Mike Cuthell

Today.

2012-02-23T15:18:00.000Z

This is hilarious.

Tazer Ball.

2012-02-09T10:26:00.000Z

I seriously can't get over how much the idea of this excites me.

Big Bowls...

2012-02-06T14:40:00.001Z

Last Friday was the latest in the Inferno socials, bowling at the All Star lanes in Bloomsbury. I'm not actually that great at bowling so I thought I would hide the fact by designing the invite for it, and here it is.

However, once I got going, I figured out I was a natural... we were only playing half games and imagine my surprise hitting a triple strike on my final go or a 'turkey' as 'they' say in the correct lingo.

Aaron Draplin...

2011-12-21T16:35:00.002Z

A couple of weeks ago, Paul & I went down to the sketchy streets of Shadwell, for an event 'Tall tales by a large man', that large man being Aaron Draplin, a designer out of Portland, Oregon, famous for the likes of Obama (The President), Nixon (Not the president, the brand), Nike Air Max (before they were cool), Field Notes (Mole Skine's biggest rival) and the now infamous COBRA DOGS! It was literally the best talk I have ever been to, there were tears (his), laughter (ours) and I have never left a talk so inspired. It's well worth checking out the Draplin Design Co site here

I managed to grab a LTD edition print of his poster too which I'll share, in due course.

You can grab a little insight to what Aaron was like here:

America Is F*cked.......(Graphically at least) from Jess Gibson on Vimeo.

But more importantly, there's an awesome write up by Paul on the Inferno blog here

Designer's Elbow...

2011-12-21T12:46:00.000Z

It's not as weird as you think. But does anyone else suffer from this?

Lack of arm hair on the elbow, I think it's where I use my mouse / Wacom tablet.
Never noticed it before, thought I would share it. Can you spot people in the street that work in an office? I challenge thee!

disLIKE...

2011-12-21T12:43:00.000Z

Quarter past a button...

2011-12-21T11:44:00.000Z

Here's a little something I made for the lady as part of her Christmas present. (She's had it already, so I'm not ruining any surprises).

Purchased a wall clock from Ebay for a few quid, then nipped to the local market (which just so happens to be the biggest in South West London) picked up a wide array of buttons from various little sketchy looking stalls, the more interesting the better, otherwise you can just double up... and of course, some white spray paint & super glue and Voila!

Stanley's Globe...

2011-12-20T11:31:00.002Z

Just before we first moved into our shiny new offices in Covent Garden, I nipped over to Stanley's Post (Post production company, full of lovely people), and they gave me this fine t-shirt.

Disregard the photo pose, naturally I didn't take it.

Then shortly after they sent the crew at Inferno some lovely little welcome gifts soon after. (And my oh my, I LOVE freebies).

...and now I'm getting to my point.

The Jam Jar Snow Globe Competition.

A DIY snow globe kit with lots of little goodies to glue, stick, mould, mix, oh and a little added Glycerin, to thicken the water (I always thought this was something explosive... Nitro Glycerine? Perhaps?) I even added some white-tac as snow ball as seen in the work in progress design above.

Without further adieu, here's mine:

The distortion on the glass ruined my perfectly positioned Santa & Xmas Tree, so naturally I added a Panda from a colleagues desk, and made it a lovely little box, of the same said wrapping paper that I keep banging on about and Voila! It might not win, but it looks good on a desk.

Ooh-La-La...

2011-12-20T11:09:00.002Z

Inferno had a secret santa this year (like they do every year), although this one was my first Xmas here... So here's a small section of people using the wrapping paper I made the week before last, mainly because it was free and mainly because a lot of people had left it to the last minute. Proof that it works, I suppose.

Oh, and here's the poster I made for it... The theme was burlesque, so I went for a simple graphic piece, rather than the other three more illustrated versions I created. Little bit of inside knowledge for you... Baranis' (the venue) interior architecture honestly did resemble the shape of the suspenders. Coincidence?

Give Ebay a sense of humour...

2011-12-20T10:57:00.000Z

Why on Earth not?

I call it sense of humour searching.

Note: Check out the fine print (click to make it bigger).

Where touchscreen will take you...

2011-12-12T17:54:00.000Z

With all the touchscreen devices taking over the market - in pretty much anything/everything digital, I wonder if, in future generations, we'll end up with fingers like this...

Rrip

2011-12-09T17:36:00.000Z

I've launched a little side project of mine, mainly for fun, but probably just another thing to keep me busy. It's called Rrip. It's a range of custom wrapping paper (Random, I know). I decided to make my own this year and felt I could offer it out for things like birthdays in the future.

For now it's free, because you have to print it out yourself. In the near future there will be a shiny new site called Rrip.it - but it's just forwarding for now.

Here's a few samples to get you started:

(If you use it, all I ask is that you please send me a photo).

Xmas No.1

Xmas No.2

Ice Flakes

Xmas No.3

MINIMAL INK

Some, non-Xmas samples too.

Draplin Inspired

Pop

Nighttime

Kelly

Logo Design...

2011-12-09T11:25:00.000Z

Here's a little design project inspired by playing with Triangles... It's not perfect, but it's a work in progress, I think the K is a little awkward still. I quite like the simplified M though. Below is a detail of how I put it together.

Little fun design project...

2011-12-09T11:04:00.000Z

Last night was the first of our two Inferno Xmas parties... I had a bit of spare time and designed the email invite, so thought I would share it. It turned out to be a fun little project. Naturally, I couldn't give away the details before now. I've also designed the second poster as well, so will post it up shortly.

Goldfish?

2011-12-08T10:15:00.002Z

Design Your Future...

2011-12-05T09:08:00.004Z

My old Ad course at the University of Lincoln got in touch a short while ago, and asked me to write a piece for the course. It'll feature in a publication to be distributed at the Design your Future Exhibition at Manchester & London Olympia. The magazine includes some interesting grads from a wide range of disciplines...

At first I loved the layout/ type treatment for the magazine. I'm not so sure now, anyway... judge for yourself. You can grab a full copy of the magazine here

(Click on the image to make it bigger - if you want).

TEED Poster Competiton:

2011-12-01T12:29:00.000Z

So I mentioned a little competition in a previous post for Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs to design their UK tour poster in February and my own entry.

Here's a selection of my favourites...

Cartoon illustration meets real life photo. I think it's something about the colour and seriousness in the face in contrast to the playfulness of the feathers.

The dinosaur thing is a bit of a given, but nice geometric shapes, just got to say it's a little different.

Purely for it's simplicity. Big bold type and clever spacing.

One of the best in my opinion, love the abstract but ages texture. Reminds me of that Nord Express poster from France around the 1930s.

Love the handmade feel to this, not entirely sure where someone has put the time and effort in to scalpel this out, I'm going to go with photoshop & illustrator, but it is lovely. Total maximalist design.

A designer currently working at JWT, got to be all about the colours, really bright & fresh feel to it.

10 points for being a clever sod. Nice use of origami, I can't fold paper like this for anything, still think they missed a trick by not printing something on the origami. Nice thought all the same.

For thinking about the era of my childhood, stickers were immense! Slight contradiction in the peeling sticker, even though it's under a plastic cover, but nice idea.

Brand Nu.

2011-12-01T12:16:00.000Z

@brand_nu an illustrator represented by Jelly has put out a free new poster... and it's very nice! Get your copy here: http://files.brandnu.co.uk/BrandNu_Three_A3.pdf

You can't throw a camera...

2011-11-29T11:06:00.002Z

...but you can throw a ball. Amazing panoramic shots from where you stand.
Only trouble is you have to carry a camera around that's the size of The sun!

D&AD President's Lecture...

2011-11-28T18:03:00.000Z

Inferno asked me to typed up some notes from Rosie Arnold's first Presidential lecture as the Creative head at D&AD, which you can find over on their blog here

This time round it was Jaime Perlman with her thoughts as an Art Director at British Vogue and a sneak preview into her decisions for the re-design of the British Vogue January 2012 edition.

Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs...

2011-11-27T13:19:00.000Z

So here's my design for the competition TEED are running (my Sunday morning in the office)...

Any thoughts? (Click img for detail).

Shoot a Footballer...

2011-11-24T15:39:00.001Z

A few weeks ago I was asked to get some football shots, some a little unusual, some a bit more traditional. In the run up to the weekend, I thought, sod spending my time searching stock libraries, it would be WAYYYY more fun to go shoot some stuff, so I grabbed my housemate (like-minded creative-type), a camera, a football kit and headed down to the Common to grab some snaps. Here's a sample of the pre-prod shots...

Brutal Simplicity of Thought.

2011-11-24T09:13:00.000Z

I'm a big fan of quotes, and well this isn't one, technically.
I'm sure it derived from a quote somewhere along the line, but I came across by way of my boss, paraphrasing.

A man once asked an old Indian man:
How do you turn everyday blocks of wood into such beautiful and intricate sculptures of elephants?

His reply was simple:
I remove everything that doesn't look like an Elephant.

Kew-l.

2011-11-21T16:04:00.000Z

Excuse, the cringe-worthy title.

Here's some photos from the weekend and my trip with the lady to Kew Gardens. I know what you're thinking, green, plants, flowers ...boring. Well, this place was magical when I was a kid, and yes, I didn't exactly pick the best time of year to go, but the last time I visited I couldn't have been much older than 8 years old. Now being 25, I was genuinely excited to go back. I was looking forward to one thing in particular though... The giant Victorian greenhouses, and the fact that you can still head up to the upper levels... they certainly did not disappoint. A friendly little Robin even swooped-by, almost landing on my hand, and hopped around us curiously, so thank you Mr. Robin.

Messing around with Facebook...

2011-11-14T12:40:00.002Z

PHOTOMONTAGE //

Sometimes you need not say anything at all...

2011-10-25T11:19:00.003+01:00

I wonder if this is the way that status updates are going? It very much seems that way. It doesn't feel too out of place next to comments in my feed "Just having toast for breakfast, spoke to a real person, in real life! FML, what is the sun?"

Headphones...

2011-10-24T14:45:00.001+01:00

Where did the term 'headPHONES' come from anyway?

They're just not phones are they...

Sonic in the Office...

2011-10-21T17:48:00.000+01:00

RECREATING DAYS FORGOTTEN...

*Requirements: One conveniently dressed colleague (coincidence).
- Blue Jumper
- Red Trainers

*A day of persuasion for said colleague to perform on cue.

*1 beer (to be redeemed at a later date).

*1 x Camera (of any variety).

My week in 4 pictures...

2011-10-17T08:41:00.000+01:00

I found my sleeping masking from my Tokyo trip (albeit slightly modified, by myself)

Pip The Dog becomes Pimp The Dog

(With a semi Mohawk).

New kicks which were discovered to be 'agency' colours. GDI.

Built a hut/ mansion complete with en suite, 2 reception rooms.... for a Pigmy Hedgehog, yep.

The Art of the business card...

2011-09-21T19:06:00.000+01:00

The following collection of cards is the result of 3 months of time and living in South London. Yes, this is how many taxi cards I received through my front door in a mere 90 days. There are a few overlaps, duplications and what not, but there is a grand total of 48 cards.

Here's some things I picked up on, besides the fact that I get battered by taxi firms by way of my front door...

Most of them have opted for the 'everythingyoucanfitonacard' option.
White is the predominant colour.
Most use stock images.
One used a template from MS Word circa 95.
Only one was done in a portrait layout.
Most use the reverse for receipts.
Only a few use colour double sided printing.
2 different brands used plastic printed cards.
Only one uses the name and number and nothing else.

The 48 taxi cards:

The reverse:

The changes in business card design:

It's the best of a bad bunch if you ask me, but here are a couple of the more considered designs and have the best standout value in my opinion:

16-bit.

2011-09-16T11:01:00.003+01:00

A little while ago, we stumbled across the white label copy of a then, little known, duo called 16 Bit and their 'Jump' track.
We later used it on a Nike ad.
The first dubstep track on an ad. Ever.
It was epic. Amazing sound.
Stumbling around... I tripped, fell and crash landed on this beauty.
16-Bit, Dinosaurs.
Check them on Twitter @16bit

16bit - Dinosaurs (Official Video) 1080p from ljudbilden on Vimeo.

Head-vatars

2011-09-14T17:05:00.000+01:00

I wanted to change, my twitter avatar, but I guess that's how most people recognise me on there... so I thought of Head-vatars... this is the first of the batch.

Cleverbot Vs. Cleverbot

2011-09-12T14:04:00.000+01:00

A while ago, back in March to be precise, I proposed an idea about pitching 'the cleverness of the almighty'. You can find my post right here, alas the project as I couldn't source the coding wizard.

Well, someone has only gone and done it. Hats off, an idea written down that is never realised, is just that, an idea - not a reality.

Here CornellCCSL put Cleverbot head-to-head with another Cleverbot. It's actually quite interesting, if a little spooky.

Enjoy...

Um....

2011-08-04T17:36:00.000+01:00

IS
THIS
WHAT
THE WORLD
IS COMING TO....

Vizualize.Me

2011-08-03T08:58:00.000+01:00

PIMP yo' CV

A good month or so ago, a trend hit Twitter. Surprise, surprise. It seemed to spread like wildfire across the social network... It was a link to a site called Vizualize.me, a website that promised to vizualize your CV in one click, here's what you got. An email registration. Get three of more people to also register with their email address and you were promised early access, the more people who applied the quicker you got access ...and let's be honest my curiosity got the better of me. It looked 'kinda' cool.

*Note I'm currently typing like an American, because the site itself is in American spelling and it'll just get confusing if I keep changing between the two. Naturally, I chucked it on Twitter. Well a month or so later, this is the result. Using a series of different settings I've created my own profile å la LinkedIN. Weirdly though, there was no share button on the site for LinkedIN, even though it uses the API. Strange. There are a couple of different variations below. You can change colorways, types/fonts, and even upload your own custom background. Yay.

Now, I haven't dug too deeply, because now I know what it is, I don't really know why I want it or what the purpose is. What I'm trying to say is what's the point? Everyone loves infographics, or they did 6 months ago, they were all over the place, but am I expected to send this to a future employer? Is it really that practical? It seems weird that it's for designers because I'd imagine any decent designer would just say, you didn't make that you used Vizualize.me - if they even know what it is. Or is it just a little bit of fun? My interests, languages & skills aren't listed on LinkedIN so maybe I'm missing the boat on this one... but other than a fun little side project... what was all the hype? It's only in Beta, so perhaps I'll give it a bit of time and see what happens... I might even be tempted to update those bits on LinkedIN... For now though, it just looks 'kinda' cool.

Our Children's Children...

2011-06-21T08:45:00.003+01:00

...Will never know what the correlation between these two items is...
Perhaps not even our children for that matter.

One of the coolest and most saddest things I've come across.

Map-vertising...

2011-06-06T10:36:00.002+01:00

Here's a little idea for the Map wizards that are Google Maps.

Google have photographed all of the streets of London so you can navigate in Google Street view...
Along these roads you will see 48 sheet billboards, Bus stop adshels & various other advertising canvases.

Why not sell this as a 'digital advertising space?'

I'm not sure of the legalities, but generally if you've taken a photo you own the rights to said shot, surely it's up to Google what they put in their 'photos'... or is it?

Take this Powerade billboard at London Bridge for example... Naturally, advertising space expires with time, but when Google Maps logged all of the street view shots Powerade was occupying the space and as a result has become timeless. Surely, Google has the power to replace these spaces with whatever they like - or is it up to the Media space owners like JC Decaux or Clear Channel to keep them updated?

