LSC Skills Adverts

I have been searching for this advert on youtube for a few weeks now since i first saw it. The idea reminds me of the Talk Talk adverts where a similar thing was done on a larger scale with people rather than hands.

All in all I feel this is a quite stunning campaign and an idea that has been well thought out and executed.



Watching the advert really makes you appreciate how a pretty simple idea can be executed to make you appreciate the potential of the design and advertising industry.

http://inourhands.lsc.gov.uk/

The website has different imagery created from hands in the various sections ranging from the tulip to a swan and mountain. The advantage of this campaign is already evident in the billboards that can be seen for this campaign where this imagery is used on a large scale. For anyone who has seen the adverts they can relate straight away whilst those that haven't see it for what it is, clever design.


http://www.mad.co.uk/Main/News/Articlex/bf02c24b75d04d8380f67e41f73da9df/LSC-gets-hands-on-with-new-ads.html

As mentioned in this article(above link) the advert is made by agency Leo Burnett whose website i have already talked about in my Glog. It came as no suprise to me that a company that impressed me with its interactive and innovative website could be behind this idea.

An interesting statement in this article is the idea that they "hope that it will generate discussion around dinner tables, pubs and water coolers across the country.”
Speaking from my own experience it has been a campaign so far that has been successful in doing this.



This advert, working under the same campaign, is for business customers but works again under the same principle.

Piccadilly open to new campaigns

One of London’s brightest branding landmarks, the Piccadilly Lights Complex in London, is going to become available to brand owners for short-term leasing for the first time in almost a century.

Launching on 1 December, ‘Piccadilly Lite’ will make it possible for UK and international brands to advertise on short-term contracts, to the audience of one million who pass through Piccadilly Circus each week.

Land Securities has owned the iconic site since the 1970s, and has decided to change the traditional long-term lease period – dominated by super-brands such as Coca-Cola and Sanyo – to respond to demand from shorter-term TV, film and music advertisers.

James Birkett, asset manager for Land Securities, says: ‘We are excited that we can make it possible for UK and international brands to advertise in this unique location on short-term contracts and at short notice.’

Piccadilly Lite uses LED signs to run digital sequences that can be regularly changed and updated, offering brand owners the opportunity to advertise tactically around specific product launches.

Birkett says: ‘Piccadilly Lite is a prime example of how recent technology enhancements are shaping how we communicate to the consumer.’

MT2 is the agency responsible for booking and running the advertisements for the new site.

http://www.designweek.co.uk/Articles/135352/Piccadilly+Lite+switches+over+.html

This should be an interesting development to watch and observe which brands opt to take this route. It would seem to me that Land Securities stand to make a hell of a lot of money from this even with the assumption that the current adverts pay them quite a bit anyway. The move should increase competition and break the monopoly the current brands have in this location.

Jeffrey Milstein

Jeffrey Milstein is an American photographer whose latest project, Aircraft, featured in June's Creative Review, focuses on the "The Jet as Art".

Standing at the end of LAX airport runway Milstein photographed the undersides of incoming aircraft to look at the designs that distinguish companies from competitors and plane models from others.

A somewhat boring medium you would think but what the photography has captured is the beauty of the machines by removing all motion and simply placing the images on a white background.





http://www.jeffreymilstein.com/

This project of Milstein's is available in his book "AirCraft, The Jet as Art," published by Abrams.

I was reminded of the project after looking at the stamps created by True North for the 100 years of motor sport. Both using the idea of removing all motion to represent the beauty of the machine.

Some of Milstein's other projects are also very intriguing, especially his project "Industrial Archeology". Examples of this project are shown below.

Roobis Tea

South African tea brand, Rooibos from Kromland Farm, has undergone an image overhaul courtesy of London design consultancy Pearlfisher.

The group has created the identity and packaging, including logotype and copy for the specialist tea, which is imported and distributed in the UK by Only Natural Products.

Through the use of bold colours and a simple, expressive typeface, the packaging is designed to convey a brand that is contemporary and quirky, while also reflecting South Africa’s cultural heritage.

Pearlfisher designer, Natalie Chung says that the success of the design is rooted in its simplicity. ‘This is a simple but beautiful piece of design that has enormous shelf standout. We wanted to capture the magic and energy of South Africa and this fresh, youthful design perfectly fits the bill.”

The tea has already been launched in health food stores across the UK and is expected to appear in Selfridges and major supermarkets over the next few months.

http://www.designweek.co.uk/Articles/135283/Rooibos+picks+a+fresh+identity.html

As soon as I saw the packaging for this tea it was clear straight away its African origins and it's natural/organic properties. The redesign of the packaging and brand have managed to create a sense of exactly what the product has to offer. The choice to have its own individual typeface that is chunky, bold and very aboriginal in its appearance makes it different from other similar products but it would not look out of place in its expected selling points in health food stores and Selfridges.

Commemorative Stamps created by True North

Royal Mail today releases a series of special stamps commemorating 100 years of motor sport, with design by True North.

True North was appointed by Royal Mail’s Stamp Advisory Committee last summer to participate in a general ‘scoping’ exercise and was selected to develop its concept through to final artwork, with photography by James Callaghan.

The six stamps depict some of the UK’s best known racing car drivers, including Graham Hill, winner of the ‘Triple Crown’ and Monaco Grand Prix, Scottish legend Jim Clark, winner of 25 Grand Prix before he died tragically at the age of 32 and Sir Stirling Moss, who this year celebrates the 50th anniversary of winning the Grand Prix, as well as the 1986 driver of the Williams FW11, Nigel Mansell.

The presentation pack includes profiles of all the drivers by motor racing journalist Richard Rae.

True North has also designed a series of Harry Potter stamps, which will be released on 17 July to mark the last Harry Potter novel by author JK Rowling.

http://www.designweek.co.uk/Articles/135287/True+North+on+pole+position.html



Having already looked at some recent stamp designs I think its an interesting area to explore when it comes to design. When a company is given a brief like this to create a set of stamps the canvas is a very very small and the idea has to be represented within these restraints. Here True North have been given the task of creating stamps to represent 100 years of motor sport. They have not gone for action shots however. These shots would be busy and perhaps take away from the aesthetics of the vehicles and the development in shape over the years as technology improved. They have instead gone for plan views of the cars to capture their design and shape.
I think this is a brilliant solution to the design needs of the brief.

Faldo launches new brand

British golfer Nick Faldo is launching a new brand created by Yorkshire design group, Island Earth Creative.

Designed by Island Earth founder Gary Millard, the brand identity is set to appear on a range of sports items from clothing to golf clubs and on-site signage at luxury sports club venues.

Millard says the work is designed to achieve recognition outside the world of golf, ‘drawing together the wide variety of business interests operating under the Faldo name, with a distinctive and uniting image’.

‘It has been great working on such a well known global brand,’ adds Millard.

‘The Faldo name is associated not just with golf clothing but also a series of teaching academies, golf course design and the Faldo Series tournaments which provide an opportunity to identify and nurture the next generation of young golfers,’ Millard says.

‘We believe that the creative solution we have provided will stand the test of time and provide strong, recognisable reference for the Nick Faldo brand wherever it appears.’

http://www.designweek.co.uk/Articles/135341/Top+golfer+launches+own+label.html

I like the identity for Faldo's company but I on first look I can't see where the design has come from. OK so the white circle represents a golf ball but I can't see how the 6 shape represents Faldo. I would have thought that the design would incorporate Faldo's initials or something similar but the designers have decided to avoid this it seems. Perhaps the shape is more to suggest the coming together of Faldo's companies as a whole brand rather than focusing on the man himself?
As an identity though I guess is works!