As the only person with 'designer' as job title here, I think I'm allowed to simply say, "I found this nice street signage down the road from our office".
The South Shoreditch text is actually a light stone, but looks a lot like 'clean graffiti', where artists clean pavements with stencils in place to create their designs (see picture 2 for a Greenpeace campaign using clean graffiti)
Today I found out about a new product that went down a storm at SXSW a couple months ago. It's called Poken and it makes social networking in RL (that's real life, by the way) as easy as a good, old-fashioned don't leave me hangin' moment.
Quite simply, take your Poken with you wherever you go, and when you meet someone you like, have your Poken to high-five (well, high-four) your new friend's Poken. Immediately, links to your chosen contact details and social network pages are transferred.
When you get home, plug Poken into your computer and click. It does the rest for you.
It's a kind-of backwards augmented reality - you can put your real life into online, rather than taking online into your real life how you might with Google Latitude, or augmented reality games.
It’s gone too far. It’s like when people develop a plastic surgery addiction. It comes to a point when they think they’re still making themselves look better, but really they’re just making themselves look weirder.
It needs to stop. Before all we’re left is shiny white teeth on a 2D beige oval.
There’s a short-cut I can take to get to my flat, through a tunnel. A ‘legal graffiti’ tunnel in fact. The one where The Can festival was held and Banksy upscaled his calibre even more. Since then it’s become a place for Graffiti artists to do their thing without having to be under the cloak of darkness.
I find it has two extremes.
Sometimes it can be really imposing. A classic film set for a murder scene, with strip lighting buzzing in and out of contact. Walls covered with darkly meaningful pictures and messages. A human shadow that you can make out in the distance. Stock still. Waiting.
But other times, it can be truly amazing and awe inspiring. Unobtrusive speakers along the walls seep out soothing classical melodies in contrast to the striking work you see around you. There’s an artist deep in thought, considering what could be a masterpiece. People nod respectfully as they walk past.
Though no doubt artists and public alike have mixed views on the tunnel. For me, I find it’s a fantastic space. A constantly changing patchwork of genius that you wouldn’t be able to see anywhere else (without monumental risk to life and limb that is). It has a vibe of mutual respect between authority and graffiti artists. And what’s more, no brands seem to have got their hands on it. Yet.
Whilst my move to Miami looms I’ve taken a look into what that side of the pond will be offering.
Just recently the Wolfsonian museum (think the Design Museum crossed with the V&A) has created their own theory: Thinkism.
“What man makes, makes man” - Mitchell Wolfson Jr (Wolfsonian Founder). I love the brash, confident tone of the Americans. I also love this because the Wolfsonian, in fact the United States of America, has balls. They have the balls to dream this up and even bigger balls to promote it as their mantra. Brilliant!
“A cultural movement of the late 20th and early 21st centuries that provokes an understanding of objects as expressions of human ideas, concerns and aspirations. It is characterized by the notion that what man makes, makes man. We are absolutely sure this is the correct definition of Thinkism because we just made it up.” Wolfsonian
Thinkism art explores people's relationship to the world, and our relationship to one other. “Art can be more than mere decorations on a wall. Art can be meaningful beyond words, beyond culture, and language.” Kam, David – Artist
With all this in mind it would appear the Wolfsonian has opened up Thinkism as not just an art movement but as a mass movement and the appreciation and rationalisation of creativity and culture, which I believe it does deserve. However, my impatient nature gets slightly concerned at the amount of time we will spend thinking and not doing.
I’m the first to support time to think but what will have to follow pretty damn quickly (PDQ) is action. I therefore suggest…‘Doism’, a movement, which I am coining right here right now and one, which I will most definitely promote when I move across the pond. Wolfsonian, if you are listening this is a subtle suggestion that you become: “The Wolfsonian, the museum of thinkism and doism”.
Let’s celebrate the next step, the evidence of the outcome of ‘thinkism’.
This week I've been taking a look at some of the smaller messages we see every day: the way websites talk to us.
Social networking, in particular, shows a change in the way websites 'connect' with us. 'Web words' like 'Login', 'register' and 'loading' are being replaced with more human comments.
Out of the context of a web browser, what would you reply to a question like 'already hip?'. 'What's on your mind?' sounds like something one's therapist would say - not facebook. 'Register' has evolved to 'Don't have an account, you really should' and thanks to flickr we can now say 'ni hao, szia, shalom, hej, salaam, aloha' and of course, 'hello'.
