Hasta La Ideas

Wallace and Gromit have teamed up with Google+ Hangouts for the time-honoured tradition of opening presents together, but with a digital twist.

Google+ have launched a newly designed platform for Hangouts, to encourage family to spend time together over Christmas, wherever they are in the world. As part of the campaign, created by rehabstudio in partnership with Adam & Eve DDB and Aardman studios, there’s a 60 second advert that see Wallace and Gromit catching up with some familiar friends (and a whole load of over-enthusiastic sheep) to open presents together.

Please note, CR now has a limited presence on the newsstand at WH Smith high street stores (although it can still be found in WH Smith travel branches at train stations and airports). If you cannot find a copy of CR in your town, your WH Smith store or a local independent newsagent can order it for you. You can search for your nearest stockist here. Alternatively, call us on 020 7970 4878 to buy a copy direct from us. Based outside the UK? Simply call +44(0)207 970 4878 to find your nearest stockist. Better yet, subscribe to CR for a year here and save yourself almost 30% on the printed magazine.

A new app, created by London studio FIELD, offers infinite storytelling possibilities and beautiful visuals that play on the exchange of organic and digital energy.

Energy Flow – Coming Soon from FIELD on Vimeo.

London studio FIELD have worked with The Creators Project to produce Energy Flow, an app created as an infinite storytelling experience. The app carries the tag line ‘Ten stories, a thousand perspectives’, and relies on custom-built software – The Infinite Film Composer – to generate a new experience each time it’s used.

It can be downloaded for the iPad, iPhone and iPod for free here. You can also download the app for Android devices here.

The initial stage of the app requires the user throw a spinning top to determine a random number, which will then drive the following film sequence.

The app takes individual clips from ten different films or narratives, which are then remixed into a unique sequence each time the app is used. Soundscapes for the app rely on a similar process, with the sound design created by David Kamp.

The films range from visualisations of organic landscapes, riot scenes, imploding data centres, tumbling dice, and a stand-off between a leopard and an impala, making for some potentially unusual combinations of film clips.

The studio found inspiration for the ten different films in a variety of recent events, including the Occupy Movement, the riots in London, and the Eurozone protests. Studio founder Vera-Maria Glahn explains, “It’s all about transformations of energy, so every story takes a look at a different place in the world, a different event or process, and looks at a transformation of energy on a biological, physical, social or spiritual level. Sometimes it’s a burst of energy or an explosion, like in the riots, and sometimes it’s more the underlying processes.”

The underlying creation of the films is hugely complex, and draws on FIELD’s previous experience working in generative design. One of the films features a leopard and an impala, and is driven by the natural movements of the creatures themselves, with the more active parts of the animal’s body driving the pulse of colour on the surface. The riot film uses a similar method, with the waves of impact represented in the colours and distortion of the crowds. Glahn explains, “Using the inner mechanics of the motion and the stories, we’re trying to turn them into paintings, rather than just an animation.”

To create the ten films, FIELD collaborated with over thirty people from around the word, including a specialist in animal animation to create the leopard and impala sequence.

The studio see the Energy Flow app as the initial stage of the project, and as Glahn explains, “We really planned this whole project as something that lives across different media, and that it’s more a body of work and a universe that people can get drawn into, and that’s a starting point for conversation.” Next year will see the concept developed into a video installation with an interactive element, and something that can be experienced in a group of people.

The app can be downloaded here, and is available for free for the iPad, iPod and iPhone. You can also download the app for Android devices here.

There seems to be more of a movement towards using iPads and other tablets as platforms to showcase artwork and beautiful imagery – we recently wrote about the Moving Six app, created by Meri Media as a way of showcasing selected imagery from Comme des Garçons’ short-lived print magazine, Six.

