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. 

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.

Eco-friendly Advertising

After watching the new Design for Life programme as mentioned in my last post, Philippe Starck got me thinking about sustainable design. More and more brands are using an eco-friendly aspect of their product as a concept for their advertising. I think these Audi adverts are very effective, showing that their cars are more fuel efficient, therefore more environmentally friendly and more cost effective. This is illustrated through their clever use of typography. In the first advert the text is made to look like a road using the white lines, this suggests you can drive further as the car is more fuel efficient. The second advert is my favorite of the two, using the words in the shape of a fuel gauge highlighting the 'E' and 'F' with the needle pointing to full. Using typography in this way is very eye-catching and effective and proves that it can be as engaging as an image. It also puts across the message of fuel efficiency across very clearly.

Design for Life BBC2

Tonight on BBC2 is the third episode of the apprentice-esque show, Design For Life. It follows twelve product design candidates competing for a six month placement at Philippe Starck's (the programs equivalent to Alan Sugar) design agency in Paris. Much like the apprentice, the competitors are set a task each week and the loser is sent home. The first week saw literal minded James expelled, who produced a bag of disposable nappies as an example of an unecological product. 

Philippe Starck provides most of the entertainment with his eccentric, and very stereotypically french personality. However, for a programme about design, I find it very poorly designed with a bad format. Definitely not to the standard of similar programmes, The Apprentice and Dragons Den. Also the chosen candidates are uninspiring and unentertaining. The BBC have probably cast them for their design ability rather than for entertainment value which makes for rather dull viewing and may not go down to well with the general public.

Despite this I am so pleased that the BBC have produced a program for the design community. I have often watched the apprentice and thought how good a design version would be. It is also a good opportunity to create public awareness about the importance of design. Philippe Starck too promotes an emphasis on ecological design and sustainability, an increasing concern in the design industry. For designers, particularly students it provides great inspiration for design and creativity and an insight into a prolific designer's agency. I am looking forward to seeing the rest of the series. 

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

Posters from the London Underground

I was very interested by the Art On the Underground Project as posted previously, and took a look at the London Transport Museum's website. It contains an online collection of posters from the London underground that date back to 1900. However I was particularly interested by these below from the 1980's. The reason being that these posters are purely aesthetic, they are not advertising or selling anything. During the 1980's, due to increased fares, there became a drop in passenger numbers. That resulted in a decline in the demand for advertising space, and these empty spaces were covered with sheets of black paper. The idea came from this to fill the empty spaces with artwork, enriching passengers environment and their experience on the underground.

I particularly like the two posters below, due to their graphic appearance and symbolic representation of the underground. They are similar to many of the designs produced today.

 

Posters like these are still used today in projects such as Art On The Underground, and Platform for Art. They certainly grabbed my interest whilst traveling on the tube at the weekend and I think it is an interesting idea, making a dull journey a little more enjoyable. The London Underground must be one of the most effective spaces to showcase and exhibit artwork due to it's size and the volume of people traveling on it each day. A great way of getting new artists recognised and showing off Britain's modern art whilst making the underground more pleasing to the eye. Below are some of the more recent posters used. 

Art On The Underground

Since it is over a year that I last travelled on the London Underground, I was interested by the poster below I saw last weekend. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of London Undergrounds logo the Roundel last year, Art on the Underground commissioned 100 artists to produce new works to celebrate the logo. The artists, from recent graduates to renowned artists were asked to incorporate the Roundel into their work, and interpret what the logos mean to them today. I think the result is really effective, and a great way to celebrate this iconic logo. 

www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/corporate/

Seeing this reminds me of how successful the London Undergrounds branding is. The roundel is recognisable throughout Britain and has to an extent become a symbol for London itself and of popular culture. Designed in 1919 by Edward Johnstone, it has certainly stood the test of time. The sans serif typography, bold colours and simple design create such a strong symbolic image that the works above created for the 100th aniversary immediately remind us of the logo, even though some are ever so subtle. 

Lancaster London Rebrand

Collectiva has designed the new Identity for the Royal Lancaster Hotel, now called Lancaster London. I think this is a great example of successful rebranding. 

The previous name and logo as shown below looks tired and old fashioned, whereas the new branding conveys a sharper message and has far more impact. It has a more high end, contemporary appearance due to its subtle typeface and colour. Whilst the name emphasises the hotels positioning and gives it more resonance. Showing that sometimes a message can be expressed more effectively through simple design.

Creative Review Packaging

My copy of Creative Review came in the post today in this rather intriguing packaging.  The cardboard envelop that contains the magazine can be made into a folder to hold the monograph booklets. A very clever, interactive packaging solution and handy too as most of my monograph copies end up getting lost or finding their way to the bin. Also addressing current environmental issues, as the packaging can be re-used for something else rather than thrown away. It is the first in a series of special creative review packaging solutions that explore different materials and concepts. 

This months magazine is also worth taking a look at as it is a whole issue dedicated to graduates. 

Postage Stamp Memorial

I saw this after writing my previous post and found the idea very similar. Artist Steve McQueen has created a project named Queen and Country to publish postage stamps with the faces of British soldiers who died in Iraq to commemorate their memory. The project is being supported by The Art Fund who are pushing for the stamps to be published by the Post Office and have set up an online petition. 

Steve McQueen proposed this idea after he returned from his visit to Iraq in 2003, "An official set of Royal Mail stamps struck me as an intimate but distinguished way of highlighting the sacrifice of individuals in defence of our national ideals"

Using postage stamps is an inventive medium for a memorial, that would provide a far more personal and direct experience and would engage with the public. I think this is an inspired idea, it is simple yet compassionate and most of all a sensitive way to commemorate the British soldiers that have died. I really hope this will be recognised and they will become an official set of stamps.

