Sarah Fleming

Sennep

2007-10-30T13:09:00.000-07:00

Sennep- London-based design agency with a strong focus towards creating flash-based sites that offer creative and unique online experiences. The showreel is an excellent example of the varied executions the studio have achieved for a wide range of clients - the animated illustration towards the end I found to be particularly engaging.

Thoughtful Tombola

2007-10-30T12:52:00.000-07:00

A great opportunity to win this years D&AD annual.

Check Thoughtful's blog for information and entry details

WWF Paper Dispenser

2007-10-30T12:37:00.001-07:00

Saatchi & Saatchi, Copenhagen, Denmark.

This campaign for the World Wildlife Federation is a great example of utilizing existing objects and familiar surroundings for communication. The paper dispenser has a silhouette of South America cut out with a green foil window to tint the view - clearly reminding the user every time they use another paper towel, they are using up just alittle bit more of South America's green forests. Really engaging and memorable.

This reminded me of a book I came across a while ago which is definately worth a read if you have an interest in guerilla advertising / ambient media and using space / everyday objects in new ways in order to communicate a message. Guerilla Advertising provides examples and case studies of some of both the most effective and unique uses of guerilla advertising today, from a range of brands and companies. Both an inspiring book and an invaluable reference.

Guerilla Advertising: Unconventional Brand Communication, Gavin Lucas

The World's Best Hands...

2007-10-18T09:57:00.000-07:00

Advertising Agency: MPM Propaganda, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Creative Directors: Aaron Sutton, Jorge Iervolino
Art Director: Guilherme Somensato
Copywriter: José Arnaldo Suaid
Photographer: Leonardo Luz
Published: October 2007

Campaign I recently came across for the MASP - the Museum of Art in Sao Paulo. It initially attracted my attention soley on it's strong art direction but the concept of the most brillant hands of the world have made up the collection at the museum is equally strong, suggestion both the size and quality of the exhibitions. Image and communication are tied together cohesively with the strap line "You can count on your fingers the number of art museums with a permanent Van Gogh, Monet and Matisse Exhibition. The most brilliant hands of the world have made the MASP art collection". Unusual and really inviting.

This Is...New York

2007-10-14T15:59:00.000-07:00

In relation to the current 'Brand Your Birthplace' project, I came across this new campaign of print-based adverts for New York City from BBH. Interesting approach to promoting the diverse offerings of the city using illustration as opposed to the expected photographic approach. I think the fun, excited illustrations work well to convey the city in a positive light and by avoiding the use of photography, have avoided the recognisable images of the city skyline that have become so associated with 9/11 and subsequent terrorist threats.

Smallest Exhibition

2007-10-14T15:45:00.000-07:00

Interesting concept from the design and illustration studio Yokoland for an exhibition - the aim, to produce the smallest exhibition ever. Each of the exhibited pieces was less than 1" x 1" in size and displayed in the centre of a large empty room on a pillar, with a magnifying glass supplied in order for the viewer to see the work more clearly. The concept interested me as apart from being intriguing and most certainly creating a talking point surrounding the exhibition, the magnifying glass encourages interaction and a deeper engagement between the exhibition and audience.

Donate Your Corneas

2007-10-12T03:41:00.000-07:00

Interesting campaign from the Mexican Red Cross and National Transplant Centre to encourage the general public to donate their corneas to allow others to see. The campaign was executed through outside billboards, print and ambient media channels by agency JWT, Mexico. The use of braille and written word juxtaposed next to each other clearly communicates the benefit of donation to someone and tactile nature of the braille adds further interest for the audience.

Greenpeace

2007-10-10T02:26:00.000-07:00

Advert for Greenpeace from an agency called Imagine in the Netherlands. The change made to the recognisable barcode initially caught my eye - the visual association between consumerism and it's impact on the world's natural resources using a symbol as synonmous as the barcode is really effective.

Dove "Onslaught"

2007-10-09T01:56:00.000-07:00

New viral from Dove and agency Ogilvy & Mather to follow on from Dove Evolution'. Entitled "Onslaught", the viral once again aims to exploit the pressures from today's beauty industry in an attempt to ensure the next generation do not become slaves to achieving this so-called perfection. It makes quite an impact when you watch it, not perhaps as effective as 'Evolution' but it is interesting to see how the brand engages with the issue and is using it to differentiate itself within the beauty industry and create a positive brand image.

More From The Economist

2007-10-09T01:49:00.000-07:00

Two more examples from The Economist's new campaign to follow on from my previous post. Art Director Paul Cohen from agency AMV BBDO explains the approach to the change in direction for the new campaign:

“The success of the ‘white out of red’ campaign was based on the idea of feeling that you were a member of a club. This is an attempt to broaden the appeal of that club and engage with a new audience. The Economist is not changing the magazine in any way but they do believe that there’s a new, perhaps younger, group who would be interested in it.”

MTV Base

2007-10-09T01:41:00.000-07:00

Unusual campaign from MTV to advertise it's MTV Base Channel; concept based upon the notion of avoiding the hassle of going to watch your favourite artists live, watch your favourites at home on MTV Base instead is simple and expected but the execution was what caught my eye. The style of illustration and interesting use of typography is arresting and conveys the tone of voice of the channels 'brand image' well.

Decorating Urban Landscapes

2007-10-09T01:29:00.000-07:00

Unusual piece of work from a New York based graphic designer - WeWorkForThem .

I found it particularly interesting to extent to which a section of our urban landscape can be so radically changed by an image, an element integral to any urban landscape. It is attention grabbing, people stop and look - entering into the regularity of any urban landscape, changing it, removing from or adding to it can be an effective way to communicate to the general public.

Czech Dream (Cesky Sen)

2007-10-08T14:34:00.000-07:00

Czech Dream, documentary released in 2003 being aired tomorrow night on More 4, 9pm.

Czech Dream follows two recently graduated film students as they perform a massive hoax on the entire Czech general public and explore the power of consumerism.

" Czech Dream documents the largest consumer hoax the Czech Republic has ever seen. Filip Remunda and Vit Klusak, two of Eastern Europe's most promising young documentary filmmakers, set out to explore the psychological and manipulative powers of consumerism by creating an ad campaign for something that didn't exist.

The campaign (designed by a renowned advertising agency) involved television and radio spots, 400 illuminated billboards, 200,000 flyers promoting Czech Dream brand products, an advertising song, a website, and advertisements in newspapers and magazines.

For two weeks, the streets of Prague were saturated with advertising for the fake hypermarket. The ads proclaimed: Don't Go, Don't Rush, Don't Spend drawing over 4,000 people to turn up on the 'opening day'. On the 31 May 2003, they arrived at a green field where, instead of a hypermarket, they found just the dream hypermarket's façade (10m high and 100m wide).
Czech Dream is a funny and provocative look at the effects of rampant consumerism on a post-communist society. Czech Dream has also caused some controversy, provoking extreme reactions in the Czech people and media and even being discussed in Czech Parliament"

Create/Reject

2007-10-08T02:42:00.000-07:00

London based practice set up by James West "after deciding that he needed to be involved with every step of the creative process from inception to delivery, he set up Create/Reject, a flexible and responsive practice". Some interesting projects from this recently started practice, for me, his editorial and book work being the strongest examples having a simple elegance with some nice typographic detail.

Robin Howie

2007-10-08T02:12:00.000-07:00

Portfolio site for designer Robin Howie - A simple, functional site which allows all attention to be focused on the work itself. Some interesting ideas, subject areas and concepts explored within projects included. Worth a browse through.

Saturday - Ian McEwan

2007-10-07T11:27:00.000-07:00

Saturday, a book from one of my favourite contemporary authors Ian McEwan which I have just finished reading. Set on Saturday February 15th in London when almost a million people took to the streets of London in protest of the impending war in Iraq, the narrative which takes place over just 24 hours, uses this as a background to a more personal story, following a series of unforeseen events which occur in the life of main character Henry Perowne.

In a way not an awful lot seems to happen within the novel as it follows Perowne's normal Saturday routine, punctured with several unexpected happenings on the way. However, McEwan gets past telling story and into the thoughts of Henry Perowne, presenting a distinctly British view of the modern, one where terrorism has become part of our everyday lives.

McEwan's writing is rich and vivid and he has a skill at going into the minds and thoughts of his characters and making a far deeper examination of our minds and lives. Not an 'action-packed' book but recommended!

Nothing Escapes The Ear

2007-10-07T11:21:00.000-07:00

Agency: DDB Worldwide Singapore
Creative Directors: Neil Johnson, Terrence Tan
Art Director: Khalid Osman
Copywriter: Priti Kapur
Photographer: Allan Ng
Digital Imaging: Eric Foo (Miracle Factory)

Witty approach to selling hearing aids and hearing care - for me the campaign works because in each case, the scenario created in the ad is one people can easily relate to and think, I'd want to make sure I could hear if that happened. However, considering the primary market for hearing aids will be older generations, I do wonder how effective the campaign would be in reaching them?

What's In A Word?

2007-10-06T09:00:00.000-07:00

Book from design studio Lippa Pearce, which takes 26 well-known sayings, replacing one workd with 'design' in each case. A fun, engaging concept that has resulted in a great book to flip through and consider the re-made meanings of these recognisable sayings, that surprisingly still provide some thought provoking statements.

Reusable Calendar

2007-10-06T08:57:00.000-07:00

Jean-Pierre Vitrac looked to develop a calendar could be used, not for the conventional twelve months, but repeatedly, year after year. This imbroglio calendar disguises the dates, numbers 1 to 31 through a clever piece of intricate typographic design and negative space; by moving the magnetic counter over the numbers, the user can make legible the date as required. Functional - not particularly, but visually a stimulating piece of design that offers variation from the conventional calendar.

