Does the world really need a new cook book? Probably not. However, smoothie brand innocent's new recipe book, entitled Hungry? (published by 4th Estate, £20) really is rather lovely stuff
Beautifully laid out and designed to perfection - I'd love this book just for its graphics. The book is aimed at families with small children and, as well as over 100 recipes for straight forward dishes - some healthy and some indulgent treats - it is choc-full of helpful info like how to test for a good or bad egg, and an easy to read chart of what food is seasonal when. And there's plenty of fun stuff for kids to enjoy, such as the particularly excellent tips for how to make your popcorn last through an entire DVD. Also of note is the photography by Clare Shilland and the on-brand witty captions and copy in general – a trait which is one of innocent's strongest brand assets. Here a selection of spreads:
Source: Creative Review
Friday, July 8, 2011
innocent's new "Hungry?" book
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Diesel makes Facebook look like Excel with its slacker app
It’s another cool social media campaign from Diesel and while it won’t appeal to everyone it is definitely worth a look.
Diesel of lovely jeans fame has created this downloadable application for Macs and PCs that makes Facebook look like an Excel Spreadsheet. It is part of Diesel’s “stupid” campaign and its your chance to be “stupid” at work.
So you can like stuff and chat right under the nose of your boss and they will never know. It is a great little idea. They are calling it Excelbook. If Facebook is banned where you work then this really won’t help, but if not, you can download the application right here .
I love how innovative Diesel is when it comes to digital media and it is really going for this whole stupid thing. In March Diesel invited people to join the “stupid society” on fantasy island.
Not all its stupid campaign has worked. Last year its ‘Stupid’ ads were banned by ASA. Last year we also saw Diesel bring Facebook to life in its stores with Diesel Cam.
Source: The Wall
Thursday, June 16, 2011
Jennifer Aniston goes viral by mocking all viral videos
Jennifer Aniston manages to cram a dozen or so popular Internet virals into her latest ad for Smartwater, including dancing babies, puppies etc. Worth a watch.
Friday, June 10, 2011
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Creepy, yet awesome: Dumpster Drive lets you share your unwanted digital files with complete strangers.
Dumpster Drive: File Sharing For Your Digital Trash from Justin Blinder on Vimeo.
Mac OS X: Dumpster Drive may be one of the strangest file sharing services you'll ever come across, as it's geared towards sharing files you don't want with people you don't know. What seems bizarre and potentially pointless, however, is actually a really compelling idea in the sense that one man's trash is another man's treasure.
What Does It Do?
Dumpster Drive is a very simple concept. You install the app, choose a location for your dumpster, and add any items you don't want. Within the app, you can empty your dumpster and your digital trash will be added to the community trash pool. Anyone else using Dumpster Drive can dig through that trash pool and download any files. When you do, however, that file now belongs to you and nobody else can download it. The idea is one of transferring file ownership from someone who doesn't want it to someone who may find it useful.
Is It Safe?
This idea, of course, comes along with some security implications. When you download someone else's trash, you don't know what might come along with it. Currently there's no information discussing how Dumpster Drive is dealing with the potential threat of viruses and malware, so you may want to be careful about the trash you choose to download.
Why Would I Use This?
Dumpster Drive is a file sharing service you're probably going to either love or hate. You may find it to be completely useless or oddly compelling. While its appeal may not be immediately obvious, it's an application that's about curiosity and extending the lifespan of the digital things we often see as simply disposable. The internet is filled with places where we indirectly pry into the lives of strangers. Dumpster Drive just takes a more candid approach.
Currently Dumpster Drive is Mac-only, but the source code is available on GitHub so others can use it to make versions for other platforms.
Dumpster Drive
Source: Lifehacker.com (Adam Dachis)
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
Type Table
Font nerd alert! Here’s a three-dimensional way to express your love of letters.
The Fontable, designed by Alessandro Canepa and Andrea Paulicelli is a new concept featuring letters A-Z in lower and uppercase as well as the numbers 0-9. Each table is made from a single sheet of steel in white, black or red. The adjustable legs are anodized aluminum.
