Something on the side...

Over the past couple weeks, i have been experimenting with small things outside of advertising such as video and creating music. I will post more information about this in the coming year. While doing some general research on Alight, I came across this beautifully crafted typographic video...

EVIL/HATE/LOVE from FMK_7 on Vimeo.

The title is self explanatory really. It's a simple design but with such a clever style from the simple use of a camera panning around. It reminds me of the famous and current Channel 4 and Idents which follow a similar style to represent their logo. If a 3D structure of this sort was actually constructed for Alight, I feel it would create a lot of attention from all scopes.

Its amazing what you can do with a some paper...

While browsing for inspiration, i came across this very slick and creative stop motion animation from just the use of plain white card! It as created by an animator called Steven Briand who created this slick animation over a period of two months working as an intern at Partizan.

I love the minimalistic effect with the simplest attentions to detail. Great work!

PROTEIGON from BURAYAN on Vimeo.

Mark Zuckerberg: Inside Facebook

Our tutor Mel recommended this programme for us to watch which looks at how Facebook has grown from a small website created in a dorm room to now the most visited website in the UK with over 800 million members worldwide. It's a very interesting look into how they're establishing ways to make money through advertising. There were things I learnt in this documentary in which I had no idea about even though I use Facebook daily! The use of the "Like" button on business pages are outstanding and powerful if used effectively. Critics are saying its the new way of advertising and soon all agencies will follow suit. There are a number of businesses out there that just purely work on the Facebook advertising platform and seeing them how they achieve the best exposure is very interesting. A definite watch and a great learning curve!

Nando's gone all political...

I came across this advert today from Nando's in which I find quite amusing. Take a look..

It has caused quite a stir in Zimbabwe with the millitants sending death threats to the Nando's customers and stuff!! Since then, Nando's has had to pull the ad and they said in a statement;

"Nando’s South Africa takes these threats very seriously and will regrettably no longer flight the TV commercial."


"We feel strongly that this is the prudent step to take in a volatile climate and believe that no TV commercial is worth risking the safety of Nando’s staff and customers."


Even though I find this advert very funny, it just shows that you've always got to be careful what you do and how you produce it! It's always a shame for companies to scrap ads as a lot of time and money goes into producing them. Oh well, it least its become a viral hit for them!

Nokia are going all out...

I stumbled across this on Facebook this evening showcasing a revolutionary event which happened in London on Monday. With the continuous strong campaign Nokia are doing, the Lumia phone has gone to the next level in terms of technology and exposure.

As you can see they used the iconic Millbank skyscraper and the transformed it into a 4D experience. They transformed the 800 windows with vinyl stickers to show the image while 16 powerful projectors were beamed across 300 metres away to create this fantastic music. In terms of music, they picked no one else better than Deadmau5 to play live music with the spectacle.

I think the final result is fantastic. The scale they project it and the creativity of the animations are mind blowing! It's definitely a style that can be easily remembered and is going viral as I type this. It was only uploaded 2 days ago and has generated almost 500,000 views!

This is an example of how well a type of technology can be integrated into promoting a service or product. This ties in nicely with the alight campaign as the client suggested projections of imagery might be beamed onto the buildings of choice. However, as of now, I'm not sure if this is going ahead due to the ongoing negotiations. 

A new unique type of media..

Picture in your head a pub bathroom. They're usually grimey and smelly and not a palce you want to spend a long time in. There are many common sights including advertising like this..

Static advertising posters above urinals just to kill some time. I usually always read them but these have just evolved to a whole new level!

I stumbled across this yesterday on the BBC News site in which an advertising display company known as Captive Media have launched their brand new product known as the Washroom Gaming System...

It's the first of its kind in the world to have an interactive display above a urinal in which the user can interact playing a range of games depending on the direction they pee. This video from BBC news explains more;




Another thing it tagets is the range of advertising in which it can display before and after the user has played the game! It has already caused a big response across the world with international companies wanting to find out more information. These are planning to roll out next year. Even though to some this idea might seem a little funny I feel this is a brilliantly innovative way to target people's attention across. It may also change people's toilet habits so that the spend longer in the toilets! I'll be intrigued to see how this product develops in 2012!

The Alight Ideas..

 To start off on the ideas, we wrote down a range of words in relation to alight to get minds thinking.

INSERT Sketchbook Scans

We started off by thinking of musical themed elements linking in recognizable things such as the sun, musical instruments and the buildings they're taking place in...

We then thought this was a little too generic and we needed to further our thinking scopes so we done a mindmap word association and came up with some of these as ideas...

From progressing onto these ideas above, we still thought it could of been improved better and we needed a  unique edge. From thinking of random objects. The idea of using a lollipop came into my mind. It's something that's round, can be given as a treat as well as something which could be used as an emblem. This then progressed onto the strapline of "sweet music" in which we loved. We then drew out a few ideas relating to this concept...

This idea above represents the olympic rings. A simple idea but with a twist. Although it doesn't link into Alight entirely, it shows how versatile the lollipop idea can progress into.

I really like this idea of having a range of different aged hands all together to create this circular emblem of being one and creating sweet music all at the same time. 

 In terms of the actual lollipop, there could be different coloured and flavoured ones for each of the three events. Eg (Yellow =Lemon, Orange, And Purple = Blackcurrant.

Again this idea here shows the concept of the lollipop getting smaller as the night progresses on. A simple statement of having 3 different images of the lollipop progressing into a stick.

Again in relation to the previous idea, having the concept of the lollipop getting smaller but through the signal of litter. From the group feedback, it was noted that the litter could promote a negative message. 

We then thought of the slogan "Blows you away" and having a range of different target audiences on the floor giving the impression of having such a great time, you're physically off your feet.