I'm not sure of the numbers here but I'd guess thousands of people glimpse at street view everyday... It's probably worth a shout. Maybe you could buy the space on the most visited route on Street View or something...

Sign of the times...

2011-05-27T09:41:00.000+01:00

Or are kids just getting clever-er.

Not sure where I plucked this from. Benjamin & Caroline?

BBQ Season...

2011-05-26T09:07:00.000+01:00

I ordered, what I thought was going to be a normal sized BBQ... It wasn't...

Putting it to good use...

2011-05-24T11:19:00.000+01:00

I was walking down Leonard Street, over in those Shoreditch parts the other day and I noticed this. It's on the side of a building site and I guess it's where people have scrawled various tags and the building firm has painted over them, so it doesn't look abandoned and a bit of a sh*thole.

The thing is, I actually quite like it in a weird way. I wondered if there was an opportunity for the likes of Dulux or similar to team up with someone like Matt from MWM Graphics (who I noticed in France last year - and who's work is stunning) and make something amazing out it... all in one colour but varying tones. That way people would be less inclined to graffiti all over it and the building company would give some people something nice to look at.

Digital Shoreditch - Part I

2011-05-23T15:31:00.003+01:00

So, I've already posted part II, and that's because Part I was going up on Inferno's blog, but the agency's website is undergoing a refurb and it's not happening... so I thought I'd put it up here. It's a big old post, so perhaps save it for when you've got a bit of spare time.

@DigiShoreditch

Last week I was fortunate enough to get an invite to the Digital Shoreditch Summit. But first, I’ll tell you a little about what Digital Shoreditch actually is…

Now, if Silicon Valley (& SXSW) is the forefront of digital innovation in the States, then Digital Shoreditch, is based in the aptly named ‘Silicon Roundabout’, and endeavours to be the forefront of Digital creativity.

With this being the first year in existence, I didn’t really know what to expect when attending the Summit on the Friday. The event itself had been running throughout the week with a number of events, workshops and talks, such as Gamification, Digital to Analogue and back again and right down to the ‘Geek Off’ pub quiz - there was something to cater for pretty much everyone’s tastes. More here

Anyway… back to the summit, arriving for 8.30am in Tower Hill was no mean feat, I’d managed to postpone some work duties for the day and head down for the event. (Big thanks to Inferno for their support on that one). The aim of the event itself was to bring together some of digital’s finest talent with the hopes of creating a community that far exceeds the ability of an individual, and it was just that. Talent.

The first thing I should say is that there was so much going on throughout the day that I’m going to talk about the bits that stood out for me.

The morning’s events kicked off with the usual meet & greet, although there was a little twist… make of it what you will, but I always find these things to be a little bit gimmicky but in the spirit of things I contributed…

Networking was of course encouraged and on the way in pictures were taken for the ‘dating wall’ - a wall of mugshots of everyone in attendance that you could arrange convenient times to meet up outside of lectures.

After an introduction from Kam Star (One of the founders of Digital Shoreditch) the event kicked into full swing. There were a number of top speakers from the likes of Matt Hawn fom Last.FM, Macolm Poynton from Sapient Nitro & Michael Acton Smith from MindCandy and many others. Talking about topics from music metrics to Moshi Monsters. The most interesting statement of the morning for me, came from Jon Kingsbury of NESTA when talking about how technology can improve our public services: “1/3 of all CO2 emissions are trying to find a parking space”. Now there’s a problem to solve… the solution: Parkopedia

People were encouraged to make notes and ironic statements on the ‘paper’ table cloths and these were later used as a gallery for all those who participated in the event… and yes, that’s a perfect representation of me right there).

One of the highlights of the day for me was the Pecha Kucha talks, a 6 minute talk on whatever it was that you wanted to share. Some people (Names are not my strong point) spoke about their background and why they were there, but the most interesting talks that stood out for me were ones that were a little bit more personal less ‘preachy’. Of course, these are in no particular order (probably got something to do with my notes more than anything).

First up was Android developer, Kevin McDonagh from Novoda talking about his British Council funded trip to China and the similarities he found in the start-up culture emerging there. A hugely expanding market that has an endless supply of desire.

Andrew Brown from the Leeds Agency: Brass who fell into ‘digital’ as he needed a ‘proper job’ starting out with designing graphics for the likes of the Spectrum ZX, a lovely trip down memory lane.

One of the guys from RJDJ, who introduced us (despite technological failures) to their new iPhone app which is aptly named ‘RJDJ’ and creates personalised music based around gesture controls. My advice would be to use it in private - it’s not the most social app. (you can find out more here). Oh and Theinceptionapp.com – totally mind blowing stuff, you really need to check out for yourself if I’m honest.

Lauren Dyer from Stink Digital cleverly took us through the background of what it was they were about in typical A-Z fashion. Finishing seconds before her time was up. I have never seen anyone speak so fast, that being said it was an amusing ride along the way. Even if I can only remember that ‘Z’ was for Zelous.

One of the girls from Tonic Music – who informed us of the biggest & coolest tracks coming out in the near future… cleverly, everything about them and their latest releases you can find on their FourSquare Brand page.

Chi Hang Li from Special Moves was the probably best presentation of all in my opinion... Less ‘presentation-a-fied’ in short. He spoke about his passion for gaming and that the future success in gaming was down to minimalist controls & simple design. Think about now, with the advancement of technology, how actually complicated & intricate games are becoming, when the likes of the Megadrive only ever relied upon A,B,C & the D-pad. This is perhaps where iPhones are succeeding, by only using pure basic necessities of control. Probably why angry birds is doing so well, eh?

One of the games he mentioned was Cow Clicker, a craze that had exploded through the internet and formed somewhat of a Cult where you customize a cow and click on your it once every X amount of hours to unlock prizes. Although it’s hugely successful, I refuse to check it out, as I tend to have an addictive nature when it comes to games.

After Pecha Kucha, it was back to the main room, where all the tables had been moved round, (which honestly confused the hell out of me) for some hardcore presentations from some of the top industry folk.

First up was Vassilios Alexiou from Less Rain - who spoke about their latest project for Landrover called Being Henry, a high-end finished, almost independent film-style piecem which helped you make the decisions to spec out your perfect Range Rover. A lovely visual piece and experience to play with but a lot of hard work with a relatively low pay off. He also spoke about one of their earlier projects, Vandal Squad, which, although initially fuelled and created by Less Rain has since been passed on and now become a fully self-sustaining project where Graffiti is championed and documented online.

Jon Andrews, Creative Technologist from BBH London – who mainly likes to fiddle around with things and make them work in new and exciting ways such as prototyping, hacking and ultimately playing.

His main point was that there is three ways technology can evolve… You can be the first to create it, enhance an existing technology and making it better or combining technologies to make some new & unique. In his opinion the most exciting and biggest opportunities lay in pushing the boundaries of existing tech rather than jumping on the bandwagon of emerging technology.

Gavin Gordon-Rogers, Interactive Creative Director at W+K London – who I seemed to make lots of notes about, amusingly likened the digital word to the Wild West. He said the digital industry is often viewed as the Frontier or the Gold Rush to make a quick buck. This is how he broke it down:

The Natives or Indians… These are the Super Geeks, the likes of the guy who created chatroulette, ultimately, the code whiz-kids).

The Outlaws… These are the guys who are frowned upon, using tech for tech’s sake. One reference he gave was the guys who created ‘Asianate Youself’

The Sherif… The Awards bodies & trade press, trying to sift out ‘The good’ from the Outlaws.

The Bounty Hunters… The Freelancers, have the power to make or break everything you do, but at a price.

The Railroad Tycoons… The likes of Nestle & Facebook are they really out there to make interesting stuff and push the boundaries or to earn their money destroying everything in their wake and getting out whilst the going’s good?

The Saloon Girls… The Ad Agencies, who’s job it is to service the clients with creative nourishment.

