Moleskine Detour

Recently, I found another reason to love Moleskine notebooks. They have a site devoted purely to the art of the sketchbook. Artists from around the world have contributed their sketches and scrap for an imtimate look at their personal creations. The site has a wide variety of artists who have contributed and is a strong example of how simple it is to connect a brand to the consumer. Check out the Moleskine Detour exhibit for a look.

Pinkberry in the house

Once in a while there comes a retail experience that is so insanly loved that a line forms from the cash register out the door and around the block. The new Halo 3 release, Krispy Kreme donuts, the Apple iPhone and the latest to take over LA is a chain of yogurt shops that go by the name Pinkberry. The stores have a modern Philippe Starck and Le Klint designer vibe, cool furniture and pulsing electronic music. The energy is young, hip and gives off the feeling like it's the only place to be. The place offers only 2 flavors but, a myriad of toppings to make it yours. The store has been hugly successful and there are numerous interested parties willing to pay $40,000 upfront franchise fee for the rights to sell the treat - then kick in 7% of monthly sales (a 5% royalty fee, recently upped from 3%, plus 2% for marketing).

What does this mean and where am I going with this? Well, I remember a time not so long ago when Regan was in office, Madonna was shocking us for the first time and we had a daily ritual of jamming down to Penguins Yogurt for a vanilla yogurt mixed with chocolate brownies. The place was standing room only and it was always worth the wait. People were clearly addicted to whatever they served up and the brand was an exceptional winner. Not only was the yogurt good but, the way that the company communicated with the consumer was really the amazing part. Mendelson & Zion, a Los Angeles based ad agency, created these simple black and white print ads that had clever headlines set in Futura Bold and got your attention using wit and charm.

How does a brand loved by many lose it's edge and marketshare when it's the dominent player on the block? Curious about this, I visited both. Where Pinkberry is vibrant, fun and engaging with young people all buzzing about eating yogurt like it's insulin - Penguin's is trapped in this strange 80's time wrap and has not progressed at all as a branded retail experience. The layout, decor and product is exactly where I left it back in the 80's. Sad.

Being that I was a big fan of the company and saw, first hand the power of brillant copy writing, it's beyond unfortunate when a brand leader like this falls alsleep at the cash register. All one has to do is visit their prospective web sites to witness first hand how bad the disparity is between crazy good and crazy bland. Penguin's site looks as if it was made 40 seconds after Al Gore invented the internet. It's boring, flat and lifeless. There is no store locator (wha..?) and it made my head hurt looking at the tired layout the left no impression on me what so ever. The Pinkberry site was clean and airy. It has a music player that plays PinkB tunes and the site gives you a full download about the wheres and whats. Nice and simple and you get a real feel for the brand.

A great case study in what can go wrong when a company allows it's brand to slip and become staganent even though it has everything going for it.

10 Mile Wine package

This is a wine package that I designed for James' company - Nine North Wines. The goal was to design something that had a storytelling element. James came up with this idea of a cowboy walking down the center of the highway in predawn light. Due to timing and budget restraints I had to come up with a way to construct this image without a full blown photoshoot. So, the road was constructed using a "photostration" of about 10 stock images and a photo of Jimmy G strolling down the path at Regusci's winery. It came out pretty well and the wine is selling great.

Nike N7 for American Indians

This week, Nike announced the arrival of a new shoe, the N7 Air Native, aimed at assisting North American Indian's with obesity. In an AP article this explanation is offered regarding the name - "The N7 name is a reference to the seventh generation theory, used by some tribes to look to the three generations preceding them for wisdom and the three generations ahead for their legacy." The shoe has been designed with the unique size and shape of the Native American Indian's wide foot in mind and will be offered at wholesale. This is a fantastic gesture by Nike to actually do some good and reinforces what Nike is all about - being a performance leader in the pursuit of all things athletic. As more and more products flood the market, the need to connect to a like-minded "tribe" that believes in the things that we do becomes critical to a brand. Nike's ability to speak to the athlete in all of us is what continues to make Nike great.

The Chevy Rock & Roll 400

Last week was The Chevy Rock and Roll 400. It's a NASCAR Nextel Cup stock car race held at the Richmond International Raceway in Richmond, Virginia and the last race of the regular season. This was a fun logo project for us at Deutsch/LA and everyone in the studio kicked in a few. The end result was a mark that everyone worked on and it was a hit with the organizers. Below are a few others the I created, but ultimately did not make the cut.

Up! With People!

