Nature 1, Man 0

I know we all already know this. I know what I’m about to say is nothing new. However, I think it’s something that can’t be said enough – as some might take it for granted. Here goes:
The most beautiful of designs are not man made. Surprise!

As I go through my everyday life trying to think of new ways to design a book, a poster, a t-shirt (and what else) and looking for great design to post on my blog, I’m constantly struck by the most intricate beauty of nature.

To ‘prove’ my point, have a look at this picture taken a chilly and foggy Monday morning in February on the way to work. The photo was taken with a mobile phone and no effects or touching up has been applied. It takes no professional photographer or a fancy camera to capture the beauty. It’s simply there for us to see and take in, should we choose to acknowledge it.

Yes, it might be corny writing about this, but if I made anyone think twice about the nature around them, wasn’t it worth it? Anyhow, if you’ve got any pictures you want to see in this post, simply send them via electronic mail.

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

I kill you!

I just couldn’t help myself from posting this video. It hasn’t got much to do with graphic design and advertising but it is very, very entertaining. And the fact that the ventriloquist can emote that well only using his voice and very pronounced eyebrows is fantastic.

Brilliant.

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

A bight idea

They still know how to do great adverts though. The cleverness of this ad is explained in the image, which by the way is exemplary in its design. It has all the information one could want in relation to the ad. Only downside to the ad would be the unpredictability of the weather, as a few rainy weeks could’ve ruined the whole campaign. But hey, without risks nothing is to be gained.

Also, note the little shadow they placed on the logo in the bottom right corner – nice touch!

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

Let the battle commence!

I know this is really old and I’m probably just echoing many other blogs when I post these ads. But hey, some people might not have seen them, ok? I think it’s interesting how Nissan decided to respond to the Volkswagen ad to create something of a “advertising battle”. Advertising battle which is slightly less cool than break-dance battle and actual battle, but battle nonetheless.

I think more advertising agencies should do this, and I think more clients should use these kinds of campaigns. Why? Well it would simply be more entertaining that way – at least for the art directors and the designers. But it would only work if the fighting parties agree to be witty and clever in their responses instead of just simply throwing dirt on each other.
Much like what the political campaigns in the US should be like…

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

Tuffe, tuffe tåget går...

Another blog said this about the ad above:
“The first time I’ve seen it (as a thumbnail on another blog) I first thought it was an ad opposing the construction of some train line. Given the fact that the message is pretty much the exact opposite, it must have taken quite some balls to approve this ad.”

I fail to see how this ad is “the exact opposite” to what the company want to deliver. As cars, planes etc cause much more damage than the trains this ad is simply taking the bull by the horn and saying: “We know people have to travel but we think trains are the least damaging way to go”. I think that is a clever message that is not underestimating the intelligence of the target market.

The client is the biggest railway company in Sweden called SJ and the agency was King, Stockholm.

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

Entertaining animals

I think it’s the Photoshopping (is that a word?) skills and the level of detail that strike me the most. I doubt they would’ve got a better results from actually painting the animals for real. I particularly like the way you feel like you want to giggle slightly when you see the ads, but when you read the message your conscience reprimands you for laughing. It helps that the copy is well written.

The client was Animal Action in Portugal and the agency was MSTF Parners.

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

Snickery weather

This is an old piece, but I only found it recently and I wanted to show it because of the level of detail. A lot of time has gone into the creation of this poster – a talented artist which I don’t know the name of.

And there the post ends. Enjoy.

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

Boxy, yet beautiful.

As we needed more reasons to go to New York… I’m already looking in my calendar to figure out when I have time to go again. It looks like it’s gonna be 2036.

Jokes aside, this magnificent piece of architecture is well worth a visit. You don’t even have to enter the New Museum of Contemporary Art to get something out of it – you can just stand outside and drool. The style, and the way it contrasts the other buildings is just brilliant. I couldn’t find any good images online but issue 055, January of the magazine Icon has a whole segment (and front page) dedicated to the museum. The architect is “Sanaa” (which by the way is in need of a website?!)

If anyone goes there before I do, and happens to take pictures, please feel free to forward them to me.

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

Updated website!

I have now finally updated my website. Have a look and tell me what you think – though consider the fact that it is merely work in progress. I’m trying to create a website with a personal touch to it, but that has proven to be quite difficult.

The photo was taken at one of my favourite places in the world: Sandhammaren, Sweden (though the place is even better during the summer days).

I’m adding a photo to salute the people who were there to help me do it: Thanks Karin (talented know-it-all) and Johan (talented jazz-musician)!