So what's the point in developing this language we rarely read in the first place? Probably something to do with 'talking to the target audience in a human way', 'developing point of difference' and other clever sounding bits I probably don't fully understand.
Aidan here. First time at this – here’s what’s playing in my head as I take my first steps.
My New York counterpart across the page describes exactly what we’re setting out to do here.
(While Floyd is your bona fide blog Archbishop, I’m but a wide-eyed blog choirboy with high hopes and a side parting on his first day in the blog cathedral.)
Analogy over. For my part I want this to be full of reasons to return. Doing what we do we get to see the world through many eyes. That’s what we want to share here.
So here goes!
(I understand that a blog isn’t just words and punctuation, so here’s a picture that, for me, in its own way, nicely encapsulates the notion of ‘Celebration’.)
Cunning attended the NYU Career Fair on Tuesday, with the hope of meeting a few good candidates for spring internships. We wanted to so something fun and a little different from the other companies attending, so we decided to turn our event table into a blanket fort - the kind we used to build as kids. We invited students to come inside the fort for a remote interview with Floyd Hayes, our Creative Director, who was inside of another fort we\'d built in the coat room of our office. Interview questions supported the theme of childhood curiosity and exploration (eg, \"Who would win in a fight: a shark or a gorilla?\").
The video doesn\'t do the experience justice, but I\'d say we stole the show. While others were schmoozing and distributing literature, we had people crawling on the floor and making animal sounds. The best part - for me - was hearing from students passing through on their way to class who didn\'t even know about the career fair, but stopped by just because our station looked interesting.
Big thanks to everyone who helped out. Job well done!
I was running down Broadway the day prior to Valentines Day (late ,late for a very important date) and found myself endeared and distracted by hundreds of pink hearts chalked or painted on the sidewalk of the street between Broome and Grand. I didn’t know what they were for or from whence they came, as I walk this walk to work daily, but I saw all of the hearts swelling toward the door ofLululemon
Lululemon is a brand we’ve taken notice of before- Canadian yoga/athletic/milfclothing with a strong brand essence and message geared toward an enlightened lifestyle. In the two windows of the store were two live professional yogis flipping/posing/headstanding for the streets to see with a message on the window reading ‘…and your heart will follow…’
The crowds that gathered were plentiful, the message and execution perfect:
1) Great use of sidewalks as a place of mysterious promotion. The hearts gave me a sense of adventure and wonderment akin to following breadcrumbs.
2) Lovely display (no pun intended) of the power of retail windows as real estate- creating a spectacle for a captivated audience that stops even the most cynical of New Yorkers running down the street.
3) Both elements mentioned above were on-brand incorporating product (clothing), expressed product benefit (comfort and movement), all the while evoking a positive response generalized to a brand association.
Unfortunate for pictures taken by my phone that don’t do this post justice, but it was advertising after my own heart.
THis brought a wry smile to someone who loves designs, trypography and signs. A "please dogs do not pi$$ on my designer planters" painted onto the sidewalk of a W. Village apartment building foyer.
Seems not to have been that effective to the dog in need on Sunday.
Perhaps a dog pitch whistle next time Mr. Doorman?
Last summer a renegade graffiti artist (well, all of them are renegade) started graffiti-ing “Rod Stewart Loves the Hamptons” all over Manhattan and subsequently Brooklyn. There wasn’t much explanation- just a crack at the east-bound wealthy folk.
There are archives of blog posts of the signage sightings around NYC and a website by the artist with pictures of his work.
Well, here’s another one for the books- Rod Stuart Loves the Hamptons is back this Summer, and he’s loving it on Greene St right next to the apple store. I enjoy the irreverent, sarcastic nature of this art- the palm trees, the bright colors, how he curves the ‘s’. It’s a shame there isn’t more of a point - just adding to the visual clutter. I take that back, it makes me laugh.
Walked by this visibly empty, tiny New York art gallery on Greene st. with Chelsea and was intrigued to see nothing, but papers hung on the wall and a lonesome fax machine front and center. The door was open, I walked in and explored. FAX is an exhibit that‘s invited groups of artists, architects, designers, and thinkers to utilize the fax machine as a communicative medium to quite literally fax their work in through the gallery’s working fax machine line.
Guests could walk around and read all of the faxes, some funny-some odd-some confidential (i.e. President Nixon’s speech that was written should the moon landing have killed our American Astronauts)-and some beautiful. I loved the exploratory nature of the exhibit- not sure if the curator was taking lunch- there was only a brief depiction of the exhibit painted on the wall. It would’ve been interesting if they invited the public to fax their work in.
