THE ART OF 'BONING' FACE

Have you ever noticed that musicians, most notably rappers(me included) like to do what we Nigerians call 'Bone', and no I don't mean the other thing. What I'm talking about is "the art (and/or science) of frowning and squeezing one's face so as to give a menacing and tough appearance and or image"- as quoted from Emjay's slang dictionary, sorry no link.( tee hee).

ALBUM ART AWESOMENESS

I originally planned to post something else, which I still shall post, but I got caught up in the awesome display of creativity from the album art of 2 rap artistes, who though known for their lyrical prowess do not strike me as the artistically creative types, but, i have been proven wrong. I mean i should have known better seeing as they both have some entrepreneural accomplishments as record label owners which requires some level of creative capacity as well as above-average acting credits, so it is possible for them to show forth some creativity outside of music to a large extent, but I digress.

End of Discussion bread and Obama Biscuits..no seriously.

Saw these online (LindaIkeji Blog) and just had to post it.

End of discussion bread

Obama Biscuits

I wonder if Honda and the Obama's are getting any royalties? hmmmmmmnnnn...

Why Mr.Biggs missed it (in my opinion)

I still remember trips to Mr.Biggs with my dad on Fridays after school for meatpie and doughnut. Good Ol’days. But over time, Mr.Biggs faced competition from up starts and startups that literally took away its regular customers, like me. So they sought to reposition themselves to get these customers back in the most sensible manner-a complete rebrand. It has been 2years+ since this rebrand and I think it about time it was addressed. The rebrand saw the fast food giant lose the capital B that we have all grown accustomed to and settle for something they were led to believe was ‘contemporary’. Well, they had a mission to accomplish with this rebrand and I must say, they missed it. Here’s why…

PASTORS AND PRIVATE JETS

I Know some people right now would be like, “Mr. Johnson what does this have to do with branding?”, well, as a good friend of mine put it, it’s all about perception, and perception (the right kind) is what branding seeks to create.

Update: Diamond bank gets colourful.

Remember i posted the gist about Diamond bank's rebranded a while back and promised to keep you updated if anything came up? Well, here I am keeping a promise and keeping you updated.

Dining in Ore

A couple of weeks back I took a road trip to Lagos for the annual alumni meeting of my alma mata. Nothing out of the ordinary happened, God in his mercy saw us safely to and fro. But, one thing that did catch my attention, was were we had our rest stop.

THE SKY HAS FALLEN

So finally, its here, after cracking the case and listening to Adele make the sky fall, it has finally fallen. The much awaited 23rd installment of what is probably the greatest film franchise in history has finally premiered and though i wasn't able to make it to any cinema i bet it was awesome. So to celebrate in my own little way as a life long fan of 007, i thought to look back in time over the last 50 years and see the evolution of bond through his movie posters. Here I go.

MICROSOFT GO HARD pt 2: DEM DON VEX!!

So a while back I spoke on the the Microsoft rebranding that in my opinion, is a breath of air for Microsoft and at the same time big competition for apple. But now they've turned it up a notch.

Diamond bank gets colourful

So I went to my bank some days back and was greeted with a roll-up banner carrying a new logo, new wordmark and shortened brand name along with a new tagline-"your bank". What do you think?

THE UNBEATABLE: looking at the success of the monster beats by dre brand

The phenomenon that is 'beats by dre' has grown to become the greatest music accessory since the advent of the i pod, but what makes beats by dre so successful? Even in the face of competition from soul by ludacris and sleek sms street by 50. Lets take a look.

COCA COLA CHANDELIER

Okay, so this just might be the height of low cost recycling, a chandelier made entirely from used coca cola bottles (and some metal wire to keep 'em together), except for the light bulbs of course..
image courtesy the coca cola facebook page..no link, go search.

EAGLE ROCK

Being an Architect by training, you have to understand that I'm very passionate about architecture. So when the opportunity to develop a concept for a student center design presented itself, I literally jumped at it, (with my wife jumping too). It was a fun, 2-day experience that led to what you see below.

ashes to ashes, life or death...

