TAXI Daily News

Airline Creates One-Of-A-Kind Novels That Last Only As Long As Your Flight

Sat, 18 May 2013 16:34:52 -0500

Qantas aims to provide a unique flying experience by offering specially curated books called ‘Stories For Every Journey’ for its passengers.

These books are one-of-a-kind because each one is created to last just as long as the duration of your flight.

The Australian airline worked with Droga5 and publishing house Hachette, to create this series.

Do you think it's possible to tailor a book's length to the average reading speed?

Here's a look at the bespoke novels:

[via Psfk.com, images via Qantas, Droga5 and Hachette]

The Great Wall Of China, The White House And Other World Landmarks As Miniatures

Sat, 18 May 2013 20:00:10 -0500

Photographer Richard Silver uses a digital tilt-shift effect to turn world landmarks into miniatures.

Titled ‘Tilt Shift’, the series features tiny versions of The Great Wall and The White House.

These images are sure to boggle your mind:

Machu Picchu, Peru:

The Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta, New Mexico:

The White House, Washington, D.C.:

Teotihuacan, Mexico:

The Great Wall of China:

The US Open, New York City:

[via Laughingsquid.com, images via Richard Silver]

Google Glass As Seen Through The Eyes Of A Toddler

Sat, 18 May 2013 15:40:52 -0500

[Click here to view the video in this article]

Google Glass is, at least currently, associated with the technologically-forward, savvy adult.

Who'd have thought that it could also help us see the world from the perspective of a toddler?

We're willing to bet that not many will remember what it's like to see the world from a knee-high height.

Here's a video of a two-year-old, showing and telling us about the ‘world of a toddler’. It's sure to leave you cooing in your seat:

[via Huffingtonpost.com, images via Chris Angelini]

How To Deal With The Frustrating Day-In, Day-Out Work-Life Routine

Sat, 18 May 2013 13:06:14 -0500

[Click here to view the video in this article]

In 2005, literary genius David Foster Wallace gave an inspiring, gripping and very down-to-earth commencement address at Kenyon College.

Eight years on the late writer's word remains highly relevant and has been animated into a riveting and captivating video by the folks at the humble video production shop, The Glossary.

Titled ‘This Is Water’, the cinematic representation of Wallace's speech outlines his foresight and perspective, by reminding all of us that the world does not actually revolve around the individual.

Often, when we are faced with situations of frustration and annoyance at the ‘day-in, day-out’ routine of life, we can make a choice about how we choose to deal.

If you happen to be feeling low or disillusioned about life, work, studies—or anything, for that matter—this might be the ideal pick-me-up video of the day, for you:

[via Adweek.com, images via Theglossary.com]

‘Clever’ Vase Tells You When Your Plant Is Thirsty

Sat, 18 May 2013 12:22:44 -0500

Designer Risako Matsumoto has created a ‘clever’ vase called the ‘Water Balance’.

The vase ‘instinctively’ tips over on its own, to let you know when your plant is in need of water.

Made largely out of white ash wood, the vase also features stainless steel parts and a vial at one end. A sliding widget balances the vial on the opposite side, allowing the structure to stay optimally balanced till it ‘senses’ that your plant is thirsty.

Great for forgetful (but inherently caring) plant owners:

[via Psfk.com, images via Risako Matsumoto / Design Soil]

Johnson's Baby Gives Useful, Heartwarming Tips To Moms, From Other Moms

Sat, 18 May 2013 22:53:22 -0500

Johnson’s Baby is connecting mothers in Australia and New Zealand with its new ‘Mum to Mum Project’ which was created in collaboration with DDB Sydney and Profero.

The project features useful and heartwarming tips for women who have just embarked on motherhood. Anyone can join in to gain invaluable wisdom from experienced mothers; one can also partake in this effort by contributing personal bite-sized ‘notes’ of wisdom.

Reading the inspirational and reassuring messages—from “Patience and a deep big breath will conquer all” and “If it feels right, it is right”, to “Keep calm and breastfeed” and “Smell once, wipe twice”—may just be what a new mom needs to get through a tough day.

Whether you're a mom (or a dad), have a look at some of these uplifting messages—one of them might just make your day:

[via Popsop.com, images via Mum to Mum Project, Johnson’s Baby, DDB Sydney and Profero]

Quirky Instagram Snapshots Of Human Bodies With Their Pet's Heads

Sat, 18 May 2013 10:14:40 -0500

Toronto-based photographer and filmmaker Zach Rose has a regular project on his Instagram where he photographs people and their pets separately, and then presents the Instagram snapshot as a mash-up of a human body and a pet’s head.

He uses the hashtag of #petheadz for his quirky photos, and takes photos of his friends and strangers alike.

By first using his DSLR to photograph the pet’s head, then positioning the LCD viewfinder such that it fits the body of the human perfectly, he uses his phone to snap an Instagram shot.

The result is a delightful, funny, and interesting photography project that will put a smile on any face.

[via Zach Rose Instagram]

For Broken Hearts, A Love ‘First Aid Kit’

Sat, 18 May 2013 09:06:24 -0500

“Love Hurts” is an apt term to describe our common experiences in love and relationships.

It is also the name of designer Melanie Chernock's love ‘first aid kit’, which contains all the things to help mend a sad and broken heart.

From dark chocolate and tissues to a good helping of vodka—this kit will get you from hung-up to ‘sprite-y’ in no time at all.

Have a look at this useful invention, below:

[via Design-milk.com, images via Melanie Chernock]

A Humorous Compilation Of People Running For Trains In Slow Motion

Sat, 18 May 2013 12:11:08 -0500

[Click here to view the video in this article]

Advertising creatives Andy Leek and Lisa Morgenthau have created a funny compilation video of the different types of people who run after trains.

The funny video was filmed at London’s Kings Cross Station and it features a situation of something only too true to life.

What type of train runner are you?

View the humorous video below:

[via Vimeo]

Iconic Vintage iMacs Upcycled Into Cat Beds

Sat, 18 May 2013 07:20:22 -0500

Oregon-based Etsy store owners Miles and Aimee Harrison have creatively upcycled old iMacs to become beds for cats.

Using the outer shell of the iconic ‘Think Different’ iMac G3 of 1998, they have fitted the computer with a cushion for your beloved pet.

Not forgetting to utilize all parts, the bulky side speakers have been attached to the rear back portion as a base to keep the bed stable as your pet sleeps.

The result is a funny and nostalgic iMac pet bed, that will be a great find for Mac collectors.

[via Inthralld]

Nickelodeon Unveils New, Adorable Brand Identity

Sat, 18 May 2013 12:06:45 -0500

[Click here to view the video in this article]

Argentina-based creative agency Ronda has created a new look and brand identity for Nickelodeon, the popular kids TV channel.

Ditching the famous bright orange splats, Ronda created new adorable animated 3D characters as new identity for Nickelodeon, now colloquially referred to as ‘Nick’.

Through a collaboration with funjob, the new branding centers around the idea of characters attempting to build the Nickeledeon logo in a number of ways.

The challenge was to design characters that would be appealing to kids, while not losing the recognizable structure of the original logo.

The result is both original and adorable, with design and animation to match.

View the new brand identity clip below:

Nick IDs from Ronda on Vimeo.

[via Creative Bloq]

A Concept For A Lightweight & Disposable Cardboard Car

Sat, 18 May 2013 12:04:21 -0500

France-based Thierry Dumaine is a children’s art teacher who enjoys good design and building special bicycles. He has conceptualized ‘carDboard’, a minimalist disposable cardboard car.

This car has no door, dashboard or hard roof. It comes in only one color and is made of cheap, recycled cardboard and plastic.

It is a full hybrid car with gasoline, compressed air and electrical energy, and its wheels can recover energy from the wind. Its top speed is estimated to be 70mph.

This car was one of the Top Fifteen designs of the 2013 Michelin Challenge Design, where participants were asked to develop designs that employed innovative vehicle architecture solutions for weight reduction, without compromising safety or comfort.

[via Yanko Design]

Bakery Conjures Gory Cakes That Resemble Human Anatomy, Blood, And Flesh

Sat, 18 May 2013 12:02:36 -0500

England-based baker Annabel de Vetten is the owner of Conjurer’s Kitchen, a confectionery that makes cakes that resemble brains, blood and flesh.

Conjurer’s Kitchen makes strange anatomical cake creations that are incredibly true-to-life.

To date, some of the confection pieces that have been made include a marshmallow ‘brain’, a chopped-off hand served on a board, gory heart and intestines, and more.

View some of Annabel de Vetten’s creations below:

[via Conjurer’s Kitchen]

Designer Creates Biodegradable Cardboard Caskets For Your Beloved Pets

Sat, 18 May 2013 11:59:50 -0500

New Zealand-based packaging designer Mat Bogust has created ‘Rest In Pets’, a biodegradable cardboard casket for pets.

Reflecting on his own painful experience on the death of a pet, he was inspired to create something that gave beloved family pets a more solemn dignity in their death.

The caskets come in three different shapes—a hexagonal shape, a coffin shape, and an urn. These shapes are available in different sizes for different pets. They are biodegradable, so they can be burried in the ground easily.

The urn is thoughtfully designed to store cremated ashes. It has a pull-out tab that allows you to scatter the ashes if you choose to do so.

The project is currently on Kickstarter. If you would like to see it realized, support his work.

[via THINK Packaging]

Beautiful Female Portraits Intermixed With Comic Book Collages

Sat, 18 May 2013 11:53:49 -0500

Montreal-based artist Sandra Chevrier uses comic books to cover the faces of female portraits in order to create beautiful art portraits.

Through her work, Chevrier provokes discussion about the portrayal of women in mainstream comic books.

By covering the faces of her subjects and only revealing their eyes or mouth, she explores the controversy in the highly unrealistic physical portrayals of women.

Discussion aside, one can admire the beauty of these portraits, which are artistic as they are beautiful.

[via Flavorwire]

'Lord Of The Rings' Battle Scene Intricately Recreated With 150,000 LEGO Bricks

Sat, 18 May 2013 11:52:31 -0500

Two guys who go by the moniker Rich-K and Big J have recreated a battle scene from ‘Lord of the Rings’, entirely with 150,000 LEGO pieces.

The scene from the popular ‘Lord of the Rings’ movie is the Battle of Helm’s Deep. The project took four months to complete.

Using a total of 150,000 of the toy bricks and 1,700 mini-figures, the entire structure weighs approximately 160 pounds, and is the size of a table tennis table.

The impressive structure is full of intricate, true-to-screen details. It will truly surprise and excite fans of the ‘Lord of the Rings’ movies.

