KlerCollective

Wolff Olins Blog: How design thinking finds new answers

Thu, 10 May 2012 11:27:39 -0400

Wolff Olins Blog: How design thinking finds new answers:

By Campbell Butler

The other day I sat in a brainstorm with a bunch of fellow graphic designers, discussing the future direction of an international business. Someone in the team made a flippant joke about the moment: Most of us had gone to art school, not business school.

As designers we sometimes worry about engaging in the “business side” of things. But today’s businesses are desperate to find experimental and creative solutions and designers are just the problem-solvers they need. We’ve been trained to take a brief, assess the problem, instinctively create different directions, analyse the positives and negatives, reject one, create another, see what works, see what doesn’t.

We can rapidly create visual concepts that test how products, communications, experiences and interfaces can work together. And we can test multiple directions. It allows businesses to take risks they couldn’t imagine, because they can see tangible possibilities. That, is business prototyping.

There’s an opportunity now as designers to get beneath the veneer of subjective aesthetics and establish design, and design thinking, at the heart of tomorrow’s businesses – an opportunity we should grab with both hands.

So, am I a graphic designer anymore?

Campbell Butler is a Senior Designer at Wolff Olins.

Illustration by James Kape.

The Met Gala 2012: Reviewed by Dalia Saad

Tue, 08 May 2012 13:52:10 -0400

thedscoop:

As you all know, the Met Gala is often called the fashion’s Oscars. I like how this event is stress free and casual, considering to the awards that take place between January and Febraury; it’s nice to see the celebs take a break and make a come back if they hadn’t done a good job earlier. Lets take a look at what the models, celebrities, and the designers themselves dressed in. Prada and Givenchy took over the hottest celebs. I don’t usually much Prada on the red carpet, but this awards, i see and i like!

THE WHITES:

1. Anja Rubik (model) in Anthony Vaccarello: If she weren’t a model, there’s noway anyone can pull off that high slit.

2. Ashley Greene in Donna Karan: Simple and to the point

3. Claire Danes in J.Mendel: I love how this dress is a wrap-sorta-thing. The blue clutch to go with is cool and non-traditional.

Read More

I can’t get over how gorgeous this new interior that KLM...

Fri, 04 May 2012 11:23:00 -0400

I can’t get over how gorgeous this new interior that KLM will soon introduce is. Many airlines have used blue tones to sooth and relax passengers, but many create a disconnect with their brand colors. For KLM, it works just perfectly.

Lufthansa’s Brand New Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental

Thu, 03 May 2012 16:43:38 -0400

Lufthansa’s Brand New Boeing 747-8 Intercontinental

A5/05: Lufthansa and Graphic Design: Visual History of an...

Tue, 20 Mar 2012 14:37:00 -0400

A5/05: Lufthansa and Graphic Design: Visual History of an Airplane by Jens Müller and Karen Weiland

Sony NEX-7 vs. Olympus OM-D

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 08:30:41 -0500

Last summer I was convinced that I needed to invest in a DSLR. I was hoping to rekindle my passion for videography by purchasing a still camera that could shoot HD video. Plenty of research later led me to Sony, specifically to the NEX line that promises to be the next generation of interchangeable lens cameras.

As much as I trust their credibility and engineering, Sony, however, could never become my favorite electronics brand because of their insistance on using their own proprietary formats. Nothing is ever compatible or universal with them. Regardless, I overcame that point and planned on purchasing the NEX-7 for a hefty sum, until mothernature decided it would pause things for a few months. Devastated by the floods, Sony’s Thailand factories had to be shutdown for production and the release date of the NEX-7 was postponed till April.

But a lot can happen in 4 months, and a lot did. Olympus has now come out with the new OM-D line, based off it’s 1970’s OM cameras. The camera is a micro four-thirds camera and seems to be the next big competitor to Sony’s NEX-7.

As of now, reviews have been fantastic and I believe I just might be sold on getting this one instead. I’ll wait though to see a final production model hands-on and most importantly make sure that the HD movie mode rivals that of Sony.

thedscoop: Haven’t seen this yet? Have a look at Marni for...

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 08:04:00 -0500

thedscoop:

Haven’t seen this yet? Have a look at Marni for H&M’s Video directed by the amazing Sophia Coppola

On February 15, I had the great honor of hosting our first ever...

