Little people

http://little-people.blogspot.com/

amazing!

The changing face of advertising

I was lucky to attend a creative networking lecture this week by Patrick Burgoyne, the editor of creative review. I was excited to see what the lecture would be about and was surprised that the topic of the lecture was exactly the same as my proposed dissertation topic. My question is: What implications des the instantaneous nature of social media have on brands which want to develop their identity? In particular, is the recent Gap campaign an example of how companies are trapped into never updating their current identities?

When researching my dissertation it is clear that if the consumer purchases branded products over commodity products they are probably buying the brands image, values and beliefs. If the brand changes, seemingly to the consumer overnight, then they will be instantly shocked by the abrupt change. This will in turn, create strong emotions. They were perfectly happy with the brand identity before, and they saw no reason to change the logo so why have they? Thousands of people jump to the conclusion "I could have designed that myself in Microsoft Word" This I doubt, i'm a graphic designer and I struggle to even move images in Word.

The consumer has become increasingly demanding with the increase of choice in the market. They expect a lot from global brands and importantly, they expect their opinion to be valid. Should Brand managers take into consideration the consumers instant reaction and stop the brand development (like Gap) or ignore the uproar and trust that their design is strong enough to ultimately improve the brands sales?

To answer this question we have to ask ourselves, is it a successful identity change or not? If we look back at Consignia (this was what the Post Office re-named itself in 2002) Market research showed that the consumers hated it, and most didn't know that Consignia was even part of the post office at all. This is probably the most important part of a re-brand, that the customers know the re-brand actually took place. TV shows jumped on the re-brand and recorded the audiences reaction and eventually the Chief Exec decided to scrap the name. If social media and blogging was around I doubt it would have taken over a year to make the decision to scrap it. It wasn't a successful rebrand.

I tried to find an example of when a re-brand has had initial hatred but eventually succeeded and a perfect example is the Guardian re-brand. There was mass outcry at how awful it was and how much of a shame it was to loose the traditional design for the new modern edition. Are audiences just reacting to the initial shock of a brand image change?

Bloggers loved the Herbal Essences re-brand and their sales increased by 20%, but they hated the Tropicana rebrand and they lost 20% of their sales. It seems obvious but these opinions are the opinions of the customers, so surely, Brand managers should have online reaction factored into their development plans? But what if the audiences are just shocked and can't see the future positive aspects of the change? Should Brand mangers be transparent about their plans to re-brand?

With the invention of online social networks it has become clear that there is a new need for companies to manage the consumer reaction to a re-brand more effectively online. I hope to answer this in my dissertation... watch this space.

baa baa black sheep

Love the what the flock campaign... its worked so well! Really intriguing, everyone was talking about it. It proves how shocking the fact that only 17% of students have used Cannabis in the last 3 months is to other students. It will hopefully make students think twice about using it if there immediate thought isn't "well, everyone else is doing it so why shouldn't I?" Its had its first positive mention in Creative review this week too.

Thackray museum

I recently visited the Thackray museum. It describes the history of medicine and Leeds and has many areas you can explore. I'd definitely recommend going! The best feature was the free-to-explore life like street where you can find more about your chosen character and what their life was like in the 1800's. You then travel into the medicine room to find out of your character can afford the medicine that will cure them. I really recommend it but maybe it is a little to gruesome for children, especially, the room that shows you what happens to 11 year old annie whose leg gets caught in a mill machine (they saw it off with no anaesthetic).

More Moorcroft please!

Over the summer I took a real interest in my family history, I found that most members of my family have at some point worked with pottery until the rapid decline of the industry in recent years. I visited the Moorcroft museum to find out more about the industry and was pleasantly surprised by the design of the products. It is way out of my price range but will definitely be on my wish list. My favoutirte is this piece by Kerry Goodwin depicting the Potteries in Recession. It shows a rain covered scene where the potbanks are closing, and relates closely to my families history with the industry. The colours are amazing.

From streets to tweets

Chris Osburn (Juxtapoz magazine) recently did a talk at Yorkshire creative networks event on 'streets to tweets'. He is a professional photographer based in London who photographs graffiti artists work and sells the photographs. This was seen to be quite controversial with some members of the audience, mainly the graffiti artists. The main question that Osburn put forward was: is the photograph adding to the image or taking away?

