Spotted the illustrations of Tavis Coburn on Design Work Life (one of the best blogs out there, by the way). Here the images are promoting the BAFTAs, Britains equivalent of The Academy Awards. Love how a single style is applied across multiple movies titles — we need more of this.

See the series here »

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If you’ve had an ear open to advertising/design-related chatter in the past year or so, you’ve probably heard about Please Feed The Animals and Lemonade, the short documentary illustrating inspiration stories of folks who had been laid off from advertising jobs, and subsequently transformed their lives.

I just watched it on Hulu. It’s incredibly inspirational! Go watch it now. That is all.

And if you’re in New York this week, try to join us for a screening. It’s full now, but there’s a waitlist.

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Luckily, the astute folks at the New York Times are highly organised, and thus they have produced for our enjoyment, a grid-based, icon-fueled look at the last ten years in news, business, culture, and other categories of time–space. Love it.

Think for a second that this was done mainly with icons. One tiny image can encapsulate such a complex and important idea or event. So the next time you’re tasked with the design of an icon or pictogram of some kind, take an extra moment, these things matter.

Picturing the Past Ten Years »

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Today turned up a sparkly little collection of French movie posters from the 50s and 60s. Great stuff, check ‘em out.

Am I the only on who feels that some of these would make excellent book covers? Especially the ones sans photographs, that are heavily graphical. Could work, non?

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Well, last night I snuck out to a preview and managed to watch the film. The two words on my tongue after seeing it: “so what?” The film is a little more than a trophy, acknowledging the rare moments in advertising that do, somehow, manage to cut through the shouting, and that can, admittedly, touch our lives. But we already knew that.

From the title, I imagined Art & Copy would be a sort of inside story into the day-to-day lives of ad agency workers. For once, the lay public will get a glimpse into how it happens, and see that behind these ads are real people, waking up and going to work. But instead, we see a reinforced stereotype of frustrated artists and eccentric creative directors who swear they are changing the world simply by breathing.

There has always been in our society a cynicism towards advertising. We don’t enjoy being interrupted, be it on television, radio, in magazines and newspapers, or even while walking down the street peering at bus shelters and billboards. We’re sick of this shit. But the film does nothing to assuage this cynicism, and instead helps solidify it by highlighting how each of the famous ad-men (and women) featured share a general hatred for their own profession. This is more apparent in the nature of the film itself — interview segments are intercut with montages of ad-saturated cityscapes. Statistics are displayed on-screen that quantify just how many ads we’re exposed to … and how the figures are getting worse over the years. So after a heart-warming tale about the golden age of the biz, we’re brought back to Earth by the reality that those days are, indeed, gone.

Advertising (at least in America and Britain) is overwhelmingly white and male. The industry continues to take criticism for this. And that lopsidedness is reflected in this film. I’m just saying. It also misleads the public by featuring only successful, distinguished industry veterans, thereby sidestepping the ugly issue of burnout, which is infamous within the profession. A lot folks don’t make it to the corner office, and are pushed out well before their hair goes white.

But to be fair, the Art & Copy does entertain. Featuring some of the most notable ad campaigns of the last 50 years, it literally makes us laugh and cry. After all, aren’t emotions slightly heightened by nostalgia?

There is an odd meta quality to the film — the whole thing is one giant ad in the sense that they use the medium of film, combined with moving music, well-chosen imagery, and clever text, to evoke emotions in the audience. And maybe we’re not supposed to notice, but I did, can still testify that in that regard, it’s done very well.

Sadly, the film represents very few campaigns (or thinking) from the 21st Century. Obviously, the Century is young, but with media and consumer habits changing so rapidly, I reckon it’s worth at least mentioning. One line, I believe, mentioned the need for more integrated campaigns going forward, and a few of the on-screen graphics acknowledged that advertising is no longer confined to the television set. But no attention was paid to the trans-cultural nature of brands, user-generated content, the push for online, the death of newspapers (and magazines), or TiVo, all of which are huge players in the constantly-evolving landscape of advertising today. With this oversight, Art & Copy might have been perfectly suited a release in 1999.

