Monday 19 October 2009

Innovative Self Promotion

Since I have been looking into self promotional design recently, I thought I would share a few of my findings. Below are some of my favourite, most innovative business card designs I have come across in my research. 







Friday 2 October 2009

Photoshop - As real as it gets

I have just found this on the internet and I think it's absolutely brilliant. It has been created by agency Bates 141 in Asia and has generated huge interest worldwide. It is a campaign to promote the new Adobe Photoshop CS4 editor through software-asli.com. The advert depicts photoshop in 'real life' and took a week to assemble the 7x5m set. 

If only photoshop really did look like this, it would be great if you could set the program to this appearance. This concept is so simple but extremely effective, and the art direction is brilliant. The only complaint I have is that this would work perfectly as an advert for Adobe Photoshop, however it is in fact for the online shop selling the software, which I think is a little unclear, as it promotes the software rather than the shop. However It is the visual that I find so inspiring. 


Recycled Design

The book art in my previous post has really struck an interest in me for product design. In particular, creating new designs from old and used items. Not only does this create fascinating objects and forms, but is also addresses environmental issues. By using someone else's rubbish such as bottle tops, old tyres, bent bike wheels, and plastic cutlery to create useful items. Below are a few of my favorite designs that have found their way out of the rubbish bin.



Perhaps most intersting of all is this desk. It has been made by a company called Moto Art who make a range of furniture, from commercial aircraft parts, collected from the desserts in California and Arizona.




Thursday 1 October 2009

Book Art - the future of books?

The thought of hacking up books is a slightly disturbing image for me, that is until I saw these 'book art' sculptures. A new trend of cutting up and redesigning books into aesthetic sculptures and practical objects, such as chairs, shelves, vases and even lights. I like this idea of taking an existing object like a book and transforming it into something entirely different, changing the message of the story inside. Below are some examples that caught my eye, they all use books, but contain different messages and purposes.
Though I find the concept of taking this traditional medium and turning into something innovative and beautiful fascinating, I cant help but think it sad. The question that comes to mind - is this all that is left for books today? I love the tactile nature of books, the cover designs, even the smell. I am probably one of the few people that still has a library card. However with growing use of the internet and the introduction of e-books and online magazines, is there a future for books? 
There are obvious environmental benefits to e-books, having been looking at sustainable design, they fit into this category very well. Despite this, I cannot imagine being able to concentrate reading a story on my computer. When reading a book, you can pick it up and dip in and out when you like, this would not be so easy using a computer. I enjoy turning the pages of a book and the tangible experience that e-books could not replace. This is an issue I have found myself thinking a lot about recently, I love the medium of print, it has a uniqueness that online doesn't posses. However with environmental problems and the growth of digital medium, who knows, libraries may one day become galleries for book art. 

On a more positive note, these sculptures take something old and used and reinvent it into something new, something that can be done with anything. I particularly like the book light shades, at a glance, I didn't notice that they were made from. The rest I have chosen because they use books in an innovative and visually appealing way.