CR In print

In our December issue we look at why carpets are the latest medium of choice for designers and illustrators. Plus, Does it matter if design projects are presented using fake images created using LiveSurface and the like? Mark Sinclair looks in to the issue of mocking-up. We have an extract from Craig Ward’s upcoming book Popular Lies About Graphic Design and ask why advertising has been so poor at preserving its past. Illustrators’ agents share their tips for getting seen and we interview maverick director Tony Kaye by means of his unique way with email. In Crit, Guardian economics leader writer Aditya Chakrabortty review’s Kalle Lasn’s Meme Wars and Gordon Comstock pities brands’ long-suffering social media managers. In a new column on art direction, Paul Belford deconstructs a Levi’s ad that was so wrong it was very right, plus, in his brand identity column, Michael Evamy looks at the work of Barcelona-based Mario Eskenazi. And Daniel Benneworth-Gray tackles every freelancer’s dilemma – getting work.

Our Monograph this month, for subscribers only, features the EnsaïmadART project in which Astrid Stavro and Pablo Martin invited designers from around the world to create stickers to go on the packaging of special edition packaging for Majorca’s distinctive pastry, the ensaïmada, with all profits going to a charity on the island (full story here)

Please note, CR now has a limited presence on the newsstand at WH Smith high street stores (although it can still be found in WH Smith travel branches at train stations and airports). If you cannot find a copy of CR in your town, your WH Smith store or a local independent newsagent can order it for you. You can search for your nearest stockist here. Alternatively, call us on 020 7970 4878 to buy a copy direct from us. Based outside the UK? Simply call +44(0)207 970 4878 to find your nearest stockist. Better yet, subscribe to CR for a year here and save yourself almost 30% on the printed magazine.

CR for the iPad

Read in-depth features and analysis plus exclusive iPad-only content in the Creative Review iPad App. Longer, more in-depth features than we run on the blog, portfolios of great, full-screen images and hi-res video. If the blog is about news, comment and debate, the iPad is about inspiration, viewing and reading. As well as providing exclusive, iPad-only content, the app will also update with new content throughout each month. Try a free sample issue here

Illustrator Ryan Todd has collaborated with digital design studio Enjoythis to create Christmas Gifs, a festive showcase of animated gifs created specially for the project by an international cast of illustrators, animators and directors…

The fun gifs can all be viewed on the project’s website (homepage, above) at chrismasgifs.org where each one can be shared via Facebook, Twitter and Google+, or simply sent to a friend via email.

Here are a few CR favourites currently on the site and available to share:

Dan the Bear by Jane Stockdale

Rooftop Rollin’ by Ryan Todd

Arctic Igloo by Ross Phillips

SLAMta Claus by Paul Layzell

But wait, there’s more: Todd is keen to encourage fellow illustrators and animators to submit their gifs to the site to expand the collection. “The aim of the project is twofold,” he explains, “to create a space for professional animators and directors to produce somethign personal, experimental or just plain fun, and for illustrators and artists who may not have created anything animated before to take their first step into the world of moving image. The humble gif offers the perfect format in which to create something special.”

Artists with gifs already on the site include Alex Grigg, Damien Weighill, Emily Forgot, Holly Wales, James Dawe, Jane Stockdale, Jenny Bowers, Mathew The Horse, Rose Blake, and many, many more.

Visit the site to view and share the current collection, and to potentially get involved: christmasgifs.org.

CR In print

In our December issue we look at why carpets are the latest medium of choice for designers and illustrators. Plus, Does it matter if design projects are presented using fake images created using LiveSurface and the like? Mark Sinclair looks in to the issue of mocking-up. We have an extract from Craig Ward’s upcoming book Popular Lies About Graphic Design and ask why advertising has been so poor at preserving its past. Illustrators’ agents share their tips for getting seen and we interview maverick director Tony Kaye by means of his unique way with email. In Crit, Guardian economics leader writer Aditya Chakrabortty review’s Kalle Lasn’s Meme Wars and Gordon Comstock pities brands’ long-suffering social media managers. In a new column on art direction, Paul Belford deconstructs a Levi’s ad that was so wrong it was very right, plus, in his brand identity column, Michael Evamy looks at the work of Barcelona-based Mario Eskenazi. And Daniel Benneworth-Gray tackles every freelancer’s dilemma – getting work.