Order a single letter or a whole word.
Available at Outdoorz Gallery.
Source: Elvis Design
Friday, May 20, 2011
The Sunday Times ‘Social List’ – like a rich list for geeks - what number are you?
The Sunday Times Social List is a nice idea from The Sunday Times, giving 'the people' their own rich list of sorts. It's visually well done and as is the case with a lot of things like this at the moment, it's the data that paints the picture. Give it a go here.
Business cards for kids
Ogilvy Brazil have created these superb personalised business cards for children at the Red Balloons English school.
Red Balloon, an English School for kids, asked its students what they wanted to be when they grow up.
Based on their answers, Ogilvy Brazil designed personalised Kids Business Cards. "Result: more kids believe in their dreams and more parents believe in the importance of English for their kids' future," say the agency.
RedBalloon Kids Business Cards from digous machado on Vimeo.
Source: Creative Review
Friskies have created iPad games for cats. Screen protectors not included.
Friskies, the cat food brand has introduced a trio of iPad apps made just for the most precious of household felines. Via Cat Fishing, Tasty Treasures Hunt and Party Mix-Up, iPad owners can alternatively swoon and gasp in sheer horror as their cats bring claw after sharpened claw to their iPad screens. It's half cute / half horror-inducing to watch.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Orange Lucky Likes
Really lovely and original social engagement idea from Orange: They've launched a competition inviting users to enter a lucky dip of Facebook Likes. Users connect through Facebook and then randomly choose two anonymous like buttons. The correct choice will be rewarded with prizes, whilst the wrong choice will leave the reader with an undesirable like on their Facebook page, such as “Gillian McKeith and toenails”.
#Winning on Twitter: The Top 10 Promoted Tweets
VW, Papa John's—and Twitter—win by 'keeping it real', using links and launching new products.
VW
Engagement: 52%
Why it worked: Linked to a live unveiling of the New Beetle, teased during Super Bowl.
Engagement: 38%
Why it worked: New tech products resonate, and Google used Twitter to launch Google Instant, NexusOne and Chrome.
Engagement: 36%
Why it worked: Connected paid tweet to existing social campaign. Brought Old Spice guy out of retirement on Twitter.
Why it worked: Auto category strong on Twitter. Linked to exclusive “spy photos” of the Mustang Boss 302.
Engagement: 34%
Why it worked: Good timing and a social component encouraged users to submit and retweet photos of people receiving a heart-shaped pizza.
Engagement: 27%
Why it worked: Another product unveiling, this time a Selena Gomez record release, which name-checked a retail partner (iTunes) and latched onto a popular hashtag.
Engagement: 26%
Why it worked:: This wasn’t the launch of a show but a key part of building buzz for the build-up, with first images of the new “Wonder Woman” series.
Engagement: 25%
Why it worked: Twitter users have a keen interest in, well, Twitter. Here, Twitter uses its own platform to promote its new web client. This tweet earned 5,971 re-tweets.
Engagement: 25%
Why it worked:Contests, giveaways and premieres tend to perform on Twitter. Microsoft had already successfully seeded organic conversations for #gears3beta, which became a Trended Topic.
Source: Storify
Monday, May 16, 2011
Thursday, May 12, 2011
You Can Now Tag Pages in Facebook Photos
Ever had the urgent need to tag the Coke can you’re holding in that Primrose Hill picnic picture on Facebook? Well, now you can, as the social network has added the ability to tag Pages in Facebook photos.
Starting today, users will be able to tag Pages for Brands & Products as well as People (more options coming soon) in their Facebook photos.
Tagged photos will appear in the Photos tab of a Page, rather than on that Page’s Wall, and anyone can tag a Page — even if a user hasn’t “Liked” it. Page admins can also nix photos from the tab by going into Edit Page > Posting Options > and unchecking “Users can add photos.”
