WT(flying)F?

Hermès' New Print Advertising for Voyage

I spotted this print ad in a magazine yesterday, and had to explore what, when and by whom. I just couldn't fathom what it meant – and why it would make me purchase the perfume. It gave me no positive emotions, apart from 'Wow! What The (flying) F is that all about then then?"

So, I have been reading a few blog posts about this campaign, and it is described as being 'breath-taking' and 'inspirational,' but I am really wondering what is going on? After seeing the TV ad, I realise that this is a classic example of how a TV campaign has not translated well into print. The TV ad (below) does provoke emotion and is quite beautiful, but the print ad (above) does not make any sense.

From what I can gather from the internet, the brief was is "to create enigmatic, arresting imagery on a naturalistic, abstract background where a sense of the force of the elements is stressed." Also, according to this blog: "two animals are featured this time, a horse and a dove, in full race and flight above between sky and water, evoking freedom. The first one is a reference to the original specialty of Hermès as a saddle-maker (see Rocabar) and the masculine side of the scent, while the second is meant to embody the feminine element in the perfume. It is an unisex fragrance."

I will leave it for you to decide, but common, really?



Creative Credits
Creative Director: Philippe Chanet
Production Company: THE GANG FILMS Saint-Cloud, FRANCE
Director: Eric Valli

Brief Explanation
This the story of a fusion between a horse and a bird, a man and a woman, the strengh and the freedom. This is the story of a journey, the journey of life.

Eric Valli's other Hermes print imagery are absolutely stunning, so what happened with this horse?

Typical Swedish Things – Wish I'd done that!

Typical Swedish Things – by Marcus Eriksson
I'll be testing you later...

Alien Nation – Sneak Peak

Have a look at our latest Soapbox/Alien Nation updates on the www.howtobeanalien.com blog.
The press releases are released, so watch this space!






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Porn Stars – Wish I'd done that!

Read more about the project here.





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Can't be healthy... BMW - Flash Projection

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Jason Fried – TED – Why work doesn't happen at work

Thinking time is king.

Very interesting talk by Jason Fried which compliments my Design Week article from September.
Here is an extract from what I wrote, and Jason's film below...

"I've got an old Virgin Trains ad in my mind as I write. It seems to sum up the second, bigger question well. 'Man who go on big train have big idea...' was the pay-off, and it was all about how our best creative moments come in 'downtime'. (Except that these days, man who go on train will be working, and perhaps too busy tapping and clicking away to have heap big idea...)

Of course, we'd all love more downtime. But can we afford to see it as a luxury? Jon Steel – who revels in a story about running his BlackBerry® over with his car (twice) – put it more starkly, asking the very pertinent question: Did anyone ever tell you about a brilliant idea that came to them... while they were in the office? 'Lateral thinking', 'diagonal thinking', 'obliquity'... call it what you like, our industry is all about solving problems sideways. And coming at things sideways probably means not getting stuck in too many mental or physical ruts. Are there good ways to force us away from our work (it's no longer enough to get away from your desk, you've got to get away from your handheld-multitasking-device too), to change our scene or get us out 'into the field' (that's the place, after all, where our work is supposed to make a difference)?

And it's not just about the space to have the 'big ideas', either. It's about all the tools we use for thinking, communicating, and working together, every day.

Some technologies can seduce us into keeping our audiences, our end-users, and our clients at arm's length. Picking up the phone instead of emailing; a spot of secret shopping instead of another Google search; some time spent staring at the wall – all these things will cut our keyboard time, and could well be a shortcut to better work and better working relationships" Design Week September, 2010



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Blast from the past – Tesco Bag's for Life (2005)

I've been going through my archive and keep finding little projects from the past...

My autumn Tesco Bags for Life were mass-produced (print production was around the 2 million mark) in 2005. I was particularly proud of my idea of doing transparent bags and printing both sides to create this 3D effect.

They were design at Chen Tsoi Design

IMPORTANT - COLOUR OF THE YEAR 2011

Honeysuckle 18-2021 is 'the colour' for 2011 according to Creative Review.

Phew. Now we know!

via @GilesDavis
Read about it on the CR Blog

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A Google Image Search Fashion Show

I love this campaign; so simple. 

"Wieden+Kennedy Tokyo have created a ‘fashion show’ using Google Images and a digital projector for the launch of the new brand campaign ‘more with Google’ in Japan.

Directed by Kosai Sekine, the thirty-second commercial is designed to illustrate some often overlooked features of the image directory such as the ‘sort by color’ and ‘similar images’ functions." Find more info on it here.



 Via @adcglobal

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Blast from the past!

Found a very old storyboard from my uni years... oh dear...
I remember the project; it was an idea for a Kirin Ichiban Beer TV ad.

"Relax, Kirin Ichiban does not make you that unlucky! It's just a beer."
Ha. Ha. Shall I go pitch it?

Designers on design: a one hour typography challenge

London Design Festival @L_D_F are running a 1hr design typography challenge.
I decided to take part.

The Brief
Back in 2009 Pentagram did a great campaign based around quotations from major design figures. The LDF would like to revisit that idea by asking us to design a simple A4 poster based around one of the quotes you'll find on this website:

Design Was Here: 80+ Inspiring quotes about design

I chose this quote:
"Every designers’ dirty little secret is that they copy other designers’ work. They see work they like, and they imitate it. Rather cheekily, they call this inspiration."— Aaron Russell

And I (cheekily) did this:

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LBI Rave 2010

So, now I can safely say that the Lost Boys know how to throw a great party.

Last night me and 1000-ish other creative types ventured over to The Truman Brewery, home of LBI. We were invited to their annual rave. It didn't disappoint – it was a night full of debauchery and general neon-lit beautiful carnage.

The atmosphere was fantastic, the queues were long, the Jaeger/Bulls were yummy, the Tequila girls & boys were beautiful and the music was pumpin'! Loved the glowsticks too!

It was a great idea to invite the industry into their work space, and also a very effective way to advertise their own people and community.

I am sure I wasn't the only one enjoying myself and I look forward to the next one.