Review of 2015

2015 proved to be an award winning and interesting time for skignz, as well as externally, in the world of AR.

The landscape of AR changed quite significantly throughout 2015, as either acquisitions, or investments were made, reducing the number of companies in the market. Blippar invested heavily (increasing their worth to circa £1.4b) whilst also acquiring their biggest rival, Layar.

Other companies such as Apple acquired Metaio and Google invested even further ($542m) into MagicLeap.  

Other companies apps were not renewed and many digital/ad/creative agencies had to look for other ways to offer their client AR experiences, with Junaio being acquired and stopping its SDK for others to use. In addition, INTEL acquired RECON.

Also across the wider market, Apple introduced the ability to be able to open one app from another, something that was not previously available on the iTunes App store.

We know that skignz are focussed on AR, however VR's emergence over the past few months made some waves, with more progress from Occults Rift and even Facebook. Founder & CEO Mark Zuckerberg, quoting our own Co-founder & CMO Si Brown, stated that "Why look at your phone, when you can look through it!". 

Other VR progress was made in line with the huge interest in the technology. The first Oculus Rift Headsets were due to be shipped in the final quarter of 2015.

Moving on to skignz, the biggest difference you will have seen is the aesthetics of the skignz website and the skignz app. Considerable time was spent in developing 'version 2.0' for IOS with Android being currently finalised. 

In addition to the new look and feel, skignz were present at many outdoor events such as PRIDE LDN, Glastonbury, EDC & Leeds Festival. 

The feedback on the tech and also the performance exceeded even our high expectations.

Another key milestone was the development and introduction of the 'ARtAbove' channel, allowing ANY Artist, ANYWHERE in the World to place their own Art ANYWHERE they want, essentially making the whole world a gallery. 

This was developed in conjunction with artist Martin McCloon and was even showcased at Disgraceland (Banksy's Installation in Weston Super-mare), actually subverting the subversive.

2015 was an award winning year for skignz as they were voted as 'The UK's Most Disruptive Tech Startup' by Ignite, 'TechAwards NE', 'Thinking Digital' and the 'Marketing Award' at the BNBA'15. 2016 has already started with a bang, with skignz being shortlisted again in the BNBA'16 and last week coming Runner up in KPMG's 'Best British Mobile Startup'.

skignz increased their team with key additions of Jamie Clarke (Head of DV Partnerships) and David Murphy (Head of Sports Partnerships) both settling in quickly and hitting the ground running across the many conferences and events in the final quarter of the year.

In the final weeks of the year skignz launched their #skignzsanta experience, which allowed parents to follow the 12 days lead up to Christmas eve whilst learning each day how to set up their own personalised #skignzsanta. 

Parents placed two skignz outside their homes so when Santa was close (following on the NORAD or Google Santa websites) parents could show 'Santa' flying past through their magic santa camera Smartphone or tablet.

Initially they saw what looked like Santa in his sleigh being led away by his reindeers, then parents 'panned across the sky' to reveal a special 'personalised note' to their child(ren), telling them he can only deliver when they are fast asleep. 

The hundreds of people who did this across the globe said their children were simply ‘blown away’ by the experience, and getting them to sleep was a lot easier than normal! 

We will be looking into doing a similar thing for Christmas 2016 but we have a lot of other interesting and exciting 'skignz' projects to deliver before then...

And as always for further information on skignz then please visit us on the usual Social Media channels or drop us a line info@skignz.com

ARt Above will do for the graphic arts what Spotify has done for music.

In early September we blogged about how one of the skignz users had 'subverted the subversive' by displaying his own art work (through skignz) at Banksy's Dismaland.

Martin has been working away on how Art could be best presented through the skignz platform, so we asked Martin if he wouldn't mind sharing in his own words a bit more about skignz and the new Art Channel that we have since created called 'ARt Above'.

Utilizing the skignz platform, 'ARt Above' has the ability to place graphic works anywhere on the planet without asking the permission of gallery owner, curator or town planner. 'ARt Above' will level the playing field allowing artist to install their work at any address in the land – Mayfair, Soho or Madison Avenue.

