Anyone out there sick of seeing animals in ad campaigns?
Telus is apparently “unleashing” something new this week. Let me guess…a lion? Perhaps a tiger or maybe even a bear? Oh my! How original! While Telus’ animal theme is one of the most memorable campaigns in Canadian ad history, after 10 years of the cuteness I now find it all rather boring. It’s time for something new.
GoAuto? Same thing. We get it – dogs. Fido? Ditto. Cute puppies. Very unique.
Playing off animals is such a played out theme, so I was pretty skeptical when I heard that AT&T was going to be jumping on the animal bandwagon. However, after seeing the ads I have to say that I’m pleasantly surprised.
They’ve successfully put a new twist on the animal concept which is pretty cool.
Using just hands and a phone, AT&T melds 2 popular ideas of painting hands, along with animals to make a moderately unique campaign. Not only do they incorporate beautiful colors and country specificity, but they maintain a unique style and inject the human element back into the animal theme. Yes! Humans! Go figure.
I thought for my inaugural Urban Jungle post I would talk about stuff that I really like. T-Shirts, Fancy Typography, Branding and Baked Goods! Johnny Cupcakes does not, contrary to popular belief, sell cupcakes rather an awesome looking clothing line….but let’s be honest, the clothing is great, but the branding is what really gets my motor running.
Johnny Cupcakes is definitely taking the baked goods theme and running with it. Their stores look like bakeries, their print collateral looks like it’s adorned with sprinkles, and although I don’t own any of their clothing I imagine it smelling like birthday cake the first time you wear it (Doubtful, but wouldn’t that be AWESOME!!) The activity book from their LA store has some fantastic illustrations and typography and really conveys how much fun the company is.
Speaking of fun, check out the video Johnny Cupcakes made with video geniuses Kamp Grizzly. Cupcake Cannon? You betcha! Really inspiring to see a company taking their branding to the next level and being incredibly successful at it.
Stylized Graphics Set Tone (& Texture) for 2010 Games
Upon first glance I immediately thought “there is something different about the way Vancouver is presenting their Olympics”; it wasn’t until my second that I realized what it truly was. Vancouver 2010 was completely photography free. Free from the concern about rights usage and proper resolution. Free from formatting issues and Photoshop hours. And free from the limiting factors of depicting specific style, positioning, age, race as well as gender. Below are they ways they gained from their new found freedom as well as the journey through creative process that lead their team to this conclusion.
Multiple Elements Allow for Multiple Uses
These subtle yet impactful designs base their look on energy and movement however, an emphasis on form and flux can quickly become overpowering if not developed carefully. To do so successfully it is imperative that a foundational formula be built. Consistently inconsistent use of swoops and swirls piled with textures in hues of blue and green create the basis of this framework. Because of the organic, and almost random, nature of the layered background textures it allows for quick and easy application to all designed pieces. Here are is a listing of the variety of ways they I have seen them applied:
- Banners flanking presentation stages and along fences – Bus Passes – Commemorative programs – Detail on volunteer uniforms – Website banners: Vancouver2010 – Bookmarks – Flags
The Message
It is easy to convey a single emotion with a single image but to convey multiple emotions repeatedly in multiple images involves true mastery of the art of design. These illustrations for me do just that. In fact the depiction of each of the athletes constantly convey a strong feeling of perseverance, focus and drive regardless of the sport. Added to that are the elements of nature that speak to what Canada, physically, really is. The environment is woven into these icons through their developed colour pallet and natural references whether it be dragonfly wings on a float plane or the presence of stylized clouds subtly placed onto the background. Overall, I feel that through these designs we as Canadians are better able to tell the story of what makes us who we are.
How they got there
Hours of brainstorming and inspiration collecting was the platform in which Vancouver 2010’s Creative team used as their jumping point. Check out the video outlining their process!
I’d like to share a little bit of my inspiration process with you today. It’s very easy to look at a singular item and think to ourselves, ‘I like this, I don’t like that’… but pulling together a cohesive brand presence incorporating the look, the energy, the spirit, and the voice across multiple mediums can sometimes feel frustrating and at times even impossible. Especially when you have a myriad of stakeholders and agendas.
One thing I have always tried to maintain in my creative process is to constantly be open what’s going on in other creative outlets. The cool thing is that inspiration can really come from anywhere. For example, the curves and lines of a brochure piece might be inspired by the lines of a clothing design; a color composition for a new corporate identity might be inspired by an abstract painting I saw in an art gallery. Inspiration can essentially come from anywhere. Even the most brutal designs inspire me – I want to do it better.
Almost everything I see and do gets digested (either consciously, subconsciously or superconsciously) and comes out in my work. Designers, like painters, sculptors, writers and musicians, have a distinct way of looking at the world around them and translating what they see into something new and beautiful so that others can learn to appreciate it. Everyday I feel blessed to have the opportunity to explore my creativity through my work, and I don’t think that is something that everyone can say.
Found on VisualComplexity.com, this beautiful but disturbing poster examines global human trafficking.
“It depicts each country’s level of involvement (from Very High to Very Low) as either a country of destination or origin. The project concentrates on the smuggling of people from one country to another – mainly illegally. In many cases these people are forced to do work that is illegal, such as prostitution or child labor.”
The poster was created by Taulant Bushi, the original image can be found at http://tinyurl.com/22jkm9
A few months ago 8 artists gathered in Cape Town, South Africa to paint about the fate of the earth.
Are we doomed? Will the human race persevere? You decide.
Zach Beane had an idea for displaying box office data graphically. Each graph displays trends in the top 25 movies at the box office for each weekend in a year. The color is based on the movie’s debut week. Because of that, long-running movies will gradually start to stand out from newer movies with different colors. This is so absolutely stunning I had to share it.
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Lovemarks
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