Police Museum

The ads are nice, the logo, just Great.

Beware

Dog food advertising is becoming very cool. Could catch up to Lego's. TBWA, Paris.

"Start Where The Energy Is"

The title is a quote from John Cleese regarding the creative process and getting out of being stuck. I think it's brilliant insight. Read the excerpt here to get the idea in full.

(via swissmiss) 

The funny walking photos are cool, too, no?

Wall Animation

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

I'm totally blown away by the sheer audacity and scale.

Two

This is sure to make someone mad, but it clearly communicates. And I'm a sucker for bad wallpaper in good advertising.

Bruce Lee

Not buying the phone, but diggin' the video.

Creativity/Productivity

Hooray creativity. Booo production. Unless just using Excel is productive.

Shaq: Funny, who knew

This just tickles me.

I see Typography

We should al be doing this more often. Self motivated type. Portfolio.

Victory

Had seen the Hope Posters by Shepard. Hadn't seen these until I was milling around French paper's Blog. By the way, Speckle Tone Cream.

Hint or Else

Oh yeah, they went there.

Bike Hero

You have got to see this.

It does change my mind about two things:
1. There is now a purpose for guitar hero (if only for one person)
2. There is hope for user generated content (if this was indeed user generated)*

*OK, there is REALLY great user generated content out there, a lot of it. The good is just a small percentage of all UG.

20 : 10, 20, 30, 40, 50

Same woman, just a few talented people, photographers and one kick-ass makeup artist. Can't think of why the 30 year-old has to look like a street walker, but well done none-the-less.

Vogue Paris November 2008 with Eniko Mihalik by Inez van Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin styled by Carine Roitfeld, make-up by Lisa Butler.

Student Show: A Belated Thought or Two

So, a week ago at this very time I was leaving the ADCD Student Show hosted by RMCAD in the rotunda space. If you haven't been there for an event, it's like a giant gazebo attached to another building. And it was perfect for the show this year. There are predictions about next year's show needing a bigger space. Anyway, that was a full week ago — and yes, I'm just getting to writing about it now. Apologies.

But you know, the week has given me a little distance from it and now I can see more clearly some of the reasons why I think it was a great success. They are:

1. The Denver area has a lot of schools with design related studies. It was fantastic to have them all together in one place, showing off their students' work.

2. The students were proud. They brought their families. And their friends. And I watched as they made the rounds actually looking studiously at and discussing the work of their peers.

3. The space. Gallery-like and big enough to accommodate everybody yet small enough to make it feel like a hot-ticket event, it was perfect.

4. The DJ. J. Scott Womack, A.K.A. cobelco, is a fantastic mood enhancer. Strike that, he creates the scene. Some music is fine for the background and some music is great front and center. cobelco's wide range of influences and spontaneous mixing saavy combine to construct something that is more like the skeleton of an aquatic creature. The underlying groove helped the event and the attendees move along fluidly, occasionally accented by something recognizable or, even better, a completely new flourish. That's how he does it.

5. Kimberly Carey Putnam. The event seemed effortlessly put together by Kimberly and her crew. All her planning made an occasion that the students, their families and the ADCD can be proud of.

6. Finally, the fact that this show happened just weeks after the much successful and beneficial Student Briefies event (see previous posts labeled Briefies Wow), has me thinking that the ADCD really has something to offer the younguns in the profession. I think this may not be as obvious as it could be. And that's too bad, but I think that will change. 

Stay tuned for more of the same. And tell a student about ADCD. Good for the student, good for the community.

The Cream of the Student Crop

Hey, kickin' youself because you missed the student show and really wanted to memorize the winners names for their future glory? You're in luck. Here they are. congrats to the winning students and their respective institutions.

Phil Lietz//Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design//The Catch//Best in Category: Illustration - Digital

Angelia McLean//Metro State//Urban Harvest Gardening Journal//Best in Category: Publications - Book Design

Iyesha Sayeed//Community College of Denver//Word Play (David Caron)//Best in Category: Graphic Design - Cover

Hayes Trotter//Community College of Denver//The Town Company//Best in Category: Graphic Design - Stationery

Hayes Trotter//Community College of Denver//The Town Company//Best in Category/Graphic Design - Trademarks/Logos

Andy Musser//Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design//Battle of the Bulbs//Best in Category: Video and Sound - Animation

Lori Stikeleather//Metro State//Tagging Profit Margins//Best of Show and Judge's Choice and Best in Category:Print Advertising-Magazine

Christopher Manzanares//Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design//How Science Hurts Love//Judge's Choice and Best in Category: Illustration - Traditional

Brian Twigg & Andrew Alger//Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design//Preparing for Failure//Judge's Choice and Best in Category: Environmental Graphic Design - Exhibits/Displays

Sarah Wagle//Metro State//Definitions//Judge's Choice and Best in Category: Editorial Design - Magazine

Shane Miles//Colorado State University//All (Equality)//Judge's Choice and Best in Category: Graphic Design - Poster (poster set)

Shipping?

Fun, too bad the rumor is they are pulling out of the biz in this country.

How Full?

Funny Stuff.

