Hasta La Ideas

Thanks to our current Twitter guest editors, Mat Dolphin, we’ve just been enjoying some of the work documented at postersinamsterdam.com…

Jarr Geerligs is behind the project, essentially a repository for images of posters taken on the streets of Amsterdam. And what a fine selection it is. According to the accompanying Flickr page, where all the pictures are displayed at larger size, Geerligs has been documenting the city’s streets pretty much everyday since 2002.

Visitors to the site can search by a range of categories – “faceless people”, “masked people”, for example – and there’s even a gallery dedicated to the “non-poster”:

See postersinamsterdam.com for the highlights from the collection.

The June issue of CR features a major retrospective on BBH and a profile piece on the agency’s founder, Sir John Hegarty. Plus, we have a beautiful photographic project from Jenny van Sommers, a discussion on how illustrators can maintai a long-term career, all the usual discussion and debate in Crit plus our Graduate Guide packed with advice for this year’s college leavers.

If you would like to buy this issue and are based in the UK, you can search for your nearest stockist here. Based outside the UK? Simply call +44(0)207 292 3703 to find your nearest stockist. Better yet, subscribe to CR for a year here and save yourself almost 30%.

“The Anatomy of a Mashup,” a real-time data visualization by Sydney-based graphic designer Cameron Adams, turned up a week ago but it’s still fresh, striking a chord memory with any hardcore Daft Punk fan.

The graphics themselves are fairly straightforward (Daftendirekt, one might say), but Adams’ visualization is harder, better, faster and stronger for his
http://themaninblue.com/writing/perspective/2011/05/12″ target=”_blank”>technologic prowess: “The entire piece is composed from the latest HTML5 and CSS3 technology (canvas, audio, transforms & transitions) so you’ll need a newer browser to view it in.”

It’s been too long since I’ve listened to a lot of these tracks.

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Coca-Cola is celebrating its 125th anniversary. Whatever you might think of Coke, it’s certainly popular and so is its advertising. Unruly Media have put together the top 10 most shared Coke viral ads of all time for us

Remember, these are not CR’s choices but a list of the most ‘shared’ Coke ads compiled using data from social networks. What, no Hilltop?

In top spot, the Happiness Machine viral from Definition 6, in which a vending machine gives out doses of ‘happiness’ in a US college

Number two, Snow Globes by McCann Erickson Madrid

At three,cheesy old Christmas Trucks (so brilliantly sent up by AKQA’s Pot Noeldle)

Four, Friendship Machine by Ogilvy Argentina

Five, History of Celebration, done for the 2010 World Cup by Santo Buenos Aires

Six, the Simpsons spectacular, Hard Times, Wieden + Kennedy Portland

Seven, Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam’s Happiness Factory

Eight, this saucy spot for Diet Coke

Nine, Border by Wieden + Kennedy

And ten, GTA, by Wieden + Kennedy, directed by Smith & Foulkes

See numbers 10 to 20 in the list here

Related content
The Design Museum’s mini Coca-Cola show features design and advertising related material from the archives. Check our post here

The most popular ads of the year so far

The June issue of CR features a major retrospective on BBH and a profile piece on the agency’s founder, Sir John Hegarty. Plus, we have a beautiful photographic project from Jenny van Sommers, a discussion on how illustrators can maintai a long-term career, all the usual discussion and debate in Crit plus our Graduate Guide packed with advice for this year’s college leavers.

If you would like to buy this issue and are based in the UK, you can search for your nearest stockist here. Based outside the UK? Simply call +44(0)207 292 3703 to find your nearest stockist. Better yet, subscribe to CR for a year here and save yourself almost 30%.

Social geographer Erika Sandow at Sweden’s Umea University has published her doctoral dissertation analysis of long-distance commutes and their impact on income and relationships in “On the road. Social aspects of commuting long distances to work.” In brief, her research found that a commute of greater than 30 kilometers (about 19 miles) typically has economic and career benefits (large paycheck, job advancement) but significantly increases the likelihood a person will divorce (40 percent), especially if the long-distance commuter is male.

The dissertation used data collected from more than two million Swedes during 1995 and 2005. The findings, although based on Swedish data, seem to be very applicable to other European and American countries.

From the university’s press release about Sandow’s dissertation:

… those who commute long distances gain access to a broader job market and often to greater career opportunities and better income development. But women and men benefit in different degrees, with income increasing more for long-distance commuting men. However, these commuters’ partners lose income, and since most long-distance commuters are men, this means that many women both take home less money and take on the responsibility for the family and children.

– It’s also common for women to take a less qualified job close to home, or to start working part time, in order to drop off and pick up the kids at day care, says Erika Sandow.

Her findings show that expanding work regions primarily benefit the careers of men, and continued increases in long-distance commuting may preserve and reinforce gender differences in the home and on the job market.

Weighing the benefits and disadvantages of a long-distance job prospect is already difficult for one’s life. Knowing that it also carries an increased likelihood for divorce and stress are just additional points to consider.

You can find the majority of the dissertation online. However, the text of four of the chapters is not included, only their abstracts.

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Leather backs add a touch of style to iPhone 4s

Smartphones seem to be capable of just about everything—other than having any sort of personality. Valentine premium leather phone backs bring individuality and texture to the beautiful, yet otherwise sterile iPhone 4. Made entirely of the highest grade, genuine cow, calf and lamb leather, they’re available in a wide range of colors and finishes, all roughly one millimeter thick (allowing them to work with bumpers and other cases). The removable leather covers apply with a thin layer of adhesive that apparently leaves no residue if you decide to quit it. Protect your phone (well, from scratches) or just use it for a more stealth look.

Designed and produced in NYC, Valentine phone backs sell through their online shop with prices ranging from $25 for basic leather on up to $45 for premium pony hair. Keep an eye on the shop as it is updated with new releases frequently. Valentine also takes custom orders too, so get thinking.