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. 

Nokia Vine

Nokia viNe is a breakthrough mobile application for the Nseries, that records photos, videos, text, songs, voice and bookmarks onto a multimedia map of your life. As you go about your journey, the phones in built GPS tracker logs photos etc exactly where you take them so that you can relive and share your experiences. The vines can then be uploaded onto the Nokia viNe website.

There is no doubt that this a very clever and interesting piece of technology, however is it at all useful? Personally I wouldn't use this application, but then I rarely use my phone for anything other than calling and texting. I also wouldn't want to share my photos and videos on the internet. Though for technology lovers, this would surely be very appealing. Also the application does has some practical uses. I find the idea very intriguing but most of all I like the branding and the website for Nokia viNe. The website has a map of the world with vines that have been uploaded tagged on it and the overall design is fun and eye-catching. However somehow I still don't think it will be enough to compete with the iPhone. 

The Forever Story

www.theforeverstory.com

Created by CHI & Partners, the forever story is an online, collaborative writing experiment they hope will become the worlds longest story. Company Talk Talk are donating £1 for every part of the story submitted. These donations are going to the charity Treehouse that helps children with autism. The first thirty five words of the story have been written by Nick Hornby, and go like this :

"For the first nineteen years of his life, Johnny Razor wasn't Johnny Razor at all. He was Malcom Weatherly, and was born in Mile End Underground station on the night of 17th September 1940"

Other well known writers have also contributed, however it is free for anyone to publish their own piece of the tale. It is fascinating to read from the beginning, how the contributions from different writers take it in a new direction or puts an alternative spin on the story. Also interesting is how much better the story becomes being collaborative and putting everyones ideas together, rather than if just one person had written it. I think the same can be said for all creative work. All together I believe this is a really engaging, unique and clever promotional idea, and portrays Talk Talk's, life's for sharing ethos, whilst also going towards a good cause.

Super Contemporary at the Design Museum

I was really impressed by the Super Contemporary exhibition showing currently at the Design Museum. A lot of detail has gone into the entire exhibition, even the branding of it. Super Contemporary is an exhibition celebrating London's creative community and it's achievements, both past and present. It explores what gives the city its reputation as a beacon for design worldwide, and shows it's creative progression until present day. The focus of the exhibition is 15 specially commissioned pieces by some of the cities most talented creatives, that address London's culture and characteristics. Around the walls of the room is a visual timeline, beginning at 1960, documenting London's creative ascent and key achievements in design. I found it particularly interesting as you can see the impact that culture has had upon design in the past as a chronological order. 

 

Neville Brody's commission was very thought provoking, it looked at the issue of a city overrun with surveillance where you are constantly being watched. His response was a self contained, sound-proof booth; a rare example of a public space that wasn't being monitored. 

The website for the Super Contemporary exhibition is also very good. They have used the interesting logo as a clever navigational tool that works very effectively in the design and to get around the website. The design echoes the layout of the exhibition which is visually striking and also easy to gain information. It gives detail of the overall exhibition and each of the 15 commissions. I find it a very effective piece of online work that compliments the exhibition well, which runs until the 4th of October, and is definitely well worth a visit. 

www.supercontemporary.co.uk

www.a-to-s.co.uk

I have been playing around on this website for the past fifteen minutes, so that must mean a good thing already. It is a promotional website for the mercedes car range, and although I am not at all interested in the product, or even much of the rest of the website, the opening home page has definitely caught my attention for some time. In our web design brief, the task was to engage with the audience, and this website does that brilliantly. 

Along the bottom of the page is the alphabet from A all the way to S, fitting to the product. These letters stand for a word that describes a benefit of the car and is revealed when rolled over with the mouse. When clicked on each letter reveals a different animation that you can control. As the picture shows above, when you click on the perfume bottle, sentences are released to describe the benefit. I think A, R, C and N are the best ones. I don't know if it would make you want to buy a mercedes , however it is a novelty idea and I find it refreshingly different for a car website. It engages with the audience whilst still being relevant to the product, and is a brilliant and clever piece of animation. Take a look, www.a-to-s.co.uk.