He argued his point with the photograph he took for graffiti artist Sickboy. Sickboy uses the image on his promotional material. He claims that his creativity arises from the way he takes the photograph. In this instance the girls add to the image as it depicts how audiences interact with the image. Is this an artform? The graffiti artists would say not. They claim that he is cashing in on others art and using the fact that the art is illegal and they can't make money from it to cash in himself.

However, the street artists are aware that they produce art that can't make money and will be removed, so is it fair for them to scrutinise people taking photos if it is in such a public place? Probably not, even if those photos make the photographer money.

MAN CRISPS

http://www.mccoys.co.uk/

McCoy’s has launched a brand new website their crisps. They are targeting their products at 'real men', calling the crisps 'the ultimate man crisps'. The website has been designed around an interactive pub targeting male consumers. They use humorous and engaging elements to raise brand awareness of the crisps. The website includes a 'Man Quiz' for men to test their manliness. The website is beautifully designed and so interactive that it makes you want to stay on the site. Although are thy cutting out half their market by not including women? Maybe they should have a section, even if it was a small section, which could include women in the campaign.

Marmite - love it or hate it

Marmite - love it or hate it, the same goes for the advertising camapign. Marmite have released spoof adverts of the brand branching out into new ventures. The campaign features all of Marmites most shocking product ideas, including a fabric softener, a shower gel and a perfume.

The ads, created by DDB UK, are not actual products which will be released although the campgin is selling a new Marmite Cereal Bar. It will be the world's first savory cereal bar. The ads tell you to tell you to log onto their facebook page and tell them if you love them or hate them.

Impressive flash portfolio design

Beautiful illustration by Rowan. Lovely way to present your portfolio online.

www.rowanimation.co.uk

Happy Ikea Cats

Google ball game

http://www.pcworld.com/article/204923/whats_up_with_googles_bouncy_ball_logo.html?tk=hp_new

Pottery town

In my family's hometown of Stoke-on-Trent, there is an amazing pottery heritage. I recently visited the Clarice Cliff pottery museum. It was brilliant to explore my home town's vast history and visit the museum of a designer whom I adore. The shapes and designs of her pottery were the most unique of its time and still are today. It is undisputed that Josiah Wedgwood is the biggest Legacy in Britain's pottery industry but for me Clarice Cliff is by far the most creative.

Dinner for schmucks

After seeing the advert for this film I didn't really have high hopes for it. I expected the scenes to be limited to a dinner table and the comedy to be predictable.

I was pleasantly surprised.

I thought the comedy was exceptional. Very simple, silly kind of humour but I thought Steve Carell's role was perfect. The all-star cast starred not just American comedians but British too. It had Steve Carell (American Office), Chris O'Dowd (I.T crowd), Paul Rudd (Friends), Zach Galifianakis (The Hangover), Jemaine Clement (Flight of the conchords), David Walliams (Little Britain) and Kristen Schaal (Flight of the conchords). Before the film I thought that the film would end up being a battle for stardom, but the roles worked exceptionally well together.

My favourite thing about the film were the opening credits. The credits waa beautifully shot following a taxidermist creating and placing designs of two mice that are in love. The mouse scenes are magical and made the opening credits beautifully captivating. The song The Beatles "the fool on the hill" plays so suitably over the scenes that it would seem you were watching a romance film.

Paper pictures

CHRISTIAN HÜCKSTÄDT

I Really admire these wonderful pictures. All of Huckstadt's pieces are created from colourful cutout cardboard. They are fun geometric creations with an unique look and stunning 3D effect.

The secret Leopard

In my family's hometown of Burslem, the mother town of Stoke-on-Trent, there is a wonderful heritage which can be found in many of the town's buildings. Burslem's town centre pub the "Leopard hotel" serving since at least 1765 was a local for my great-great grandmother, my great grandmother, my Nan and my Dad. The hotel is steeped in history boatsting that Britain's greatest pottery producer Josiah Wedgwood and James Brindley met here to discuss building the Trent and Mersey Canal in 1765. This was a large stepping stone for the industrial revolution.The Leopard hotel has an amazing secret.

