Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Outdoor Advertising

So lately I have been truly fascinated with all the unique outdoor advertisements and transformation of common objects to have a double meaning for a brand.  As a result I have compiled some of my favorite outdoor ads I have discovered to share!

This first set of ads is one of my favorites!  It is so creative and it would definitely catch my attention.  It is for jobsintown.de, which is a German job listing site.  There are a lot more of their ads, but the one's below are the one's I like best. The words on the machines read "Life's too short for the wrong job!".




This next ad is for Home Plus Supermarket.  They put stickers resembling store shelves on pillars in the subway.  From looking at the picture below I would have no idea it wasn't a grocery store.

The ad below is an anti-smoking ad, saying "What we see when you smoke".  I think that a lot of the anti-smoking ads do a great job at bringing across that smoking is gross and this is just another of their ads that are attention grabbing and meaningful. 


This ad is for Frontline flea medicine, and as you can see from above it appears that the people walking over the large floor picture are actually fleas.  I love ads like this where there is an extra element to understanding it, such as having the right view!  This also reminds me of adds the Economist posted on the top of buses that drove through town so people working/living on upper floors could see.

This next ad is for Sharpie.  It is an interactive board where people can sign a cast using the "Sharpie".  Ads that get people involved are almost always a great idea!

The last ad that I will show in this post is from a fitness center in Amsterdam (Fitness First).  It shows your weight when sitting on the bench, which for some people might be embarrassing (and cause them to want to take a trip to the gym)!

That's it for now.. I still have a lot more I like, but I'll save those for another time!


Urban Spaces

There are so many well designed urban areas popping up and I just wanted to share some of my favorites!

There is a park/walkway called the High Line that has recently opened in Manhattan, NY (2009). It is built on an abandoned railway stretch and is made up of concrete, the original railway, and plants added.  With plants growing in between rail road tracks and trees popping up next to benches, this walkway is an artsy transition to green in the busy New York atmosphere. 


The Paseo MarĂ­timo de la Playa Poniente in Spain is also quite remarkable. Stretching approximately 1.5 kilometers along the seashore, the colorful pathways were created to help transition from the urban, busy lifestyle to the calm beach shores.  It was also created to develop better access to the beach via the city. 


This last space is in Pittsburgh I believe...
I wasn't able to find much information on it, but it looks like a nice place to go relax (and cool off) during the summer.  



Monday, March 28, 2011

Ready for some redecoration!

So I found this article on an apartment that was totally remodeled by an industrial design student in Tel Aviv, Israel and not only did it make me totally envious, but it gave me the redecoration bug!  Not that it will be happening for me anytime soon due to lack of money, time, and space, but someday... I will live in a rockin' apartment as well :)


Things I love:

1. Clock made of alarm clocks

2. Fantastic red cord lights

3. Awesome bathroom faucet/towel rack (genius point!)

4. Fancy wall indent thing (not sure what it's actually called...)

Impressive right?  Some people are just so talented!





I love this! World Cup fan shirt.



I'm not sure how I missed this last year during the World Cup, but this shirt is genius! Created for the Dutch Football Federation by the Willem de Kooning Academie advertising school, this shirt just cracks me up every time I look at it.  Great to see such an original idea, although I'm not sure it's as entirely appropriate for lady fans...

Sustainable Coke Bottle Design



So I stumbled upon this article a few days ago about a design student (age 19) that created a sustainable bottle design for Coke for his school project.  It is able to collapse and its shape saves shipping room.  Unfortunately, Coke has their signature curve bottles, so it is unlikely they will make this change.  However, I think it would be appropriate to try and target this idea to Pepsi, who doesn't have a "signature" shape and this could be an opportunity for them to take a step towards sustainability and create a new look for themselves that will set them apart from competitors.



PBJ's Grilled


I just have to rave about this food cart located in Portland, OR.  They are located on 23rd near Kearney and are just about the most amazing place I have ever been to!  Call me childish, but I LOVE traditional PBJ's.  However, this stand has found a way to take the well-known sandwich and make it exciting again!  With sandwiches on their menu being either sweet, savory, or spicy there are a lot of interesting combinations to choose from.  This weekend I questionably tried a bite of my sisters "Hot Hood" containing peanut butter, cherry jelly, bacon, and jalapeno. A-Mazing!  I will definitely be returning to their stand sometime soon and in the meantime will be craving :)

Check out their website at:  http://pbjsgrilled.com/

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Travel Book!

 I have decided to create this blog as a way to share the wonderful ads, architecture, and general stuff that I find with whoever is interested!  I find myself constantly posting new things on Twitter, so hopefully I will be able to keep this blog going and post often!

The first thing I would like to share:

After returning from a term abroad in Aarhus, Denmark I have finally finished compiling my photos into a travel book to share with family and friends!  I used blurb to create my book and they have an awesome book creating tool that you can download and customize to your needs.  Will definitely be using it again...already have some new projects in mind :) 

Enjoy!