Driver safety web banner

'Distracted Drivers are Dangerous’ was an online campaign put together by an interactive online agency in New Zealand highlighting the dangers of texting and driving simultaneously.

The campaign was made from a simple online banner. It became so widespread that it gained national attention and made the government re-think existing road safety laws. This is an inspirational piece and a perfect example of how online virals and clever web campaigns can have a large impact on their audiences.

Try the banner for yourself here.

Watch the making of the campaign here.

A book with a difference

This is the first book I have featured on this blog that contains little or no words. Despite this, this is one of the most fantastic book promotions I have seen. The Tate recently commissioned a short viral film promoting Peter Blake’s ABC and 600 Black Spots. The only difference is, it was made into a pop-up book by David Carter (see the video below).

This is a clever piece of marketing by Tate and displays the creativity that can be achieved with craft.

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man – James Joyce

A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man is a novel written by the Irish author James Joyce. The book is partially autobiographical with the main character in the novel having similarities with the author.

The novel tells the story of the life of a character named Stephen Dedalus. Stephen grew up in a large Irish Catholic family that was affected by poverty. His family saves up enough money to send him to boarding school where he excels with religious study. As Stephen gets older he begins to question Irish society and Catholicism and all the social expectations associated with it.

In regards to the brief for this project, I think this book is very relevant in broadening understanding of cultural and social issues. It explores the dynamics of religion and the conflicts it may have in a person’s life. James Joyce moved to Paris to develop his artistic writing skills but he kept his connections with his family in Ireland. I have found his work inspirational in the way it questions morality, culture and society.

Rabbit

Rabbit is a short film by Run Wrake. It is an art-house animation that explores issues of greed and its consequences. What is striking about the film is its use of imagery. It uses stickers from 1950s educational books. This theme is kept consistent in the animation with each object being labeled.

The combination of childhood imagery with dark themes is thought provoking and something that may be relevant to other area of design.

The film can be watched here.

Shooting an Elephant

This book contains a collection of short stories/essays written by George Orwell.

Some of the essays are autobiographical describing Orwell's experience, observations and thoughts about being a police officer in imperial Burma. Orwell is forthright with his observations. It can also be said that his opinions were progressive for the time. Working for the British empire in a place where it was unpopular would have been a difficult task. Orwell describes his disgruntlement to the regime, and sensitivity to the locals.

Looking at the book critically, the series of novels provides a great insight into the mind of the famed author Orwell. It also demonstrates the feelings of people working for a dominant regime and indeed the people it affects. The book continues to add to my interest about George Orwell and his thought processes and is well worth a read.

David LaChapelle

David LaChapelle is a photographer and director most noteworthy for his photography pieces including celebrities.

His style is unique and surreal, with most of his pieces notoriously provocative in appearance. Despite this his photography is world-renowned and he is highly regarded in fashion photography.

Recently LaChapelle was reported to have been inspired by artists of the past including Baroque. His piece Deluge (below) certainly has qualities of paintings from this time period.

David LaChapelle’s Deluge

You can find an interview with LaChapelle discussing his inspirations here.

Looking at LaChapelle from a critical point of view it may be said that his pieces play on the ‘sex sales’ claim and celebrity culture. I would agree with this comment, however it must be noted that LaChapelle pioneered this style of photography and it is still effective.

LaChapelle pushes boundaries and is an inspirational artist, more of his work can be found on his website here.

Craig Holden Feinberg

Craig Holden Feinberg is an internationally recognised and award winning graphic designer from America.

He worked on many campaigns for the communications research and development company Fabrica. (See the bottom image which puts emphasis on competition.)

Feinburg's work is very provocative in its approach and certainly grabs the attention of the viewer. It could be said that their is an abundance of designs currently which try and grab the attention of the viewer in the same way, however Feinburg's work is not superficial with meaning and is creative in its approach.

You can find more of his work here.