Design 21: Allumonde Ring

On a visit home to CT last weekend, my mom suprised me with an unexpected gift: a set of Allumonde rings from DESIGN 21. The ring, designed by Richard Hutten, is the symbol of the Social Design Network, the online community of socially conscious designers who believe social change can happen through the power of design. As they say on their website, "Better design for the greater good."

According to the Design 21 site, the rings range from $25 for an acrylic set to $2500 for an 18k gold version, however, the acrylic set of 3 I received was marked $6. 19% of the proceeds from your ring purchase go to the charity of your choice and 2% goes to UNESCO.

The rings are sleek and simple, yet the gap at their peak adds a bit of curiousity and intrigue. I'd love to ask Mr. Hutten about his design concept of this little beauty.

I absolutely adore my set—I have the black, turquoise and clear children's acrylic set and wear all three daily on my pinky. Check out the pics below and view all versions on the Design 21 site.

In this industry, we're all pretty much married to design, so we may as well wear its ring!

Loud as a Mouse

Today I came across one of the most successful logo designs I've seen in awhile. Johnson banks of the UK recently re-branded Microsoft's digital advertising awards, named Mouse. The company set out to embed a mouse image withing the type, and as you can see from the graphic: mission accomplished. By utilizing the copyright symbol, changing the color of the "o" and subtracting a specific shape from the word, they were able to create an intriguing, yet simple logo for the awards.

If you could have a pet logo, this would be mine...no contest :)



Read the full story and see more images here.

2007 Feltron Annual Report

People choose to document their lives in different ways—some keep diaries, some make scrapbooks, some blog (wink). Until recently, I've never heard of anyone creating a personal annual report as a means of documentation, but thats exactly what NYC's Nicholas Feltron produces every year. He compiles every statistic imaginable for a young Manhattanite: taxi fares, miles walked, vacation days taken, iTunes tracks played, even the percentage of his day he spent measuring everything for his annual report.

The end result is a super clean, infographic masterpiece. The stats don't mean much to us, the reader/viewer, but the report provides definite entertainment and some pretty sweet infographic design inspiration. Check out the report in its entirety here.

You can also view more of Feltron's professional work here.

Daily Peeps

JWT Coat Drive




Check out this striking installation piece created by JWT to illustrate & promote their coat drive. A giant homeless person was painted on a wall along with strategically placed coat hooks. As people hung their donated coats on the hooks, a coat is formed. Julie Rutigliano, is an artist who paints murals and volunteered her time to paint the sixteen foot homeless figure.

JWT ended up with too many coats to cover the figure in the end...about four times too many! I guess that means the installation was a success.

Agency: JWT, New York
ECD: Kash Sree
Copyriter: Scott Bell, Kash Sree
Art Director: Christina De La Cruz
Artist: Julie Rutigliano

found at adgoodness



Museum Des Sciences Naturelles


As a New Year greetings for 2008, a dinosaur museum sent colleagues and main sponsors a block of plaster and a hammer & chisel with an invitation to amateur paleontologists to dig, not for the bones of a mighty T-Rex, but to find the museum's greeting card.

Agency: McCann Erickson, Belgium.

found at directdaily


Pedigree: For the Love of Dogs


Translation: They don’t judge. They don’t hate. They don’t give up. For the love of dogs.

Advertising Agency: TBWA, São Paulo, Brazil
Creative Director: Cibar Ruiz
Art Director: Caio Grafietti
Copywriter: Marcelo Arbex

found at adsoftheworld



Suzuki Motorcycles



Invade their airspace.

If you're wondering what that font is, I believe it's Bleeding Cowboys. There's a free download for personal use here.

Advertising Agency: Leo Burnett Melbourne, Australia
Creative Director: Jason Williams
Art Director: David Poncedeleon
Copywriter: Andrew Woodhead
Published: January 2008

found at adsoftheworld

Daily Peeps

Every time I peruse ad & design blogs, I am amazed by how much amazing, inventive work is out there! People are so clever, I love it. Check out some of today's peep-worthy pieces:

Teknograd: Mac Support




Agency: 2008scandinavia

This project is the company's FIRST campaign! Talk about a good first impression :)

From their site: "A few weeks after the start, 2008scandinavia proudly presents the communication collective´s first campaign. This print campaign for our client Teknograd, a pc- and mac-support-company, targets the creative business, like ad agencies, graphic design agencies, well, creative mac-users, to make it short."



Mont Grand Fonds


Blue paper + sticker = simple & effective.