Recently the pub rediscovered FIFTY hotels rooms which had been bricked and wallpapered up and left completely unused since 1951. They also found 19 underground tunnels which led to other of the town's landmark building's including the town hall and the local brewery. The hidden gem unveiled wonderful photos of the rooms which reflect the style and decor of the 1950's.

I've visited the hotel on a number of occasions and would have never guessed that the rooms ever existed. It makes you wonder what else you can easily miss!

the oldest building in Leeds City centre

Lambert's Yard, the oldest building in Leeds City centre. It is just off Briggate. This is not what I pictured the oldest building in the City to look like! It was built in around 1600 and is the last three rise building in the city. The photo's are old and new captures of the building.

Rusty building - one of the best in the world?

This Broadcasting place is the centre of much discussion around Leeds. Everyone has an interesting fact about it, a rumour they’ve heard or, in most cases, their own opinion about it. The Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) have suggested it to be one of the best structures ever created by man.

One deduction of the building, rife in symbolism, is that it represents the state of human life in the urbanised environment. Fragile and decaying but completing the process gracefully. If anything this building, designed by Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios, is more popular with the public than the other handful of banal structures that appeared around the same time.

I prefer it to more ultra-modernised structures which tend to be garish and futuristic. The geometry, colour, and texture of this building suits the old-world style building around it much more than the sea of mediocrity surrounding Leeds city centre. It is a bold design decision but one which I think has worked very well.

The Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família

One of my all time favourite pieces of Architecture is the Temple Expiatori de la Sagrada Família, in Barcelona.

This translates as "Expiatory Church of the Holy Family". In Christianity, expiatory is a theological term for removing sin. The building is a privately funded Roman Catholic church and has been in construction since 1882 and is not expected to be completed until 2026. In the years of construction, Sagrada Familia has seen many architects come and go but by far the most proclaimed and successful has been Antoni Gaudi. He created the original concept and started work in 1883 and devoting the last fifteen years of his life to the project. He is to date, the only person to be buried in the grounds of the church.

The whole build is religiously motivated and when questioned why the construction plan was so time-consuming he responded "My client is not in a hurry". The most striking religious symbolism are the eighteen spires each representing religious figures. The tallest is Jesus Christ featuring a cross, then in height order follow the twelve Epolostles, four Evangelists and the Virgin Mary. Each featuring a symbol representing them. The tallest spire features a cross but stays 1 metre below the highest hill in Barcelona as Gaudi believed he should not surpass God's natural will.

The design is inspired by Gothic architecture and is a great representation of Gaudi's unique and fascinating style. One of his other ventures, the Casa Milà looks like it has appeared straight out of a Salvador Dali painting. His designs are really like no other and are so out there that it is a wonder they were commissioned at all. What I love about the designs are Gaudi's use of flowing organic style and the attention to detail. The intricate nature of his architecture is wondrous and today, rarely seen.

I was lucky enough to visit the Sagrada Familia and took a tour around the inside of the Temple and up some of the spires. The height of the building is truly unbelievable. You have to walk along a narrow stone path between two of the highest towers and there are even wide holes in the floor to allow to see pedestrians below. It was a breathtaking view with stunning and inspiring designs.

Why is Hugh Grant riding a horse?

Its not a horse!

It's Sarah Jessica Parker, in her new film... Did you hear about the Morgans? I didn't really have any expectations for this film (mainly because Avatar 3D had sold out and there were no other options) and so whatever the outcome, I could not be disappointed.


The story is about a recently separated married couple who, because of infidelity on the husbands part, are no longer on speaking terms. Paul Morgan is 'dreadfully' sorry and begs for forgiveness from his wife, Meryl. She reluctantly agrees to meet him in a swanky uptown restaurant and as they leave they witness one of Meryls clients get murdered .


After the murderer finds Meryl and nearly shoots her they are asked to go into a witness protection programme and leave New York. At this point you really see how small Sarah Jessica's acting spectrum is: "Leave New York? I was BORN here, I grew up here, I AM a New Yorker, I don't want to, I CAN'T leave" I expected to see Charlotte, Miranda and Samantha come onto the shot and ensure her that all men are pigs and anywhere out of Manhattan doesn't really exist. Meanwhile, Hugh is in the back of the shot being a bumbling British idiot and not really saying much except for classical British quotes and blinking occasionally. I can't be sure he even tried to act at all as at parts I thought I was watching an actors commentary and not an actor in the film.


