I was speechless when I came across Jen Stark's hand-cut paper sculptures -- truly exceptional and very inspiring! I read that Stark draws her inspiration from fractals, wormholes, and MRI scans. Oh, and dead bodes. How bizarre.
I can't even imagine the patience and dedication that goes into her works. Mass Overflow (above) is simply created using felt-tip pen on paper. I really like her choice of vibrant colours to complete the organic shape.
BBDO New York's very innovative campaign for BBC; "Connect with the World" using scenes from current news stories with actual cables. Who would generally look up and notice this advertising on buildings though?
This is a campaign for a nightlife guide. Innovative concept with a tagline that fits perfectly. The execution is amazing, with close attention to the tiniest details.
I was doing some research on the YCN Kleenex brief, and came across their 'Let it Out' campaign which I thought was great. It allows customers to fully interact with the product whether they're happy or sad or simply just want to blow their nose.
I'm currently reading the book Designers are Wankers by Lee McCormack. He states:
"Don't be a wanker! Embrace what it means to be a professional designer. Making the transition from design student to successful creative often involves a lot of reassessment, adaptation and resignation -- just when you thought you'd cracked it and got that qualification, you realise that your actual education starts here..."
I completely agree. Who needs that qualification anyway? Surely, you learn more from experience/ on the job. Do you necessarily need 'that piece of paper' to get the job though? This brings me to my dissertation topic debate..
"One doesn't necessarily need a degree in design to be a successful graphic designer."
While researching for the Elmwood 'brand a family member' brief, I came across Steve Pavlina's blog where he talks about branding. He asked visitors to his website to jot down three adjectives they thought described him. After 2 days, he collected more than 3,000 adjectives from 1,101 responses!
I agree when he states that "branding is something that exists only in other people's minds." How can one brand themselves? Although they do say that the closet person to you, is you..
During our first seminar with Jim today, we were talking about artists with great names: Andy Warhol, David Hockey, Picasso, Tracy Emin. It was hard for us to think of artists with 'boring' names.
Although Tracy Emin is a well known English artist, I've never really studied her work or know much about her. Well, it's never too late..
Everyone I Have Ever Slept With 1963–1995
This is probably one of Emin's most iconic works. It is a tent with the names of literally everyone she had ever slept with. (Not necessarily in the sexual sense.) Owned by Charles Saatchi, it was destroyed in the 2004 Momart London warehouse fire. Emin has refused to recreate it.
My Bed
Another striking piece, this is an installation of Tracy Emin's own bed: unmade and ditry with used condoms and blood-stained underwear.
I find it amazing how a person becomes so well known after the most bizarre things. I guess it's all originality...
Hot With A Chance Of A Late Storm is an artwork created by The Glue Society in 2006 for Sculpture By The Sea, an annual public art event featuring work from international artists that takes place on the walk between Bondi and Tamarama in Sydney. The Glue Society's sculpture won both the public and children's prize as well as international news coverage.
At my first glance of this, while flipping through Creative Review, I thought it was a copy of Dali's melting clocks...!
This beautiful illustration advertises French Bocage shoes. Although the concept might suggest that the shoes are not durable enough to wear in the rain, it is overcome by the ad's layout and great art direction. It's all about keeping the small treasures from being damaged.
We had lunch at a 'Pizza Hut' over the weekend, and were confused with the whole 'Pasta Hut' scenario. I refused to believe that my favorite pizza restaurant was changing it's name, so I did what anyone in search for information would do: I googled it. There it read:
LONDON - Fifty-year-old restaurant chain Pizza Hut is temporarily changing its name to Pasta Hut in a radical £100m relaunch.
With the introduction of 8 new pasta dishes (but the same number of pizzas on the menu), Pizza Hut signs are currently being taken down in attempts to promote a new "healthy eating" image.
Pasta is not any healthier than pizza though, is it? It's all made of carbs. Although change is sometimes good, I think it will confuse the public. They will definitely have to do more than just a name change. It will be interesting to see how it all works out.
When you think of pizza, you immediately think of Pizza Hut..or maybe that's just me.
I thought this television advertising campaign was cute when I first saw it, but I didn't really understand the relation between the famous Paddington Bear and Marmite until now; Paddington and Marmite are two great British institutions. Paddington, who for 49 years has kept an emergency marmalade sandwich in his little lunch box, decides he needs to try something different and swaps his trademark sandwich for a Marmite one!
I personally hate Marmite (it's true, you either love it or hate it..), but I thought it was very clever of DDB London to illustrate the concept in an innovative way, especially by breaking habits of the bear. Paddington is the most famous sandwich-eater around and has eaten marmalade sandwiches forever. If he can change his habit, so can anyone.
Michael Bond, creator of Paddington, disagrees however: "I have to report that although Paddington found the sandwich interesting, bears are creatures of habit. It would require a good deal more than the combined current withdrawals from Northern Rock to wean him off marmalade, if then."
Not only is the advert targeting children, but also encourage mums to buy Marmite for the family's sandwiches. I believe that anything that introduces a new audience to old classic should be supported. A marmalade loving, but Marmite hating individual would probably disagree.
During my dissertation research, I stumbled across David Carson, a successful graphic designer who graduated with a degree in sociology, NOT design. He was also a former professional surfer, ranking #9 in the world during his college days.
A tribute to other self-taught designers, Carson broke most of the rules of design and typography, as you can somewhat 'illegibly' read 'legibility' above. He experimented with overlapping and distorted fonts and intermixed these with striking photographic images.
I have mixed feelings about this WWF campaign. I grasp the concept with the trees being the 'marks' of each animal (snake, leopard, and giraffe), but hasn't it been done before? I think the giraffe strips are a bit too forced as tree shadows don't extend that long. Similarly, tree settings like the one in the snake campaign just don't exist. The 'accidental' layout is just too 'perfect.' The leopard one is the most natural looking. What do you think?