The Economist

2007-10-06T06:54:00.000-07:00

A new campaign from AMV BBDO for The Economist which has taken a new approach from the copy-based campaigns we are all so familiar with. Illustrations from Non-Format, Mick Marston and Geoff McFetridge form a series of print advertisements that although have adopted a similar concept and tone of voice to previous campaigns, offer a refreshing change of execution and visual style. The campaign was recently reviewed in Creative Review.

It would be interesting to hear peoples' reactions to this new campaign; is it more or less effective and will the change of execution effect it's success - will the visual style appeal and attract the attention of the target market?

Thoughtful Tombola

2007-09-18T15:01:00.000-07:00

Check out the link below for a fantastic opportunity to win a D&AD 2007 Annual from Manchester-based design studio Thoughtful!

More details to follow

http://thoughtful.squarespace.com/journal/2007/9/14/thoughtful-tombola-draw.html

My Amoy

2007-09-03T04:25:00.000-07:00

A promotional interactive site for My Amoy cooking sauces someone recently told me about and that I then discovered had received recognition for it's design/concept. Intrigued I visited the site, MyAmoy, to find I had to cook my own stirfry online; the visuals arent great but I can see the concept behind it - a new way to get the customer to come into contact with the brand and product in a hope they will then put this into action and purchase in store. By making the user, the potential customer, 'make a stirfry', choosing their preferred ingredients and using an Amoy Sauce, it encourages the customer to consider how they can use the product in tune with their own cooking habits and tastes. It's interesting to see how digital media outcomes can be used for everyday products, but then I do wonder the effectiveness of this promotional site - would the target audience of Amoy products really spend ten minutes pretending to make a stir-fry online?

Wire Design Studio

2007-09-03T04:23:00.000-07:00

London-based design studio Wire Design, encompass all aspects of graphic design, brand identity, campaigns, digital media, illustration and photography - their portfolio is one of the most wide-ranging I have seen recently and offers examples of some inspiring and thoughtful work. I have included some of my favourites above.

Jen Stark

2007-09-02T11:54:00.000-07:00

Really unique and refreshing portfolio from US-based artist Jen Stark. Her work includes both three and two dimensional exploration through sculpture, drawn and animated mediums, all flourishing through her skillful use of paper and colour. I felt this work had real commercial potential and her approach and techniques could be pushed in graphic and environmental design. I also found it particularly interesting to see how she had approached an animation using her recognisable approach to work.

Graphic Picture Warnings

2007-09-02T11:23:00.000-07:00

A recent news article I noticed reporting the government have decided to print gruesome images depicting the effects of smoking on all cigarette packets from next year. "The graphic images, which include pictures of diseased lungs, must be printed on all tobacco products made in the UK by the end of 2009, under the new regulations. After public consultation 15 images have been chosen to accompany text warnings about smoking related diseases, including lung cancer and heart disease" (Guardian).

It is claimed the reason for the move was due to the diminishing impact of written warnings on cigarette packets and I have to agree, these have almost become part of the conventions of a cigarette packet and once you've seen one you've seen them all. It would be interesting to hear peoples' responses to the use of images - it is said an image is worth a thousand words but will an image have any prolonged impact in this context. If a smoker is repeatedly reminded visually of what he/she is doing to their insides, would it deter them or will this merely merge into the conventions of cigarette packets aswell?

Visit London - Oscar Wilson

2007-09-01T04:17:00.000-07:00

Agency: RKCR Y&R, London.
Art director: Neil Durber
Copywriter: Ben Hartman

Designer Oscar Wilson has created a series of illustrations for the Visit London campaign designed to draw tourists to some of London's best attractions and places to visit. This campaign really appealed to me as it broke the conventions of usual tourist advertisements; the hand-drawn type and bold colours make for striking visuals and seems to inject energy, excitement and intrigue into our capital city.

Oscar Wilson's personal portfolio site is also worth a look if this style of work appeals.

Yell.com - One in a Million Campaign

2007-08-31T08:52:00.000-07:00

"Following on from the successful Results for Real life campaign, Yell briefed AKQA to develop concepts that would bring to life the benefits of the Yell.com product.

The result was an integrated campaign under the slogan ‘Find Your One in a Million’. Targetting office workers, the concepts were designed to follow people through their working day.

The key insight behind the campaign was that people are not just searching functionally for a business or a service; what they are looking for is a specific result that will answer a very specific need. Its not just any old restaurant, its the restaurant that is perfect for that first date or for that reunion dinner. As such, the practical benefits of using Yell can be portrayed in a warm, emotive fashion that garners brand affection over and above the literal service that Yell provides" (Creative Showcase).

View full campaign here

Posted this campaign as I think it is a great example of maximising the use of digital media and the possibilities the Internet has to reach audiences in new ways. Although all the elements of the campaign are simple in terms of their function, visual execution and idea, because the concept has been successfully executed in several different ways, each of which suit the individual variation, it works together well. Good example as to how a simple interactive element can encourage the user to interact with the brand/product/service there and then, not having to click on a link or remember to go back later.

Stella Artois

2007-08-31T08:35:00.000-07:00

Agency: Lowe, London, UK
Executive Creative Director: Ed Morris
Copywriter: Peter Reid
Art Directors: Carl Broadhurst, Lovisa Almgren
Illustrator: Aesthetic Apparatus
Typographer: Dave Towers

Came across this campaign for Stella Artois and was struck by the change in tone of voice and brand projection, but can't find any more about the campaign. Stella Artois had started to get some negative brand associations and in the drinks market, is perhaps not 'the drink of the moment'; its therefore interesting to see the approach the brand has adopted here going back to the historical roots of the brand in a hope to banish the associations with drunken violence and loutish behaviour. Im not quite sure how the visualisation of the concept will work as it is so far from mainstream alcholic advertisements but an interesting example of repositioning a well-known brand.

Ugly Betty

2007-08-31T08:11:00.000-07:00

Witty but incredibly simple idea I spotted to advertise the TV show Ugly Betty. A good example of where medium/execution perfectly suit and add to the concept.

CVV Suicide Prevention

2007-08-31T07:31:00.000-07:00

Agency: Leo Burnett, São Paulo
Creative director: Ruy Lindenberg
Art director: Ricardo Toledo / Andre Gola
Copy: Carla Cancellara / Digão Senra

Interestingly executed concept to raise the profile of CVV, a social organisation dedicated to help people to help themselves to prevent suicide. The unusual use of cut outs attracts attention and with a simple line of copy ' Help Yourself' the message is clearly communicated. The campaign seems to of pitched itself at exactly the right tone of voice to both create a sense of the desperation people feel in such situations and the hope an organisation like CVV can offer - the large white empty space and the simple silhouettes in positions that create a sense of desperation and of hope, by reaching out for help, are effective in communicating the role of the CVV.

Interactive

2007-08-30T05:50:00.000-07:00

An interactive light installations that explore the possibilities of an interactive relationship between movement and light. The first project, Mes-Etoiles, is a photo-sensitive interactive wall that responds to the presence of people and displays feedback as a light projection. Created by French studio BarraganStudio, the interactive wall allows the user to 'paint' with the light.

A while ago this would have been seen as relatively revolutionary however there have been numerous similar interactive projects. So not the most innovative of concepts, but the potential for interaction between human being and man-made technology has once again been acknowledged and projects such as this need to be seen as a starting point.

Akzidenz Grotesk - Tobias Battenberg

2007-08-30T04:59:00.000-07:00

Video projection project I came across from German artist Tobias Battenberg. The project uses the typeface Akzidenz Grotesk projected across various urban scenes - aesthetically the project is beautifully executed and the projections have an almost enchanting ambience about them. However, my German isnt good enough to understand the concept/idea behind the work!

Creativity

2007-08-30T04:34:00.000-07:00

Creativity is a monthly magazine specialising in all things creative in advertising and design. It is an invaluable resource for design students, providing a showcase of the best ideas within the industry and the people behind the work; Creativity also covers the creative process from concept through to execution offering an insight into the thinking behind campaigns.

The website, Creativity-Online, provides an excellent regular coverage of the latest tv commercials, viral campaigns, interactive campaigns and brand development etc - a good site to be aware of and a way of keeping up to date with the industry.

National Design Awards 07

2007-08-30T04:13:00.000-07:00

I first came across this rather engaging book cover from Chip Kidd, later discovering it to be one of the Pulitzer Book Prize Winners this year and helped Kidd to claim the Communications Award at the National Design Awards. It's a great example as to how the thoughtful design of a book cover can both communicate clearly the type/topic of the book whilst creating intrigue.

"Kidd’s distinctive design approach does not adhere to a particular style but is rather guided by the content of each book and the discovery of surprising images and relationships that compel the reader to look inside". The site Good Is Dead exhibits more of his work.

V&A 150

2007-08-30T04:01:00.001-07:00

In June this year, the V&A Museum celebrates it's 15oth birthday and to commemorate the occasion the V&A invited 150 leading designers, architects, photographers, fashion designers and artists to contribute a page to an anniversary album. What particularly interested me about this 'project' was the way each invited contributor responded so differently to the brief as such, with the work including writing, photography, illustration, storyboarding, collage, typography to name a few; it is an inspiring collection of work that demonstrates the power of the creative process and the nature of ideas - from the initial single concept of the V&A Museum reaching 150 years old, 150 people have found 150 different ways to commemorate, respond to and record this event.

To view the slideshow click here

Marian Bantjes

2007-08-28T11:25:00.000-07:00

Marian Bantjes - graphic designer with a concentration on typography, book setting and production. Her work includes clients such as Pentagram, Print, Wired, Stefan Sagmeister, Houghton-Mifflin and The New York Times Magazine.

