How to deliver a proof

Gavin Martin Colournet were looking to raise their profile within the design industry. The proof bags and tubes which they use to deliver proofs, presented an untapped opportunity as a mobile advertising canvas. Magpie Studio seized the opportunity to make them a little more eye catching and memorable and act as a traveling ad when dropping off or picking up proofs, as well as increasing the chances of them being kept. A great marketing opportunity taken advantage of!

Via The Dieline.

Century of the Self

Century of the self is a BBC documentary that focuses it's attention on Sigmund Feud's family and the influence they exerted on the way corporations and governments have thought about and dealt with the masses. Edward Bernays, who invented public relations; Anna Freud, Sigmund's devoted daughter; and present-day PR guru and Sigmund's great grandson, Matthew Freud.

This has won numerous awards and been nominated for many, many more. Extremely interesting, a must for any advertiser / designer / businessman or anyone that simply wants to know more about sales and psychology.

The documentary has four episodes:
1: Happiness Machines
2: The Engineering of Consent
3: There is a policeman inside all our heads - He must be destroyed.
4: Eight People sipping wine in Kettering

ZARB champagne

Every new year begins with champagne, this year it's ZARB. ZARB Champagne's motto is 'Drink champagne whenever you get the urge' quoting Napoleon's 'In victory, you deserve champagne, in defeat, you need it.' Their packaging pushes boundaries in an otherwise traditional and conservative market. Following in Absolut's steps, they have collaborated with artists to create art bottles, and also have a Skin range (naked belly buttons and sulky lips), a Deep Black range (underwater exploration) and limited edition Specials. While the actual champagne does not change, just the packaging is experimented with. The trick (for me) which makes Absolut's never ending game so successful is that it has a custom designed bottle which differs from other vodkas on the market and their ad campaigns over the years have reinforced that shape, which is now recognizable no matter what colour, cover, design it's covered in. You can probably argue that ZARB has it's neck label which is consistent, and yes, you're right, but it hasn't been around long enough to rely solely on that. From what I see online they are sponsoring events and club nights so that must be how they are marketing it.

Winter Olympic and Cocacola

Coca Cola's always one step ahead. Here's their special edition coca cola for the Plympic winter games of Vancouver 2010.

The meaning and Inspiration for living green

I feel like so often the concept of living green is misinterpreted, not properly evaluated, or missed entirely. Living green does not take any additional expense and is actually CHEAPER than not living green. You don't have to remodel your house, alienate your friends or family, or drop out of society.

This takes me back to what it really means to live green. Living green means that you've noticed the changes in our planet, community, and life. You've researched the problems, potential solutions, and results and have come up with your own reasons to change the way you live. You understand the importance of conserving and taking care of what you have to avoid excess waste. You understand that when you do have to purchase new things buying consignment, gently used, or Eco-friendly are the best ways to go. You know that your garbage doesn't just disappear once it goes down the drain or the city picks it up. You realize the importance of clean air and that cutting back on excess driving, carpooling, and even public transportation can significantly help.

I live about five miles from a giant oil refinery that had an explosion a few days ago, condemning and severely damaging several neighboring homes. The air quality in my valley is among the worst in the country and asthma and other breathing conditions are over double what average cities bear. When it rains, the trees, flowers, and homes are actually dirtier than before since it's cleaned some of the pollutants out of the air. The state is currently deciding if it should transport radioactive waste from our surrounding states to be dumped here. It sounds absolutely absurd yet I've seen it firsthand.

So for me choosing to take a step back and look at where I live, the bigger picture, and our impact wasn't very hard to see. Something needs to change. My way of changing has been taking up a new profession: transforming wreckage to usable, functional home and personal accessories. This blog will be about my journey, developing business, changes in my lifestyle, and things I've learned. I would love it if you followed along.

The meaning and Inspiration for living green

I feel like so often the concept of living green is misinterpreted, not properly evaluated, or missed entirely. Living green does not take any additional expense and is actually CHEAPER than not living green. You don't have to remodel your house, alienate your friends or family, or drop out of society.

