Runners Point.

This ad for a sport shoe shop is possibly one of the coolest compositions I have ever seen. The message is clear and doesn't rely on any copy... They sell shoes & these are the brands they have. simple. effective. stunning design.

Cloud gate sculpture

Cloud Gate was designed by a british artist Anish Kapoor is affectionately refered to by locals as 'the bean'. The sculpture was actually the result of a design competition in Chicago. It's interesting to consider whether this sculpture enables User Generated Content as a result of the reflections it creates.

Design Council

Around a year ago I had the opportunity to spend a few days at the Design Council in London (around the corner from Convent Garden).

The place itself was very inspiring; it had a very modern interior, there were lots of bright colours and the room we worked in had retractable walls, a high quality projector and large windows that let in plenty of light.

The workshop was a great success, which I believe is not only a result of the brilliant creative people involved, but also a direct result of choosing the right work space in the best surroundings.

Definition of the word 'Keming'

I FFFFound this earlier today and couldn't help but laugh, so I thought i'd post it on here to get other peoples thoughts...

Is it funny?

Advertising is dead. Long live advertising.

This is a great book if you like alternative forms of advertising such as guerrilla, stealth, ambush, buzz, viral, grassroots, wildfire & especially ambient media... The book is useful when considering creative techniques & media, whilst there are also tips on finding inspiration along with some standard practical advice. i find that after flicking through the book, i walk away feeling inspired and confident that there are still some original ideas out there!

Peter Saville

I went to the exhibition at the Hacienda and saw the Joy Division film. Really liked the album artwork. Checked out Peter Saville and came across even more awesome album artwork.

I really like his self produced typography (see 'substance' in the first image) and the simplicity of his design. His work seems to retain my attention for longer even though there is less to look at!

The curious incident of the dog in the night-time

This is an extremely enjoyable book and a very easy read. I read it in a day. Christopher, the main character in the book has autism, which means he is extremely observant and very descriptive. Consequently, the book is very visual although there are no pictures.

Additionally, the book is very fascinating becuase you gain an insight into what it's like to be autistic.

FFFFOUND!

This seems to be everyones favourite website at the moment when browsing for random images of clever design. So i've decided to jump on the bandwagon and check it out for myself. Above are a couple of images that caught my eye. This website has gone straight into my favourites folder and i'm almost certain that this site will come in very useful, when killing time.

D&AD student awards 2009

I'm not a big fan of the new student D&AD awards site. The briefs are hidden behind the squares of what I can only describe as a pixelated pencil. Therefore, you can't decipher the briefs you've seen from the briefs you haven't seen. Surely D&AD is about simple design that works, and not the opposite!

Quentin Blake

I've admired Quentin Blakes illustrations (in the Roald Dahl books) since I was a kid, but it has taken until now for me to realise just how fantastic they are... So I decided to check out his website and was extremely impressed his other work. In fact, I was never aware that he is a ctually an author in his own right. Next time i'm in a library i'll have to hunt down some of his books, because if his stories are as imaginative as his illustrations I'm going to like them!

Roald Dahl, Revolting Rhymes

Revolting Rhymes is a collection of Roald Dahl poems that re-interpret popular fairy tales. This post is not for my benefit because I could talk about how much I enjoy this book until the cows come home! If you have never read Revolting Rhymes I recommend you stop what you're doing and take a trip to your nearest book shop, buy the book & read it. Oh, and you can thank me later!

Brylcreem's Effortless

Brylcreem's Effortless TV Ad - Funny video clips are a click away

This ad uses a tried and tested formula in an engaging and entertaining way. The ad has recently won two yellow pencils (for production & practical special effects) at the D&AD awards this year. This is proof that the advertising industry still enjoy a good knock on effect advert, just like the popular Honda Accord domino commercial from a few years ago was.

D&AD Online

The D&AD annual 2008 has gone online, which I am very pleased about, because it means that I can view the winners without having to sneak into an advertising agency to find the book! It's interesting to note that the cover of the printed annual this year is designed by Peter Saville. His design cleverly sets up a Digital v Anti-Digital debate using the letters D&AD.

