Sorry for the Pun
But a blog like this deserves a headline like that. We spotted these pics on the Curious Funny Photos (originally the work of Magnus Muhr) site and they reminded us that creativity is not always found in the places we think we should be looking. In fact we’re often surrounded by creative inspiration – occasionally it’s even buzzing away right under our nose. Let’s face it, we couldn’t keep up this highbrow intellectualism forever.
As Spring hits it’s all about Gelati Sky it seems, with the Herald Sun running an article on the cover of todays Business Owner section. It is great to see the Gelati Sky brand getting the recognition and profile it deserves.
If you own a small brand and would like help bringing out the magic as we’ve done with Gelati Sky, give us a call.
‘No taste like home and that’s the scoop’, its worth a read.
A Trusted & Loved Brand
Arguably, Australia only has a handful of iconic brands; brands with a rich history and tradition, brands that are recognised, trusted, and understood by customers around the country. Goulburn Valley could well stake claim for being one of those brands. I grew up eating Goulburn Valley tinned peaches and pears for dessert. Mum trusted the brand to feed us kids, and that was good enough for me. Goulburn Valley earned a place in the hearts and minds of many hundreds of thousands of Australians.
As a brand, Goulburn Valley has always had a clearly proposition: fresh fruit – pears, peaches and apricots, grown by Australian Farmers, picked from the orchards around Goulburn, and canned in their own juices – sweet, syrupy goodness.
Waiter, There’s Some Milk in My Fruit
So Imagine my confusion the other day when I came across an add for Goulburn Valley flavoured milk. Flavoured milk? From Goulburn Valley? ‘Isn’t Goulburn Valley a fruit company?’ I heard my subconscious ask itself. ‘Isn’t Goulburn Valley all about sweet, syrupy peaches, pears and apricots? What’s all this about milk and banana and chocolate and iced coffee??!!’
Over a quite chat and a few beers in the studio we started talking about the creative thought process. A few off centered jokes later and the like, we started down the path of symbolism. Objects find their way into the realm of pop culture in many ways. These symbols become accepted as representing certain thoughts, ideas, personalities and/or feelings.
Eventually, the chat turned into something quite different, how about creating a brand that would represent a day of the week? As you are probably aware each day has a different feeling and personality. So, just to stretch the mind a bit, I thought we could engage in a little shared project and see what we come up with. Open to anyone who wants to join in, a bit of fun, light, creative thinking. The goal is to create a brand that represents each day of the week. As there is a group of us doing it I will make changes that you suggest, or you can have a go yourself. I am thinking it will be like a visual brainstorm.
So, lets start. I am going to start with an (relatively) easy one… Monday. And for Monday we are going to go with the classic Garfield Monday. A fairly somber day, drag your feet, lots of coffee sort of thing. I have heard reports that it is the day most heart attacks take place. It is the beginning of the week (western world at least), while that is not bad news for everyone, I think a cliché Monday is a good place to start.
Then there is the translation of Monday, which is moon day. So, the first contribution is going to be a moon shape. I would like to add the color blue, as Monday it often referred to as Blue Monday.
We Picked it First
Following-on from our article last week about the value of recycling brand identity elements comes this trans atlantic/pacific love match. The story goes that the CFO of the City of Lubbock in Texas spotted the brand identity of the Shire of Toodyay in Western Australia. The CFO of the City of Lubbock like the brand-mark so much he wrote to the folks at the Shire of Toodyay and asked whether they’d be happy to let them use it as well. The people of Toodyay – who are renowned for their hospitality, generosity and just being bloody good sports – said yes, and the rest is brand identity history.
A quick tweak of the Toodyay brand mark to reflect the ‘windmill heritage’ of the city of Lubbock, and we have the first recorded brand identity share scheme in history. At this rate we’ll have climate change, the ozone layer and possibly the GFC sorted by Christmas. It leaves me wondering what the original designer of the Shire of Toodyay brand identity is thinking about it all. I’d hope there’s some big ol’ Texas love heading his way.
Dave Ansett, Brandamentalist
If you’d like daily updates of our brand thinking, you can follow me on Twitter here.