Her work appealed to me due to it's intricate and decorative nature - typography can be an incredibley striking visual and I like the way Bantjes has explored this through work that not only communicates a message but creates an aesthetically beautiful piece. I think part of the success of Bantjes work lies within her ability to build the typography into the composition so it becomes a vital elements that both enhances and compliments the other elements.

Some of my favourite examples below.

Transplastic

2007-08-21T06:24:00.000-07:00

A recent exhibition from the Campana's brothers that explores the clash between natural and man-made materials. Transplastic 'tells a fictional story: in a world made of plastic and synthetic matter, a fertile ground is laid for transgenic creations. Natural fibres recover the plastic as in an immunological response: nature grows from the plastic and overpowers it. (DesignBoom). As with much of the Campana's brothers work, the pieces explore the stark contrast between natural and man-made, textured and smooth surfaces, organic and industrial shapes etc. By working with contrasting materials, the transplastic project has both produced some aesthetically beautiful outcomes and demonstrated how natural and man-made components can work with each other successfully.

Fiodor Sumkin

2007-08-21T06:11:00.000-07:00

Fiodor Sumkin is an illustrator based in Amsterdam whose portfolio includes some lovely hand-drawn illustrations and expressive typography - it's interesting to see how Sumkin has worked with illustration and typography together, merging one with the other to create expressive outcomes. The energy and character he inserts into his typography particularly appeals to me and the fact that it remains hand-drawn when so many designers have now turned to digital means.

The Economist

2007-08-20T10:18:00.000-07:00

Two more examples of advertisements for The Economist. It's good to see a slightly varied approach to their recognisable witty copy-based concepts but that still works just as effectively. What struck me most about these two examples is how if the concept is spot on, clear and simple, how fewer elements you need to communicate a message.

Penguin: Escape Into A Book

2007-08-20T10:06:00.000-07:00

"Escape into a book"

Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi, Singapore
Executive Creative Director: Andy Greenaway
Art Director: Richard Copping
Copywriters: Jagdish Ramakrishnan, Roger Makak
Photographer: Teo Studio/Corbis
Retouching: Kendrick Wong

Interesting advertising campaign from Penguin books shown in Japan. The campaign caught my eye as an alternate way to advertise books to today's consumer who lives a hectic, fast-paced life with little time to spare. Many people simply use the excuse they haven't the time to read so Penguin have positioned themselves, and their books, as an escape for those times in the day when you have to wait and have ten minutes to spare.

I found the art direction interesting here but question it's effectiveness - the shots are visually interesting and have a clear line of communication, 'these people are bored and waiting' but is the first thing you, as the audience notice, the book?

Will Perrens

2007-08-20T09:20:00.000-07:00

Portfolio site I came across for London based designer Will Perrens displaying some interesting and fresh typography work.
Example above was for Brighton University's Fashion Degree Show - I liked the fact Perrens has taken the staple material of the subject - fabric and used this to create a unique typeface. The three-dimensional textural interest this adds to the publication's front cover is intriguing and suitable for the creativity and flair a graduate Fashion degree show would display.

Interesting typography project that used thin tape and a rectangle structure to create the characters. Although the typeface is visually interesting as a typeface, I found Perrens application within a project for a CD music album even more effective; I liked the approach he had taken to incorporate the structure of each character from horizontal and vertical pieces of tape into the design itself - click here to see project.

The typeface below 'Drift' won Will Perrens a D&AD "New Blood' Award in '04. I particularly like the individual nature of each character and the fact each letter feels hand-drawn and spontaneous yet the characters also compliment each other as a complete typeface family. The attention to detail here is, what I think, makes it an eye-catching typeface.

'Cradle to Cradle' Design

2007-08-20T09:04:00.000-07:00

In relation to the growing topic of designing sustainably, one approach designers can take is to consider the complete lifecycle of the final product when approaching a problem. By considering not only the design process from research and concept to final execution, but the complete process, often refered to as 'cradle to grave' from the initial raw materials right through to how the product is disposed of at the end of it's 'life', the designer can ensure he/she has a much more positive impact on the planet. Furthermore, the design industries are beginning to approach designs with a 'cradle to cradle' lifecycle, meaning the designer considers how the product can be reused/recycled as something else to continue it's 'life'.

Two such quirky attempts from Dutch design company Atelier Bom Design , illustrate the 'cradle to cradle' approach in use. The first example uses recycled billboards to create bird houses for the garden; I like the fact the billboard and bird house having nothing in common yet one has been used to make the other - by using the old billboards, the designer has created a far more unusual, eye-catching bird house that couldn't been achieved with plywood.

The lampshades (above) have taken recycling in it's most literal sense by using old books to create handcrafted lights that are both environmentally friendly and aesthetically appealing.

Both these examples illustrate how approaching projects using 'cradle to cradle' principles can encourage creative outcomes. By adopting this new way of 'thinking' designers are not limiting their options, but opening up new avenues to explore particularly in terms of materials and form/function.

Crush

2007-08-18T04:32:00.000-07:00

Crush - A design and art direction agency based in Brighton I recently came across who deal with all areas of print, identity and web-based design. The studio started in the music industry and now deal with a range of clients, mostly within the cultural sectors.

Site is worth a browse through and I think, an example of presenting a portfolio of work well online. The studio does also run a student placement scheme.

The Greening of Illustration & Design

2007-08-18T04:07:00.000-07:00

What role does the designer have in climate control and changing the way we live in the future? A question that seems to be asked with increasing frequency within the design industry. For anyone interested in this emerging area of design this event in September may be of interest and includes speakers from one of the UK's leading sustainable design studios thomas.matthews and the Design Council.

Bullet Lights

2007-08-18T03:52:00.000-07:00

I recently came across a blog examining the architectural consequences of war and conflict - Unbuilt.

It looks to examine ways and share ideas as to how to revive a city/land after, or still in conflict. One entry that stood out was to address the presence of bullet holes in many of the buildings in Beirut; the concept looked to address the holes from a different perspective by replacing them with lights and reverse their meanings - for me when you see the building lit up this way it conveys a sense of hope, of looking forward and of a positive future.

Realistically this would not be viable in so many of the war-torn areas around the globe where people are struggling for necessities. However, as an approach to a memorial, this could provide a far more captivating outcome than some of today's current symbolic representations. Although following conflict and destruction we look at ways to repair and rebuild the lives of those affected, perhaps preserving something like this as a memory to those who suffered would be an idea.

Forget the Films, Watch the Titles

2007-08-18T03:17:00.000-07:00

Title sequences can, and should, be much more than a series of credit titles and if approached creatively, set the narrative scene for the film to follow. Many studios invest so much time, money and creativity into these opening sequences, that they become masterpieces in their own right. Dutch media platform Submarine Channel has begun to collate an online archive of the best title sequences, and although some of the best are yet to be included due to copyright issues, there are some great examples.

Some of my favourites include Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events directed by Jamie Caliri. I really liked the style of illustration used for this title sequence and the art direction ensured the sequence moved smoothly from one frame to another, keeping the audiences' attention for it's entirity.

The Number 23, directed by Michelle Dougherty is a good example of using a title sequence to set the scene for the film and to offer the audience a background to the film's narrative plot. This opening sequence is based entirely on type and graphics but is arresting and draws the audience into the thinking behind the film; ' "We wanted to tell a bit of the story of how the number 23 is a recurring number throughout history" says title director Michelle Dougherty.
"I wanted people to feel a little uncomfortable. By creating tension with the titles, you understand that this is not going to be a tame movie".

This is a really interesting area of design as the need for creative, visually communicative concepts for title sequences is continuous and new approaches are always craved. For anyone interested in illustration, animation, moving image etc the site is a great source of inspiration and reference, well worth a browse through the various collections.

Ranch

2007-08-18T02:50:00.000-07:00

Ranch - London based design studio specialising in branding, print and web design. Recent work includes some nice print-based design including examples from several films. Ranch also approaches it work with an ethical frame of mind, resulting in some of it's work being for charitable or none profit organisations, including ActionAid.

The studio has also begun to embrace sustainable design and explore how design can reduce it's impact both environmentally, economically and socially. The project below for SEP (Sustainable Education Project) is an 'all in one' promotional mailer - an information leaflet, with detachable business cards and bookmark, from one sheet of stock instead of several. A simple but encouraging example of designers looking to maximise the use and life-cycle of everything they design and produce.

Nationwide Ad

2007-08-17T11:26:00.000-07:00

Advertising Agency: TM Advertising: Irving, Texas, USA
Creative Director: Leigh Sander; Art Director: Judd Oberly
Copywriter: Michael Page; Photographer: Andy Mahr.

I came across this advertising installation, initially attracted to it by the paint spilling down the building and onto the cars and pavements of Colombus building in Ohio; I thought it was advertising paint - perhaps highlighting the vivid colour or covering ability of the 'Coops' paint range. However, I since realised it was advertising the financial and insurance services of Nationwide and Coops paint is infact a fictional brand - I then began to question the success of this advertisment. Yes it does grab attention and people would of stopped and stared at it but I personally don't feel the communication is particularly strong or coherent, the link between the spilt paint, the strapline 'life comes at you fast' and Nationwide isn't clear. A great visual execution but the concept behind it just isnt strong enough.

Illustration

2007-08-15T01:14:00.000-07:00

Recently graduated illustrator I came across on another site - Chris Dent. His work mainly explores his fascination in all forms of buildings, cities and street culture.

He works straight onto paper with pen, avoiding the use of pencil and ruler constructions beforehand which gives his work a more creative, spontaneous feel.

'Heart', a London/New York based illustration collective which is well worth a flick through if you are interested in illustration. Contains the work of over thirty illustrators, in a variety of wide and contrasting styles, mediums and subjects.

