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.

lego olympics

An incredible reconstruction of this year’s olympics, produced by The Hong Kong Lego Users Group. The acuracy of the famous "birds nest" stadium is phenominel, i've never seen anything quite like this before in my life... If I had a choice to go to Madame Taussauds or to see more lego constructions like this, i chose the lego everytime!

The Tipping Point and blink

So i've just finished reading Malcolm Gladwells - The Tipping Point & I can safely say that is propably one of the most interesting books I have ever read.

The definition of the tipping point is: that magic moment when ideas, trends and social behaviours cross a threshold, tip and spread like wildfire.

This book is packed with interesting theories & case studies that document how, when and why this happens.

The topics investigated in The Tipping Point are very fascinating, so perhaps I could base my dissertation around this, and the power of word of mouth.

I have just bought Malcolm Gladwells 2nd book, blink, which investigates the human mind and "The power of thinking, without actually thinking". It was recommended to me by a friend which just goes to show the power of word of mouth...

Stranger than Fiction

A Film starring Will Ferrell that uses some incredible motion graphics courtesy of the Kansas City agency MK12.

The motion graphics in the film are part of a graphical user interface refered to as GUI (pronounced Gooey). This GUI is responsible for giving the audience an insight into the main characters obsessive compulsive life.

The Graphic displays several 'OCD' events in the main characters life in a subtle way that doesn't distract from the main content in the film. As a result the directors were able to visualise this complex disorder, whilst keeping with the genre of the film i.e. A comedy. > by following the concept 'less is more' the information displayed is fun and visually appropriate as opposed to technical & geeky.

It's interesting to note that the GUI featured in the film is crisp, clean and white, not too disimilar from the Apple .

MoMa

Whilst in NYC I visited the Museum of Modern art to view the 'prefab house architecture exhibit'. The work is exhibited in the form of film, architectural models, original drawings and blueprints, fragments, photographs, patents, games, sales materials and propaganda, toys, and partial reconstructions. And it was the reconstructions that most caught my eye because you could actually walk inside the houses!

D&AD 2007 Exhibition

I went to the Urbis for the first time whilst on a work placement in Manchester. The Creative Director needed me to deliver some documents to the Urbis and he suggested I go and take a look at the 2007 D&AD exhibition which was free to attend. So i did.

As you would expect there was some fantastic work on display, and this was complimented by the Urbis and it's exceptional layout. Next time there is an exhibition held here i'll certainly be attending.