I'm aware that I'm probably on my own on this one, but I find colour perception fascinating. For example, I found this photograph below, which has been overlaid with a cyan filter. The lady's tshirt in the original photo is yellow, and this is how it appears in the adjusted photo.
However, a bit of magic wand action shows us that the colour we are actually looking at in this photo is this shade of green:
The reason for this is that our eyes adjust to the cyan filter, and we naturally correct it. I think this concept is really interesting, and it makes me wonder how it could be used in design...
There are so many "creative inspiration" books out there, that I sometimes wonder if they don't perhaps stifle the creative process to an extent. How can looking at a book that a million other people own encourage you to have an original thought? In fact, is there even such a thing as an original thought? (I'm sure I'm not the first person to wonder that!) Even so, if you are looking to buy a book to inspire you, I find Alan Fletcher's books the best. Everybody by now is probably familiar with The Art of Looking Sideways, which surely must be his best selling book, but I also find the more recent Picturing and Poeting to be a good resource.
As it says on the cover "This book turns words into pictures, finds poetry in rubbish, and discovers the unlikely in the commonplace. Alan Fletcher stands ideas on their heads to present a kaleidoscope of sketches, images, doodles, and many other twists and turns from his unpredictable imagination." This book is largely compiled from Alan Fletcher's travel diaries. It contains sketches of friends, witty anecdotes and thought provoking quotes about, well, just about everything.
This, as everybody knows, is the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Construction began in 1173 and, as everybody knows, the tower was not structurally sound enough to keep itself upright for long. The reason I'm mentioning this is because this build was one of the biggest architectural errors in the history of time, yet now it is a monumental landmark that thousands of people visit on a daily basis. I think this is a reminder that you don't always have to get everything perfect all the time to be a success. None the less, I think the architect was probably fired!
Lets be honest, it's probably going to be something rubbish and disappointing, but they're not letting on either way. And by 'they' I mean Proctor and Gamble, who are responsible for this teaser campaign that's all over the TV at the moment. This campaign has led me to wonder how successful teaser adverts can be. Is anybody interested in what this product is going to be and whether it's going to change the world? Did anybody bother to visit the website? (www.coldisthenewhot.com, it's nothing special)
My last post about the Burj Dubai got me thinking about how in effect, most places could be considered as a brand. For example, if London was a brand what would be the brand essence? Would it be the architecture? The people? The museums?
Well apparently I'm not the only person thinking about this. As Creative Review state: "Watermill London has created this new marketing campaign for Camden Town, which aims to reassert the borough as a destination for international business and shopping, and put paid to the impression that it has “burnt down”. "
One of the key things that Camden is known for is the market, which has now burnt down and subsequently closed. Because of this Camden are keen to promote that they have much more to offer. This campaign reiterates a point raised by Wally Ollin's book On Brand - that branding is definitely not just for products anymore.
The Burj Dubai is a building currently under construction in the new 2km development known as "Downtown Dubai". It is due for completion in 2009 and is already the tallest man-made structure in the world. Dubai has recently emerged as a top holiday destination and is a very up-and-coming and wealthy country. I think this building is a way for Dubai to prove themselves as serious players in the financial world - to show of their wealth and promote what could almost be considered as 'Dubai the brand'.