Calendar

2007-08-15T00:57:00.000-07:00

A self-published calendar from graphic designer Noa Bembibre. Just a fun, unique piece of work that really caught my eye and intrigued me when I read 'Cats Let Nothing Darken Their Roar' and was completely confused. I cant find any other information about the project so not too sure where the inspiration/concept came from.

City Of God / Cidade de Deus (2002)

2007-08-14T09:23:00.000-07:00

A contemporary Brazilian film from director Fernando Meirelles, based on a true story that explores life in the lower-class quarters of the notorious city, Rio de Janerio. The film, adapted from the earlier novel by Paulo Lins, tells the parallel life stories of two boys, Rocket and L'il Dice, over a twenty-plus year period. Although they both grow up amongst the violence of the 'city of god', each takes a different path, which cross at several points.

It is a powerful and haunting film that takes the audience right into the streets of the 'City of God' housing project in Rio de Janerio, exploring it's stories and shocking way of life. I found the film incredibly impacting and a lot of this is owed to the direction, narrative and cinematic techniques employed. As is Lins book, the film employs an effective structure that allows the different periods in time to be effortlessly weaved together. Meirelles employs several succesful cinematic techniques including the use of split screen, accelerated movement and rewinding the action, all of which ensure effective communication of the narrative and add to the tension and impact of the film. The grainy, sun-drenched camera work only adds further to the film's atmosphere.

The opening sequence (above) is impacting and memorable. Knives are sharpened on stone, vegetables chopped by knives, a chicken loses its head, the feathers are plucked, the guitars strum and the mood is set. The relevance of this scence and it's consequence is not realised until the end of the film - Meirelles has kept the narrative structure of City of God similar throughout as the film flicks between the 60's and 80's, back and forward in time, with the two parallel stories crossing and coliding at several points.

Although, whilst the narrative does revolve around the two men, the film tells the stories of many others who are all interconnected, providing a deeply engaging plot. It is the exploration of the other characters that gives us, the audience, a greater insight and understanding of life in the slums of Rio de Janerio, of the events that happen, why the characters behave as they do and indeed, offers an examination of human behaviour.

By delving below the surface of this story, Meirelles has produced a powerful and thrilling film that takes us down the alley of cruel reality with technical prowess that conveys the place, the events and the people that are within it.

I Used To Be...

2007-08-14T09:07:00.001-07:00

I think these products have been around for quite a few years, but are quirky, functional and raise awareness of the possibilities of recycling. The 'I used to be...' range from the UK-based company Remarkable, takes everyday items that we dispose of on a daily basis and turns them into other useful and usable items through the processes of recycling.

The company states 'by highlighting what an item was in its previous life, we feel we are showing what can be made with UK waste - that we are generating a positive interest in recycling and environmental issues. Using the fascination of what an item once was is a new and fun way of communicating the recycled message' (Remarkable) and I think this is a valid idea. I seem to remember seeing something similar when I was younger that claimed to be made out of a tyre and was intrigued as to how it could of possibly happened.

The products are a great way of raising awareness as to the possibilities of recycling, particularly with children, as they will be fascinated by the fact their notebook was made from a plastic cup. The company seem to of only pushed the idea in the direction of stationary items over the last ten years but I see potential for it to go much further; it would be interesting to see if there were any similar projects / companies working in areas such as furniture and product design or fashion for example. The idea of having something new made from something else is a great way to highlight the recycling process and it wouldnt neccessarily need to be stamped across the front of the product as it is here, a label in a piece of clothing or on furniture packaging may be all it needs - its the unique-ness of the product and intrigue as to how it was 'changed' that grabs peoples' attention. And whats more, design has advanced so much, there would be no need for items such as clothing or furniture to lose their aesthetic appeal - the use of more unusual materials.

Diesel-Global Warming Ready Campaign

2007-08-14T03:59:00.000-07:00

Recent campaign for clothing brand Diesel, by Paris-based agency Marcel, has been surrounded by a fair amount of discussion as to the use of such images.

Campaign which included the printed ad's above and a moving image piece following a similar concept, was for Diesel's current Summer '07 collection and bears the strapline 'Global Warming Ready'. As it could be expected there has been alot of talk surrounding the 'correctness' of the company producing advertisements such as this just to sell their clothes, with interesting points being raised on both sides.

Diesel has, on one hand, used a very current issue that already has a high level of awareness surrounding it, to attract the audiences' attention; the line 'global warming ready' was argued by the brand to communicate a positive message both about the company itself and it's consumers - they are ready to approach and deal with the subject of global warming.

However some argued Diesel is exploiting the issue of global warming for advertising and business purposes. The artwork and creative direction is innovative and unique - by using recognisable locations/landmarks but changing their appearances to suggest the effects of global warming on the planet, striking, eye-catching images have been created. It attracts the audiences' attention and offers an 'eye-opener' as to what may happen if we don't take action yet by using these shocking images, Diesel's main priority is to increase brand awareness and sales - is this morally correct?

The brand is raising awareness of an important issue impending on our future and the Diesel demographic may be one group of society that really needs such a wake up call. But by associating such a serious issue with the likes of fashion, materialism and our consumer culture, the campaign seems to soften it. The campaign is impacting yes, but if we are continuously exposed to issues in such a context, will they still remain as serious to us? Instead, perhaps Diesel should focus on how the company and it's consumers can decrease their impact upon the planet.

10 Ways - Getty Images

2007-08-13T08:56:00.000-07:00

Interesting project from Getty Images that involves the collaboration between Getty Images and five leading designers to explore what makes visual language so powerful and where it can take us - the project is titled Ten Ways.

I found Information, by Sumona is a interesting exploration of photographs and the details within them. 'From its content to its visual components, a photograph is filled with information. Choose a point on an image and delve deeper into it, linking one idea to another in a never-ending chain' (Ten Ways). As you click on a point in a photograph, you are drawn deeper into the photograph where you see other images that are making up the photograph - there isn't any logic or particular clear relationship between the images as to why one image is made up from the particular smaller images but still, a stimulating visual experience.

Space explores the concept of three dimension and how this adds to our understanding and response to an image. Tomato offer two interesting projects looking at our responses to images and Emotion explores our emotional mindset and responses to images, comparing it to others around the world - extending the interactive experience.

Greatworks Time project explores how a single image records a single second of time and by combining several images we can communicate a message. I think this project was the one with the most potential and scope for development into a whole interactive experience.

Ten Ways provides a collection of work that offers some refreshing, if slightly under-developed, new approaches to online interactive experiences. Image is a powerful medium and one of upper-most importance within an online experience as it is the main communicator; these projects put forward some new ideas about how we interact with images and could provide a great source of inspiration for new interactive projects. Although some of the projects seem a little 'small' and unambitious, the work is unusual and could offer some interesting starting points.

Illustration - Luke Best

2007-08-13T08:37:00.000-07:00

I came across this illustrator after he produced some work for the V&A museum in London that I picked up. Luke Best is part of the illustration collective Peepshow and has worked with clients such as the V&A, MTV, The Guardian and Diesel Jeans. 'Cut out bits of paper, fragmented drawings and other elements are used to create work that celebrates the unseen and find magic in the everyday. By avoiding a specific way of working Lukes output takes on a diverse range of formats including video,animation, self published books, designing t-shirts and making home-made spacesuits' (www.lukebest.com).

His work has a lovely quality to it and it was his skill and approach to colour that first drew my attention to his work. I like the way his work has a similar feel to it without being repetitive or looking 'mass produced'. His use of cut out bits of paper and collage methods makes the work feel hand-crafted and luxurious, an abstract approach to composition and perspective lends itself well to the slightly disjointed feel of the collages. It's great to see his work has explored the potential of animation, and the nature of his illustrative style perfectly suits this medium - this offers some inspiration and ideas for those interested in animation without using illustrator to generate the initial images.

James Goggin / Sara De Bondt

2007-08-13T07:35:00.000-07:00

Two London-based graphic designers who both work alone, Goggin for his studio - Practice, and Sara De Bondt from Belgium who runs her own studio, and also collaborate.

I liked some of Goggin's work (shown above) - his style has a crisp, clean simplicity about it whilst still containing enough components to attract attention. His approach to composition is I feel a major strenght of his work and what makes many of the pieces successful. Alot of his work is for editorial, book and music-sleeve formats, so almost entirely print-based but he approachs these everyday formats differently everytime and offers some refreshing outcomes for books accompanying arts exhibitions inparticular.

Sara De Bondt's site also offers another refreshing set of graphic work, again mainly print-based. She has worked for some bigger clients including Channel 4, Big Brother and Jamie Oliver.

Her bookends made from discarded print matter offer a quirky alternate to the standard book end (shown above). I particularly liked her childrens illustrations for the book 'The Boy Who Always Looked Up and her poster for artist Ryan Gander, depicting the moon's changing shape - this piece explores using paper to create a 3D / sculputural element to her work by creating the moon shapes with cut outs.

Browsing through sites such as these is a great source of inspiration and often provides encounters with the more quirky, experimental work within the industry - I think it is really important we are aware of individual artists and small studios just as much as the large industry figures as inspiration, ideas and new trends can appear from anywhere. Both sites are worth a look and provide a series of links to other design-related sites to explore.

Studio MIKMIK

2007-08-13T07:04:00.000-07:00

Yorkshire based graphic design studio created just over a year ago with a strong focus upon producing sustainable design solutions. I came across Studio MIKMIK, which is the work of designer/illustrator Michael Lewis whilst looking for examples of sustainable graphic design practice; apart from the fact that this is another designer who has begun to include environmental considerations in his approach to projects, there are some nice examples of more illustrative approaches to graphic design.

Doodle

2007-08-11T12:19:00.000-07:00

TV and Cinema commercial for The Samaritans organisation by Lunar BBDO London and Therapy Films.

