Moving Brands

The Dark Ages (but not as we know them)

One of our Twitter friends wrote to ask whether the recent powercuts in the EC2 area had “hurt”. Following the Design Week “scoop” on the predicament and struggling to respond in 160 characters, I’m turning to the blog. Yesterday was our third powercut since the New Year and the studio is now at the point where we are saving work as soon as the lights begin to ominously flicker. With another set of rooms across the road from the main MB building, key staff working to deadlines are able to re-locate there without too much stress. For everyone else, however, it has been a real lesson in the increasing irrelevance of being desk-bound. Aside from lack of server access, most of us were able to revert to iPhones and laptops to keep things rolling. Heck, I was back tweeting in no time! Companies are increasingly embracing the freedom of hot desking and remote access, in many cases accepting that this modern, moving, always “on” world calls for both employers and employees to be more flexible about how and when the work gets done. Freed from our desks yesterday, we were able to extend brainstorming sessions, re-locate easily and without fuss, and allow individuals to manage their own ways of working. Bring on the powercuts!

Logorama wins Oscar

Animation, ‘Logorama’ won Best Animated Short at the 82nd Academy Awards last night. The short uses famous logos to create a hyper-branded vision of L.A. Based on a traditional ‘cop and robber’ storyline, the short makes a comment on the increased use of product placement in film.

Experts in brand “me”

As part of some research on “yoof” trends this week, I re-encountered Kesh. Kesh is a fashion designer/magazine editor/stylist/DJ/presenter/art director/photographer. Not bad for a 23 year old. The only job title missing from the extensive list, however, is accomplished an self-promoter. Kesh is the mistress of cultivating fans and supporters – employing a range of social media platforms to reach people. Harnessing free applications online has allowed Kesh to enter and compete in markets that were previously impenetrable. She has a MySpace page, which links to her retail store. She’s recently moved from a Blogspot blog to the more popular Tumblr. She tweets and maintains a Facebook page. Whereever her target audience is, she is too. And it has worked. Starting out as a backing dancer for M.I.A, in 2007 she launched a line in collaboration with Topman, has been featured in a fairly unwatchable documentary by BBC Switch and now she’s in L.A conquering Stateside. No matter what you feel the sum of the parts add up to, it is impossible to deny that Kesh represents the dangerously savvy generation who are unashamedly adapt at promoting themselves. These are the brand managers of the future – cultivating a range of platforms to convey a unified message and develop a following. Watch and learn.

Sketch-a-Move

Sketch-a-move is a concept for a toy car that allows you to explore the unique relationships between small surface doodles and actual physical movements. If you draw a circle on the top of the toy car, it will move in a circle. If you draw a complicated spiral, the car will move in a spiral. This idea opened up fascinating play possibilities and showed how not only children, but even adults could spend hours playing with it. In collaboration with Louise Klinker: www.lwk.dk

A really nice example of the use of video for prototyping!

Shane MacGowan and Friends ‘I Put A Spell On You’ in aid of Concern Worldwide’s work in Haiti

This is absolutely fantastic! A brilliant cover version of the Screaming Jay Hawkins’ track ‘ I put a spell on you’ performed by some fantastic musicians and for a good cause! Initiated by Shane MacGowan it has Nick Cave, Bobby Gillespie, Mick Jones, Johnny Depp (on guitar), Chrissie Hynde, Paloma Faith (who absolutely rocks on it) Glen Matlock and Eliza Doolittle.

I love the voodoo references. We need more of these creative collaborations for a good cause! Start donating here

Moving Brands San Francisco Officially Launched!

Today activities to mark the official launch of Moving Brands Inc, San Francisco begin. To the left you can see a photo of our new studio, with CEO and founder Ben Wolstenholme, in the foreground. Apparently Ben has already been helping MB SF members with some cultural learnings – starting with English language (”naff”, “jumpers”, etc) and the Americans have reciprocated with classics such as “git ‘er done”, “for sure”. It’s clearly a learning curve on both sides. For lots more information about the new studio and Ben Wolstenholme, please check out the ‘Press‘ section of our website.

