LINK'D: KEVIN HART'S NBA CHRISTMAS WISH (Ride Along Movie promo)

'Tis the season for dreaming, and Kevin Hart will not be denied!!!, as he (w) raps his Christmas wish over the classic hip hop track 'i wish i was a little bit taller' originally performed by TOO Short in the early 90's.
Its a comedic skit to promote the upcoming movie 'RIDE ALONG' co-starring ice cube. The skit featuring NBA stars, Carmelo Anthony, Chris Paul, Kobe Bryant, and Andre Ighodala..the one to which Mr.Hart wishes he could throw it down like.
Looking forward to January 17th.

Enjoy the video. God bless.

BALLERS!!!.......SUIT UP

Sometime earlier this year, around February, there was an announcement and experiment in the NBA with regard to the uniforms. An alternative to the iconic tank top uniforms that we've all come to know and love was being proposed, reminiscent of Rugby players, tight and fitted, or better still ...snug.

LINK'D: MOVIE POSTER MADNESS

Now there's a big difference between genuine creativity and a working knowledge of photoshop tools and tricks. One is God given and the other is, well, for lack of a better term,....google given!! But every now and then you come across a good helping of both combined and when you do its something to cherish. So without further adue, enjoy the following samples of pure creative genius embodied in Movie posters!!!
All i ask is that you take the time to savour the creativity as well as some of the visual metaphors on display here and appreciate what true creativity can be......when combined with MAD photoshop Skillz.

GALAXY 11 ad campaign: SOCCER WILL SAVE US!!!

Samsung have taken their product advertising to a whole new level with this brilliant ad campaign.

Remember the Messi ad where he gets picked as the captain of an elite squad of ballers to face off against an enigmatic extraterrestial foe?...well this is kind of the complete version will all 11 players being drafted by some cloak and dagger types at various international locations.

LINK'D: Fierce fruits and a hardcore health ad campaign

There is some sense of awesome-ness in witnessing " a banana beating the ketchup out of a batch of fries"
that spurs an urge to exercise one's will power. Well thats the message at the core of the Elige Vivir Sano Campaign designed to inspire those of little will power to be more aggressive when it comes to their health and lives in general.

DESIGN REVIEW: SpeakUp Africa

Every now and then we come across brilliance that must not be hidden and needs to be shared. This design being reviewed is one of such cases.

ARAB BRANDING

While perusing through cyber space, i came across this collection of images displaying popular, everyday products and their arabic counter parts.... so get a cup of tea and have a look see.

DESIGN REVIEW: McAllen Data Center

A great piece of work from Argentina today, by Lucas Gomez Freige.

DESIGN REVIEW: WHATSAPP 2.0

Yet another self initiated brief, for the largely famous 'whatsapp'.

DESIGN REVIEW: All White Pepsi

I've always believed that ideas rule the world, thus i'm also a firm believer in self initiated briefs. Heres a project that embodies those ideals..a new design concept for the pepsi brand.

NEWS: The first Brand Experience Conference- "OWN YOUR BRAND 2013", hosted by The Brand Union in Nigeria.

The Brand Union Africa recently hosted its first (call it inaugural if you will) Brand Experience Conference themed "Own Your Own Brand", at the posh Wheatbaker Hotel in Ikoyi, Lagos. 

The event for 40 was attended by reps from some of Nigeria’s leading brands (GT Bank, Total, Unilever Dangote etc) as well as research companies, media houses and government parastatals. Though i wasn't there, its seemed like an fun intellectual exercise geared towards solving challenges in marketing through well crafted brand experiences.  

Read the full gist at themarketingsite.com...cheers.B'NG.

(Btw, The Brand Union is responsible for the branding of some of the most recognisable brands in Naija, including GTBank and Dangote.)

LUXURIOUSLY DIFFERENT

As a designer (and architect) I always try to make people understand the importance of brand design in business, not just the logos and letterheads, but the look and feel, those elements that evoke a positive emotional response from your customers or clientèle. Call it a brand experience. I for-one have always believed branding was about creating memorable experiences and seeing this project only proves my theory.

DESIGN REVIEW: BEACH PARK

This probably one of the most fun-loving projects I've seen in a while, I mean if heaven had water slides, this might be a glimpse of what it would look like. Just by seeing this, I'm already planning a family trip. Its all Fun, FUn, FUN !!!  But first, a bit of history...

The NOT-SO-FASCINATING Nigerian Tourism brand.

