I’m sure 99% of you reading this didn’t know about it – well, happy Left Hander’s Day to those of you who are (it falls on 13th August), and since apparently there’s a left-handedness bias in the creative industries, there might just be a sizeable number of you!
Here’s some trivial nuggets about left-handedness for you to live and commemorate this extremely significant day on our calendars (yar…)!
If you’re the kind of person who notices little things and likes to know why are things a certain way – this might be a neat gem. The Color+Design blog has compiled a list (actually, now two) of some of the trivia behind why specific colors are attributed to a certain item or notion: why is the envy monster green? Why does the leader of the Tour de France wear a yellow jersey (and why does the Italian one wear pink)? Why is the US dollar the greenback?
If these questions-and-answers fascinate you (as they are for me), be glad that there are over 20 of them right here!
The Wired series of photograph struck me quite a bit. It’s a whole series of photos by acclaimed photographer Edward Burtynsky, who went about documenting China’s rapid growth through industrialization and manufacturing, capturing the human side of the production processes that statistics tend to conceal.
“these images are meant as metaphors to the dilemma of our modern existence; they search for a dialogue between attraction and repulsion, seduction and fear. We are drawn by desire, a chance at good living, yet we are consciously or unconsciously aware that the world is suffering for our success. Our dependence on nature to provide the materials for our consumption and our concern for the health of our planet sets us into an uneasy contradiction. For me, these images function as reflecting pools of our times.”
China as a rising global power has been perennial news – globalization talks inevitably talked about how China is a massive power and the world’s factories, about outsourcing, cheap manufacturing, etc. We’d even rattle off some statistics to prove our points. And for a long while, it seemed like we’re all familiar with the issues, and we might feel that we can debate and discuss on it like a pro.
It’s amazing how humans are stripped off their human qualities through uniformity – in these pictures, a very clear message is sent: “individual expressions are not tolerated. You are part of the industrial complex, engaged only to carry out a specific task”. This makes it a lot more manageable and controllable – quantifying and prescribing the very last bit of process, details, appearance and behavior that are allowed. Like sheeps in a flock, conformity and obedience is the rule of the day. Mass-produced goods made by legions of identical-looking workers (who looks like they were themselves mass-produced to the exact same specifications).
But these brilliant photographs also reminded me that, beneath all that statistics and projections, there are humans, very real humans whose lives are affected and affecting all these. When you talk about China and growth and globalization, it’s easy to lose sight of the reality and the physical world. These photos help to restore, or at least hint at, the sense of perspectives from the ground.
I stumbled onto a great article on the current state of branding for products:
So you got line extensions, big ads, expensive logos, brand onions. You got branding. And most of it was as intellectually rigorous as phrenology. Actually it was probably more like Scientology; it was somewhere between a fake religion and a false science.
…
The dismal nature of the branding science has started to become clear to business recently and they’re starting to vote with their investments and appointments. They’re turning from the people who create perceptions of value to the people who create actual value – the designers, technologists, innovators. Hence branded utility, hence ‘design is the new management consultancy‘, hence the current Business Week heroes being IDEO and Ives not CHI and Chiat Day. Hence the limited tenures of CMOs. Hence the rise of communications businesses that can actually make stuff rather than just think of stuff.
If you take Business Week as the sole, definitive guide to the business landscape, you might have the impression that design (and design thinking) has indeed become the zeitgeist, tour-de-force of the new world. Design is increasingly being recognized as much more than simple surface styling – in fact it’s not so much the design skills that are attractive to the suits, but more the design approach, attitude and thinking: for instance the natural emphasis design places on the end user. Personally I guess it’s about time too – years of management theories have focused a lot on the processes – cheaper, more efficient, quality management – supply-side intervention: the tide has turned onto the demand side.
And yet, amidst this hype about incorporating design into the corporates, there lies a great fundamental risk as well – as the “design” buzzword gets applied to every field and where everybody wants to own a piece of the “design” action to somehow feel more important and strategic; every other product launch is termed as the greatest innovation (EVAR!); every little tweak to the systems is labeled as an overhaul after extensive usability study and re-design; and perhaps most pervasively, where every management action/decision is heralded as a consequence of strategic design.
At some point, design in its true sense would have been diluted beyond its original context. By its very nature, design usually leverages across disciplines – unifying and synthesizing a multitude of factors into a coherent, appealing whole. That requires tremendous vision and authority on the designer. And yet, the essence of design: insight, original thought, clever solutions, attention to details and users – might just get left behind or placed on the backburner in favor of quicker, more painless adoption of design into current corporate cultures – “let’s not shake too many trees or too many monkeys would fall”.
Herein lies the greatest danger: as much as it is being trumpeted the loudest, design might fundamentally not be given the room nor its role to play – and are but relegated to mere surface patching of corporate visions in tune with the latest fad – “design”.
That, perhaps is the time when the term “design” loses trust and equity, itself becoming a fad branding: somewhere between fake religion and false science.
Kodak – the company that practically invented modern consumer photography (who subsequently saw its near demise as film photography transits to digital photography) is digging deep into its heritage in innovation again in an attempt to restore their former glory. In the news release announced recently, it claims to have a new sensor technology that significantly increases sensitivity to light, so that flash photography is eliminated.
So far, the only picture accompanying the news report is a mysterious lab-looking guy holding up a palette of colored light, which frankly could’ve just come from any stock image websites. If the technology is indeed true though, would they be able to claw their way back, or have they already lost too much? The answer is it was not enough to rescue the sinking ship.
