Ruby Rocks

This one comes from my brother-in-law in NorCal.
The company? Ateliers Ruby. The product? Super cool helmets and scarves created for the cool two-wheeled hipsters in Europe. From the website it states, "Inspired by Steve McQueen, Science Fiction and the great tradition of French luxury". After spending some time in the United States (mostly California) Frenchman, Jerome Coste returned to his homeland to create Ruby, a brand which guarantees good looks and safety for everyday heros and heroines." Each helmet ships in a cool ruby red box and is accompanied with a 12" vinyl disc that contains instrumentals inspired by whatever helmet was ordered. With a well executed site that combines art + commerce and communicates sexy-cool, it's easy to see how Ruby could quickly develop a feverish, cult-like following and produce additional Ruby product spin-offs to keep the everyone wanting more for years to come. Checkit out.

Obey Kobey

Well, the Lakers may not have come come with the title, but are very own Aaron Onsurez created this fantastic graphic for all of the fans here in LA. It's a nice little combo of a clever play on the name and a pretty good nod to local legend/rock star Sheppard Fairey - the world famous street artist (now a brand) Obey Giant .

Dave Plafchan of Detroit Sprinkles did a limited run of shirts for everyone here in the office and they were a huge, huge hit.

"'The time has come,' the Walrus said,
'To talk of many things:
Of shoes and ships and sealing wax,
Of cabbages and kings,
And why the sea is boiling hot,
And whether pigs have wings."
-Lewis Carroll

As a person who has devoted his professional life to design and the pursuit of making brands more relevant to consumers - I was given pause the other day when I viewed a video series created by VBS.TV called TOXIC - Garbage Island. The Problem? The Pacific Gyre, a large section of ocean flanked by circular rotating currents and twice the size of Texas that draws in flotsam and jetsam and holds it there for years and years. If it was organic or made out of a substance that easily broke down, it would be of no concern - but, it is a big problem and only getting bigger. We're talking plastic. Lots and lots of plastic that's not breaking down. These pieces, still polymers, are eventually the size of individual molecules, which are still not easily digested by the oceans and worse yet,some plastics photodegrade into other pollutants. PCB's, pesticides and waterborne diseases are all there together swirling together in a natural hot tub.

What happens next is that the entire earth conspires worldwide to eliminate harmful materials that destroy our planet, President Bush brings this matter to the attention of the world and makes the cleanup his legacy that rights all wrongs and a 16 year old boy in 4H from Iowa enters a pig that actually glides from the roof of the barn to the yard. etc. etc. etc...Right??

Richard Paris Logo

Recently, a friend of mine needed a logo for his newly launched creative endeavor in which he designs and produces high end jewelry. Earlier, In 1996, I designed a logo for this same friend for his girl-centric surf shop in Hermosa Beach, CA called "Surf Like a Girl". It had a surf board with a butterfly and it was pretty well received by the surf public. After creating several rounds of marks, I revisited the butterfly icon again and found it to be quite a nice pairing with his name "Richard Paris". It creates a memorable icon using juxtaposed elements that communicates strength and elegance.

Sympathy for the Devil

So, In the film "Crumb" by Terry Zwigoff, Robert Crumb states "What's cooler than doing a record album cover for the Rolling Stones?" "NOT doing a record album cover for the Rolling Stones!!" He was actually relating the story with some regret and sounded like he was a little too stoned for his own good in the 60's.
Not living in the 60's, being too stoned nor wanting to pass up an opportunity, I recently had the good fortune to design an icewine package, "Sympathy for the Devil" for Mick and the Boys. It would have been released sooner, only no one could locate Mick Jagger as he was on some obscure French Polynesian island and was the last one to approve the design. Up next? Well, sketches have begun for a red wine called "Jumping Jack Flash" - hopefully Mick will be easier to locate this time... Rock on!

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.