Now I know this blog is about branding and design but I cant help it, I love MUSIC. I could lie and say I posted this for the beautiful cover art to be displayed, but truth is, its for the MUSIC and I guess I want to share it with all and sundry. But, the cover art is boss!!
So it happened yesterday, as I peeked over my wife's shoulder while she was browsing through the infamous Linda Ikeji Blog, and came across this poetic tribute by Mi Abaga, undoubtedly one of the greatest MC'S, not just in Africa but globally in my opine.

Growth table...drawing for the whole family.

Now you can get all your kids to do their home work in one place under easy supervision. I've always been fond of that which promotes creativity and I must say this piece of furniture is inspiring. If this doesn't help them get straight A's, what will?...(oh!yeah, the mind of Christ will).

The cola giant called Elliot

In Cape town, sits a silent Giant, 60ft tall, weighing 27tons. His name? elliot, his purpose? to promote recycling. An initiative of the coca-cola company, this gentle giant recycled over 4000 plastic crates designed by Porky Hefer.

More on Elliot here. Peace. Oh! and Elliot has a kid brother find him here.

the guitar store

There are marketing geniuses, and then there are the kind of visionaries who look at the ugly security fence on their storefront and decide it sort of looks like a guitar amp. Thus the Guitar Store in Southampton just went all the way with that idea, complete with big-ass knobs and everything.

I think i saw this on inhabitat. I think...

THE NEW FACE OF BLACKBERRY.

Sometimes is September, there was a tweet about the new black berry L-Series to run on the new Black berry 10 OS, and now its all over the net. There's also a 'leaked' video demo making its rounds online here and here, or you can just search for it on youtube.

While I applaud RIM for their resilience facing their economic hardships, this device feels like an I-phone, samsung galaxy knock-off to me. Same geometry, same feel, same aesthetics, nothing innovative in my opinion, but, hope it turns out well, 'cuz this might be their last hope, before a rumoured buy-out by HTC.

pizza packaging from HELL!!

Now hold your horses, its not the Hell you're thinking, but a chain of pizza restaurants (hell holes) from New Zealand with, well..., comically hell-ish branding. What I do like is the coffin which is apparently for the 'remains' of your pizza when you're done devouring.

Very innovative if i might say..now here's what their website looks like.
Photo credits to happysmurfsday on flickr. Bless.

apple vs android

Came across this .GIF earlier today. Now I've watched this particular episode of looney tunes so it was fun to see this adaptation/modification. You can read the article that follows here.

I'm back...like Jordan.

Okay so for those of you guys who actually care, I'm sorry i've been a little offline, I've just been busy but I PROMISE (fingers crossed) to be diligent and regular on this here blog of mine so with that said. I'm back and to stay true to my 'title-metaphor' heres a mural of the greatest athlete of all time (we can argue later) i found online (jordan facebook page)...

Bless.

branding the syrian revolution...

If you have been contemplating whether or not branding is for you, take a cue from the commander of the 'FREE SYRIAN ARMY' who recently commissioned a Turkish graphic designer to design a logo for his army. He explained  that " By building a unified image, the FSA (free syrian army) is seeking to present itself as a force with the trappings of statehood, capable of not only looking to the future with confidence, but also taking a central role in driving change at the heart of the Syrian government." (HIS WORDS, NOT MINE). The designer got paid $300, thats around N47, 000, for a days work. Now who says design doesn't pay?

For more on the story go here

more skyfall

Notice how the lady next to Bond is the only one not holding a piece? (gun that is).. she's merely letting you know that looks can (equally) kill.

Adele makes the sky fall...in a good way.

 Who else but Adele to serenade us into the action packed world of James Bond in Skyfall..God bless this English Lady's soul.

 Also, I love the artwork as well, its very vintage, a hint of grunge and extremely very bond, with adele's pretty face in the background and Mr Bond bouncing through. Plus, this is the first time I've noticed bond walking through the scope/shutter he normally shoots at the start of every movie, new direction? whatever the case its classic.

SKETCHUP STEPS UP.

For those unfamiliar with 3d modelling and design, consider this an introduction, for those of us who used this software to do PP's (private projects) and submit our studio projects and thesis design's, consider this an update...our beloved sketchup that made the once impossible task of 3d modelling (3D MAX) seem like child's play, has (finally) gotten a face lift..and a new owner. As April this year, SketchUp was purchased by Trimble from its custodians since 2006, Google (who bought it off @last software some time before that).