If fame is your game and you’re okay with karaoke, SpotLightLive might just be the venue for you. Tapping on the success of talent-search shows such as American Idols, this restaurant has a stage that is fully tricked out in terms of atmosphere, lighting etc. to make you feel like a real star. But they go beyond the standard “a-stage-in-a-restaurant” formula:
Following in the footsteps of today’s hottest stars, sing on stage accompanied by professional backup singers and dancers. At Spotlight Live you can cut a hit record in private recording booths and perform “on Broadway” while having it all broadcast to the world online, and live in Times Square on the Spotlight Live Jumbo Tron. Diners can even vote on their favorite performance, instant message other tables, and post comments online using touch-screens at each table.
Update, SpotlightLive is closed for business.
Law circumvention and persecution have always been opposing nemesis that feed off each other. As we move into the high-tech world, methods for cheating in exams have also evolved beyond scribbles in the palm. A seller of cheating aids in China was recently busted as an undercover agent pretended to be interested in the newest “cheating shoes”. Touted to be able to bypass the signal detector/jammer that is employed by test centers to deter ordinary cheating electronics, these shoes go for RMB2000 a set, as they are claimed to transmit encrypted exam results through a high-level bandwidth.
How it works: someone would read off the answers for the major examinations and these answers would be relayed to the shoe and then to the tiny earpiece. How would they know the answers in the first place? Leaked examination papers, of course (these go for RMB20,000 though).
[Link (Chinese website)]
For those in Singapore, a mystery was revealed recently – the yellow stop advertisement panels with simple lines like “Anything can happen on May 18″ and “Get ready for Whatever at May 18″ were probably a little more literal than you’ve expected – they were a drum-up campaign for the introduction of these new can drinks – labeled of course as “Anything” and “Whatever”.
Taking the indecisive nature of some people to the fullest, these drinks might be the surprise return if you indeed answer “anything” when your friend ask what’d you like. The second surprise would be in the flavors of the drink – there are six flavors for each label – “Anything” consist the fizzy versions: cola, cola with lemon, root beer, etc. while “Whatever” are non-carbonated – e.g. ice lemon tea, chrysanthemum tea, apple tea etc. They have even purposely reduced the ingredients to non-descriptors like carbonated water, permitted flavor, fruit juice etc, so you’d have no chance of “cheating” the system than to have real random drink. (I wonder, maybe someone would go and analyze the serial numbers or something and decrypt it? Surely they must be different SKUs – but that is still rather extreme for just a can drink).
Most would see this as simply a marketing packaging, or perhaps even a passing fad that would not stand the test of market and time. That is too early to say – but as characteristics of such a gimmicky approach to beverage marketing, a hyped-up launch campaign is definitely crucial.
They took out some ads, some of which verging on the risque, e.g. the picture of a sexy woman accompanied by the line “I’m easy. I’ll take Whatever you give me”. There was a mild reaction (controversy?) to the campaign – some people think they are demeaning (which I’m fairly certain is the intention: you’d need all the publicity you can get, controversial or not – debates and letters to the newspaper forums would certainly fuel the curiosity and hype).
What they perhaps did not anticipate was a response of another kind to their ads. You see, they have lined cans around their posters (empty sealed cans). These cans were quickly vandalized – whether it be the bored teenager fiddling with it and opening the tabs, or from poor old women removing the aluminum cans for money. As a result, there were again concerns over the opened cans being a breeding ground for dengue mosquitoes – eventually the company pulled the ads down prematurely.
Youtube promo video “Anything”:
Whatever Ad:
Some of you might be laughing at me for this – but I’d be the first to admit – I didn’t know baby carrots weren’t baby carrots. I always thought they were either carrots that were harvested early, or a species of carrot that were genetically meant to be that small. So, if you’re like me and have no idea where does baby carrots come from, read on:
Baby carrots are not young carrots, but rather small pieces of carrots that are chopped and whittled down to look like small carrots. They are peeled, and washed, and insanely convenient.
Ah – baby carrots come from real, normal carrots! Those carrots that are too knobby, twisted, ugly to be sold as normal carrots were cut down to form this much more pleasant looking – dare I say cute and adorable – baby carrots (what a perfectly-coined marketing term to erase any notions of its more imperfect, less-innocent past!).
Which made me think: some of the more packaged/refined foods are also derived from these less-appealing (appearance-wise) foods – think of all the juices, potato chips, wedges, etc. – since they’re relieved of the burden to look pretty in their natural states, they are able to carry on a new identity powered through by packaging and marketing. And a whole lot more expensive than the original ones too (baby carrots usually sell for maybe 3-5 times more expensive than standard ones).
Moral of the story: don’t look at just the appearance. Recognize the inner potential, and groom it to its fullest!
While you’re unlikely to swipe the card for a Blade of Hanna in real life, these World of Warcraft Visa cards are as real, physical and plastic as they get. There are a total of 13 designs to choose from – each with a character type from the online game – so you could display your hardcore gaming creds whether online or off:
“So ‘Sup, what do you want?”
“Hi, I’d like to get one of these, charge it to my WOW Visa.”
“Thy will be done, o Level 70 Draenei Paladin. I am honored by the kind blessing and patronage you have brought to our humble town.”
Anyway.
With a credit card that is so heavily branded by a single entity (an online game, even), one would thus expect some tremendous incentive specifically for WOW players, especially with the slogan “The card that pays you to play”. On the contrary, the rewards for usage is really crappy though. Aside from the 1-month free WOW subscription upon card activation (which is at least decent), you only earn game time at 1% of every dollar charged – which means, you need to spend $1500 to get a month of free gaming. In another perspective, you can buy 100 months of game time to get 1 month’s free.
WOW! indeed.
