When a mother-of-two, who happens to live at 10,000 feet on the top of a mountain, told us she had lost 40 pounds over the past year, the knee-jerk response, after the obvious “Congratulations”, was “How”? The snow doesn’t melt until June and it’s a 30-minute drive down a treacherous road to the nearest store, not to mention a gym of any kind.
Image from Getty
While so much of what we do involves the visual, designers are, at base, storytellers, earth colors and rustic forms to denote a shampoo’s organic origins, clean whites and cool hues for the industrial efficiency of a new anti-aging cream. Those are cliches, of course, and that’s what we try so hard to avoid, too hard sometimes, as the cache of images at AwkwardStockPhotos.com cheekily catalogs.
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Tokio Kumagai (1948-1987) was a Japanese fashion designer, active during the 1970′s and 80′s. In 1970, he graduated from the prestigious Bunka Fashion College, which was also the school of designers Kenzo Takada, Junya Watanabe, Yohji Yamamoto, and Tsumori Chisato.
Image from Brooklyn Boulders
Every once in a while you have to do something completely different to shake things up and get the creative gears turning. This weekend I had my first exposure to the sport of Wall Climbing at the fantastic Brooklyn Boulders gym. Physical endurance was only the beginning as I began to experiment with different pathways up the wall. It’s truly a sport that relies on your ability to problem-solve and be creative in mid-air.
As we watched the World Cup finals this past weekend, we found our attention wandering to the flashing billboard fences in the background. Sponsorship is such an integral part of sports that the absence of regular commercial breaks was conspicuous, if not also refreshing. Soccer is a rare example of a sport whose continuity doesn’t allow for a break in play. Ergo, no commercials (at least not during action).
We’re in the midst of a baby boom in New York City. It seems that everyone is preparing for an influx of pint-sized residents. Pediatricians are expanding their offices. Daycares are ramping up. Co-op preschools are materializing. And just like the little ones who will be using them, new products targeted at this group seem to be springing from the woodwork.
Protest Montage
It’s heartening to see creative people find ways to express our anger over the Gulf spill. Not sure bp’s brand can ever recover from this.
Droid Advertising
The Android phone is the latest smart phone collaborative effort between Google, Verizon, and Motorola. Considered the first real challenger to Apples iphone. The brand voice and image that Verizon marketers has crafted is a clear differentiation from Apples cool, smart and humanistic feel. Kind of like robot fingers vs. human fingers, PC’s vs. Mac’s?
Single Serve Heinz Ketchup
Apparently, because it took Heinz 42 years to redesign their ubiquitous ketchup packets. Although good for what they were, they always did shoot ketchup in unpredictable directions and only had enough for one fry per serving.
In spite of the wonders of search, it’s still nearly impossible to find a decent image online. If you can cobble together the correct string of search terms and someone has managed to do the same with the tags on their images, you might be lucky enough to find a tiny thumbnail that could be of use if it wasn’t so bitmapped as to be unreadable. Google can’t see, so it can’t tell you if an image matches its tag; is in focus; connects with the viewer or is worth the time it takes to open. An experienced human eye is still the best judge of an image’s value and power.