Pretty amusing analogy, I’m sure you’ll agree. It made me smile at least. Gavin then went on to explain 5 key points that we should adhere to in order to make sure the creative people don’t turn into a mindless drones, that pursue a 9-5. (My words, not his).

5. Think Zombie – Have no fear, lust for brains (or learning), utter simplicity Zombie’s are single-minded and focused on what their objective is.

4. Be a Mutant Farmer – Experiment with what you’ve got. Put in the Hard work of a farmer, it’s hard work but it pays off. Don’t forget to rotate your crops, so they don’t grow stale.

3. Will Anyone give a shit? You need to seduce your audience into wanting to be involved. Our role is the role of an actor, taking on many roles, the modern day Laurence Oliviere. Make people give a shit.

2. Really? – Will anyone ACTUALLY give a shit? Be honest and truthful to yourself.

1. GBH. – Give Bountiful Haribo, apparently giving Haribo to clients really makes a difference… I don’t know if this is true, but maybe you should try it.

Scott Seaborn, Head of Mobile stuff at Ogilvy. He gave us an insight into how the internet might look in 2020. Yes, as you can imagine, the focus was on Hyper-connected technology that identifies your personal interests, creating a ‘vapour frame’ that only showed users what they want to see and nothing else. In my opinion, you could argue that you’d never discover anything new, but then again, I’m sure technology would have a way around that anyway!

After the conference had finished it was off to Hoxton Bar & Grill for a little bit of post-conference chill-laxing, couple of bands and the odd free drink. Needless to say, there’s not much to talk about there. ;-) I’m sure Digital Shoreditch will go on to bigger and greater things, all I would say is watch this space… and make sure your diary is free in early May next year.

Oh, and feel free to check out a commentary on the event by following @DigiShoreditch ‘s twitter and their hashtag dsldn

Young Creative Council...

2011-05-20T14:40:00.000+01:00

I've just polished off the Weekly Score for the Young Creative Council... over on the site, featuring a legend of AdLand's past and present Mr. George Lois... hop over here and enjoy some wise words of creative controversy ...and er, wisdom.

Digital Shoreditch - Part II

2011-05-20T12:15:00.002+01:00

I realised I haven't posted part one up yet, but I'll get around to that.
A couple of weekends ago I went to the 'Digital to Analogue and Back again' workshop put on my London Metropolitan University (& Digital Shoreditch)...

The day included playing with 3D printers (all the rage right now) - printing in 3D, scanning objects in 3D and messing around with some digital imaging software. I'm going to completely geek out now, but I thought this session was wicked, having studied product design before advertising, I love seeing objects materialise into 3D from designs on scraps of paper...

3D Printing.

The first about this that amazed me was the level of detail that you can print to, this first example was printed using some 3D modelling software like Maya to create the object and then your standard but not an industrial sized 3D printer. The printer then uses a layering technique much like a normal printer... but with layers of glue and a plaster like dust... when put together they form the desired objects... if you look close enough you can see each individual layer on the objects.

I was stunned by this stuff, I thought 3D was fairly primitive, but this just blew me away. The first couple of images were created in Maya but look as if it's been plucked from the depths of the ocean somewhere. Anyone want to join me in a business producing rare 'fake' coral? The level of detail is phenomenal.

It's also possible to make some more solid object that aren't so fragile, take this key door stop for example. Talking to one of the developers this stuff does take a long time to print... From what I could gather something like this could take up to 25 hours for this one object... and that's with no idea of the costs... practical, perhaps not, cool... definitely.

It's also possible to create objects a lot quicker but with a lower level of detail using styrofoam, take this Ostrich head for example, having played, sanded and crafted this stuff myself, it's quite nice to know that a 3D printer can do most of the hard work for you and just leave a little bit of sanding for you to do at the backend.

3D Scanning & Digital Image Mapping.

The process was really quite simple, you can build a basic rig for under £500 but, the price does reflect the quality, it's built from a projector and a laser pointer device of some description, I'm not up on the tech but it really was quite basic, you then needed a convertor to rig and map the imaging... don't ask me about that either.

Once you've got the gear, you just sit down, it's like having your photo taken, but with a REALLY REALLY bright flash that stays on for a couple of seconds... The more still you stay the better quality the render.

The technology finds it quite difficult to map dark areas and reflective surfaces hence why there are some loose areas that end up looking quite 'bitty'. To be honest I quite liked this effect and ended up playing with some more styles. It gives the effect of the sandman, as if you were being blown away like little particles like dust.

The interesting thing is that once the image is digitalised you can pan round it, as you can see I became a little snap happy. It literally shoots from two angles and maps (in this case) a face and chops it up like and grip before using the reference points to render it on screen.

...and in case you're wondering, this is what the inside of my face looks like...

There are a range of viewing types, black and white, neutral palettes and this actually quite cool multi-colour platform (not the technical term) that allows you to see the contours and reflection of light from the face. Facebook profile picture... I think so.

Here's a couple of shots of Dan, one of my mates, who has a face way more suitable for 3D Scanning... apparently. He can sit still for longer than me. Check out his eyes in the shot below... Dead to the world.

Sony World Photographer's Exhibition

2011-05-20T09:19:00.000+01:00

The world amateur photography exhibition sponsored by Sony. It's on until the 22nd of May (Which is this weekend, I think).

It's a bit of a steep £7.50 if you're not a student or an old person... I'd give it a 6/10, but check it out if you're a photography fan. It it was a £5 it may have got a 7/10. I'm not really selling it am I? There's a couple of really nice shots, but I'm not going to ruin it for you...

Ironically, I managed to grab a couple of shots, before I was told I wasn't allowed to take photos at a photography exhibition.

This was the coolest thing there, the installation sponsored by Sony was a range of offset TV brought together as a single canvas depicting some of the work.

Oh and it's at Somerset House.

The World is full of interesting...

2011-05-18T13:34:00.002+01:00

Thanks to the Likes of Aaron Koblin & Tom Uglow... And maybe one day... me.
(Click the Image for possible one of the best 'I'm being brain-dead moments'.

.

Desktop Interesting...

2011-05-18T13:00:00.002+01:00

My desktop was due for an upgrade, this is becoming a monthly thing.
So here's a little scribble to make my desktop a little more manageable.

Welcome to the Rhino Tree.

Those files you're always dragging off of the internet now have a role, each one is a new leaf.
(Click the image for a decent view)

Ping me a comment if you fancy one.

Dippy Eggs...

2011-05-18T12:48:00.001+01:00

As you may already know, I have an unhealthy appetite for Cadbury's Creme Eggs, so each easter I try and do something quirky/interesting with the little egg, so here's a little something from the lady & I.

Dippy Dippy Soldiers!

Here's a little plug for her new-ish blog.

Mind-melt...

2011-05-05T09:44:00.001+01:00

So many things I needed to blog about this week, I found myself, not actually blogging about any of them.
I will address this in due course, but in the meantime here's a photo of the lady and I, busy being famous on the Raybans website.

Thanks to a friend, Tom, for pointing us out in a truly subtle style.

Easter Eggness Antics...

2011-04-24T22:33:00.000+01:00

This weekend it was all about the eggs, hard-boiled ...and Magic Markers, not the chocolate type that make you fat. Cue a wonderful Egg-tastic pun. Knock yourself out, please.

Painted Egg #1 - 'Creme Egg'

Painted Egg #2 - 'Gone Fishing'

Painted Egg #3 - 'Dinosaur Egg'

(Laura's)

Painted Egg #4 - 'Camouflage'

(Laura's)

Painted Egg #5 - 'Humpty Bogart'

(Shucks')

Painted Eggs - 'The Collection'

(Pre-order yours now)

A little known game...

2011-04-18T09:19:00.002+01:00

A friend of mine showed me some quirky little films for a game launch called Portal 2. It's a pretty big thing by all accounts, but what a nice way to promote a game. The first two videos are more gameplay orientated ads but watch the 'Aperture Investment Opportunity Series' for some guaranteed giggles'. Really nicely written and engaging throughout.