Sideways

I borrowed this DVD from the library at Colby College (Maine, America) during the summer. It's one of the most original films i've seen in ages. Perhaps this is why it's picked up a couple of Golden Globe Awards for best picture and best screen play.

The sleeve of the DVD cover is also very interesting; the illustrations provide a small, but perhaps misleading insight into the nature of film which entises the viewer to read the blurb... Two guys go on a wine tasting weekend with halarious consequences, not, two guys get trapped in a bottle! never judge a DVD by its cover!

Love blog.

I regularly check this blog by Love creative, because it's nice to learn what kind of interesting stuff some of Manchester's top creatives are exposed to...

In edition to producing work for clients, it also gives me an insight into the kind of stuff Love are doing... Recently, Love have started an initiative called CLASS which give graduates the chance to complete a three month PAID work placement in their offices.

THE WHIP - usb wristband promo

I found this cool little promotional offer whilst listening to the whip on myspace. They're basically offering limited edition usb wristbands to people that attend their gigs during November. The usb wristbands will contain live tracks from some of their gigs and will act as a nice souvenir. thus making the band more memorable. I'm going to see them at the cockpit next month so maybe i'll get one!

Hacienda @ the Urbis

Whilst working in Manchester (last year) I was particularly keen to learn more about its culture and what makes it such a unique city. So when I realised the Urbis was holding an exhibition which marked the 25th anniversary of Manchester's legendary nightclub, the Hacienda, I was there!

The exhibition was extremely interesting from both a historical and visual perspective. The posters on the walls were all handmade (well before Photoshop & Illustrator!), however the quality of the design is much better than the average posters and flyers used to promote club nights these days. All in all I think the exhibition was extremely successful as it educated me to the extent where I felt almost nostalgic (despite, the fact I was born in 1986!).

For an even greater insight into Manchesters development in the 70's & 80's I watched the film 'Joy Division' at the Hyde Park Picture House... The film was a brilliant tribute to the band & lead singer Ian Curtis, plus watching it at an old cinema, like the HPPH added to the amosphere & the nostalga.

half nelson

This film is particularly interesting because of the interesting dialogue, handheld camera-work and the way the storyline begins half way through the actual story.

For instance, an issues in the film (but not the main issue) is the main characters addiction to drugs. The film starts and he is already an addict, and we are never told how and why he became an addict in the first place.

I later discovered that this information has been left out for a reason. This film was not about someone becoming addicted to drugs. It was about someone with an addiction struggling to cope with the controversial polotics within society.

Therefore by leaving out certain events that are irrelevant to the current storyline you are able to add more emphasis to the main subject of the film.

Kung-fu Hustle

This is one of my favourite films of all time. It has a Tarantino-esque quality combining several sub-genres into something completely new and original. Regardless of whether you like martial arts or not, watching this film is a must. The camera work is groundbreaking and the unusual style of special effects adds a contemporary feel which detachs the film from the stereotypical "martial arts" genre.

Vintage logos

I found this set of vintage logos posted on flickr as a series of jpegs (120 to be exact).

The collection of vintage logos is from a mid-70's edition of the book World of Logotypes. The book is filled with pages and pages of original logos that contain unique shapes, symbols & type. Despite being 30 years old the logos featured in the book are relatively timeless and will provide inspiration for future branding projects.

Virgin Media Shorts Award Ceremony Tonight

Virgin Media Shorts is a contest that aims to discover talented new film-makers. The winners were announced last night... Here is the peoples choice. Very funny! DEFINITELY WORTH WATCHING!

'Chutes Too Narrow' Artwork by Jesse LeDoux

Jesse LeDoux was nominated for a grammy for this artwork for 'The Shins' album 'Chutes Too Narrow'.

Above is the original folding mock-up “sketch” for the album design. It was made while Jesse LeDoux's bus was stuck in gridlock on the viaduct on my way to work one morning. All he had on him was that week’s Stranger, so he ripped it out and started cutting it up. By the time the traffic started flowing and he got to work, he pretty much had the concept set.

