Store the Impossible

The adverts made me laugh for The Sony Micro Vault...a tiny USB flash key that can store a massive 8GB. The strapline for the ads is 'Store The Impossible' and the images literally reflect just that. You can't tell what the image is until you see it big so I hope you can make it out, but basically tiny animals have eaten massive animals... a simple idea with massively effective images that are perfect for selling the product.

Schindler's List

It seemed like everyone I know had seen this film apart from me so I decided to watch it a few weeks back! People have nothing but praise for the film and now I know why. Schindler saved the lives of more than 1000 Jews during the Holocaust by employing them, and this film tells the story perfectly. You really do go through many emotions whilst watching the film.

I like the way the film is shot in black and white, giving it a 'documentary' type feel. Also, I think it would have been wrong to shoot it in colour seeing as the Holocaust could never be described as a colourful event. Cinematographer Janusu Kaminski also pointed out that black and white makes the film timeless so you could never have a sense of when it was shot. The only hint of colour in the film is the girl in the red coat, who, later in the film is seen dead. Spielberg is quoted saying "America and Russia and England all knew about the Holocaust when it was happening, and yet we did nothing about it. We didn’t assign any of our forces to stopping the march toward death, the inexorable march toward death. It was a large bloodstain, primary red color on everyone’s radar, but no one did anything about it. And that’s why I wanted to bring the color red in."

It's pretty much inevitable that the girl would die, but seeing her in a red coat kind of confirms this, and it hits home. What inspired me is how such a small touch is so significant, and symbolises so much.

Girl in the red coat.

Tic Tac Toe

I recently came across this unique idea for a game of tic tac toe...a game you would normally just scribble down on a piece of paper, but Shahar Peleg has designed this stylish take on the game. He has used a mirror as the grid, and the Xs and Os are half a letter (see image). Therefore the pieces only become whole when placed on the grid.  It's a novel idea that gives this simple game a different, fun twist.

Good Things Should Never End

A never ending website to promote Orange's range of unlimited products. Again it is an excellent use of the medium...an interactive way to get their main selling point of 'unlimited offers' across... I think it would perhaps be more entertaining if the images/characters varied as you scrolled further and further down, but it is still bright, playful, and entertaining to play around with.

Here's the link...http://unlimited.orange.co.uk/flash/go

Marianne Goldin

I researched more into Marianne Goldin after seeing this illustration, as I loved the detail and atmosphere portrayed...

All of her illustrations seem to be so dramatic and even portray some kind of emotion...

She is an 'artist/illustrator, student, epicurian, polyglot, and all around busy-body, an ardent fan of the nib and its applications in pen and ink'. She is also into printmaking, typography, ink, layout, texture and original colour. She was born in Ukraine, but lives and works in Seattle.

http://www.mariannegoldin.com

i-pod Fridge Freezer!

A fridge freezer with a built in i-pod docking station, designed by Gorenje. I want one...

Free Rice

A site that donates 20 grains of rice through the UN World food Program, for every question you answer correctly. This is paid for by the sponsors so there's no catch! It's pretty educational too.. Learn stuff AND do your bit for world hunger, you can even change the subject of questions. 

www. freerice.com

Shadow Art

I just came across this awesome piece of 'shadow art' by artist Morfai on youtube. This video shows his brainstorm of ideas before he reached the final outcome (see below). I have never seen anything like this before...I like that the artwork only comes to life at night when the shadow of the statue is cast. The piece is called 'Seeder' and is based in Kanaus, Lithuania.

Imperial War Museum

Another nice bit of architecture in Salford Quays, designed by Daniel Libeskind in 2000. It's a dramatic looking building which looks striking against the skyline. It is made up of three linked buildings, shaped as shards from a broken globe, 'to reflect the way war has devastated our world'. Considering this is what it's supposed to represent, it's still pretty easy on the eye...