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 21:28:57 -0500

On February 15, I had the great honor of hosting our first ever SVA BrandMasters™ lecture as part of Social Media Week, New York City. I had planned for this event alongside my friends Chi Wai Lima and Margaux Genin with the help of J’aime Cohen and Bret Sanford-Chung.

I must admit, the road leading up to that day was extremely rough and challenging, but the learnings proved invaluable. On the day of, my biggest fear was failure. But then I remembered someone very special once telling me, “If you’re not scared, then you just don’t care”.

The event ended up a huge success and exceeded our expectations. We filled up our room with about 100 people, and we had only accounted for about 60+. Yes, people were left standing and chairs had to be added at the last minute. It wasn’t ideal, but it sure made me feel great!

Here’s the video of the amazing panelists

Mile-high madness with Richard Simmons! I’ve caught myself...

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 12:56:00 -0500

Mile-high madness with Richard Simmons!

I’ve caught myself a few times disregarding inflight safety videos and then I guilt myself into thinking that if anything should really happen, I would be the one to blame for the demise of the passengers for not knowing what to do.

But you know what? I take that back. If anything should happen, NO ONE would know what to do, because frankly NO ONE ever pays attention.

Inflight safety videos bore everyone to death. They are a requirement by the FAA and must be shown on every flight before take-off. Only a handful of airlines have tried to re-envision what these videos could look like. My knowledge only extends as far as Virgin Atlantic who were the first to create a humorous cartoon video. That was fun to watch. Soon enough, Virgin America made their own lively video.

But today, the trend has extended across the seas to New Zealand where Richard Simmons seem to be big??!! Air New Zealand now holds the number one spot on my list (which I technically haven’t created yet) of top inflight safety videos. Watch and laugh!

The Story of “Keep Calm and Carry On”

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 07:31:48 -0500

The Story of “Keep Calm and Carry On”

There are many things that I want this year. Some are big and...

Sun, 04 Mar 2012 20:37:23 -0500

There are many things that I want this year. Some are big and ambitious, and others are as simple as this M-Lamp. I will get my hands on it soon!

Buy it Here

Social Media Explained

Sun, 04 Mar 2012 20:31:09 -0500

Social Media Explained

The Bible has Cometh!

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 19:29:00 -0500

Saying I cherished my time at SVA’s Masters in Branding program is an understatement. In fact, nothing can appropriately describe the year I spent with some of the most amazing design and branding talent that exists today. Much has come from this humbling experience and today there is concrete evidence of just how much was achieved during this time.

“Brand Bible” was a project initially conceived by Debbie Millman as a book that would chronicle the history of branding as well as show case some of the most successful branding work that has been done in various industries. Little did we know that a chance to coauthor this book with Debbie would be imminent.

For a solid 4+ months, we were in and out of the studio on Friday afternoons, as well as plenty of weeknights and weekends, working hard on researching, collecting and writing for the book. I was very happy to work alongside my friends and colleagues Chi Wai Lima and Jada Britto. We had a great time, to say the least. Our biggest opportunity came when we were welcomed by Rusty Clifton, Design Manager of Topical Healthcare at Johnson and Johnson’s Global Strategy Design Office to discuss Band-Aid®.

The book looks amazing and I recommend it to anyone interested in branding and design, not because I’m involved in it, but because there’s a lot to learn about the branded world we live in.

Get it from Amazon for only $28

INSTANT RAINBOW This poster made the rounds on the internet last...

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 16:39:28 -0500

INSTANT RAINBOW

This poster made the rounds on the internet last year and became pretty popular. I’ve since wanted to get a copy of it. There’s something about it that makes me just…smile :-)

Buy it on www.etsy.com for $55

UNHATE: United Colors of Lebanon

Thu, 17 Nov 2011 14:13:47 -0500

This week, the Italian fashion brand Benetton came out with a campaign titled “UNHATE”, that has taken to the web and people’s Facebook pages pretty quickly.

Although the campaign is clever and stays true to the brand’s history of social awareness campaigns, this one gained a lot of controversy over the portrayal of the Pope kissing an Egyptian Imam. My opinion: loosen up. There’s a good message behind this….much unlike the Dutch and French insisting on defaming the Prophet Mohamad’s image through caricatures….but that’s a different story.