Portal 2 Co-op Intro

Portal 2 TV Spot

Aperture Investment Opportunity #1: "Panels"

Aperture Investment Opportunity #2: "Bot Trust"

Aperture Investment Opportunity #3: "Turrets"

Aperture Investment Opportunity #4: "Boots"

Valentine's Day Gift Buying

Portal was free...

Doodles...

2011-04-15T18:19:00.003+01:00

End of the day doodles. Scribbling over one of our YCC business cards.

Organised...

2011-04-15T16:27:00.002+01:00

I'm not the most organised person. My desk is offered littered with bits of paper, briefs and doodles (aka scamps). Also random pieces of cr*p. This is pretty much what my desktop is like, full of files, folders and bits of digital paper, so I re-drew it. Welcome to my desktop.

Believe it or not, it actually works, my desk is on average 96.85 times more tidy that is was before.

Yesterday's Doodles...

2011-04-13T10:34:00.000+01:00

'Two Mugs'

'Crest'

Don't forget this...

2011-04-12T15:05:00.000+01:00

More here

Seeing Double...

2011-04-12T08:37:00.000+01:00

This is my good friend Rob...

I'm sure he won't mind too much, well, I don't suppose he'll notice, but as the keen eyed amongst you will notice, he has an uncanny resemblance to the meme of 2010: 'Double Rainbow Guy'. Although the comparison stops with the vague resemblance, this was his next photo in the album:

If you look closely, that's right folks, a faint flicker of a double rainbow. You couldn't make this up.

Dazed and still Dizzy...

2011-04-11T16:08:00.002+01:00

Dazed & Confused Live weekend... On Saturday we rolled out for some fun times courtesy of Dazed and my now penniless pocket, that's right the event wasn't free. ...and 'we', being a youthful group of wannabe somethings out for some creative inspiration. The day was jam-packed full of screenings, talks, gigs and galleries. Out of the whole day two things really stood out for me, Aaron Koblin, the digital/artistic mastermind Creative Director of the Data Arts team at Google Creative Lab. Now that's a bit of a mouthful and of course, that's not all on his business card.

Aaron's well known for his geek developer team - vs - artistic music video innovation such as: The Johnny Cash Project, Arcade Fire - Wilderness Downtown & Radiohead - House of Cards ...He also has some fantastic projects that you may not have heard of such as: The Sheep Market & Ten Thousand Cents.

The second was a talk by Magnus Larsson, which without selling him short talked about the future of our urban landscape and defining a new way of living through sand architecture, using microbacteria to speed up the process of turning sand into sandstone. Now, the thought of living in sand bunkers aside, one of the more interesting points for me was the fact that none of his ideas were patented. He made it clear that the concept of a Sand future has great aspirations but from what I could gather has no funding as of right now, and therefore Magnus just wants someone to fund him in his project. If you have a few million laying around I'm sure he'd be grateful.

That's what stood out for me, so I'll leave you with some nice photos, if you're looking for a more rounded write up you can find them here & here

I've just Flickr'ed the Bean...

2011-04-11T12:32:00.001+01:00

I thought it was funny. it is, isn't it?

LATEST: I've sent them a message to see if they want to start a campaign of Flickr visitors' snap shots as a pseudo-online campaign/ promotion.

Young Team of the Year...

2011-04-11T12:07:00.005+01:00

That's Wilma (of Luke & Wilf) & Fellow YCC'er.

On Friday, I managed to wangle the day off work to pop down to the Newspaper Society's, Young team of the Year competition over at The London Art House. The building itself is pretty 'cool' and by 'cool' I mean quirky, weird and as pretentious as it could possibly be. The array of antique, well crafted furniture is somewhat harsh when compared against the polystyrene quality ceiling tiles, which scream of those school days as a child, only to have been given a lick of paint to blend into rest of it.

The judging panel was quite impressive, and set the day in good stead with the likes of Shaun McIlrath (ECD of Iris), Phil Kitching (DCD of Iris) Paul Belford (ECD of Thisisrealart), Tiger Savage (ECD of Tiger'sEye), Joe De Souza (CD of Karmarama), Sam Ball (CD of Lean Mean Fighting Machine), Stef Jones (CD of Big Al's Creative Emporium) & Robert Ray (MD of The Newspaper Society).

As I currently work as a solo creative, I teamed up with a friend Ciara to give the brief a good crack. It's always fun working with someone new. The brief as it turned out, was a good one, localised publicity for Mars and to increase the number of people knocking a ball around.

Our solution was all about heralding the Mars 'misfits' the band of arm chair spectators and 'past-it' types who can never find the time, nor organise a rabble of friends to get down and play. And thus, Mar Mismatches were born.

Hopefully, I'll give you a glimpse of some fine scamps at some point. But unfortunately, a flooding at the Newspaper Society's office has meant all of the work has been destroyed - A likely story, I hear you say... I KID YOU NOT, this is the truth! An email from Mary Isokariari confirms this.

(Click to Enlarge)

As always, there were some lovely folk who I could finally put names to faces with and find out what fellow creatives are up to across the industry. A good turn out from the Young Creative Council with the usual bunch out for blood.

This was the after-brief venue... a seedy back room, which I believe doubles up as a lap dance club. Nice. Oo-er. Free bar though, can't complain too much, I guess. Hats off to Julia & Polo who go on to represent UK talent at The Best YET competition in Croatia for the second year running & Of course Dave Wigglesworth & his partner for a close runner up.

Clever or Stupid (Me or It)...

2011-04-11T11:39:00.000+01:00

This is either the most stupidest thing in the world, but more than likely the cleverest.

Needless to say, it is now the proud owner of my own 20p piece and about a sum total of £2 from my friends.

It has been done - allegedly.

Of course, we pointed out the fact that the 'Magic Lime' is actually just a Lemon floating in a glass of water.

918 Cranes...

2011-04-06T10:04:00.002+01:00

Lovely idea from Anomaly / Nathan @Rubbishcorp, which I've known about for a while, but only decided as of yesterday to get involved. They are as of my entry 82 cranes away from the big 1k. Give them a hand.

I went for Rose Stallard's illustration, but pick your favourite design and get folding, in true origami style. Now, I really do suck at Origami on the whole, and of course, as a man I tried many times to do it myself, before following the instructions provided. It's really easy once you get the hang of it (or give up and follow the instructions).

They say:

"A beautiful Japanese tradition tells that a wish may be granted in response to someone with the devotion to fold one thousand origami cranes. This project seeks to draw on that ancient healing and show that the emotional blow received can be responded to through the strength of solidarity and human compassion.

Artists have created beautiful designs that can be made into origami cranes. A donation to the Japan Earthquake and Tsunami Relief Fund will allow you to download a design with instructions to guide you in making a crane. We are hoping many thousands of you will fold and then place your crane somewhere prominent so that it might inspire others to also focus their intent and devotion toward those in the grip of this tragedy."

More: onethousandcranesforjapan.com

LOVE this...

2011-04-04T18:17:00.001+01:00

On Friday, Paul and I headed up to Lincoln to share some wisdom (or lack of) and talk about the Young Creative Council amongst other things... you can read up some more here

I also noticed this poster outside the Third Year Studio space... and I absolutely love it! This is your life, live it how you want to live it.

Ain't One...

2011-04-04T18:13:00.000+01:00

Best April Fools ever...

2011-04-04T16:59:00.001+01:00

So, two weeks ago Paul & Dani, two friends (& Colleagues) at Inferno managed to win an iPad 2 on the Launch day by turning up at the Orange store dressed as an their favourite app (see below).

Of the 10 iPad 2's available only 14 people dressed as their favourite app. The odds were good. Now imagine another chance... The opportunity to win yet another 10 iPad 2's. The mischievous, yet ingenius plot to follow was by one George Hepburn (another colleague at Inferno).

