if you were familiar with the old AgencyNet site then you will know that at the time it was pretty cutting edge.

Well AgencyNet have released their latest version of the site and it is an absolute beast. Following the same theme as it’s predecessor, the new site uses a 3d animated cross section of their offices, each room representing a different section of the site. This time though they have really gone to town with some sections of the site resembling sites in themselves. I can’t really begin to imagine how long and hard they must have worked on this (well I can and it’s a long time and they must have worked really hard) but it’s really paid off. There’s some very simple yet effective twitter integration and so many nooks and crannies worth exploring that you can get lost in the site for some time. One of the highlights for me is the helicopter that you can fly using an iphone app. Although relatively pointless, it’s fun and It’s that type of attention to detail and creative use of technology that really makes them pioneers of this type of interactive design.

An old colleague of mine Agustin Sanchez works for them now as an Art Director. I have no doubt that some of the nifty ideas and probably the execution of them in the site were down to him.

I’m not bitter though Agustin….

Actually, yeah I am.

SKODA SUPERB GLASS HARP from Sehsucht™ on Vimeo.

This is actually real. The guy is Petr Spatina and is a musician from Czechoslovakia.

Production: Sehsucht Hamburg
Director: Ole Peters
Co-Director / Compositing: Hans Schultheiß
DOP: Holger Diener
3D: Timo von Wittken, Maurice Panisch
Producer: Jan Tiller / Stephan Reinsch
Agency: Leagas Delaney Hamburg
Creative Director: Willy Kaussen / Oliver Grandt / Hermann Waterkamp
Writer/Art Director: Jan Wiendieck / Melanie Mertens
Tv Dept.: Barbara Meier / Patrick Plogstedt

More superb interactive video execution from Kokokaka for Wrangler. The links such as Blue Bell on the left nav open other brilliant Wrangler sites, all by Kokokaka.

Youtube interactive video at it’s best. Let it properly load first. Made by the talented folks at Kokokaka

World renowned lighting artist and designer, Marcus Tremonto, has just unveiled his latest creations at Kidrobot in New York.

These whimsical ‘Lightbotz’ as they are called, take their inspiration from vintage toys, video games and sci fi/futuristic films, which have all been major interests of Tremonto for over 20 years. In creating these amazing objects, Tremonto has cleverly integrated various lighting elements to alter and enhance each of the Lightbotz’s unique characters.

Each limited edition Lightbot is handmade, numbered and signed by the designer in his New York studio. They are available for purchase through Kidrobot’s New York store.

For more information please visit www.lightbotz.com

Had a nice time today at The London Design Museum checking out Brit Insurance – Designs of the Year

Here’s some photos from the day

I have just returned from a long trip to El Salvador and Guatemala, which was absolutely incredible. I had been looking forward to the trip for ages, from both a photographic standpoint and as it was my first time in Latin America.

It did not let down on both counts.

http://www.a-nt.com/photos/elsalvador

The majority of the photos are from either Santa Ana, El Salvador or Antigua, Guatemala. Enjoy.

Can’t begin to imagine the amount of work put into this unbelievable frame by frame animated graffiti piece by BLU.

I’m currently reading the second edition of ‘Thinkertoys’ by Michael Michalko. The author’s background is army intelligence and over the years he has developed a collection of thinking tools that can be used to re-adjust your creative thought process, or just give some fresh inspiration. It’s brilliant and a seriously thought provoking and useful book regardless of whether you are involved in the creative thought process, or not.

This exert is taken from a chapter titled ‘False faces’ and outlines why assumptions are dangerous in any given situation. The chapter itself then goes on to give you the tools to reverse any initial assumptions and shows how it’s possible to gain an entirely new perspective of what the actual ‘problems’ are that need to be tackled in the first place.

I thought this was bang on the money!

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Imagine a cage containing five monkeys. Inside the cage, hang a banana on a string and place a set of stairs under it. Before long, a monkey will go to the stairs and start to climb toward the banana. As soon as he touches the stair, spray all the monkeys with ice-cold water. After a while, another monkey makes an attempt with the same result – all the monkeys are sprayed with ice-cold water. Pretty soon, when another monkey tries to climb the stairs, the other monkeys will try to prevent it.

Now, turn off the cold water. Remove one monkey from the cage and replace it with a new one. The new monkey sees the banana and will want to climb the stairs. To his surprise, all of the other monkeys attack him. After another attempt and attack, he knows that if he tries to climb the stairs he will be assaulted.

Next, remove another of the original monkeys and replace it with a new one. The newcomer goes to the stairs and is attacked. The previous newcomer takes part in the punishment with enthusiasm.

Again, replace a third monkey with new one. The new one goes to the stairs and is attacked. Two of the four monkeys that beat him have no idea why they were not permitted to climb the stairs, or why they are participating in the beating of the newest monkey.

After replacing the fourth and fifth monkeys with new ones, all the monkeys that have been sprayed with ice-cold water have been replaced. Nevertheless, no monkey ever again approaches the stairs. Why not? Because as far as they know that’s the way it’s always been around here.

Don’t be a monkey. Challenge all assumptions.

Very impressive video footage shot so that it looks like tiny toy soldiers. The technique used is called tilt shift, more examples can be found here..

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/11/16/beautiful-examples-of-tilt-shift-photography/