Don't get me wrong, I love Hugh Grant, but he just didn't seem to care for this role much. He cared for his role as much as Parker seemed to care about him. The two main characters are well-known for their fame but for this film they seem to sleepwalk through a flat-line comedy in which old jokes can be seen a mile away.


If you dont like change this is the film for you. For everyone else, if youve seen the Trailer, youv'e seen the film.

New interior design at Leeds University Union

I have been lucky enough to collaborate on the complete re-design of the Leeds University Union brand and interior design. This is just a sneak preview of our new Vinyls which will be going up on the walls shortly.

It's all about loving your time at Leeds kids!

Frightened Seller

CD packaging and merchandise for New York drum and piano duo Frightened Seller by Mikey Burton. Stunning duo colour effects.

Welcome to Yorkshire

The re-brand of the Yorkshire tourist board produced by Elmwood design is a wonderful example of modernisation. The re-brand was necessary to make Yorkshire a desirable places for many audiences not just people interested in the traditional countryside aspect of Yorkshire. This is truly the identity Yorkshire deserves.

The campaign uses the Y to answer WHY Yorkshire is the place to be. "Discover Y" works on two levels the question (whY) and the answer (Yorkshire). A very clever and complete concept. Local newspaper Yorkshire post used the headline "Yorkshire tourism ready to show the world Y" which was a beautiful way of forwarding Elmwood's concept for the brand.

Before and after logo designs for the Yorkshire tourism department.

Social media is for people, not brands

Interesting view point in Marketing week by Mark Ritson

http://www.marketingweek.co.uk/disciplines/digital/social-media-is-for-people-not-brands/3017669.article

A passport to a vintage Britain

Britain's new passport designs proposed for next year have now been unveiled. There has been opposing views on the new designs some impressed, others disappointed.


Agency De La Rue collaborated with the Identity and Passports Service's product design team to produce the new designs. It features picturesque qualities of Britain such as seagulls, acorns, butterflies, choppy seas, ferns and cottages. Another recurrent theme is the weather. It features weather symbols depicting page after page as a cloudy day, with patches of sunshine day. This seems very peculiar to me... it almost seems like an advert for the british holiday for people that are leaving the country. "Hey, I know your'e going to Majorca for the sunshine but look what Britain's got for you, good old traditional stormy weather"

It also includes famous places like white cliffs of Dover, the Gower peninsula, Ben Nevis and the Giant's Causeway. The row of houses can easily be a scene from a psychedelic drug trip in the 70's but it's actually the opening page of the new passport. There are no references to modern urbanised Britain rather the nostalgia of a good old remote British village ,where everyones know each other's names. How sweet.

Screen-printed illustrations

Stunning screen-print effect design by Jamie Wieck. The three colour limitation adds to the beauty of the illustration.

Guardian Illustrations

For a newspaper the Guardian has some exciting illustrations. This brand concept for the Guardian's presence at the Hay festival literary event is beautiful. The work produced by Sian Everett design and illustrated by

Joel Holland

works well over a number of deliverables.

Regulating social media marketing

Social media marketing is becoming increasingly popular with marketers and this has increased the popularity with the bodies governing the marketers.

The Advertising standards authority (ASA) has announced that corporate use for social media will come under the same rules as TV, press poster, radio and newspaper ads. The ASA has stated that it has "protection of children and consumers at its heart". The decision was made after they received over 4,500 complaints from the public which they could not deal with as it was not in their responsibility.

The new rules will come into effect 1st March next year. The ASA will regulate marketing in all areas of digital marketing, including the company’s own website and microsites. More attention will be given to social media marketing on sites such as Facebook, MySpace or Twitter. The new rules will mean that all online marketing will have to be responsible, legal, honest and truthful. They will concentrate on adverts which sell products rather than ones with editorial content.

Virgin Media's broadband speed advertising

Virgin Media have stood up against broadband speed advertising claiming that audiences find the advertised speeds misleading. Only 9% of respondents in a survey for Virgin Media said that they believe that broadband advertising is accurate and 93% of audiences believed that they should only be able to advertise the average received broadband by the majority of customers. All broadband providers tend to advertise speeds “up to” a certain speed. In July, Ofcom found that only 46% of the advertised broadband speed was being received.