[via We like that]

Photographer Invades The Privacy Of His NYC Neighbors For The Sake Of Art

Fri, 17 May 2013 11:10:41 -0500

NYC-based photographer Arne Svenson has earned his neighbors’ ire for his latest photo project.

Titled ‘The Neighbors’, the project consists of a series of secretly taken photographs depicting the residents of New York City’s Tribeca neighborhood through their windows.

His neighbors are understandably unhappy, crying out at the invasion of their privacy, and are considering legal action.

Svenson defends himself by saying that he is no different from a bird watcher.

“For my subjects, there is no question of privacy. They are performing behind a transparent scrim on a stage of their own creation with the curtain raised high. The neighbors don’t know they are being photographed; I carefully shoot from the shadows of my home into theirs. I am not unlike the birder, quietly waiting for hours, watching for the flutter of a hand or a movement of a curtain as an indication that there is life within.”

The photographs are currently on sale for thousands of dollars.

[via New York Post, images via Arne Svenson]

Give Us Your Best Caption: 'Paperbag Lovers'

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:52:32 -0500

Today’s ‘Image of the Day’ belongs to Henrieta Haniskova. Congratulations!

To help you get off on the right foot every morning, DesignTAXI will be featuring an image everyday from its social network for creatives, The Creative Finder, to keep you inspired.

In this segment ‘Image of the Day’, you—our very lovely readers—are invited to submit captions to describe the selected image above: just simply tweet it with the page's URL and hashtag #tellapictale, or leave a comment at the bottom.

Winning captions would be featured the following day.

Yesterday's winning caption goes to Charles Corley: "S'not my fault! I've just got a nose for puns!"

In-Bottle Beer Cooler, Chills Your Beer Without Watering It Down

Sat, 18 May 2013 11:49:17 -0500

To help you ‘rechill’ your opened bottle of beer, here is a cooler that chills your beer without watering it down.

Called ‘Chillsner’, it has been dubbed as the “first ever in-bottle beer cooler you can drink through”.

To use, simply pop it in the freezer for 45 minutes, place it inside your bottle—and voilà, no more warm beer.

Each purchase contains two Chillsner for US$29.95.

[via Corkcicle]

Japanese Artist Creates Beautiful Paintings Using Microsoft Excel

Sat, 18 May 2013 11:48:11 -0500

Microsoft Excel is usually the go-to software for anything spreadsheet or graph related.

However, 73-year-old Japanese artist Tatsuo Horiuchi has found a new use for it.

He creates beautiful paintings using Microsoft Excel. He explains that graphic programs are usually too expensive, and that Excel came pre-installed with his computer.

Seeing his colleagues creating graphs with the program, he assumed it could be used to draw as well.

Using Excel’s ‘AutoShape’ feature to draw complex shapes, he then colors it in to create traditional Japanese-styled paintings.

Over the last ten years, Horiuchi has made a name for himself, with exhibitions all over Japan.

[via Oddity Central]

Astounding Paper Sculptures That Burst Out Of Books

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:12:01 -0500

Edinburgh-based graphic design student Thomas Wightman has produced a trio of astounding book sculptures for his graduation project.

Depicting scenes that appear to have broken free from the printed pages, this amazingly detailed paper sculpture series consists of a de-railed train, a sea vortex and a flock of fluttering butterflies.

Inspired by the emotions of obsessive compulsive disorder—such as being in doubt—one gets a sense that they came from the imaginary world of books and have taken form in our physical reality.

A typographic element—strings of words cut out of books’ pages—runs through all three of the sculptures.

Scroll down for more images of these wonderful book sculptures.

[via Thomas Wightman]

Comic: How Technology Changed The Way We Do Things

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:04:17 -0500

Technology has certainly improved our lives, but it has also changed the way we do certain things—things like painting and shopping, which previously did not involve a computer.

In the comic ‘Past VS Present’, DogHouseDiaries illustrates several tasks that have changed because of technology.

[via DogHouseDiaries]

World’s Largest Shoe

Fri, 17 May 2013 10:05:09 -0500

[Click here to view the video in this article]

Breaking the Guinness World Record for the “world’s largest shoe” is Italian shoe brand Superga.

Unveiled in Hong Kong earlier this year at the official opening of the brand’s new flagship store, the gargantuan replica of its iconic Superga 2750 measures 20ft x 8ft x 11ft.

The giant shoe is covered in art that highlights famous landmarks of Italy and Hong Kong, and was certified to be the largest in the world.

It was displayed at the pier area of Harbour City in Tsim Sha Tsui, Hong Kong.

[via NYLON SG]

‘Leaked’ Microsoft Video Bashes Google

Fri, 17 May 2013 09:41:59 -0500

[Click here to view the video in this article]

A new leaked video believed to be from Microsoft has emerged.

The video is a parody of Google’s ‘Chrome: Now Everywhere’ ad, and it criticizes Google for watching and tracking “everything you do” and using that information to profit.

Do you think that these are valid criticisms of Google’s strategy?

Click to watch the Microsoft’s parody below:

Click to watch the original Google ad below:

[via YouTube]

Turning Complaints Into Customer-Driven Innovation

Fri, 17 May 2013 09:40:49 -0500

Social media is still only skin deep when it comes to brands. I hope that as tools and company cultures evolve, social media will be integrated into more core functions of a brand. One area ripe for change and social media influence is how companies evolve their products and customer experiences. Social media is a global test kitchen for brands to engage and co-create with customers in real-time and at amazing scale. It can push the idea of a focus groups, qualitative research, and beta testing to new levels of reach, richness, speed, and efficiency.

So how can companies get there? I believe the first step is connecting the dots between social media, customer service, and insights/innovation teams. The second step is building a social infrastructure designed for insights and turning chatter into pro-active conversations and even collaboration with customers.

1: Social Media Team – Meet the Insights & Innovation Team:

For some reason, consumer insights/innovation teams and social media teams don't work closely together in most brands. This astonishes me. To me, each of these groups contains the secret to the other one’s success.

Social media teams are employing listening systems to identify trends and find what is most interesting and relevant to their communities. For consumer insights groups, listening tools can help identify higher level trends, brand affinity, and could allow them to dissect complaints and praise to turn them into high level insights. If these groups could work closely together, brands would achieve a deeper understanding of their customer’s needs and quickly be able to turn that into product improvements. Then, because product improvement were inspired by customers, social media teams could get to work turning those stories into amazing content to share with their communities to show that their brand is listening and actively working to make their customers happier. It seems like a match made in heaven to me.

2: Building a Social Infrastructure Designed for Better Customer Understanding:

The first step is putting social media management tools in place that sit across all social touch points. This means publishing tools, analytics tools, and listening tools. With these in place, listening, responding, and creating simple campaigns to grow communities is taken care of. Most brands have this first step figured out, but there are still some challenges that remain.

With the top of the engagement funnel handled, I believe there is a critical new layer that is emerging—a more focused collaborative layer. A social layer that picks up where listening leaves off and enables brands to create and host collaborative conversations with their social networks as a whole—or with particular sub-segments. It is this more pro-active and focused layer that is largely underdeveloped for most brands, and the one that drives the most value for insights and innovation teams. (Full disclosure and transparency: This is the layer we are working to create and refine at Napkin Labs).

So, what does this look like? Let’s form a hypothetical case study based on some real information at our disposal:

A Hypothetical Case Study: United Airlines.

Let’s put this thinking into hypothetical practice with a brand that really needs it: United Airlines. To be fair, United Airline’s social media team does not have an easy job. But their difficulties are also their greatest opportunity to totally change the rules of social media—and to create social practices that drive value to all parts of the business. Let me explain:

Tarmac is a major topic among the United Airlines “@united Soon I will have to regale the twitterverse with tales of United Airlines leaving a plane full of people on the tarmac in Cody, WY.” Any social listening tool will likely highlight Tarmac as a frequent keyword and one that is most often associated with negative sentiment. For United, the list of fighting words and angry tweets related to Tarmac is long and shameful.

To me, there are three ways to approach this problem:
Ignore it: Not a good plan. Respond and apologize: Definitely better, but what are social media folks in a listening command center able to do to make a real difference? Leverage the advantages of social to turn ‘Tarmac’ into a conversation that would influence United Airlines’ final product and experience.

Now, it is a fact that all airlines get stuck on the Tarmac – it is not just United flights—and very little can be done about that. Airports get busy, mechanical problems happen. But, United could take this topic and turn it into a collaborative conversation—or challenge to its customers. They could create more focused social communities of frequent travelers or even involve all of their Facebook fans and Twitter followers and catalyze a conversation about how to make a crappy situation better for their customers. For example, they could create a challenge like:

EXAMPLE 1:
We all hate them, but sometimes delays happen and our flights need to hang out on the Tarmac for much longer than we or you would like. So, our question is: How could we make a bad situation better? Share your ideas, suggestions, and stories with us.

EXAMPLE 2:
Sitting on the Tarmac is not fun. What is most frustrating about it? Missing flights? Boredom? Lay it all out there for us, so we can start working on ways to make a bad situation better.

Short-term Results:
Leveraging social and collaborative tools, United could turn a constant complaint into a collaborative, community driven effort to make bad experiences better. They might just learn that the biggest frustrations are no water, boredom, and missing flight connections. It seems straightforward to then implement free TV and Wifi while delayed on the Tarmac, do more water runs up and down the aisles and automatically identify passengers with connections that will be missed and text them flight alternatives that they can select. From my own experience just keeping the cabin cooler, keeping passengers more informed and turning on a little background music would help.

The point is that United could turn a trending complaint into an actionable and pro-active conversation with their customers about how to make their experience better. Some of the ideas may be difficult to implement, some might not be, but United would be armed with insights directly from a diverse group of customers.

Long Term Results:
The beauty of this process is that by empathizing with and involving customers you are naturally disarming some of their frustrations. You are also generated thousands of ideas and stories that become unbeatable social content. For example, United could create stories and videos about the customers behind the most clever and innovative ideas. If they began implementing customer ideas they could create amazing PR and content about the process and the results. And, maybe, just maybe United Airlines could turn this tweet:

“@united Soon I will have to regale the Twitterverse with tales of United Airlines leaving a plane full of people on the tarmac in Cody, WY.”

Into this one:

“@united Got stuck on the tarmac and was pleasantly surprised: Free TV, Water, and they rescheduled my flight automatically! #notexpectingthat

Top image from Imgembed.

This is a cross-post from Napkin Labs blog.

In Japan, ‘Bird-Flavored’ Ice Cream, Available In Parakeet & Sparrow

Fri, 17 May 2013 09:39:06 -0500

To help you satisfy your exotic bird cravings, Japanese bird café Torimi Café has created three ‘bird-flavored’ ice creams.