SHIBUKASA Project x FRISK launch promotion

There were number of people using an orange umbrella in Shibuya (Tokyo) the morning of 1st March. It was for the launch promotion for orange flavor mints. Not only was it visually interesting, but also they are going to give the umbrellas to the “Shibukasa Project” after the launch event which is really cool idea.

“Shibukasa Project” was established by a group of university students in Tokyo – taking advantage of a “community currency” system (The Earth Day Money system) already in place in Shibuya Ward. This project is to reuse discarded plastic umbrellas and by returning a Shibukasa — which can be identified by a sky-blue umbrella logo — to a cafe or other store that keeps them, the borrower will receive Earth Day Money, which is accepted at some establishments in the ward.

The Earth Day Money system is run by the nonprofit organization Earth Day Money Association. The currency, which can be obtained through volunteer services (number of selected NPO projects to do a good things for the earth like picking up trash etc..), is good at more than 70 member eateries and shops mainly in Shibuya Ward. It can be used for partial payment of items or redeemed for desserts, herbal teas and the like. Community currency has been circulating in Shibuya since 2001.

I think quite interesting idea to combine the promotion with the Shibukasa project which is already incorporated into the Earth Money System to raise awareness of recycling but also bring the community closer together.

Extreme spectating

Two weeks ago was the Maverick’s big wave surf contest – a break at Half Moon Bay, just 30 minutes south of the San Francisco studio. Some of the biggest waves in history were recorded, with faces reaching 50 ft. According to reports, “Thirteen people were injured, with two immediately taken to hospitals. Eleven others were being treated at the beach for injuries including a couple broken legs and broken hands”. And that was just the spectators! Such were the force of the waves, that even supporters were smacked by rogue waves. Watch a film from the contest here.

Project Canvas

An interesting new platform has been showcased at last week’s BVE trade exhibition which represents the closing gap between entertainment and social networking. Project Canvas, is “a proposed partnership between the BBC, ITV, C4, Five, BT and Talk Talk to build an open internet-connected TV platform”. As well as creating a technical standard for internet connected TV devices, the proposal also includes a split-screen experience with networked conversations on sites such as Twitter appearing next to TV pictures.

With many people already known to watch TV whilst also browsing the internet, Project Canvas marks an inevitable shift for the media industry. Previous blog posts on here about the reach of shows such as Glee and the Superbowl have already highlighted the role online interaction is having in boosting viewing figures, increasing brand awareness and, ultimately, acting as a drive to consumption. Added to the expected lift on the ban for product placement on UK TV, and we are likely to see a dramatic shift in how people watch and consumer media in their homes.

(Apologies for low quality movie – currently only example of the demo available)

Home sweet home

MB’s Darren and Jeannette sent this photo from our new Zurich studio. Furniture is in and sign is up. And apparently they heard a Swisscom radio ad with our sonic mnemonic at the end hhhmmm hhhmmm hhhhmmmm la la la.

Tweet-off at the Frontline Club

On Tuesday night I attended an incredibly lively and well-tweeted debate at The Frontline Club on the role social media might play in the upcoming UK election . On the panel was Guido Fawkes, of Order-order.com; Chris Condron, head of digital strategy for the Press Association; Alberto Nardelli CEO and co-founder of Tweetminster.com and Channel 4 News presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy. Niall Paterson of Sky News moderated.

With Krishnan toying occasionally with his Blackberry to tweet the progress, the panel discussed what platforms such as Twitter and Facebook will mean for the party leaders. We have already seen examples of politicians pressing ’send’ in anger, leaving their spin department reeling. Modern politics, like modern brands, need to learn the immediacy and openness of social networks and the associated risks for blunders which go together with the benefits of conversation.

In terms of social media becoming a “game changer”, the overall sentiment was that traditional broadcast media is still the key medium for swaying voters and that social media provided early warning signs, not scoops. Much reference was made to Obama’s digital media campaign and the conclusion was made that while, “if you have a Twitter strategy it’s probably shit”, the parties will need to be “cleverer and quicker” about responding to stories in the battle to the polls.