This was aired nearly a year ago, but I was recently reminded of it again - it really stood out to me at the time as a piece of work that perfectly captured the emotions and mindset of the audience The Samaritans are trying to reach. Tone of voice created through the choice of music and the style of animation chosen creates an arresting piece of work that attracts and holds your attention, creating a 'brand awareness' within both an audience that may need support and an audience that make offer support through donations or voluntary work.

Well worth a watch just for the excellent animation if nothing else. One of the people who worked on this commercial was three years above me at school, so it just goes to show the work we could be producing in a few years time if we are prepared to put in the time and effort.

United Visual Artists

2007-08-11T10:41:00.001-07:00

UVA- United Visual Artists is a London-based company with an approach to project's that combines the disciplines of art direction, production design and software engineering; 'our philosophy is to tightly integrate these elements to deliver real-time, immersive and responsive experiences' (UVA).

Over the last year they have completed some interesting projects for a wide range of client's including the V&A (shown above), Tate Modern, Massive Attack, The Arctic Monkeys, BMW and Adidas. Installations, visual displays and interactive exhibitions area another area of visual communication that is fastly expanding, particularly with the advances in digital media and represent another area of the industry a designer could work in.

Echo, Tate Modern - An interesting conceptual piece which was performed live at the Tate Modern - a live 'movement' routine was performed which was 'echoed' by a digital representation of the live performance - I found the exploration of the relationship between human and computer-generated movement interesting within this project.

There is an interesting and varied set of work on the UVA site that is well worth a look through if just to have an awareness of another agency and indeed area, of the visual communications industry.

Universe

2007-08-10T08:10:00.000-07:00

Universe - Revealing Our Modern Mythology, another project from Jonathan Harris whose work I have previously posted. After looking at his We Feel Fine and Ten By Ten projects, I came across his latest interactive experiment.

The above video is of Jonathan Harris talking about his work in March 2007 at a conference; the clip covers his inspiration, motivations and interests for his work and his explains his projects We Feel Fine, Time Capsule and premieres his new project Universe. A really interesting insight into the artist's work, his reasoning behind the project and a good demonstration of how all three projects 'work'.

Universe, was inspired both the consellations of the night sky; Harris looked at how humans in the past have used the sky as a way of telling stories and questioned, if we could make new consellations today, what would they be like. The project uses the metaphor of an interactive night sky, where each star represents a specific event in the real world, a quote, an image, a news story etc.

By watching the video posted above, the last ten minutes explain the project far better than I ever will. It is well worth giving some time to this project, watching the video and then exploring the Universe site as there is far more thinking and depth behind it than it first appears. This has really opened my eyes to the extent to which a relationship between the web and our lives can be developed. Harris seems to have a real fascination with exploring how we can record and explore the events of our everyday lives. For me, his projects also offer new ways of creating memories of the past - ways that in the 'digital era' can replace diaries and photo albums but that can still remain with us, just not in a material sense.

Volkswagen

2007-08-10T07:56:00.001-07:00

A recent direct mail campaign I came across from Volkswagen to promote the launch of a new convertible car. Potential customers were posted a promotional pack containing three large size posters of 'sky scenes' and the instructions to wind down their windows and stick the posters upon their car ceilings to stimulate the feeling of driving in an open top car.

How many people actually bothered to go and stick the posters in the cars I am dubious of however it is a witty attempt at stimulating the feeling of freedom driving without being enclosed and the 'exotic sky' images can only of created desire for the experience. The campaign raised awareness of the product and created a desire as the percentage of test drives undertaken on the new model increased.

Don't Drink and Drive

2007-08-10T07:45:00.000-07:00

Agency: Ogilvy & Mather, Frankfurt am Main, Germany
Art Director: Christian Mommertz
Copywriter: Stephan Vogel
Photographer: Joachim Bacherl

After my previous post I came across another attempt to communicate the dangers of drink driving. Again this advertisement for an ambulance service places emphasis upon the repercussions of drink driving with the hope that the 'shock factor' will deter people from drink driving. The collage of images makes you stop and read it in order to understand it so in this sense it is effective; by using the letters from various alcoholic drink packaging it makes an effective visual link between a can of beer and 'skull fracture'.

Drink Driving

2007-08-10T03:55:00.000-07:00

Finding new ways to communicate public initiatives such as 'drink driving' will always be important to maintain a high level of awareness within society. The example above was created for the Mumbai Traffic Police in India by an Indian agency, Contract, a few months ago.

The coasters were printed using a special invisible red ink, which spreads only when moist; they were placed in prominent bars and when a member of the public placed their cold glass upon one, the red ink started to spread and the face starts to bleed. This is a great example of a concept that really creates a talking point - people will notice it and point it out to others, its memorable and attention grabbing , which is one way by which the campaign is effective. A new take on an existing effective approach - showing the repercussions of drink driving to hit the audience hard.

Fifty Two Weeks

2007-08-10T01:57:00.000-07:00

Another 'visual experiment' exploring how we can use photographs to record and remember our lives and specfic points in time. Fifty Two Weeks is an ongoing collaborative project between a group of designers in London - every week, for fifty two weeks, each one of them upoads a photograph that defines a memory from that week.

This kind of archiving images as a record of our lives seems to of become 'of the time'; this isnt the most conceptually or visually developed/sophisticated site by any means but it is fascinating to see the memories of others and how and what they have chosen to record - by collaborating like this a comparison of lives and images is made. There are some good and some not so good images, but it's good to browse through to observe how this group has used to camera to record their everyday movements.

Good Or Bad?

2007-08-09T12:35:00.000-07:00

Good: An Introduction to Ethics in Graphic Design, Lucienne Roberts

Recently finished reading Good by well-known design writer Lucienne Roberts, which explores the notion of 'good design', and if in fact you can be 'bad' good designer or a good 'bad designer', and if so, which is preferable? The book approaches the relationship between ethics and graphic design, of which there has been little written about, and explores it at times, in heavy detail. Despite several manifestos and calls for graphic designers to be 'good', the industry as a whole is still trying to define exactly what this may be - Roberts attempts to offer the designer some insight into how to approach this subject as part of the design process.

I found areas of the book interesting and thought-provoking - Roberts interviews several individuals who do not have a career directly in the creative industry but offer different perspectives on what being ‘good’ is in ethical terms and how we, as designers may apply this to our practice. At times, it is heavy going, Roberts introduces philosophical theories and I felt sometimes, begins to drift off course as to what she was trying to achieve, but other sections made up for it. The final section, which explored an initiative by design consultancy A420, who created 'Sustainability Issues Mapping' - a way by which to help designers approach the issue of sustainability in their projects. This was a really interesting concept and when you explore the issues raised in the map (included in the book) it begins to raise your awareness of the ever-increasing number of them a designer in industry must consider.

It isn’t a light read but it is an interesting, inspiring and evocative source of information, opinion and perspective. For anyone with an interest in graphic design and it's relationship to society, ethics, responsibilities as a designer, sustainability and eco-design it is a vital text - this is an area that may not interest everybody but one that, only a flick through the latest advertisements will confirm, is of rising importance to clients and businesses, and on a wider scale, society. Designers have the power to inform and induce change, and as the next generation of designers, it will be our responsibility to do so.

Icoon

2007-08-09T07:43:00.000-07:00

For me, this is the perfect illustration of the phrase 'a picture's worth a thousand words' - Icoon, a wordless universal phrase book, recently published in Germany.

This small book divides essential everyday symbols into twelve different catagories so 'regardless of whether you need a toothbrush, safety pin or swimming trunks, want to explain hayfever without using words, ask how to chagne money or are trying to rustle up a replacement battery for your camera's light meter, Icoon speaks the world's most universal language: pictures' (Icoon).

I spotted this in a bookshop and just thought it was a great idea - the book is small, light and easy to use, with simple illustrations that are easy to understand and recognise. I guess some people may argue there is no need for such an item as English is becoming an increasingly Universal language; but there are still so many times when you are abroad or in an unfamiliar situation and communication becomes a barrier - Icoon illustrates how visual communication can be used as a tool to solve communication problems. Its a quirky, fun idea but also a great concept, with a use and a solution to an everyday problem.

Mixtacity

2007-08-08T03:50:00.001-07:00

Mixtacity, a commissioned installation by Nigel Coates, which explores the Thames Gateway's (an area stretching 40 miles eastwards down both sides of the River Thames) 'potential to accomodate the complex range of cultures, ethnic ties and lifestyle choices of its future inhabitants' (Global Cities), which is currently displayed at the Global Cities exhibition.

Displayed in a giant 'L', the model, the project is driven by artistic spirit and a sense of playfulness whilst looking to raise some serious issues - 160,000 new homes are planned for this area, how will change the architecture of the city and how can one area accomodate some many different people and lifestyles. The model is built from biscuits, razor blades, minature tvs, sweets and various other bric-a-brac to illustrate Coates vision for the area - an exotic terrain where difference and individuality is purposefully expressed. From a purely aesthetic point of view, this was a creative and truely individual response to the problem, and I really liked the choice of mixed media to reflect an area that accomodates the diversity of London's inhabitants.

Interestingly, Zaha Hadid offers a polar opposite answer to the problem - her scheme proposed a series of individual buildings that forms one unbroken wave, so essentially one building that covers the whole of the gateway area. Very futuristic, visually stunning but it's practicality is arguable. However, seeing these two very different responses is an interesting experience and one that raises a question the Global Cities exhibition looks to answer - can design improve our cities and if so, how?

Global Cities

2007-08-08T02:31:00.000-07:00

Global Cities was one of the most visually powerful and thought-provoking exhibitions I have seen over the last few years - currently exhibiting at the Tate Modern until August 27th, Global Cities explores the urban environments more than 50% of the earth's population inhabit. Through five thematic areas - size, speed, form, density and diversity, the exhibition explores ten of the largest, most dynamic cities across our globe - Cairo, Istanbul, Johannesburg, London, LA, Mexico City, Mumbai, Sao Paulo, Shanghai and Tokyo, through facts, data comparison and visual representations alongside the work of established artists who came from, or formed a relationship with one of the cities.