The email went something like this:

Hi All,

Don’t know if anyone is interested in this...on my way to work today passed another Orange store offering to give away 10 more ipad2’s

Same deal as the one that Dani and Paul won, where you turn up dressed as an app.

Maybe you could even borrow their old costumes?

Anyway the Orange store in question is:

West One Shopping Centre,

381-383 Oxford Street

London W1C 2JS

020 7408 0282

Be there at 12:00 noon This Friday. No Late arrivals will be allowed to enter.

If Dani and Paul’s experience I was anything to go by it’ll be like taking candy from a baby.

Good luck

George

Now to the clever cloggs amongst you, this may have seem an obvious pranks but being put into action a full 2 days before the inevitable April 1st, no-one expected what was yet to come. The agency fell hook, line & sinker.

Ideas for apps swarmed through the agency, production began on an otherwise quiet Thursday afternoon. The chance to win a fully spec'd out iPad 2 was too much of a distraction to notice it was all a clever ploy for April Fools. Fortunately I unveiled the plot in the morning, a number of unfortunate souls made their was down to the utterly clueless Orange store, only to return empty handed.

Here are just a couple of the entries... there were plenty more believe me.

Noe's Attempt which took a grand total of 15 minutes to remake the skype logo in grandez scale...

Neda's rendition of the Scrabble App: she visited Hamley's department store, where the staff painted her green, she printed off customised letters spelling iPad... AND even bought a £30 scrabble board and cut out a face shape in order to create a mask like impression of the board.

Yes, that's right folks, even yours truly, fell for it. Having remained a cynic, I didn't think I could waiver the opportunity for a second time... Google Maps was my attempt, so I created a 7 1/2 ft google map marker. I now plan to use this marker with a little project idea... so I will keep you posted on how that turns out...

That's me hidden behind it... The google marker with a couple of legs for good measure, not bad for an hour's work.

The culprit and his master plan. Mr. Hepburn. Thank you very much.

Now we could have stopped there, but we'd put the time so why not see if we could blag an iPad 2...
Here's a letter I forwarded to Orange both on Twitter & via email to their customer services....

Dear Sir/Madam,

(I have now attached the picture - apologies for not sending them before).
I am writing to you with regards to your most recent promotion, of dressing up as your favourite app for the chance to win an iPad2 - at the Apple store on Friday 25th March 2011.
Unfortunately, I have been victim to the most heinous April Fools prank. I couldn't make the Friday event as I was called into an important meeting at work, so lost out on the chance to win anything.
One of my friends who highlighted a fellow colleague's win of the previous competition, has played a ingenius yet embarrassing prank on me for April Fools. I was given the impression that a second version of the competition was to take place, please see below.

"Don’t know if anyone is interested in this... on my way to work today passed another Orange store offering to give away 10 more ipad2’s
Same deal as the one that Dani and Paul won, where you turn up dressed as an app.
Maybe you could even borrow their old costumes?
Anyway the Orange store in question is:
West One Shopping Centre,
381-383 Oxford Street
London W1C 2JS
020 7408 0282
Be there at 12:00 noon This Friday. No Late arrivals will be allowed to enter.
Good luck
George"

As you can see, I am totally gutted but wondered if there's anyway, I could gain a sympathy vote or if I could get another chance, or if you could re-run the competition. Please help me in my quest for an Ipad 2.

Please find the attached fancy dress app I created (google maps), and for which I will inevitably receive continuous piss-taking for many weeks to come.
The only way I feel I can justify the remarks, would be to actually win one in return! I promise to shout from the street corners of your generosity, Failing that opportunity - I'm sure it will at least give you an increase in office moral.

Yours Faithfully & Stupidly,
Mike Cuthell.

Now, this was a serious blag if I'd managed to pull it off and it didn't really amount to much, but it was worth a try... Watch this space for a future google maps project.

Watches made of paper...

2011-04-04T10:26:00.002+01:00

I bought this little beauty from Suck-UK. Pronounced 'Suck' not 'Sook' as I was led to believe but that's by the by ...and I could always be wrong. Anyway, I've had it for about 3 weeks, and have simply been battling with the urge, as I often do with new books, by ruining it - even though that's what it was intended for.

This weekend was the one... I had a spare 5 mins, tore it open and put pen to paper, so to speak. I opted for the lightning bolt of zig-zags for my scribbles and I am actually pretty happy with the end result.

The only problem I found was that when I finally got the watch on my wrist the damn thing didn't seem to work. Typical. There's not much point in wearing a watch that doesn't work, even if it does look kinda nice (Suck-UK have now offered to send me a new one :D yay!)

It's definitely not made of 'paper-paper' more of a waxy-type paper, so Pantone Markers is what I'd recommend. And no, despite what the drawings on the packs may lead you to believe, you can't use a Biro.

See pics below for the process... and yes, I did use the infamous 'Copy Book' as a temporary desk.

Watermarks....

2011-04-01T08:55:00.002+01:00

What do you say to a 2 year old, 40-a-day nicotine addict...

...a screen grab later...

...Thanks Barcroft Media Ltd. Perhaps watermarks aren't always the best way of ensuring rights to content.

Take a look around...

2011-03-30T08:59:00.000+01:00

Now, I don't intend for this to be a daily posting of visual musings, but they seem to be popping everywhere at the minute. Notable mention to Ben Edwards for this one. Definitely warrants a redesign Mr. Maplin.

...And my visiting my Mum's house this weekend I noticed her uncannily emotive washing machine.

Visual Musings...

2011-03-29T13:48:00.001+01:00

Another visual musing of mine... there seems to be a theme of late. Everyone has had to fill in the 2011 Concensus, but there's something not quite right....

17. This question is intentionally left blank. Go to 18.

What is the point in that? I'm thinking it must be something to do with the layout thing... No frickin' idea if that's not the reason.

I can't believe it's not butter...

2011-03-25T14:35:00.000Z

That's right, there isn't. So stop digging!
(Handwriting courtesy of moi).

Ketchup & Fries...

2011-03-22T09:55:00.002Z

Yes, they are real.
No, it isn't Photoshop.
'Zero grams of trans fat'. Whatever that means.
They didn't really taste like fries. Or ketchup. Not sure what I was expecting really... maybe I should have warmed them up.

Chip Shop Awards...

2011-03-21T18:07:00.002Z

I've entered for the last two years on the trot.

Fortunately, I've been lucky & landed a chip in my first year for an iPhone App design for FHM & runner up in my category last year to the drink brand 'Responsibly', which I believe went on to win overall, so I was satisfied with a second place as I think that was my favourite entry of the whole competition... and still is.

As it stands Rapier (the agency behind Responsibly) teamed up with Brew Dog (the guys who made taxidermy beer bottle holders) and produced a limited batch, I'm lucky enough to have one sitting on my mantlepiece at home.

Anyway so I've entered again this year, with an idea that a friend, Nick & I created just before the end of last year. It's a couple of mins, which is a bit long ideally but be good to hear what you think.

Zoo York - Unclaimed Space from Mike Cuthell on Vimeo.

I have a real beef with the competition though, it's a personal one rather than a whole blown out issue to be honest. I generally think there are some standout ideas, I've included my favourite below. Genuinely interesting and clever creative. Forgive me though, there's a lot of cr*p on the site. I couldn't give a rats ass about the Politically Incorrect, Bad Taste & Shocking Copy categories. It's fun, and does push the boundaries of what's acceptable, but with an entry cost of £60 for students & £100+ for industry bods - It really does seem like a waste of money to enter anything other than something you're proud of. Each to their own I suppose.

I've included what I think is good, some are a little tongue-in-cheek & it's totally subjective, of course.
And for what it's worth, I think the first one doesn't need the top of the numbers... should have been cropped closer.

Notable mention to Mister Castro for his Saatchi entry... it's pretty clever in the grand scheme of things. Hats off, this is what the competition should be about.

Walkie Talkie Creative Network...