Available in sparrow, parakeet and cockatiel-flavors, these frozen treats will certainly tantalize your taste buds and satisfy those cravings.

JUST KIDDING, they are (fortunately) made from the types of food that the birds eat, and do not contain actual birds.

According to RocketNews24, the sparrow-flavored ice cream contains grains and marshmallow; the parakeet ice cream contains honey and apple; and the cockatiel ice cream has pumpkin and sunflower seeds mixed in.

[via RocketNews24]

Strong Graphical Prints Laced With Cheeky Humor

Fri, 17 May 2013 09:08:29 -0500

Designer Ryan Todd creates strong graphical prints that are laced with cheeky puns.

In his ‘No Fun Intended’ series for London’s Kemistry Gallery, he wittily takes on normality and commonly-used phrases.

From a sunflower that doesn’t bend toward the sun being labeled as “Rebel” to literally “High Art”, Todd’s illustrations are fun for those who can see past and read between the lines of the visuals.

On the shoulders

Guitarists

[via Design Week]

Mesmerizingly Intricate Collages Made Of Images Found In Magazines & On Google

Fri, 17 May 2013 09:11:51 -0500

Both in print and online, we are being bombarded with an immense amount of images everyday.

California-based artist David Adey sifted through this visual onslaught and selected similar images based on a theme—these pictures that he found in fashion magazines and via Google image search are then meticulously pieced together to form stunningly intricate collages.

After laser-cutting and craft-punching the found images into the desired shapes, he would then arrange and pin them down to create beautiful, complex and often symmetrical patterns.

From afar, the repetitive themed images have a hypnotic effect on the viewer—the artworks are even more fascinating upon closer inspection, when the individual images that make up the collage become clear.

Head over to the artist’s website for more of his mesmerizing collages and installation projects.

[via The Jealous Curator]

Color Graphs Of Classic Novels, Based On Colors Mentioned In Each Story

Fri, 17 May 2013 08:51:09 -0500

UK-based artist Jaz Parkinson creates posters of classic novels based on the colors mentioned within the story.

In his ongoing ‘Color Signatures’ series, he creates “graphs of all the visual content in the books” of well-known works such as Romeo & Juliet, Alice’s Adventure in Wonderland, and The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

“For example, when it might say ‘yellow brick road’, ‘yellow’ gets a tally; or when for example in The Road it says ‘dark ash covered everything’ (not an actual quote), that image evokes dark grey instantly in the mind, so dark grey gets a tally,” he explains how he gets these spectrums of color.

The results are surprising—who would’ve thought there was that much color within pages of words.

What novel would you like to see in color?

[via Jaz Parkinson]

Which Is Faster: The ‘Millennium Falcon’ Or The ‘USS Enterprise’?

Fri, 17 May 2013 08:53:01 -0500

Web magazine Slate has finally answered one of the biggest questions in science fiction—which ship would win a space race?

In its interactive graphic, they show the ‘Millennium Falcon’ easily beating the Starship Enterprise.

However, that doesn’t mean that the ‘Millennium Falcon’ is the fastest ship in the galaxy.

Head on over to Slate to find out why.

[via Slate]

Funny Etiquette Video Shows You How To Stay ‘Glassy’ With Google Glass

Fri, 17 May 2013 08:53:44 -0500

[Click here to view the video in this article]

The folks over at Mashable have produced a funny etiquette video on how not be a ‘Glasshole’ while using Google Glass.

Click to find out how not to be a ‘Glasshole’:

[via YouTube]

Hypnotizing Repetitive Patterns Captured In Urban Environments

Fri, 17 May 2013 08:34:00 -0500

Singapore-based photographer Jared Lim captures urban environments with repeated patterns that look like they have been cloned in Photoshop.

Calling himself a “wanderer”, Lim has a natural love for “geometry, lines, curves, pattern and abstract designs” and believes that architectural photography is a great way for him to express his passion.

You can view more of his works here.

[via Jared Lim]

Famous Movies Summarized In Just 9 Key Frames

Fri, 17 May 2013 08:56:31 -0500

The Dark Knight

With Tumblr blog “9 Film Frames”, you can now pretend to have watched all the famous, must-watch films everyone is always talking about but which you have no time to sit through.

Distilling an entire movie into just nine essential scenes, you can make out its general plot at a glance—for movies you did watch, these summarized versions would serve to jot your memory.

From cult classics like The Shining to more recent blockbusters like Inception, the blog has got you covered.

Even if you have no intention of using 9 Film Frames to keep your avid film buff cover up, it is still a great resource to help you decide what to watch on your next stay-in movie night.

Inception

Momento

The Shining

Trainspotting

A Clockwork Orange

Taxi Driver

[via 9 Film Frames]

Behind The Scenes Of Samsung’s Chase Jarvis Ad

Fri, 17 May 2013 08:18:03 -0500

[Click here to view the video in this article]

When Samsung approached photographer Chase Jarvis with the opportunity to bring his most vivid dream to life, the answer was a definite “YES”.

As the purpose of the campaign was to promote its latest line of premium computer monitors, the only requirement was for the final image to be a “colorful expression of a dream”.

Jarvis decided to recreate his recurring dream of “floating in a sea of insanely vividly colored clouds”.

Click to watch the making of that photoshoot below:

The final image

[via Chase Jarvis]

Why Female Authors Tend To Get Girly, Cheesy Book Covers

Fri, 17 May 2013 08:17:20 -0500

Original

After receiving many requests that she put a “non-girly” cover on her book from her male readers, author Maureen Johnson decided to put out a challenge to her Twitter followers.

The ‘Coverflip’ challenge invites people to imagine that the author of a well-known book is of the opposite gender, and to create an alternative book cover that is inspired by their “new” gender.

This challenge is based on the fact that there is a general idea that female authors should have girly book covers, which results in them getting cheesy, stereotypically feminine cover designs.

This matters because readers judge books by their covers, and a “girly” cover usually suggest that the work is of a lower quality, regardless of its subject matter or actual content.

Receiving hundreds of responses within 24 hours, the challenge shows that female authors often get cheesy, girly covers while their male counterparts get more serious, manly ones—it also makes the point that such gendered constraints in book cover design disadvantage female authors and should be removed.

View more re-designed book covers from the Coverflip experiment below:

Re-design

Original

Re-design

Original

Re-design

Original

Re-design

Original

Re-design

Original

Re-design

Original

Re-design

Original

Re-design

[via Huffington Post]

Men Go Through Labor Pain To Understand The ‘Agony’ Of Childbirth

Fri, 17 May 2013 08:14:31 -0500

[Click here to view the video in this article]

“Did you know that according to women, childbirth is the worst kind of pain there is?”

“And did you know that, according to women, us men can’t handle any of it.”

Thus began the journey of two men from Kensington Church, Michigan, to investigate exactly how difficult childbirth is, in celebration of Mother’s Day.

They set up an appointment to go through pain simulation and filmed the painful yet funny results.

Click to watch their childbirth experience:

[via Vimeo]

Multi-Exposure Photos Inspired by Impressionist Paintings

Fri, 17 May 2013 07:24:05 -0500

Inspired by Impressionist painters Claude Monet and J M W Turner, Helsinki-based photographer Eeva Karhu captures multi-exposure shots to create photos that echo the 1860s painting style.

To create the atmosphere she desires in her photographs, Karhu uses light as her initial starting point.

Her multi-exposure images feature the same elements in the photograph, but captured from various angles.

[via Eeva Karhu]

With Skin As Canvas, Artist Tattoos Abstract ‘Modern Art’ On Bodies

Fri, 17 May 2013 08:12:27 -0500

Brooklyn-based tattoo artist Amanda Wachob goes beyond the canvas, and combines the abstract of modern art with the ‘badass-ness’ of tattoos.

She creates unique designs on skin—inked on backs, arms and such—that look as if they were painted on with brush, and are quite unlike the skulls, roses and tribal elements usually seen as tattoos.

When asked what her abstract tattoos mean, Wachob wrote: “It is based on the idea that color and form can describe or say more about a person than a representational image can.”

“That perhaps an abstracted shape is better equipped to convey something conceptual and intangible like a mood or an emotion,” she added.

[via Design Milk]

Is Yahoo Trying To Acquire Tumblr?

Fri, 17 May 2013 08:11:31 -0500

In a bid to make Yahoo “cool again”, Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer is supposedly trying to acquire micro-blogging platform Tumblr in a $1 billion acquisition deal.

According to Yahoo CFO Ken Goldman, he said that Yahoo had an “aging demographic” and needed to “attract more users from the coveted 18-to-24-years-old age bracket”.

Believing that their answer lies in Tumblr, AllThingsD reported that Mayer has always been interested in the New York-based blogging service and that she has “met with its top execs, including founder and CEO David Karp”.

“Such an acquisition could be just what CEO Mayer has been looking for to turn around Yahoo’s momentum; Tumblr has the potential to excite engineering/Silicon Valley community (even though it’s based in New York) while recapturing the imagination of advertisers, who have grown to view Yahoo as big but stale,” wrote AdWeek.

What do you think? Should Yahoo acquire Tumblr?

[via AllThingsD and AdWeek]

Whimsical, Intricately Detailed Maps Filled With Countless Tiny Buildings

Fri, 17 May 2013 08:10:08 -0500

Prolific Brooklyn-based Australian illustrator James Gulliver Hancock—who you may know for his ‘All The Buildings in New York’ project—has created a number of whimsical illustrated maps that are almost obsessively detailed.

His series of black and white Italian maps—featuring cities like Rome, Venice and Palermo—are dense with countless tiny buildings rendered in simple but beautiful 3D line drawings.

The maps are so meticulously done that the illustrator said that he “dreamt of little houses every night” while he was drawing the particularly complicated map of Venice, with its winding lanes and waterways.

Hancock has also done less detailed—but no less lovely—maps of districts and streets from other cities, including graphic-based personal maps of Williamsburg and Brooklyn.

[via James Gulliver Hancock]

Domino’s Creates DVDs That Smell And Look Like A Pizza When Heated

Fri, 17 May 2013 08:08:41 -0500

[Click here to view the video in this article]

Renting a movie goes well with getting a takeout pizza.

In partnership with video rental stores, Domino’s Pizza—together with the help of agency Brazil-based Artplan—created a DVD that releases the smell of a pizza and changes to look like a pizza, when the disc ‘heats up’ in the DVD player.

Various titles were stamped with thermal ink and flavored varnish that were sensitive to heat to create the ‘Domino’s Pizza Disc’.

When users finished watching the movie and ejected the disc, they saw and smelt a pizza.

The pizza disc also had the message: “Did you enjoy the movie? The next one will be even better with a hot and delicious Domino’s Pizza.”