Overall, the main takeout was that politicians and the parties they represent need to behave more like brands if they are to cut through the noise. A set of unified messages, conveyed on the appropriate platforms by a person with character needs to be the leading strategy, before they even start to reach for their Blackberries. For tweets from the discussion check out the frontlineclub hash tag.

Scotch Corner trailer released

MB’s James Bull has been continuing work on his short film Scotch Corner. The University of Arts London’s Alumni have featured an interview with James and Alex Lake, who worked on the film with him. Alex and James graduated from Central Saint Martins back in 1997 – and Scotch Corner is the first time he’s worked with Alex since Keane. See the new trailer here and to the left. And click here to read the UAL interview.

Making the cut

The MB London studio has been lucky enough to add another snappy dresser to the considerable ranks of sartorial excellence already present. Harry Woodrow, currently working here as a designer for one of our luxury fashion clients, has more than a pair of great cufflinks up his sleeve. Harry also runs his own bespoke tailoring company. With his designer friend Charlie, and Sam, a tailor, out in Hong Kong, Mellow Woodrow start with a cup of tea and a chat before creating high quality suits which are made to the individual styles and tastes of their customers. Check out his website here.

Ooh laa laa c’est Playmobile!

The lovely San-San Chan recently visited Paris and returned with this recommendation for the studio. “If any of you happen to get to Paris before May 2010, make sure you pop into the Musee Arts Decoratifs. There is the best exposition on Playmobil at the moment taking you through the history of one of the world’s favourite toys (up there with Lego!) for all generations! Huge Playmobil figurines stood in a beautiful ornate museum (part of the Louvre building) and created scenarios made up of thousands of figures!

Not just for the kids. It will bring you back to those happy days.

The Third & The Seventh

The Third & The Seventh from Alex Roman on Vimeo.

I came across this video a week ago now and was struck by the romance of the idea of one man, on his journey around the world, exploring wondrous untouched corners and crevices, which it has to offer. Almost a modern day Man with a Movie Camera. I later found out, almost as a slight disappointment that this was infact all Full CG. More of an achievement, perhaps? Remarkable, none the less.

Pray silence for the Super Bowl adverts!

This past weekend us digital geeks watched another event – the US Super Bowl – unfold on the internet, revealing further insight into how people consume media and the current lay of the land for modern advertising. Sev, who is currently here on internship from Atlanta, has noticed a change in focus from the game to the ads. He has witnessed a fundamental shift in the way people watch the Super Bowl. Instead of the attention of the room given silently during the programme, with chat taking place during the commercial break, Sev thinks the opposite is now the case, with Super Bowl advertising being the key parts “not to miss”.

This trend is reinforced by the cross-over television and its advertising is fast making into the digital world. This year’s Super Bowl ads were uploaded to YouTube as they aired – allowing everyone to instantly re-watch, share and discuss the most talked about (and expensive) commercials of the year. Case in point was Google’s first televised commercial. Google’s spot, which has already been online since November, added another one million views to its existing 500k over Super Bowl weekend. A recent report on the Nielsen website, revealed that being online is increasingly as much a part of the event experience, as watching it on television. Connecting with other viewers and sharing opinion accounted for 32% of simultaneous users. With the rise in personal devices which stream videos, the elite fraternity of companies shelling out $3 million per 30 second spot are guaranteed more bang for their buck. Their only challenge now is to be the one commercial EVERYONE is still talking about come Monday.

UPDATE: The 2010 Super Bowl was the most watched television programme ever, drawing an average audience of 106.5 million viewers and taking over the spot held for 27 years by the final episode of M*A*S*H.

Proudly announcing: Moving Brands Inc.

In conjunction with the piece in today’s Design Week, we are pleased to officially announce the launch of our new studio in San Francisco. Moving Brands’ CEO and founder, Ben Wolstenholme (pictured), moved with his family to live full-time in the city in early 2010. The new Moving Brands studio, located in San Francisco’s eclectic SOMA neighborhood, will enable us to service the fast moving needs of our West Coast clients as well as the wider U.S. market. The San Francisco studio is our fourth global division, with studios already in London, Tokyo and Zurich.