I am cynical about advertising. Perhaps because I like to focus more on the branding side of things, but I’m one of those guys who wouldn’t mind if all advertising disappeared overnight. (yes, I know there are economical logistical issues to work on) But even I, the cynic, have to give props to some of the campaigns over the years that have moved us forward. These are one that do become art, and do end up in that same corner of our brain where we store fond memories of childhood Christmases. Here are a few featured in the film. They are indeed timeless. (in no particular order)

Wendy’s – Where’s the Beef (1984)

MTV – I Want My MTV (1981)

Nike – Failure (1999)

Nike – If You Let Me Play Sports (1995)

Milk – Got Milk? (Aaron Burr) (1993)

Braniff Airlines – End of the Plain Plane (1965)

Reagan ’84 – It’s Morning in America (1984)

Johnson ’64 – Daisy (1964)

Apple Macintosh – 1984 (1984)

Apple iPod – iPod+iTunes (2003)

[someone please correct me if I got the years wrong. I'm not the expert here.]

So what’s the takeaway from all this? Basically the same thing we’ve been saying all along: advertising can push the limits of art, media, communication, storytelling, and society. But it usually doesn’t. If you’re a client, take a risk once in a while, it may pay off. If you’re an agent, try not to be a dick. Be creative. And don’t take yourself so fucking seriously. (I added that last one myself.)

PS, I think I might have voted for Reagan. A little hyperbolic, but man, what an ad.

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Movie poster are usually pretty lame. Repetitive ideas, groupthink and compromise, templates, and occasionally a Photoshop Disaster. But today, PSD TUTS has compiled a collection of 50 Brilliantly Photoshopped Movie Posters. Not that Photoshop is necessarily employed to retouch or otherwise hoodwink the audience, but these are generally pretty awesome in their artistic composition and/or style of art direction.

Certainly worth a look. By the way, who knew Walk The Line had an awesome poster like the one above? I certainly never saw that one hanging around. (That’s because teaser posters are often much more creative than regular promotional posters. It gets even worse for DVD packaging which is designed to be purchased on impulse in-store.)

Article Here »

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After watching the Oscar-nominated documentary Encounters at the End of the World, I thought it fitting to highlight one of the most underrated design arenas on the planet: the South Pole markers.

Turns out that every year, a new Pole marker is erected and the previous one is retired. It’s kinda like the All-Star game for professional sports, in that regard.

These are great. Have a look »

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It’s been a while in the making, but the new trailer is out. Tell me you don’t want to see this!

better-quality version available on the Objectified site »

I hope Gary & co. follow their model from Helvetica, and host an New York screening for the local black-frame-glasses set.

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Max Payne, the game, introduced a very gritty and dark style of art direction to the small screen. Based on the not-for-kids comic book genre, themes like death, suicide, depression, rage, and morality are painted throughout the bloody and sometimes over-the-top gameplay.

The above posters illustrate this style brilliantly. The first, where the name is more visible, seems more like it could be a box cover in addition to a poster. The second takes a bit more freedom and serves as a less literal, more teasing, approach. (while I can confirm that no angels actually appear in Max Payne, I can’t confirm whether or not they appear in the second, which I never got around to playing (I am a Mac gamer, after all))

But here’s the rub: are these posters too creative? There doesn’t seem to any of the traditional markers of movie posters such as dates, times, actors, etc. Just the name. Obviously, it would entice the fanboys — those who have played and enjoyed the series — but what about mainstream audiences? Either way, get me a copy of these!

via Movie Poster Addict »

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Check out the poster for the new Jim Carrey movie “Yes Man“. Try and tell me this isn’t heavily inspired by Barack Obama’s campaign posters and the overall style of art direction found on his site and in print. Aside from the soft blue gradient backgrounds and inoffensive sans-serif type, we are bombarded by the word YES, as in Yes, We Can.

This isn’t the first movie poster of late to take from the Obama school of design. I commented previously on Luke Wilson’s upcoming flick, and its poster. It’s becoming more and more apparent that the inspiration isn’t all about political rhetoric and civic responsibility, it’s a multi-sensory experience. Will we soon see these design trends trickle down into product, packaging, and maybe even automotive design? How far will Obama infiltrate our modern design culture? Remember the wave of iMac-inspired products back in 1998-99? Are we about to see the “Yes We Can-opener”?

Spotted on MoviePosterAddict »

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