Tel Aviv "Don't Drink and Drive" Ad Campaign: a billboard made out of 80 crashed cars

How do you get people to take home the "Don't drink and drive" message when they've heard it all before? Billboards seem to have little impact (pardon the pun), dramatic TV numbs us to the core.... Well it seems that Shalmor Avnon Amichay/ Y&R Interactive Tel Aviv thought "perhaps making the billboard out of actual crashed cars would do the trick?"

They gathered together 80 cars that were involved in accidents, used them to construct a 20 metre tall object in the shape of a bottle and then placed the thing alongside one of the country's busiest highways and intersection with a simple message: Don't drink and drive.

Brilliant.

Picture of the day: 30 April 2010

Could this be a new Banksy in Hackney Wick? Symbolising a hung parliament, which occurs when no party has an overall majority, the graffiti urges voters to vote Green.

Source: Telegraph.co.uk

iPhone HD/iPhone 4G will most likely debut on June 7

Apple has put up this year’s World Wide Developer Conference (WWDC 2010) page, and as suspected the dates are early — June 7-11.

For the last two years, Apple has also used the event to debut new iPhone hardware and release dates, with the iPhone 3GS in 2009 and iPhone 3G in 2008. The iPhone 2G was announced at Macworld in 2008, but its release date was made public at WWDC as well. All that to say it’s fairly likely WWDC 2010 will not only give us our first official look at the 4th generation iPhone (iPhone HD, iPhone 4G, iPhone G4, whatever floats your boat), but word on when we’ll get it as well.

While the iPhone has only been part of WWDC for 3 years, given the app-centric nature of the artwork its fair to say it’ll be given the lion’s share of attention this year.

Source: The iPhone Blog

iPhone app chocolates

iChocolates... Mmmmm yes please.

Cinnamoncreative.com + the blog circa 1995

Brilliant! Thanks to the The Geocities-izer, see what my website and this blog would have looked like circa 1995.

Particularly loving the use of Comic Sans

We've all done it.. now it's time for "Google Me - The Movie"

The movie Google Me is about the phenomena of search, and in this movie’s case, the power of searching for a name and the remarkable information that can be uncovered.

It's essentially a documentary by Jim Killeen, starring 7 guys named Jim Killeen.

"It all started when I Googled my name," said Killeen, "and who in today's day and age hasn't engaged in just such an activity in a moment of idle "webbing."

The difference here that the filmmaker actually followed up on his findings by not only contacting his namesakes but also traveling to whatever remote location called for to meet and interview the subjects of his search.

So were you shocked at what you found when you Google'd yourself? And did you notice a lot of other worldwide weirdos with your name?!?

What The Guardian could have looked like?

Richard Turley, art director of The Guardian's G2 section, has just completed a redesign of Bloomberg Businessweek. It includes some ideas that were originally intended for The Guardian's redesign

The redesign comes following Bloomberg's takeover of Business Week and the magazine's renaming to reflect that fact. Turley relocated to New York to carry out the project, on which he worked with type designer Christian Schwartz, who also worked, with Paul Barnes, on The Guardian redesign in 2004.

Source: Creative Review

The original intention on The Guardian had been to use a recut of Helvetica as the main display face. Christian Schwartz and Berton Hasebe completed and expanded Max Miedinger's Neue Haas Grotesk family (the original name for Helvetica), working from the original drawings to revive Miedinger's italics and adding lighter weights. However, their work was eventually ditched in favour of The Guardian's Egyptian typeface.

Turley has now used the typeface, Haas Grotesk revival, throughout Bloomberg Businessweek.
His choice of serif face is another by-product of the Guardian redesign process – Publico. As Schwartz's Commercial Type states on its website, "Although this family debuted in Mark Porter and Simon Esterson's 2006 redesign of Portuguese daily Público, it originated in the design process that resulted in the Guardian collection." As such, it was originally designed to work alongside the revived version of Helvetica then being planned for The Guardian.
Turley also brought in New York design studio Karlsson Wilker to create graphics for Businessweek.
The cover for the relaunch issue leads on the controversy at Goldman Sachs.

Vote-u-lator

Unsure how to vote on May 6th? Vote-u-lator analyses data, themes and words in your social network. Then uses a sophisticated algorithms to postulate your latest voting disposition.

Karen Cinnamon in Creative Review (May 2010)

Alongside two other digital designers, Karen Cinnamon discusses four new innovative websites as part of the Creative Review Crit Panel.

Click here to enlarge and read the article in full.