Keep checking back to the MB blog for further updates of the launch as it rolls out state-side.

Toscani keeping a perspective on what design is

Absolutely fantastic debate on our profession. Toscani laying down some strong views and putting a context on what we actually do in a social political sense. ” We are a bunch of privileged people that decide to be a designer!” and think twice before you call a client “client” again…”what? are you selling potatoes?”
So there we go…

Crunchy hits the streets

London based artist, Ronzo, has released his latest sculpture work: ‘Pity of London’. The limited edition series of street sculptures celebrates the recent announcement of the long awaited end to the UK recession. Each sculpture consists of a little silver Credit Crunch Monster sitting on a 1,2 meter high plinth. ‘Pity of London’ serves as a reminder that the monsters are still wide-eyed, able to blend into everyday life and still hungry enough to crunch any available credit. Let’s hope the busy bankers notice them as the rush to spend their newly reinstated bonuses!

The iPad – round up

And so the iPad has launched and the internet is awash with news items, blogs, tweets, user photos and videos, lovers, haters, iPad hash tags and comic observations. For those who are Pro the Pad, the majority view is that the device looks fantastic, works like a dream and is well priced. For the “iMeh”s, however, Jobs has come under criticism over the fact that there is no camera, you can’t multitask and it doesn’t support Flash. As ‘Hitler’ comments in the immediately viral video currently doing the rounds, “I wanted to watch videos of LOL Cats while laying on the couch!”. The iPad is maybe not going to redefine the market the way iPhone and iTunes did, but perhaps like the iPod, the evolution of the device is what will be the most interesting. We’re watching this space and waiting for the UK launch!

Buy the ticket, take the ride

Our friend Nathan of Renderheads sent over this video of “hyper” augmented reality. A slightly freaky vision of the future and one which makes us want to live in a cave with only the bare essentials (iphone, microwave and Wired magazine).

Interactive vs. Reactive

PAPPELTALKS from vizage on Vimeo.

Found this via the fantastic today and tomorrow blog. This CD cover designed by Hubero Kororo, leaks ink upon opening, thus creating a unique artwork where the user completes the design. T&T described the project as ‘interactive’ and I suppose to a degree it is. The fact that the trigger, and process, by which it creates surprise and mystery, is  characteristic of a lot of interaction design. But I think it’s more reactive, the process can only be controlled a little and it’s a one time only event. There is something very beautiful about it and I find something really refreshing in the analogue, physical way it works.

Illustrator helps appeal for Haiti

MB’s Andy spent last night helping his friend Mr Bingo package 300 plus postcard sized prints. Mr.Bingo is an illustrator and has been working very hard to raise some money for the relief effort in Haiti following last week’s devastating earthquake. He is offering two 100mm x150mm prints for sale at £5 each – with every single penny going to UNICEF’s Haiti Earthquake Children’s Appeal.
Through the powers of internet he has already managed to raise an amazing £1800 and growing rapidly. Over just 48 hours. He has already gained vital publicity and support from all the main creative blogs.

There are two different prints for sale. Please look at his site for visuals. Each one is hand silkscreened on 350gsm Bright White Colourplan paper and signed by him. Paper for this charitable project was donated by GFSmith and screenprinting done by K2 Screen.

To see the work and to do your bit click here.

Mag+

I know I am a little late with this post, but I’ve only just woken up from a wholesomely severe xmas idling fest…

Berg have made a lovely conceptual video exploring the experience of reading magazines on handheld digital devices. A collaborative research project initiated by Bonnier R&D it aims and delivers at capturing the essence of magazine reading.
It strips all abundant information, concentrates on the power of a stunning spread and adds digital finesse in an imaginative and tactile way. The reader can rub content to start a “heated” mode, which pulls up a radial menu with contextual appropriate options (bookmark, send to friend etc).
Rock on Berg!