[via Creativity Online]

‘World’s First’ Caffeinated Toothbrush? Releases Caffeine As You Brush

Fri, 17 May 2013 08:07:45 -0500

To save you the trouble of preparing coffee in the morning, oral hygiene company Colgate has revealed plans for a “toothbrush with a built-in caffeine patch” that releases the chemical as you brush your teeth.

In the patent application form submitted by the Colgate-Palmolive company, it revealed that chemicals would be “embedded into the heads of standard toothbrushes”.

The patches would last about three months, and would release the chemicals slowly over time.

Besides caffeinated patches, the company also has plans for apple and lemon-flavored patches—as well as drug patches that contain aspirin and appetite suppressants.

What do you think? Would you like your coffee as you brush your teeth?

[via The Daily Mail]

Adorable ‘Monsters’ That Are Actually Creative Sandwiches

Fri, 17 May 2013 08:06:45 -0500

In some cases, playing with your food is not only not a bad thing, but can actually be a creative activity—this is certainly true for the ‘Sandwich Monsters’ series.

Using bread and regular ingredients like ham, cheese and lettuce, the people behind this food art project have transformed the wholesome, convenient snack into quirky characters that may be too cute too eat.

From long-eared bunnies to the “Lox-ness Monster”, these sandwich monsters are more delicious than scary, and turn lunchtime into a fun affair for both children and adults.

You can follow the Sandwich Monsters on Instagram and Tumblr.

[via Sandwich Monsters]

Animal Sounds Visualized As Beautiful, Colorful Patterns

Fri, 17 May 2013 08:05:29 -0500

White-Beaked Dolphin

Creative computer engineer Mark Fischer has started the ‘Aquasonic Acoustics’ project, where he translates the sound waves made by animals into hypnotically colorful patterns.

Turning the audio experience of an animal call into a stunning visual display, Fischer has visualized the sounds of crickets, birds, sea mammals and other creatures—after recording these with high quality audio equipment, he adds colors to the resulting patterns with imaging software.

Each kaleidoscopic pattern from the series is unique—they range from flower-like arrangements to geometric settings.

"It’s a kind of photography to me, with mathematics as the lens and the computer as the camera."

View more of these audio-visual artworks on the project’s website.

Blue Whale

Cerchio Humpback

Northern Cardinal

Humpback Whale

Minke Whale

False Killer Whale

Spectacled Owl

Cricket

Risso’s Dolphin

Atlantic Spotted Dolphin

White-Beaked Dolphin

Minke Whale

[via My Modern Met]

What If Vine Made A Commercial For Vine In Vine?

Fri, 17 May 2013 08:04:36 -0500

[Click here to view the video in this article]

Vine is an app by Twitter that lets you capture and share short videos—six seconds short, to be exact.

This limit is supposed to encourage creativity, but what would happen if Vine were to make a six-second commercial for Vine in Vine?

The guys at The Kids Table find out in this hilarious video.

Click to watch the video below:

[via YouTube]

If Online Scams And Viruses Were Real People…

Fri, 17 May 2013 04:26:36 -0500

[Click here to view the video in this article]

Film studio Hapstance Films has released a humorous video that brings everyone’s online nightmare to life.

In the video ‘The Inbox’, a man is visited at his house by real-life versions of online scams and viruses—ultimately, he contracts “every single virus known to mankind”.

This video serves as a reminder to viewers to always “practice safe browsing” and to use anti-virus programs.

Click to watch the video below:

[via Hapstance Films]

Funny Posters Illustrate The Emotional Relationships Between Inanimate Objects

Fri, 17 May 2013 08:01:54 -0500

Based in Phoenix, Arizona, award-winning graphic designer, film-maker and artist Safwat Saleem has created a series of funny posters that cleverly illustrates the feelings inanimate objects have for each other—if they had feelings.

Using simple graphics and minimal words, he manages to convey the emotional relationships between two objects that we would frequently find in everyday life.

From the grief a lamp feels for a “dead” lightbulb to an overly-friendly ghost who just wants to talk to Pac-Man, these posters humorously show that love and the other complex “human emotions” could be found in the most unlikely of places.

[via Safwat Saleem]

Brutally Honest Statements About Love, Life, Humans

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:44:20 -0500

Portugal-based graphic designer Wasted Rita pens down the brutally honest statements about life, love, humanity, work and reality.

As one of the most frank people you’d meet, Rita plays with words to form sometimes seemingly rude and sarcastic statements, but humorous and truthful.

[via iGNANT.de]

10 Illustrators To Follow This Week

Thu, 16 May 2013 11:11:55 -0500

Whether it's watercolor, pen, ink or on the computer—they employ art, design and creative skills to produce astounding visual images—expressing ideas, emotions, concepts and messages that are difficult to describe with words.

In this visual feast, we present the ‘Illustrators of the Week’, whom we recommend for you to follow on The Creative Finder.

If you’re not yet part of this great social network for creatives, why not sign up and immerse yourself in creative inspiration.

Oscar Gimenez

Michael Kyeyune

Daniel Mackie

Mark Kaufman

Matt Crane

Sylvia Baldeva

Diramazioni illustration

Troy DeShano

Alessandro Ingusci

Pedro Lourenco

Dark, Brooding Underwater Photography Like You’ve Never Seen Before

Thu, 16 May 2013 13:20:15 -0500

Take a look at these stunning black and white underwater photographs by Indonesian photographer, Hengki Koentjoro.

Koentjoro’s work are a stark contrast to the bright and colorful underwater photography one usually sees—they instead evoke a more mysterious and sinister sort of beauty.

[via Colossal, images via Art Limited]

Facebook’s (Re)Design Team

Thu, 16 May 2013 10:45:28 -0500

The Facebook News Feed is the first page seen upon login by the social network’s 1 billion-and-counting users. So it came as no surprise that the company’s News Feed redesign generated a lot of conversation when it was unveiled two months ago. Beyond the discussion of ads and algorithms, however, is the continuing evolution of Facebook’s “social design” strategy.

With a strong emphasis on prioritizing social connections and conversation, the company’s designers work to get the platform’s interface out of its users’ way. As Director of Design Kate Aronowitz previously told design mind’s Reena Jana, “When we’re doing our jobs right as a design team, we do not want people to remember interactions with our brand, we want them to experience real connections with each other and with content. That is most important.”

The team’s continuing commitment to this approach was evident in my recent conversation with the two product designers behind the News Feed overhaul, Robyn Morris and Vivian Wang. We spoke on the phone only a few hours after News Feed’s public launch, the culmination of a year of work by their team in a small war room at Facebook’s Palo Alto headquarters.

“We created a really fun, collaborative environment,” Wang recalls. “We brought in lamps to make it feel like a nice living room that we wanted to spend a lot of time in, there were posters on the wall to keep us motivated and make sure that our end goal was to create a great user experience for the people that use Facebook.”

This goal was reinforced by a television screen at one of end of the room that provided a live feed of user testing. “Every day or two we got to watch people in the labs using the product,” Morris says. “It always blew my mind that you could be sitting there, at a computer, working on a design for a product and turn your head and be able to watch people really using the product, or at least prototypes of it. It was really exciting, because you always learn more from people using your designs than you ever can by just reading books or trying to understand philosophies behind what you’re doing.”

“Of all the projects I’ve worked on previously, and even at Facebook, it’s been the most researched project in terms of how much we’ve been watching users use the product but also trying to talk to people and really understand what they care most about with News Feed,” he adds, recalling one study where participants were asked to cut up paper printouts of their News Feed and arrange the stories from most interesting to least.

These studies revealed Facebook users’ preference for different categories of content as well as the popularity of visual content and a strong desire for an uncluttered feed. These insights shaped the new design’s content feeds as well as its focus on highlighting the photos and videos that make up half of content uploads on the site.

“Every single story has been redesigned,” says Wang. “Photo stories were already one of the most engaging stories but we really pushed on it. How can we make this story much bigger and brighter than before? We’ve pushed the photos to full-frame, there are no extra borders or decorations. It’s really just about showcasing the photos as your friend shares them.”

The redesign also reflects how Facebook defines itself as a company. “We’ve really borrowed a lot of our thinking from our work on mobile.” Morris explains. “That’s a core philosophy. In the beginning, we were meeting with Mark and that is one thing he drives, and that everyone is really aware of—that Facebook is a mobile company.”

“As a designer, it’s lovely thinking that we can have a product that feels like the same thing whether or not you’re out and about or at home. For us, we really care about the experience being as good as it can be. Consistency and predictability is part of that and hopefully that is what this redesign is going to get us.”

The designers each describe the News Feed project as “design driven” from the beginning, highlighting both their close collaboration with engineers as well as the access and “seat at the table” granted to designers at the company.

“It’s not about UI for us, it’s not about ‘Here’s a wireframe, make it pretty.’,” says Morris. “It will be like here’s an idea and here’s something we want to capture or go after and, how as designers can you make that happen. This is different from the visuals. The visuals are part of it but, as a product designer, what’s fun is grappling around the deep problems. How do we enable this behavior? How do we make this easier? How do we simplify this?”

“We were never really told what we were supposed to be doing,” He continues. “We just said, ‘Look, we can make this better for people, let’s understand what they want and let’s give it to them.’ I think the amount of control that Vivian and I have had over this is fairly unique. It’s sort of insane to think that two people can be working on arguably the most visited page on the Internet, and have an amazing amount of influence over the way it looks and works.”

“We care a lot about having really clean and really easy-to-use social design products.” adds Wang “I think that’s something you’re going to see more and more—it’s really important to us.”

Top image from Imgembed.

This is a cross-post from frog.

Hannah Piercey is the associate editor of design mind.

Give Us Your Best Caption: I Wish For A Cure

Thu, 16 May 2013 10:35:08 -0500

Today’s ‘Image of the Day’ belongs to Bret Herholz. Congratulations!

To help you get off on the right foot every morning, DesignTAXI will be featuring an image everyday from its social network for creatives, The Creative Finder, to keep you inspired.

In this segment ‘Image of the Day’, you—our very lovely readers—are invited to submit captions to describe the selected image above: just simply tweet it with the page's URL and hashtag #tellapictale, or leave a comment at the bottom.

Winning captions would be featured the following day.

Yesterday's winning caption goes to Jean Olmstead Cole: "Ah... for the days when I was the center of their universe..."

Illustrator Gives Each Playing Card An Interesting Personality

Thu, 16 May 2013 09:57:33 -0500

For publisher The Folio Society, France-based London illustrator Jonathan Burton designed a pack of playing cards with a twist.

Unlike traditional playing cards that only feature designs on its back, Burton gave each card in the ‘Odd Bods’ deck a new life—from using the symbols as bodies, to adding faces and silly personalities.

The amusingly illustrated cards are reminiscent of old board games.