Afghanistan 2001-2009

Although I haven't been following the events in Afghanistan closely, I couldn't fail to notice the significance of the 200  British soldier death toll yesterday. This controversial topic has produced mixed reactions amongst the public and media, however is portrayed most graphically on the front page of The Daily Telegraph today, that commemorates the soldiers that died by showing each individual photograph. 

This image has left a much greater impression on me than any other I have seen about the Afghanistan war. Perhaps it is putting faces to the names and statistics, that shocks me so much. This front page is unlike any other I have seen of the telegraph, using only photographs and a headline in it's layout. As if it out of respect, dedicating it to the memory of the 200 British soldiers that died. 

The Guardian Podcasts

Branding has always been of great interest to me, and after looking at the 

well branded Absolut Vodka advert in my previous blog, I decided to search for more examples of 'good' branding. What I liked about the Absolut advert was how it portrayed the philosophy of the brand and looked so unmistakably like an Absolut advert. 

The same can be said for this print campaign for The Guardian podcasts, created by Wieden and Kennedy. The Guardian wanted to heighten awareness of their podcasts site; Wieden and Kennedy have achieved this by combining strong imagery through a collage of illustration, with interesting typography. Most importantly, they have kept in line with The Guardians sophisticated yet creative appearance. Without even seeing the brand name, I can recognise the advert as being that of The Guardian. Therefore the logo is shown discreetly in a different colour within the rest of the text rather than separately at the bottom of the page as in most adverts. The guardian have created such a strong and characteristic brand image for the newspaper which I believe is what makes their advertising so successful.

www.guardian.co.uk/audio

Rice Paddy Crop Art

I saw this picture in an article from the guardian and found it so interesting I wanted to do some research on the subject. The image is a reproduction of artist Hokusai's famous print, "The Great Wave", created in rice fields by planting different coloured grains of rice. This agricultural artistry can be found in the village of Inakadate, Japan, where the rice paddy crop art exhibition has been a tradition for nearly sixteen years. Each year 8000 villagers help to create these works of art and more than 15000 visitors travel to witness the creations. 

'The Great Wave' is one of my favorites, not only is it visually beautiful, but the way in which it is produced must be admired also. This ancient folk art has been created with the help of computer imaging, without this technology, images of this scale and detail would be unimaginable. The farmers of Inakadate have used modern, sophisticated digital technology, however still maintained a traditional and folk appearance that draws from Japanese heritage. I admire how the Japanese farmers have embraced modern technology and combined it with traditional methods and art forms. It seems a wonder to me how sophisticated this crop art looks when it has been created from rice fields by the local community. 

Below are some more examples from previous years of rice paddy crop art. 

Harvey Nichols Window Display

Rarely do I walk past a Harvey Nichols Store and fail to notice it's consistently inventive window displays. The current designs for London fashion week are no exception, comprising of a complicated array of coat hangers to form dinosaur skeletons. Designer Janet Wardley is the creator of this inspired piece of work, and describes it as 'angular, prismatic and colourful', intended to be uplifting. 

Standing in front of the Leeds store this week, I felt more as though I were viewing a  window to an art gallery than a designer shop. What I find impressive about Harvey Nichols' window displays, is that they sell the image of the store rather than their products. The focus is on the dinosaur sculpture rather than the product in front. The design is simple and graphic; as a whole image you see the figure of a dinosaur. However looking more carefully, I was suprised to see the skeletal effect was acheived by using coathangers; a clever link to fashion and also visually stimulating. Wardley explained the sculpture of the dinosaur reflected fashions current obsession with "architectual cutting". I think her using coathangers to produce it from is an enlightened response that helps to give the window displays their  'wow factor', and definitely made me look twice. 

The Bauhaus Museum, Berlin

Top of my list of things to see in Berlin was the Bauhuas Museum. I have always been interested in the modernist movement and it's impact on design, and was therefore looking forward to seeing the work produced here almost ninety years ago. 

The Bauhaus appealed to the german population after world war one, as it was seen as a new beginning and a way of rebuilding a bankrupt Germany. However it's work produced there proved to cause quite controversial reactions. The actual building of the museum is Walter Gropius' late work and is a characteristic landmark of Berlin. Its unique shape is particularly striking when viewing the museum from outside.

The museum's bauhaus collection represents the entire range of the school's activities; art, architecture, metalwork, photography, furniture, textiles, and ceramics. Including pieces by famous teachers such as, Johannes Itten, Wassily Kandinsky, Josef Albers, and Oskar Schlemmer. The Bauhaus taught that an understanding of visual science would improve design. Focusing upon the formal elements of design in their work - colour, page layout, space, shape, line, texture and form. The work in the museum emphasises the Bauhaus' principles of form and function, they designed for a purpose and made art functional. 

I found this very prominent in their furniture and product design which are made up from few, simple shapes with no added decoration, giving them a very modern and minimalist appearance. The posters created in the Bauhaus appealed to me most of all, due to the clever layouts, strong typographic influence and colour used. The poster by Joost Schmidt is a good example of this as it shows all the elements of modernism. 

These principles the Bauhaus was founded upon can be seen so clearly in the work from the museum, and are what interest me most as I can reflect upon them in my own work. We are taught the same fundamental lessons in design as the Bauhaus taught so long ago and they still influence much of the art and design to present day.