"Ataque de Panico!"

It's not a Dicken's Christmas tale, but here's a story that I really love to hear.

Apparently a producer in Uruguay created a 4 minute short of a robot attack on Uruguay's capital called "Ataque de Panico!". The Playlist stated that the director may be the next Neill Blomkamp, who made the South African-based alien flick "District 9." With the blog abuzz, the South American short went viral, and has already been viewed on YouTube 1.5 million times.

Well, apparently nothing gets by Hollywood these days. The lucky duck told the BBC, "I uploaded 'Ataque de Panico!' on a Thursday and on Monday my inbox was totally full of emails from Hollywood studios." Long story short, a bidding war ensued. The offer he pocketed: A $30 million deal with Sam "Spiderman" Raimi's Ghost House Pictures. That's a nice return on investment.

This a perfect example of what happens when you put it out there. Got hit single, screenplay, art installation, cupcake recipe rolling around inside dying to get out? Well, Fede Alvarez had a dream and he is now about to see what happens when you put a plan into action.

iPhonetastic!

One the reasons I love Apple so much is because they make products that allow everyone the opportunity to express themselves artistically. A prime example of this is the myriad of photography apps available that allow you to manipulate and alter images taken by your camera. My latest favorite is the imimux iPhone application, TiltShift. It allows you to transform any scene into a miniature world. This application simulates a tilt-shift lens that tricks your mind into viewing a photo as a miniature scene like a model railroad for example. Here are some that I shot recently here in SoCal. I really love using the app ($2 bucks!) and am always looking for an opportunity to use it. (And no, I was not paid by Apple to post this...)

It's a Jean-Charles de Castelbajac’s Xmas!

I really wanted to post something beautiful so, this is it.

To bring Christmas Cheer to Paris, 2 well known Parisian retail facades will be dressed-up for the holidays by non other than Jean-Charles de Castelbajac this month to visually stimulate and excite Parisian shoppers. At the second-oldest department store in Paris, Bazaar de l'Hotel de Ville, or better known as the BHV, a dynamically neon-lit facade will be lit up on November 17, blasting powerful vocals performed by the 28-year-old, Arkansas-born Beth Ditto of the group Gossip.

Jean-Charles de Castelbajac’s the other Holiday installation is at the top of Champs Elysée, at Publicis Drugstore, established in 1958 and located on the site of the famed Astoria Hotel. The complex now houses two restaurants and several specialty shops, including a high-end grocery store. From November 20 to January 20, the building will be covered with gigantic colour glass panels and the inside will have a similar color-rich treatment with the theme “Pop your X-mas”. I'm a big fan of having renown artists to manipulate and enhance our surroundings and I doubly love the fact that there isn't a gigantic logo hovering above the installation. Joyeux Noël!

Aol. Lol?

AOL recently revealed it's brand new logo as it separates from parent company Time Warner, on December 10th, and becomes a wholly new and independent entity. The new mark was created by Wolff Olins, who have been on a tremendous tear as of late for creating identities that have design blogs everywhere incensed and confused as to how some of these identities ever see the light of day.

The new mark is no longer uppercase “AOL” now it’s title case “Aol.” with a period. This new mark is suppose to communicate a solid departure from it's corporate parent and is now committed to position itself as a solid player in creating a platform for a content-driven organization. The AOL press release states:

AOL today previewed its new brand identity for its future as an independent company committed to creating the world’s most simple and stimulating content and online experiences.

The new AOL brand identity is a simple, confident logotype, revealed by ever-changing images. It’s one consistent logo with countless ways to reveal. The new brand identity will be fully unveiled on December 10, when AOL common stock begins trading on the New York Stock Exchange.

“Our new identity is uniquely dynamic. Our business is focused on creating world-class experiences for consumers and AOL is centered on creative and talented people — employees, partners, and advertisers. We have a clear strategy that we are passionate about and we plan on standing behind the AOL brand as we take the company into the next decade,” said Tim Armstrong, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of AOL.

Currently, here seems to be a lot of haters regarding this new mark and the consensus seems to be quite negative.

My take on this new logo? I like it. It's clean, simple and going away from it's corporate roots and aligning itself visually with the newly structured company's new promise of being content-driven. I don't mind the font or the period as it's a nice base for Aol.Personals, Aol.Autos, Aol.Classifieds etc. It also makes a solid statement with the period as Aol. being the definitive online destination and one of the first players as a global internet provider. The graphic elements floating behind the Aol. logotype are interesting - a simple and engaging visual cue as to what we can expect from this new company. Nice going, Wolff Olins.

Tasty Tomato

I love typography especially when it's handled well. Tomato out of the UK has a firm grasp on how type can enhance, engage and most importantly communicate. More than just mere words just lying there listlessly, Tomato's type executions are sophisticated and smart. Case in point, their latest project for Smirnoff is a beautiful black and white on-air execution with typography actually floating and interacting with the product to tell the story. Nicely done.

James Jean

Once upon a time, I used to think I was a pretty good at drawing until I came across another talented artist with a really cool name, James Jean. His subject matter tends to be dark and dreamlike with an almost children's book style that really shows off his enviable draftsmanship. It's all amazing, but I think my favorite stuff is his sketchbook work.

Best Commercial of the Decade

Adweek is collecting votes for Best of The Decade regarding all things advertising. You can vote for a myriad of categories such as: Best Agency, Best Production Studio, Best Promotion, Best Brand etc. etc. There is a large range of print, outdoor and commercial selections to entertain and delight. My vote for "Best Non-Super Bowl Ad of the Decade" is split between Goodby's Comcast Rabbit and Honda Grrr (Wieden + Kennedy) as I am sucker for clever writing, brilliant visuals and rabbits. Cast your vote now!