The ASA banned an advert by BT, which claimed that the 20Mbps service was consistently faster than its 8Mbps, after they found it to be misleading. Virgin media have now promised to advertise to customers exactly what they are receiving on average each month.

Jon James, executive director of broadband at Virgin Media, stated: "People are paying for faster and faster broadband but being ripped off by unscrupulous providers who can't deliver their promised speeds to even a single customer”

Well James, I bought your virgin media services last month and you advertised the fastest broadband around… any chance of me receiving this soon?

49 objects lurking in my kitchen drawer...

Beautiful illustration by Jamie Wieck: "49 objects found lurking in my kitchen drawer".

Katie Kirk's retro selection

Katie Kirk's retro style.

Paper wow

Absolutely gorgeous style produced by Robert Ryan. His brand is extremely recognisable and his techniques truly unique. All of his works are cut into paper then scanned or photographed to produce an individual way of presenting work. I LOVE the shop design and would happily cover my whole house in his fascinating and adorable pieces.

Election graphics

This is a stunning design for "THE OXFORD STUDENT" Newspaper. It depicts the big parties in a three horse race... not only is the concept admirable but the execution is lovely. The mixture of Illustration photography and 3d-effects makes a really stunning and simple cover.

MacDonalds drawing

Tom Pearson did this illustration for a MacDonalds design competition. I love how intricate the design is. He hoped that when produced as a wall vinyl it would visually appeal to children in the restaurant. I think it would be, it would keep me entertained for a while!

Pottery goes pop

I love this gorgeous illustration that Wood McGrath created for Pottery Goes Pop. It was designed for an exhibition case in the Design Museum London. The display celebrates the work and life of Susan Williams-Ellis, who co-created Portmerrion Pottery. All the elements of the drawing are drawn from the earthenware pottery on display and the colour pallete also reflects the colours of the raw pottery. The element which ties the design together is the geometric custom typeface.

Book adverts on TV (bad ones)

It isn't often that you see book adverts on TV. Unless it's a collection of books from WHSmith or Jordan's new autobiography. So when an advert for James Patterson's book collection appeared at primetime tonight this made me think how strange it is and notice the considerable gap in the market.

When I looked into Patterson I found out that he used to be in advertising, which explained a lot. Unsurprisingly, he was the chairman of America's largest advertising agency, J. Walter Thompson. I found that he ferociously scrutinises the designs of his book jackets and pours money into his marketing campaigns out his own pocket.

So why aren't book adverts rife on TV? In 1992, Patterson's own publisher refused to fund a TV advert which shows how adverse the industry is to TV advertising. As an advertising genius he can clearly see the benefit of advertising to a mass medium which the book industry does not. He went on to fund his own advert and the book was so successful that it has now been transformed into two films starring Morgan Freeman.

But even with all the experience Patterson's campaign is a collection of pretty awful Americanised adverts. They make me cringe....

Find more videos like this on The James Patterson Community

Cartoon Particles

Rainbowmonkey

I love this self-motivated project from The Rainbowmonkey. He has taken classic cartoon characters and created each element as a separate object. I couldn't guess what any of them are, (even though they are now really obvious) can you?

New Arena in Leeds

Due to great public demand, Leeds is getting a new Arena. The Leeds Arena will have one of the most striking and unique Arena designs in Europe. Using an ever-changing kaleidoscope of coloured lights, the honeycomb design will act as a commanding gateway to Leeds city centre and come ‘alive’ at night.

Computer arts

Cover design for Computer Arts by Emily Alston. On the top of the image it has a lovely UV gloss of the criss-cross pattern on bank notes. Emily's alter ego is Emily Forget. She has a unique playful screen-print style to her work which makes it instantly recognisable.

It's nice that: Tell us a good fact

Emilyforgot: An elephant is the only mammal that can’t jump.

Book design

Beautifully illustrated book design by Amy Rodchester. It is simple, eye-catching and ties in neatly with the storyline of the book.

e-ink... the future?

