1 Big Present

This local recently started company 1 big present allows you to set up a gift list for a party or occasion. The idea is instead of recieving many small unwanted gifts from friends and family you get them all to contribute money to this website, which you can then redeem for vouchers for popular stores such as Amazon, Debenhams, John Lewis or even just recieve one big check!

So if you're having a party with 25 guests and they each contribute £10, you can receieve a voucher of £250 rather to 25 small unwanted gifts!

I think this a great new idea for a business and has a chance of becoming a mainstream website such as Moonpig.com. Although this company has only recently started up, i reakon with a few good marketing techniques 1 big present has the chance of becoming 1 big website.

http://www.1bigpresent.co.uk/

Straight to the point - quit smoking

This ad defiantly makes the point loud and clear. Straight to the point. Once again, simplicity wins!

Louis Vuitton Store

I love the feel of walking into a store where not only the products and clothes grab your interest but also the design and architecture of the building, inside and out. This is certainly true to Louis Vuitton stores. So when i stayed in Paris earlier this year i saw it essential to check out the headquarters of Louis Vuitton Store on the Champes-Elysees in Paris.

The store just down from the Arc de Triomphe stands out by its grand entrance on Champs-Elysees. Impossible to miss this store. From walking through the entrance the store radiates luxury as you glide through the different sections of the shop, which are all open space and filled with gold and red colours surrounded by Louis Vuitton bags. The artitect Eric Carlson designed aspects of the interior store, my favourite part being the unusual floor design in a store achieved from carving out volumes in the exisiting structure creating "fluid movement" Eric Carlson. Louis Vuitton stores are well known for their fantastic architecture and interior design and if you love a great shopping experience; visit this headquarters on the Champes-Elyeeses!

Striking Illustration

After seeing Londons based Illustrator Von's work 'Migration' i looked into his drawings which all hold that same striking insightful depth. I like the subtle use of colours he uses and the energy some of these illustrations show, such as this one below 'The Climax, 2006'

'Omerta 04'

'Lil Kim PlanB' 2006

Some of these illustrations are available for purchase from his very dynamic website, which features this illustration below.

Guerrilla Advertising

I've recently been looking into consumer lifestyle changes and how this has affected brands. As we all become more familiar with technology the traditional channels of advertising not always the most effective. This has lead to more and more Guerrillia Advertising in the attempt for brands to reach their target customers. I love unique guerrilla advertising campaigns and this book highlights some of the best ideas being used by brands to target their customers.

Guerrilla Advertising: Unconventional Brand Communication by Gavin Lucus and Michael Dorrian is definately worth a read or even just to reference some examples of the most effective guerilla advertising from over 70 brands and companies. Great for a bit of inspiration!

Power of the brand

Simple idea - sells the brand - great on-line advertsing.

This on-line ad banner demonstrates the power of great brands - the name is'nt even displayed yet the storyboard still sells the powerful concept of the brand.

Check this out in action at http://www.bannerblog.com.au/2008/08/guinness_icon.php

British sculptors' drawings

At the moment The British Museum are holding an intriguing exhibition of modern british sculptors drawings, such as Anthony Gormley, Damien Hirst, Ron Mueck, Tim Noble, Sue Webster and Marc Quinn. Although we quite often see the large sculptures these artists have created It's not often we get to see the in-depth drawings that are a part of these pieces of work so this exhibition is a great opportunity to check out the inspiration behind such famous sculptures these artists have created such as the Angel of the North.

A couple of years ago i saw a similar exhibition in London which featured drawings of the artists Anthony Gormley and Henry Moore. I found this exhibition inspiring to see sketches and drawings of such famous sculptures so this exhibition by the British Museum is differently worth attending.

The 107 drawings of the exhibition also features a selection made specially including groups of works by Barbara Hepworth, given by the Barbara Hepworth Trust.

Khashavar Naianan

What is the percievd value of this cardboard box of 4-inch nails?

In 2003 Khashayar Naimanan hid the wealth of percious metals such as solid platinum, gold and silver in the discusise of objects of little percieved value; 4 inch-nails.

Although i am not personally keen on the design of Naimanan's tableware as mentioned in the post beloe. This design idea of hiding wealthy metal as an object of little percieved value is a clever idea to prevent crime and could be used in industry when transporting such precious metals from origin to site.

If i came accross a cardboard box of 4-inch nails i wouldn't think its actual value if thousands of pounds!

Design against Crime

The artist Khashayar Naimanan has been known for producing work which hides it's true wealth. So instead of having flashy displays of excessive luxuries he hides the products true value with the aid of clever design techniques. He was first noted for this with his tableware design called Incognito in 2005. Now this summer the designer has released the tableware collection Strativarious, showing the element of Luxury hidden on the bottom underneath the tableware.

Some critics suggest Khashayar Naimanan is clever in his design to prevent crime (as potential stealers will not see the value without picking up and looking at the bottom of the product)

However, in my opinion if i am going to spend a lot of money on designer products i want to show off i am in possession of such a luxury item and have the designers
name on show!