Winter Internship in Greece, how does it feel?

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Hello, my name is Pedro Oliveira, I am 19 years old and I’m from Brazil. I love technology and innovation so I’m studying Electrical Engineering for my bachelor degree and also I’m an IT Technician. Following my passion, I started working in Digital Marketing at my Junior Enterprise, (a non-profit type of company that allows young students to work and run a business), and more recently, I got the opportunity to do a Marketing Internship at Stone Soup via AIESEC, with a focus on obtaining a leadership experience in another part of the globe.

As a kid, I was passionate with greek mythology and history, that’s why I arrived in Athens last week and I’m loving the city. Despite the recent economic crisis and turbulence, I believe this city and this country may still provide a great innovation market.

Since I finished high school, I have set my mind in starting my own business. Aiming for that professional goal, I’ve pursued the opportunity of doing this AIESEC internship program in a coworking space, because it is a business space that offers you everything that you need to start implementing your ideas and also it offers you great networking opportunities.

Residents at Stone Soup Comment on GDPR Compliance

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The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) aims to introduce a single legal framework applicable across all EU member state which would result in a more consistent set of data protection compliance obligations for businesses. Not only does GDPR concern businesses working with data within the EU, but also the non-EU companies. The GDPR has been passed keeping in mind the safety and security of the users’ personal data. Therefore, GDPR is focused on achieving a high degree of data security. Knowing that their data will be safe, the clients will put their trust in companies which would be beneficial as that would result in an increase in the companies’ customer base.

However, besides the advantages of a complete GDPR compliance, companies are facing a few problems in regard to full compliance. Too much regulation in terms of adding consent prompts for everything might reduce customer’s enjoyment of online services. Another common problem of GDPR compliance is the costs to be incurred in order to fully comply with the regulation since, not all companies can meet these costs. When asked about her opinions on complete GDPR compliance, Xanthippe Lemontzoglou, a data analyst working from Stone Soup feels that 90% compliance with the GDPR might be a better idea which would involve companies to do the best they can without trying to cover extreme possibilities, yet being aware of them. She feels that complete compliance might not be beneficial for either the companies or the users.

Other than its effects on the companies and the users, GDPR also has an impact on the designers as it will alter how the products are developed both in Europe where the law applies in every country, and in the United States, where many companies have European customers. Thus, this will partly reshape the work that the designers do. According to Dimitris Niavis, a designer currently residing at Stone Soup, designers are required to act on these changes almost immediately and that involves taking into account current and future User Experience. The information now needs to be more accessible and the users should have an option to easily opt out of the subscriptions.

Therefore, GDPR now requires companies to respect the users more than ever and this can be done by making some prominent changes at the company level which would involve training of the employees keeping in mind the new regulations, and also the user experience.

Although, there are many visible cons of the GDPR compliance regarding the costs incurred by the companies and ignorance on the user’s side, these problems are only temporary. The companies and the users need time to adapt to the new regulations and once that is in place, GDPR will prove to be effective in terms of the user experience and cybersecurity.

If you would like to read more, refer to the following websites:

https://www.fastcompany.com/90171699/what-is-gdpr-and-why-should-designers-care
https://www.endpointprotector.com/blog/gdpr-the-pros-and-the-cons/
https://www.cbsit.co.uk/2017/07/28/gdpr-risks-business/
https://www.welivesecurity.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Is-GDPR-good-or-bad-news-for-business.pdf
https://www.tripwire.com/state-of-security/security-awareness/gdpr-the-good-the-bad-and-the-ugly/

 

Introducing Gabriel Launer

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We would like to welcome Gabriel Launer!

Gabriel is a free-lance illustrator and concept artist that arrived at Stone Soup last October. He has worked on video game designs and artistic branding. His art can be described as visual storytelling – creating worlds, characters, and stories to artistically immerse the viewer. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gabriel was born and raised in France, where he received an Engineering degree from Lycee Jean Perrin, St-Ouen L’Aumone. However, after graduating he decided to pursue his initial passion, art, and went on to study at Villa Arson, the Fine Art school of Nice.

As an artist focusing on his personal practice, Gabriel makes an effort to collaborate with companies that he feels truly passionate about. This allows him to explore his creativity through a variety of different outlets, which can be seen in his collaboration with ‘Up-Κυτταρική θρέψη’, a vegan restaurant that promotes health and nutrition. Gabriel has used his artistic aptitude to create a brand for the restaurant, by designing visuals and illustrations for them.

Gabriel’s general ambition and true enthusiasm, however, comes from his individual projects. Through his art, his purpose is to effectively demonstrate and communicate ‘pure’ art, to convey authentic emotion that can easily be understood by the audience. By establishing is own artistic identity, Gabriel hopes to collaborate with other artists on bigger projects, and potentially participate in exhibitions to showcase some of his work.

Check out Gabriel’s Instagram to see some of his work!

Wishing Odd Bleat good luck!

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After being in the Stone Soup office for over a year, we unfortunately bid adieu to Odd Bleat, but we are happy that they are moving to their own, bigger space.

Since they first arrived at Stone Soup, Odd Bleat has expanded both as a group, with 3 people in the team now, and professionally, as they have begun to take on larger-scale collaborations. Their increasing notoriety has lead them to produce bigger and more intricate productions, and has broadened their scope, in terms of the types of animations they now create, and the different companies they have worked with.

Odd Bleat has continued to win various awards for their work, including Gold Prize for all Digital Applications and First Prize in the Animation category, both in the 2018 EBGE Awards in Greece.

A particularly interesting project Odd Bleat has since worked on, was at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Cultural Centre (SNFCC), a cultural complex that celebrates Greek tradition. The “Countdown to Christmas”, was a massive Christmas campaign, for which Odd Bleat created 30 animations, every day of November before the SNFCC turned on their Christmas lights.

This project allowed Odd Bleat to continue their work with the the Stavros Niarchos Foundation, and they are now working with them on the foundation’s upcoming DIALOGUES events – a monthly series in which different topics, such as food and football, will be explored and discussed, in order to engage the community in conversation, and increase discourse around these themes. You can check out more information about this here. 

Odd Bleat’s hope for the future as they continue to expand, is that their focus remains on the creative content of their projects. As the animation industry is relatively limited in Athens, they look to grow the scale of their company in the international sphere, while still maintaining their smaller core group, and home-base, here in Athens.

Check out Odd Bleat’s website and Facebook page to see more of their work!