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.