Read more here

The Man Who Shot the 60s

Great documentary on BBC iplayer- about 60s photographer Brian Duffy and to a lesser extent his contemporaries Terrence Donovan and David Bailey. As far as I can tell these guys pretty much paved the way for modern photography and kicked against the staid, formal styles which had come before. Really stirring stuff and the film gives a real insight into the brash, refreshing attitudes which created such iconic, beautiful, and influential work.

Check it out on iplayer (quick only a few days left!) and click here for a good article on Times Online about ‘The Terrible Three’.

Gleeks

Unless you’ve been living in a cave these past few weeks, or do not have access to a tv, a radio, a computer, a mobile phone or a newspaper, you will be fully aware of the new American import phenomenon that is Glee. A cross between High School Musical 1, 2 and 3, Mean Girls, American Idol and 30 Rock, the show mixes high school life with sardonic wit and killer tunes. Last night’s installment on E4 drew in 1.2m viewers – a high share for a Monday night. What’s most intriguing is the show’s business model. Instead of relying on merchandise to earn extra bucks, Glee is capitalising on its young audience’s preference for watching tv online. Increasingly, people are “shopping the screen”, responding to product placement instantly online. By airing close to the “clicks”, Glee can turn the songs featured on the show into immediate iTunes hits, as the line between being a viewer and consumer blurs.

Design Practice at Camberwell

Aspirational young designers who are read this blog may be interested to learn that Camberwell’s BA in Graphic Design now also has an FdA in Design Practice running alongside. The course has been designed in consultation with key industry practitioners such as Intro, Bibliotheque, Onedotzero and us – Moving Brands. To find out more click here.

Coca-Cola “Happiness Machine”

The future of all vending machines no doubt!

The life of a building

N Building from Alexander Reeder on Vimeo.

With several MBers currently in Tokyo, we thought to suggest checking out this “living” building. The makers of N Building say, “Being a commercial building signs or billboards are typically attached to its facade which we feel undermines the structures’ identity. As a solution we thought to use a QR Code as the facade itself. By reading the QR Code with your mobile device you will be taken to a site which includes up to date shop information. In this manner we envision a cityscape unhindered by ubiquitous signage and also an improvement to the quality and accuracy of the information itself”. This project brings a whole new dimension to the architectural belief in the “life” of a building. This way, people are able to interact with the structure before they’ve even stepped in the door.

Audio visual upper and blues lifter for the virtually fatigued generation zzz

If you are already feeling bored with your new “2010 Self” then this will put you back in touch with real life…or just don’t watch it.

Lessons from a Tailor

Galen Summer has directed this beautiful short film documenting tailor Martin Greenfield at his factory in New York. Martin’s a huge character, at one point he says with a proud smile “I take care of a lot of people who want to wear good clothes”. The film has a gentle pace to it, adding to Martin’s warmth. It’s all tied together with Ed David’s rich, deep photography.

I’d love to see a film like this telling the stories of Savile Row.

Editable Ad

Absolutely great ad, brilliantly shot and cut together. Really nice to see a ad like this actually done well rather than just cheese.
http://en.tackfilm.se/?id=1262887917478RA13

AR in The Guardian

Guardian Media and Technology reporter, Mercedes Bunz, today posted the first of a two-part look at Augmented Reality. To reiterate our comment on the piece, we are very excited to see The Guardian giving some column inches to this technology. Check the piece out here and check back to the site tomorrow, when Mercedes is covering AR and journalism. Wonder if our Living Identity paper will get a shout out?

Speaking of shout outs, KanYe West gave our work for KEF a nod on his blog over the Christmas break. Thanks KanYe! And on this one, we’re gonna let you finish.

