Alsop is a company that likes to describe itself as an office that works with multi-disciplinary roles like Architecture, Master Planning, Product Design and even Illustrative & Animation works in the past. It’s this kind of diversity, cross-fertilisation and looking at many disciplines that helps us to become better designers.
Kristina Vidic, Slovenian born make up artist, has been on the rise in the European and UKn fashion scenes for the last 10 years. Based in the UK, the self taught make up mistress not only teaches the art at London’s Central Saint Martins College but also works with prestigious brand Mac, whilst pursuing her career of working on fashion shows for Dior, Vivienne Westwood and Jean Paul Gaultier amongst others.
I write Sickboy and have been painting since 1995, although I only started using the name Sickboy in 2000. I used to write Phet; this was my bombing name and I took it from the word ‘amphetamine’, I had an idea just before the millenium that I wanted to have a battle with myself, so rather than someone else going over my pieces, I went over them myself….
Message from MJAR of HookedBlog:
“Back in June 2005 a group of street / graffiti artists took over the walls of an abandoned East London bus depot/ crack den in Dalston. We were there and took a bunch of photographs.
Having just recently found the pictures again on a disk after a spring clean last week, we have put some of them together in this clip. This is out first upload to Youtube and we haven’t worked out the best size, format to ensure it looks its best so watch the video in HD if you have a fast web connection. But is is good to be able to share them online, as we had believed they were forever lost via a stolen computer of ours. Photos feature the works of some talented artists and friends including What Collective (Richt, Gumbo, Oath and 45RPM) , Dave The Chimp, PMH, Busk, Blam, Showchicken, mjar, Sri, Thought Police, Skire, Adam Neate, Jerm, Herse, Fybe, Probs, Pheks and Ink Fetish to name a few. Enjoy.”
Today’s music industry is spinning in circles over what direction it should heading. So, how does a budding musician really make it in the music industry when all the rules are changing? The industry is afraid of losing control and money, but at the same time understands that the only way to make money is to connect with fans. Some are predicting that the golden era of music is coming to a close and musicians will not be able to make their living with their tunes for much longer. Whatever the future holds for the music industry, there are some ways to ensure success right now.
Artists can no longer wait on a contract or record label to build their fan base. In fact, those who play the waiting game are missing out on opportunities to expand their reach. Start out small and steady, introducing people to your music everywhere you go. Do not just do the traditional gigs but get creative and use all types of approaches to reach potential listeners. One of the more unconventional ways to market these days is to give away some of your music for free. “Lil Wayne gave his music away for over a year before releasing his album. He worked first to build a connection with his fan-base before asking for any money.”1 The great thing about music fans is that once they discover you and decide they like what they hear, they will do free marketing for you as-long as you stay true & loyal to your fans.
Once there is an audience, the next thing is to keep their attention. The industry is always changing and while listeners might love an artist’s work, they are looking for the next great thing. Musicians need to find creative ways to keep the public engaged. Make it easy by getting their permission to market to them. An email mailing list is the perfect way to do that. Keep an updated website with varied content like information, videos, a blog, etc. If the content is not regularly updated, fans will have no reason to follow what an artist is up to.
Of course, investing time in all of these things keeps an artist from their music and other creative endeavors. Both quantity and quality are essential components when it comes to music. Artists cannot afford to be distracted with other aspects of the business. While many like to do everything themselves, it is wiser to delegate technical and marketing tasks to someone else. If an artist is tight on money, consider hiring an experienced person who wants to work from home or a college student looking for experience.
For those lucky enough to get a record deal, it is not the time to sit back and let the label be responsible for everything. In fact, the more hands-on and financial control an artist has over their own product, the more creative control they can demand. Handing over all control is not a beneficial brand strategy. “More and more veterans of the major-label system will attest to the estimate that, for every 10 bands a big company signs, they intend to put their resources behind only one.”2 Artists need to be proactive and resourceful. It never hurts to do more marketing and finding creative ways to expand their fan-base outside of what the recording company is doing.
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FOOTNOTES: 1-Anderson, Ariston (2009, July 25). So you wanna make it in the music biz? Here are the new rules. WalletPop.com. Accessed February 2, 2010. http://www.walletpop.com/blog/2009/07/25/so-you-wanna-be-a-rockstar-here-are-the-new-rules/ 2- Reyes-Kulkarni, Saby (2004, October 20). How to succeed in the music business, by the String Cheese Incident. Mountain Xpress. Accessed February 2, 2010. http://www.mountainx.com/ae/2004/1020stringcheese.php 
Author: En Derin
After the release of this epic science fiction film, everyone has gone crazy. Nearly everyone is either talking about Avatar, writing about it or suggesting other people to watch it. Now Avatar has also begun to conquer the Internet.
The first steps in this direction are the emergence of the first celebrity photomontages depicted as avatar characters.
I have gathered one such celebrity collection especially for you. I liked how many famous people were transformed.
