I wanna be like you

I feel I need to comment of the recent adverts surrounding "stop smoking" as i find it a great powerful campaign. It particularly targets the area that if you smoke you children are more likely too. They've successfully made it so the children mimic what their parents do. I've also found a similar old smoking ad which is a nice comparison.

I Wanna Be Like You, Anti-Smoking Advert, 2008

(The bright chirpy music makes it seem like a happy ad and keeps people's attention from drifting, but the underlying message at the end is deadly serious and brings viewers back down to earth. The music plays an important part in this ad for sure.)


Like Father Like Son - Anti Smoking PSA 1967

Look how shockingly similar these two ads are. This one was obviously a source of inspiration to the more recent advert. It just demonstrates how ideas become reused again and again and that issues like smoking will continue to be around for a long time.

Love the UK

Found this on the internet, it plays on the famous heart NY symbolic identity, modified specially, kind of appropriate for the recent weather...

Sandra Juto

A few bits of work by Swedish Illustrator and graphic designer, Sandra Juto.
I enjoy how she uses flat pieces of paper/card to formulate the core shape of her figures, adding soft details with pen and ink. It gives a flatness which i like in illustrations, yet still manages to hold points of interest.
www.sandrajuto.com

A Fat Diet Advert

Natalie Cassidy's Diet Secrets, BBC Three, Wednesday 25th June
A while ago now I watched a television program hosted by the actress Natalie Cassidy on fad diets. I found a lot of it covered what i already knew- diets like maple syrup diets don't work!
However it covered some deeper topics such as children's influence on parents dieting, and why poeple yo-yo diet.
I can remember one powerful ending message Cassidy gets across to her viewers... "FAD DIETS MAKE YOU FATTER"

I thought this could be an interesting topic to base my independent topic on. How can we advertise the negative impacts of dieting? Especially in today's media and celebrity controlled world?

Send me a Polaroid

From all the news surrounding Polaroids recently i came across this site www.postcardpolaroid.com
I think its a pretty funky idea, might give it a try. It reminds me when a friend sent me a plank of wood through the post, people love it when they receive something unexpected.

A Face in a Place

Had a look at the Faces in Places blog mentioned on the GLOG page, and it reminded me of a photograph I took previously. Its amazing what you can find in natural environments if only you look.

The Senedd

Went to Cardiff a little while ago and had a look inside the National Assembly for Wales aka The Senedd situated on the waterfront on Cardiff Bay. It's an amazing piece of architecture which was made to symbolize an open democracy. The building also represents sustainability, through the materials it uses (traditional Welsh materials such as slate and Welsh oak), to the way its heated and naturally ventilated.
There's a lot of detailed information available online here; it seems a lot of time, money and effort was plowed into the creation of this building, and it shows.

Anyone interested in architecture, its worth a look.

SNICKER: Get some nuts

Closely related to my recent post about the banned Heinz Ad. This advert promoting snickers was brought off air because of complaints that it was negatively targeting gays.
Personally I think this ad is a lot less offensive, and the complaints surrounding it seem trivial.
Created by Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO – (The same agency responsible for a Heinz Deli Mayo advert- withdrawn last month after showing two men kissing.)
Includes Mr T, not my cup off tea, shouting ‘Speed walking. I pity you fool. You are a disgrace to the man race. It’s time to run like a real man.’
Apparently most of the complaints came from America, where it wasnt even showed. Really America's views shouldn't influence what occurs here in the UK.
Humour is of course subjective, however i dont think this ad comes across as being targetly offensive. Seems that the view of a few are being portrayed as the view of the many.
Surely shouldn't Mars stand their grounds over these minority complaints and ...GET SOME NUTS!

A Traumatic Book

Trauma by Patrick McGrath, cover design by Peter Mendelsund, 2008

Bicycle

An abstract way of displaying an object. Nice.

Styrofoam Robot

Created by Kevin Kelly.
Start collecting your styrofoam now!

Female Genital Mutilation Awareness...

A Swedish ad firm, Publicis Stockholm, came up with a three ad campaign for Amnesty International against female genital mutilation.
They appear beautifully illustrated and yet at the same time very clear in its symbolism, however nasty the topic is.

WOOF.

A Swedish telecom company called Tele2 use a hound dog as their company symbol, and have a website where you can make it beatbox to sounds. A little bit of interactive fun.

www.beatbox.tele2.se

Night Tennis Anyone?

I must've completely missed this brilliant idea by Sony Ericsson when it came out in Madrid, as i've only just stubbled across it. Consisting of ultra-violet tennis court, a club, a top DJ, and when the tennis ends it becomes a dance floor.

It looks like so much fun; lets bring it to England! Night Tennis Anyone?

Design Briefs?

A good link for info on the basis behind writing a design brief by Peter Phillips...

Could Come in handy!

http://www.designcouncil.org.uk

BOB LONDON

Illustrations from Bob London. He's particularly good at capturing people, and picking up on individual characteristics and bringing them to life in his work. I like his line drawing approach to his technique, a hand-done kind of style.

Marcus Walters

Marcus Walters is a UK illustrator and designer, who works with a variety of different media including collage to help create a unique effect. His work really appeals to me, the choice of alternative media, the vibrancy, the flat perspective along with its clever simpleness. Definitely worth checking out.