[via It’s Nice That]

A Brilliant & Inspiring Illustrated Essay On Courage & The Creative Life

Thu, 16 May 2013 09:59:02 -0500

Artist, graphic designer and branding consultant Debbie Millman has had a good career and done really well for herself by most standards—yet, she knows that she has settled.

In the inspiring essay “Fail Safe” from her book Look Both Ways: Illustrated Essays on the Intersection of Life & Design, she presented her musings on the past choices she made “between the creative and the logical, the known and the unknown”.

The results are some brilliant and compelling insights on courage, the creative life and doing what you love—the handwritten, illustrated layout of the essay only made the words more real and resonant.

Brainpickings has reproduced the essay for your reading pleasure and inspiration—you can find the entire essay below.

If you are feeling like you are stuck in a rut, this may be just the thing to get you going again.

[via Brainpickings]

This Mesmerizing Time-Lapse Video Of Dubai Will Leave You In Awe

Thu, 16 May 2013 09:47:51 -0500

[Click here to view the video in this article]

Known for its towering skyscrapers and vibrant city-life, Dubai is definitely a place worth visiting at least once in your life.

If you happen to need some convincing, this beautiful time-lapse video by Vimeo user dimid might just persuade you to get on a plane to Dubai.

Filmed during his recent trip to the city, the video takes you on a stunning journey through the metropolis—from its long, winding roads to its massive skyscrapers.

Click to watch the video below:

[via Vimeo]

‘Tree Library’ Suspends Books From Trees, Lets You Trade Books For Free

Thu, 16 May 2013 09:13:04 -0500

[Click here to view the video in this article]

‘Livre Échange’ or ‘Book Exchange’ is a ‘free bookshop’ that lets passers-by exchange books.

Unveiled for the International Design Biennial 2013 in Saint-Étienne, France, by designer Didier Muller—the installation consists of huts suspended from trees that contain a book each.

Passers-by are encouraged to take the book within the hut, and deposit a book they have.

[via NOTCOT.org]

Amazing Footage Of A Solar Eclipse Captured At Sunrise

Thu, 16 May 2013 10:05:28 -0500

[Click here to view the video in this article]

Photographer Colin Legg has captured an amazing video of the sunrise during the recent annular solar eclipse.

The annular solar eclipse occurs when the Sun and Moon are in line, but the apparent size of the Moon is smaller than the Sun.

This causes the Sun to appear as a ring of fire in the sky.

Click to watch the video below:

[via Vimeo]

Photo Book Explores The Contrast Of Public Space In North And South Korea

Thu, 16 May 2013 09:30:43 -0500

North Korea

German photographer Dieter Leistner has published a photo book called ‘Korea – Korea’ that explores the contrast of public spaces in North and South Korea.

In 2006, Leistner was given official permission to photograph public spaces in Pyongyang, North Korea.

His images show “bus stops with long lines of people waiting, spruced up government buildings, bronze statues of Communist heroes, soldier cemeteries, flower markets, and wide avenues with only a few cars and people”.

Leistner then traveled to Seoul in 2012, where he found “similar locations with a very different feel”.

“In Seoul, for example, the bus stops looked like oversized televisions, the bronze statues were of kings of the long-gone Korean empire, the flower markets neighbored on fish markets with a vast selection of wares, and the streets were choked with cars and people.”

Interestingly, Leistner felt a personal connection to this project—the separation of North and South Korea was similar to that of his home country in 1961 when the Berlin Wall was constructed.

‘Korea – Korea’ can be purchased online at US$30.

South Korea

North Korea

South Korea

North Korea

South Korea

North Korea

South Korea

[via It’s Nice That and Gestalten]

‘Game Of Thrones’ Houses Imagined As Modern Brands

Thu, 16 May 2013 08:38:08 -0500

Stock photography website Shutterstock has creatively imagined what the different Game of Thrones houses would be like if they exist in our world today.

Inspired by each house’s strengths and culture—and using stock photographs from its database—the website has transformed six of Westeros’ most prominent houses into modern corporations with their own distinct brandings.

While House Targaryen would be most suitable to run an airline with their flying dragons, House Stark knows enough about living with the cold to produce a successful line of extreme weather apparel.

Find out more about the present day incarnations of House Lannister, House Baratheon, House Greyjoy and House Arryn over here.

[via Shutterstock]

Beautiful Time-Lapse Videos Of Paris, Made With Thousands Of Photographs

Thu, 16 May 2013 08:13:54 -0500

[Click here to view the video in this article]

French film-maker and photographer Mayeul Akpovi has produced a third time-lapse stop-motion video for his “Paris in Motion” series that documents his trip around the beautiful City of Light.

Stitching together thousands of photographs to make these stunning video clips, the photographer not only included footages of famous Parisian landmarks like the Eiffel Tower and Notre Dame, but also shots of everyday life in the French capital.

From sun-drenched gardens to the interiors of huge convention halls, these short but sweet videos shows you the flow of life in Paris in just a few minutes.

Watch all three videos in the series below:

[via Mayeul Akpovi]

Artist Creates Beautiful Oil Paintings With Her Fingers

Thu, 16 May 2013 09:16:33 -0500

Wanting to add some yellow flowers to her almost complete painting, artist Iris Scott, found that all her brushes were stained with a deep blue.

Not wanting to stop and clean her brushes, she added her finishing touches with her fingers instead.

Enchanted with the results, she has not picked up a brush since.

[via Iris Finger Paintings]

World’s First Life-Size Barbie Dreamhouse

Thu, 16 May 2013 07:47:05 -0500

[Click here to view the video in this article]

Located In Sunrise, Florida at Sawgrass Mills, the world’s first life-size Barbie Dreamhouse has opened.

The 10,000-square-feet, fuchsia-filled interactive installation brings to life the iconic doll’s house for fans of all ages, and is fitted with a living room, bedroom, closet, bathroom, kitchen, balcony, entertainment room, elevators and dolls.

At the Dreamhouse, guests can ‘try on’ clothes from Barbie’s closet, get dolled up at the makeup station, and interact with the animations and interactive games.

[via Curbed, images via ActiveRain.com]

The Sequel: More Biopic Actors And Their Real-Life Counterparts

Thu, 16 May 2013 07:51:44 -0500

Redditor banana_rhino is back with more images of biopic actors and their real-life counterparts.

In this new collection, it features Robert Downey Jr. and Charlie Chaplin, James Franco and James Dean, Val Kilmer and Jim Morrison, and many others.

Click here to view the full collection.

Robert Downey Jr. as Charlie Chaplin in ‘Chaplin’

Cate Blanchett as Bob Dylan in ‘I’m Not There’

John Cusack as Edgar Allan Poe in ‘In The Raven’

Jonathan Rhys Meyers as Elvis Presley in ‘Presley’

Salma Hayek as Frida Kahlo in ‘Frida’

Sean Penn as Harvey Milk in ‘Milk’

James Franco as James Dean in ‘James Dean’

Val Kilmer as Jim Morrison in ‘The Doors’

Meryl Streep as Julia Child in ‘Julie & Julia’

Denzel Washington as Malcolm X in ‘Malcolm X’

Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher in ‘The Iron Lady’

Michelle Williams as Marilyn Monroe in ‘My Week With Marilyn’

Jesse Eisenberg as Mark Zuckerberg in ‘The Social Network’

Will Smith as Muhammad Ali in ‘Ali’

Adrien Brody as Salvador Dali in ‘Midnight in Paris’

[via Reddit, images via Imgur]

Comic Book-Style Posters Of Music Legends As Superheroes

Thu, 16 May 2013 07:50:25 -0500

Curitiba-based Brazilian graphic designer and illustrator Butcher Billy—who has a knack for producing great mashups that blend the real and imaginery worlds—has created a new series of comic book-inspired poster art that features musical legends from the 1980s as superheroes.

These redesigned comic book covers replace well-known DC characters with equally famous icons of the ‘80s Post-Punk/New Wave scene—in them, the fictional and real-life heroes become one.

“As a child of the ‘80s I was heavily influenced by everything from saturday morning cartoons on TV to the music coming from the radio. Ian Curtis or Johnny Rotten are as iconic to me as Superman or Batman,” Billy said.

The designer’s musician-superhero pairings are made with close attention paid to the personalities of these characters—for instance, the troubled Ian Curtis of Joy Division is depicted as the brooding Batman.

The other musical icons featured in the series include Morrissey of The Smiths, Billy Idol and Robert Smith of The Cure—scroll down to view more from this awesome poster collection.

[via Geekosystem]

World’s Biggest Rubber Duck ‘Dies’

Thu, 16 May 2013 09:14:02 -0500

Tragedy has struck—the world’s biggest rubber duck that made its debut in Hong Kong waters earlier this month has deflated.

Some of the parts of the six-story high sculpture created by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman was broken; thus, organizers deflated it overnight for maintenance work.

“We scheduled a body check for these two days. If everything is fine, we can inflate it as soon as possible,” advertising and promotions manager for waterfront shopping mall Harbour City, Andrew Yeung, told Channel News Asia.

But whether or not the inflatable giant yellow animal would be ‘resuscitated’ is yet to be confirmed.

The rubber duck was initially planned to be displayed till 9 June 2013.

[via ABC News and Channel News Asia, images via designboom]

Photographer Gives New Meaning To The Phrase ‘Burning Calories’

Thu, 16 May 2013 06:56:05 -0500

Believing that the only “real” way to burn calories is to literally burn them, photographer Henry Hargreaves has done exactly that in his latest project.

The food burned in ‘Burning Calories’ are actually made from cake and pastries by Amirah Kassem in a local bakery.

The project reflects the growing problem of obesity.

Hargreaves said, “It is not just in the people you see or the depressing facts about the significant health impact on individuals. Calorific information, driven by the big brother mandates belief that knowledge is power, making it only inevitable to overcome temptation.”

[via designboom, images via Henry Hargreaves]

Reddit Restores 67-Year-Old Photo For A WWII Veteran

Thu, 16 May 2013 05:16:53 -0500

[Click here to view the video in this article]

Seeing a photo of his 87-year-old grandfather back when he was in the Navy, Steven Withey decided to find a way to restore it.

Turning to Reddit for help, he was “blown away by the selfless dedication” of the people there—receiving six great looking restored photos before the end of the day.

An excited Withey then printed them out for his very impressed and appreciative grandfather.

Click to watch the video below:

[via with-tech]

LOL: Classic Paintings Reimagined With The Faces Of Celebrities

Thu, 16 May 2013 05:00:32 -0500

Creative contest website Worth1000 ran a hilarious Photoshop contest that wanted its users to ‘modernize’ classic paintings with the faces of famous celebrities.