Our Monograph this month, for subscribers only, features the EnsaïmadART project in which Astrid Stavro and Pablo Martin invited designers from around the world to create stickers to go on the packaging of special edition packaging for Majorca’s distinctive pastry, the ensaïmada, with all profits going to a charity on the island (full story here)

Please note, CR now has a limited presence on the newsstand at WH Smith high street stores (although it can still be found in WH Smith travel branches at train stations and airports). If you cannot find a copy of CR in your town, your WH Smith store or a local independent newsagent can order it for you. You can search for your nearest stockist here. Alternatively, call us on 020 7970 4878 to buy a copy direct from us. Based outside the UK? Simply call +44(0)207 970 4878 to find your nearest stockist. Better yet, subscribe to CR for a year here and save yourself almost 30% on the printed magazine.

CR for the iPad

Read in-depth features and analysis plus exclusive iPad-only content in the Creative Review iPad App. Longer, more in-depth features than we run on the blog, portfolios of great, full-screen images and hi-res video. If the blog is about news, comment and debate, the iPad is about inspiration, viewing and reading. As well as providing exclusive, iPad-only content, the app will also update with new content throughout each month. Try a free sample issue here

In 2011 it was Volkswagen’s mini Darth Vader, this year it’s Kony 2012: the most shared video ad of the year.

The not-for-profit video that kickstarted a global campaign to bring Ugandan militia leader Joseph Kony to justice was shared more than 10 million times since it launched on March 5 and tops Unruly Media‘s ‘the 20 most shared social video ads of 2012’ (excluding movie trailers or TV promos, and as measured across the social web, including Twitter, Facebook and blogs).

Even though the top spot is held by a 30-minute video of emotive content, driven by a comprehensive, well executed distribution strategy, the top five also includes big brands such as P&G and its ode to mothers.

Unsurprisingly, a staunch viral ad favourite – the live experience involving Joe Public – features prominently.  Three campaigns by Belgian agency Duval Guillaume Modem, ‘TNT: A Dramatic Surprise on a Quiet Square’ (second on the list with more than 4.3 million shares), ‘Febelfin: Amazing Mind Reader Reveals his Gift’ and ‘Coke: Unlock the 007 in You’, make it onto the list, as does a flashmob performance celebrating financial services company Banco Sabadell’s 130th birthday.

Another staple of viral sharing is the elaborate stunt, often pitting man against machine. ‘Gymkhana Five’ for DC Shoes (along with Red Bull and Volkswagen one of only three brands to feature both in 2011 and 2012), directed by Ben Conrad, stars professional rally driver Ken Block in a high octane 10-minute clip, in which he turns the streets of San Francisco into his own personal rally playground.

OK Go’s video for Needing/Getting, made in partnership with Chevrolet, uses a vast set-up of instruments over two miles in the California desert, which the band plays with a specially outfitted Chevy Sonic, and Red Bull: Athlete Machine brings chain-reaction mechanics together with extreme sports stars to create a huge domino-effect stunt bonanza.

The quirky also makes it onto the list. The recent Australian animated viral star ‘Dumb Ways to Die’ by McCann in Melbourne for the city’s Metro Trains is at number seven, and others include ‘Mister Rogers Remixed, Garden of Your Mind’ by Symphony of Science’s John D Boswell for PBS Studios (at number 10, it was shared more than 1.05 million times), and Volkswagen’s latest nod to the dark side in its ‘The Bark Side’ yelping version of the Darth Vader theme tune.

In this year of major sporting events, Nike Football features twice with ‘Mercurial Vapor III: Cristiano Ronaldo vs Rafa Nadal’ (shared more than 921,000 times) and ‘Nike: My Time is Now’ ( more than 902,000).