Mind-blowing images from Eyjafjallajokull

Although the situation has improved, ash from Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull volcano continues to cause havoc. Gathered here are some of the most staggering images from Iceland I have seen over the past week.

Lightning streaks across the sky as lava flows from a volcano in Eyjafjallajokul April 17, 2010. (REUTERS)
A car is seen driving near Kirkjubaejarklaustur, Iceland, through the ash from the volcano eruption under the Eyjafjallajokull glacier on Thursday April 15, 2010. (AP Photo)
A small plane (upper left) flies past smoke and ash billowing from a volcano in Eyjafjallajokul, Iceland on April 17, 2010. (REUTERS)
Smoke billows from a volcano in Eyjafjallajokull on April 16, 2010. (HALLDOR KOLBEINS)
The volcano in southern Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull glacier sends ash into the air Saturday, April 17, 2010. (AP Photo)
Lightning, smoke and lava above Iceland's Eyjafjallajokul volcano on April 17, 2010. (REUTERS)
A man runs along the roadside, taking pictures of the Eyjafjallajokull volcano as it continues to billow smoke and ash during an eruption on April 17, 2010. (HALLDOR KOLBEINS)
A huge ash cloud creeps over the Icelandic south coast April 16, 2010. (REUTERS)
Wearing a mask and goggles to protect against the smoke, dairy farmer Berglind Hilmarsdottir from Nupur, Iceland, looks for cattle lost in ash clouds, Saturday, April 17, 2010. (AP Photo)
This aerial image shows the crater spewing ash and plumes of grit at the summit of the volcano in southern Iceland's Eyjafjallajokull glacier Saturday April 17, 2010. (AP Photo)
Horses graze in a field near the Eyjafjallajokull volcano as it continues to billow dark smoke and ash during an eruption late on April 17, 2010. (HALLDOR KOLBEINS)
A woman makes a phone call in the empty arrival hall of Prague's Ruzyne Airport after all flights were grounded due to volcanic ash in the skies coming from Iceland April 18, 2010. Air travel across much of Europe was paralyzed for a fourth day on Sunday by a huge cloud of volcanic ash, but Dutch and German test flights carried out without apparent damage seemed to offer hope of respite. (REUTERS)
The first of 2 photos by Olivier Vandeginste, taken 10 km east of Hvolsvollur at a distance 25 km from the Eyjafjallajokull craters on April 18th, 2010. Lightning and motion-blurred ash appear in this 15-second exposure. (Olivier Vandeginste)
The second of photo by Olivier Vandeginste, taken 10 km east of Hvolsvollur Iceland on April 18th, 2010. Lightning flashes and glowing lava illuminate parts of Eyjafjallajokull's massive ash plume in this 30-second exposure..

Iggy the cat investigates the iPad

This is so cute!

Iggy's owner says he has always been exceedingly curious and technologically inclined and not to worry - the the screen is fine. Apparently cat's claws are not as hard as glass.

Witty campaign for The Sunday Times Rich List

The Sunday Times has launched a campaign to promote its annual guide to Britain's top 1000 wealthiest individuals.

It's a stylish, witty solution, by CHI & Partners, and consists of 10 second TV ads, as well as outdoor and print work.

iRetrofone Base

Can be bought here.

Show your design space - and poke your nose into others...

I'm rather nosey when it comes to other people's work spaces, especially if they are designers. As someone who has literally worked in spaces ranging from a small cupboard to sleek and spacious creative studios, I have seen how my surroundings affect my own creativity so I wonder how other designers are affected by their working surroundings?

Well, now we can all poke our noses into studios the world over thanks to Where We Design, a really nice idea for a website which shows studio spaces from creatives across the globe.

New website for Paul Smith

One of my favourite fashion designer's, Paul Smith, has launched a new website.

The new site is both an e-commerce site and a brand showcase for the internationally renowned fashion business. (Smaller-scale online purchasing had already been available on the site since 2004, but it has now been ramped up). It's a simple, clean HTML interface with large, animated images and it results in a strong visual impact.

Paul Smith World is a section of the website which features creative and art projects by the designer. This will be refreshed on a regular basis to encourage users to return to the site.

The new site certainly offers an enhanced user experience and I imagine it will greatly drive online sales.

Peter Blake tie-in with Chelsea FC

Loving Peter Blake's (somewhat unlikely) tie-up with Chelsea Football Club. The famous Pop Artist behind the album cover for the Beatles' Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, has been brought in to back the launch of their new kit.

All those familiar with my work for Jewish Book Week know that I have been greatly influenced by Blake's collages. and follow him closely.