I like the new icon, it feels more 2012 and less 1998. The stepped geometry is like the perfect visual strategy for the software and is reminiscent of the famed 'push', 'pull' tool, not so crazy about the typography. The chamfers on the k, the t, the h and most especially the p, feel sort of out of place, but, all in all its a good rebrand..in my opinion.
For more images and story go here.

MICROSOFT, GO HARD.

The Largest, most popular tech giant of all time has unveiled a new look..(well they did so sometime in August), Microsoft have gone minimalist to be able to have a more cohesive brand architecture for the plethora of brands under them. It has been 25yrs since Microsoft last updated their look and I must say I like it. Simple and strong at the same time.

The visual evolution of the Microsoft brand from 1975 to date.

The new look Microsoft launch video.

Our dear MS Office is not left out in this rebranding...they've gotten to a point where they don't even need to say 'Microsoft office' just 'Office will do. Some more gist on their official blog here.

Images courtesy Armin on Brand New, for more go here

NICE HOUSE..VERY NICE HOUSE.

Staying true to my craft, this post is a beautiful piece of architecture called HG HOUSE. Designed by Ricardo Agraz, for agrazarquitectos its as inspiring as it is magnificent. Wish our architecture in Naija was this inspiring, guess I'll have to take up that responsibility.. for the complete project click here, website for the practice is here. Bless

TEST DRIVE

Came across this very crazy concept design for a mercedes benz sports car. Mercedez should consider making this,...I'd buy it...in a couple of years! For more, and I do mean MORE pictures go here and here. Design credits go to Steel Drake.

THE BATMEN...

Okay i just stumbled on these, while working and I must say it put a smile on my face. These are magnificent caricartures of all the guys that have played batman over the years on the silver screen, the artist 'responsible' for this is Anthony Geoffroy. Check them out and see if you can tell who's who...lmao.  hint: the 1st one's my name sake
p.s. if you'd like to see more of this comical and artistic brilliance go here and umm..except more caricuture posts for some time to come cuz this guy has loads and you'll love em...rotfl and you can like him of facebook here

TAKE NOTE...

Happy Belated Independence Day, everybody, hope you had as much fun as I did.

Now today's post is something that's dear to me. You see, I consider myself a creative person, thus, I'm always on the look out for things to better enhance and express my creativity. Earlier this year, came the Samsung galaxy note, I saw the ad on CNN and had an epiphany,..'This device was created for me'..however, the price tag was a lil'outta my range at the time. So i prayed, fasted, worked my behind off and finally now can afford to buy 'his' and 'hers' galaxy note(1 for madame now)..only to browse through the online news this morning and see what....SAMSUNG GALAXY NOTE 2!! (SHOCK,HORROR)...it was both heartbreaking and exciting at the same time. The old one suddenly seems like Nokia 3310(no offense nokia), but well, I will cut my coat according to my size...and work even harder to get this exquisite piece of technology when I can . Till then, I'll take the note.

N.B. Price wise in the US its been pegged at $300, but we all know how much they're going to sell it here, don't we...and if you'd like more info on this amazing device (shut it Iphone users) check the microsite here.

Bless Up.

Heineken+007: Crack the case campaign

As an ardent, die hard, life long, fan of the MI6 super agent, I feel an urgent need to post this.
What 'this' is, is basically a tv and online campaign for the 23rd bond film to be premiered on the 2nd of November. The campaign titled 'crack the case' was created by the amsterdam office of Wieden & Kennedy (not a Nigerian) ad agency. Here's how they coined it..
"Crack the Case opens in a train station with the Heineken Legend, a Man of the World, being mistaken for James Bond by some nasty looking villains. Our hero has to use his resourcefulness to get himself out of a sequence of different Bond-esque situations, all taking place through a succession of train carriages, to outwit the villains and get to the 007 agent himself, his female companion Severine and a mysterious silver case.
Viewers of the film are then plunged straight into their own unique digital Crack the Case experience – a seamless transition, made possible through Flash technology. Focusing on the case left next to the bar by James Bond in the film, this experience continues the journey online in a social space, allowing the viewer to Crack the Case themselves, through a series of tasks designed to see if they have what it takes to be a secret agent."
There's also an opportunity to win 4 tickets to the movie premiere taking place in all the major cinemas across the country  as well as a 6 week promotion in partnership with major retail chains such as Shoprite, Game and Park'n'Shop for patrons of heineken to get a limited edition branded gift with every purchase.

