You know we love projections. You know we love talking about them. But did you ever think we’d be talking at them?

Neither did we.

Check out the ridiculousness happening in the video above. It starts with an already-awesome projection-mapped building in Lyon, France, but things get really interesting when the creators drop a microphone in the audience. When spectators speak, shout, and sing into the microphone, the projection responds by warping the display according to the tones in the person’s voice.

Ho. Lee. Crap. That’s about as awesome as it gets. Enjoy this Friday-appropriate indulgence, and we’ll catch you next week.

We’ve blown through a slew of Sized Right examples in our trends report and Smartshot webinar, covering an admittedly wide range of applications. After all, Sized Right is our most versatile trend for 2011, with implications in-store, at home, in consumers’ daily lives, and even in their heads. With that in mind, it might help to step back and set the mood for the trend, pointing out a couple of examples that, while fringe in their specifics, powerfully illustrate the driving factors behind these sentiments.

The rise of Sized Right starts right at home, where Americans are retreating from the past few decades’ trend towards McMansions. Tired of maintaining homes that are too big – and increasingly wary of the massive mortgages they require – consumers are now opting for more appropriately-sized homes. But, don’t mistake this for self-denial. There’s a certain comfort in finding a home that fits your needs, especially with smarter solutions that allow you to get more out of smaller spaces.

What’s that look like in practice? How about fitting 24 rooms into a 330 square foot apartment? That’s what Hong Kong architect Gary Chang miraculously pulled off, as seen in the video above. Now, we’re not saying this is going to be the norm for home life, but we are saying there are valuable lessons to be learned here. While Chang literally packs multiple layers into a single space, this is indicative of a general trend (both at home and in-store) toward more flexible configurations that allow the same space to serve multiple functions. This can happen physically, as in Chang’s case, but as we’ve seen in our Life in the OOC trend, it’s also possible thanks to digital technologies that overlay virtual functions on real-world spaces.

It’s also noteworthy that Chang doesn’t see the small size of his abode as a constraint; rather, it’s an opportunity for efficiency. He uses plenty of practical tricks, ranging from mirrors that amplify the space to shades that bring in golden light, which all combine to give the impression of space without the burdens that would accompany that physical footprint. This is a sentiment that runs through everything we’ve seen with consumers seeking smaller (but not 330-foot) homes. Consumers are reassessing their priorities, and realizing the benefits of having less stuff to fret about. We tend to fill bigger houses with crap we don’t need, so small houses force the residents to be more proactive in their filtering. This ends up being a relief for consumers who otherwise feel the pull toward hoarderism, as well as (often younger, Millennial) homeowners who happily sacrifice square footage for the experiences offered by their ideal locations.

Clearly, Chang’s layout is very, very smart. So, the opposite would be… dumb? That’s the opinion of Smart Car USA, who recently kicked off a campaign “Against Dumb” that mocks everything supersized, as shown in the video below. On the one hand, this campaign bluntly speaks to the beliefs behind Sized Right, and manages to communicate the philosophy in a quick, visually appealing manner. Still, we have to take issue with the tone. It’s a little too condescending, a little too holier-than-thou, and even a bit obnoxious. The transition toward Sized Right is a huge undertaking for the Amercian consumer after half a century of moving in the other direction. You’re much better off offering helpful reassurance for consumers looking to make the switch, rather than ridiculing them for the mistakes of their past.

In fact, these consumers are probably willing to do most of the mocking themselves. And that’s the part of the Smart campaign that we really like. On the brand’s Facebook page, Smart encouraged fans to submit their dumbest purchases to be voted on by the community, with the winner getting a Smart car. It’s a much more playful tone than their ads, and does a better job of getting participants to think long and hard about their personal consumption histories. And there’s nothing dumb about that.

Yes, a recent study assessed over 3,000 brands to see how they measure up on down-to-earth-ism. Not surprisingly, many brands at the top of this list are dependable, traditional, long-running staples for American consumers: Kraft Foods, Morton Salt, Ace Hardware, John Deere, etc. And, the study seems to describe them in this manner, defining down-to-earth-ism with descriptors such as being real, true, grounded, authentic, and even “innovative” in some cases.

