….attending the Oslo Freedom Forum which is run by our friends at the Human Rights Foundation in NYC. An
eclectic mix of people are here and some really inspirational speakers making for what is an incredible experience.
You can watch the highlights at www.oslofreedomforum.com
Today is an exciting day for Baby…why? Because it is the launch of our new ad campaign for VSO.
We’re really proud of this campaign - why? Because it is different, it breaks the rules, it plays a to a new angle. For we have put together a new campaign that is counter-instinctive…yes anti-instinct. Why? Because when most people see development charity ads or images of poverty plastered across the media their natural instinct is to want to send: money, food, equipment etc – that is great but if we had developed ads around this it would have been the same as so many other charities’ rather formulaic approach – yawn!! Yep another ad that fails to break convention!
However, we at Baby spotted an amazing truth – that the power of VSO is that it is not an ordinary charity. Its USP lies in the fact that it sends people…these people are skilled professionals who can really make a difference.
In film, online and in press we have demonstrated that by supporting VSO you can do more, you can go beyond your instinct, you can do much more…check out our work and see how through the power of people VSO goes that extra mile and does so much more in the crucial “fight against poverty”
visit www.beyondinstinct.org.uk
Posted in baby creative
Some brand logos are art in themselves, and creative agency Dorothy has taken this notion an extra step. In a project titled You Took My Name, the agency has removed the brand names from some very recognizable logos (i.e. as Starbucks actually did last month). The result are super simplistic graphics that are quite pleasing to the eye. How many can you name?
The project has received extremely positive feedback online, including queries about purchasing the artwork. We can completely see why — by definition these logos need to be attractive, and the absence of the brand name strips them of any corporate apprehension. The simple flatness of the artworks are so easy to take in, and we would love to see Dorothy produce more!
(Sources: Dorothy and Creative Inspiration)
Posted in advertising, art, creative, design
Tagged art, brand logos, brands, creative, design, Dorothy, graphic design, logos, simplicity, We Are Dorothy
D&AD (Design & Art Direction) turns 50 next year.To mark its birthday, the D&AD Awards will now distribute a White Pencil, in addition to its two coveted Black and Yellow Pencils. The D&AD is an institution that exists to encourage, inspire, and celebrate creativity in the design and communications world, and winning at their annual awards ceremony is quite the achievement for anyone in our world.
The White Pencil will be bestowed upon those behind a creative idea that “changes the world for the better,” and 2012 will mark its debut. We’re very excited about this one because we covet ideas that inspire change, and can only imagine the competition that this award will stir up amongst all creative minds.
Essentially, each year D&AD will partner with a charitable organisation and challenge the creative world to develop a communications strategy for them. The accolade will then be awarded to the creators of the idea that D&AD members feel will inspire positive behavioural change in the world.
From our many dealings with charitable organisations, we have come to realise that truly inspiring campaigns require the most creative thinking if they plan to do more than just raise awareness — they have to get people talking and acting. Hence, we are very excited to see what amazing creativity will come of this award each year. The 2012 partner organisation will be Peace One Day (read the brief from D&AD here), who aim to promote the acknowledgment of World Peace Day on 21 September.
Let the games begin!
(Sources: Creative Review and D&AD)
Posted in advertising, art, baby creative, charity, creative, design
Tagged advertising, art direction, awards ceremony, charity, creative, D&AD Awards, design, Peace One Day
Designer and programmer Juan Osborne develops portraits using words and phrases directly related to the respective subject of the portrait. Osborne creates his own programs to make these inspiring works possible. Here are a few of our favourites:
Produced with engagement announcement search terms
Featuring words from over 100 Obama speeches
Made using the lyrics from ‘Imagine’
Osborne not only uses words to create his portraits, but also images. Here is one we found especially cool, that is compiled of screenshots from Osborne’s 10 favourite Hitchcock movies:
We love the impressionist aspect of Osborne’s work — from up close, the images are merely words (or smaller images), but when stepping back the iconic figure takes its shape. We also appreciate that Osborne develops his own software to create his artwork. He has said, “There are no limits to creativity – if I need something or think of a new way to make something I just create a new application to do it.” Check out his website for further experiments and projects, as well as a plethora of more portraits!
(Sources: My Modern Met and Juan Osborne)
Posted in art, creative, design, technology
Tagged art, creative, design, graphic design, Hitchcock, John Lennon, Juan Osborne, Obama, photography, portraits, programming, royal wedding, words
In his newest business venture, Richard Branson is offering the ability to reach ocean depths that have never been explored before. The Virgin Oceanic will be the first submarine to be able to sustain operation at 37,000 feet below sea level. Watch the video below to see its design:
Though we admit that some of Branson’s product extensions have been a bit too much, we think this is awesome. We can’t imagine how much one of these trips would cost but are intrigued to see the footage that will come of this new exploration! Branson will be a co-pilot along with pilot Chris Welsh. Very cool.