Some time back in July 2013, President Goodluck Jonathan launched the country's Tourism Identity, “Fascinating Nigeria”,   as part of efforts to develop the tourism sector and diversify the nation’s revenue sources. The identity backed by a strong marketing campaign is meant to project Nigeria to the world in a bid to " generate income and attract investment to drive the country’s economy". The identity is a signal reiterating the government's commitment to develop the largely untapped tourism sector of the 53 year old nation.

Now to the critique...

DESIGN REVIEW: Bakes'n'Treats

As part of my mission, (since i have chosen to accept it) i will be posting reviews of brand design work by indigenous creatives from time to time along side that of our foreign counter parts. So here's our first ever design review for a home made brand called "Bakes 'n' Treats" by Evans Akanno design agency.

CLIENT COMEDY

If you're a creative (as most readers of my ramblings tend to be)  i dedicate this to you, you've been through a lot to get to where you are and in all (well maybe not all) you handled it like a champ. The following are the worst client comments and feedback turned into priceless and timeless posters. I WARN YOU, there will be some degree of laughter, steer clear of all hot liquids and sharp objects, but then again, thats if you are a creative.

INSANE & INSPIRING: the triumphant branding of the london 2012 olympics.

Designing for the olympics is probably one of the most coveted projects any designer or agency could dream of, but designing for the olympics in London, which is known for its design prowess just maybe a challenge. Some years back, the bad boys of brand design, wolf ollins (i like to call 'em that, cuz they're just so controversial) wowed some and riffled others when they took on this challenge to brand the 2012 olympics, it was met with some degree of criticism but we'll get to that later, however, ...  to me? .................their solution?, ........ WOW!! 

*WARNING: THERE'S A FAIR AMOUNT OF EYE CANDY ON HERE, SO GET YOU MOUSE WHEELS READY AND PREPARE TO SCROLL!!!!!!!* 

Honest logos 2.0

Remember the honest logos that made their rounds across cyber space a while back......

(facebook-procrastination, Mc Donalds- Mc Diabetes !? lmao) well heres yet another dose, with some level of humour but also some thought provoking honesty embedded in their, just the like the video below...

30 ways to say YAHOO!

The somewhat ailing internet giant with probably the most popular name since the advent of the internet and email, (okay, yes, google might win that bout) YAHOO! will be introducing a new logo on September 4 2013 and until then they will treat us daily to 30 different logos before unveiling the new (and hopefully final) one. This may prove to be tiring, but it sure is a nice PR move.

Heres a nicely done video of what to expect...



By the way, you can view a daily review of each logo here

and the WINNER is...

I'm sure its no news that Multichoice Nigeria held a logo design competition to celebrate its 20 years of existence a while back. Well, after a seemingly long wait and much debate with regard to its authenticity (what with the ABC logo competition debacle!?), a winner has finally, (and i believe, deservedly) emerged.

JOHNNY ROCKETS...AGAIN.

So I finally went to Johnny rockets,..2 words, good + times.

oh, the possibilites...

A very nice video portfolio from lippincott highlighting brand as possibility, featuring, ofcourse, some of their client brands.



Very nice stuff. Thats why i look up to this agency so much.

NAIJA'S FINEST

Being a design enthusiast and practitioner of Nigerian descent, it pains me when i can't see us on the map of global design excellence (cannes lions and the likes). We're literally nowhere to be found regardless of the number of photoshop wizards that reside in our nation. However, of recent, a smile has been brought to my face with the discovery of our very own design professionals, some individual, some organisations, that are putting out breath taking work. The following are my top 5 of Naija's finest in the design industry, based entirely and completely on my sole opinion, so therefore, no head biting!!

ALL STAR EVERYTHING.

As you may or may not know, 2 Sundays back was the NBA allstar game in Houston, and if you did watch it, you would have noticed the 'colourblocking' that went on with the kicks the stars were wearing. From Lemon Green to bright red as well as what seemed to be like 'peach-ish' pink on some players (Mamba Baba!) they flooded our screens with both Amazing talent and bold sports fashion.

HERE WE GO AGAIN

Now you may or may not know this but a new American restaurant is about to pop up in Lagos, Nigeria.( where else but VI). Its called Johnny Rockets. Now according to wikipedia, Johnny Rockets is an American restaurant franchise whose concept is to create a classic American restaurant atmosphere. The theme is the diner-style restaurant. Decor includes  individual jukebox stations, chrome accents and red vinyl seats. The staff at some locations are known to sing and dance every half-hour. Making a smiley face with ketchup on the paper plate when served American fries is a Johnny Rockets trademark.