Is this the future of advertising? If it is then will we get to a time when all adverts/magazines/direct mailing using this technology won't stand out from the crowd anymore? This was released in 2008 so until the technology becomes cheaper and more readily available I think not. Audiences don't seem so impressed by it either.

Moving image in print...

http://www.esquire.com/the-side/video/e-ink-cover-video

matter cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed

Beautiful Window fronts by Kyle Bean for Selfridges. The copy really exemplifies the beauty of this concept:

'matter cannot be created or destroyed, only transformed'

The idea is that on each side of the scale is the same object, just one is transformed into a different creation of the same components. The collection sees five stunning pieces each with its own captivating beauty. The simplest is a cardboard box for an office chair being transformed into a cardboard office chair, while another is 1000 aluminum cans being crushed into a small square. One which I particularly enjoy is the transformation of three fairy-tale books into one fairy-tale castle. The last two turn into mobiles. A weding cake (for the girls) and a Honda motorcycle (for the boys).

The whole project is wonderful from the idea itself to the execution, and it was obvosly impressing the audience too!

In or out?

Two websites with interesting theories on in-house design. Should it be in-house or outsourced?

http://invangelist.wordpress.com/

http://www.howdesign.com/designawardgalleries/

I want it!

Michael Doret has out-done himself with this beautiful brush script design. His retro styling is rife throughout his portfolio but I believe this type has much more to offer than a typical American sports poster. It's hand drawn effect coupled with it's organic shapes make a wonderful styled title. And only £65... Tempted?

World cup typefaces

Type got a little interesting this time around, thanks to type designer Yomar Augusto. The typeface 'Unitiy', a custom typeface that was designed for Adidas, was the most interesting typeface at this years worldcup. Augusto comes under a new wave of designers from Brazil where he teaches experimental calligraphy workshops.

Unity was THE typeface of the world cup 2010. For adidas it was used across all products, advertising, packaging, retail and film. It was integral to the sub-brand for Adidas's world cup range. It was also on the shirts of the players, Augusto should be over the moon to see his successful typeface viewed by almost 30 million viewers worldwide.

Augusto said: "Adidas had a vision that every element of their football identity was to be linked and unified by one basic shape. This shape can be found as a design element on the official match ball of the World Cup, so the first drawings came from the product designers at Adidas. We at 180 had the task to bring it to life and inject its personality into the whole alphabet.”

The interesting concept behind this typeface is that the whole identity is based around the Official match-ball, it is inspired by the Jabulani football itself. You can see the rounded triangular form of the ball echoed clearly in Numerals, 6,8,9.

The Helvetica Killer

Type designer Bruno Maag of Dalton Magg believe Helvetica's hype and usage is, to say the least, overrated. Not only this, but he dislikes the whole concept and design of the typeface. We all have our own pet hates. For most of us it is'nt that far-fetched. We all hate it when someone has a crack at a corporate poster using comic sans because "it looks friendly"

He dislikes it so much he took the time to design his own reaction to the typeface: Aktiv Grotesk. He wants this to be both an improvement and alternative to Helvetica.

Do Typefaces really matter?

This article from the BBC questions the use of Typefaces. Branding is one thing that baffles the general public.

"80,000 on some text - why don't they just use Times new roman? I do"

Because then you wouldnt know your Carling from your Carlsberg.

Alan Fletcher: Fifty years of work (and play)

...and play he did. Fletcher's style is deeply inspired by his once teacher, Paul Rand. The playful, bright and often witty design steers clear from the corporate design of our modern culture and often teaches the art of wit, the art of enjoyment, the art of looking sidewards.



One of my favorite pieces from my recent visit to the Cube exhibition in Manchester was the calendar design he completed with Pentagram. It exemplifies his wonderfully skilled practice of not taking oneself too seriously. The designs are full of unpretentious meaning and are attractive to the eye. Each yearly calendar followed a different theme; star signs, weather, activities, colour. It is an excellently quirky way to produce a normally mundane publication.

The beauty of information

Lithography, Typography, photography and now... infography. The art of presenting information.

It's often very difficult to present lots of copy, concepts and images in the correct flow and hieracrchy of understanding. Especially, if clients insist in fitting four sides of A4 copy onto an A3 poster, not only in way that is clear and CONSISE but also in an attractive and enticing way.

Here are three examples of how this can be done: