PDAs vs The Unkempt Mullet

 

Love is a beautiful thing. When you've been there, you're pretty eager on a subconscious level to get back there at some point. When you're not there, you appreciate seeing it in other people; the warmth they emit together, the sentences they make about & finish for each other, the attentiveness. When you want to be there, it's because you carry the nostalgic utopian image of what those brief moments felt like, typically choosing to repress all the neurosis and angst.

Then you have lust; uncontrollable passion, usually unleashed in saliva loaded, primitive physicality.
A scream that you just can't keep in.

PDAs tick the latter box. They are bold, they are passionate, they are excruciating for everyone in the vicinity to that "electric chemistry". It's not bitterness, it's just not wanting to be subjected to an impromptu Reversed Cowgirl on the underground network. At no point was I warned before those doors closed that I might have stumbled into a raunchy hot box with no escape routes, forced to be involved, along with an equally awkward clutter of commuters, in what appears to be a first swingers party for all of us. Lucky us.

So, why are PDAs like the unkempt mullet?

Well...

• They come out of nowhere without giving you a chance to avert your gaze before your retinas take a good scalding

• They are incredibly clumsy (far from the black & white film still chosen to front this post)

• They're pretty intense - not quiet, not discrete, all elbows

• They affect your facial expression pretty impressively

• They're premeditated - passionate and impromptu, but you don't spontaneously act on the "I'm going to recreate that scene out of that Ridley Scott film with the other half" at the height of tube congestion on a Friday evening - you are just one of those people  

                  

The Golden Circle...how to get by - by Simon Sinek

Today may have involved too much scrutiny. I enjoyed this, it made me feel inspired. Hopefully you will too!

Pop culture...always there to provide us with an insight into who we are!

For the sake of this post, I am going to treat "pop culture" as an animal.

Pop culture appears to be a very confused, impressively conflicted, and deeply depressing beast. Realistically, some Beta Blockers would really help it out.

More and more pressure is placed on this organism to act as a platform for consumerism, a catalyst for possible future mainstream trends. This is the biggest problem pop culture has to deal with. It is now, more than ever before, influenced by the accessibility we have to different culture, different views, different ways of life etc. We are all hooked up to the internet, which has made the world a smaller place filled with loud, incredibly polarized voices. So what does it do? It makes some incredibly crazy statements that sometimes go way wide of the mark in order to appeal to every single one of us.

Over the last few weeks in the gymnasium, while seeking out the "body beautiful" image I'm told I need to achieve (as opposed to the "be happy in your skin" image I should also be proud of), I have been aware of the "interesting" dance music channel that drums "waiting for the drop" tracks deep into my knees for the hour or so I'm in there. A first thank you to pop culture for making dance music hip, and incredibly un-experimental. But the worst thing about it all is...

1. Every song sounds the same, with some wild variations in poorly created videos lacking any care and appreciation for their art!
2. Each video seems more and more driven to trying to sell me something by loading the screen with hundreds of laughing-gas-loaded, scantily clad human beings having the time of their lives in things, while drinking things, then, after towelling each other off, driving things
3. I am sure that there must be some message in there teaching me the importance of acceptance of stuff or something

Wow, what a convoluted post. I'll finish off with my top three pop-tastic moments of the week...

Look, she's having the time of her life, don't be so subjective (or something).

Relevant (or something).

Cultural (or something). Globally hated though apparently.

A pixelated look at how small we really are!

I am often mistaken as a cynic, when I am in fact simply a realist. Cynics damn the world without offering anything back. Realists on the other hand, see what they believe are the flaws, then moan about them in a way they hope can result in positive, constructive change.

Having discussed a lot with friends recently about the current state of social and political apathy our generation is stewing in (more about that in another post), it seems the only real way to stimulate people into actually noticing what roles they play in society as opposed to their own successes and failings in life, is to understand how small and insignificant we might actually be. When we know where we stand in the world, we can then attempt to get up and be counted, right?

So here it is, almost irrelevantly, I came across this snapshot that shows how small we physically are - it's fun, and hopefully constructive!

