of cider without blowing my designated driver responsibilities).” - Ben

I was happy to sit in the conservatory all day.” - Katrina

Amazing. We should buy it.” MattG

It suited Team Rubber. I want to go again!” - Michaela

The house did have it’s quirks, though (rattling windows, temperamental cooker and casual hot water!) but these merely added to the charm.

More photos on our Team Rubber Flickr group, including the awesome panorama.

What were your highlights of the holiday?

• Andy: Lanterns!
• Matt: Pizzas, Photography, Sky Lanterns, Discovering Thatchers Gold
• Katrina: Swimming in the ocean and being covered in crustaceans in the sitting room
• Laura: Untying knots and the Friday walk on the beach
• Tim: Going swimming in the sea, the food, the lanterns and watching our cross-dressers
• Ian: Eating big breakfasts and dinners together and seeing people outside of work — true colours!
• Michaela: The amazing sunny day walking on the beach and the general atmosphere
• Rory: Lanterns, Friday’s sunny weather, and pancakes and bacon for breakfast
• Jenny: Playing the guitar and singing, and lighting the lanterns
• Alex: Thursday was fun and drunken and Friday was really nice out on the beach with the lanterns and fire
• Lisa: Everyone scoffing my American pancakes, hanging out with everyone, walking up the coastline and the night-time campfire
• Matt: Dreamlike, tasty, magical
• Kirk: The lanterns, and swimming with Tim and Alan
• Jess: All sitting down to dinner together, being right on the beach, the beach at night and sitting around in my pajamas til 6pm
• Ben: Mostly just being able to legitimately ‘hang out’ with the good folks of Team Rubber who happen to be some of the nicest, coolest people I know (it always feels like a bit of a shame when all I get to speak to them about is projects, budgets, clients and the like). Also enjoyed the fire and lanterns evening, the frequency of Boggle games and the indulgent opportunity to play some cheesy social guitar without being laughed at

What three words describe the holiday for you?

• Alex: Beardy. Windy. Happy.
• Laura: Relaxing. Extreme. Snotty.
• Katrina: Bonding. Comfortable. Cute.
• Ian: Wind. Sea. Fire.
• Michaela: Relaxing. Fun. Epic.
• Rory: Pure Dorset Gold
• Jess: Chilled. Windy. Relaxing.
  (Jess: Is chilled the same thing as relaxing? Me: Not unless you meant the other kind of chilled, especially at night)
• Lisa: Great Mad Fun
• Kirk: Team Rubber Holiday
• Andy: Sun.  Hurricane.  Fire.
• Ben: Ace. More, please.

In summary, according to Jenny, it was the “Best fun you can have with your clothes on!”

We at Team Rubber are very proud of our latest effort, an online consultation for the BBC Trust, deployed with our new, custom-built online consultation software, part of Opinion Suite. Expect a lot more Opinion Suite Shipping News in the next few months!

The BBC Your Say consultation lives at http://www.bbcyoursay.co.uk. Feel free to participate if you have views on the BBC’s radio, tv and web content for younger audiences.

There is a more detailed post on the Delib blog. We were also amused to hear Chris Moyles fill in the survey on his radio show.

Well done to everyone involved: Alex, Alan, Andy, Ant, Ben, Heather, Gez, Jess, Laura, Michaela, Owen, Wilkes and myself!

Cradle to Cradle, written by William McDonough (an architect) and Michael Braungart (a chemist), explores the notion that we humans aren’t doing ourselves and the planet any favours by our modern processes and consumer demands. But this book thankfully has a load of new approaches and innovative suggestions for rethinking the usual manufacturing, building construction and design of consumer goods.

Why do “we” create things that serve one purpose, and are then scrapped or destroyed when we’re done with them? I love the notion that packaging could have a secondary purpose, buildings can be design to self-regulate temperatures (rather than relying on expensive and damaging - to health and planet - ventilation “systems”), and that shoes can be easily renewed and reused when needed.

This book covers a lot of ground and challenges the way people think about eco-effectiveness, efficiency, design, diversity and waste. It’s also not made of trees and is fully recycleable, though the book will hopefully be passed around and read before being recycled anytime soon.

I am thinking of ways it can apply to my own work at Team Rubber: write general user instructions that can be copied and reused and create Selenium tests that aren’t specific to one user type unless needed. They alone won’t save the planet, however. Others might find some inspiration in Cradle to Cradle too - share them!

Personally, I will wrap presents in reusable wrapping paper (a tea towel or a t-shirt - why not?), buy those tasty desserts that come in the reusable glass containers when I can’t be bothered to cook and look for way to support companies that are serving the “cradle to cradle” movement.

After all, the environmentally-minded individual doesn’t want to be a part of the “bad” demand

P.S. It’s back in the bookcase for the next person.

“Don’t Make Me Think!” is fun to say, and is rather fun to read too.

This is one book that everyone creating web apps, design and/or content ought to read. The clue is in the name - a lot of web usability *is* common sense, but we all need a refresher course now and again.

I’d read the first edition years ago, and second edition is equally awesome. Especially useful for me personally were:

• Chapter 2 & 3 - how users really use the web (imagine users treating the web as a billboard - they are zooming by, rather than sitting down with a cuppa to read every single line of text on the page)

• Chapter 5 - writing for the web … it’s related to the billboard issue! Though the sales guys may disagree
• Chapter 6 - designing navigation
• Chapter 8 & 9 - usability testing
• Chapter 10 - usability as common courtesy

If we all were able to persuade our clients to listen to our suggestions and trust us to make the right decisions about general web usability, our projects could run run a lot smoother.

Don’t take my word for it — check out the zillions of 5* reviews on Amazon.

PS. Kirk, Chapter 11’s subtitle is “Just when you think you’re done, a cat floats by with buttered toast strapped to it’s back”

JISC Answers is a new question and answer service for UK Higher and Further Education professionals. People can find an answer, search to see if somebody has provided an answer they need, or ask a question of their own to have it answered by someone if the JISC community.

Shipped by Delib.