bloom's blog

Turning kitchenware into art

IKEA has once again teamed up with photographer Carl Kleiner to create a lovely new creative campaign for its kitchenware. Following up on his stunning IKEA cookbook Homemade is Best, Kleiner, in conjunction with stylist Evelina Bratell, has elevated simple kitchenware, into beautiful works of art.

It's inspired...

French Connection campaign: ahead of a trend?

Ads were once copy heavy.  Back in the 60's, images were used to display product/beauty and lengthy copy communicated the brand's benefit.

By the 80's and 90's the clamour for attention demanded a different approach. Audiences had neither time nor headspace to read words, so arresting imagery took precedent.

Now it seems some advertising is striking a happy balance of the two.

We love French Connection's  2011 executions with their unusual imagery and thought provoking copy. The ads, which are part of a broader integrated campaign, serve to disrupt both the high-street fashion category and the brand's history (consigning the over-used FCUK idea to the rubbish heap).

It's refreshing approach from French Connection. We'd expect nothing less...

 

A different angle

We are always looking for new perspectives, so this week we're featuring images that make you think.  Although art, distinct from the commercial realm, these works have a lot to teach us about how objects can be used creatively to make the viewer reconsider its potential. Brands can learn a lot from these artists about how to catch the consumer's eye.

Artists have been getting more and more creative in how they surprise passers by.

Humour makes this urban art that bit more memorable.

For a few years now Converse has featured artists and musicians on their blog, solidifying their place as a brand that encourages creativity.  Recently they filmed Mentalgassi, a trio of German artists whose work brightens and beautifies urban spaces.  Their work is clever but you can't help but think that brands are missing an opportunity to be clever with where they place their ads.  They could learn a lot from Mentalgassi.  It's time to think beyond the billboard.  

Mentalgassi also created a piece for Amnesty International. The portrait, fittingly depicted on iron bars, is of Troy Davis a man that Amnesty believed had been wrongly accused of murder.  It's an innovative way of catching people's eye and making them think.

 

Reverse graffiti is another emerging trend that's having a big impact on our streets.  The most prolific exponent is Moose, a British born artist whose most famous work is San Francisco's Broadway Tunnel. He used a power washer to remove the extensive dirt build up and create an image of indigenous flora and fauna.  Moose says that his work is primarily about beauty but he can't help but encorporate an environmental element and make people think about how dirty and polluted our urban spaces are.
Brands have also latched on to the potential of reverse graffiti to infiltrate the urban space. 

 

The changing face of food

In Toast, Nigel Slater’s popular autobiography set in the 1950s, young Nigel’s mother refuses to buy fresh produce for fear that it won’t be high quality.  Instead she opts for tinned everything.  Today the opposite is true.  Tinned goods are now pushing fresh perceptions as far as they can. Thanks to the efforts of Jamie, Hugh and others, we have become much more aware of ingredients and passionate about food and this is reflected in packaging design today.

Food porn isn’t a new trend but it’s an enduring one. Recently several brands have endeavoured to enhance photography on pack in order to stand out from the crowd, ease navigation and, ultimately, entice the consumer.   Advances in technology have allowed brands to convey maximum appetite appeal.

 

Put on their Sunday best: Presenting brands in their best light.

 

 

Showcase: Emphasise the product’s inherent beauty

 

Even own label is doing it quite well…

 

 

Potential: Show what is possible

 

Provenance & Transparency: Celebrate the integrity of the product through referencing its origin.

However photography is by no means the only way to do appetite appeal.  Illustration, copy, textures, colours – there are many ways to communicate deliciousness on pack.  Check back over the coming weeks for more ideas.

A brand new perspective

Brands can engage consumers by challenging our perception of the everyday.  They grab our attention and make us sit up and think. 

 
Absolut does a great job of this by using its iconic product as a focal point.

From the beginning, its brand identity was based on the idea of getting consumers to see vodka in a different light.

‘Doing things differently leads to something exceptional’

The 2010 gift pack continues this idea.  This is the first year Absolut have redesigned the bottle itself rather than creating a ‘jacket’.  Through its unique and decadent form they encourage us to view the bottle, the product and by virtue the brand, in different ways. 

Click here to view the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yPxJHZeZkw4

 

Canon encourages us to explore different perspectives through its products.

Their recent ‘Find Your Own Angle’ campaign, run by Dentsu London, promoted the new creative features of their cameras through an online competition that invited people to find their own angle in the everyday.  

Click here to view the video:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnIs0R0gO5k

 

Bombay Sapphire uses innovative technology in augmented reality to enhance its brand equities through challenging our perceptions. Click here to view the video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHHFejQSgcI

 

 

snow snaps

We all took the scenic route to work today...

lighten up

You can do some pretty cool stuff with the long exposure button on your camera, multi-coloured lights and spinning devices.

You can see more here and here
Via Marky P 

orbs & baloons

Have you heard of Carlo Van de Roer yet? If not you have now. His must see photography is simply beautiful.

 
 

 
 

 

If that left you wanting more click here, here and here.

ground zero 9/11/07

Designer Jase is a bit of a whizz with a camera if these shots are anything to go by. He took them a year ago to the day during his Bloom work exchange at CBX in New York.

"Nothing could have prepared me for the sheer size of Ground Zero or the characters I met. Even after hours staring into the sky where the twin towers once stood, I still couldn’t get my head around how it all happened"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

epic

Were the Beijing Olympics the best yet? Will 2012 be even better?
Whatever you think, we Brits can walk with our heads held high having scooped 47 medals.
Digital photographic advancements in the past four years meant the epic proportion of these games has been captured in impressive creative style.