Stay aHead: Nutshell

I’ll start with a confession: I was never a fan of Prezi.

I started seeing people using it during my uni years (2006–2012) as a replacement for PowerPoint. It was often seen as the slick option to do a “cool” presentation and dazzle teachers and colleagues with some technical prowess as we discussed McLuhan’s media theories or the importance of core competencies for business strategy.

Except some of us weren’t dazzled. The animations left us confused (wait, why are we flying around to another part of whatever bubbly shape that is?), and often didn’t make up for the weak content we were hearing. In short, Prezi’s snazzy presenting framework couldn’t make up for a lack of insight. Form didn’t follow function.

To me, Prezi is to group presentations what 3D is to cinema. A nice to have, but if it is the core of your story then you’re probably not in a good place.

Maybe that’s why I was delighted by the incredibly smooth and simple experience of using (Prezi-owned) Nutshell. In fact, the name represents what Nutshell stands for – “Life’s little stories, short and sweet”. Here’s how it works: “Snap three pictures. Add captions. Choose graphics. And let Nutshell turn it all into a shareable cinematic story.”

In its basic form, Nutshell is a hybrid video and photo app. You record what you want to tell, snap three crucial moments and annotate with beautiful effects. Simple, effective and elegant. But instead of boring you with features, I thought I’d tell a little story about 1000heads’ London office – here are a few of our most interesting desks, in a nutshell.

Let’s start with the resident champion of desk cleanliness, Community Manager Jack Martin.

Moving on to the ruler of toys and all things colourful, our amazing designer Tim King.

And last but not least, the words of wisdom we can often find at Media Planner Andrew Rajanathan’s desk.

In summary, if Prezi could make a simple presentation unnecessarily complicated, Nutshell aims to help us tell deeper stories in simple, stylish and exciting forms.

At a higher level, Nutshell represents what’s important to remember in the work we do and how our clients approach communications through social media – shapes and forms are great, but only if they support the story we’re trying to tell. Remember, form follows function, and shiny new technology doesn’t change that.

I think the people behind Nutshell are onto something by mixing video and photos in such a user-friendly way, so I’d definitely recommend you give it a go. Oh, and if you want, feel free to share your #DeskInANutshell with us on Twitter: @1000heads.