2011-03-21T17:35:00.002Z

Some time ago I joked about on Twitter with @lendmeyoureyes

I'd like to see if there was any interest in this... It could prove to be more of a distraction that a benefit.
But in the pursuit of something slightly analogue and due to the fact that most agencies in London are so close together, I wondered if you'd like the chance to join an exclusive network of Walkie Talkie Creatives? You can pick them up off Ebay for next to nothing too! Hell, make your own, although I don't think tins & string are going to cut it.

Failing global domination of the ad world with a series of interconnected agencies via Walkie Talkie, perhaps you may want to think about distributing them amongst your creative department. It's a fun, productive way of sharing ideas and opening the dialogue...

So what d'ya reckon?
I'm deadly serious about this for anyone in the Soho area... just so you know.

Singlecreatives.com...

2011-03-13T14:14:00.000Z

Singlecreatives.com seems to be really picking up at the moment, not only are we managing to get a steady flow of single creatives in a search of a creative counterpart, we've been passing out advice to a number of people who want to get into advertising but haven't got a clue where to start.

Along with the Young Creative Council we're hoping to build a resource base that can help assist young creatives break into the industry, after all we all know how competitive it can be.

One thing I've noticed though is the scarcity of Junior writers... Is it that Junior writers are happy searching on their own for that special creative partner? Is it easier for Juniors to get jobs if they are a writer? Or is there genuinely a shortage or surplus demand of Art Directors? Whatever the reason may be, if you know someone who is solo and is seeking that perfect creative partner... send them over to singlecreatives.com and hopefully we can get them teamed up!

Collaborations...

2011-03-13T14:01:00.002Z

BangBang Briefs //

This week myself and the rest of the crew over at the Young Creative Council teamed up with Do the Green thing over at Pentagram, to arrange a live brief for juniors & grad creatives. Not your average agency brief ...but one of world-changing, global proportions.

The event was a total success... with over 75 participants turning up to take part and have a crack at do their piece to save the world. Sponsors included the likes of Asahi Beer, Absolut Vodka and numerous other organisations who offered support & took part in the event.

Special thanks to Naresh & Zoe (Pentagram & Do the Green thing) for helping us to making the night a reality.
Dan & Ray (W+K) & Matt (Friday) for taking the time out of their busy schedules to judge the work.
The rest of the Young Creative Council Monkeys who chipped in to make it a great night.

I wrote a little bit about the event in an article over on the YCC website, you can read more here

Creatives Less than 3 years in...

2011-03-12T19:26:00.003Z

It's that time of year again kiddo's The Newspaper Society's 'Wanted Ads: Young Team of the Year awards' are here! ...This year it is in association with Campaign! (I'm not sure what difference that makes but it's good publicity for the event all the same).

Now in its 9th year, the event helps get young creatives into the Industry, well at least it gets you a bit of PR if you're any good... If you perform on the day you can go on to represent the UK in Europe's 'Best Yet' competition.

Friends of mine, Emily & Cate won the London edition last year and Julia & Gav came runners up, both teams went on to represent the UK, and later Julia & Gav won the Best Yet competition. Best Yet will be held in Croatia this year... How cool is that? Not only that but you get an expenses paid trip to Cannes... Boom.

So, us Brits have got to defend the title... Have you applied yet?

Click the link up the top... or here It's on the 8th of April, so not too far away, I suggest you get yourselves on the list email here for a place - that's all you've got to do! Effortless.

Revisit to Tokyo...

2011-03-10T14:38:00.008Z

Just so you don't think I'm a complete a*se, I did this the day before the Tsunami hit Japan. I'm not a completely insensitive pillock. :-)

England has the Lion (or British Bulldog).
Australia has the Kangaroo.
Canada has the Beaver.
France has the Rooster.
India has the Bengal Tiger.
Kenya has the Cheetah.
New Zealand has the Kiwi.
America has the Bald Eagle.
Russia has the Bear.
South Africa has the Springbok
Mexico has the Xoloitzcuintli (No, I didn't make that one up).

Japan has the Godzillasaurus

I've doctored one of my photos from Tokyo.
Wish I'd have thought of this project whilst I was there.
Future flickr group? Maybe.

Who really knows all? Clash of the Almighty Cleverness...

2011-03-08T23:59:00.006Z

iGOD - VERSUS - CLEVERBOT

Clash of the Almighty Cleverness.

They don't know each other yet.
...But who really knows all?
Have you got the tech expertise?
Or knowledge of coding/api to put these
Two knowledgeable Behemoths together for a head-to-head?

DVD Stories...

2011-03-08T23:31:00.000Z

Remember my DVD Stories Project? Well, I've taken the initial two stories and figured I'd create a Flickr group, where people can contribute their own versions. I'd like this to be a collaborative project, so if you have a few spare minutes and a reasonable collection of DVDs, then get writing.

You can find said Flickr group here

Sex for your Eyes...

2011-03-04T15:15:00.000Z

A selection of mind blowing images that seem to have quietly nestled on my desktop.

Before you ask, I have no idea where I found them.

(Apologies to the creators/designers/etc).

The future is Social Media...

2011-03-03T17:47:00.000Z

Allegedly.

In relation to my last story, there have been some developments. Turns out complaining on Twitter is the fastest and most effective way of expressing your dissatisfaction.

I issued a complaint to TFL in December (Sub-standard service) and It took over 2 months to get a response. I then replied, but no-one got back to me. Regarding my last post, on how PRET-A-MANGER have turned things around in under an hour... I thought I'd make a point by highlighting my recent post to TFL - and perhaps promote awareness of how they should treat their customers.

@TFL OFFICIAL ON TWITTER:

THE OUTCOME:

I took satisfaction in thinking I had made my point, but didn't expect anything to materialise... Low & behold look what popped up in my Inbox a couple of hours later.

'Dear Mr Cuthell.

"Thank you for your email to the London Underground Customer Services. I have just been asked to look at your case from an Oyster Card perspective in relation to the charges that were debited from your Oyster Card".

...The e-mail went on to explain...

[Name Removed for Privacy Reasons]
Oyster Customer Services.'

So, a little word of advice... if you think the service you have received has been sub-standard... Drop the pen and paper, forget the emails & countless hours spent on hold to an automated voice machine... Get yourself on Twitter.

Social Media Relations on the Individual Consumer...

2011-03-03T10:31:00.001Z

Aka Complaints via Twitter.

This isn't a big philosophical thesis on how Social media impacts the individual consumer, but it is a good example of how brands are continuing their brand philosophy through social media avenues.

Before now, I'd have either had to go back in store and complain about the poor service at the risk of making a scene, god forbid. Or write a letter, and as much as I love writing letters it can take a while to have any impact. (There are plenty of good examples: take Oli Beale's letter to Virgin for example - he officially reviews hotel & tech gadgets alongside his ad career).

A recent incident with TFL saw me waiting over 2 months for a reply from their complaints department, and a month on, I still haven't heard from them since I replied to said message. I'll make sure they get a copy of this post.

Nowadays, brands seems to approach people more directly, take my lunch scenario from yesterday. One good word can go along way... Thanks Pret. You know how to treat a customer.

MY DILEMA ON TWITTER:

A FEW OF THE RESPONSES (Split Decisions):

THE OUTCOME:

Now if only TFL had the same approach towards their customer's I'd be on a winning streak.

Tugging on the Heartstrings...

2011-02-27T20:53:00.000Z

I received this lovely little note through the post from Creative Review a few days ago.
I must say, if I wasn't already considering renewing my subscription, then this would have gone a long way to convincing me to do it. Nice to see some quality writing for a change, instead of receiving a letter with big bold letters that led me to believe they were debt collectors or something.

Well done Creative Review.

MASHUP // Dead Island VS Road Safety...

2011-02-23T00:11:00.012Z

So, like you, I saw the Epic Dead Island trailer...
I couldn't help but think I'd seen something similar before.
So I mashed them together.
...with a bit of sound-scaping.
It works quite well.
Even if it is a little dark natured.
If you like it, send it around.