Although the Chutes Too Narrow package would have initially been cheaper to produce without the die-cut booklet, the die-cut helped it to stand out from the rest of the albums on the record store shelves.

It is interesting to follow how artists have tried to differentiate their albums during the decline of the CD and the rise of downloads. A definitive example would have to be when Radiohead gave fans the opportunity to go online and choose how much they want to pay for the album, 'In rainbows'.

some curiously confusing type

I discovered this new typeface recently and feel that it is a classic example of form over function. The type isn't legible at all however the characters are certainly very interesting, and are comprised from basic shapes such as circles, squares, rectangles and triangles.

It's ironic to think that some of the most legible typefaces including Futura and Century Gothic are based on similar shapes.

This demonstrates that you can start at the same point (in this case, basic shapes) and end up with something entirely different, depending on whether you're concerned with form or function.

noise awareness

This integrated campaign for AEG Electrolux aims to demonstrate that their washing machines are quiter than their rivals by measuring the decibel levels in five European cities.

Billboards in each city carries sensorsd that measure the noise level which is then fed back to the website. As the boards are interactive people can be seen screaming at the billboards to raise the amount. This is an excellent example of interactive advertising, although the initial message seems to have been lost along the way!

Hypnodog

A hypnosis act at the University of Leeds on the 25th of September.

This was potentially one of the funniest things I've seen in a long, long time. Hypnotist, Hugh Lennon brought 12 students up on stage in the Riley Smith Hall and within 20 minutes 8 of them were convincingly hypnotised.

During the next 2 hours of this comedy show we witnessed one girl speak martian (whilst another translated), a guy thought he was Michel Jackson whenever he heard the music to Thriller and another girl was adement her name was Albert. - each scenario gave the audience an insight into the human mind and each persons inner creativity. In fact, when asked to tell a lie, the hypnotised students gave us some extremely creative explanations...one was a pirate, one was a millionnaire and the other was a porn star!

The shows finale saw Hypndog make his appearance to demonstrate his mesmerising powers. Within seconds of looking into the dogs eyes, they were out like a light and on the floor. Pure magic!

Grass Studio: silly but fun games!

A team building workshop for the graphics freshers on September 25th 2008.

Following our work at a Camp in New Hampshire over the summer Tim Fletcher and I organised a 3 hour team building workshop with the 1st year graphic design students.

The primary aim of the session was to encourage every students to get to know one another through a variety of silly but fun team building games. Consequently, many of the games required teamwork, collaboration & communication skills in order to encourage social interaction.

Overall, the session was a big success particularly as many of the students stayed behind to thank us personally. This experience was also very enlightening as I realised it could be a potential career path when I graduate.

Never ending website

Yet another clever concept for Orange. This time a never ending website is used to promote the 'good things should never end' campaign. As you scroll down the page lots of little activities are available to play. The page never repeats titself, whilst the interactive elements on the page engage with the viewer time & time again.

Our Starry Night

An installation by James Yamada found in Central Park (NYC) commisioned by the Public Art Fund:

Built from powder coated aluminum and punctuated with 1,900 colored LED lights, Our Starry Night is a 12-foot-tall sculpture that acts as an interactive passageway to Central Park.

When visitors walk through the passageway, they trigger a metal detector hidden inside the structure's casing, which activates the LED lights on the outside of the sculpture.

The lights, the luminosity and the light patterns on the outside of the sculpture differ depending on the metal objects passing through the archway at the time. Our Starry Night is quite literally activated by the public, reinforcing the notion that art — and in particularly public art — is dependent on the people around it.

mosaic man

Whilst in New York earlier this September I was taught about the mosaic man after mentioning to a family that I had seen mosaics on lamp posts, bins and building all over the east village.

I was told that his name is Jim Powers and that he had been morphing ordinary street surfaces into lively sidewalk art for the last 20 years. they told me thqat the mosacis I had seen are part of the now infamous “Mosaic Trail” that spans from the Lower East Side running from Broadway down Eighth Street to Avenue A, to Fourth Street and then back to Eighth Street.