This was a really interesting graphical representation of the built up/open spaces in each of the ten cities; from a birds-eye photograph of part of the city, a black and white image was created - black representing built up areas and white, open space. Shown above, Mumbai and Sao Paulo - when comparing this to the representation of London, you could see just how packed these urban spaces were in comparison to our capital - visually this was particularly effective.

I thought this area of the exhibition was another innovative approach to presenting what could be relatively boring information to the general public; four models represented, each to the same scale, the number of people living within the boundaries of four of the cities, the peaks indicating the highest residential densities. This ranged from the high-density of Cairo and Mumbai, to the more dispersed London and sprawling Mexico City. Just one example from the exhibition that illustrates how design and visual communication can play an important and innovative role in the presentation of numerical and fact based information that would otherwise be viewed as mundane.

Apart from the facts and fugures, the exhibition also contains a large selection of photography, film and commisions from a wide-range of practioners that explore different aspects of these urban landscapes.

The Global Cities exhibition, designed by Pentagram, has been built from a material synonymous with urban areas and our ever-growing cities - scaffolding. This complimented the atmosphere of the exhibition and it's visual presence in the large hall area was just one ingredient that made this exhibition so impacting. Furthermore, the design of the info-graphics throughout the exhibition was excellent; an industrial-style typeface was designed for the exhibition, the graphics were simple and clean, almost in stark contrast to some of the photography presented, and the use of typography throughout was eye-catching and impacting.

With 2007 being the first time one in two people in the world are living within a city, this exhibition is extremely relevant to us all. It offers a mix of powerful, thought-provoking information about the way we live and the future of city environments and an in-sight into the relationships of artists, photographers and film-makers with these unique spaces on earth. Well worth a visit.

BAD - Best of African Design

2007-08-07T15:15:00.000-07:00

A small but rich and colourful exhibition currently being shown at the Oxo Building on the South Bank - BAD, the best of African design. On until the 26th August, the exhibition explores Zulu culture, South Africa's largest single ethnic group, through the work of top artists and designers from the region in and around the city of Durban. Work included linocuts from William Zulu, an artist well-known for his evocative work, intricate copper sculptures from Lindelani Ngwenya and weaves from telephone wires by Alice Gcaba, Joyce Mkhize, and Simon Mavundla.

For free, this exhibition offers an insight and exploration into the modern day life in Zulu culture, the issues it's people face and the surprises it has to offer. A fantastically colourful and evocative mix of art, sculpture, photography and design from up and coming artists that gives us the opportunity to comes into contact with the creative arts in another area of the world - It's great to see such an exhibition in London giving it's cultural diversity.

Walker Without Walls

2007-08-07T15:14:00.001-07:00

The Walker Art Centre in Minneapolis closed and it's assorted exhibitions where transported to other venues around the city - the problem, how to tell people where everything has moved to and how to get people to visit these temporary venues.

I came across this project in an article from Print, that was exploring the relationships between businesses and graphic design. Primarily the project appealed to me because of the slightly unconventional brief - the gallery spaces were being temporarily moved to other areas of the city whilst renovation work was completed but how does the Walker Art Centre insure people still visit the exhibitions. The designers looked at overlaying information onto already existing letterheads, a calendar and postcards which reflected the temporary nature of the gallery's exhibitions at this time - signage, mapping and board games were also explored as ways by which a graphic representation of where a particular exhibition was temporarily located could be depicted. The result, 'the kit of parts—curves, arrowheads, bubbles—can be adapted in infinite configurations' (Print) formed a system, a graphic system that could be applied to anything from 'from event schedules, billboards, and bus stop shelters to ice cream trucks, T-shirts, print ads, postcards, websites, and even sidewalk spray stencils' (Print), whatever and wherever suited that particular exhibition.

I think part of the project's success lies in the flexibility of the graphic system, giving the designer endless opportunities as to how to advertise, direct to, raise awareness of or communicate information about the Walker Art Centre. Visually, the work gives a strong sense of a brand identity and there is an excellent sense of coherence throughout the work. Furthermore, this was a great way by which the awareness of art and of the art gallery itself was increased around the city.

Heatherwick Studio

2007-08-03T03:08:00.000-07:00

Heatherwick Studio, formed by Thomas Heatherwick in '94, 'exists to create unique design projects' and has produced work in the fields of sculpture, architecture, product and exhibition design. One of the most recognised projects from Heatherwick was in '97 at Harvey Nichols in London to celebrate London Fashion Week.

The work of Heatherwick interests me as I am intrigue by the innovative ways they respond to the environments the worked is created for. The installation for Harvey Nichols was visually impacting and pushed the barriers of 'window dressing' to the extreme. The monument for the Commonwealth Games in Manchester - B for the Bang, was another interesting concept - the idea addressed the physical explosion of energy competitive sport created rather than the peace and harmony an international sporting event promoted. Heatherwick's approach to projects and development of concepts that are 'against the grain' is I think, what I find inspiring about this work - it demonstrates that thinking in different ways brings innovative results and is an approach that can be applied to any area of design.

AIDS Awareness Campaign - France

2007-08-03T02:16:00.000-07:00

Recently launched campaign in France based around an interactive website targetting teenagers to raise the awareness of contracting AIDs over the Summer months activities. 'touteslesrencontressontpossibles' (all possible encounters) was mentioned to me by a friend who recently worked in France as an au pair and I since found it online.

The site was produced by a French interactive communication agency, X-Prime and explores typical summer situations and how teens should 'stay safe'. Once you have made a few guesses at some of the French, the site is relatively easy to navigate and you can follow through various narratives (the beach, the disco) and what you should do when you get into such situations.

I found the visual style and graphics of the site particularly apt for the target audience and felt the tone of voice and execution suited both the subject and intended market. Although covering the serious topic, some of the animations/scenes are amusing; it would be interesting to hear back from the target market, whether they just found it funny or did engage with any of the information provided.

Using the Internet to promote awareness of taboo issues such as AID's has an incredibley powerful potential. One comment on the French site believed it to be the first website built to promote the awareness fo AID's. STI's and AID's are difficult issues to communicate, especially to younger audiences - in order to make an impact, it has to be serious and hard hitting, but to engage and hold their attention, it must appeal. 'Toutes Les Recontres Sont Possibles' makes a valid attempt to get teenages aware of the issues and I'm sure, provides a talking point, which initially, will get people discussing the issue.

Jonathan Yuen

2007-08-03T01:51:00.000-07:00

Visually, a beautifully designed site for multi-disciplinary graphic designer Jonathan Yuen, which , over the last twelve months has won several awards for its animation/motion graphics and it's visual design/aesthetics.

Visually, it is fascinating to watch the animation as shapes change and form new images that relate to his personal 'visual narrative'-his approach and philosophy to design. The level on interaction is simple, users can click on certain points which reveal part of his narrative and then from there about himself and his portfolio; furthermore, Yuen's site is, a good example of a designer using their online portfolio to give an impression of themselves - there are personal touches to the website so you, as an audience, being to understand what makes Yuen 'tick'.

It's a fascinating site to explore and as you twist and turn through the site's clever navigational structure your attention is held and you become immersed in the images and animation, keeping you exploring the site and his work for far more than a couple of minutes.

Rhythm Of Lines - Audi

2007-08-02T04:03:00.000-07:00

A new promotional site for the Audi A5 I came across recently entitled - Rhythm of Lines.

Another example of an innovative viral marketing campaign - inspired by the lines of the A5 car, the site lets the user create their own 'rhythm of lines' using keyboard and mouse controls to the soundtrack (Rhythm of Lines by Dustin O'Halloran - Prelude 2), and also view the creations of others in a gallery. Only works successfully if you have a good Internet connection and it takes a while to get the hang of controlling it; it's an innovative interactive gimmick that Im sure will get posted online, emailed and passed around but I do wonder how many potential Audi buyers are going to fiddle on this site, trying to create a 'Rhythm of Lines' for themselves.

Martin Vallin Photography

2007-08-02T02:57:00.000-07:00

Swedish-based fashion photographer based in Stockholm who shoots for Swedish and some International fashion publications. Vallin's work appealed to me as it has a lovely ambience about it and a real sense of creative fun. Apart from editorial photography, Vallin produces alot of collage and montage work - I found this area of his work really interesting, his ability to work multiple images into one montage has produced some unusual outcomes.

For his portfolio site - click here

A2/SW/HK

2007-08-02T02:35:00.000-07:00

A2/SW/HK - Design studio based in London who have had a fair amount of work published and collected several awards over the last couple of years.

Their work includes the exhibition design for the Turner Prize at the Tate (shown above), Penguin Books, ISTD, Royal Mail, Afterall Magazine and Phaidon to name a few. Their portfolio site isnt brillant, it doesnt show-off their work to it's full potential and it's hard to see as everything is on one page. Nonetheless, for anyone with an interest in typography and editorial design inparticular there is some good work here; I found their work with typography particularly interesting, they produce alot of custom type and have a strong Swiss influence within their work.

10x10

2007-08-01T03:42:00.000-07:00

After exploring WeFeelFine in my previous post by Jonathan Harris I came across another interactive project he had produced - 10x10.

