Face to Face with... David De La Pena

David De La Pena, Saatchi London's head of creative technology, and Maciej Baron, the agency's creative technologist, have made public their blog which looks at and discusses new technology and innovation within the creative industries. 20 Minutes Into the Future is 'designed to provide a segue into the inevitable, imaginable and inconceivable'. Here, De La Pena talks about his love of technology and what the future holds.

What led to your starting up the blog?
It started off as an internal platform that was used to inspire our clients and get them excited about using creative technology. But we realised that it made sense for us to open it up and share our thoughts with the outside world. It's a great way of articulating where our heads are at.

When did your interest in technology take hold?
My father was a nuclear physicist, but ended up in the area of computer science. So when I was a child our garage didn't have a car in it, it was filled with mainframe computers, teletypes and hard-disks the size of microwaves cookers. I can't remember a point in my life that wasn't touched by computing.

Do you remember there being one specific piece of technology that ignited your interest in the area?
Like every teenage boy games ignited my interest, and by that I mean playing multiplayer Goldeneye as a student at 3am in the morning?

How important do you think technology now is in people’s everyday lives?
I can't think of a single part of our lives that hasn't been touched by technology over the last ten years.

What’s the most innovative piece of technology you’ve seen in recent months?
I'm a sucker for the classic design, and the Fujifilm x100 camera is a great example of moulding cutting edge technology into beautiful design and build. I'm currently saving my pennies to get one of these.

Do you think brands have fully grasped the potential of technology and what it can do for them?
There's a large element of risk involved in using new technology. For example: Will it work? Will it have the desired impact? For brands to take on this risk is still a big deal, and it's our job to lessen this risk by helping them understand the technology through prototyping, testing and working with strategy to help understand the impact that investment into this new technology will have.

Where do you think technology is going; in your opinion what might be the next big advancement?
So much to choose from, however I think the subject of mobile devices and convergence is becoming more and more apparent. Do we realise how much NFC in mobiles will revolutionise our lives?

What’s your favourite piece of kit/technology?
An obvious choice, but I'm afraid my smartphone is both my favorite and most essential piece of technology. It has most things I need in it apart from a large screen, which of course will be sorted when they start to incorporate projectors!

To visit 20 Minutes Into the Future, click here