June 2009

Hot Photography

Bureau of Land Management wildfire fighter Nick Collard pauses to survey a blaze near Carbondale, Colorado. The state's summer lightning storms ignite hundreds of wildfires each year.—A winning entry by photographer Tyler Stableford, in the Unpublished/Personal category of the 2009 APPLIED ARTS PHOTOGRAPHY & ILLLUSTRATION AWARDS, on the newsstand now.

Better Manscaping Time was the only trimming a man had to worry about was his mustache and the garden hedge. These days no body hair is safe from the blade and yet do many men know how to shave anything but their chins? Coming to the aid of manscaping newbies is a series of viral videos for Gillette, recently launched on YouTube. The animated spots created by Proximity Canada, in conjunction with BBDO New York, provide men with tips on shaving their head, chest, back, shoulders, armpits and, ahem, groin. See "How to Shave Your Groin"

Prouk's Picks Five sites deemed worth a surf by legendary adman Gary Prouk of Sebastian Consultancy. 'skine.art: A site devoted to showcasing the art of Moleskin lovers – the brand of Italian notebooks used by artists ranging from Matisse to Andre Breton. ArtePfau: Miniature motorcycles made from watch parts. Who could say no? Chicago’s Lesser Known Arts History Lesson or OG Art Gallery: We Are Supervision’s blog presents a variety of "business" cards from the Windy City gangs of the 1970s and '80s. Featuring printer stock art and hand-drawn illustrations, the cards hark to a time "when a gang was more of a neighborhood crew than what it is today." These were the fists, bats and bottle days, "before guns became the norm." Digitale Bibliothek – Munchener Digitalisierungszentrum: Magnificent German calligraphy from the late 16th century. ThruYOU: Off-the-wall and sometimes compelling viewing at a site that mixes together unrelated YouTube videos.

New at APPLIED ARTS The July/August 2009 issue of APPLIED ARTS will be on the newsstand early next month. Issue highlights include a feature on what it takes to become a green designer, a profile of Calgary's WAX Partnership design and ad agency, the portfolio of Dentsu Canada, Hans Kleefeld on what makes a good logo design, a look at how the George Partnership created a communications campaign for the Maclaren Art Centre in Barrie, the photography of Sandy Pereira, wood type and much more. Thank you to everyone who entered our Student and Design & Advertising Awards. The judging of the Student Awards is complete and winners are being notified this week. Design & Advertising will be judged in the middle of the month and winners will be notified by the end of June.

I See MoMA A new online campaign for New York’s Museum of Modern Art features a short film written and art directed by Paul Lavoie, co-founder of Taxi. The film, I See, features a bored art viewer (played by Henry Wolfe Gummer, son of Meryl Streep, who also composed and performed the film's music) listening to a tedious audio guide that suddenly starts speaking to him personally. “Life is a constant clashing and combining of perceptions, Frank,” the narrator says, revealing to him the connections between the abstract sculpture by Baranoff-Rossiné and his own life. The film, directed by Azazel Jacobs, is the first in an annual series by emerging filmmakers commissioned by MoMA and can be viewed on YouTube and the MoMA Website.

Lots of Stories To help celebrate its 20th anniversary, the Corbis stock agency has introduced Stories, "an online experience that sheds new light on culturally and historically important photographs from the Corbis collection." Over the next several months, various thinkers, writers, heroes, artists and photographers will reveal hidden truths in iconic images, through text, audio or video elements. Storied launched with photographer Henry Diltz talking about shooting The Doors’ Morrison Hotel album cover; author Fran Lebowitz telling the story behind some of Andy Warhol’s iconic Polaroids; Sir Jackie Stewart recapping some of the most memorable moments in his Formula One race car driving career; and others.

LXB Wins LXB of Montreal won four Platinums and three Golds at the Hermes Creative Awards. Run by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals, in Arlington, Texas, the awards are open to creative professionals involved in the concept, writing and design of traditional materials and programs, and emerging technologies. LXB's Platinum Awards include two TV spots for the National Arts Gallery of Canada and branding for the Ordre des conseillers en ressources humaines (CRHA) and L’Aubainerie (seen left).