The photoshopped artworks below feature the faces of Johnny Depp, Angelina Jolie, Robert Downey Jr., Amy Winehouse, and more.

Check them out:

[via Worth1000]

Ad Agency Creates A Touching Love Story Using Stock Videos

Thu, 16 May 2013 07:52:29 -0500

[Click here to view the video in this article]

Ad agency AlmapBBDO—who previously created Getty Images’ ‘From Love To Bingo’ video—is back with another touching video for the stock photo agency.

Called ‘85 Seconds’, it tells the tale of young boy and girl who became childhood friends, grew up and fell in love with each other.

The video uses 105 different clips from Getty’s video library, and it took the agency four months to review over 4,000 videos.

Click to watch the video below:

[via Creativity Online]

Google Unveils Redesigned Google+ And Maps

Thu, 16 May 2013 09:27:32 -0500

[Click here to view the video in this article]

Google has announced an all-new redesign to its social networking site Google+.

Looking like a cross between Facebook and Pinterest, the new Google+ features a heavy emphasis on images, with a multi-column layout and hi-res photos and videos spanning across your screen.

Another feature that makes browsing and exploring easier in Google+ is the improved hashtag function. Google will automatically add relevant hashtags to your post, and clicking on them would bring you a whole host of related content.

Also announced was a suite of features to make photos better—‘Auto Enhance’ improves how your photos look by adjusting things like brightness, saturation, contrast and noise.

The ‘Auto Awesome’ feature will automatically create new interesting images, based on the type of photos that you upload.

Google said, “If you upload a sequence of photos, we’ll try and animate them automatically. Or if you send us a few family portraits, we’ll find everyone’s best smile, and stitch them together into a single shot. Likewise with panoramas, filmstrips, and a whole lot more.”

Other features include ‘Auto Backup’ (also known as ‘Instant Upload’), which would automatically back up your photos to Google+, and ‘Auto Highlight’ which would highlight your best photos, sorting them into an album.

Google has also updated Google Maps to focus on delivering tailored maps to each person.

Click here to find out more about the new Google Maps.

Click to watch the videos below:

[via Google+, Google Maps]

Gorgeous Images Of Far-Away Galaxies Taken With A Film Camera

Thu, 16 May 2013 07:53:56 -0500

LA-based photographer Siri Kaur has been capturing images of far-away galaxies since 2007, with the help of the house-sized telescopes at the Kitt Peak National Observatory and her film camera.

Although not all of her long-exposure shots turned out well, once in a while, she gets mesmerizing photographs like the ones featured here.

By altering the color and depth of the constellation with chemicals in the dark room, she produced photographs that look like the ones taken by the powerful Hubble Telescope.

According to the photographer, the project “re-engages with one of the simplest and most basic purposes of photography: to show us what would otherwise remain unseen”.

View more of her stunning space photography on her website.

[via Visual News]

Intriguing Photographs Of Aging Identical Twins Who Always Dress Exactly Alike

Wed, 15 May 2013 13:46:32 -0500

London-based Swedish photographer Maja Daniels has documented the life of aging Parisian identical twins Monette and Mady for years.

What makes these sisters interesting is not that they are identical, but that they almost always dress identically when they go out in public—while wearing the same clothes is rather common among very young twins, it is a curious practice for grown-up twins.

Living and working closely together, both twins are unmarried, without children and have only each other—according to the photographer, they not only complete each other's sentences but even refer to themselves as “I” instead of “We”.

The twins have an unconventional outlook on aging—they have stopped celebrating their birthday or offering their age and live solely in the moment.

Learn more about these eccentric former cabaret dancers over here and scroll down for more pictures of them from Daniels’ collection.

[via Slate]

Strategy And Innovation

Wed, 15 May 2013 11:19:55 -0500

About a year ago, I wrote an article, Innovation Versus Vision which argued that the world's most innovative companies do not in fact focus on innovation, but rather they relentlessly strive to achieve a visionary strategy. Leading innovators do not see innovation as a goal. Merely a tool for achieving their vision.

If your organization is so caught up in innovation that you've lost sight of strategy, something is wrong. You need to look at your strategic vision.

First and foremost, if you intend to be an innovative leader in your sector, your strategy needs to be an inspiring, unique one. If your strategy is so generic it could apply to any business or if it fails to differentiate you from the competition, you need a better strategy! A strategic goal like "We strive to produce great products at reasonable prices" may be laudable, but it is hardly inspiring and even less unique! Even if you could persuade your people to relentlessly pursue such a strategic aim, the result would hardly make your business innovative!

A unique strategy, provided you truly focus on it, does two really good things for your company. Firstly, it makes it much more likely that your company stands out in customers' and potential customers' minds. Companies like Apple, Google and Facebook, for example, have achieved this. Secondly, it gives you a great focus for your innovation. Better still, the more your innovation focuses on your strategy, the more your strategy is ingrained into the awareness of your market.

What if your strategy is conventional and uninspiring? Use a little creativity and make it sexy, make it unique, make it inspiring! And don't worry if you don't fit the strategy now. A little tool called "innovation" will help you get there.

Anticonventional Thinking (ACT)

Anticonventional thinking is a great way to define a unique, inspiring new strategy.

Step 1: Deconstruct the Goal

In order to work out what your unique strategy should be, you need to understand what your company is doing and what you want it to be doing. You need to question your corporate image, not only from your perspective, but from the perspectives of employees, customers and people who chose not to be customers. You should ask what kind of people aspire to be your employees and what kind of people you would like to be hiring. Arthur VanGundy's book, 'Getting to Innovation' includes a chapter on Question Banks, which includes many questions you can ask. I expect many other books on strategy also provide useful questions. The Emmerich Group has a set of strategy defining questions for banks in this PDF document. Many of those questions could also apply to other kinds of businesses.

In particular, it is worth asking "Why does our company exist, what is our purpose?" and "What would we like that answer to be?"

Step 2: Sexy Goal

Your sexy goal is simple: to devise a strategy that is so uniquely inspiring, business academics of the future will be writing books about it and it will be premiere case study material in the world's leading MBA courses in 2020.

Step 3: Build a Big Idea/Strategy Statement

Using the answers to your questions, together with any insights gained along the way, build a big idea—or, in this case, build your strategy statement. If it is not inspiring enough to inspire business writers of the future to write about it, it is too conventional. Reject such conventional ideas and try out new ones until an idea knocks your socks off. Remember, unlike brainstorming, ACT welcomes criticism, debate and discussion.

Step 4: Step by Step Action Plan

How will you implement your strategy? The first step will doubtless be a communication plan to inform employees and other stakeholders of the new strategic statement. From there, you and divisional managers will need to determine what changes need to be made, and how, in order to align operations with the new strategy.

Be Open to Change

No matter how brilliant your strategy statement is, a disruptive technology, new legislation or unexpected catastrophe (war, earthquake, alien invasion) could make it irrelevant. Kodak, Polaroid and other companies in the film business were doing just fine until digital imagery came along. Being able to recognize such threats and reformulate strategy accordingly is one way not only to stay in business during times of change, but to thrive!

Be Relentless

Once you have defined and communicated your new strategy, you need to focus on it. Innovation should no longer be about innovation. It should be a tool for the pursuit of strategy.

Top image from The Creative Finder.

This is a cross-post from Jeffrey Paul Baumgartner.

Jeffrey Baumgartner is the author of The Way of the Innovation Master and Report 103, creator of Jenni innovation process mgmt software, founder of jpb.com & father of two great sons. Follow him on Twitter at @creativeJeffrey.

Give Us Your Best Caption: I'm Cuter Than Him...Right?

Wed, 15 May 2013 11:02:57 -0500

Today’s ‘Image of the Day’ belongs to Jordan Hollender. Congratulations!

To help you get off on the right foot every morning, DesignTAXI will be featuring an image everyday from its social network for creatives, The Creative Finder, to keep you inspired.

In this segment ‘Image of the Day’, you—our very lovely readers—are invited to submit captions to describe the selected image above: just simply tweet it with the page's URL and hashtag #tellapictale, or leave a comment at the bottom.

Winning captions would be featured the following day.

Yesterday's winning caption goes to Amreen Bora: "Food for thought? No, thoughts for food."

A Huge, Floating ‘Stop’ Sign Made Of Water & Light

Wed, 15 May 2013 11:15:26 -0500

[Click here to view the video in this article]

When regular ‘Stop’ signs were often ignored by drivers—a problem that can lead to dangerous consequences—the authorities in charge of the Sydney Harbor Tunnel in Australia decided to install signage that is more eye-catching.

Working with Laservision, a creative technology company that designs architectural lighting mostly for the entertainment industry, they put in place the innovative “Softstop” sign—a “pseudo holographic image that appears to float in mid-air”.

Consisting of an enormous, illuminated ‘Stop’ sign superimposed onto a curtain of cascading water, the Softstop is an effective way to grab a distracted driver’s attention and bar him from going any further.

See it in action in the video below:

[via Core77]

Ad Company Starts Campaign To Follow Nesting Falcons

Wed, 15 May 2013 10:25:56 -0500

[Click here to view the video in this article]

Upon discovering a couple of rare peregrine falcons nesting with three eggs on their roof, the people at advertising agency Campbell Ewald decided to share it with the rest of the world.

They installed a webcam, set up a livestream, a Tumblr and even a meme generator, turning the entire process into a social-media event.

One baby falcon has hatched so far, and there are plans to continue following them through to the end of summer, when the newborn falcons take their first flight.

Click here to to follow the falcons:
#CEFALCONS

Click below to watch the adorable first feeding of the baby falcon:

[via Co.Create, images via #CEFALCONS]

Creative Excuses To Get You Out Of Trouble For Being Late To Work

Wed, 15 May 2013 10:19:11 -0500

Have you ever been late to work, but can’t think of a proper excuse for your tardiness?

Have no fear, because OnlineClock has compiled a list of creative excuses that might help you get out of trouble.

Created in the form of an infographic, it also highlights that 27% of us arrive to work late at least once a month—so don’t worry, you aren’t the only one.

Click to view enlarged version

Click to view enlarged version

[via OnlineClock]

Intricately Hand-Drawn Alphabet With Individually Designed Letters

Wed, 15 May 2013 10:06:33 -0500

New York-based illustrator Raul Alejandro took it upon himself to illustrate each letter of the alphabet by hand.

Each letter of the intricate typeface, entitled ‘Love Letter’, is individually designed and has a different ‘character’ from the other.

Check out his hand-drawn alphabet below:

[via Raul Alejandro]

Lamborghini Designs A ‘Batmobile-Like’ Car For Its Anniversary

Wed, 15 May 2013 10:08:32 -0500

To celebrate its 50th anniversary, Italian automobile manufacturer Lamborghini designed a car that looks like it came out from a Batman movie.