Anyway, Lebanon soon enough took a liking to the campaign and came up with its own version of UNHATE. Saad Hariri smooching with Hassan Nasrallah, and Michel Aoun clearly enjoying a lip sucking with Samir Gaega. Priceless!

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On / Part 2 Last year, my boss was...

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 15:15:12 -0500

Marcel the Shell with Shoes On / Part 2

Last year, my boss was running around the office showing Marcel the Shell to everyone she could. I’ve been waiting for an encore from Marcel since then and we finally have it.

Jenny Slate, who played Tina Tina Shanoose on SNL (one of my favorite characters ever), and her fiance, Dean Fleischer-Camp, created Marcel. Jenny also portrays the voice of Marcel.

Awesome stuff here folks!

Debbie Millman never seizes to surprise! Her latest creation is...

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 17:13:21 -0500

Debbie Millman never seizes to surprise! Her latest creation is this gorgeous wrapping paper that will go on sale tomorrow, 11/16/2011 at One Kings Lane.

Although I rarely use wrapping paper, I think I’m going to purchase some of this and keep it around for that rare occasion.

THE LEBANON I DREAM OF… “This documentary intends to...

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 16:56:22 -0500

THE LEBANON I DREAM OF…

“This documentary intends to open the eyes of the Lebanese youth to the real problems in their society. it gathers 45 carefully selected Lebanese figures who start by showing how beautiful Lebanon is and how terribly ugly we have made it. Then it states every practical issue in their daily life: social, political, economic, ecological and humanitarian. When reaching to solutions, those who were supposed to be a solution turn out to be the real problem: The judicial system, Media and civil society. The only solutions left are education and elections. In the end they all dream of the Lebanon they would like to have and turn with a direct message to the young generation and hand them the responsibility of change.”

You Had Me at "Ice Cream"

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 10:43:00 -0400

I believe I first flew on Virgin Atlantic when I was 15. I was heading to LA with my uncle back then. All I could remember was how amazing our flight from Heathrow to LAX was. It was 1999 I think, and Virgin had already implemented on-board entertainment. As a kid, it was heaven. How much conversation could I strike with my uncle on a plane anyway?

But the best part of it all was half-way through the flight when a beautiful blond flight attendant gracefully offered me ice cream! HEAVEN! Absolute HEAVEN!

I flew Virgin Atlantic a few times after that when I moved to the US. The service got better until one year when I flew an A340 from JFK to LHR. I can’t remember much of my flight, but I do remember being stuck with a non-functional entertainment system and mediocre food. I was highly disappointed. I lived in denial of that until my parents visited this May for my graduation. They flew Virgin Atlantic to NYC and unfortunately, they were as disappointed as I had been with the food and service. I tried to persuade them that they were just being annoyingly picky, but deep down, I knew there was a 99% chance they might be right.

But never fret, Mom and Dad. Richard has your back! Yesterday, Virgin Atlantic revealed a new upgrade to its economy class dining experience. Believe it, he heard ME and he heard YOU and we didn’t even say much. THAT is what makes a great brand. Listening.

The most successful relationships are those made of great listeners. And that’s why Sir Richard’s Virgin brand has succeeded throughout the years. Not only is he eager to create great experiences for his customers, but he makes sure that Virgin is engaged on a daily basis.

No contest, Virgin Atlantic remains my brand of choice. Honestly, I’m not really picky about airline food, especially that I always try to carry a sandwich and munchies on board with me. That aspect of the flight experience doesn’t make it or break it for me. But when you tempt me with ice cream, well then that equation changes. You have me! :-)

KLM SURPRISE When I was transiting through Frankfurt this...

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 12:32:00 -0400

KLM SURPRISE

When I was transiting through Frankfurt this summer, I tweeted from the airport that I was waiting at a Lufthansa gate and that I needed caffeine to wake me up. Almost immediately, a Lufthansa representative tweeted back with a list of coffee spots around my gate and thanked me for flying Lufthansa.

Somehow this made me smile. Knowing that someone out there is listening makes a big difference. It delights you.

Apparently, KLM tried to move this concept a bit further last year and decided to take advantage of social media to make their passengers a bit happier by surprising them with a gift. A tweet can surely go a long way!