For those who concerned about their privacy, Facebook assures us that privacy settings will still apply; if your photos are visible to everyone, everyone will be able to see the tagged snap, and if your photos are set to “only friends,” only friends will be able to check out that pic of you standing in front of the local Rite Aid.
This move could definitely be beneficial to certain brands. Imagine if people started tagging themselves wearing, say, Levi’s jeans. All of those snaps would then go to the Levi’s Facebook Page and result in free advertising.
Will you start tagging brands and celebs in your Facebook pictures?
Source: Mashable
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
Karen Cinnamon in 'Freelancing Matters' Magazine
Feature in Freelancing Matters magazine, May 2011.
Monday, May 9, 2011
Today's Google Doodle honours 76th Birthday of 'Mr. Men' Author Roger Hargreaves
If you've checked out Google today, you'll notice the cuteness has no bounds with different Google doodles riffing off Mr. Bump, Mr. Men, Mr. Rush, Little Miss Magic, Little Miss Shy and so many others. If you're in the right age range, you'll recognise the images from your childhood as those conjured up by British author and illustrator Roger Hargreaves, whose birthday Google celebrates today with these awesome renditions.
Hargreaves, who died in 1988, would have been 76 today. He is best known for the Mr. Men and Little Miss books, which started with Mr. Tickle in 1971. The books have thus far sold more than 100 million copies in 28 countries.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Honest logos
What if logos told the truth? You can't really argue with this idea by Viktor Hertz of a series of honest logos.
Evian Baby Inside
Evian has followed up its "roller babies" ad with a new spot that flips adults into dancing babies.
BETC Euro RSCG's "Baby Inside" ad uses a series of images of people wearing t-shirts that have an image of a baby's body on the front, from the neck down.
The images are shown in quick succession, resembling a flipbook, to animate images and make them appear as though the baby images are dancing.
The “Live Young” strapline, strengthens the message of the Rollerbabies film by symbolising the effect of Evian on the bodies of adults of all ages.
Source: Brand Republic
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Facebook launches Facebook Studio for marketers
Facebook has launched a stand-alone community site where creatives can share ideas, comment on campaigns and learn what it takes to create a successful page for a brand.
Facebook Studio is a sortable gallery of marketing campaigns and it looks like it will be very useful to digital marketers and creatives.
You can search for the most liked campaigns, the most shared campaigns, by language, region and other criteria, and it’s been created because Facebook has been asked for examples and tools for social media campaigns.
You can also search by brands and by sector, and in the Learning Lab tab are detailed explanations of all the Facebook marketing tools available, so it’s easy to keep up to date (or even get up to speed if you’re a complete beginner).
And even if you’re one of those people who derides any borrowing of ideas, it can also be a good way of checking out if you’re idea truly IS a first for Facebook.
Anyone can look at it. You can also upload your own work for others to admire (agencies and clients are credited).
I know it’s an ill wind that blows no good, but are there winds that blow no bad? Facebook benefits because it gets more brands signing up for campaigns; consumers benefit by getting more entertaining campaigns (hopefully); and agencies benefit from sharing intelligence. Go and explore!
facebook-studio.com
Source: The Wall
Saturday, April 16, 2011
T-Mobile's Royal Wedding Entrance Video Goes Viral
T-Mobile has released a Royal Wedding entrance dance video à la the couple that boogied to "Forever" back in 2009. Prince William, Kate Middleton, Queen Elizabeth, Camilla and Prince Charles lookalikes all bump and grind their way down the aisle and into the Internet's viral void.
The ad (by Saatchi & Saatchi, London) will be released solely online, unlike the previous 'Life's For Sharing' spots.
For the record, I was most impressed with Fake Harry's moves.
Freelance Designer vs. Design Agency
There used to be advantages in employing large agencies for big jobs. Economies of scale, strength in numbers, experience and access to resources were benefits of the big boys over a lone ranger. Nowadays, this isn’t true. All a freelancer needs is a Mac and a broadband connection. Large files can easily be moved around quickly, huge jobs – series of billboards, brochures, books, presentations, videos, websites – can sit on secure servers anywhere in the world.