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

Toilet paper...

I was waiting outside a toilet to a Pret A Manger in Leeds when I laid eyes on this wallpaper. The photo is not the greatest but I dare you to stand outside a toilet taking pictures for more than a few seconds… Anyhow, it’s a repeating pattern and I think it’s quite nice. The style is fresh and the wallpaper is decorative without being too intrusive to the room (even though it’s outside a toilet).

I call for more everyday-design as this, make all toilet like spaces just as nice as this one!

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

A transparent idea

Yes, I probably could’ve come up with a more clever title than this but I just didn’t have time (i.e. I couldn’t come up with anything else). I have never seen this particular ad myself, but it would’ve been interesting. For the non-Swedish I will give a rough translation: “A broadband contract without concealed terms and conditions”. So you see, there was a reason for the transparency. I wonder how much it cost and how many of these ‘advertising pillars’ they used for the campaign…

By the way, this one was snagged from DDB Stockholm – a talented bureau in (you guessed it) Stockholm, Sweden.

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

Useful corners

Who thought that there was such a great use of the advertising space on corners as shown here by BBC? Most cleverly they have pulled “an Economist”, and utilised space that nobody else would have wanted. The presence of a TV and the fact that the ad is all one photo, are just icing on the cake.

Mmm... cake.

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

Sorting it out...

Yes, the rumour is true. I'm going to be back real soon with new and 'fresh' material.

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

Brad Vs Earth

A nice little campaign from 180amsterdam for MTV. Simple, yet fun and nicely put together - nothing us students couldn’t have done ourselves though?!
(By the way, found this on the internet a few days ago, so it might not be very current. But so what, I’ve never had MTV...)

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

Buzz buzz!

There's a swede in it (not a real one though)! And it's rather entertaining.

Apparently it's the latest Virgin Trains viral from glue London.
"A shocking news report featuring the effects of Britain's obsession with non sustainable transport options on the mating habits of the flora and fauna of this pleasant land."

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

Peeping Tommie?

If I would ever encounter this advertisement it would scare the life out of me! This is another fine example of clever bathroom advertising. Overall, I think the creative minds behind the current Lynx campaign are doing a fine job indeed. For example:

I think most of you have seen the guy who has fish living in his armpits. This is because he sweats too much, and although it gives him a reputation and a statue it doesn’t make him happy. You see, the love of his life, doesn’t like the fact that he sweats that much. Are they bound to a life of unhappiness? Not at all. Suddenly someone sprays Lynx on the guy and he stops to sweat! Joy and celebration!

How twisted a mind do you have to have to come up with that? Ingenious. I applaud them.

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

Hands off!

What a brilliant place to use advertising on! If the message would relate to the placement this could be a real beauty. I reckon it’s only a matter of time before we will see this type of thing in the London underground. This particular photo was taken in Japan (always one step ahead of the rest?)

There is so much dead space out there waiting to be exploited by us advertisers/ designers! We just have to be a bit imaginative. Which, can be more difficult than it sounds…

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

Something to sink your teeth into

First of all, I would like to apologise those (even though it might only be a few) who reads this blog. I haven’t been keeping this blog up to date and it’s not because I have had to much other things to do, or because there hasn’t been anything to write about. No, I’m ashamed to tell you it all comes down to pure laziness. But as you are reading this, that will hopefully come to an end.

Enough said, lets focus on something which has always, since I first started to become interested in graphic design, fascinated me. The business card. I have seen the worst and I have seen few which are worth to remember. Because isn’t that what the business card is all about? Not letting people forget about you or your services? Since the 80’s the business card has become a status symbol for lots of business people and they use it not only to promote themselves to potential customers/clients, but also as a mean to compete with their ‘colleagues’.

In design the business card is both loved and hated, and why shouldn’t it be? That little confined space to put your design on is more often than not limited to very few colours. On top of that you probably haven’t got much time or budget to spend. So why do some designers, including me, love it? Well, who doesn’t enjoy a challenge? I think the ‘victory’ is so much sweeter when you have been faced with those obstacles. Not to mention the ‘cred’ you earn in the designer community… (?)

The one I’ve used to illustrate this entry is a very good one, and I do not think I need to say much about it (it's for dentist). Other than, of course, they have splashed out a bit when making this… (cheating!).

Edit:
Another interesting one:

(They are certainly planting seeds with that card...)

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

Milk matters

Thanks to one of my fellow co-students (Martin C) I stumbled upon this Cravendale website. I think it’s really good and well made. They seem really to have made an effort to create a little world for us to explore. I think the site is incredibly engaging and I wish they could have expanded on, what I think is the most interesting bit, the interaction between users. Because you see, this isn’t the normal flash world you might visit. Oh no sister, you got that incredibly wrong.

When you log in to the site and pick a name that you become a character in this world (you can choose from a range of different animals and objects) and then you are free to roam around the world. You will soon notice that other user controlled characters may appear. These are other people logged on to the same site. If you gang up with a friend and find some hilarious way of interacting you can capture this moment by filming it and saving it as a video clip.

Isn’t that just brilliant? If you get bored of that there’s a lot of content and videos for you to explore and goodies (pictures, icons etc) to find.

Enjoy!

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

Monkey-chocolate

I had to put this up. Someone please explain this to me, I’m clueless. (For those not in the UK, this is a TV advert for a chocolate brand.)

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

An OK idea

Gah! I know most of you might have seen this before, and I’m sure it’s not the most hip thing to blog about, but I just got to. Why? Because it is probably one of the best music videos ever made, wouldn’t you agree? It’s so clever in its simplicity and yet so incredibly advanced in its choreography and well made. Apparently they went behind their music labels back and did this, and then they were instantly famous.

All I can do is to salute their genius.

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

Halo 3

You might have caught a glimpse of this massive undertaking by the team behind Halo 3, on the TV. For some reason not known to man they have set out to create, by hand (!), a massive battlefield in extreme detail. There’s a video for which I recommend you to see, it might be a bit pretentious at times but it gives information to the madness that is the Halo 3 campaign. This is the LINK.

It is yet too early to say if the campaign is successful or not, and if the enormous amount of work and money put down to create this landscape has been worth it. On one hand it seems like an awful lot of work for barely anything, but on the other hand it shows how determined and committed the developers are to their game.

Will it be a tester - which will show if that extra time, care and sweat - actually pays off?

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

Commitment.

No one could ever claim that Noah doesn’t know what commitment means. By watching this video, you will understand. Again, a brilliant idea, combined with a lot of work.

To sum it up, Noah is a guy who has taken 1 picture of himself each day for the last 6 years. Naturally, he has become famous for his work. I can’t help feeling a bit sad and a bit scared of ageing when I see this and realise how fast 6 years can fly by. I guess Noah himself evokes that emotion with his quite sad and expressionless face.

I’m just waiting for someone to do this to their children, and then having someone else do it so that we could follow a person from birth to death. That would be pretty interesting.

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

Does a picture say more than a thousands words?

For many years the only fictional literature I read was fantasy. But earlier this year I decided that it was time to become a somewhat more “intellectual” reader and I bought my first Penguin Classic – Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. The book is about a self absorbed young man named Dorian Gray and his obsession with his own beauty. Dorian’s beauty is not lost on the other characters in the book. There is Basil Hallward who false in love with Dorian and paints that ‘horrible’ painting which will prove to affect Dorian in so many ways.

In general I recommend everyone to read the old classics. I won’t preach about how much you can learn from these books but I would like to mention the satisfaction of reading one of the classics and then to connect the dots with the rest of the cultural history. It’s amazing how these sometimes quite easy read and short novels have affected and influenced our cultural history then and now.

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

A killer idea

You have to adore the thinking that has been made before creating this campaign. It’s almost perfect, wouldn’t you say? HBO was launching their hit TV-show The Sopranos in Russia and thought that a neat little campaign could go alongside it…

I think this campaign is original, clever and most appropriate. Not only that, there are so many more possibilities for them to expand the campaign. This hand could be put in rubbish bins, shown sticking out of the ground etc etc. Why not use a leg to get a bit of variation?

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

I love toast

I don't really, but I like this website set up by Brahm. They show how far you can stretch the idea of toast and what it can do. I especially enjoyed the ‘toast-cam’ which can be found by following this link, then press the button 'See how I'm made'.

I’m not the one to blow my own horn, but I have played a mini-minimal part in creating this webpage and I was there when the creative bit took part. It was fascinating to witness but even more fun to see how well the end result turned out.

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

FedEx proves their worth?

I’m already one of those which still find it amazing that you can send something from one corner of the world and have it arrive a few days later in another corner. I know it isn’t cheap, but it is still quite remarkable. Now they’ve released this new campaign to convince those how are not yet among the believers. I think they play with a fun concept here and I can see it working in various media.