A new avenue of advertising for Brands with urban charatcer, is the ‘Dynamic projection in movement’ by Lumina Motion, Santiago de Chile. Developed to bring buildings and structures to life by transmitting realism to video projections, the projections bring a unique brand experience for the spectators.
Lumina Motion surprise and impress through light, a key element of our culture that has amazed our kind since the beginning of times in all its shapes and forms.
Creatively bringing brands alive with a huge dose of strategic creative flair and imagination can differentiate a brand in its market. If you need some ideas on how your brand can do this, drop us a line.
Tim Wood
Creative Genius
Number One Packaging Site in the World
The packaging design we created for Australia’s best Gelati; Gelati Sky has been featured on Dieline, the World’s No. 1 Packaging Web Site.
This project was to re-design a range of packages for Gelati Sky, a boutique, premium gelati range. The story of Gelati Sky had such strong personality. It was based around Gelati Sky founder Paul Scalisi memories of growing up in Rome, eating gelati – ‘a world where every moment seemed frozen in an amazing sensory assault and every cloud in the sky made you feel it was about to rain gelato’. We were looking for something that was strikingly unique, represented his story and would create conversation. The communication platform of ‘it’s what dreams taste like’ was derived out of the brand strategy definition for Gelati Sky conducted by Brand DNA. The goal was to express these feelings through the package and the tastes through the flavors. The concept that we came up with was born out of these ideas. We combined the imagery of Italy with objects that looked like the flavor to create a unique, organic and scrumptious shape for each flavor. The packaging looks like it is part of memories and dreams from Italy.
Dave Ansett, Brandamentalist.
If you’d like daily updates of our brand thinking, you can follow me on Twitter here.
A Week of Learning
Last week I spent an amazing four days in Barcelona with 300 of the worlds leading entrepreneurs attending a learning university. The learning events were fascinating, and the company stimulating to say the least. A quick Google of the speakers and fellow business owners will provide you a sense of the colour and calibre of the alumni, including; Nando Parrado, Dr. Mario Alonso Puig, Joe Duran, Morten Lund, Alan Miltz, Carlos Muñoz, Conor Neill, and home grown entrepreneurs; Naomi Simson, Donna & Danny Guest, Chris Jacka, Melissa Bridge and Gary Rose.
A week of Inspiration
Before, during and after the university I had the chance to explore the streets, lane-ways and Ramblas of the amazing city of Barcelona, snapping shot after shot of the local, colourful and just downright different. Being of creative bent, however, my pics aren’t the typical holiday snaps, they usually focus on a more obscure perspective. For that reason I’ve collectively titled them ‘A Different View of Barcelona’. There’s something about Spain, and Barcelona in particular that is retro yet modern, subtle yet ostentatious, traditional and edgey. The following pics capture for me the flip side to the postcard shots usually associated with the city and people of Barcelona.
Enjoy.
David Ansett, Brandamentalist.
The Mystery of the Blocked-out Store Window
I was on my Sunday run the other morning, looking for any distraction from the headache of the night before, when I came across a familiar urban retail sight; the empty store with windows blocked-out by newspapers. Almost universally it seems, once a retailer takes a lease, before they even begin their fit-out, the first thing they do is cover the windows – often with old newspaper.
Man in a Beret 1895 Pablo Ruiz Picasso
A Lesson from the Master
Last week I was lucky enough to find myself in Barcelona, one sunny afternoon at the Museu Picasso. Walking the halls of the gallery, admiring the craftsmanship and creative evolution of one of the greatest artists of all time, I was struck by one thing more than any other; Picasso’s ability – even from a very early age – to put paint onto canvas with life-like accuracy.
When we think of Picasso, we typically think of his colourful and imaginative cubist work. Those paintings are without doubt what Picasso is most famous for and most widely remembered by. But what I was reminded of as I walked around the gallery, was how much Picasso’s painting style had evolved through his many years of painting. The art Picasso created in his early years under the tutelage of his art teacher father was of a distinctly classic style.
Learning to Paint
The young Picasso’s ability to capture realism, detail, texture, light and mood was astounding. But what struck me most was the realisation that before he was able to express his vision in a new and unique style, Picasso first had to master the basics, to capture the essence of his vision with absolute clarity. Read the rest of this entry »