For the Originals click below:
Dead Island
Road Safety

Exhibition at The CAMP...

2011-02-07T20:07:00.003Z

There's an Exhibition at The CAMP
(The City Arts & Music Project).

"East of my Youth, West of my Future".

It's by my friend Dan Medhurst.
He's a Photographer.
A good one.

If you're an Art Director or Art Buyer,
you should give him some work.

If you're not. You should go check it out.

It's on City Road.
2 mins from Old Street Tube.

I won't put any more photos up, or I'll ruin the exhibition.

Iamakey...

2011-02-04T16:51:00.000Z

Oh yes.
My shiny new HD arrived today.
Not a TV, a Hard Drive.
8GB on a LaCie Key.
Not something you'd get excited by, huh?

I am.
G33ksp34|<

Now I can put my showreel & PDF portfolio somewhere that doesn't require Wi-Fi.

NIIIIIIIIICE.

Mac skillz...

2011-02-04T00:39:00.000Z

ABSOLUTELY
LOVE THIS //

Simple, clever and cheap! $3 if you want one on Etsy.

Great work by Zach Hilder

Are You a Geek...

2011-01-31T00:35:00.000Z

HA HA //

Funny Junk Part III...

2011-01-30T12:50:00.000Z

A little while before Christmas I made a couple of observations on the absurd Junk Mail I have been receiving... the original post can be found here and the second one here... Well, this is the third installment.

I think I may have had this one before, but to be honest, it must be the new season.

High Level Spam Business proposal, great, just what I need, a spam email to tell me about a spam business proposal. But wait, we're talking HIGH LEVEL spam, with six stars! Hong Woohoo!

I like to think of a Stallion's Rod as something from medieval times, like a relic, something scared, buried beneath the dirt and can only be found by way of a secret riddle and treasure map. But I fear they are talking about a horse's penis.

I am yet to meet Sheryna, but I am told she will work for free, Day & Night.. I wonder if she'd start by cleaning that weird mouldy thing forming on my next door neighbour's wall.

This isn't strictly in keeping with the idea but I thought this was worth pointing out, once you've deleted all your messages in hotmail you get this nice little message. HOORAY!

Make stories from films...

2011-01-26T22:01:00.001Z

I've started a new Project.
I haven't seen it before.
I'd like it to be a collaborative thingy.
Perhaps you'd like to join in?
It's free...

I was sitting in my lounge staring at my DVD collection. I began to piece together a few titles, trying to make funny sentences. One thing led to another and I ended up making a story...

Here's the finished article, it's a Tale about Las Vegas & the ups & downs.
I call it 'On a run in Las Vegas'.
It's a little eccentric but have a read, and if you like it, make your own one, then send it to me, please.

sayhello@mikecuthell.com

'On a run in Las Vegas'

The Full Story

This is how it translates....

What Happens in Las Vegas,

Everything is Illuminated,

Kingdom of Heaven,

The Pursuit of Happyness.

Get Shorty,

Alfie,

Troy,

Billy Madison,

You, me and Dupree.

O'Brother where art thou?

Old School

Roadtrip.

Blow

The Hangover.

Push

The Experiment,

Casino,

Analyze this,

Analyze that,

Chaos.

Never Back down,

Balls of Fury,

21!

Be Cool,

Man on Fire,

Casino Royale,

Get Rich or Die Tryin'

The Day After Tomorrow,

Glory.

28 Days Later,

Doomsday,

Apocalypto,

In the Line of Fire,

Bad Boys.

Repo Men,

28 Weeks Later,

Doomsday,

Deja-Vu.

Hitman,

Kiss Kiss Bang Bang,

Kill Bill,

Dig!

The Siege,

Assault on Precinct 13,

FreeJack,

Get him to The Greek,

16 Blocks,

Traffic.

Passenger 57,

Munich,

The Untouchables,

Public Enemy.

The End!

Chapter One:

Chapter Two:

Ali Dickinson (@alidickinson) is the first to contribute

with this short and sweet tale.

The Grinch,

The Dark Knight.

Man on Wire,

Walk the Line.

Breaking and Entering,

A serious Man.

Brick.

Kids.

Rear Window.

Planet Terror.

Go.

The Boys are back.

Annoyed by the difference...

2011-01-24T00:40:00.000Z

Does this annoy anyone else?

If I'm on an alcohol website or something similar one of the questions you'll be asked is:
'What country are you from?'

There's a chance you're from the same one as me. It's usually alphabetical... and well, for me it's England.

... After all, that's the country I live in.

Wrong.

I know for the most part we're governed by the same laws, but last time I checked the United Kingdom wasn't country.

Anyone know why this is? Are they countries within a country or a constituent country?

Pitch Films & Mood Films...

2011-01-22T15:24:00.001Z

Helpful little post for you lot.

If you're making a film for a client, or for reference it may be worth checking these out...

movieclips.com

anyclip.com

Can't argue with this...

2011-01-20T13:49:00.000Z

DRUNK OCTOPUS
WANTS TO FIGHT YOU.
HA HA//

Er... Xmas...

2010-12-21T12:15:00.004Z

So, It's Christmas everybody! (well, nearly) ...but I suppose you already know that.

It's been a hell of year, but excited to see what lies, waiting in the path of 2011.

I'm not going to do any highlights, there's plenty more influential people who can give you all that (and more), all I'll say is have an Awesome Xmas!

Few more funnies...

2010-12-16T14:35:00.000Z

A few more than seemed to have materialised.

**One thing is going through my mind right about now... A person who suffered from a rather horrific accident and his mouth now resembles a clapper board. Apparently not.

**Sorry it's taken me so long to get back to you, you seemed to be in such a rush you missed spelt Urgent and it got me all confused!

**I promise you it can, and it will. Forever.

**I take it you mean 'Penis' and only $100? Priceless.

Nice...

2010-12-15T11:07:00.000Z

Got this little promo through (not the mug) from an Illustrator friend of mine, Liz Kay.

Her work is pretty tip-top. A real retro-chic '50s style. You should check it out here

Funny Junk...

2010-12-13T12:13:00.004Z

I've been collecting some junk email subject titles for the last few months.

Here are a few that I have replied to in a slightly sarcastic manner.

**Just what I've always wanted... It's a little bit uncomfortable at first, and you get some strange looks, especially when using a public loo.

**I'm not sure it is? Probably for the 3 billion other people you spammed it to!

**Technically not spam, but it ended in my junk box and was funny. A hundred head hydra would give me a headache.

**Coy Manhole? Really...

**Beg away, I haven't got any...

**So you want me to Treat it as urgent & confidential... you're telling me it's not but I should treat it as such. Ok...

**A Kind Hearted Humanitarian Wish for me! You shouldn't have...

**It's so kind that your heart chose to and yet you couldn't give a crap about whose junk folder this ended up in...

**An email from a desk! Wow!

PICTURES FROM PARIS...

2010-12-13T10:21:00.003Z

HERE'S SOME SELECTS FROM A 4 DAY EXCURSION TO PARIS, FRANCE//

More here

TOUR DE EIFFEL PROJECT...

2010-12-13T09:24:00.000Z

Eiffel Tower Souvenirs were cheap, really cheap//

So, I thought I'd be a true tourist and leave stuff lying around for people to find//

I am yet to get one back//

VERDICT//

French people are selfish (unlikely mass generalisation) or can't read English (extreme possibility).

Back in Blighty...

2010-11-22T16:46:00.000Z

I'm back with an Average of 200 photos per day of travel.
This is a problem, Kinda //

6 Colour Films - 36 exp.
1 Black & White Film - 36 exp.
2 Dead CR2 Batteries
6 Full 4 GB Cards.
14 Dead Batteries.
1600 iPhone Photos.
1 Card Reader broken.
Flickr has an upload limit.
Blast.
Facebook?
Suggestions?

SOON//