Here's the link for the online campaign http://www.heineken.com/ng/home.aspx and for the original film (not skyfall ohh!!, the film for the campaign ohh!) from the makers themselves http://www.wkamst.com/?forcefull=true#!/work/detail/crack-the-case.

Aside from the beauty of this partnership, the exposure for the brands and the efficiency of this marketing campaign, I just love 007.

MY BEST BRAND EXPERIENCE...EVER

Awhile back, I went for a meeting in Lagos, on the Island to be exact. I arrived earlier than scheduled, so to kill some time i strolled in to the new eat'n'go, home to both dominos pizza and cold stone creamery. Seeing as I was flying solo, I opted for ice cream over pizza. On walking into coldstone, I was met with this pleasant and melodious surprise...

watch out for me somewhere around the 0:32, 0:33 mark.

Yes Ke! me sef feature. 

Had to get a Big cup after the performance, it would have been criminal of me not to.

WHERE'D THEY GO?: Laze and hypno, our very own urban clothing

It must have been back in 1999 or 2000, when i saw a tribesmen video 'plenty nonsense' (remember trybes men..shake bodi!! good'ol days), then i saw freestyle and El-dee, wearing these jersey like tops with designs i have never seen before, good designs, no scratch that, GREAT designs. I mean this was the era of Rocawear, Sean John, Fubu, and yet these young boys were rocking this unknown, (at least to me) but great looking stuff. That was my informal introduction to LAZE, i designer whom i believe was from Yabatech and did these wonders on t-shirts by hand! Then not long later in school, either late secondary or early uni, I saw this guy were an ash-coloured t-shirt, with the letters H-Y-P-N-O, boldly printed on top and what seemed to be a feminine figure upside down in some sort of 'backflipish' position.

"NOT AS VIBRANT AS I REMEMBER..."

The shirt was in a word,..MAD! I was like were did you get this? he was like 'some dude in Lag does them...', also by hand might I add. Thus, i was introduced to HYPNO. Time passed and I keep seeing more and more of these fabulous designs, Cartoon Characters inspired by Naija, consuming the entirety of the front facing side of the shirts, gritty inscriptions, bold logos...crazy stuff, i even read a couple of newspaper articles and features of these artists/designers. As a young designer at the time, with ambitions of having my very own clothing line (which i still do) these guys were a great inspiration to me, like the holy grail of urban clothing design matching the likes of Fubu, damani dada(where'd they do to), marc ecko etc . But, in the last couple of years, it dawned on me that the these guys are gone, like, nowhere to be seen, Why? I mean in this age of the Nigerian Music industry's boom I'd have thought they'd be making a killing, cuz those seemed to be their foremost customers, but, still nowhere in sight. I did some digging and found http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hypno-Clothing-Company/216888475093, not as vibrant as I remember it, but still in existence nonetheless... and as  for Laze I'm still searching. The long and short of my rambling is that I miss seeing these proudly Nigeria urban graphic designs out in the media where they belong, I miss seeing them being celebrated, I miss being inspired and challenged by them all at the same time, and I keep wondering, Where'd they go?

photo credits go to the above referenced facebook page.

SOMEWHAT FUNNY, BUT HONEST.

 In my usual foray across the world wide web, I came across these brilliant comical pieces termed, HONEST LOGOS-they're basically a bunch of popular brand logos re-designed to reveal what the brand stands for and should really be called. This was a while back and i've had them on my laptop for ages, some funny, some genius level funny and some i dont get probably because i dont know the actual brand. You should be able to guess some of the brands, hope you find them as funny as I did..bless. 

For more of such brilliance... http://www.viktorhertz.com/50717/439429/gallery/honest-logos