These are the mackerel pages... 1989 through 1997: if you were there, you can well imagine, there is quite a bit to cover with respect to these nine years on the bleeding edge.
It all started, for us, with... an old Mac 512Ke, a Mac Plus, a 10 megabyte hard drive and a $10,000 laser printer. "I'm a courier, I'm delivering the ideas I'm carrying around in my head..." - These were heady days folks. Sure it was years after the "computers for the rest of us" days; but the rest of us were finally figuring out what to do with them.
Kevin and I (you'll learn more about Kevin on many other pages on this site); Kevin and I were just starting to get really tired of our burgeoning careers colouring George Bailey, Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy's pale (black &) white faces at Colorization the day it finally dawned on us... hey, we can finally do something with these things, we can certainly do something far more interesting than deciding George Baily's sweater vest was brown and then having some kid from Sheridan College paint it green; frame by freakin' frame... we could CHANGE THE WORLD... Or better yet, open our own business!
...and, we'll leave this little saga there for now.
Kevin and I (you'll learn more about Kevin on many other pages on this site); Kevin and I were just starting to get really tired of our burgeoning careers colouring George Bailey, Mr. Laurel and Mr. Hardy's pale (black &) white faces at Colorization the day it finally dawned on us... hey, we can finally do something with these things, we can certainly do something far more interesting than deciding George Baily's sweater vest was brown and then having some kid from Sheridan College paint it green; frame by freakin' frame... we could CHANGE THE WORLD... Or better yet, open our own business!
...and, we'll leave this little saga there for now.
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...The Mackerel Stack
(the following copy was written in 1995/6 - the links don't alway work) The Mackerel Stack has served as our "flagship" interactive brochure, describing our services, our philosophy, and fun facts about our eponymous friend, the Atlantic Mackerel since 1991. Today, the web site you are visiting is based on the structure of the Mackerel Stack. Some cool stuff has been adapted directly from the stack and put online! The original versions of the Mackerel Stack were developed in HyperCard, using every cheap black and white animation effect we could fit on a disk. In 1993 we released the full-colour SuperCard version 2.0, introducing Virtual Bubble Wrap. And it still fit on a disk. The story of how this classic of multimedia came to be has been well told by Step-By-Step Graphics magazine.Read the article about The Mackerel Stack. |
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part one: a brave new digital world (yes, i was that dramatic)
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Part two: and, it wasn't just kevin and i...
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part three: fish and big dumb birds don't mix - how it all came to an End ...
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part four: and you thought social started with facebook? you kids have it too easy
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A selection of work from our web portfolio... 1996 • there are notable projects missing... I'll try to update this as I dig things up. ...[bo]
Rogers WAVE
Client: Rogers Cable SystemsRogers WAVE, the front end to Rogers cable internet service, is designed for people who find the internet a little too slow and cramped. The feeling of Rogers WAVE is serenity and spaciousness, and the full-screen imagery shows off the much greater speed of cable modem technology. Unfortunately, we can't link you to this Web site until the Rogers WAVE hits your town. 
Delrina's Echo Lake
Client: Delrina, 1995When Delrina committed to invent the multimedia family album, they turned to Mackerel to develop the interface. Multimedia World magazine says this about Echo Lake: "This multimedia authoring tool lets you create beautiful electronic scrapbooks... The features are impressive, but the visual metaphors, the seamless integration of multimedia tools, and the elegant interface will knock your socks off." 
Ontario's Mineral Wealth
Client: National Resources of Canada, 1993Mackerel designed this interactive to communicate the importance of mining in our everyday lives. In the section shown at right (one of four rooms in a house), participants can touch the screen to find out what mineral products were necessary to create the object they have touched. When a picture is touched, the object glows and its mineral contents are displayed on-screen. Almost every object pictured contains minerals! Ontario's Mineral Wealth is on permanent display at Science North in Sudbury, and is also exhibited at various trade shows throughout the year. The program has beeen pressed to CD-ROM for distribution to Ontario schools. 
Space Age Survey for the Information AgeThe PXK-NT
Client: Northern Telecom, 1992This interactive survey made its debut at Telecon 92 in Toronto. Two touch screen units were used almost continuously over three days, providing our client with an excellent sample of survey results. Over 90% of the participants completed the questionnaire! The survey is "disguised" as a computer, the PXK-NT, which the user "programs" to analyse their telecommunications needs. The PXK is inspired by 1960s sci-fi visions of a computer interface, with pre-space-age sound effects, a tinny, monotone voice to assist the user, big switches and industrial looking gauges. Clips from the original Star Trek series illustrate technologies that Northern Telecom sells today, such as video-conferencing. |
So you think you know the environment?You and Your Climate
Client: Environment Canada, 1992This simple touch screen multiple choice experience is harder than it looks and just as much fun. Whenever this kiosk has been set up at trade shows and educational fairs it always draws a crowd. Everyone thinks they know something about the weather... 
Interactive Recruiting Brochure
Client: USF+GThis disk-sized downloadable was designed for USF+G to help this major American financial institution find the best and brightest Information Services specialists and get them interested in employment opportunities with the company. USF+G's aggressive and forward-thinking attitude towards the traditional world of IS is demonstrated in this equally cutting-edge piece. The Interactive Recruiting Brochure contains a Quicktime VR panorama of the USF+G main campus, an innovative interface for exploring the company and its workings, and a hidden geek quiz just for good measure. The project is due to be completed in March 1996 and will be distributed in versions for both the Mac and Windows. 