I am really impressed by this work and am amazed that I never knew about it before my trip...

my body is a cage.

A music video created by J. Tyler Helms for Arcade Fire.

This unofficial music video combines the epic sounds of Arcade Fire's 'my body is a cage' with edited clips from Sergio Leone's "Once Upon a Time in the West".

The result is a stroke of genius. The two compositions fit perfectly together and the emotion that it exudes leaves you sat in your chair feeling drained and mesmorised simultaneously.

linziehunter.co.uk

I read an article about Linzie in Creative Review a couple of months ago, i liked her work & decided to check out her website. The site is brilliant; it's easy to navigate through, the links are clear and her work speaks for itself.

Chocolate man

A Tv advert for a new Lynx variant suitably named Dark Temptation.

Whilst flicking through the CR Annual 2oo8 I noticed that the Lynx Chocolate man had recieved a nomination for 'best in book'.

I was lucky enough to be involved in the development of this campaign last year. Working alongside Unilever and BBH London I helped to develop the higher purpose and integrated marketing campaign to coincide with the release of the Tv ad.

Signspotting

A book published by Lonely Planet that displays hundreds of 'absurd & amusing signs from around the world'.

The book highlights mistakes on signage around the world as a result of culture differences. i.e. difference of definition & differences in language translation.

From the moment I opened this book I couldn't contain my laughter so I decided to buy it at a bargain price of $7 (In Mass, USA). It's the kind of book you would leave on your coffee table because it isn't too taxing and it guarantees a lot of laughter, especially when in the company of friends and family.

Check out the website at http://www.signspotting.com/

Charles de Gaulle

When flying to and from America this summer I had the pleasure of traveling via "Charles de Gaulle" airport in Paris (because it made my flights a little cheaper).

The impressive design of terminal 2E is what caught my eye. Its shape resembles that of a plane which is seemingly relevant considering this fine piece of architecture is part of an airport.

playstation free

An interesting promotional technique employed by Sony at Charles de Gaulle airport (Paris):

In June 2007 a total of 14 "PLAYSTATION 3" consoles were installed in "la Galerie Parisienne", Paris-Charles de Gaulle airport to entertain the vast amounts of young men traveling through the airport every year. The consoles which are FREE to play can accommodate 28 people playing simultaneously. What a fantastic way to promote the new console and the games that can be played on it.

love talking rubbish?

A direct mailer from Orange promoting Live Windows Messenger for your mobile: This advert is scrunched up like a piece of runnish, therefore it is quiete literally posted to you as junk mail.

This ad differentiates itself from other junk mail because it is original, clever & intriguing. It encouraged me to open it, and the last thing I want to do with it now is throw it in the bin! (because I think it's a brilliant idea!)

This is the kind of creativity I have come to expect from Orange following some of their previous ads i.e. don't let your phone ruin your movie! Orange have this unique ability to deliver a simple message in an interesting way that always engages & holds your attention. < In my opinion that is what successful advertising does.

Esquire's E-Ink Cover

I saw this special edition magazine to celebrate Esquires 75th anniversary whilst browsing the shops in the departure lounge at Boston-Logan airport. The magazine is the first ever magazine to use E-ink, which causes the headline on the cover to change continuously. This USP gives the magazine an impact and it immediately stands out alongside other mens lifestyle magazines on the shelf.

On the Roof

An Exhibition at the Metropoliton Museum of Art (NYC) titled 'Jeff Koons on the roof'. This exhibition was quite unique in itself as it is actually on the roof on the Met Gallery in New York. My favourite sculpture would have to be the giant 'Balloon Dog' due to it's sheer size and the basic fact that it appears to be a real balloon. (although the material used is actually yellow-tinted high-chromium stainless steel.)

'Balloon Dog' is a ten-foot-tall representation of a balloon dog!

'Colouring Book' is based on a drawing of Piglet from a Winnie-the-Pooh coloring book.

'Sacred Heart' is simply a big steel heart tied up with a ribbon.