Agency: Blitz, Montreal
found at adgoodness





Guiness Dot by Psyop



Client: Diageo
Product: Guinness Ale
Title: “Dot”
Length:00:60

Agengy: IIBBDO, Dublin
Creative Director(s): Mal Stevenson
Art Directors: Jonathan Cullen.
Copywriter: Rory Hamilton
Producer: Onagh Carolan
Beer Stylist: Thomas Power

Found at motionographer
Higher-quality video here.



Scottex: Mailing on kitchen paper towel.


Direct Mailing piece to communicate the strength of Scottex kitchen paper towels to restaurant owners. They created a mailing made from real Scottex kitchen paper towels. These mailings were posted "as is", without an envelope, and sent to restaurants all over Belgium.

Agency: Duval Guillaume Antwerp, Belgium.

found at directdaily


Reebok "Butterflies"

How better to emphasize the shoe's lightness, colorfulness and versatility than by comparing them to butterflies. Perhaps a comparison to live butterflies would have been more relevant, but you get the idea :)

Agency: Serviceplan Munich, Germany.

found at directdaily

99.9999999% Effective

You have to see the new Clearblue Digital commercial (if you haven't seen it already). It has art direction & filming reminiscent of luxury automobile spots (think Jag-u-ar) and an oh-so-memorable tagline: "The most advanced piece of technology you will ever pee on…" Check it out:



It's nice to see Clearblue agreed to take the humor & surprise route to promote their typically unexciting product. Props to AmalgamatedNYC for talking them into it.

It's "unclear" how effective the spot will be with their target audience of potentially expecting women and paranoid teens, but its definitely noteworthy amongst us design & ad junkies.

Daily Peeps

NSW Police Campaign - Watch for cars when wearing headphones



A print campaign by NSW Police in Australia to raise awareness of the number of teenagers dying as a result of listening to iPods while they cross the road is beginning to reach epidemic proportions.

Agency: DDB, Sydney
Executive Creative Director: Matt Eastwood
Art Director: Adam Rose
Copywriter: Ben O’Brien
Photography: Mat Baker
Retouching: Dennis Monk

Found at: thecoolhunter and addesigngoodness


Amnesty International: Rescue Innocent Prisoners


“A single coin may have a great effect, if you use it wisely.”

Agency: DRAFTFCB KOBZA, Vienna
Creative Director: Patrik Partl
Art Director: Andreas Gesierich
Jr. Art Director: Daniel Senitschnig
Copywriters: Florian Schwab, Eva Sommeregger
Graphic Design: Kerstin Schudo


Gaia: Animals Torture

Agency: Duval Guillaume, Brussels, Belgium

Found at ibelieveinadv



Brother: Richer Colors


Richer colors with Brother. From Duval Guillaume Antwerp, Belgium.

Found at AdHunt


Adidas: Impossible is Nothing



Impossible is nothing. Made by TBWA, Shanghai, China.

Daily Peeps

Here's today's sampling of peep-worthy advertising and design:

freshcotton.com


Ads created with t-shirt shaped cutouts and strategically placed over existing graffiti. Awesome!

Agency: ANONIEM
Art Director: RONNIE BESSELING
Producer: ARMAND HUGHAN
Photographer: LUCAS GOBEL


Heinz Salad Cream


Interesting graphic for a not-so-interesting product :)

Agency: McCann Erickson, London
Creative Directors: Brian Fraser & Simon Learman
Copywriter: Neil Clarke, Jay Phillips
Art Director: Neil Clarke, Jay Phillips
Illustrator: John Martin
Typography: Gary Todd


National Rail

Perfect way to show how little the National Rail effects the environment...even more succesful as a magazine spread.

Agency: King, Stockholm
Creative Director: Frank Hollingworth
Copywriter: Niclas Carlsson, Christian Karlsson
Art Director: Josephine Wallin, Tommy Carlsson


Tyskie Beer


This beer company creatively shows the countries they import their product to by creating the flags out of their packaging...so clever & eye-catching.

Agency: DDB Warsaw
Creative Directors: Marcin Mroszczak, Jakub Korolczuk, Ryszard Sroka
Copywriter: Natalia Dudek
Art Director: Marcin Zaborski
Photographer: Igor Omul

Eco-friendly Gifting

Here are some gift ideas for the green people on your list.


Reusable Shopping Bags - there is a huge trend right now of replacing plastic shopping bags with reusable canvas or nylon totes. Below are a few of my top picks:

Baggu Bags
Baggu Bags are on my christmas list this year. They are the perfect size for grocery shopping and, unlike most tote bags, have a flat-bottom. The best part of the Baggu is that it folds up to a small square so its easy to carry around when not in use. Baggu Bags come in a variety of designer-inspired, solid colors.


