Featured Designer

Alex Chappel is a London based graphic designer. His talent when it comes to typography and illustration is evident in his work. Bold, contemporary and different – definitely worth a mention. http://www.twiy.co.uk/

Scientific Sophistication

The pharmaceutical approach to beauty is nothing new (think aésops, aveda, la prairie). However Wolf Olins' latest attempt has to be commended. No Frizz is the first product from the Living Proof range – a scientific beauty brand, where the product packaging is nothing short of 'contemporary lab-style innovation'. But this is the end product. The touch-points also communicate the problem solving process at the grass-roots level. By doing this, the brand becomes accessible, less elitist, and offers consumers an insight into the product's personality and understanding.

Living Proof has a less conventional (unique) logo, but the distinct packaging shapes, strict colour palette, typographic treatment and the images come together to create a very sophisticated and flexible brand. I love the understated simplicity in the No Frizz logo. The copywriting is also engaging, direct and avoids becoming too scientific. All in all, another great job by Wolf Olins. 

And they'll probably need a few more to help the world forget about their 2012 Olympic logo.

The Credit Crisis Visualised

As a presentation, this visualisation of the credit crunch by Johnathon Jarvis takes top prize. Relevant content in a smart, concise, simple animation.

Ads worth watching

Saatchi & Saatchi have done a brilliant job with the latest Cadbury Creme Egg campaign. A few ads below.

But my personal favourite is probably the one that didn't go to air...

The magic & wonder of the Pepsi Gravitational Field

In an earlier post I made comment on the new Pepsi identity. Is it even relevant? What was the purpose of updating it? Why has it been reduced to a smiley face? What are the unintended consequences? Now this ridiculous 'Pepsi Gravitational Field' has turned up. So ridiculous that I thought it was a joke (and am still hoping it is). I understand the need for strategic thinking and rationalisation – especially to give the Marketing Managers and Brand teams some reasons to justify creative decisions to their non-creative peers. However this document reeks of post rationalisation and fluff. Fluff that would've chewed up infinite head hours. After looking at this I was still left with the question I faced when i first saw the new identity: What is the point? Check it out at http://bunnitude.com/misc/files/pepsi_gravitational_field.pdf

What ever happened to brand imagination? It seems the world of brand guidelines have taken over.

Sympathy for Lady Vengeance opening credits

Sympathy for Lady Vengeance has some the most engaging opening credits I've seen. Perhaps I should rethink my earlier top 5 'Killer Credits' post. The beautiful and well considered typography, the high-key, tightly cropped images, the sparing use of red, and the somewhat uncomfortable score seem to all come together perfectly. 

Tobias Frere-Jones talk

AGDA is holding a typography talk in Sydney on the 11th of May with Tobias Frere-Jones. Tobias is the Director of Typography at New York based Hoefler & Frere-Jones. He attended the world-renowned Rhode Island School of Design, and went on to design over 500 commercially used typefaces including Interstate, Poynter Oldstyle and Gothic. His credentials in this area are very impressive (check out his CV at wikipedia). And if you're interested in seeing him talk, visit the events page at the AGDA website.

Igloo Zoo by Fabio Ongarato

Igloo Zoo is my favourite retail brand at the moment. A chain of 'chilled yoghurt culture bars' in Melbourne and Sydney with a sophisticated brand experience – from the fit-out, to the menus, to the website, to the uniforms. I've been a fan of Fabio Ongarato for years, and fell in love with this brand identity before I knew he was responsible for it. So premium, I don't know how selling $5 yoghurts pay for it all.