Gender Aware Technology

I was just looking at QUIVIDI online (the company who supplies the facial recognition technology for the vampire diaries interactive street ad - previous post)

I came across this article entitled "PRESENSIA AND QUIVIDI INVENT THE FIRST GENDER-AWARE FRAGRANCE DISPENSER" 

worth a quick look:   http://www.quividi.com/news/090107/   

New technology really has taken advertising far beyond traditional methods. 

Anyone seen anything like this in use? 

A second interactive ad in NY

This ad for "The Vampire Diaries" was near my hostel in NY. Like the ESPN ad (see previous post) it consists on a huge window wrap with a TV screen and camera sensor. 

In this ad the viewer is shown in the screen as if looking in a mirror and text appears saying "vampires cant see their reflection.... can you?" If the viewer stands for more than a few seconds a crow flies through the screen and then clips from the show are played.

I've just been looking into these types of advertising online and apparently the camera technology has been developed by several companies including one called Quividi and uses facial recognition technology to record highly specific continuous market research. 

The thought I was being watched/recorded never even crossed my mind when i saw the ad... kind of a scary thought!

An Interactive Ad

I walked past this ad in Boston and then saw it again, a week later, on 5th Ave in NY. They consist of a giant window wrap with a TV screen and camera/sensor.

This type of advertising has been termed "streetscape" and more and more examples are apparently popping up in the cities, some of which are interactive.

The video screen on this ad for ESPN shows a quarterback throwing a football which passers by can catch and watch his or her points increase on the screen. 

In Boston a group of people were surrounding the screen and playing the video game, much to the annoyance of other passers who were struggling to get past!

It was definitely creating interest and I think a good idea as part of an ad campaign. 

NEW YORK

BOSTON

Design It: Shelter Competition

I just came across this competition set up by the Guggenheim and Google SketchUp. 

They asked amateur and professional designers to design shelters. The competition is an extension of an exhibit in the guggenheim which shows work from over 70 years by students who have taken up the challenge of designing building and living in shelters in the environment around the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architectures Arizona and Wisconsin campuses.

Nearly 600 people entered the competition from all over the world and ten finalists have been chosen by students from the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture and it's now up to the public to vote for the winner.

have a look and vote here... http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/education/sackler-center/design-it-shelter

Guggenheim NY

Last year when I visited NY I missed out on seeing the Guggenheim so I made sure I got there this summer. The building was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and built in the late 50's and I just love the way it looks so elegant despite its chunky concrete forms. 

I also think the typeface perfectly compliments the building itself.

Toronto Wave Front

This year Toronto's Harbour front has had a makeover with the addition of a series of different wooden walkways which mirror the shapes of the ripples and waves in the water and create visual interest to the harbour.

The nice thing about the decking is that it is all completely wheelchair accesable as the layers of waves all sit level with the next wave at some point, creating a sort of ramp within the steps. I think this is a lovely well thought out design.

Original design

I came across these handmade felt purses at a festival in Toronto. There were photo's on the stall of them being made and that's what interested me. It looked like a very hands-on creative process being done in someone's house. 

The purses are actually made in Lima, Perú, by plastic artist Gabriela Hupiu and graphic designer Chivi Gonzalez, and are the result of months of creative work, research, and experimentation, all carried out behind-the-scenes, before the purses were introduced to the market in 2007. 

I haven't seen anything like them before and I the way artists are still able to make a living from original ideas produced on a small scale.

http://www.ladymosquito.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=83&Itemid=72

 

Royal Ontario Museum

This bizarre building is a museum in Toronto. The Lee-Chin Crystal is an extention to the original museum building and was only built two years ago. It is composed of five interlocking, self-supporting prismatic structures that co-exist but are not attached to the original building.

Walking past it definatly excited me. I think its a great piece of modern architecture!

A beautiful reminder

Having spent three days and nights at Niagara Falls recently I was reminded of something which I think is important we all remember when designing, and that is that sometimes less is more. 

Seeing the falls lit up at night, whilst still beautiful, wasn't even comparable, in my opinion, to experiencing the amazing natural power of them in the day. The falls are one of the wonders of the world for a reason and they just didn't benefit having coloured lights shone on them at night!! 

Niagara SkyWheel

Whilst queing for the ride I stood looking at the ticket and I just really liked the logo! 

I don't think much of  the type - choice, positioning ect. I just like the simplicity of the arch of carriages with the very simple vertical lines below to represent the falls. It's nothing special but I just thought it nicely showed exactly what it was and I think very often logos can look far to generic and become meaningless. 

 

As refreshing as...

I saw this large scale billboard across the road from the Horseshoe Falls at the Canadian side of Niagara. It shows an image of the falls inside a bottle of Coke. 

The falls truly are amazing and so I instantly thought it was clever of Coke to attach their brand to them in an attempt to position themselves as a similarly refreshing, breathtakingly amazing thing. 

Now that I'm home I think it's a shame that anyone has tried to attach their brand to something so naturally beautiful, and some things should just be left alone! Although we live in a consumer society - if Coke hadn't done it somebody else would have! and it is still a very striking yet simple one-off piece of advertising!