water cooler is the collaborative blog of Nico Taus and Frank Chartrand of Bureau, a design agency located in Sudbury, Canada. Read about business, advertising, design, ecology, and other topics of interest.
What they don’t teach you about identity design in design schools… / March 11, 2010
“One of the most often repeated refrains on design blogs, in the critique of a new logo, is “Any design student could do a better job.” This ubiquitous comment is especially amusing to me because, well, it’s mostly true. If you judge virtually every new logo designed today by classical design school standards, the kids in school are doing a better job. This is because of the way logo and identity design are taught in so many schools, and what that exercise is meant to accomplish. ”
Click here to read what they don’t teach you in design schools.
JUNO Awards 2010 Nominees Announced / March 8, 2010
Each year, artists across Canada submit their best work for consideration in to 39 categories. One of these categories is the ‘Recording Package of the Year’. Here’s our 2 cents. Let’s see how accurate we are once these are sifted past 330 judges, 45 voting + nominating committee, and 180+ music advisory committee members.
Justin Ellsworth (Art Director/Designer); Vanessa Heins (Photographer); Daniel Romano & Ken Reaume (Illustrators)
Bring Me Your Love (Special Edition) CITY AND COLOUR
Already having won JUNO awards with both his band Alexisonfire and solo project City and Colour, the JUNO’s are a little quieter for Dallas Green this year.
It’s safe to say that City and Colour’s popularity is a huge part of the reason why this album appears in this list. The cover is beautifully illustrated, but it’s not groundbreaking. Some say it’s a rip-off of Iron and Wine’s ‘Our Endless Numbered Days’ (here). Nice artwork, but conceptually very weak.
Martin Bernard (Art Director); Stéphane Cocke (Photographer); Thomas Csano (Designer/Illustrator)
Beats on Canvas BEATS ON CANVAS
Surprisingly, this album is the only one nominated to have a very strong concept. Paintbrushes lined up musically. Drum sticks, strings, take what you will.
Rachelle Dupere (Art Director); Derek Henderson (Photographer); Evan Kaminsky (Designer)
Masters Of The Burial AMY MILLAN
I’m shocked this has even been nominated. Yes, it’s a nice photograph, but conceptually it’s not very strong. I’ll be very surprised if Amy Millan takes the cake.
Alex Durlak (Art Director)
Potential Things CANAILLE
No doubt, Canaille are the underdog in this contest. I’d like to see them win simply because it would be unexpected. With this said, again, much like Ami Millan’s album cover for ‘Masters of the Burial’, it’s nothing more than a nice layout and good imagery. Concept is severely lacking.
Thomas Csano (Art Director/Designer); Alex McLean (Illustrator)
Wooden Arms PATRICK WATSON
Patrick Watson chimes in with a beautiful simplistic centered design. Not groundbreaking, but definitely in the top 3 of this years nominations.
Who will take it? I’m rooting for Beats on Canvas for their strong concept. Who do I think will take it? City and Colour due on popularity or Patrick Watson for his clean, fresh approach.
Pedigree Dogs Ad Shot 1000 FPS / March 7, 2010
“It’s dogs in slow-mo catching treats. What could be better?” From TBWA Toronto.
For every good ad, is a good anti ad. / March 2, 2010
With advertising covering just about everything in the modern world, there is barely any ad-free space left untouched. We are bombarded with thousands of messages a day – from radio, television, billboards and magazines to environmental graphics and signs. It is true that great ad campaigns characterize culture, political movements and eras. On the other hand, this over saturation of force fed communication has given birth to powerful and elusive culture jammers who seek to reverse the message. Here are collection of the more edgy ad spoofs out there today.
Anti-alcohol and anti drinking and driving advocates from Adbusters have attacked the Absolut Voka campain.
A flexible campaign can be easily flexed by its opposition. Here is the original campaign:
Here is the ad bust:
In another case, the ever so controversial Joe Camel from Camel cigarettes was reproduced with a more stark message from its anti-smoking activists at Adbusters.
The original campaign:
The ad bust:
In another case for anti-smoking advocacy, the iconic Malboro country ads were represented in a more realistic fashion.
The originial campaigns
The bust:
The spoofing doesn’t end there. There is an ever increasing movement of awareness for the use of physically perfect super models in adverts and their effects on today’s children. In this case, the Calvin Klein ad campaign was replaced with a more realistic approach.
The original campaign:
The realistic approach:
No one is safe from spoofers. Activists continue to find ways to make their bold statements known.
The comparison between the in your face advertising techniques by large corporations and urban graffiti have been brought to light by activists who argue that both form are essentially an invasion of personal and public space.
The original by the community group Graffiti Watch:
The spoof:
And perhaps the easiest target of them all…
Those who have the most questionable interests and spend the most on advertising will always be the most vulnerable to spoofing.
A glimpse into Vancouver’s Olympic Design / February 13, 2010
With Vancouver 2010’s Olympic Winter Games now underway, all eyes are on Canada. Now that the games are on our turf, the pressure is mounting for Canadian athletes to bring home the gold. Not only are the eyes of the internal community on the athletes themselves, but are also on the design that has been constructed for events.
The design reflects not only the beautiful and diverse geography that is spread throughout our land, but also the vibrant metropolitan cities that make up our great country. With a natural palette of colors and textures that are seen throughout British Columbia and the rest of Canada, various illustrations were created in order to “spice” up the environmental design of the games. Hidden into these illustrations are the many elements of Canadian life, natural and urban pictures superimposed to live and work in harmony. This natural flow of elements is coupled with the fluent motions and movements of various sports – creating an ultimately Canadian experience.
Square / February 11, 2010
This is really neat. Paperless transactions anywhere.