??? 談到Fjord和花旗的合作,，沃伯格-斯多克非常激動(dòng),，這是花旗方面首次詳細(xì)談?wù)撨@項(xiàng)合作。 “我們學(xué)到很多東西,，其中之一是,，我們的內(nèi)部研究和技能并不總能跟上步伐，并及時(shí)解決技術(shù)難題,，”沃伯格-斯多克告訴《財(cái)富》雜志（Fortune）,。“作為一家喜歡創(chuàng)新的公司,，我們學(xué)到的一課是,，我們需要外部意見來抵消神經(jīng)反射式的妥協(xié)?！庇捎趯?duì)iPad應(yīng)用軟件外包項(xiàng)目非常滿意,，花旗后來又邀請(qǐng)F(tuán)jord設(shè)計(jì)了其Kindle Fire應(yīng)用軟件，成為亞馬遜（Amazon）平板電腦上發(fā)布的首批金融應(yīng)用軟件之一,。這款軟件已于上月發(fā)布,。
??? BBVA遠(yuǎn)程頻道和新數(shù)字業(yè)務(wù)全球主管路易斯?烏吉納在談到該行與Fjord的關(guān)系時(shí),，印證了沃伯格-斯多克的很多觀點(diǎn)?！霸谂c新設(shè)備打交道時(shí),，銀行必須作出調(diào)整，如果在全球范圍內(nèi)擁有11萬名雇員,，這種調(diào)整可能會(huì)相當(dāng)艱難,，”烏吉納一邊在電話上熱情地說著，一邊在馬德里街頭趕著去吃深夜的晚餐,?！按筱y行在設(shè)計(jì)應(yīng)用軟件時(shí)很難像一家小公司那樣行動(dòng)迅速,?！?/p>
??? 烏吉納和沃伯格-斯多克都對(duì)Fjord避開個(gè)人電腦或智能手機(jī)銀行的傳統(tǒng)線性表格、開發(fā)iPad應(yīng)用軟件的能力給出了很高的評(píng)價(jià),。過去的數(shù)字銀行表格是基于傳統(tǒng)枯燥的明細(xì)賬系統(tǒng),，將數(shù)值和其他信息列于整整齊齊但又令人困惑的一列列表格中?！拔矣浀眠^去我們內(nèi)部設(shè)計(jì)應(yīng)用軟件時(shí),，每個(gè)人想到的都是制作一屏有差不多100個(gè)信息域的表格，”烏吉納稱,?！昂髞鞦jord的設(shè)計(jì)師說‘這毫無意義,！’他們給了我們一個(gè)例子,，說明如何重新設(shè)計(jì)我們的應(yīng)用軟件,，用屏幕上大大的數(shù)字讓客戶很很快找到我們的呼叫中心號(hào)碼,?！盉BVA非常中意Fjord的設(shè)計(jì)理念,，已請(qǐng)F(tuán)jord重新設(shè)計(jì)它的幾家實(shí)體分支機(jī)構(gòu)。
??? 2001年,，由著名互動(dòng)廣告公司睿域營(yíng)銷（Razorfish）【現(xiàn)已并入陽獅集團(tuán)（Publicis Groupe）】前創(chuàng)意總監(jiān)謝柏格森和他在睿域營(yíng)銷的同事馬克?柯蒂斯以及邁克?比斯頓共同創(chuàng)立的Fjord正在不斷擴(kuò)張,。這點(diǎn)值得一提，因?yàn)樵诒据喗?jīng)濟(jì)衰退中頂級(jí)設(shè)計(jì)公司都在縮減人員。七年前,，F(xiàn)jord只有18名員工,；如今，其員工總數(shù)已是當(dāng)年的10倍多,。Fjord還在快速開設(shè)新的辦事處,；巴黎的第九家辦事處很快就將開業(yè)。2005-2010年間,，F(xiàn)jord年?duì)I收增長(zhǎng)超過了10倍，從區(qū)區(qū)190萬歐元（252萬美元）增至2,360萬歐元（3,142萬美元）,。公司預(yù)計(jì)2011-2012年的營(yíng)收增幅將接近21%,。 |
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??? Wolberg-Stok is effusive when speaking about the collaboration between Fjord and Citi a partnership that the bank hasn't talked about in detail until now. "One of the things we learned was that our own internal research and skill sets don't always scale in a timely enough manner when tech disruptions take place," Wolberg-Stok told Fortune. "And one thing we learned as a company that likes to innovate is that we need external opinions to counter the typical knee jerk reactions of compromise that come up." Pleased with outsourcing the iPad app, Citi hired Fjord to design its Kindle Fire app, one of the first financial apps released for Amazon's (AMZN) tablet. It was released last month.
??? Luis Uguina, Global Head of Remote Channels and New Digital Business at BBVA, echoes many of Wolberg-Stok's opinions regarding the bank's own relationship to Fjord. "When dealing with new devices, a bank has to adapt, and that can be difficult when you have 110,000 employees worldwide," Uguina says, speaking animatedly on a mobile phone while heading to a late-night dinner in Madrid. "It's hard for a big bank to be as fast as a small company can be when designing apps."
??? Uguina and Wolberg-Stok both speak highly of Fjord's ability to create iPad apps that eschew the traditional linear format of PC or smart phone banking. Those previous forms of digital banking were based on the traditional -- and boring -- paper ledger system of listing numerical and other information in neat, but confusing, rows. "I remember when we were designing an app with our own business unit. Everyone wanted to make a form with, oh, what seemed like 100 fields of information on the screen," Uguina says. "Then Fjord designers said 'nonsense!' And they gave us an example of how to redesign our apps to quickly point customers to the number of our call center, with large digits on the screen." BBVA was so impressed with Fjord's design philosophies that it has just hired the firm to remake some of its physical branches, too.
??? Founded in 2001 by Schybergson, a former creative director at the revered interactive agency Razorfish (now owned by Publicis Groupe(PUBGY)), with Razorfish alums Mark Curtis and Mike Beeston, Fjord is growing. That's notable, given that top design firms are shrinking their staffs in the wake of the Great Recession. Seven years ago, Fjord had a staff of only 18; today, that number is more than ten times that. The company is establishing new offices rapidly; a ninth, in Paris, is just opening its doors. Between 2005 and 2010, annual revenues increased more than tenfold, from a mere 1.9 million euros ($2.52 million) to 23.6 million euros ($31.42 Million). Estimated revenue growth between 2011 and 2012 will be near 21%, according to the company. |