Apparently a Nicholas Tasker is behind this campaign which I think is setting just right tone for FedEx. I wonder if people might start to get disappointed with their normal delivery times when they’ve seen this campaign.

(On a side note: FedEx logotype must be one of the greatest typographical achievements in corporate branding, no question about it. I’m of course referring to the little arrow ‘hidden’ in between letters E and X.)

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

Logos

I first laid eyes on “Los Logos” in a small design shop in Barcelona in 2004. What caught my attention was simply the look of the book. Its shape and the nice red fabric hardback cover. But as the saying goes ‘never judge a book by its cover’. Luckily the content of the book does live up to its sleek look. The book is a collaboration of over 200 designers, bringing the reader more than 3000 different works. It is a perfect source of inspiration, as well as information, for any aspiring designer or creative mind. Its follow-up “Dos Logos” doesn’t bring anything new to the table but it’s a new sample of what the international design world has to offer.

I strongly recommend this to any designer, especially graphic designers of course, as a source of endless inspiration.


Ps. Check this website out for more design books, Elbtunnel. Ds.

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

A shopping street

I thought of this, though I never did anything at all about it, it still was an idea that had crossed my mind. Well, nevertheless it’s a great idea which I really think is using an unconventional space in an innovative manner. It’s a Street Campaign for Shopping Curitiba :"Shopping Curitiba's Sale".

Though there are a few things that concern me. Firstly, will the audience even see what it is? If you are walking across that street you may notice something is not right, but will you understand what you are standing on? Secondly I wonder if the government would actually allow you to change the zebra crossings like that. Isn’t some kind of law that would prevent you from doing this, because of the whole safety aspect?

Ah well, I still like it and it’s a fun idea.

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

Appropriate?

I have quite a weird sense of humour, but this billboard made even me a bit uneasy. I don’t think this is the right message to be telling the people who might be looking for a funeral service. Do we really want more dead people, is that what they are trying to tell us? I grant them the attention it brings, but I wouldn’t necessarily call it ‘good PR’.

With all the suicides and accidents relating to the underground railway stations across the world I think this campaign could be considered quite inappropriate. To some extent I can see the humour in it, but to me, it doesn’t press my buttons.

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

Eco-friendly sudoko?

I’m quite sure the Economist doesn’t contain any sudoku at all. But I would assume that their research show that their potential readers more than often like to solve the little number-puzzles. If they do, well then this campaign is a success. If not, the Economist has created not so clever campaign for once. To bad I do not have the resources to prove them wrong, it would’ve been worth it.

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

Internet shortage.

I have recently moved into a new flat in Leeds. It’s all good except for one little hick-up: I can’t get a telephone line until the 19th of September and then I will have to order the broadband after that. So, from now on, most of my blogging will be done from this small and local internet café. It’s quite nice and I don’t mind sitting here, the price is £1 / 40 minutes, which is a reasonable fare.

In fact, I think I get more inspired to blog when I’m out in a busy environment. I can recommend taking your laptop or using one of the computers available, and blog outside your own home. It makes you see things a bit more clear sometimes and it can help you break that writer’s block we all struggle with sometimes.

The only negative bit is that I will not be able to blog as often since it’s more of a project to get internet access. But I will do my best to please the masses.

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

An amateur, or not?

I would like to take this blog post as a opportunity to praise the amateur photography of one of my friends. She had (I think they are cousins) over one day for coffee and cakes and she decided to take some pictures. But instead of lining them up and making them smile she only observed them whilst they were playing and took picutres whilst moving with them. Since she was using a digital camera she did not have to worry about taking too many pictures and wasting film; she could just go with the moment. (None of the photos has been edited in any way).

What I like most about these pictures is how the children come to life and how much more interesting these photos are. If all you had was photos to remember things by, this is how you would want to remember these kids - playing in the sun, careless and happy.

I would like to refer to what Claire Broadhurst wrote in her blog about good photography:

“I guess a lot can be put down to the technical knowledge of the photographer such as the exposure and focus of both shots, but the rest has to be down to her talent of capturing the moment and seeing the photo opportunity in the first place.”

Maybe that is true. Maybe some things just simply can’t be taught?

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

Remember nature.

This is photo of a ‘Honeysuckle’ plant that grows in my family’s garden. I thought it could act as a reminder that if you’re ever stuck with a project nature can often offer a solution. The great design of our world is not to be ignored and frowned upon. Even a super-high-tech-ultra-cool-designer should find use of a nice flower pattern once and a while.