And now created an artwork to celebrate the launch of the new Adidas Chelsea home shirt, supported by a microsite, video and social media campaign created by ad agency Iris.

The launch will include a three-foot high collage created by Blake, which will appear in the Chelsea megastore and in sponsor Adidas's shops from 6 May, that aims to celebrate the club's staff, players and fans.

Images used in the collage tell the story of Chelsea from the terrier that played a role in the creation of the club and the development of Stamford Bridge to the £1 note that Ken Bates used to buy it in 1982.

Adidas's campaign, created by the ad agency Iris, is called "Made from 100% Chelsea". Blake was filmed for a "making of" video that will be available online.

The first 10,000 fans to purchase the new home kit, which has a red collar and trim in tribute to the Chelsea Pensioners, will receive a limited edition print of Blake's piece.

This is seriously enough to turn me into being a Chelsea supporter. No more Leyton Orient for me...

Unexpected fashions for iPad

Puma's clever little shoe bag box

If you love clever packaging you'll have some respect for Puma's innovating thinking on the humble shoe box while keeping sustainability in mind.

The Muppets: Bohemian Rhapsody

It's 6 months old, but it's gold... just a word of warning: put down your drink while watching, so as to spare your computer a bath.

Oh, and watch out for cameos by Muppets you probably wouldn’t expect to see. Enjoy!

'Slap The Election Candidates' online game

Now you have the chance to take your anger out on the main election candidates with the help of a website where you can slap Gordon Brown, David Cameron and Nick Clegg in the face, simply by sliding your mouse cursor across the screen.

The site launched on 1st April and as of this morning (13th April), Gordon Brown had received 47.8% of the slaps, David Cameron had received 37.9% of slaps, while Nick Clegg had endured just 14.3% of slaps.

Google has made its first ever UK acquisition buying the startup, Plink

The acquisition follows chief executive Eric Schmidt's statement that Google is aiming to acquire at least one company each month – as well as recruit more staff – as it expands the company post-recession.

Founded by PhD students Mark Cummins and James Philbin, Plink's first product was PlinkArt, a visual recognition app for mobile that analyses pictures of well-known artworks and paintings and identifies them. Users can then share the photo with friends and also click through to buy a poster version.

The developers claim the app was downloaded more than 50,000 times in the six weeks following launch, and Plink have also held discussions with galleries including the Tate over potential partnerships.

The two founders will work on Google Goggles, the search giant's visual search project.

Cummins and Philbin founded Plink nearly two year ago while PhD students at the University of Oxford's mobile robotics and visual geometry groups in the department of engineering.

The app was brought to Google's attention during the Android Develop Challenge in December last year, an initiative to promote innovative new applications for Google's mobile platform, when the pair won $100,000 – Plink's sole funding to date.
James Philbin explained how Plink's technology works: "It picks out repeatable elements from the image you take and comes out with a statistical representation of them." That process works even at different angles and different lighting conditions.

"We found our way into art almost by accident, because we were really interested in visual search. But art is compelling space because it is so empty. There isn't even a definitive site for art," said Philbin.

Cummins said the two had the classic startup dilemma of deciding whether to accept Google's offer – or to acknowledge that endorsement of the product and keep developing independently. But they opted instead to accept Google's offer and become the first UK startup to be bought by the technology giant.

"It feels good, yeah," said Philbin. "I'm not complaining."

Nicorette 'films' - film parody ad

Nicorette have launched a TV and cinema campaign with ads parodying generic film genres by substituing the film stars' cigarettes with inhalators.

Following the first Nicorette inhalator campaign in 2007, there was still a large barrier to purchase, in that many consumers were self-conscious about using the product in public. To counter this, AMV BBDO have developed a campaign that they hope will further conventionalise the product's use.

Personally I belive they're still a great barrier to purchase because these inhalators still look fairly ridiculous!. As nice as these ads are. I believe it's a job for the product design team rather than a new ad campaign.

New iPad.. will it blend? I found this excruciatingly painful to watch!

Living Portraits

These 'people painted to look like portraits' were done by Alexa Meade. She is an installation artist based in Washington DC.

Her innovative use of paint on the three dimensional surfaces of found objects, live models, and architectural spaces has been incorporated into a series of installations that create a perceptual shift in how we experience and interpret spatial relationships.

So rather than a painting trying to capture the likeness of a person, these are people painted to look like the likeness of a painting. It's so wonderfully the wrong way round!






Above, self-portrait of the artist, Alexa Meade