The Difference between Marketing, Public Relations, Advertising and Branding

Zoe found this for a Wednesday laugh. It is very amusing indeed. Makes me wonder what a designer would 'say'.

Rubik's Cube Google Doodle - 19.05.14

You know that we love Google's Doodles and have posted on them in the past. But how cool is this? For the 40th anniversary of the Rubik's Cube, today, Google recreated the Cube in digital form inside their Doodle. Amazing. Rubik's Doodle

We love the way the Rubik's image uses subtle colours to spell out the Google logo on the home screen (blue-red-yellow-blue-green-red) - see image directly below. When you have a mark that is so ubiquitous, so famous and well-known, you can play with it in referential terms like this. It's similar to some of the recent Coke graphic work also posted on this blog: http://ga-brand.blogspot.com/2014/05/brilliant-work-from-coke.html

Just to think, if the Cube had been created in the 21st century, it may never have been a physical object - it probably would have a been an app or digital game, with high-speed scores shared real-time on social media to your friends. Just goes to show how far we've come in 40 years. However, digital or physical, one thing hasn't changed, I still can't complete the damn thing :) 

Brain Crack (Explicit Version) - ZeFrank - or getting ideas to reality quickly

I like this is a lot - warning for those of a sensitive nature regarding the explicit language. But ZeFrank's point is hugely relevant. Don't suffer from Braincrack. Get those ideas OUT early. Make them real. It's ok if they're rubbish at the beginning, you gotta start somewhere. And the scary thing is - you have to work on this continuously, it's so easy to fall back into bad habits....

Charlie Chaplin to Jacques Tati to The Artist

Two clips here below from 'Mon Oncle' by Jacques Tati (1958), ideally to be watched in sequence. A wonderful film. It portrays a very French fear of a very modern future. Tati plays the traditional Uncle who doesn't conform to the modernist view of the picture perfect, bourgeois lifestyle. His character struggles to adapt to the automated kitchen.

I love these clips. I love the 50's feel of the film, the use of colour, the way grey is used to represent the prison-like effect of the modern family's pursuit of suburban, material bliss.

Simple film-making that reminds me of Charlie Chaplin at his peak. Whilst mostly silent, 'Mon Oncle' does use music and sound effects, but with light touch. We have become so used to after-effects in cinema, sometimes simple physical humour carefully crafted can be so powerful.

It makes the recent film The Artist - another of our favourites - so special. And shows us that true creativity is about thinking out of context, not following the 'norms' of your genre or group, but finding the path less travelled, the path overlooked in the fashionable rush. A timely reminder for all of us striving to create breakthrough and original work.

Le Labo Emailer

We received this from Le Labo Fragrances yesterday. It is just the type of humour for us. We love the quirkiness of Le Labo. We have been on their mailing list for a while now but have not actually tried their fragrances yet. We love their branding and messaging. Their packaging is also nicely done up. Check them out here: http://www.lelabofragrances.com/

When ancient is nothing short of amazing and beautiful

There's something about books that's so romantic, especially old leather bound books that have withstood the test of time. Just imagining the hands that have touched it, whether it was a smooth soft pair of hands or wrinkly sunburnt ones. How was life then? Where they thinking the same things? That's probably the reason why I still prefer a physical book to an eBook. This is one more reason to love books. Here's something I found from http://www.thisiscolossal.com/2014/01/this-16th-century-book-can-be-read-six-different-ways/

This 16th Century Book Can Be Read Six Different Ways 

Sure, the Amazon Kindle might have dynamic font adjustments, and it can hold thousands of books, but can it do this? Printed in the late 16th century this small book from the National Library of Sweden is an example of sixfold dos-à-dos binding, where six books are conjoined into a single publication but can be read individually with the help of six perfectly placed clasps. This particular book was printed in Germany and like almost all books at the time is a religious devotional text. The National Library of Sweden has a fantastic photo collection of historical and rare books where you can find many more gems like this, and this, and this.

Posted in Design and tagged books, history by Christopher Jobson.

Gong xi fa cai

Monday

Just another day in the GA Brand Design office...