Decode at the V&A

Firstly, a very Happy New Year! And straight on to the first post for 2010. I and MB alum, Zoe B, succeeding in extricating ourselves from our respective sofas and away from the temptations of Christmas leftovers, to spend a few hours checking out the Decode exhibition at the V&A, in collaboration with onedotzero. The exhibition was focused around three key themes, ‘Code’, ‘Interactivity’ and ‘Networks’, with pieces ranging from screen-based graphics to large installations. Coming from Moving Brands, where we are  fully immersed in the digital world and have also worked with many of the artists represented, it was wonderful to see the latest manifestations of this new art form.  Foremost, it was brilliant to watch the general public become absorbed and entertained by the work on show. From the visualisation of global networks to more whimsical interactive pieces, the show proved how the digital world can step away from pages of code to provide experiences which can be both informative and engaging. Decode runs until April, with many related events also running.

Check out Panja’s Flickr set from the show here.

Happy Holidays!

This is it – the last blog post for 2009 and it’s been quite a year. We’ve won awards, we’ve developed augmented reality, we’ve legitimately tagged Boris Johnson and Barack Obama, we’ve said hi to some new people, we’ve been all over the world, we’ve been inspired by an array of amazing projects, we’ve made some films, we’ve done a tonne of work and Rex licked the MB logo onto a biscuit. Thank you to all of you who have supported us this year both here and on Twitter. Have great holidays everyone and see you all in 2010!

Brand New Realities

Le monde des montagnes from Cuarto derecha on Vimeo.

Commuters struggling through the snow in London this morning might have noticed a little piece in The Metro on one of our favourite topics, Augmented Reality. The piece, entitled ‘A Brand New Reality’ and by Sanky of D&AD, looks at the potential AR applications hold for brands and some benchmark examples of the technology in action (See Camille Scherrer’s left). Sanky is quoted as saying that AR at its best results from a magic mix – ‘a great concept, annoyingly deft execution and a real-world benefit’. We aren’t prone to showing off, but as it’s Christmas, we are forced to admit that our AR app (viewable here) seems to tick all those boxes. The concept allows for a book to live beyond its printed form. The execution, made in conjunction with the wonderful Renderheads, makes for a jaw-dropping user experience. And we’re seeing a real-world benefit day to day as we use it to talk about our approach. AR is still very much in its infancy and we are in agreement with Sanky when he asserts ‘There’s a way to go until AR is being used most effectively’, but we’re looking forward to the journey.

Creating Mercury Brands

“Mercury Brands” a new insight piece from Viewpoint magazine, highlights the core of MB’s philosophy – that brands must learn to lose control and love change. The piece, in issue 25, the latest edition of the magazine, cites our open pitch for A Brand for London, as an example of agencies “taking an increasingly collaborative approach with the public”. As an agency we feel excited for the brand possibilities emerging from a more open, collaborative culture. The strongest, and most successful brands, are the ones that adapt and respond to the environment around them – be that anything from time of day and user activity to consumer input and re-interpretation.

Happy Holidays from Moving Brands!

Moving Brands’ Christmas Card from Moving Brands on Vimeo.

Check out our Christmas film. Bringing a little surrealism to your holiday! Enjoy and all the best for 2010 from all of us here at Moving Brands.

Design Week Awards

Just found out that we have been shortlisted in the Design Week Awards for
NSN ‘Cloud’ Experience in the Digital Design/Information category
RHF Website in the Digital Design/Information category
Swisscom Re-brand in the Identity Programmes category
Mindshare Re-brand in the Letterheads and Logos category
Congratulations to all who worked on the projects! Here’s looking forward to the awards in March.

Davin Gormley

Take / Lukid – Navigators from Turquoise Orange on Vimeo.

Moving Brands’ people arrived in this morning to the sad news of the untimely loss of Davin Gormley. Davin worked at MB for four years, rising from work experience to senior designer in that time, before moving on to work at Imagination. Ben Wolstenholme, founder of MB, remembers Davin as ‘quiet and understated, though very talented, he worked in the core team on a lot of our award-winning work, especially environments – James [Bull] and I always said he had a ‘natural eye’ for art direction’. Mat Heinl had this to say, ‘I was lucky to have spent a good chunk of those 4 years with him at MB. From a work perspective – huge natural but modest talent, totally without any pretension and always willing to get it done. We always marveled at the variety of skill sets he acquired – he very much had the attitude of learning things all the time. Many, many pieces of work would never have made it through without his dedication and creativity. Great sense of humour with an infectious giggle and ability to see the light side of things’. He will be sorely missed.