Maclean's Guide to
Canadian Universities CD-ROM Prototype Client: Maclean's Magazine, 1995Mackerel was responsible for product design and execution of the Maclean's Guide to Canadian Universities prototype. This CD-ROM presents comparative data on all universities in Canada, based on a comprehensive survey. This product gives students the tools to quickly narrow down their search to the most appropriate universities, and compare them by common criteria such as class sizes, availability of scholarships, etc. Added to this data are stories describing the unique culture of each university. When finished, this product will become an indispensable resource for guidance counsellors, students, and parents. 
Xerox Document Cycle
Client: Xerox, 1993This simple presentation -- designed to run on then state-of-the-art 486 laptops -- was created to illustrate Xerox' understanding of how documents are developed. 
Target: Diskette. DOS. 16 Colours.Meet the Kerbal Health Care Group
Client: Kerbal Health Care Group, 1992This digital brochure designed for the Kerbal Health Care Group is part of their ongoing marketing plan. Like our own Mackerel Stack, it is used as an introduction to the company, its people, and the services they provide. The brochure fits on a floppy disk and is designed to run on all IBM compatible computers running DOS. Kerbal sent out 500 copies of the disk to a targeted audience. As a result, the company received three RFPs (Request For Proposal) within the first month. |
Spruce Bog Roulette
In Spruce Bog Roulette visitors bet on the life expectancy of a series of animals and plants, and discover that in the wild most creatures live a very short life, and few live long enough to die of old age. 
Canadian Encyclopedia Plus
Client: McClelland and StewartMackerel was commissioned to execute a complete redesign of this popular encyclopedia. The resulting product, The 1995 Canadian Encyclopedia Plus, has been both a critical and commercial success. In reviews, critics call the new interface "easy to use" and "attractive." For more in-depth, info about the Encyclopedia Plus, visit McClelland and Stewart's web site now. 
Power Pitcher
Client: Futureline 1995When a look and feel for this exciting digital video baseball arcade and bar game was necessary, Mackerel was the only company to turn to. The player has the role of a famous pitcher, and must face four of the toughest hitters of all time. The results are calculated with FutureLine's expert baseball simulation model and illustrated with classic video clips of baseball heroes like Willie Stargell and Ted Williams. 
Light and Gemstones
Client: ROM, 1993For the permanent exhibit at the ROM, Mackerel has designed Light & Gemstones, an interactive kiosk which takes today's technology to the limits. In this engrossing interactive, the user can learn and experience for themselves the effect light has on different gems and different cuts of gems. With large 3D rendered animation and digitized video, users can watch as light strikes and splits into a full spectrum of colour through the hardened cuts of a precious diamond. 
Designed to Run on a Mac Plus...Tetley Tea Questionnaire
Client: Tetley Tea, 1992With this easy to use questionnaire program, Tetley Tea was able to collect market research from thousands of visitors at the 1992 Canadian National Exhibition... and tabulate the results on the spot. 
Toyota Tacoma
The Making of a Champion Client: Toyota USA 1995The Making of a Champion, created by Mackerel in the summer of 1995, was a promotional diskette/ downloadable commissioned by Toyota USA to generate interest in their new model of pickup truck. Released in versions for both the Macintosh and Windows computers, it contains a mix of activities and information leading into a truly multi-layered multimedia experience. From interactive maps showing Toyota's American roots and customizable trucks, to interactive price stickers and x-ray views of the Tacoma, The Making of a Champion loads a lot into a tiny space. |
Milk Delivers!
Client: Dairy Farmers of Ontario 1995With this nifty touch screen kiosk (installed in a gorgeous King Products MIKO cabinet) children and adults play the role of a milk delivery person on the job for the first day. Although there is only one delivery to make, the participant must get across town, solving problems around the way that test and increase the participants' knowledge of nutrition. 
Try Tercel!
Client: Toyota USA, 1994Try Tercel! is a cross-platform interactive multimedia walkaround of the 1995 Toyota Tercel. Commissioned for Toyota Motor Sales USA., the design initiative provides potential new car purchasers with a fun yet informative test drive experience. Click the graphic of the trunk and it opens to reveal a bag of groceries - or maybe an iguana! Click the rear window sticker and the interactive database will price all the options including freight and interest rates! To date, Toyota has received more than 42,000 requests for the Try Tercel! disks and it has been downloaded from BBSs numerous times! 
Nature Games at the Algonquin Park MuseumMackerel worked with the Algonquin Park Museum to develop this pair of touch-screen kiosks. Each of these permanent displays is designed as a simple, short game that is both educational and entertaining, enriching the exciting nature dioramas that complete the exhibit.
The Reproduction Game Client: Algonquin Park, 1993The Reproduction Game teaches about the effect that different reproductive rates have on the wildlife in the park. Participants select a birth rate for an organism and watch its family grow and prosper or wither into extinction over a 100 year cycle. 
Bird Songs at the Royal Ontario MuseumBirdsong
Client: ROM, 1992Why do birds sing? This is one of several questions posed by Birdsong, an interactive exhibit on permanent display at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto. In this full colour, touch-screen project, the user simply touches the bird to hear its song. More in depth sections discuss the evolution of complex bird songs, and suggest several answers to the question "Why do birds sing?" 
Meet the Demand in 2014...Balance of Power:
Meet the Demand in 2014 Client: Ontario Hydro, 1992This interactive game was designed for the "Energy in Ontario" exhibit, on permanent display at four Ontario Hydro sites. Participants are faced with the challenge of developing a plan to meet Ontario's projected energy needs. The weight on the scale represents anticipated additional energy needs if we continue using electricity at the current rate. Choosing conservation options shrinks the demand weight, while choosing power from various sources adds counter weights. Text messages inform the player of possible consequences of his/her choices. When the scales balance, a festive tune plays while the scales dance and the player receives a printout of their plan. |