However, we think there’s more to down-to-earth-ism than these passive brand characteristics. Down-to-earth-ism is also about actions. When we originally introduced down-to-earth-ism, we pointed out that this trend replaced big, sweeping claims (which may feel unattainable in the current economic climate) with “an aggregate of small promises that are consistently achieved.” It’s easy to see how the aforementioned brands live up to this statement, as they create numerous tangible improvements to consumers everyday lives. The top ranking brand from the study – WalMart – essentially delivers this message in their “Save Money. Live Better” messaging, suggesting that the repeated action of saving a few pennies here and there will regularly pay off for consumers in their daily lives.

In an interesting parallel, Newsweek recently published an article that called out a corresponding trend in architecture. The author finds that the iconic, challenging, and flamboyant buildings of the past decade are increasingly giving way to subtle, efficient, and functional priorities (such as the North Caroline Museum of Art pictured above). While extravagant buildings have certainly been tempered in the short-run by the real-estate bust, there also seems to be an architectural corollary to the idea of the new austerity. Architects are finding the pull of eco-friendly buildings, smarter urban planning, and collaborative design to be, in some ways, just as fulfilling as creating the next Beijing Bird’s Nest (which, tellingly, is now occupied by tacky retail stalls, or – even worse – hampered with vacancies). The fact that this ascetic aesthetic so closely resembles consumer behavior seems to support the idea down-to-earth-ism is more than just a temporary response to tough times. Instead, brands that keep themselves grounded may find themselves best positioned for long-term success.

You know the drill: follow Upshot on Twitter to keep up on the latest SXSW Interactive news. It’s only three days away!

We’ve already mentioned that location is the watchword at this year’s SXSWi, but we’d advise you to keep your eyes out for news on QR codes as well. Longtime readers know that we’ve been tracking these two-dimensional barcodes for years, but the codes had never quite passed the tipping point because consumers had to download a QR reader before using them. Fortunately, most new handsets are coming pre-loaded with QR readers, and for those that aren’t, there are a number of brands that are helping to familiarize American consumers with the technology (including that tiny little venture named Google).

And, with SXSW announcing that every attendee’s badge will include a QR code (and the festival’s site sharing a slew of QR readers), we think the time has finally come for QR codes to have their day. Of course, that’s why Upshot’s going to be blanketing SXSWi with our own QR code to help attendees track the 6th Street music shows during the Interactive festival.  See the above video for a demo, and stay tuned for more info later this week.

While we’re clearly some savvy marketers ’round here, there’s always going to be a handful of marketers who are seduced by the “shiny-ness” of an unfamiliar technology, and will apply it in a gimmicky manner. For instance, select Best Buy stores across the country have featured QR codes in their store windows, which is admittedly a great way to deliver interesting content in an immediate way to passing consumers. Unfortunately, snapping the code takes the consumer to… Best Buy’s website. Guys, they’re already standing in front of the store! What kind of value are you delivering?

Compare that to the N Building in Japan, which complemented their window-based QR code with a little augmented reality. Or, the guerilla campaign for District 9, where decals and posters (such as this one) were slapped all over urban areas. That code linked users to a video clip that told the backstory of the movie. Likewise, the band Passion Pit embedded a free mp3 in bar coasters in UK pubs, as well as discounts for purchasing the album.

The common thread in these examples is that they all provided unique, highly-desirable content! It’s the same ol’ rule we’ve been following for years; if you’re not engaging consumers, you’re just creating clutter. Nobody wants to see that! They want to see QR codes like these:

• Add customized messages to packaging, or in this case, bottles. Anyone giving a gift fr0m 94 Wines can attach a QR code to the bottle with a text, photo, or video greeting.
• Provide something a little harder-hitting, like the code that the Detroit Red Wings added to their game programs. The code brings users to a video featuring the body-checking skills of Niklas Kronwall.
• Hide clues for a scavenger hunt amidst QR codes placed in various locations.

We could keep going, but we’ll continue to follow-up with examples down the road. For now, we’ll leave you with a simple place to start: the three cardinal rules for creating a consumer-friendly QR code.

UPDATE: Well, this is a nice bridge between our last couple of posts. Fourwalla is encouraging venues near SXSW to create QR codes that Foursquare and Gowalla users can scan in order to check-in. Fourwalla claims that the codes will help verify check-ins, although I’m not sure there’s too many venues that are worried about that kind of publicity.

The above image shows an Amsterdam-based agency whose interior was completely redesigned using only interlocking pieces of reinforced cardboard. No glue. No screws. No nails. No Nothing. Oh wait, some Nothing – that’s the name of the agency. Ba-dum-dink!