Simply beautiful

San-San Chan, the latest addition to the MB team in London, spotted this beautiful Hermes window display. With Christmas now in full swing and London’s shop fronts bulging with glittering, sparkling, all-singing, all-dancing, aspirational and a-partridge-in-a-pear-tree festive inspiration, this film epitomises the power of simplicity.

Decode at the V&A

V&A Decode generative identity from postspectacular on Vimeo.

Friend of Moving Brands and coder extraordinaire, Karsten Schmidt has been commissioned to create a digital, dare we say ‘living’, identity for Decode – the new exhibition at the V&A. Using open source, the identity is open to modification. According to the V&A, ‘You can download and interact directly with the source code, but you do not need to be an expert coder, as Karsten has also designed a graphical user interface’. We think he has succeeding in making a beautiful and relevant design piece which calls for co-collaboration and transparency. Karsten has worked with us as Technical Design Director on some of our most well-known projects, including Swisscom, KEF, and LCF. We will report back on the exhibition following its opening tomorrow!

Masters of the Twitterverse

This morning, and after 10 months and 380 tweets, we reached 2,000 followers on Twitter. Having been somewhat sceptical when we first signed up, the community which has grown up around MB has been supportive, insightful, inspirational and often hilarious. Designer and vinyl lover @savevinyluk was the lucky no. 2000 to receive a selection of MB merch. And new-found Twitter buddy @PlanBstudio has suggested a bit of design swapsies with his “Democracy 2.0″ poster series – a pertinent collection of twenty sociopolitical, satirical screenprints; paying tribute to, asking questions of, or challenging the big topics; democracy, the banking system, the bankers, Twitter, Mobile phones and (of course) Michael Jackson.

Moving Brands wins Benchmarks Award

Last night Moving Brands’ re-brand of Swisscom won a Benchmarks Award in the Telecommunications category. The Awards are designed to set a standard in the recognition of excellence in brand communications. We are very proud of both the team here and the guys at Swisscom who worked on the project over 18 months to create the multi-award winning identity which has lead to an increase in brand consumer acceptance, market share, customer satisfaction and customer retainment. To see a film of the project click here

Benchmark Awards

We are very excited to be heading off to the Benchmark Awards dinner later this evening, following the shortlisting of our Swisscom Re-brand in the Telecommunications category. The re-brand of Swisscom, the number one telecoms operator in Switzerland, was part of the strategic consolidation of multiple businesses into a unified brand and to shift the focus of communications away from telecoms and IT towards a warm relationship with customers based on media and entertainment. Our key objective was to create a living, moving identity designed to engage people through sound, motion and interaction. The new brandmark is a constantly moving life form, with free-flowing planes that reflect Swisscom’s multisensorial customer offering. The revolving planes pivot around a fixed axis, symbolising Swisscom’s strong heritage as a trusted national provider of technology.

Wizard Smoke

Incredibly beautiful film in both concept and execution. At 9min40 it’s a bit of a commitment from the stereotypical “right here right now” YouTube viewer, but Wizard Smoke becomes more enchanting throughout. Even the credits look great. Enjoy and happy Friday!

America week continues

America Week continues in the MB London studio with a “Tea and Learn” on American advertising. Munching on Krispy Kremes, we discussed how America is tackling the big issues such as the economic downturn and environmental crisis in their ads. And we talked about whether American commercials really are brash, direct and, when humourous, obvious and without irony, or whether that was just our European view of it. Click here to watch the playlist of the lastest commercials coming out of the States this year and please add your views to the comments section of this post.

America Week

MB Meets… Scott Thomas, Design Director Obama Campaign from Moving Brands on Vimeo.

