Arnell defends Tropicana rebrand

Mercedes-Benz 4MATIC: Skier, Climber, Ice-skater

Nice campaign for Mercedes here. Good concept, art direction and execution. Although from a design standpoint, I am not a huge fan of separating the mark from the logotype; it is slightly distracting having the copy, mark and logotype all positioned individually. But well done nonetheless.

Miles

Via ibia

Does Society Stifle Creativity and Innovation in Youth?

Short answer, yeah. Nice little article here.

Miles

Shredding = awesomeness

So Lee and I hit the slopes last Saturday night at Keystone after our little CS4 conference in Denver. It was the first time on my board consistently in 6 years. Tearing down the mountain and riding a handful of rails and boxes sure felt good - reminded me of the good old days when I was invincible and had a surplus of coordination. I snapped a little video and put it together in iMovie. Look out Justin.

Miles

Crime Stoppers - anonymity

Really nice campaign here from DDB Canada for the Greater Vancouver Crime Stoppers.

"The campaign encourages people to report crimes and suspicious behavior, and compellingly reinforces Crime Stoppers’ new positioning, “You remain anonymous, criminals don’t.” “The new campaign will refresh people’s perceptions about Crime Stoppers and reassure people of their anonymity who are still hesitant to contact us with their tips."

Miles

Via ibia

Your future is cloudy.

I was going through some of my old photos at home last week, I came across this shot I took over the summer. Doesn't do the real thing justice, but I still like it.

~Lee

The $50 logo experiment

The Creative Director at 160over90 to it upon himself to engage in a mock project with one of these "get an awesome logo online for a buck in less than 24 hours" types of places, i.e. logoworks, logoyes, etc. Needless to say, the process and results, here, were borderline seizure inducing, and at the same time, utterly hysterical. But hey, what do you expect for 50 bucks, right?

I won't get into what I feel is wrong with these sort of groups and their approach, because frankly, I don't have all day to write this post. I can, however, directly relate to this story and cite the true tale of a client who, before they called on us, sourced one of these companies and had an eerily similar experience. When all was said and done they were out of pocket some $400 and had absolutely nothing of value to show for it.

For further reading,
logoworks rip-offs
logoworks sucks
how not to design a logo

ps- I do want to state that the services offered by this lot may suit some companies perfectly, and that's cool. Not every client has the means to invest in a proper identity.

Miles

Via logodesignlove

The Thirty Second Sell - What’s Your Website’s Elevator Pitch?

You have thirty seconds to tell me why your website matters, and what it can offer me. Go!

Loewe: Sound

Fantastic spot for this European audio company. Awesome concept, simple/engaging message, flawless execution. Nice work out of Germany.

Miles

Via ibia

Kraft food rebrands, fails

Accurate assessment of the new corporate rebrand for Kraft foods here. This logo appears to be a design by committee nightmare; let's add a little bit of Pepsi swoosh, a rainbow explosion, a weak tagline and a touch of overall poor organization. Not good, especially when the previous logo was such an iconic, classic mark, that looked like it actually stood for something.

Miles

Via brandnew

Elizabeth Gilbert on creative genius

I love this talk by Elizabeth Gilbert from this year's TED conference in Monterey. Elizabeth presents a different way of looking at the source of creative inspiration. Very enlightening stuff, give it a listen.

Miles

Power Stance

I hadn't been to one of my friend's concerts (Drive-In Massacre) in a while to take pictures. I figured there wasn't a better time to go to a metal show than on Friday the 13th. I also remembered ear plugs this time too (which was a life saver)!

I got a few good pics from the night, this one was my favorite. Not your usual band shot and the colors make me happy.

Power stance'ing all up ins
~ Lee

Are you drunk?

We have all been there, driving down the road when, for whatever reason, out of anger, concern, curiosity or frustration, we have felt the need to communicate with our fellow drivers. Thanks to this new collection of simple, easy to understand signs, we no longer need to rely on the over-played middle finger, flashing of the lights or honking of the horn. Excellent!

Miles

Via swissmiss

Best storefront ever?

10 things a web designer would never tell you

"These arty-farty web designers are always telling you how your site should look. Don't listen to them! Don't they know the customer is always right? Here are 10 things a 'good web designer' would never tell you about choosing the perfect design."

This is hilarious

Your brand is everything, literally

Great write up here exploring the definition of a brand and why so many times companies fail to comprehend what it takes to create an authentic, valuable relationship with their customers.

Miles

Via thedieline

Best dog ever?

That's my Wicket*. Not a care in the world. The sun is shining? This is the best day ever.

*Sorry Sasha, I love you too.

Miles

Still relevant

Here is a great little story about a great little campaign hailing from Britain, circa 1939; not a cutting-edge campaign, but one that still communicates as well as it did back then, and I must add, still looks great as well.

Miles

Humans are among us

Fun work here for the SciFi channel from S&S Milan. The illustrations and typography are a spot on adaptation of their original novel inspirations. I can't help but read into these a bit more and get a sense that the depiction of humans is representative of our own nature to subjugate new land and um, monsters.

Miles

Via ibia

Worlds worst identity redesign?

This is bad. Real bad. Hey, anybody who knows me will tell you I am all for a clean, minimalist approach; when executed properly. But the hideous new redesign for Blimpie is anything but proper. This dumb green mess is stale and presents absolutely zero personality, which, I for one, at least thought the previous identity had.

Set in standard Futura, this sorry excuse for a mark is barely kerned properly let alone engaging. Really? They couldn't bring a hint of life into any of the characters? At least create a contrast between logotype and tagline? Looking at the before and after here, you really want to believe the labeling is reversed. Who approved this thing? Anyone know if it was done in-house? Is this a joke? Apparently not.

Miles

Via brandnew

Cultural shift

Nice work here from DDB Milan. This print ad ran in the popular Italian woman's magazine Grazia and addressed the social issue of women not receiving equal opportunity in the job market after they give birth. A sort of psa, if you will. Well done.

Miles

Via ibia

Gladwell delivers inspiration

Malcolm Gladwell summarizes that truly progressive work stems from passion and not natural ability. I suppose this is why it is so important to follow your hearts desire and do what makes you happy...

Miles

Doggy biscuit biz cards

Love this concept.

Miles

Via ibia

Best Superbowl commercial?

I enjoyed this one, also the Pedigree and Audi spots. It appears the edgy approach originated by CP+B is the new trend. Anyone else want to weigh in on this?

ps - I have to add the Denny's and Career Builder spots to the list as well. Nicely done.

Miles

1,474-Megapixel Photo

I know this image has been circulating the web over the past few days, but if you have yet to see it, be sure to take a look. A photographer by the name of David Bergman composed an image made up of 220 individual photographs, the result, an awesome, extremely detailed 2 gigabyte tiff.

Full screen here.

Miles

Thanks Michael