Called the ‘Lamborghini Egoista’, it was designed by Walter de Silva, the head designer of the Volkswagen group.

“The cockpit, made completely of carbon fiber and aluminum, represents a sort of survival cell, allowing the driver to isolate and protect themselves from external elements,” explained de Silva. “We kept an eye on the future when designing the Egoista, with the idea that its cockpit could have been taken from a jet aircraft and integrated into a road vehicle, to provide a different travel option.”

According to Designboom, the car was inspired by an apache helicopter—it even features a single seat cockpit that can be ejected in an emergency.

[via Designboom]

The Handwritten Outlines Of Famous Literary Works By Their Authors

Wed, 15 May 2013 10:09:46 -0500

Click image to enlarge

Norman Mailer’s character timeline for Harlot’s Ghost

Just as we are fascinated by what goes on behind-the-scenes of good movies, we are equally intrigued by how great works of literature become what they are.

Flavorwire has unearthed a collection of handwritten outlines of famous books—and one iconic magazine article—that shows the thought processes of their authors before they were written.

From J.K Rowling’s Harry Potter to Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar, each of these charts is a rare peek into a legendary writer’s working mind.

While some authors use a detailed grid chart to gather their ideas, others are more “free-spirited” with their organization—for instance, William Faulkner wrote his outline on his office wall.

Scroll down for more handwritten outlines of famous writings.

Click image to enlarge

James Salter’s outline for Light Years

Click image to enlarge

J.K. Rowling’s spreadsheet plan for Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

Click image to enlarge

Gay Talese’s outline for his classic profile “Frank Sinatra Has a Cold” (a magazine article)

Click image to enlarge

Joseph Heller’s chart outline for Catch-22

Click image to enlarge

Part of Jennifer Egan’s plan for her short story “Black Box

Henry Miller’s manuscript plan for Tropic of Capricorn

Sylvia Plath’s outline for The Bell Jar

William Faulkner’s outline for A Fable — written on his office walls

[via Flavorwire]

A City Untouched: Chernobyl 27 Years Later

Wed, 15 May 2013 10:07:15 -0500

Since the catastrophic disaster on 26 April 1986, Chernobyl and the nearby city of Pripyat has lain abandoned, but perhaps not forgotten.

Photographer Ryan Patrick recently visited Pripyat and what he found there was both chilling and extraordinary.

Click to see see more photos here.

[via Ryan Patrick Photography]

Modernist, Minimalist Movie Posters Based On A Simple Grid

Wed, 15 May 2013 09:32:31 -0500

Warsaw, Poland-based graphic designer Michal Krasnopolski challenged himself to create “very modernist, minimalist poster series” of existing movies.

Based on the age-old “less is more” adage, he redesigned movie posters using a simple grid—a circle and two diagonals inscribed in the square (as seen below).

To his surprise “the possibilities [were] theoretically unlimited”—as he could create some of the most pared down versions of movie posters for ‘Star Wars’, ‘The Lord of the Rings’ and ‘Superman’, to name a few.

the simple grid Krasnopolski based his designs on

[via Michal Krasnopolski]

Man ‘Rebrands’ Abercrombie & Fitch, Gives Its Clothes To The Homeless

Wed, 15 May 2013 09:26:54 -0500

[Click here to view the video in this article]

In response to Abercrombie & Fitch CEO Mike Jeffries’ statement on not wanting ‘uncool kids’ and ‘unattractive people’ shopping in his store, Los Angeles-based writer Greg Karber has created an interesting campaign that aims to give A&F a brand ‘readjustment’.

Launched in a YouTube video on Monday, Karber encourages viewers to donate their A&F clothing to their local homeless shelter, and share their doings on social media using the hashtag #FitchTheHomeless.

According to Karber, his goal is to make A&F “the world’s number one brand of homeless apparel”.

What do you think of his campaign? Yay or nay?

Click to watch the video below:

[via Daily Mail]

Artist Creates Mini Dioramas Within Discarded Televisions

Wed, 15 May 2013 09:06:56 -0500

Remember those cathode ray tube TV sets that are now a thing of the past?

Instead of leaving those thrown-out appliances to rot, China-based artist Zhang Xiangxi has repurposed them as mediums for intricate dioramas.

Within hollowed-out TV sets, he meticulously crafts settings inspired by his life in China—such as his dream home, his parents’ sitting room, a workers’ dormitory he once lived in, his old workspace, and an interior of a train carriage.

Check out his mini replicas within old school TVs below:

[via Saatchi Online and NOWNESS]

Spectacular Images Of Beautiful Smoke Formations From An Active Volcano

Wed, 15 May 2013 09:05:05 -0500

Doha, Qatar-based Indonesian freelance photographer Helminadia Jabur has produced some amazing shots of magnificent smoke formations rising above Mount Bromo, an active volcano on Java island, Indonesia.

View against the stark but majestic volcanic landscape, each smoke formation has a unique shape and hue—in some cases, the smoke is colored a brilliant red by the spectacular sunsets and sunrises that the area is known for.

Without any trace of human habitation, the natural landscapes presented in these pictures look wildly mysterious and very impressive.

To view more of the photographer’s exceptional travel and landscape photography, head over to her Flickr page.

[via Fubiz]

How The iPhone Camera Has Improved Over The Years

Wed, 15 May 2013 08:18:04 -0500

Macro comparison

One of the most important features that people look for in a smartphone is its ability to take good quality pictures.

With that said, the iPhone camera has definitely evolved tremendously since the smartphone was first launched in 2007.

To show how much the iPhone camera has improved, photography app ‘Camera+’ did a photo comparison for every iPhone model—from the original, first generation iPhone to the latest iPhone 5.

Each iPhone model was required to take three separate photos—a macro shot, a skyline shot and a low-light macro shot.

Placing the photos side-by-side to each other, it shows that the iPhone 5 produces “sharper photos with more accurate white balance, contrast, and saturation” compared to its earlier predecessors.

What do you think? Does the camera quality justify your decision to upgrade your iPhone?

Macro - Original iPhone

Macro - iPhone 3G

Macro - iPhone 3GS

Macro - iPhone 4

Macro - iPhone 4S

Macro - iPhone 5

Skyline comparison

Skyline - Original iPhone

Skyline - iPhone 3G

Skyline - iPhone 3GS

Skyline - iPhone 4

Skyline - iPhone 4S

Skyline - iPhone 5

Low light macro comparison

Low light macro - Original iPhone

Low light macro - iPhone 3G

Low light macro - iPhone 3GS

Low light macro - iPhone 4

Low light macro - iPhone 4S

Low light macro - iPhone 5

[via Camera+]

A Chandelier That Casts Forest Shadows On The Walls

Wed, 15 May 2013 07:33:01 -0500

[Click here to view the video in this article]

Inspired by Darwinist Ernst Haeckel’s drawings of nature, artists Thyra Hilden and Pio Diaz of Hilden & Diaz have created a light sculpture that transforms a space with its shadows.

Named ‘Forms in Nature’, the light sculpture has a surrounding ‘tree roots’-like shape.

When the light source is illuminated, the chandelier creates oversized shadows that resemble a forest, on walls and ceilings of the room it occupies.

Forms in Nature makes users feel as if they’re walking within the woods.

[via HildenDiaz]

The World’s Longest LEGO Railway

Wed, 15 May 2013 07:16:45 -0500

What do you do when you have a massive amount of LEGO tracks in your collection?

For Henrik Ludvigsen, the answer was to attempt constructing the world’s longest LEGO railway.

Turning to the internet and newspapers for help, he received even more LEGO rails from fans all over the world.

Incorporating almost 100,000 bricks, the huge project measured almost 2.5 miles long and took six hours to complete.

Once completed, the little electric LEGO train was sent on its way, traveling for almost four hours from one end of the track to the other—setting the Guinness Record for the world’s longest plastic toy train track.

[via LEGO]

LOL: Why Iron Man Doesn’t Ask The Avengers For Help

Wed, 15 May 2013 07:13:51 -0500

While you were watching Iron Man save the world in Iron Man 3, you would probably have wondered why he doesn’t call on his fellow Avengers for help.

It may be that Tony Stark is too proud to ask for help or that seeing them would remind him of the unpleasant wormhole incident—but perhaps, the “truth” is simply that Stark didn’t think that the others are quite up to scratch.

Comedy website Dorkly has published a series of funny fictional pros-and-cons sheets that are apparently done up by Iron Man to assess whether any of The Avengers are worthy allies.

In each case, from Captain America to Hawkeye, there is always one or more deal-breakers that make them unsuitable candidates to team up with Iron Man.

Scroll down to find out why none of The Avengers passed the “ally test”.

[via Dorkly]

Concept Bike Powers Your Devices, Acts As Mobile WiFi Hotspot

Wed, 15 May 2013 07:14:52 -0500

Looking like something out of the movie ‘Tron’, the ‘Levitation’ bicycle, designed by Michael Strain, aims to produce “clean, healthy, sustainable energy” on a community scale.

Built from ‘HI-MACS’, an “ultra-strong and light” acrylic material, the bicycle will feature a USB 3.0 port that can charge your devices on the go.

It is also equipped with a mobile WiFi hotspot, ensuring that you stay connected, no matter where you go.

The energy created during cycling is stored in high capacity batteries, allowing you to plug that energy back into the grid later on.

Strain claims that, “the benefits of Levitation are exponential, from less carbon emissions during commutes, to healthy living, to producing free zero-carbon energy.”

Thus, the name Levitation: you can live and ride without ‘touching’ the earth.

[via HI-MACS USA, images via Dezien]

If Fonts Could Speak…

Wed, 15 May 2013 04:32:10 -0500

[Click here to view the video in this article]

To encourage people to write letters in their own handwriting to make them meaningful, ad agency TBWA South Africa created three spots for Uniball Pens that humorously suggest what messages typefaces send.

The three ads entitled ‘Pappy is Dead’, ‘Bust You Out’ and ‘Swapped at Birth’ feature a voice that reads out the letters in a tone that channels the fonts Comic Sans, Edwardian Script and Broadway respectively.

If fonts could speak, would they sound like that?

Watch the ads below:

[via Adverblog]

Design Company Imagines The Future Of Google Glass

Wed, 15 May 2013 08:06:40 -0500

[Click here to view the video in this article]

Google Glass may still be in beta, but that didn’t stop Playground, a Toronto-based creative design company, from exploring the future possibilities of Google’s wearable tech.

In its video, Playground envisages some very exciting developments that they believe are possible right now.

Imagine using the glasses to compare prices online while shopping, or to learn how to play the guitar correctly.

How about receiving advice from emergency services via two-way video streaming?