Time Sculpture

Incredible. The idea was simple enough, but WOW. The execution is mind numbing. Look for yourself. Is it me or is flat screen TVs the most lucrative/competitive business out there? Grey, London

For Papa

NIce story, well shot. Stella Artois has had some nice ads for a while, though, this fall a bit short of the coupon campaign.

Mama Mama

This is great, due to the sum of its parts. Nice insight, not breakthrough. Not too excited about reworking Mana Mana for the jingle (personal favorite song) but ahh, add in the animation and we have a memberable ad.

Apple Apples

Put this under "Doh, I should have thought of that" a Japanese man has figured out how to put logos on apples all naturally. Seems as though you just have to sticker them a month out of harvest to make it work. This looks to open up room for so much more merchandising.

Toys

Note to self: The power of Greyskull only works if you have the sword. Important part. Nice art though.

Try Putting This Back

Not so sure that this would make me want to buy a puzzle, but it does make me smile.

500 things you should know

This is absolutely cool. Absolutely the coolest. Found this over at Notcot.com. But head over to Amazon to pick up yours.

Porcelain Fashion

Stunning fashion. Can't imagine sneaking up on anyone. But it is beautiful, I like it more off the model though.

Moxie Sozo

While browsing over at Notcot.org, cam across this brilliant packaging for Red Dog Candy from the shop over in Boulder, Moxie Sozo. Can't tell you how much I love this packaging. I could go on for ever, but I'll spare you the details and just give you the link.

Fast

Really want to see the next. Nicely understated with a simple message.

Understated

Yeah, there's the hat. And then there's the other stuff. The fact that it comes from Germany is interesting. Serviceplan, Munich/Hamburg, Germany.

Camera in a Gift Card?!

From Target. The description from their site: "This 1.2 MP Digital Camera GiftCard takes pictures and comes with 40 free prints." That's fun. 

Target has really changed the face of their store shopping experience and brand, obviously. I can hardly remember what it used to be like 20 years ago, except that it seemed so uncool. 

Footpath

Cool. Like it. From a guy called Roadsworth.

Ahhhh, Writers. You're Welcome.

Next time your CD/Client/Account Guy or Gal try to write something for you, show them this. Nothing softens education like a comic strip.

Photoshop CS4 As Real As It Gets

This is cool. But it actually makes me want to get my real art supplies out and step away from the software. I'm a sucker for a tube of cadmium orange and a palette knife. Still, great ad from Indonesian software reseller Software-asli.com.

Zales Campaign Potential

I happened to catch the ad on TV last night, and no doubt many intended viewers will like it. (The spot is called "String" if you want to Google it.) I didn't think the spot was that special; the story was cute, but nothing wowed me. But the simplicity of the copy and image at the end was far more interesting to me and the use of a word that is a bit younger was a great step out for Zales, I thought. It's got great potential and I'm interested in seeing more. 

Agency: The Richards Group.

Smith & Hawken: Celebri-Trees

The schmancy garden company Smith & Hawken rolls out an online auction to boost the holiday season's commercial success. Christmas designed by Eva Longoria-Parker, Brooke Shields, Julianne Moore and others are available for bidding online and proceeds benefit Keep America Beautiful (KAB.org). 

Minnesota Lottery

Same old idea with afun animated twist. Especially love the dumping on Wisconsin.

Student Animation

Pretty good story telling. Especially considering it is a. a student, b. the stroy, drawing and direction was all the same person, and c. this was a class assignment. Some really talented kids out there.

The Story of One-Eyed Ophelia Jackson is a 2008 graduation film by Kat Morris from School of Visual Arts. The eye-catching short, about the luckiest girl in the world, Ophelia Jackson, and her encounter with a Sea Witch, stands out for its confident drawing style and sophisticated sense of design.

Obsessive Commitment to Concept

This book cover was designed by Isaac Tobin, using hand lettering by Lauren Nassef. Lettering done by hand, yes, but not drawn by hand. Pinpricks through heavy card stock was the method, perfectly illustrating the book's title. Awesome. Haven't seen the book in person, but it'd be really cool if the hand pricking was mass-duplicated on every cover so you could actually feel it. Regardless, great execution. 

From NY Times The Book Design Review.

Whiteboard Pong

The world could use more of this type of thinking. From eness.

Sesame Street Made Me

I credit getting into this business to a lot of time spent with Sesame Street. It was videos like this that first turned me onto type, animation, story telling, design, the whole package. It was the hours of time spent to make something so simple and fun (even at a young age I could tell how much effort was put into something like these) that actually prepared me for this industry. Now I look around, and yes I'll say it, there isn't much out there that I can say would inspire me in the same way. There are a few. But nothing like these. The best i can say is at least Hulu is starting to post these. Allowing the digital age to discover them again.

'Twas The Night Before Christmas

I love this lamp. It's such a postmodern twist on the guy in the Christmas poem who walks around his house with a lit taper. The design is simple and very cool. See the full description here. Thanks to swissmiss.

Dieter Rams Cold War Modern

Dieter Rams, designer - Cold War Modern from Victoria & Albert Museum on Vimeo.

Dieter Rams talks about his design. You might recognize his work's influences on Apple's design.

Weeds Promo

When you care enough to send the very confusing message. It says I like Cheetos, Cheech and Chong. Nice Promo though. I can hear it now, Dave? Dave's not here.