Happy Friday!
(Source: Geek.com)
Posted in design, environment, technology, transport
Tagged below sea level, exploration, Sir Richard Branson, Submarine, Virgin
We really like these bookshelves from Greek-Italian architect and designer Kostas Syrtariotis, aptly titled BookTree. The designs were exhibited at the kidsroomzoom event at Milan Design Week:
The bookshelves are easy to assemble and are attached to a wall with just two screws.
We think these are a really creative, modern portal to get children excited about reading and about showing off their books and subsequent knowledge.
Keeping with the children’s theme, we must commend Hot Wheels’ recent advertising in Bogotá, Colombia from Ogilvy and Mather:
The monstrous poster is quite life-like and is guaranteed to garner some double-takes. After all, what child wouldn’t want to go on a real life loop after subjecting their invincible/invisible Hot Wheels drivers to such daredevil fun?!
(Sources: MyModernMet and Neatorama)
Posted in advertising, art, creative, design, transport
Tagged advertising, Bogota, bookshelves, children, Colombia, design, Hot Wheels, Milan Design Week 2011, reading
Here at Baby, we love Mad Men (we may or may not regularly sip brandy during meetings). Hearing that we wouldn’t get another taste of Don Draper until 2012 was hard to handle, so we are grasping for anything Mad Men-esque that we can find. We came across this glorious set of photographs from photographer Ben Sandler that is certainly inspired by the 1960′s fashion and lifestyle epitomised in the series.
Furthermore, the Typescreen for iPads now offers a way for us to embody Mad Men characters in the 21st century! We love the classic, sleek feel of punching away at a typewriter, but functioning ones and their ink are expensive and hard to come by, plus their “erasing” was never quite seamless.
The Typescreen is also beneficial for those of us with bigger fingers (or even average size really), a problem which can make excessive typing on iPads quite annoying. We think this is a very cool accessory, and its an officially licensed Apple product.
(Sources: FastCo Design and Design Fetish)
Posted in advertising, creative, design, technology
Tagged advertising, apple, Apple product, creative, design, iPad, Mad Men, photography, typewriter
Dutch architect Ramon Knoester is making the best of a trashy situation (pun intended, ha). He has plans to construct the world’s only fully-sustainable island built out of garbage. In the northern Pacific Ocean, a gargantuan garbage pile has accumulated in an area estimated to be twice the size of Texas. Knoester’s island will be about the size of Hawaii, and is planned to feature a single family home with a solar roof, compost toilets, blue energy from wave motion, and a sustainable agricultural system. We think is a very cool way to deal with our planet’s excess of trash , are incredibly envious of anyone who gets to visit it, and hope to see more of these in the future!
For more information on what is dubbed the Great Pacific Garbage Patch this video, which is quite depressing, sheds light on the capacity of this phenomenon.
On a lighter note, it’s Friday! Our advertising this week comes from Mother New York for Target and features an amazing light show done at the Standard Hotel in New York City. The event actually happened last year, but we just came across this video today, and had to share. Watch below:
Though the extravagance of the lights wholly distracted us from the clothing featured, we thought this was a great ploy on Target’s part. As evident in the video, people all over NY got to see the show, even if they weren’t planning on it. This seems like something a major fashion house would do, so kudos to Target for executing it so well.
Happy Friday!
(source: Dvice)
Posted in advertising, art, Conservation, creative, design, environment, green, home, Plants, video
Tagged advertising, agriculture, compost, environment, fashion, garbage, green, Pacfific Garbage Patch, recycle, sustainability, Target
As if our creatives needed yet another reason to be obsessed with every Mac product made ever, Adobe is developing a “real” Photoshop app (not Photoshop Express) for the iPad 2. If all goes as planned, this app will feature nearly all of the image manipulating tools available on a computer. With the original iPad, a full version of the program was not possible due to hardware limitations, whereas advancements on the iPad 2 can make this creative’s dream come true. Watch the video here to see a few of the app’s conceptual abilities, as demonstrated at Photoshop World 2011.
Although the app is still in the conceptual stages and we have no release date to mark on our calendars (or our iCals), we are really looking forward to the concept coming to fruition.We love that Adobe is working to generate more resources for our creatives! Now, if only everyone in the office got a complimentary iPad 2. . .
(Source: Photography Bay)
Posted in advertising, art, creative, design, technology, video
Tagged Adobe, apps, iPad2, iPad2 app, photo manipulation, photo-editing, photoshop, Photoshop World