It is America week in the Studio, both to celebrate Thanksgiving and to get our heads around how our cousins across the pond approach design, branding and advertising. As well as indulging in some Krispy Kremes and a few awesome high fives, we will having one or two America-themed events here in the studio. To start the ball rolling, here is a ‘never seen before’ Moving Brands interview with Scott Thomas, the Design Director of the Obama campaign, filmed earlier this year in our Tokyo studio. A new hero of iconic American design, Scott has become a close friend of MB and was integral to our Brand for London pitch. The film can also be found on our YouTube channel here.

New NIKE Store Harajuku, Tokyo

Just had a chance to visit a new NIKE flagship store in Harajuku – one of the most popular shopping districts in Tokyo. It’s surprisingly the first flagship store for Japan and unlike other NIKE flagships, this was designed by Japanese designer Masamichi Katayama (Wonderwall).

Interesting things about this store are not only that they put large spaces dedicated to NIKEiD studio and football gear (Bootroom) but also included many art-like objects made from their products throughout the store – hundreds of white NIKE sneakers suspended from the roof of the second floor, a chandelier made of racing tags, one of the walls was made with black rubber soles cut into square tiles, and a “Just Do It” sign made from foot molds.

I believe the flagship store is the “living brand” – it has products, graphics, messaging, people and their voice. All the elements of the brand are in one place, just as everything in the store is also a reflection of the brand. People in the store might not see them, but they will feel the brand from all the details and elements.

In that perspective, I have to say I really liked a feeling of the store. It was simple but playful. Only thing that felt strange was that there were men in dark suits greeting at the both entrances to the store. They might be there because of the store opening but they didn’t go with image of NIKE or sports at all…

原宿に新しくオープンしたばかりのNIKE フラッグシップストア原宿に行ってきた。
東京にいままでフラッグシップがなかったことに気がついてちょっと驚いたのだけれど、 他の都市にあるフラッグシップとは違い、Wonderwall 片山正通氏がインテリアデザインを担当している。

この店のユニークな所は、店内に国内最大のNIKEiD STUDIOを入れたり、サッカーにフォーカスしたNIKE BOOTROOM（ナイキ ブーツルーム）を三階に設置しただけでなく、プロダクトを使ったアートのようなオブジェが店内にちりばめられている事。例えば、白いスニーカーを何百個も天井から吊るしてあったり（この下を通って２階への階段を上る）、マラソンのゼッケンをシャンデリアのようにデザインしたインスタレーションがあったり、シューズソールをタイルのように組み合わせてできた壁や、”Just Do It”のサインがスニーカーの型でつくってあったり。

フラッグシップはそのブランドそのものといっても過言ではないと、私は思っている。プロダクトやグラフィック、メッセージ、そこで働いている人々と彼らのサービスや言葉遣い。ブランドを作っているすべての要素が集結する場所。そして店の中にあるすべてが、その細部にいたるまでブランドを反映している。それはすべての人にはっきりとは見えないかもしれないけれど、細部や様々なところから受ける何かを感じているはずである。それがその人たちにとって、そのブランドへのイメージをつくるのだから。

その観点からしても、この店から受けた感じはとてもよかった。シンプルだけれど遊び心にあふれている。一つだけ気になったのは、入り口で出迎えてくれた黒いスーツに身を包んだ男性達。オープニングの時だからなのかわからないけれど、どうしてスーツなんだろう。NIKEともスポーツといういメージともまるっきり合っていないのだけれど。

Allotments

Recently I’ve been interested in allotments, the idea of escaping the urban environment which leads to the lack of space in the first place seems to be key to their proliferation and recent popularity.

Hidden away between railways and roads, on patches of derelict and unused land these spaces seem an oasis of productivity and surprising calm.

Between Stepney and Greenwich there are around 7 allotments and community gardens. My fellow allotment enthusiast, Lizzy Burt, and I, have been visiting a few of them: talking to the owners and taking photos with a view to making a book. The use of space, the productivity of growing, and the creativity of structure all help to make these places fascinating.

In a similar way to the allotment holders, we escaped our London homes for a day and spent a few hours outside near some plants and soil- something I highly recommend. I think it’s this escapism above all which makes keeping and cultivating an allotment so attractive.

you can visit our project blog here: Project Allotment