The surprising dangers of fast food

Yum Yum Happy FoodThis short animated film ‘Happy Food’ by Yum Yum is great fun and anyone who likes ketchup will be able to remember a time when they found themselves in this situation.

Luckily there would probably not have been any giant hot dogs around.

We featured one of their other films, Parallel Parking some time ago.

Plus, if you like the film you can also get the characters.

Enjoy!

Downstairs, in The Shed at Clerkenwell Design Week

A handbag?

MaigrauProduct design duo Maigrau’s tables were on display,  all made exclusively in Germany  - they’re just behind those large HANDBAGS which really grabbed us!  

Corking

DeadgooodMeanwhile our good friends Deadgood were showing their Cork Coffee Table – the PR team like objects that are made of cork and are rounded in shape…

In material – Clerkenwell Design Week Review

Imogen heathImogen heath Interiors

Iogen heath material design

Clerkenwell Design Week saw the launch of Imogen Heath’s first full collection of fabrics and wallpapers since establishing her business in July 2011. 

Contemporary, but we thought with a whiff of nostalgia, her patterns have caught the attention of British retailer Heal’s and us too.  An exclusive collection of colourful cushions were on sale and we were just disappointed we didn’t have our largest shopping bag with us… because when we saw SCP Contracts’ Ernest pouffe and Frank pouffe covered in some beautiful textiles we wanted them too!

A light touch – Clerkenwell Design Week Lighting Review

Review by Samantha Dawe, Director, The Think Tank

Clerkenwell Design Week 2012 basked in some very welcome warm sunshine but that didn’t stop us being inside and having a good look around.   Particularly this year it seemed that lighting was at the forefront of some intriguing design options and what was being shown would certainly create an impact in any space.  

As part of an expanded programme for CDW, a new site was included for exhibition space – the buildings and grounds of the Order of St John. Upstairs the light streamed through the stained glass windows but that did not dim the impact of Vessel Gallery’s display of unique and limited edition lighting.      

Whilst Tsai and Yoshikawa’s sculpted piece ‘Blooming Spark I’ was centre stage, each piece displayed was a work of art in its own right.  

 Tsai and Yoshikawa
 

While big is not always best, Guinness Book of Records holder Beau McClellan’s (world’s largest chandelier) eponymous company had presented a stunning large-scale lighting installation which hung in the Farmiloe Building and appeared to change colour.

Beau McClellan
     

Beau McClelland

Looking down from the upper tier of the Building on this installation and the Anglepoise stand was a moment to savour.          

Anglepoise

The heat was rising but we took the plunge and continued to climb where we spotted Lightyears’ elegant lamps, highlighting the best qualities of minimalistic Scandinavian design. Simplicity is beautiful.  

Lightyear

                     

Alongside this Swedese, exhibiting we were told for the first time at CDW, was showing pieces launched at this year’s Stockholm Furniture Fair but again it was the lighting that caught our eye.  Maybe it was that the pieces lent themselves so well to creating atmosphere and intrigue in this quirky building where they seemed right at home.

SwedeseSwedese

Bloomberg Businessweek offers Euro crisis relief

Bloomberg Businessweek
Bloomberg Businessweek magazine has offered some light relief from the Euro crisis. We feel a brick wall may also be appropriate!

Earned, owned and paid for

Media FragmentationThe Think Tank PR team has been discussing ‘Earned’, ‘Owned’ and ‘Paid for’ media.  This came about as we saw a quote in PR Week from Freud Communications’ chairman, Matthew Freud, saying that: “The basic model for media and marketing is broken”.  

While media fragmentation has long been talked about we thought it was interesting that it is the interactive marketing space which is helping use define new universes.  

Although full definitions may vary, the basic premise is that ‘Owned’ media is the channel you control such as your website, or partially-owned, your company Facebook page or Twitter account.  

‘Earned’ media covers press coverage, however the term has evolved to cover the word-of-mouth that is being created through social media channels.  

‘Paid for’ media does what is says on the tin, and covers advertising in its many formats online and in print, and extends into paid search for example.  

Categorising your media in this way helps to identify the roles they can play in delivering your communications; understanding their benefits and challenges can be a critical next step, and of course that they work best working together.  

But of course the real test is what you say, not just how you are delivering your message, and increasingly how you are then listening, engaging and responding is key in this new ‘networked’ age.

A blind date to remember

IRN-BRU Advertising
Scary ad for IRN-BRU – puts you off blind dates for life!

The ghost in the kitchen

GhostThis great little kitchen gadget was created by Taiwanese designer Chih-Ching Yang. ‘Gasper Pad’ is a dish pad shaped as a ghost.

Creating a decorative piece, that could be displayed on the worktop, whilst providing a heat protective mat it stands as a ghost when not in use and when a hot pan is placed on it the ‘Gasper Pad’ stretches down and outward into a protective mat.

GhostGreat practical design with a fun twist.

See more here.

What babies actually mean

What babies say

This is a very funny ad that suggests what babies might actually be saying if we could understand them.

Made us chuckle:

Get your boots on with Nike Football

Get your football boots ready for Euro 2012 with this interactive video by Nike Football.

Featuring some of Europe’s biggest football stars, look out for the hidden videos to interact with from the Nike Barber Shop to training with Ronaldo.

Get you kit on for a high energy ride!