Katy Perry
Madonna
Britney Spears
Lady GAGA
Bono
Robert Pattison
Hugh Laurie
Rowan Atkinson
Vladimir Putin
Jay-Z and Beyonce
Will Smith
Megan Fox
The Beatles
Here is a bunch of other examples of ordinary people transformed into people of Pandora.
British artist Nick Gentry’s paintings give long-forgotten floppy disks a new lease on life. They’re still storage media, just in a much more literal sense.
At some point recently, you’ve probably uncovered an old box of videos, cassettes, and floppies in the basement and thought to yourself, “what am I supposed to do with these?” It turns out you just weren’t thinking hard enough.
Painting on canvases comprised of 3.5″ floppy disks and VHS tapes, Nick Gentry puts these bygone forms of storage to use in his art.
[ By Marc in Games & Gaming, Various Uncategorized. ]
Clowns have always been scary: when something targeted to juveniles has even the slightest eerie aspects, the terrifying effect is exaggerated. Here are 12 toys targeted to kids that are just plain bizarre, or are so terrifying, they could very well traumatize you and your children:
(Images via nomoreanalog, wickedglee)
Apparently in Japan there’s a common desire to train your children to take razor blades to toddlers and newborns, in an attempt to cleanse them of their hirsute qualities. Your child will be fascinated by the random and extensive patches of hair that cover portions of this doll. Sadly, the hair can’t grow back.
(Images via videogum)
The Laugh a Lot doll is mostly terrifying because of its commercial, directed by someone who must have had a long and prosperous career making horror flicks. The commercial’s fast cuts and maniacal laughter don’t elicit the desired response, instead causing the audience to cringe in terror and confusion.
(Images via damncoolpics, break)
Don’t all parents dream of having their children ride around in the (mostly) hollowed out skull of a gigantic cyclops? Well, your hopes and prayers have been answered. Your kids are now able to play at being Argonauts, as they chase horrified neighborhood children into a lifetime of psychotherapy.
(Images via odditycentral)
Be-A-Doll.com forms your likeness into an action figure. Having a doll that looks exactly like you is all well and good, but before you create one of these mirror images of yourself, be sure to tell your friends a few secrets so they can tell you and your doll apart.
(Images via thegreenhead, geekstuff4u, thepartyanimal)
It’s a mystery whether the Face Bank is supposed to be cute or not, but if so, it’s an absolute failure. With dark, pupil-less eyes, and a vacant stare, this piggy bank mimics the motion of chewing coins like a cow chewing cud, and then lets out a lifeless burp that would never cause laughter. There’s something creepy about something so lifeless mimicking such a common action. Imagine how you’d feel if you took a seat on a bench and noticed a brick gnawing at your shoe… that’s how disturbed this bank makes me feel.
(Images via matthew6870)
The cymbal smashing monkey is as simple and iconic as the eerie ventriloquist dummy, but even worse. The monkey’s expression is so intense and craven that there’s no way its creator could have desired anything but malice to emanate from its red-rimmed eyes. Every time the cymbals crash, you flinch, and can’t help staring at its frozen smile in fear.
(Images via timewarptoys, toys2remember, theshiftedlibrarian)
Hugo, the Man of a Thousand Faces, is a master of disguise, but there’s something eerie about his overly large and realistically detailed face that gives most people the heebie jeebies. Playing with this toy would make you immediately wish for the much less realistic Mr. Potato Head. No matter how many stereotypical and semi-racist moustaches and facial modifications you add, Hugo will still sit there, piercing you with his pale blue eyes.
(Images via blondemomblog, temptingtoys, monsterlandtoys)
Mothra, the gigantic moth that battles Godzilla in films throughout the celebrated franchise, has a child whom she calls to battle with a high pitched song. This toy is her child, and it definitely falls into a “what were they thinking?” category. It’s strange that this toy even exists, but it’s even stranger how many variations on the design have been manufactured.
(Images via gadgetsexpose, nerdapproved, mentalfloss)
Poop is one of the most juvenile topics of conversation, so it’s natural that someone would try to capitalize on it. Now you can capitalize on it too, literally, with a piggy bank in the shape of a swirling pile of dog feces. If that’s not enough, let your dog tear up a plush chew toy in the shape of its own leavings, and give your toddler the patented “Pee & Poo” toys that are so popular with the youth today.
(Images via cashmenow, sew-dolling)
It’s easy to see the reasoning behind dolls that are handicapped, but it’s still a bit shocking to see a childhood item that usually exemplifies ideals of beauty and turns them into a much more realistic depiction of the tragedy that befalls too many children.
(Images via jdmuniverse, mybangbros)
Barbie has always been a role model for young girls, as the ambitious career woman who becomes anything from a Doctor to a Veterinarian, and now, a mother. I’m highly doubtful that this toy helps clear up a child’s confusion about childbirth, so please, purchase with caution.
(Images via aceofspades)
To end the list of these bizarre and terrifying toys, here’s a game of Russian Roulette available in Japan. Place the gun against your head and hope there isn’t a round in the chamber, or hippo legs will spring out and smack you in the face (really, they do). There are so many reasons why this is a horrible idea, but if you decide to buy this for your children, just be sure you have a gun safe in case they decide to try the real thing.