Calgary International Film Festival

I like the ads for this years Calgary International Film Festival, especially the strapline where they have simply reversed the well known saying 'expect the unexpected' to 'unexpect the expected'...I suppose the strapline has done just that. Basically there is a filmstrip of images on each advert of a scenario, all of which you 'unexpect' the ending. Below is my favourite...the story of Rapunzel...where in the end image we find he has actually been climbing up her armpit hair...nice!
I like that it's a filmstrip...but it still works great in print.

B_E_E

B_E_E - a unique range of cleaning products, standing for Beauty Engineered forEver, whose aim was to produce cleaning products designed for pleasure, function and the environment. Therefore the designers wanted to create something that people can enjoy looking at as well as working with. They have certainly succeeded with this, the packaging immediately caught my eye and made me laugh...they 'sexed up' the products using flirtatious innuendos to describe them...

I just love how they sexed up the most unsexy of products...I included it because it reminded me of when I tried to sex up those bloody pork pies in last years brief!

The website is quite nice too...colourful like the products...http://www.bee.net.nz

Clotilde Olyff

I really like this image of the alphabet made entirely out of pebbles, cleverly put together by Belgian designer Clotilde Olyff. I think I like it because all it would take is for the pebbles to be placed a different way round for it to lose any kind of meaning.

I found out that the image comes from the book 'Lettered', which is filled with more of Olyff's 'typographical games and experiments', which looks like a pretty nice book if you're interested in typography...

Dancing House

You can't really miss this if you go to Prague...designed by Frank Gehry, it stands out a mile amongst the surrounding buildings. Pretty cool for an office block!


It's called the 'Dancing House' as it is supposed to reflect a woman and man (Ginger Rogers and Fred Astair) dancing together...you can see definitely see the movement portrayed which is why I think it's a good bit of modern architecture. A complete contrast to the beautiful 12th century buildings in the Old Town.

Manga at Urbis

Following on from that last post...a new exhibition has just opened there called 'How Manga Took Over The World', I havn't been yet but it looks pretty interesting, looking at Manga's influence in shaping contemporary culture...from cute Manga to erotic Manga (Over 18s only people!). I became interested in Manga after studying The Designers Republic (see a previous post...), as a few of their designs (especially 'Sissy Doll') are heavily Manga influenced.

Promotional poster

TDR 'sissy doll' - see manga influence

Urbis

Another visually impressive building...this time in good old Manchester. It's a strange shape but I think that's why I like it...I did a project on Manchester's Architecture for A-Level graphics and this was my favourite building to photograph because it looks impressive whatever angle you shoot from...you can't get a bad photo of it. And every time I walk past I think how cool it would be to slide down it...maybe that's just me...!? Here it is in all it's glory...

It was designed by local firm Ian Simpson Architects in 2002.  It replaced a carpark in an area affected badly by the 1996 IRA bomb.  The architects won a competition to design a building for the area...they won simply because their design was the only one that left plenty of room for decorative gardens etc. around it. It has certainly become one of Manchester's most popular areas because of the beauty of the architecture and the surrounding aesthetics.

The Absolut Book

I find Absolut Vodka one of the most inspirational brands around, simply due to the success of their advertising campaign. A prime example of a strong distinctive concept with endless variations. I recommend this book if you're a fan...hundreds of colour photos and the Absolut story.

Good website too: http://www.absolut.com

Save your Sensible!

I just came across this fun microsite promoting Cadbury Schweppes' 'Spring Valley Juice' brand, whose main selling point is to make sure people look after their bodies...the drinks containing natural fruit juices and lots of vitamin C. You wouldn't know what this microsite is for until you reach the end...basically it starts with a 'Hitchhiker's Guide' style flash animation about people today 'abusing their sensibles', resulting in them being sent to the neglected sensible shelter. In the end you find your own little sensible, and then you can do what you like with it! Feed it some Spring Valley Juice and he becomes full of energy! Or carry on abusing it if you like!