FAX has also made me think- have email and scanners pushed the fax machine out of the messenger pool? Or is a re-birth of the fax machine in order?
Check it out, it’s only up for the next couple of weeks.
Ambient or Accident? Tom The Intern Adventures Part Two
2009-06-30 22:22:32
When you go to do laundry in a sweaty, smelly, and tiny Laundromat on 9th and 36th the last thing you expect to come across on the street is a totally wrecked Mercedes S Class, worth around $80,000…but this is exactly what I found.
My first thought was “Wow, an impressive ambient ad right on my doorstep!” so I ran across the street to take a closer look. After some investigations I found that there was nothing to suggest that this random placement of a smashed car was anything ambient, asides from a small bumper stick for a beer brand, although this did nothing to clarify the situation.
There’s was some smashed glass near by but the car seemed to be so carefully positioned at the curb. It was outside a car parking facility (they park them on rigs 4 cars high at this place) so maybe they just dumped it there?!
Either way, it was interesting to see a wrecked car up close and personal, the roof had been cut away by the fire department. Surprised no one had tried to steal the alloys yet, but I guess this is New York and not Liverpool.
Situated in one of the more incongruous downtown ‘hoods is a boutique butchers. Cleaner than your local hospital, this unique store specializes exclusively in Kobe beef that is sold by the pound in choice cuts.
While one dish eateries are nothing new to NYC, (see S’Mac and PBJ ) the gourmet butcher is a fresh experience in every sense of the word. From the cool, sterile sensory overload one might be excused for thinking this to be the back entrance to the Yakuza’s private restaurant.
Whether the suited security guard is there to protect the future of the meat or the living souls in the room is unclear but he’s a friendly chap nonetheless. ‘ave a butchers for yourself or call 212-260-BEEF
Today was a BIG day in the Cunning world…I managed to navigate my way downtown on the subway without getting lost, beaten, or robbed.
Let me introduce myself, I’m Tom, Cunning NY’s newest and coolest summer creative intern and have been instructed by Sir Floyd to do one of these here blog posts, which I must admit is quite an honor.
I’ve traveled around 3600 miles to get here, and I have to say, it was well worth it! Being a young British bloke in New York is exhilarating, exciting, nerve racking and all together out of this world. Having the pleasure of working along side such a lovely bunch of advertising savvy nutcases is a grand bonus too.
I don’t think I could fit into a blog post just how much I have seen, smelt, tasted, touched and avoided since I arrived here last Friday afternoon. From a barber shop quartet on the street in Soho, to a man falling asleep standing up and very nearly falling on his face. From a Jamaican cab driver preaching god and the bible to you, to every American asking you if you support Liverpool (which, when you are not a football fan, becomes very annoying.)
As it turns out, American folk are some of the nicest, chattiest and welcoming I have ever met. Once you get past the fact that they all think British people live in London and have met the Queen, they are really, genuinely, lovely. I live with a whole bunch of crazy yanks and it is a blast. Kareoke Tuesdays thank you please.
I have been in New York for a week and at Cunning for 4.25 days and so far it has been magical, on all accounts. I would recommend this insane adventure to anyone. You only live once, and this is definitely a top way to live. I’m enjoying every minute and fear the day when I have to leave.
I will sorely miss Floyd’s bad taste in music, Chelsea’s hybrid accent, Lara’s goose cackle, Mark’s collection of trainers in the corner, SJ’s tinyness, Siobhans New York tales and Paymon’s big grins.
Oh, and the view from up here is incredible.
Random conversation of the day:
Floyd: “I think banana’s are the only food you could really eat with your gums.”
Chelsea: “Yeah.”
Floyd: (holding up a half eaten banana) “You can really gum them.”
Chelsea: “Yeah, I think you are right.”
Floyd: “Probably why they are so popular with babies.”
Brooklyn's public seating has received a face lift from Knight. This hand crafted bench was seen in South Williamsburg with painted canvas stapled to the wood.
I wrote this piece over at my own blog (www.FloydHayes.com) and thought it may be of interest to readers here:
10 years into this gig and it still amazes me how badly clients brief creatives.
I remember and old computer rule from my school office-studies days: “Garbage in, garbage out.” It’s a good rule of thumb for briefing sessions.