Illustrations by David Sparshott

Liking the style of these illustrations by David Sparshott. Nice simple line drawing style, complements a clean page layout well. Have a rough earthy feel to them.

Paul Willoughby

A nice selection of stuff by Paul Willoughby

The work of Frank Chimero

An example piece of work by Chimero called "Silhouettes", a small book comparing his silhouette to a bunch famous ones. However i chose this piece more so for the style and layout design used, which i thought was clean and precise yet interesting and carefully thought out too.

And an inspirational design poster printed by Chimero:

Frank Chimero is a graphic designer and illustrator from the USA, inspired by the mid-century aesthetic. I enjoy his playfulness style he manages to successfully incorporate into his work.

Chris Jordan

Skull With Cigarette, 2007 [based on a painting by Van Gogh] 72x98"
Depicts 200,000 packs of cigarettes, equal to the number of Americans who die from cigarette smoking every six months.

Just one part of a project titled Running The Numbers, An American Self Portrait, by Chris Jordan.
It aims to visually examine the vast and bizarre measures of American society, through statistics. Each image porttrays a specific quantity of something, in the case above its, cigarette boxes, which then created a larger image through the numerous smaller photographs.
This style of work creates a 'double-take' effect where viewers have to have a second look at the work in order to understand the full picture and the true meaning behind it.
He explores lots of other materials too, quite interesting really.

Car park Wayfinding System

Came across the works of designer Axel Peemöller

This particular wayfinding project based in a carpark in Melbourne caught my attention. The distorted letters shown, display directions when standing or viewing from a specific direction. It comes across as quite a funky unique idea, definitley adds more interests to the car park. However you would wonder how efficient the signage is. As what happens to those who go the wrong way then can't make out where to go because they can't return to that one location where the word is visible?

#1 Foam Hand

Variations of the universal "we're number one" symbol made by Geral Fauss. The foam hand is one of the most popular pieces of US sports merchandising today.

House Decor

I stumbled across this incredible building whilst walking around in Sans Francisco.

Upon some research i discovered that it has been there since 1997 produced by an artist called Brian Goggin. The art itself consists of a range of furniture hanging off the side of the building, the concept behind it being 'defenestration’ (a word meaning to throw out of a window).
This kind of art really interests and inspires me, it's unexpected carrying an element of surprise which i think makes you appreciate the sculptural art even more. Overall this left a huge impression on me, and of Sans Francisco itself as a city. Along side this building there were many other sculptures and artistic points of interests scattered around the city, which made it such a great place to wander round. I'd definitely recommend a visit there to anyone.

You can see other interesting and strange works by Goggin at his website www.metaphorm.org/

Two Pairs In One

A new German designed sandal/shoe spotted in the Daily Mail newspaper, with aims to combat this summer's unpredictable weather!

PES: Film

"Western Spaghetti" by PES

Found this video the other day and fell in love with it, so cleverly created! Definitely worth a look.
Like this? Check out more of their films at www.eatpes.com

Magazine Creation

A video by Matt Willey showing his decision making process for his page design for the Royal Academy Magazine. A well recognised procedure and a good insight to how the final project is achieved and what designers go through to get it.

Give Us A Call

Just in case you felt like jumping. (Golden Gate, Sans Francisco, CA.)

Dali's Bench

This photograph was taken outside the Salvador Dali Museum in St Petersburg, Florida. A very unique and appropriate bench design I thought!

www.salvadordalimuseum.org

A Kiss From Heinz

Heinz Deli Server Mum : Banned Ad
Agency: AMV BBDO

What is it exactly trying to advertise? - Heinz Deli style Mayo?!
And why exactly was it taken off air? - Apparently it received over 200 complaints in the UK saying that it was offensive and inappropriate, so was removed after just less than a week on air.

The basic idea of the ad is that the mom is really a lady, but in the kids' eyes and her husband, she's a dude working in a New York deli, hence the American accent. The ad was meant to come across as a humorous metaphor for great tasting sandwiches. But it seems like the British public just didn't get it.

AMV BBDO say that the concept behind the campaign is that the product tastes so good, "It's as if you have your own New York deli man in your kitchen." (http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/jun/24/asa.advertising)

Is the advert too gay? - nowadays gay people can have families in todays modern society too; are people still shocked by this concept? The ads removal could be interpreted that Heinz is ashamed of their commercial and are taking a step backwards. Many might feel that this action shows an unsupportive view of gays hence reflecting a negative light on Heinz as a company.
This also raises the question if we should fully inform children that there are both heterosexual and homosexual alternatives and let them see role models and examples of each in the media?

So are we all just looking a little too deeply into a commercial which is simply taking an alterative approach trying to to be original in order to capture people's attention. It just shows how sensitive todays public market is; however it must be worth taking the risk as the response to such adverts like this one is so unpredictable; and either way seems to generate enough media attention to the brand and the new product.

It is seemed that Heinz have managed to dig itself a hole with regards to the controversial issues surrounding gay rights. Personally I don't have a problem with the ad at all; and see no reason why it shouldn't be on air. However i did find the reaction to it very interesting.

What do you reckon - should it have been left on air?