Finally, at number three on the list is this gratuitous, if tongue-in-cheek, torso-gazing from Abercrombie & Fitch, which has been shared more than 2.4 million times.

For the complete list, visit Unruly Media.

CR In print

In our December issue we look at why carpets are the latest medium of choice for designers and illustrators. Plus, Does it matter if design projects are presented using fake images created using LiveSurface and the like? Mark Sinclair looks in to the issue of mocking-up. We have an extract from Craig Ward’s upcoming book Popular Lies About Graphic Design and ask why advertising has been so poor at preserving its past. Illustrators’ agents share their tips for getting seen and we interview maverick director Tony Kaye by means of his unique way with email. In Crit, Guardian economics leader writer Aditya Chakrabortty review’s Kalle Lasn’s Meme Wars and Gordon Comstock pities brands’ long-suffering social media managers. In a new column on art direction, Paul Belford deconstructs a Levi’s ad that was so wrong it was very right, plus, in his brand identity column, Michael Evamy looks at the work of Barcelona-based Mario Eskenazi. And Daniel Benneworth-Gray tackles every freelancer’s dilemma – getting work.

Our Monograph this month, for subscribers only, features the EnsaïmadART project in which Astrid Stavro and Pablo Martin invited designers from around the world to create stickers to go on the packaging of special edition packaging for Majorca’s distinctive pastry, the ensaïmada, with all profits going to a charity on the island (full story here)

Please note, CR now has a limited presence on the newsstand at WH Smith high street stores (although it can still be found in WH Smith travel branches at train stations and airports). If you cannot find a copy of CR in your town, your WH Smith store or a local independent newsagent can order it for you. You can search for your nearest stockist here. Alternatively, call us on 020 7970 4878 to buy a copy direct from us. Based outside the UK? Simply call +44(0)207 970 4878 to find your nearest stockist. Better yet, subscribe to CR for a year here and save yourself almost 30% on the printed magazine.

CR for the iPad

Read in-depth features and analysis plus exclusive iPad-only content in the Creative Review iPad App. Longer, more in-depth features than we run on the blog, portfolios of great, full-screen images and hi-res video. If the blog is about news, comment and debate, the iPad is about inspiration, viewing and reading. As well as providing exclusive, iPad-only content, the app will also update with new content throughout each month. Try a free sample issue here

Image templates enable designers to show proposed work in the best possible light. But, as the realism increases and work spreads online, does it matter that it’s now becoming so much harder to work out just what is real and what isn’t?

With ever-tightening budgets and deadlines, answering a brief often involves showing a new design across a range of applications as quickly and as cheaply as possible.

Carton by LiveSurface

In the new issue of CR (shown above) we examine how, over the last few years, a small crop of designer-focused image libraries, including LiveSurface in the US and PrestoVisual in the UK, have been filling a potentially lucrative gap.

These sites sell templates of billboards, poster sites, business cards, clothes, bags, bottles and boxes – anything that can incorporate a designer’s vision.

Billboard by LiveSurface

In the article, which also considers why crowd-funding site KickStarter recently banned image renderings from its site (and why eBay should never have made its own ‘shopping bags’ render in the first place), we hear from designers David Airey, Armin Vit, Michael Johnson and Simon Manchipp, and also LiveSurface founder, Joshua Distler.

Airport billboard by LiveSurface

It was a joke Manchipp made at his recent talk at TYPO London that made us think there might be a more serious side to all this. On a slide showing the recent Olympics pictograms, designed by his studio SomeOne, he’d added “Guaranteed 100% LiveSurface Free!”

Olympic pictograms by SomeOne in a photograph. A real one

His point was that, yes, the photographs of flags and banners from the Olympic Park were real – this was the studio’s actual work for London 2012, implemented by FutureBrand and fluttering in the wind and everything.