Communication that Works

For those annoying people who bother you with their questions

http://www.letmegooglethat.com/

For all those people who find it more convenient to bother you with their question rather than google it for themselves.

Now you see him….now you don't

Keep your eyes open: Chinese camouflage artist returns with latest work disguising himself among everyday objects

They may look like plain old photographs of road sides and supermarkets, but these meticulous images take hours to construct. It is the latest series of camouflage trickery unveiled by artist Liu Bolin, or 'the invisible man', who made his name blending into the background of everyday scenes.

The new shots, now exhibited at the Eli Klein Fine Art gallery in New York, shows him melting into shelves packed with soft toys, fruit and vegetables, and a magazine rack.

Camouflage: 'Invisible man' Liu Bolin has spent his career blending into the background of everyday images

Mr Bolin, 40, spends 10 hours painting himself for each photograph

'Each one chooses his or her path to come in contact with the external world. I chose to merge with the environment,' he said.nWhen he is posing for the shots - after 10 hours of make up - he claims even passers-by do not know he is there.

Mr Bolin, who is also a sculptor and painter, goes through swathes of clothes as he smears them with paint for each image.

And his friends have even become accustomed to him enlisting their help to conjure up the spell-binding images.

In one of his latest snaps, shows him camouflaged into a rack of magazines - making it hard to see where they end and he begins.

He claims the images are a statement about his role in China's society as even passers-by don't see him

Blink and you may miss him!

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2530691/Hes-honestly-Chinese-camouflage-artist-returns-latest-work-disguising-everyday-objects-spot-him.html#ixzz2qY4s9kOn 

Yippie Gif of the Day

Creativity with regular items

More Quirky iPhone Photos of Everyday Objects by Brock Davis

by alice|January 5, 2014

Ninja Knee
Minneapolis-based artist Brock Davis continues to delight his fans with his quirky iPhone photos. These are some of his favorite shots from 2013, as he continues to experiment with iPhone photography. Davis proves that you don't need fancy props to create art people can appreciate. With over 106,000 followers on Instagram, the artist is widely popular for his ability to see how fun art can be made from everyday objects.

Back in 2010, we asked Brock what tips he could give us on how to be more creative. He replied, "I think it's important to not be afraid to fail. I have a lot of ideas, sometimes they work, sometimes they don't. I just keep trying until it works and I learn from the times that it does not. I also think it's good to always be a student. Absorb as much as you can, be a student of art, design and popular culture."

If you can't get enough of Brock, check out some of his best iPhone photos in 2012. (Love the toy car launching off the cake.)


Parsley on Apple/Tree on Hill Popcorn Kernel in Thought Grape Dog Good Morning Shark - Fillet Knife/Bread Knife Chopstick Pants Snail Squorange Mint Match Crayon Tree/Carved with Sewing Needle Brock Davis on Instagram
From http://pulse.me/s/K4daD

Best Newspaper AD | The Guardian and Observer Weekend | Use in Moderation

Passion and Obsession Goes Hand-in-hand

I hope that everyone finds their passion one day. This guy is amazing.

Just Looks Like A Man Walking Around In the Snow. It's Definitely Not What It looks Like...

 

 

http://www.quickmeme.com/p/3vrhf1

Gary Larson: Pet Shop

We were looking for some illustration style and stumbled upon an old comic of Larson. So hilarious!

Gif for the Year of the Horse

Happy 2014, Year of the Horse. We love gifs!

I see faces

Angry or happy bin face?

Everyday Things that affect Your Mood

Step-by-step: Being creative!

Repost from http://www.youthedesigner.com/

Infographic: How To Be More Creative

Keeping the creative juice flowing does not happen everyday. Anyone in the creative industry might at some point of their career experience creative blocks. These are those times that you hardly pitch in ideas that work, stuck in the middle of a project or simply, your creative side is dead.

Fortunately, there are a lot of ways to beat creative block. A particular infograph created by Who Is Hosting This? is a good resource on how to bring back your creative self. It features five simple steps on how to be more creative, plus tools and techniques you might want to give a try.