Drink Up

Buy a beer for a friend remotely: Yes, there's an app for that

When Andrea Sanchez registered for her wedding in 2005, she was struck by both the ease and rarity of the occasion.

"It's unfortunate that the only time you have a list of things your friends can search and buy for you is when you get married or have a baby," Sanchez says. The Austin-based entrepreneur had recently dropped out of law school to study programming full-time, and an idea struck her: Why not take the guesswork out of gift giving and focus on the sentiment?

For Sanchez, one of the most sentimental things a person can buy another person is also one of the most simple: Beer.

For bars, the app opens up an entirely new buying base that doesn't even have to be on-site to give them business.

She launched BeerGram on Super Bowl Sunday from her home base in Austin and counted on the community culture of craft beer to help the app take off. The free application allows users to buy their friends beers at participating bars and utilizes individual profiles to allow users to accumulate favorite brews, write reviews and make recommendations.

Beyond friends sharing beers, Sanchez notes that the review feature — only accessible after you've purchased or redeemed a beer — gives breweries and brewpubs a more reliable data set when it comes to what people are drinking than anonymous online reviews. "It actually tracks purchasing — whether people liked something enough to buy it," she says.

Users can also check-in at their favorite craft beer bars and meet like-minded friends or simply declare that they're ready for a pint. For bars, the app opens up an entirely new buying base that doesn't even have to be on-site to give them business.

"When I started working on it, I was thinking about migratory paths," Sanchez says. "I live in Austin, but I have a lot of friends in Houston. You stay in touch on Facebook or Twitter, but I didn't have the capacity to do even something small for them. You can send [a BeerGram] to clients, to someone that helps you move, or if you're out at night you can entice friends to come where you are," Sanchez says.

Imagine talking with a West Coast friend suffering from a particularly shit day at the office. Instead of mere words of condolence or offering to hate a colleague you've never met, send a BeerGram. It's a small gesture with immense implications — introducing new audiences to local microbrews and opening up the buying audience of your local craft beer bar to well, anyone.

To download BeerGram free and get started being a better friend, click here.

BeerGram

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SKIN IN THE GAME

Renowned Hill Country tattoo artist inks new sacred geometry app

Photo courtesy of Dillon Forte

Dillion Forte at his "tattoo ranch" in the Texas Hill Country.

In the world of tattooing, there may seem to be few better rat traps left to build, but Dillon Forte aims to change that. In October, the renowned Wimberley-based tattoo artist and entrepreneur introduced a new iPadOS app to bring ancient symbology into the digital age.

Forte has made a worldwide name for his black dot work (a contemporary take on stick-and-poke techniques) and ambitious undertakings like tattooing underwater and opening a “tattoo ranch.” His ink appears on Usher, Chris Hemsworth, and Kehlani.

Still, he is most recognized for his sacred geometry designs, using patterns to convey various meanings. His interest led him to create the Sacred Geometry Drawing App, a convenient way for novices and experts to develop and export their creations.

The app grew out of his own practice. Over the past decade, he has used tablets and freehand techniques to achieve his highly symmetrical artwork but grew to realize existing tools were not always easy to use.

“The app is an attempt and fulfillment of my desire to make sacred geometry accessible and bring the ability to create into the fingertips of as many people as possible,” Forte tells CultureMap via email, adding a tagline: “symmetry made simply.”

He says he wished the app was available when developing his signature style as a tattoo artist, but it was designed with a broad range of users in mind. He hopes that designers, educators, and artists will find a use for it.

A short intro to the app's capabilities is available on YouTube. It looks like a standard drawing app, starting with a blank canvas and some tools like pens, pencils, colors, and of course, straight line and dot makers.

A "symmetry index" anchors the functionality and expands it to something between 2D art and 3D modeling. In addition to generating shapes like repeating patterns and spirals, the app also creates 3D shapes with grids, so that the artist can map their design in real space or even create sculptures. There is also an index for explaining the spiritual meaning of some standard designs.

“Geometry often prompts an intimidating feeling when it comes to making art,” Forte continues. “The fundamentally complex and often academic nature of math-based art can induce a sense of fear in the potential user instead of creating a sense of awe. The purpose of the sacred geometry app is to cultivate the latter."

Creatives interested in constructing their own geometric masterpieces can download the app at the App Store for free, and in-app purchases are available.

technology apps tattoos arts