These images weren’t mock-ups, the kinds of renders that his studio and countless others use to show what executions of their work might look like. But – and his joke admitted as such – they could have been.

FastJet poster image by SomeOne, made using LiveSurface

“Context is often critical,” Manchipp says, “and a cold layout fresh from InDesign does little to convey the emotions felt when [the work] is in your hands, printed in a newspaper. So the LiveSurface system is brilliant at rapidly getting design work in context so it can be more realistically viewed by those paying the bills.”

But does it matter that it’s getting harder to tell the difference between the real work and the mock-ups?

Bag mock-up by SomeOne

“It’s when things leak out into the real world that it gets a little surreal,” says Michael Johnson, who believes issues arise due to the relatively short list of applications available for many smaller projects.

“There’s a website, a Facebook header and probably a business card,” he says. “After that? Very few clients can afford to do outdoor ad campaigns or change their signage so the frustrated designer, seeing their scheme get drastically reduced, lets a few of those ‘hypotheticals’ leak out into the real world and, before long, they almost become real themselves.

“Things come to a head when you judge award schemes,” Johnson continues. “The branding section is always crammed with gleaming identities beautifully ‘applied out’ but you know that only a third of them ever happened.”

Those eBay bags

While the eBay ‘shopping bags’ that appeared during the brand’s recent logo redesign were misplaced to say the least, rendering certainly has its uses to professional designers. For David Airey, visualising new work in this way is simply another part of the creative process.

“As soon as it’s out of the designer’s head and onto paper, or onto a computer screen, it’s there for others to see. It’s real,” he says. “The work might not yet be shown to its full capacity, or developed as precisely as it will be in future, but it’s there, forming the basis of the more tangible items that can follow.”

For the full story, with more from all the designers mentioned above, see our December issue, out now.

Please note, CR now has a limited presence on the newsstand at WH Smith high street stores (although it can still be found in WH Smith travel branches at train stations and airports). If you cannot find a copy of CR in your town, your WH Smith store or a local independent newsagent can order it for you. You can search for your nearest stockist here.

Alternatively, call us on 020 7970 4878 to buy a copy direct from us. Based outside the UK? Simply call +44(0)207 970 4878 to find your nearest stockist. Better yet, subscribe to CR for a year here and save yourself almost 30% on the printed magazine.

CR In print

In our December issue we look at why carpets are the latest medium of choice for designers and illustrators. Plus, Does it matter if design projects are presented using fake images created using LiveSurface and the like? Mark Sinclair looks in to the issue of mocking-up. We have an extract from Craig Ward’s upcoming book Popular Lies About Graphic Design and ask why advertising has been so poor at preserving its past. Illustrators’ agents share their tips for getting seen and we interview maverick director Tony Kaye by means of his unique way with email. In Crit, Guardian economics leader writer Aditya Chakrabortty review’s Kalle Lasn’s Meme Wars and Gordon Comstock pities brands’ long-suffering social media managers. In a new column on art direction, Paul Belford deconstructs a Levi’s ad that was so wrong it was very right, plus, in his brand identity column, Michael Evamy looks at the work of Barcelona-based Mario Eskenazi. And Daniel Benneworth-Gray tackles every freelancer’s dilemma – getting work.

Our Monograph this month, for subscribers only, features the EnsaïmadART project in which Astrid Stavro and Pablo Martin invited designers from around the world to create stickers to go on the packaging of special edition packaging for Majorca’s distinctive pastry, the ensaïmada, with all profits going to a charity on the island (full story here)

CR for the iPad

Read in-depth features and analysis plus exclusive iPad-only content in the Creative Review iPad App. Longer, more in-depth features than we run on the blog, portfolios of great, full-screen images and hi-res video. If the blog is about news, comment and debate, the iPad is about inspiration, viewing and reading. As well as providing exclusive, iPad-only content, the app will also update with new content throughout each month. Try a free sample issue here