What else do you think Google Glass can be used for?

Click to watch the video below:

[via Playground]

Hand-Lettered Typographic Prints Of Local Sayings From All Over The World

Wed, 15 May 2013 04:19:58 -0500

In every place, there are certain idioms and sayings that are unique to it—learning how they came to be can help one understand its culture, history and people.

A graphic design student based in Leeds, UK, Chloe Allen has embarked on a hand-lettering project that brings typography and the world’s cultures together.

Featuring gorgeous, colorful illustrations of local sayings and turn of phrase, the “Neck of the Woods” project is not only lovely to look at but also very educational as well.

Allen adds new artworks regularly to this on-going series—each piece is accompanied by a short explanation about the meaning and origin of the featured phrase.

You can email your local saying to Allen and get her to create a print for it—find out more about the project over here.

[via Neck of the Woods Project]

Limited Edition ‘The Great Gatsby’ Vinyls, Made From Gold And Platinum

Wed, 15 May 2013 04:17:29 -0500

[Click here to view the video in this article]

To reflect the stylish and extravagant lifestyle in ‘The Great Gatsby’, Third Man Records will be releasing limited edition record sets of gold and platinum vinyl for the film’s soundtrack.

According to the record company, they said that this is the “first-ever commercially available records made using these previous metals via this process”.

The metallized vinyls will also come packaged in a unique laser-cut wooden LP jacket with riveted aluminum spines.

“All these elements (gold, platinum, aluminum, wood and brass) showcase the Art Deco-meets-modern style, classic meets cutting edge, which is the essence of ‘The Great Gatsby’ film and Third Man Records,” wrote the record company.

The soundtrack was executive produced by Shawn ‘Jay Z’ Carter and features songs by Jack White, will.i.am, Florence + The Machine, Beyoncé & André 3000, and more.

The limited edition record set is currently available for pre-order at US$250.

Click to watch the videos below:

[via Third Man Records]

Infographic: How Much Would It Cost To Be Great Gatsby

Wed, 15 May 2013 09:15:04 -0500

As the much anticipated The Great Gatsby hits screens across the world this week, movie-goers are brought back to the glamorous, unabashedly extravagant Roaring Twenties.

But have you ever wondered exactly how much it would cost to have Jay Gatsby’s enviable party lifestyle filled with champagne, beautiful people and upper-class fun?

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based artist Nickolay Lamm has created an infographic for British website MyVoucherCodes that addresses this exact query.

From a US$30 million mansion and a wardrobe that costs US$470,610 to a party expenditure of US$250,000, being The Great Gatsby certainly doesn’t come cheap.

The total bill comes up to a whooping US$34,320,880—view the entire infographic below to find out what one can buy with this enormous sum.

Click on image to enlarge

Click on image to enlarge

[via MyVoucherCodes.co.uk]

For The Office, A Portable Cardboard Foosball Table

Wed, 15 May 2013 03:18:56 -0500

To help you and your colleagues blow off some steam in the office, German design company Kickpack has designed a portable, cardboard foosball table.

Called ‘Kartoni’, it is made from 100% renewable resources and can be easily put together without the need for glue, screws or tools.

To help distinguish the foosmen, you can even download the jerseys of your favorite football team and paste them on the players.

The cardboard foosball table also comes equipped with a built-in speaker for the iPhone and a cup holder.

The Kartoni can be purchased online at €42.16 for a brown cardboard table and €52.16 for a white one.

Wouldn’t it be cool to have one in the office?

[via DesignBoom and Kickpack, image from Facebook]

10 Photographers To Follow This Week

Tue, 14 May 2013 11:22:06 -0500

From all around the globe to travelling all over the globe—covering all sorts of angles in various lightings, sometimes with bokeh, sometimes with film, and some other times in black and white—there are those who capture what we see everyday from their own unique perspective, and add flavor to the ordinary.

In this visual feast, we present the ‘Photographers of the Week’, whom we recommend for you to follow on The Creative Finder.

If you’re not yet part of this great social network for creatives, why not sign up and immerse yourself in creative inspiration.

Henrieta Haniskova

Tobi Asmoucha

Ludmil Dimitrov

Dave Delnea

Jose Luis Stephens

Phil Rudy

Dewey Chapman

Alberto White

Miguel Briones

Daniel Jenkins

Give Us Your Best Caption: The Most Important Meal Of The Day

Tue, 14 May 2013 11:14:46 -0500

Today’s ‘Image of the Day’ belongs to John Perlock. Congratulations!

To help you get off on the right foot every morning, DesignTAXI will be featuring an image everyday from its social network for creatives, The Creative Finder, to keep you inspired.

In this segment ‘Image of the Day’, you—our very lovely readers—are invited to submit captions to describe the selected image above: just simply tweet it with the page's URL and hashtag #tellapictale, or leave a comment at the bottom.

Winning captions would be featured the following day.

Yesterday's winning caption goes to Lisa G. French: "KatAttack!!"

Watch This Hypnotic Real-Time Map Of Wikipedia Updates

Tue, 14 May 2013 11:23:34 -0500

The strangely mesmerizing ‘Wikipedia Recent Changes Map’ does exactly what it says on the tin.

Created by Stephen LaPorte and Mahmoud Hashemi, it works by tracking unregistered user edits on Wikipedia, approximating location through IP addresses.

Take a look at the map here.

[via Wikipedia Recent Changes Map]

The Biggest Mistake Copywriters Make

Tue, 14 May 2013 10:53:28 -0500

Most of the sales pieces people ask me to rewrite seem to offer great products and services. In fact, some of their offers are so good, prospects would be crazy to turn them down. But they do. And these sales pieces end up falling in my lap because they're desperately unproductive.

One of the biggest problems I see in these pieces is the fact that the copy is stale, limp and anemic.

Copywriting is “Salesmanship in Print”

This is nothing new. It comes from the ageless teachings of the masters, like Hopkins, Barton, Collier, et al, which still ring true today.

Writing copy is like face-to-face selling. And when writing copy, the lack of human interaction takes away the emotional element in the selling process. A sales message must therefore communicate that emotion that so empowers people to buy.

Often, the challenge is not with the offer itself but with the language, the tone and the “voice” of the copy.

You may have a great product, but your copy must be effective enough to make its case and present its offer in an irresistibly compelling way.

Problem is, some sales messages get so engrossed in describing the companies, the products and the features of their products that they fail to appeal to the reader specifically.

It’s understandable. Businesspeople are often so tied to their businesses or products that they get tunnel vision and fail to look at their copy from their readers’ perspective.

Understandable, yes. But not excusable.

My advice? Be benefit-rich, of course. But more important, be ego-driven when describing those benefits.

Appeal to Their Ego

People buy on emotion. Even when selling to other businesses, people are still the ones okaying the deal, whipping out their credit cards or signing the checks. And people always buy for personal, selfish reasons.

Copy using convoluted, complex, highfalutin language doesn’t sell product. I’m talking about third person, impersonal, high horse, “holier than thou”, ego-stroking corporate-speak. (In here, I’m referring to the seller’s ego, not the buyer’s.)

The fact remains that companies and websites and committees and C-Level titles are NOT the ones that fork out the money, issue the purchase orders or sign the checks.

People do.

Don’t be shy or afraid in being personal, conversational and emotional with your copy. Of course, I’m not talking about being so lackadaisical with your grammar and your spelling to the point that English majors want to burn you at the stake for heresy.

(Although, your copy might infuriate some purist grammarians. Unless you target scribes and grammarians specifically, these people are not, and never will be, your clients. Clients are the ones that matter.)

And I’m not talking about being crude, uttering profanities or using a style that's so laid back, you appear as if you are on anti-depressants.

I mean copy that goes “for the jugular”, is down to earth and is straight to the point. Copy that relates to your audience at an intimate level—not an educational or socio-economic level, but a level people can easily understand, appreciate and identify themselves with.

A level that appears as if you were a concerned, genuinely interested and empathetic salesperson making a face-to-face pitch with your prospect.

So, here are some tips.
Follow the “3 C’s” Rule: Express your offer as Clearly, as Convincingly and as Compellingly as possible. Be enthusiastic. Be energetic. Be excited about your offering, because your job is to transfer that excitement into the minds of your readers. Use words, phrases and imagery that help paint vivid mental pictures. When people can visualize the process of doing what you want them to do, including the enjoyment of the benefits of your offer, you drive their actions almost instinctively. You need to denominate, as specifically as possible, the value you bring to the table. And how what you bring to the table will meet and serve the needs of your prospect specifically.

In other words, you need to make them feel important. Write as if you were speaking WITH your prospect, right in front of them, in a comfortable, conversational manner.

When you do, your copy will imply that you understand them, you feel for them and their “suffering” (for which you have a solution), and you’re ready to nurture and take care of them. Forget things like “best”, “fastest”, “cheapest” and other, broad claims. Because the worst thing you can do, second to making broad claims, is to express those claims broadly. Be specific. But also...

Be Emotional!

If you want to tell people how better or different or superior or unique your offering is, make sure you express those claims in your sales message in a way that directly benefits your buyer and appeals to her ego.

Being different is important. But don’t focus on how better or unique you are. Focus on how that uniqueness directly benefits others, even to the point they can almost taste it.

Again, people buy on emotion. They always have and always will. They only justify their decision with logic, and rationalize their feelings about your offering with logic.

Once you accept and internalize that fact, you’ll clearly have the first rule of copywriting (or selling, for that matter) down pat. (Plus, you’ll also gain an edge over 98% of all other businesses and copywriters out there.)

Even when selling to multinational, Fortune 500 corporations, the buyers are people, not companies. Purchasing agents are people. Decision-making committees are made up of people. Even C-level executives with 6- or 7-figure incomes are people.

They are Human Beings

And people always buy for personal desires, selfish reasons and self-interested motives. Why? Because people are people. Period. It’s been that way for millions of years.

And nothing’s changed.

So don’t try to sell to some inanimate object called a “business” or even a “prospect”. A business is just brick and mortar—or a bunch of computer chips, in the case of online businesses. And a prospect is not some name and address on a mailing list, or a “hit” on your website.

Remember that it’s not businesses or prospects that fork out the money or sign the checks. It’s people.

Your job is to express your offer in terms that trigger their emotions, press their hot buttons, jerk their tears, tug at their heartstrings and nudge them into taking action.

If not, you’re only telling. Not selling.

Top image from Imgembed.

This is a cross-post from Ezine Articles.

Michel Fortin is a direct response copywriter, author, speaker and consultant. His specialties are long copy sales letters and websites. Watch him rewrite copy on video each month, and get tips and tested conversion strategies proven to boost response in his membership site at http://TheCopyDoctor.com/ today.