"10x10™ ('ten by ten') is an interactive exploration of the words and pictures that define the time. The result is an often moving, sometimes shocking, occasionally frivolous, but always fitting snapshot of our world. Every hour, 10x10 collects the 100 words and pictures that matter most on a global scale, and presents them as a single image, taken to encapsulate that moment in time. Over the course of days, months, and years, 10x10 leaves a trail of these hourly statements which, stitched together side by side, form a continuous patchwork tapestry of human life "

By collecting the images that relate to the most used words within our news and current affairs coverage of a particular hour, of a particular day, month and year, 10x10 is forming a constantly changing record of our times without any human input. It also records at the end of each day, month and year, the most prominent 100 words/images that represent that period in time - a new way by which to record our history. By clicking on individual images or the word linked to them, you have a visual record of the news stories that are associated with the image that can be accessed long after the story was in the headlines.

One thing that struck me whilst exploring 10x10 was that for the 100 images for 1st Aug at 11am, almost all the words had negative associations - Iraq, military, Baghdad, Darfur, police, fires, death, Jordan, bomb, judge to name a few. Perhaps there is a way an online site like this could start to raise the general publics awareness of global problems.

However, it was interesting to see a concept like this online - 10x10, a collection of images that represent a certain time in our history, a couple of years ago may have been printed in a newspaper supplement, on a poster or in a magazine, whereas now records of the everyday events of our world can advance to new forms online where they will be accessible long after any printed record has been thrown in the bin.

We Feel Fine

2007-08-01T02:59:00.000-07:00

It seems the idea of finding ways to explore the relationship between people and the Internet is ever increasing on a daily basis. I came across this experiment - We Feel Fine, from two artists Jonathan Harris and Sep Kamvar from the US - it is an exploration of human emotion on a global scale.

The project "has been harvesting human feelings from a large number of weblogs. Every few minutes, the system searches the world's newly posted blog entries for occurrences of the phrases "I feel" and "I am feeling". When it finds such a phrase, it records the full sentence, up to the period, and identifies the "feeling" expressed in that sentence (e.g. sad, happy, depressed, etc.). Because blogs are structured in largely standard ways, the age, gender, and geographical location of the author can often be extracted and saved along with the sentence, as can the local weather conditions at the time the sentence was written. All of this information is saved" (WeFeelFine)

From saving this data, which is increased by 15000-20000 new feelings every day, the interface allows the user to explore these 'stored' human emotions. Each particle represents one feeling, the colour, size, shape and opacity indicative of the nature of the feeling inside and by clicking on any one you reveal the feeling inside from someone, somewhere around the world. Furthermore, the program allows you to 'sort the feelings by age, sex, weather, type of feeling etc to generate certain pictures of human emotion.

What I found particularly interesting was the idea you could explore the 'feelings' the database had gathered through six areas titled Madness, Murmurs, Montage, Mobs, Metrics, and Mounds. Also "using a series of playful interfaces, the feelings can be searched and sorted across a number of demographic slices, offering responses to specific questions like: do Europeans feel sad more often than Americans? Do women feel fat more often than men? Does rainy weather affect how we feel? What are the most representative feelings of female New Yorkers in their 20s? What do people feel right now in Baghdad? What were people feeling on Valentine's Day? Which are the happiest cities in the world? The saddest? And so on"

This online exploration offers a fascinating insight into human emotion and our increasing relationship with the computer/internet as a way of expressing our feelings. I found it intriguing to explore how people used the internet to express both happy emotions but also worries, problems, guilt and secrets - perhaps it is the appeal of anonymity of yourself and of those who read it. Interaction between humans and the Internet on this level is only set to increase as it becomes more and more integrated into everything we do; as designers we should be aware of how humans use the internet for personal needs and look at ways to respond to this to enhance experiences.

Checkland Kindleysides

2007-08-01T01:58:00.000-07:00

Portfolio site I came across for design studio Checkland Kindleysides who have done work for the likes of Levis, Timberland and Thorntons.

The site is simple in it's design but there are some lovely bits of animation and I particularly liked the way one part of the site 'moved' into another as you navigated your way around the various sections. The site, I think, has struck a good balance between an innovative, memorable experience for the user and a simple design that doesnt overshadow their portfolio. Furthermore, their work is worth a look at too if your interested in editorial/environmental graphic design in particular.

Exhibition / Environmental Graphics

2007-07-31T06:12:00.000-07:00

Looking at some different areas of graphic/communication design, I came across some work produced by design studio Graphic Thought Facility for various exhibitions. This is a really important area of visual communications as graphics for information, signage etc are all around us in our everyday environment. Designs for such a use have to be clear, informative and function quickly and simply yet the design and execution is equally important as it can really add to and enhance the ambience of an environment. I like the work of Graphic Thought Facility and thought their work offered some examples where the design, communication and environment work well together.

Plastic Bag Gallery

2007-07-31T06:00:00.000-07:00

An interesting project I came across at The Photographer's Gallery in London recently involving the plastic bag. The gallery is collecting images of plastic bags from London and the surrounding areas, inviting people to submit their own photography of found plastic bags.

The concept both highlights society's habits of consuming, disposing and lack of recycling and see such a number of images, most nowhere near as artistic as those above, of plastic bags strewn across streets, in parks, on fences etc really highlighted our over-use of this everyday item. Furthermore, I found the gallery's approach to the project as a means by which to encourage participation and bring protography into everyday life interesting as it is a means by which the general public have a platform for expression. The collection is being shown until September 2nd at The Photographer's Gallery, London.

Braille League

2007-07-31T05:05:00.001-07:00

Adverts for the Braille League, an association that helps people with visual disabilities integrate with society.

Advertising Agency: Factory DGB, Belgium
Art Director: Alison Anselot, Geert de Rocke

Set of print advertisements raising the awareness of communication with the blind and the use of braille; the line "Blind see what they hear. Help them to see more" emphasises the need for better written or spoken communication for visually impaired audiences. The images, created from the words that illustrate the sounds associated with each of the objects, offer a really strong concept - it communicates the idea blind people use their hearing as their 'sight' also and creates a striking visual. It did however, take me alittle time to decipher all the words, but I felt the idea of highlighting the fact that communication needs to be more detailed for visually impaired audiences worked well.

This campaign also raises the issue of designing for audiences with disabilities or impairments and offers a really interesting challenge - to produce communications that both function effectively and are suitable for the specific audience. Designers so often think visually, but thinking about the use of braille, engagement with senses other than sight, and advancements in technology, could provide starting points for some innovative, forward-thinking design.

Type In The Sky

2007-07-31T04:45:00.000-07:00

I came across this on another online blog, a piece of visual artist Lisa Rienermann, that depicts the letters of the alphabet formed by the shapes buildings make against the sky when photographed from below.

She first came across the letter Q, in a courtyard in Barcelona, and since went on to complete the alphabet, presenting the visual collection in a box, shown below.

This is a great example how one image, idea or piece of inspiration can generate a whole project. The unique nature of these images and the visual interest they create for the viewer was what caught my attention to the project; I think there is potential within the project to push the concept much further, perhaps for some work based on one city/place and it illustrates just how inspiration and ideas can be found anywhere.

Cancer Research UK: Tanker

2007-07-29T03:57:00.000-07:00

Brief: To get under the radar of hardened smokers who block out health advice and opinion. They know that smoking is bad for them but, as with any addiction, they blind themselves to the effects on their own health and the health of others. As a result they are pretty immune to the standard ’smoking is bad for you’ advertising which they deem to be ‘preachy’. We needed to find a fresh approach which would surprise them before they had time to block out the message.

Solution: Very few smokers know that smoke from a cigarette is made up of over 4000 chemicals including hydrogen cyanide, formaldehyde and benzene. The idea was to make smokers reappraise the highly dangerous nature of these chemicals by placing them in public places together with the hazardous warning signs that have to accompany them by law. The shock of seeing such a large group of chemicals together in town centres was compounded when it was further revealed that they are actually all present in cigarette smoke.

Result: The main aim of the chemical tanker was to launch the campaign which it did extremely successfully. It also generated £75,000 of free publicity with lead stories on the Guardian Media’s website and further extensive coverage on the BBC online, ITV, BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio Scotland plus other local stations. Awareness of the poisons in smoke rose by 178%. The website received 62,467 unique visitors in just 14 days with 124,682 page views. 85% of people believed cigarette smoke posed real dangers while 58% of smokers took action to give up.

Agency: Ogilvy, London, UK
Executive Creative Director: Malcolm Poynton
Creative Director: Colin Nimick
Art Director: Charlie Wilson
Copywriter: Emma de la Fosse
Account Manager: Jenny Bust
Account Director: Donna Buckingham
Business Partner: Georgie Stewart
Production Manager: Philip Melaney

An example of ambient media, whereby using/changing something an audience see on an almost daily basis, creates an attention-grabbing and memorable output for a communication message. The results (above) only indicate further how this generated free coverage and raised the profile/awareness of the campaign dramatically. On another note, the use of a tanker, associated with chemicals, toxins, things which arent good for us, couldnt have been more suited to a message communicating these exact ingredients that are in cigarettes.

Amnesty International

2007-07-29T03:51:00.000-07:00

"Your petition is more powerful than you think"

Agency: TBWA\Paris, France
Executive Creative Director: Erik Vervroegen
Art Director: Nicolas Moreau
Copywriter: Nicolas Moreau
Account Supervisor: Guillaume Allilaire
Production Company: FESTEN FILMS, Paris
Director: Les Blin
Producer: Christian Delhaye

"Your signature is more powerful than you think"

Agency: TBWA\Paris, France
Executive Creative Director: Erik Vervroegen
Art Directors: Stephanie Thomasson, Stephane Gaubert
Copywriters: Stephane Gaubert, Stephanie Thomasson
Account Supervisor: Guillaume Allilaire
Production Company: MAGIC LAB, Montreuil
Director: Philippe Grammaticopoulos
Producer: Maxime Boiron

Two recent moving-image advertisements for Amnesty International. I found both of these pieces particularly memorable due to the unusual styles of image used and the clear, concise visualisations of the messages that were being communicated. I particularly liked "Signature" as I felt through the visual narratives, the link between putting your signature on a petition and directly helping to save lives was emphasised effectively.