The potential offered by the skignz platform and the ability of 'ARt Above' to place images at any location is only just being unlocked.

'ARt Above' is above all the Spotify of graphic art – the facilitator of personal curation – placing your exhibition in front of your audience - hijacking the white cube.

Art conceived within the confines of the 2 dimensional space has been placed around the world, but 'ARt Above' offers the possibility of developing a new art – the art dreamed of a century ago - a vector art of lines in space without the need for the support of paper and without the structural concerns of gravity – taking works off the printed page and out of the shuttered form of the canvas, positioning them in space – breaking the forth wall of art – the new cubism – a neo neoplasticism.

In 1936 Charles Tamkó Sirató published his Dimensionist Manifesto which described:

     1. Literature leaving the line and entering the plane.

     2. Painting leaving the plane and entering space.

     3. Sculpture stepping out of closed, immobile forms.

     4. The artistic conquest of four-dimensional space.

The art envisioned by Pablo Picasso and George Braque and described with Cubism a century ago, 

'ARt Above' has actualised!

We would like to thank Martin for his vision, enthusiasm and efforts in working with skignz to develop 'ARt Above' so that it can be used by any Artist of any genre, skill, ability or form, for the benefit of artists and the wider public.

Many people who may not be interested in going into Art Galleries or to Art Shows, can view art where the artist intended them to view it, it maybe a park, a town square, on a beach and even on the side of famous buildings.

If you would like to find out more about 'ARt Above' then please visit www.skignz.com/downloads and get your copy of the skignz app on either iOS or Android.

Already got the App, well anytime you see the 'channels' icon highlighted, when using skignz, press the icon and see what channels are available?  

If you see 'ARt Above' then please select it and take a look!

Subverting the Subversive with skignz

This summer the widely acclaimed artist 'Banksy' opened the doors to his 'Dismaland' theme park.

The enigmatic graffiti artist takes over derelict seafront lido in Weston-super-Mare for six-week show featuring Damien Hirst, Jenny Holzer and David Shrigley amongst others.

Although we didn't personally get chance to visit, we heard through some of the skignz users that one user had placed a number of 'art skignz' in and around the Dismaland:Bemusement Park.

This was the first attempt by the user to create his own skignz and place them somewhere of significance. He then informed a few of his own friends who he knew would be visiting the park to download skignz and take a look at what he had put there?

The skignz user in question had previously met Si Brown (skignz Co-Founder & CMO) at a Hackathon for BBC Music Live in Newcastle. Since then further conversations between the two around an idea that ANY artist ANYWHERE on the planet, could use skignz to 'place' their own work in locations, where using the power of social media they could encourage other people to view it. 

This quickly became 'ARt Above', Martin (skignz user, artist & musician) decided to test how he felt this could work. 

As you can see from the images his fiend (also a professional artist) sent through to him (using the in app skignz capture function)

As you can see Martin was very successful in 'out banksying banksy' if that's at all possible.

Although Martin had not visited the park or knew where anything specific was exhibited, its ironic how one of his images from the Alfred Hitchcock film 'The Birds', nicely floats above one of Banksy's own pieces 'Woman attacked by Seagulls'.

Even more ironic is the amount of people who visited the park and probably looked at this picture, will have had no idea that Martin's Picture was floating in the etha, just above!

Martin said: "skignz & 'ARt Above' can do for graphical art what spotify has done for music"

We wonder if Banksy himself might use the skignz technology and contribute to the special channel created specifically for Artists 'ARt Above'.

Not just Banksy but any artist who wants to use skignz to display their own work, then please go ahead, create a skignz account, download the skignz app on either iOS or Android. Then you can start to upload your artwork to the skignz platform and 'place it on a map' wherever you want to place them.

In 1999 the 'lads mag' FHM beamed a giant picture of the model Gail Porter on to the Houses of Parliament in London England. 

This could be done again, but only viewed through skignz!

Where in particular would you like to place your art or have you any ideas where artist could place their art?

Contact us here at skignz if you would like to know more about 'ARt Above'