I think it's a nice fun way to promote the drinks, with it's strapline 'Spring Valley...it's good for your sensible'. Here's my little dude...

You can even add him to your facebook...mines cute...but not that cute.

Find your sensible at http://www.saveyoursensible.com

Issey Miyake Site

I like the design of this website...it's easy and satisfying to navigate, and visually intriguing. The images are quirky and striking, much like the clothing range its self. Here's a few screen shots from the site:

Issey Miyake has several different collections in its range. These are Issey Miyake Fete, Pleats Please Issey Miyake, HaaT, and me Issey Miyake/Cauliflower. My favourite thing about this site is that each collection has been given it's own special 'brand', and has photographed/displayed the clothes in different ways that reflect the designs. For example the HaaT collection is very nature/outdoors inspired, and therefore the clothes have been placed around animals and natural things such as pebbles. I also like the fact that each collection has its own little logo. I've shown a photo from each collection to demonstrate the different ways they are showcased...the design has been thought about in every case.

From the Issey Miyake Fête collection

From the Pleats Please Issey Miyake collection

From the HaaT collection

From the 'me Issey Miyake/Cauliflower' collection

The site is well worth a look even if you're not a huge fan of the designer. And I'd switch the music off before it sends you to sleep...

http://www.isseymiyake.co.jp

Renault Mail...

This is a few years old now but its a good bit of advertising so I decided to include it! Basically an email was sent out to advertise the new Renault Megane Sport...you scrolled down from the numbers 1 to 100 and the bottom revealed the main selling point of the car - '0-100KPH in 6.5 seconds'. I think its a really effective use of the medium...using your scroll bar to get from 1-100, to demonstrate just how fast the car can do it. It's different so I think people would have taken more notice than one of your standard junk emails. Here's the link...

http://www.nordpol.com/2005/renault/meganesport/en/01/

A second email was sent out a day later to demonstrate cruise control...still clever but I don't think it's quite as effective as the first. See what you think...

http://www.nordpol.com/2005/renault/meganesport/en/02/

Salamanca Cathedral

A great bit of architecture...consists of an old and a new Cathedral. I like how both have been blended together in the same gothic style. Here is a photo...both parts of the cathedral are equally impressive, although it is hard to find an image to show this.

My favourite touch however is the stone astronaut that was placed in the facade of the cathedral during restoration work in 1992 to represent the 20th century. I love the way is been subtly placed so that it blends in with all the gargoyles. You probably wouldn't notice it unless you knew it was there...

Ambient Oreos

A brilliant bit of ambient media for Oreos in a shopping mall in NYC. The side of a lift has been used so that when it goes down, the oreo looks like its getting dunked into a glass of milk. Ambient media always turns heads, especially this as it's original, and it's pretty large I don't think you could miss it. Here's a video of the campaign in action...

Pablo Alfieri

I came across this graphic designer/illustrator in the last issue of Computer Arts. He has a pretty striking portfolio...I like this piece...'the 90's', where he placed together some retro technology. Its strange that some of the things look so dated now, but we were all using them only a few years ago!

http://www.pabloalfieri.com

David Waldman

I love how photographer David Waldman manages to catch the stage presence of bands/performers, and even the atmosphere in the crowd... whether it's an intimate gig or huge festival. He has a great portfolio well worth a look. Here's a few from a CSS set, Bjork and Samshing Pumpkins at V fest, and Crystal Castles:

Visit http://www.formertransformer.com or

http://www.kidwithcamera.com

Mark Jenkins

Mark Jenkins is well known in America for his fascinating 'street installations'. He creates figures of humans animals or objects entirely out of packing tape, resulting in some pretty cool images. He even dresses a few of the figures up in clothing, in concepts that are pretty unrealistic, but real enough to make people stop...and wonder. He also records the reactions of passers by, which is interesting, although some of his ideas are a little controversial. Here is my favourite, followed by the video of reactions:

And here are a few of my favourite installations of the regular tape figures - minus clothing...