Monday Volkswagon introduced it's latest concept car Up! at the Frankfurt Motor Show. They have reconfigured the drivetrain and it measures just 3.45 metres in length. It will be powered by a rear mounted (just like the original Beetle) compact two or three cylinder engine depending on the specific market. The interior of the car will be state-of-the-art with a computer monitoring and assisting drivers with climate, entertainment and vehicle function controls. A second screen, mounted ahead of the driver, relays critical information on the vehicle’s systems along with an instantaneous read-out of the amounts of CO2 being emitted.

This is a company that fully integrates design into the brand experience and enjoys the ride. The Up! is innovative and forward thinking in design and fuctionality. VW has been bringing great product to market for some time and the real light speed jump came with the successful introduction of the redesigned Beetle in 1994. The New Beetle's design was a visual surprise that sparked a "creative ripple" felt all across the design world. As evidence of this one only has to look at the first Apple iMac, a Graves Toaster from Target or the Herman Miller Aeron Chair. The New Beetle launch raised the bar and suddenly gave everyone permission to do something differentn and memorable. Up! represents VW's continued commitment to design as an important brand pillar that excites, turns heads and ultimately gets the consumer into the dealership.

The good Life

Recently, I was tipped off about a great website that is all about luxury. Clean, black and beautiful, 20ltd is a simple site devoted to 20 items (hence the name) - all exclusives and in limited edition. The offerings are the stuff of legend and probably only within reach for the very few that possess an American Express Black Card. The company was formed by two british ex-admen who wanted to capitalize on their vast knowledge of bright and shiny things. What I really like about the site is it's georgous layout, use of black and tasty typography choices - it just feels sexy and elite. You really do get a sense that you've made it to the VIP room just looking at it. Items offered can range from an exclusive Phillipe Cramer vase, cashmere T-shirts by Hvana, to an $80,000 2 wheeler from Confederate. For those of us who can only dream, there is an additional component to the site - the founders have jukebox section that you can listen to various types of music from around the world you can stream to your computer and if the mood strikes, purchase as well.

TwinSix

Located in Minnesota, Twinsix is a company started by two designers, Brent Gale and Ryan Carlson who infused the passion of cycling with great design. Cruising through the company's website, I discovered The Maifesto" stating their commitment to creating great product in an area starved for a visual revolution. They support this with the claim "It is our goal to be the alternative to everything else."

Starting with a successful resurrection of an argyle retro wool jersey (see above) the company now offers additional jerseys with clean graphics and sophisticated colors, clever t-shirts, socks and more. Like other great brands, they stick to what they do best - keeping it simple, growing it as the demand increases and keeping the graphics visually engaging and most of all–fun. Companies like this have a great opportunity to leverage their cult–like following with other companies that are synergistic in appeal and style. Case in point is a recent collaboration with Crumpler creating the T6 Sack. It's cool, well designed and a brilliant extension of the brand. I am interested to see where these guys go next - a Twin Six fixed gear?

Fresh&Easy in LA

Brought on to work on a new project for a UK company call Tesco for Deutsch Advertising/LA. The new entity is called freshandeasy (yeah, don't ask...) and they have done extensive research to create a venue for high-quality food at reasonable prices and targeting areas that don't have this type of offering available (read the article here). I have to say that the boys from the UK have really done their homework and are working from a pretty well-thought out playbook. I was brought on to help brand the company and lead a team (with the guidance of creative rockstar Ross Patrick) and design over 1100 private label products for the store. The store design also is a contributing factor towards giving F&E an advantage. As more and more consumers are struggling to find more ways to squeeze a few more minutes into their day (...do I really have to brush in the morning?) F&E have created a store with wide aisles and fewer selections to get them in and out as fast as possible and at the same time paying less than what you'd pay at Whole Foods. It's going to change the way we shop and I hope that it's a big hit.

Back in LA

Moved the clan back to LA from NorCal (Napa Valley to be precise) and am still trying to deal with the shock.

Los Angeles, home of the excessive and beautiful. I guess it's a good thing, right? All that great wine and fresh air was making me soft. Looking at it from the proper perspective, I suppose that the time is right to test one's mettle and make a major life shift... Yeah, that's right. What better place to dissect and study brands than Los Angeles the home of "Wanit, Needit and Gotit" Western civilizations perfect embodiment of excessive consumption and consumerism? It makes my heart pound and my wallet wheeze in fear - I'd be lying if I didn't say that I was excited about the possibilities...