Heavens to Bessies Apparently milk is good for you – and your creative reputation. DDB Canada’s and Tribal DDB’s animated Must Drink More Milk campaign for the BC Dairy Foundation won top honours at the Bessie Awards in Toronto. In addition to the Best of Show, the campaign received six Gold Bessies and four Best of Series Awards at the annual show that celebrates the best in Canadian broadcast advertising. Rather than preaching the benefits of milk, the winning BCDF campaign demonstrates the consequences of not drinking enough milk. See "Teen Power Team"

Transitions LXB in Montreal has been chosen by Baxter Global’s Chicago head office to ensure the development of global branding and promotion of product lines for divisions in Europe, Asia and Latin America. FUSE Marketing Group Inc. in Toronto has hired Ken Blakeley as group account director. In his role, Blakeley will assume leadership of the agency’s consumer packaged goods/retail team and lead the Tetley and Canadian Tire accounts. Prior to joining FUSE, Blakely held senior roles as director at OSL Marketing and account director at Onyx Marketing Group as well as operating his own consulting business, Reality Check Management Group. Lisa Chen-Wing has joined DDB Canada's Vancouver agency as art director. Chen-Wing has been paired with copywriter Jarrod Banadyga to develop creative business solutions for BC Hydro, the Canadian Tourism Commission and other clients. In addition to a freelance career in Vancouver and Toronto, Chen-Wing was an art director at Vancouver-based Rethink Communications. Jacques Labelle, formerly creative director at Cossette and founder of Ricochet Branded Content, has joined Alfred Communications Agency, Montreal, as a partner and general manager.

Glaser for Sale Legendary New York graphic designer and artist Milton Glaser has launched a new Website. MiltonGlaserWorks.com has for sale signed editions of Glaser's books and other works, including posters, silkscreens and a new range of giclée prints, mostly portraits of musicians and artists. The giclée prints are signed, numbered and embossed with an archival stamp for authenticity.

Serenity Now A new Telus campaign created by Taxi Vancouver draws on the "the premise of serenity and tranquility" to convey the reliability of the telco's home network. The outdoor, out-of-home, ambient and broadcast (TV and radio) executions are all designed to reinforce this feeling with their words ("Embrace certainty," "Achieve a greater calm," "Find your quiet space"), props (bamboo, Zen rocks, lotus flowers) and, of course, images of laconic but likeable lizards. The TV spot demonstrates the natural characteristics of the hero, a Madagascar Day Gecko. The Cafe del Mar ambient music and leisurely lizard yoga movements are "intended to create a feeling of ease in consumers and reinforce the peace of mind they can experience when they bundle their services on" the Telus home network. See "Relax"

A Month of Photo Ops Starting September 10, Montreal will be transformed into a vast exhibition of contemporary photography. Organized around the theme "The Spaces of the Image" and developed by guest curator Gaelle Morel, the 11th presentation of Le Mois de la Photo à Montréal will explore questions related to mechanisms and staging. Images will be deployed in the exhibition spaces in the form of in situ photographic and video installations. The event, ending October 11, will feature 24 solo exhibitions by artists from 13 countries, including Luc Courchesne (Canada), Jeff Guess (U.S.A./France), Alfredo Jaar (Chile/U.S.A.), Emmanuelle Léonard (Canada), Oscar Muñoz (Colombia), and Beat Streuli (Switzerland).

Speculating on Spec Work The AIGA has issued a press release reiterating its stand against the practice of producing speculative work for possible future compensation. “The types of unpaid and speculative work that are solicited, offered and distributed today are very different than they were even a few years ago, as a result of a design market facilitated by the Internet,” says Richard Grefé, AIGA executive director. “By providing educational information on what it means to do work without the promise of compensation, and the resulting risks for both the client and the designer, we hope to empower every designer to make an informed and intelligent decision on an individual basis.” AIGA's updated position on spec work can be seen on the organization's Website.

To-Do List June 30 - August 26 Process through Prototype: Highlights from the Fred Moffett Collection, Design Exchange, Toronto. June 30 - October 4 Québec Design: 75 years of works from the collection of the Musée des beaux-arts du Québec, Design Exchange, Toronto. July 11 - 12 Whistler Children's Art Festival, Whistler, B.C. July 13-23 Photo Life Arctic Cruise Workshop. July 14-19 TypeCon2009, Atlanta. August 3-7 Siggraph 2009, New Orleans. September 16 GDC Design Talk - Intellectual Property: What's in it for you?, Moncton, N.B. September 16 - 17 Cusp Conference, Chicago. October 8 - 11 Make/Think: AIGA Design Conference, Memphis, TN. November 3-4 DesignThinkers 2009, Toronto. November 5 Zag Workshop, with Marty Neumeier, Toronto. December 11 Deadline for Appelton Coated U360 ("Print with Purpose") Competition for 2010.

Contributions to APPLIED ARTS EXTRA How do you submit material to the APPLIED ARTS monthly online newsletter? Easy. Just send us an e-mail with your upcoming event, product release, new work of note, news . . . whatever. The e-mail is newsletter@appliedartsmag.com. We look forward to hearing from you.