Shoddy briefing has led to the pitiful state of advertising in this country and needs to be addressed if the quality of the work is to rise.
Here are 10 pointers:
1. Empathy
You are briefing creative people not your tax accountant. We make a living from using our imagination, we’re playful and experimental people, please treat us as such.
2. Presentations
Turn on our minds and imaginations.
Ditch the dreadful 50+ slide PowerPoint. Show us lots of pictures and videos. Better yet, give us the product.
3. Customers
Let us meet your customers (and for the love of Kenneth, stop calling them “Target Consumers.” Show some respect to the people paying all our salaries).
4. Environment
Brief us somewhere stimulating. Your boredroom sucks.
5. Honesty
Be honest. Your brand is not likely to be the next iPod, so get a grip. We can make anything thrilling and engaging but we need to know the limitations of expectation.
6. Passion & Excitement
Show some passion. I’d be a rich man if I had a dollar for every dull-witted brand manager I’ve met who clearly could not care less about the brand they’re representing.
If you’re not excited, we’re not excited, so why should the audience be excited?
7. Humor
It’s advertising not notifying next-of-kin. Have a sense of humor and play about your job. You’ll find it’s infectious.
8. Time
If you’re expecting to see big, globally relevant ideas and want them developed in a week, you’ll be disappointed.
Fast results are a false economy.
9. Money
Ideas are the most valuable component you can add to your marketing mix. Pay a fair fee for people’s creative work and cut the “we’re a cool brand, this will make you look good.”
Looking good does not pay the rent.
10. Involvement
Get involved in the creative process. You live with the brand everyday, we can benefit form your insights.
I love walking past the NYU's 'Broadway Windows' display.
There's always something unexpected.
Check out this felt head by artist Adam Parker Smith.
More of his work can be found here:
www.adamparkersmith.com
He describes his work (unfortunately) like this:
"
Constructing the aftermath of invented ceremonies and transcendental experiences from materials mined from vernacular culture, hardware stores and inherited collections of fabrics, I mimic the human endeavor to understand the universe through a bizarre confluence of real events, daydreams and preexisting fables. Through this combination, I establish psychological sites for disparate elements to congregate in environments that are simultaneously haunting, familiar and alien. "
Perfectly manicured toenails peer out of the edge of the bed. Part performance, part sculpture, Chu Yun’s latest work in the New Museum employs paid volunteers to sleep for eight hours every day during opening hours.
Women between the ages of 18 and 40 take sleeping aids before each ‘shift’ to ensure undisturbed slumber striking up debates about women in art and the modern disengagement from society. Not to mention the vulnerability of her position lying comatose on the Bowery.
New York City’s very own enfant terrible has finally reached artist status by having his own exhibition at Bushwick’s hottest new gallery space- 3rd Ward. Following his highly publicized arrest, the Boy was last Friday’s main attraction for an evening of dancing, [free] drinking and interactive art.
Poster Boy’s mash-up style is sohotrightnow, mirroring trends in music by the likes of Girl Talk and mix-n-match vintage style of recent years. His one wall of work consisted of 3 strips of Velcro and some very fun combinations to be made by attendees.
Content was a little on the thin side but a nice twist to the regular gallery opening by allowing for artist and viewer to temporarily exchange roles. There’s a little bit of Poster Boy in all of us.
I see the chap's work all over the place in particular near to where I live in Fort Greene.
I'm fond of the moment when you begin to see new work but you have no idea if it's street art, a mentalist, a marketer or all three.
This new piece by Aakash Nihalani is on the corner of Green and Spring.
Mr Nihalani describes his mission as, "I am trying to offer people a chance to step into a different New York than they are used to." Refreshingly unpretentious for an art statement.
Check out more of his work here:
http://www.aakashnihalani.com
London team, let's see some new work from around your trendy new office :)
The phrase, "only in New York" is over used but in this instance, I think it's appropriate.
Comic Burger in Williamsburg , Brooklyn (Grand Street between Lorimer and Union) is a truly weird concept. It's a gourmet burger joint combined with a comic store/reading room.
I stumbled into it on Saturday night after enjoying a few ales. I'd like to post a review but my memory is a little hazy. I remember enjoying a read through an X-Men while scoffing a cheese burger.
I know people who wear gloves and buy two of each comic (one never leaves the acid proof plastic cover). The idea of greasy fingers on any of my prized issues of "Groo The Wander" gave me the chills.