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[ WebUrbanist - By Marc in Games & Gaming, Various Uncategorized. ]
[ By Steph in Graffiti & Drawing, Guerilla Marketing & Ads, Urbanism. ]
Outdoor advertising is all around us – on billboards, benches and even stairs. So it was only a matter of time before the ads took to the streets themselves in the form of stunning 3D chalk drawings, paint, stickers and even “reverse graffiti” which cleans messages onto dirty pavement. These 14 urban street ads sometimes blur the line between guerilla art and guerilla marketing, drawing in crowds and using their respective environments in clever and creative ways.
Water is Life Painted Street Ad
(image via: guerilla promos)
The town of Drachten in the Netherlands got an extreme makeover in 2008 when artist Henk Hofstra painted a kilometer-long strip of the main road a pale blue color. The striking shade is meant to give citizens of the town an idea of what life was like in Drachten back when this road was a canal. They’ll have to get used to the concept, because Drachten is in the process of reverting back to life on a waterway.
Folgers Manhole Ad
(image via: gothamist)
When you see a steaming manhole in the streets of New York City, you’re probably reminded of the hot, smelly sewer that lurks beneath. But Folgers decided to give it a new connotation with street sticker ads that transform manholes into hot, enticing cups of coffee. Though the effect is cool, Gothamist notes that the smell doesn’t exactly match up with the imagery.
Coca-Cola 3D Chalk Street Ad
(image via: julian beever)
One of the world’s best-known street chalk artists, Julian Beever, creates jaw-dropping drawings in the streets that look incredibly three-dimensional when viewed from a certain angle. This one, an ad for Coca-Cola, is among his most effective works.
Vodafone Retro Arcade Games Street Ad
(image via: marketing alternatif)
Vodafone made cult retro arcade games like Pac Man and Space Invaders available to play on their mobile phones, and publicized it with a series of attention-grabbing chalk street ads.
Guerilla Cardboard Street Ad
(image via: brainstorm brand)
Pedestrians in London were provided with a vivid reminder of the harsh realities of homelessness as a series of 30 cardboard ‘beds’ were placed around the city. Each piece of cardboard was inscribed with the message, “Loving the snow? Try sleeping in it. Help get homeless people out of the cold for good. Crisis.org.uk.”
Capitalism: A Love Story – Green Graffiti
(image via: green graffiti)
While the greenest form of graffiti may just be made from moss, there’s another way to send a message on the street without using toxic spray paint: pressure washing. Layers of urban grime can be sprayed away in a pattern using a stencil, for an environmentally friendly ad that fades away with time. This one by Amsterdam ad agency Green Graffiti promotes the Michael Moore documentary ‘Capitalism: A Love Story’.
IKEA 3D Chalk Street Ad
(image via: street advertising services)
An advertising firm called Street Advertising Services painted a series trompe l’oeil 3D street ads depicting IKEA products in a room, designed to draw in passersby as promotions staff passed out IKEA catalogs.
Eminem Ad Campaign – Green Graffiti
(image via: green graffiti)
Rapper Eminem got in on the green graffiti trend with an ad campaign for his album ‘Relapse’. Subtle and impermanent, this form of street marketing is a great example of using ambient space effectively.
Ballantine’s Whisky 3D Chalk Street Ad
(image via: moodie reports)
Chalk artist Julian Beever also created this street drawing of a bottle of Ballantine’s Scotch whisky “leaving an impression”.
Earth Hour – Green Graffiti
(image via: green graffiti)
To promote Earth Hour – a global event in which the power is turned off for an hour to raise awareness about climate change – with wasteful paper and toxic inks would be hypocritical to say the least. This approach, using the “green graffiti” pressure washing method, gets the message across in a way that fits the event perfectly.
Sewer Grate BBQ Street Ad
(image via: sandeep makam)
Like the Folgers manhole cover ad, this guerilla street ad takes advantage of visual associations, using sewer grates to advertise BBQ grills. It’s clever, but the effectiveness is questionable given that most people aren’t likely to look at a sewer grate and think, “Mmmm – barbecue!”
Reserved for Drunk Drivers Street Ad
(image via: advertolog)
The consequences of drinking and driving are vividly illustrated in this unconventional ad, featuring a parking space half on the sidewalk, marked with the words “Reserved for drunk drivers.”
Open Manhole Awareness Street Ad
(image via: adrants)
Manhole cover thefts have risen over the past few years as opportunists sell them for scrap metal, and it’s a big enough problem in China to merit an ad campaign warning of the dangers of missing covers. Serious injury could result from falling into one – perhaps serious enough to cause paralysis.
Canon S1 Guerilla Street Ad
(image via: the raw feed)
That’s quite a zoom. Canon advertised its S1 camera model in 2006 with this sticker street ad. Not only does the column provide the perfect shape for the lens, its base sticks up from street level just far enough to give the camera a slightly three-dimensional look.
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[ WebUrbanist - By Steph in Graffiti & Drawing, Guerilla Marketing & Ads, Urbanism. ]
