You Suck! Oh, wait a minute …

I attended the National Association of Realtors show this past weekend in San Diego, California. I was shocked when I first saw the billboard at this booth and noticed what appeared to say “You Suck.” I was anxious to find out who would display such an audacious message. After approaching the billboard from a different angle, I noticed that it really said “YOUR SUCCESS.” I was curious if this was intentional or completely accidental.  Unfortunately, the message didn’t turn out to be the insult I had first perceived. Either way, because of the position, it mostly looked like “YOU SUCK.”

Amazing Worlds in Miniature.

Acceptable losses
Mixed media
16 x 13.5 inches diameter
2008

The above piece entitled “Acceptable losses” is the amazing miniature work of Thomas Doyle. He creates beautiful little worlds sculpted in 1:43 scale and smaller. From the statement on his site:

The pieces’ radically reduced scales evoke feelings of omnipotence—as well as the visceral sensation of unbidden memory recall. Hovering above the glass, the viewer approaches these worlds as an all-seeing eye, looking down upon landscapes that dwarf and threaten the figures within.

Conversely, the private intensity of moments rendered in such a small scale draws the viewer in, allowing for the intimacy one might feel peering into a museum display case or dollhouse. Though surrounded by chaos, hazard, and longing, the figures’ faces betray little emotion, inviting viewers to lose themselves in these crucibles—and in the jumble of feelings and memories they elicit.

The glass itself contains and compresses the world within it, seeming to suspend time itself—with all its accompanying anguish, fear, and bliss. By sealing the works in this fashion, I hope to distill the debris of human experience down to single, fragile moments. Like blackboxes bobbing in the flotsam, these works wait for discovery, each an indelible record of human memory.

The Lean, Green, Vector Series

Several years ago, we created an ad series to promote Foreclosure.com’s new agent listing center. The ad was to run in the leading default real estate trade publications. Thumbing through any of these default real estate pubs was like watching Scooby-Doo run past the same five houses over and over again. Nearly every ad featured a photo of a house and way too much copy. Some ads were copy driven, but not like you would expect … the whole ad WAS copy!

Our goal was to swim upstream on this one. We thought “What if we created a campaign with NO houses, NO photos, and NO long copy?” The result was the lean green vector series. With a right-read placement and the brand’s pulsating neon green background, this ad definitely stood out. Way out!

Copywriter: Tom Myers
Creative Director: Me
Illustration: Simon Oxley | Bortonia

The world’s tallest buildings

Did you ever wonder where you can see the world’s tallest buildings side by side? Wonder no more. Simply head over to skyscraperpage.com. This site is chock-full of amazing facts and renderings.

my_photos – a collection by stephen chip

I put together some of my favorite photos using Issuu. It’s a very impressive application. The interface is intuitive and covers all the bases (Post to blogs, social network sites, etc.) Oh yeah – did I mention it’s free!

View full size here.

Super Mario reality style

Artist Mike Mitchell’s inventive take on the NES classic. Well done. Check out some of Mike’s other artwork. I love the creepy Mickey Mouse.

Ikea rules!

Ikea is probably one of the best known global brands. Thank god they finally built one in my neck of the woods.

Their top notch design, no nonsense approach is at the heart of their success. It’s hard to walk through, what seems like miles of aisles, and leave empty handed.

Posted from iPhone.

Obama or Clinton – Who has the better splash page?

Forget about the two remaining democrats for now – let’s ask the all important question – who has the better splash? The splash page is what you see when you first reach a Web site. In both cases, the primary goal is to get you on the mailing list. The good news is that they both drop a cookie so you never see the page again.Let’s start with the splash pages. Both use traditional colors – red, white, and blue. Let’s workshop the splash pages:

Hillary Clinton’s splash page

Info
Requires first name, last name, email and zip code. They obviously want to know who you are and where you live. Important for getting the word out. Once the form is complete, you are redirected to the homepage.

Tagline
“Help make history” – Somewhat confusing. Does it refer to the history that will be made because it’s a first for a woman nominee? If so, that message is really more about Clinton. You can help HER make history. This tag line appeals to some but not all.

Design
Traditional non flashy design displaying Hillary’s three quarter photo. Generally photos that are shot under the chin looking up are a no no. The face does point in towards the message and that works well. The logo “Hillary for President” is confusing as it also shares this tag line “Help Make History.” There are no styles attached to the form. The GIANT submit button is a bit overkill. It’s red. It doesn’t need to be bigger than the logo.

Overall
The design is very traditional and old school.

Barack Obama’s splash page

Info
Only requires an email and zip code. This tells me the Obama camp understands the internet much better. You can add your email and zip and still remain anonymous. In all fairness, Obama uses a rather large button as well. However, Obama’s says “Learn More” which may encourage a click. Also, unlike Clinton’s splash page, you are first taken to a “Thanks for joining the movement” page then redirected to the homepage. Good feedback for the user.

Tagline”
Change we can believe in” – Obama’s tag line appeals to all. Everybody can get behind this type of inspirational message.

Design
The overall design is pleasing to the eye. The bold use of blue works well and helps to frame the message. There is a clear distinction between the logo “Obama 08″ and the inspirational tag line “Change we can believe in.” The black and white photo of Obama and his family is tastefully done. The vignette also allows the photo to breathe and bathe in the whitespace.

Overall
The design is more web 2.0 and much cleaner.I give this round to Obama. Simply on design alone.

Clever bathroom signs

These are only a handful of clever bathroom signs I found over at the toilet sign blog. I imagine the possibilities are endless…