If the scale of the job is too much for one freelancer they can simply call on someone else to help. Files can be downloaded from the freelancer’s FTP site and uploaded when finished. Every freelancer has a network of contacts each with their specialities.
Essentially there are benefits which ever way you decide to go, and neither one is the wrong choice. The first decider is often cost. Freelance designers tend to be significantly more affordable than design agencies because they don't have the same overheads and staff costs and primarily because you are usually paying a single person to work on your project.
So here's my list of advantages of each. It’s also worth noting there’s a certain amount of overlap. For instance, my first reason for choosing an agency is because they’re well-versed in dealing with large accounts. The same can be true of a freelancer.
Reasons to work with a freelance graphic designer
1. From start to finish, the client is talking to the top creative designer on the job, so the project specifications don’t need relayed before action is taken.
2. There are no separate account managers, senior creatives or junior designers, each with differing interpretations of the design brief.
3. The client is hiring the person responsible for 100% of the design portfolio
4. Client phone calls go directly to the designer working on the project — not a sales person or account manager.
5. With many freelancers working from home, they can often transfer considerable savings made through low overheads.
6. Design revisions can frequently be made almost immediately after the request.
7. Billing enquiries and delivery time frames can be clarified at the same time as specific design discussions.
Reasons to work with a graphic design agency
1. Well versed in dealing with large accounts.
2. The client isn’t reliant on the health of one person for the successful completion of the design project.
3. There is often a group of designers collaborating on ideas, offering a broad range of outcomes.
4. Agencies tend to be made up of a number of staff each with their own specialty meaning the overall skill level involved in your project could be higher.
Should the advantages I’ve listed differ from your own experience, please feel free to add in the comments section.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Google’s new trivia game demands that you search
It’s called A Google a Day and beyond being a game that will attract web savvy pub quiz aficionados, it may serve multiple purposes for the search engine giant.
Probably the most obvious reason for creating a game like this is that it reveals new data on how users are searching for ultra specific pieces of information, and in ways that were previously only discovered by deduction of whatever data was available. Having users seek out predetermined results (using the search tool on agoogleaday.com, which doesn’t contain real-time results that might reveal the answer and ruin the game) allows Google to reverse engineer how they’re currently tracking and evaluating data.
Daily questions (example pictured above) will apparently be more difficult to solve as it gets closer to the end of the week, according to a post on Google’s official blog by User Experience Researcher Dan Russell. Answers will be revealed the following day as well as what search methods were employed to find that answer.
While A Google A Day is more puzzle-based than an actual mini game, it’s still the company’s first serious step into the space, and it looks likely to be a perfect breeding ground for social success as well as advertising revenue potential.
Source: Venturebeat.com
Monday, April 4, 2011
Karen Cinnamon wins Advertising & Design Freelancer of the Year Award 2011.
Karen won the accolade Xchangeteam Advertising & Design Freelancer of the Year 2011 at the UK’s only awards ceremony to recognise freelancers in the media, marketing and communications industries.
Advertising & Design was the highest entered category this year with 53 nominations in total, with 6 finalists.
Judge Matt Potter said, "Karen’s sheer joy in her work shines through, not just in her award entry but in the quality of the work she does, and in the feedback she gets from clients.
Her ability to cut through the hyperbole and find the heart of the issue is her true strength and in a competitive market for freelancers, she’s a great example of someone who pulls off difficult work for demanding clients... and makes it look easy."
Karen additionally was Highly Commended in the Digital Excellence category.
More details on the results here.
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Groupon's brilliant 'Unsubscribe' page
This has, apparently, been around for quite some time. So you’ll have to excuse me if you’ve seen it before.
Groupon.com have built a great unsubscribe page for their email newsletter. They express sorrow to see you leave and offer a funny video to punish their IT guy responsible for sending out the email. Adding this bit of humour and the simplicity of the unsubscribe leaves you with a positive feeling about their company and service.
Click here to see their interactive Unsubscribe page.