Enjoy

Click here to view

Attachment

The perfect cup of tea

Tobyboo cup
Tobyboo setTobyboo TeapotIf you’re looking forward to the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee then what better way to celebration than with the perfect cup of tea in these gorgeous mugs featuring a London Skyline design.

These stunning homewares were created by Tobyboo and are decorated with unique designs from free hand embroidered illustrations enhanced digitally for printing.

They feature on tea cups, tea pots and a range of tea towels and soft furnishings to complete the perfect tea party.     But it doesn’t stop there you can then use the patterned sticky tape with city skylines ranging from London, Glasgow and Manchester to wrap as a gift.   

Find out more here.

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2012 design unveiled

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion
Serpentine Gallery PavilionThe design of the ‘2012 Serpentine Gallery Pavilion‘ has been unveiled and is a collaborative work between Swiss based architects Herzog & de Meuron and Chinese architect Ai Weiwe.

It will officially open on 1st June and be open to the public until 14th October

Visitors will go five feet beneath Kensington Gardens to see the hidden history of previous pavilions, represented by eleven columns. A platform roof with a reflective surface of water floats 1.4 meters above the recessed floor plane and is visible to people on the lawn of the park above. Apparently the water may be drained at times transforming the roof into an impromptu dance floor or event space.

See more of this pavillion on Design Boom.

Flying high with Virgin Atlantic

Virgin Atlantic Upper Class Cabin
Virgin Atlantic Upper Class Cabin
If you, like us, have never had the pleasure of travelling Upper Class with Virgin Atlantic then see what you’ve been missing.

The first Virgin Atlantic A330 flight took off from London to New York recently with a brand new bar and Upper Class cabin designed by VW + BS Studio in partnership with the Virgin Atlantic team.

Definitely not what you expect to see at 30,000ft.

See more of this amazing new cabin on Design Boom.

Miniature sculptures stand tall

Nic Joly Sculpture 1
Nic Joly Sculpture 2Nic Joly Sculpture 3
This collection of miniature figurines frozen in small-scale narratives by Hampshire based sculptor Nic Joly are entitled ‘Under Foot’.

The concept originally started as a hobby in 2006, creating miniature toys to entertain his two children. It’s now become a full-time occupation, creating sculptures of tiny people, typically moulded at a height of one centimeter. 

These are just a few of his interesting pieces – see a lot more here on Design Boom.

New W Hotel in Koh Samui is a sight for sore eyes

W Hotel
W Hotel Koh SamuiW Hotel
The New W Hotel in Koh Samui is just stunning.  In an amazing retreat round lounge spaces emerge from the water to create a spectacular place to relax.

The hotel overlooks the Gulf of Thailand and this beautiful escape was designed by MAPS Design studio as a collection of imagined spaces shaping a welcoming paradise. 

See more of the New W Hotel on FresHome.

What colour is fashion across Europe?

Pimkie Colour Forecast
Pimkie Colour ForecastThis project by Pimkie called Color Forecast has been developed by Pedro Cruz and runs feeds from high definition cameras in Milan, Paris and Antwerp to track the colour of fashions worn across the cities.

The software analyzes the passing colors and shows in real time which colors are worn most often, then the colors are compiled into an infographic to see how trends evolve..

Can this forecast the trends and how our colour tastes change over the seasons? An interesting project.

See the website here and see how it works below.

Buttered-cat paradox comes to the screens in Brazil

Buttered Cat
If you haven’t heard of the buttered-cat paradox then this ad by Ogilvy & Mather Brazil will make it all very clear.

Combine the law or physics that cats always land on their feet and buttered toast always lands on the buttered side down and you get a limitless source of electricity. The world’s energy resource problem is solved.

Not one for cat lovers I’m afraid.

Saatchi & Saatchi revamps Thailand office

Saatchi & Saatchi Thailand
Saatchi & Saatchi ThailandSaatchi & Saatchi ThailandSaatchi & Saatchi ThailandSaatchi & Saatchi Advertising in Thailand engaged Supermachine Studio to revamp their offices and have come up with a very creative space.

The brief was to enhance the social atmosphere within the space and encourage staff’s creativity and imagination. Everyday objects have been used throughout and the office has been separated into two zones: the creative zone and the managing zone.

Arch Daily reviews the space and says, ‘The creative zone was designed to be open and bright where people can communicate broadly, share ideas and get inspired together as it was important for them to work as a family. On the other side, the managing zone has a darker tone atmosphere yet with colorful decorations in order to show that they too need excitement at work. In between, their lies a playful trophy wall and a bicycle wall for passer-by and facility zone with pink colored walls to create liveliness for the lifeless programs.’

Great fun and very inspiring – see more on Arch Daily.

Photographs © Wison Tungthunya

Shock advertising for journalistic freedom

CJFE
CJFE 2CJFEThis hard hitting press campaign for the Canadian Journalists for Free Expression highlights the plight of correspondents working overseas and the risks they take to bring us the real news.

They were created by agency Juniper Park in Toronto, Canada

Live commercial in New York gets right up your nose

Febreze Live Ad New York
To prove just how good their air freshners are, Febreze held a live commercial in New York city, inviting blindfolded New Yorkers to guess where they were.

The venue was an old sea container that originally held fish – but not what the audience thought.

See how it went below:

http://creativity-online.com/video/player.swf

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