Here's another example but a stronger signifier by having various instruments placed around the layout.

Ryans idea was based on interactive music with the idea of having a viral campaign of music coming out of everyday objects mysteriously, and seeing a crowd of people all walking towards one musically influenced area, the source, which of course would be the Alight festival. 

After coming up with this range of ideas, we presented this to the group in a small crit session in which I thought was really beneficial. Mel suggested we carry on and develop on the lollipop idea but to be careful not to overuse the lollipop as this could give across a different message for sweets instead of music. She also suggested we use a different strapline. So we then ploughed on to develop...

A pictorial genius...

While browsing the net, I came across this Swedish graphic designer known as Viktor Hertz. He specializes in logos, business cards, and most famously, pictograms. After looking at his Behance Portfolio, I can understand why he's been featured in a number of publications around the world! They're very simple but very clever. Might have to see if he does posters as I'd happily have a couple of these around my home!

These series of designs below show the simple but funny concept of "Honest Logos" where Viktor has created a range of what he feels honestly represents the companies within their logo. I absolutely love these!

The next series of pictogram posters he done relate to popular songs over the years. Without even looking at the text below, they're very clear to what song their giving off. In terms of advertising, a simple style like this where the message is clear and understandable from glancing is the key to making the alight campaign a success. Here are a few examples below..

The Greatest Movie ever Sold

After seeing this on Schrewd Monkeys posterous a while back, I managed to get my hands on it. I thought it was a very good documentary looking at the ludicrous world of product placement. It was an interesting insight into how different companes may want to portray their products or services across while the director from Super Size Me , Morgan Spurlock gives us an insight to see if it's actually possible to create a movie entirely just on product placement. What I also like about the film are the subtle but funny elements of comedy. A good balance and a definite watch if youve haven't seen it before!

Here's a trailer...

Primary Research - Exploring Sheffield.

To help gain exposure for the Alight festival, it obviously needs some sort of advertising. I started off with photographing areas in Sheffield which have high impact where different types of advertising are placed. Here are some examples below;

This advertisement above is known as one of Sheffield's largest advertising displays. Within such a busy area of Sheffield with the city centre a minute walk away as well as Sheffield Hallam opposite, this would be a prime location for exposure on the alight campaign. The only downside is the cost as it would be extremely expensive to advertise on here. 

 

 In relationship to the large welcome poster, they also have an information and merchandise shop next door to Winter Gardens. This has only just opened at the end of last month and I feel they've done an excellent job in presenting it. The branding is strong throughout and I like the use of a silhouette horizon of Sheffield's most well known landmarks on the exterior of the shop. Also the strong stencil font use throughout is also a nice touch. They have a large plasma screen inside which has oppurtunities for advertising. This could be another way to advertise for the Alight festival. 

Phone boxes are a dying use due to the popularity of mobile phones, however, they're still commonly used as a method of advertising as most of them are situated in high footfall areas and urban streets.

Above are a couple examples of one of the most common forms of print advertising. These are dotted all over the city and can generate a lot of attention if executed well.

Here are a couple more ways above in which alight could be advertised on using print media. 

The City hall already have some long narrow banners located on the exterior of the building which could be used for Alight. However, visibility of the banners are limited to some extent. As you can see in the photo above, you can just about see them, here are some clearer images;

Sheffield Hallam University have some great examples of the use of print banners which could be used for the alight campaign, here are some examples;

This banner is one of the first communication messages you see when you walk through the main entrance. The strong use of red against the cream interior gives a strong prominence and reminder to students that they need a fill in a survey.

Currently there is a very strong campaign for this end of year survey at Hallam. This message appears 3 times as soon as you walk through the door. Another example are these roller stand banners which are easy to transport while delivering the necessary information effectively.

A couple more examples, however I feel the banner above is positioned in a non effective place. Firstly, this area within the uni is constantly very busy with a higher priority of what side of the stairs to walk down while getting to your lesson as smooth as possible. The second thing is the handrail which obstructs some of the information on the page. A nice alternate design to the rectangular stand though. 

As I was going around the Sheffield centre, I was thinking of areas which are a bit more unusual in which I would feel generate some word of mouth buzz due to their uniqueness of them. Here are a few examples of what I mean...

This circular seating area is located just round the back of Velocity Towers in Sheffield. It's a high footfall area for students who walk to university or the city centre. With such a round presence, it could be used to create some sort of pavement art which could possibly be very eye catching if implemented correctly. The circle also represents Alight nicely by bringing all different types of people together. The main issue would be permission from the landowners to create an advertisement on there. 

A grimey disgusting looking subway could be transformed to create something positive when people walk through them instead of seeing graffiti everywhere. Again there are implications to this. Cost of cleaning, permission from council and types of materials to prevent vandalism. However, if possible, I feel it would create a unique buzz of attention. 

The Moor has some excellent large areas which could be used to create attention. In particular the area next to Atkinsons in which you can see in the photos above. Currently there is a campaign in this area with prominent stands showing this information.  Another thing to point out are the construction walls which have been transformed into an eye catching style of information on the walls about Sheffield's history. Information about alight could also go here to compliment the style. Another way of promotion could be on the pavement slabs but again all this goes down to the permission allowed to go ahead with such campaigns.

There is a lot of space outside the City Hall which could be used effectively to help promote the Alight campaign.Situated right in the centre of the city with a high footfall area, the potential to create something bizarre like a flash mob for example could be a great success.

Another excellent area is the Crucible theatre grounds. It always is a beautiful spectacle at night with the potential to emit steam through the pavement as well as an endless combination of led colours, there's a lot of room for potential in this space.