It's what I call an "English Day" today in New York City - a kind of non-weather. The uniform grey of the sky is like being covered by a giant piece of Tupperware.
There is hope on the horizon - the first sighting of the gourmet ice cream truck outside of Cunning HQ In SoHo.
Sure, it's $4 for a scoop and a cone - but it's gorgeous, hand made, organic and independently owned. The high cost means it's for treats only. Just as well given my expanding waistline...
Topshop- the staple diet of any British fashion lover- has finally reached New York to sprinkle some British style over the streets of SoHo.
After a delayed launch, the ohsohotrightnow house of Fashion snuck onto the scene with an ice cream truck touring the ‘hipster’ bars giving out goodie bags to eager fashionistas prior to the opening. These included a giftcard holding anything from $5-$500 but valid for one day only - giving eager style seekers incentive to attend the opening.
And what an opening! Lines formed three times around the block for the multi-storey fashion emporium while the streets of SoHo were looking particularly chic all day. With Kate Moss opening the store- eager young ones were all hoping to catch a glimpse of the Queen of Fashion herself, one student at FIT gushed- “I’m just hoping she’s still inside. I LOVE Kate!”
Lines continued into the evening, with free beauty treatments, style tips and promotions on offer all weekend.
Waiting for the subway in New York can offer a feast of entertainment- depending on the location and time of travel. If stations were rated by activity 14th St Union Square would definitely win. Hands down. From dancers, to brass bands to scissor caricaturists- these regulars operate an underground market of artistry.
One group that has shone out and established a legendary status within the city is the Stumblebums. A fusion of Jazz and Punk (Jank?), the Stumblebums are comprised of Jesse Wildcards (Tuba), Smidge Malone (Trumpet and vocals) and Jonny Carwheels (drums and vocals). Malone’s raspy Louis Armstrong-esque vocals lose no definition from the tiled walls of the platform to the recorded version.
As a notable front man, the show is nothing short of a performance and deserves a stage- even if it’s still underground.
Another day, another brief and once again I see you insist on calling people “consumers.” Where did this odious term come from?
I suspect it’s part of a slew of business-speak which came from Rand Corporation in the 1950’s along with other delightful marketing jargon such as “target” and “campaign.”
Sometimes this job feels like a war of attrition for people’s minds. Does it really have to be like this? I think not and would like to change it.
This attempt of change has amounted to not much more than me ranting at conferences and bleating on comments pages. Maybe the message will get through eventually?
The message is simple: If we want to improve our behavior as an industry*, we have to change the way we think and talk about our customers.
Our friends, lovers, family and colleagues are not consuming pac-men, they are human beings.
This isn’t a war, it’s a game of seduction. So let’s drop the war technique of de-humanizing people via semantics.
How about something more respectful: audience, customer, client or just plain old people?
Don’t worry, I will understand you when you say in your briefs, “we would like people to think our brand is lovely and talk about it to all their friends.”
I prefer it to “Develop an engaging campaign to generate positive WOM amongst our target 18-54 m/f consumers” don’t you?
Try it, you have nothing to lose.
Yours sincerely,
Floyd Hayes.
* Which we do right? Improved behavior may make us less despised by the general public and who knows, may actually sell more of your stuff...
Welcome to Cunning New York’s Brand-spanking new blog!
2009-03-06 12:28:28
Before we put finger to key, we asked ourselves two questions:
1) Does the world need another blog, particularly from an agency?
2) What are we trying to achieve?
Our response:
1) We\'ll let our readers be the judge of whether we\'re needed or not. If you like what we’ve got, you’ll keep checking us out if not, we’re toast.
With over 10 years in the business, we have spies, fans, 5th columnists and gossips in every part of culture – we’ll be tapping all of them for the jump on cool creative “stuff” to share with you.
2) We want to create a new platform for 'Creative Communication' however it manifests be it fashion, ads, culture-jamming, stunts, music, street art, trends, theater, comedy and anything that takes our collective fancy.
We’ll aim to provide original content and thought without resorting to reposting (unless it’s just too good to miss).
If we inspire, entertain and win some new Cunning fans then the blog has done its job (and rest easy, there won’t be a lot of agency navel gazing here).
Finally, We’re offering something unique and we believe exciting: a split screen blog which covers two of the greatest creative cities in the world, side by side, day by day. We think this is a cool approach and hope you do to!
So, welcome to the Cunning New York blog, we hope you enjoy it. We welcome suggestions and tips from you too. Email us here.
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