Thanks David Paliwoda & Jesse Williams for making me feel small.

http://www.distancetomars.com/

The Numbers Game...a political drama...a creative challenge in minimalism.

The Numbers Game is a near-future political drama penned by my dad. I thought I should probably help to promote him in the best way I could, so wanted to design a cover for the novel, while at the same time challenging my creative skill-set outside my normal comfort zone.

I've always wanted to try book design because it is a creative format that sits out on its own. As the primary marketing tool for any author, an initial telling snapshot to reel the individual in, it really does carry a burden. As consumers, we are seduced impressively easily by things that draw the eye, therefore the requirement for any untested writer, any author not already a household name, or backed by the PR machine of a publishing house, is to be the stand-out personality on-shelf.

While researching for this project, I came across an interesting article about book cover design that highlighted the main principles of design to consider as:

- The design must be bold and eye-catching and conspicuously different from everyone else's, but...

- Not too much!

So with these points in mind, I set to the task of making my dad the next George Orwell.

For creative inspiration, I looked to the book blurb...

How would a Prime Minister win support for the most divisive political programme in the history of Parliament? How would he deal with the explosive consequences for his own family?

After the collapse of opposition parties at the polls with unprecedented spoiled ballots the Conservatives are forced into a coalition with the Serene Party. Their manifesto is radical: compulsory euthanasia for the old, sterilisation of the poor, punitive laws to deter obesity, legalisation of recreational drugs and capital punishment for those convicted of murder, backdated to January 1, 2000.

Prime Minister Stephen Stone wins the support of the country but divides and destroys his own family.

I believed it important to provide a piece of design with a strong, succinct message, and so focused on the core statistical theme of the book, implementing a minimalist approach for impact. A clinical typeface was utilised, functional and technical in tone, to provide an insight into book content, with wordplay in the title used to draw attention to the challenging “euthanasia” theme that runs throughout.

Enjoy!

At least they can add dance acting to their professional résumés!

Scarface.

Incredible movie. Incredible Al Pacino. Awful dance acting.

I was going to present a few variations on the art of dance acting in film, but watching this scene on repeat side-tracked me slightly. Dance like no-one is watching...it certainly looks like Michelle Pfeiffer is living by those words in this scene. Enjoy!

Cool story or what?!

Just a forewarning…potentially this could be an incredibly boring post (if you aren't wowed by the impressive approaches designers/advertisers have taken to make an incredibly mundane consumer product interesting to increase sales figures)...

It is always impressive to see how creatives go about selling the generic to the individual. In this particular case the product in question is cling film, a household necessity (until plastic is placed on the endangered species list), but one somewhat lacking in the personality department.

Unlike the more charismatic characters in a kitchen environment (slightly dry tone here); the corkscrew, the cleaver, maybe the potato masher (?!), effectively utensils with life-span and more weight on their functional shoulders, cling film is much more disposable (one of its core features). With each unravelled roll, the product faces the stern tests of value for money, quantity over quality, and brand loyalty from the consumer looking to replenish their stock.

So how would you promote this product to the consumer, build an engaging consumer relationship, bring life to a single use product with a quite sterile complexion?

Completely focused on core purpose, the following print advertisements for different brand names are incredibly similar in their approach (I suspect some notes may have been taken), but all offer up some interesting concepts, powerful imagery, and for any vegetarians unfortunate enough to read, some take it to a certain excess…

Ziploc Cling Wrap

Be fresh for a long time - Strange Idea Ad, Beijing

Glad Cling Wrap

Let it taste the way it should - DDB

But my personal favourite, through sheer need to go the extra mile to evoke a reaction, be it one of reeling in terror, or respect at the impressive candidness and seeming lack of fuss (without considering the amount of work put into visualising the idea)...

M-Wrap Cling Wrap

Chicken, Fish, Pork - Creative Juice\g1

While I have only just come across these creative gems, they arguably (and in the case above, quite controversially) highlight the importance in being true to the product you are working with. We can be convoluted in the messages we seek to convey, but in the end Sigmund Freud said it best when discussing dream analysis (a stretch from design, but the sentiment is there)...

"Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar!"