TheFLOWmarket

2007-07-29T02:55:00.000-07:00

TheFLOWmarket- I read about this a while ago and recently came across it again. TheFLOWmarket is a provocative 'shop'/exhibition space that both drives home it's point and visually, looks stunning. It is focused on sustainable growth, which it presents the parameters through three catagories: individual, collective and environmental flow, whilst it raises the issues of consumption, consumerism and our values through physical representation.

"It is a supermarket selling consumer awareness. TheFLOWmarket™ has isles, shelves and registers like any other supermarket. But the cans, cartons and bottles on the shelves are all empty. The project idea is purely metaphysical and so are the products for sale. Entering the shop you can buy things like "Clean air", "Commercial free space", "Consumption moderators", "Good vibes" and "Holistic thinking" dressed up as basic commodities in standard containers"

The project is completely metaphorical yet even by looking at the images of the exhibition/shop, you can begin to see how it makes you think about your priorities and question your values. It appealed to me both as it was a truely unique way by which the rising issues of consumerism and sustainable growth have been explored and visually, it is a well-executed, witty and impacting display of design. I particularly liked the copy of the products and some shown below. For a greater understanding of the project, visit the site - here.

Amores Perros (Love's A Bitch) 2001

2007-07-28T08:18:00.000-07:00

Amores Perros, the first film by director Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, who more recently produced Babel, is one of the best examples of today's Mexican film industry. Set in contemporary Mexico City, the film links three distinct separate narratives through the event of a car crash; the film begins with and evolves around the crash as each of the three 'chapters' explores the stories of the individual characters.

I found the film particularly interesting because it dealt with issues that were universal and those uniquely Mexican - the film could be set in any poor, over-populated urban environment whilst the issue of over one million homeless dogs was more unique to Mexico City and the film also explores ideological struggles from Brazil's past.

The film balances on the theme of relationships, whether these are between people and dogs, lovers, brothers, family or economic / political and the idea of living with decisions - the cruelty human beings impose on each other. This results in the film being violent and extremely graphic at times, some comparing the violence to that in Pulp Fiction; however personally, I felt the violence was painful and real in Amores Perros, it was one of the factors that impacted me most and was far from entertaining.

Amores Perros is built on an ambitious plot of overlapping lives, a cleverly structured narrative that holds your attention. Visually I found the film very powerful and the direction one of the strongest parts - Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu has an incredible sense of detail and the down-to-earth grittiness, the almost continuous camera movements creates, certainly suits the themes and ideas explored.

SOS Mata Atlântica: Google Maps

2007-07-28T07:26:00.000-07:00

An online advertisement I came across that has been used in America to highlight the growing problem of the decreasing forest areas in the US. I have posted it as I feel it is a good illustration of concept and chosen medium complimenting each other to communicate the strongest and most effective message the advertisement can. The interactive nature of this piece allows the audience to discover the message for themselves - personally I feel this makes for a more effective impact on the viewer.

To view it - click here

Photo Trouvée

2007-07-28T07:06:00.000-07:00

Another inspiring book I have recently come across that seems to further highlight this trend of collations of 'found' photography from anonymous photographers. Photo trouvée collates 285 'found' photographs from a period of over twenty years by authors Michel Frizot and Cédric de Veigy; described as an 'anthology of the ordinary' it contains universal experiences and memories that any viewer can relate to. I particularly enjoyed the carefully arranged order the of photographs, in terms of the atmospheres and emotions they suggested/provoked, that enhanced the experience of the book.

The Napkin Project

2007-07-25T11:52:00.000-07:00

Curartor Jacki Lang has been mentioned in various press several times due to her recent exhibition entitled 'The Napkin Project'. Lang has captured the absent-minded doodlings of over 30 creative people using an array of media and collated them into a quirky, fun exhibition that makes something of an otherwise disposed of piece of creativity.

This just really appealed to my fun side - it was great browsing through the illustrations and different responses from people. I liked the fact Lang had taken something so simple that we all do to pass time without even thinking about it and made something much more appealing and engaging.

Wallpaper* has a selection of the napkins exhibited - here

Visuelle

2007-07-25T11:37:00.000-07:00

Visuelle - An online collection of examples of design from around the world I came across from another site. The archive is an excellent source of inspiration and a good place to browse work and follow external links to portfolios and studios of examples you like. A great place to keep visiting to view updated examples and new additions.

This archive is maintained by London-based This Studio whose own site is also worth a look.

Sustainable Design

2007-07-25T11:23:00.000-07:00

Sustainable Design - A Conversation with Design Publishers

A video I found on a "green-design" blog discussing some of the issues surrounding sustainable design and the problems that we need to overcome. Not directly relevant to print-based design but raises some points that could perhaps considered when trying to produce environmentally-friendly design. The speakers come from Metropolis Magazine, treehugger.com and core77.com with Jill Fehrenbacher from Inhabitat - all relevant sources if you are interested in these issues.

Illustrator - Zara Wood

2007-07-25T11:08:00.000-07:00

One of my favourite contemporary illustrators who now produces most of her work for fashion, editorials and advertising. I particularly like the unique stamp she has put on her work, identified by her fascination with using cardboard and the intriguing and mesmerizing qualities of her drawings. Her work is great to look at and even better seen in real-life.

Take a look at her site here.

It's great to see she has taken her illustrative style and carried it through her whole site although I think she may of gone alittle too far now and has taken some of the attention away from the individual pieces of work on display. All the same, it gives a great feeling for the work she produces.

Unseen Vogue

2007-07-23T14:35:00.000-07:00

A great book someone gave me in work today as a source of reference for a project - Unseen Vogue: The Secret History of Fashion Photography.

The images collated in the book are all 'rejected' photographs from the magazine Vogue yet they provide a fantastic celebration of fashion photography over the past eighty years or so - a great source for inspiration and a collection of some of the earlier work from the likes of Cecil Beaton and Mario Testino . Anyone with an interest in fashion or photography would enjoy the book purely on the images themselves; however what I found particularly interesting was exploring these images that depicted photographic exploration that was too advanced for it's time - the photography becomes even more fascinating when you consider the context in which it was taken.

DesignArt by Alex Coles

2007-07-22T14:10:00.000-07:00

A really interesting book that explores the blurred and indistinctive boundaries between 'art' and 'design', coined 'designart' by it's author Alex Coles.

The book traces the concept of designart back from the early twentieth century to the present day with references to a wide selection of contemporary art and design. Apart from the exploration of this blurred relationship, the book is a fantastic source of reference and inspiration, written clearly and laid out well - one to buy and keep.

Dove - Evolution Viral

2007-07-22T13:48:00.001-07:00

Viral ad for the Dove brand highlighting it's 'Campaign for Real Beauty' .

Interesting concept to promote the campaign and communicate a unique brand positioning for Dove. Although ironically it is effectively exploiting it's own industry, it clearly communicates the fact that the beauty industry and media present a very false image to us, the consumer - it's a clever eye-opener into what really happens 'behind the scenes' before you see the stereotypically beautiful, flawless face plastered on a billboard. It is extremely relevant to the current debates surrounding the effect of the media and what it presents as 'beautiful' on the younger generations of today and is trying to communicate the aim of it's campaign - to get girls and women to appreciate themselves for who they are and not to aspire to these images.

However, whilst exploiting the methods of the industry, it struck me the ad in a way also conforms to this stereotypical idea of beauty by acknowlodging the woman at the beginning as not 'beautiful'. Some of the brand's other ad's presenting normal girls and women could perhaps be argued to be more in line with the message the campaign is trying to communicate, none the less, this is still an effective attempt to deal with the issue surrounding the power the media's presentation of the ideal has on people. The repositioning of the Dove brand away from the rest of the beauty industry is a commendable attempt to respond to the negative impact of the industry yet I am sceptical as to how far it will succeed to make any real impact as in the end, people buy the products because they aspire to 'improve' themselves in some way.

Using Empty Space!

2007-07-22T10:46:00.000-07:00

Found these ambient ad's for a chain of hotels from M&C Saatchi, Spain and found myself trying to think of other similar 'empty spaces' where an advertisement would be as effective as this. Sometimes you spend ten hours sitting in the same seat, looking at the same seat back with nothing on - the right idea with a successful execution could make advertising in this space really memorable. For this example, the idea works well, perhaps the illustrations could have been alittle better though.

Apple

2007-07-22T10:38:00.000-07:00

Posted this as I just thought it was a great visual concept for selling the ipod product and itunes service. Its simple yet communicates perfectly the function/use of both product and service,. It has differentiated itself from the generic billboard ad creating a memorable and eye-catching advertisement.

HBO Voyeur Project

2007-07-22T04:26:00.001-07:00

'The HBO Voyeur Project is a collection of multi-media stories that HBO has built around the theme of voyeurism.

See what people do when they think no one is Watching is the tagline that they have used to describe the experience that starts in the streets of New York City, behind the countless windows that we pass everyday. It comes together in a silent film that will be projected on the side of a building, and extends to the HBO channel, HBO on Demand, and online at HBOVoyeur.com. There are also “artifacts” of the characters everywhere, pieces of story which have been sprinkled around the web and in the real world to heighten the experience for those who like to get involved. However it is experienced in whichever medium, the point of the HBO Voyeur Project is to get the viewer to confront the uncomfortable question: “Do You Like To Watch?” ' (www.thestorygetsdeeper.com)

This is a US-based project that seems to of gathered abit of a cult-following and expanded from the original intentions of the producers. Interesting concept albeit alittle confusing and strange. Go to www.thestorygetsdeeper and www.hbovoyeur.com for more about the project

HBO Voyeur Project Trailer

2007-07-22T04:20:00.001-07:00