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

Plåster

I thought that this band-aid campaign would be worth a look. It uses the cracks and holes in walls that can be found around most big cities. I think it is a clever way of selling the idea of a great band-aid. Plus the fact that they emphasise the flaws in the city so that the government might take notice.

It might just be me making that last bit up, but I hope that was a part of their intention. It would give the brand a some nice PR as well.

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

Ps. Plåster = Band-aid. Ds.

Vintage commercials

“Lifeboy – makes women go WICKED!”
This is just a quote from one of many, many hilarious (mostly American) TV-adverts from the 50’s and 60’s included in this YouTube clip. They made me laugh so hard and I hope they will entertain you just as much.

It would be a good idea to re-use this as “retro-cool” with some new brand. If it is ridiculous enough I think it could make many people laugh. The “Lifeboy” product could have been an ad for Lynx instead, as they already use the ‘Chica wooaa woaahh’ (however they spell it) - they are already far out there and just waiting to be sued by some feminist organisation.

But with tongue in cheek a lot of these ads have something about them which makes them timeless.

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

Tape-tastic!

I’ve found this amazing artist which really creates witty and extremely eye-catching work. Mark Jenkins makes “people” out of tape and clingfilm, and more recently, he dresses them up as well. This makes them appear as real people since he finds ways of covering their faces. I would like to use this guy for several different projects - there are so many ways you can use his techniques for advertising campaigns. The reason for me liking this so much has a lot to do with me favouring ambient media campaigns. But besides that, I also enjoy the simplicity of his idea and the dark humour he weave into his projects.

Recently I have brought some Adidas and Nike adverts to your attention. Now use 1 minute to come up with a promotional campaign using Mark Jenkins art. Please post your idea as a comment. You should find it rather simple and consider it a fun exercise!

There are so many different ‘installations’ that are just so good but here is a selected few. At the end you can find video of how they are made.

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

The son of God

Take a close look at this poster, stare at it for a while if you need to, and you will find that someone quite famous and well known will appear. Yes, I did give you a clue in the title for this blog entry but what else could I do?

I’m not so sure what this poster is trying to do or if it just someone showing of their knowledge with optical illusions. I like it enough to write about it but otherwise the optical illusions can be quite boring and feel outdated at times. They have been around since the medieval times but maybe that classify them as timeless?

Ps. When uploading this I all of a sudden become quite unsure if it is Jesus or maybe someone else?.. Hmm...Ds

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

Vacation?...

Vacation? Well, not really. I've just been too busy (honestly!) to post anything this last week. But that is about to change starting tomorrow. I will be up and blogging again for good! ;) Thanks for all the e-mails!

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

Nike = Trash?

Adidas also used trash cans as means to advertise, funnily enough it seems Nike has done so as well. I wonder if people stopped to pick up the trash they missed when aiming for the bin?
Otherwise I think this ad could have potentially good impact, generating good PR for Nike if nothing else.

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

Bang, bang! You're dead!

Watch this advert for Xbox 360. I just loved it… they must have had so much fun shooting this. It reminds me of an episode of ‘Spaced’ where they use this fake shoot-outs as a gag.
There’s an undertone of it being a bit too violent, considering the fight almost exactly like this in other parts of the world. But they do not use fake weapons nor do they consider it fun.

Still a good TV-ad, if they can get people to imitate them in their private life’s they have really succeeded.

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

Drop (dead) gorgeous

This advert was probably very expensive, as it appears to be placed in the middle of New York. But then again it seems to be very effective as well. Imagine having people taking pictures of your advert? If that isn’t a sign for a job well done I don’t know what is.

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

A flap-top?

Why has nobody used this space before? I’ve flown with several different airlines and never have I witnessed such a great use of the space. I think I can recall some type of advertisement stuck to the seat in front of me, but nothing as clever as this.

I hope that they specifically targeted the business section of the airplane and that they focused on the routes which are most frequently used by travelling business men/women.

This space can be used to advertise so much more stuff than just a computer: for example food and other electronics. When I start to think about it there are so much that can be done with this space. The bored passenger is very easy to influence with various messages, as he/she is probably doing whatever he/she can to ignore the fact that they are several miles up in the sky, within a small metal object.

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin

Lucky?

Somehow I doubt that this poster ad could be real. Would it really be possible to block the view for all those other apartments? Anyhow, it’s quite a good and funny idea, though I do not think luck had anything to do with it. This is an example of careful planning when it comes to researching and producing this advertisement.

Sluta sluta, börja börja.

Martin