Envirosax from Delight.com
Envirosax are more of a tote bag style reusable bag that can be slung over your shoulder. They lack the flat-bottom, but make up for it with patterned designs rather than just solid colors.




Recycled Notebook Set from Delight.com
100% recycled and 100% post-consumer means no new trees were cut down to create this super-cut notebook set.



DB Clay wallets
These eco-friendly wallets are made of "tope," a custom textile made specifically for this line.





Eco-friendly bird house kit from Whatever Works
Easy-to-assemble bird feeder is made of 100% recycled plastics such as bags, soda bottles, milk jugs, and water bottles.



Sun & Moon Jars
Sun & Moon Jars come equipped with a solar-powered cell and rechargeable battery that soaks up sunlight. Its energy efficient LED light will automatically switch on when it gets dark to give you 5 hours of candle-like light, but also includes a switch (on the inside) to turn it off if you're not home to enjoy the glow.




Recycled Socktopus from Elsewares
The Socktopus is the seafaring cousin of the famous Sock Monkey. Made from real recycled sweaters.




Kee-Ka Organic Infant Products
Adorable infant burp clothes, swaddle blankets, bibs and onesies made from certified organic cotton.

Gift Guide: Cheap Cheap

Today's Eye Spy gift guide is all about gifts under $15...yes, $15!

Here's some ideas for taking advantage of the bargain price:
1) Forget about the traditional socks and underwear and fill up stockings with items which are a little more entertaining.
2) Give them along with gift cards so the recipient has something to open besides an envelope.
3) Give gifts to ALL your co-workers...not just your favorites ;)

Enjoy!


Grow Your Own Sensitive Plant $5.49 from Perpetual Kid

A sensitive plant (if you've never seen one) looks like a miniature fern...but it has a secret. It moves AND sleeps! Its leaves curl up when touched and the whole plant tucks itself in every night, spreading out again in the morning. Super cool...just picture how perfect this little guy will be to help you pass the time during a creative block.



Animal Screen Cleaners $6.99 from Perpetual Kid

Most of us spend 90% of our day in front our computer monitors, so why not take care of them...with miniature, goofy animals! Take your pick from a Spider, Caterpillar, or Fish and the soft-bellied critter will harmlessly wipe your screen until its spotless.




Inanimate Character Stickers $3.99 from Perpetual Kid

Ever get lonely at your desk? Just you and your office supplies....
Inanimate character stickers make it possible to give your desk-mates some personality. You'll get 2 sheets of eyes, noses, and mouths in each pack. Don't worry, they're removable, so if your coffee mug is happy one day, but sad the next, its not stuck putting on a happy face.



3-D doodle kit $9 from fred flare

Appreciate 3-D graphics but don't know Maya? Create it the old-fashioned way with the 3-D doodle kit. Sketch with the red & blue pencils, slip on some 3-D specs and ta-dah! You won't be getting job offers from Pixar, but the multi-dimensional creation will be just as rewarding (sort of).



Portable Air Hockey $14.00 from Urban Outfitters

We all have a smooth, flat surface around the office...that's right, the conference table. Normally surrounded by a mass of buzz-word spewing execs, it needs to be saved from the torture. Put the table to some productive use with a portable air hockey set. The self-powered puck will allow you to "leverage a 360 degree execution focusing on self-sufficient air utilization and net-net profitablity tactics—dot com."



View Master $8.00 from Urban

We all had one of these early home theater systems when we were young. Bring back a few childhood memories for a loved one or coworker with a genuine View Master. Reels are also available on the site for $8 each.



Trio of French Journals $12.00 from The Curiosity Shoppe

Do you have a vintage design buff on your shopping list? Oui? Then pick up these French composition books and move on to the next lucky individual on le list. They come as a set of 3, so if you're really strapped for cash (or just plain stingey) you can wrap them individually and take care of multiple peeps in one shot.



ABC Button $12 from Charles and Marie

Just when you thought you knew every method of creating type....enter, the ABC buttons to knock you off your high hobby horse. These buttons have nine holes so you can actually write using yarn and a needle. If that's not awesome enough for you, buying the buttons gives you exclusive access to a font designed by e27!



Stop Talking $8.00

How many times a day do you encounter someone who feels the need to talk your ear off? Maybe a coworker uses up their word quota for the month trying to explain the simplest client feedback. Perhaps a stranger just doesn't pick up on your hints that you don't want to make small talk while waiting in line for your coffee. "Stop Talking" cards provide a polite, yet blunt, method of handling these chatty Cathies.