This takes me back to what it really means to live green. Living green means that you've noticed the changes in our planet, community, and life. You've researched the problems, potential solutions, and results and have come up with your own reasons to change the way you live. You understand the importance of conserving and taking care of what you have to avoid excess waste. You understand that when you do have to purchase new things buying consignment, gently used, or Eco-friendly are the best ways to go. You know that your garbage doesn't just disappear once it goes down the drain or the city picks it up. You realize the importance of clean air and that cutting back on excess driving, carpooling, and even public transportation can significantly help.

I live about five miles from a giant oil refinery that had an explosion a few days ago, condemning and severely damaging several neighboring homes. The air quality in my valley is among the worst in the country and asthma and other breathing conditions are over double what average cities bear. When it rains, the trees, flowers, and homes are actually dirtier than before since it's cleaned some of the pollutants out of the air. The state is currently deciding if it should transport radioactive waste from our surrounding states to be dumped here. It sounds absolutely absurd yet I've seen it firsthand.

So for me choosing to take a step back and look at where I live, the bigger picture, and our impact wasn't very hard to see. Something needs to change. My way of changing has been taking up a new profession: transforming wreckage to usable, functional home and personal accessories. This blog will be about my journey, developing business, changes in my lifestyle, and things I've learned. I would love it if you followed along.

How do you get your products in local stores?

True Story:

I've always been a risk taker of sorts, whether it's picking up my entire family to move out of state to sell security systems door to door, selling "personal products" at in-home parties, or my next venture, creating custom, one-of-a-kind pieces from recycled materials and selling them online, in local markets, and eventually in stores. Needless to say, the alarm system company screwed me over, leaving us with NO money, I don't want to do parties anymore since my baby is a year old and I don't want him remembering anything to risque, and I haven't sold a single item online yet. How do I get there? I feel like for a second time in my life I've hit rock bottom and can only go up from here.

Surprisingly I'm not to terribly worried.... I mean sure I've done a lot of crying but I really think I can make this work. I've decided to name my new company reclaimed wreckage.. since it just describes what I do so perfectly and I'm the only one in the world with that name right now so I'll pull up perfectly on search engines. My stuff is awesome, but I've just got some kinks to work out:

1. my pictures
They just aren't as great as I want them to be... but I've never really played around with being a photographer so I guess I'm starting now
2. online sales
I think the next time someone out here buys something, I'm gunna tell them to buy it on etsy so my ratings go up on there and people can see I'm a reliable seller
3. Stores
Now this is the ultimate thing for me. How do I go about approaching stores and what do I need? What's the process and how do you determine a price? Do they pay you upfront or do you get a percentage of the sale price? HELP please!

How do you get your products in local stores?

True Story:

I've always been a risk taker of sorts, whether it's picking up my entire family to move out of state to sell security systems door to door, selling "personal products" at in-home parties, or my next venture, creating custom, one-of-a-kind pieces from recycled materials and selling them online, in local markets, and eventually in stores. Needless to say, the alarm system company screwed me over, leaving us with NO money, I don't want to do parties anymore since my baby is a year old and I don't want him remembering anything to risque, and I haven't sold a single item online yet. How do I get there? I feel like for a second time in my life I've hit rock bottom and can only go up from here.

Surprisingly I'm not to terribly worried.... I mean sure I've done a lot of crying but I really think I can make this work. I've decided to name my new company reclaimed wreckage.. since it just describes what I do so perfectly and I'm the only one in the world with that name right now so I'll pull up perfectly on search engines. My stuff is awesome, but I've just got some kinks to work out:

1. my pictures
They just aren't as great as I want them to be... but I've never really played around with being a photographer so I guess I'm starting now
2. online sales
I think the next time someone out here buys something, I'm gunna tell them to buy it on etsy so my ratings go up on there and people can see I'm a reliable seller
3. Stores
Now this is the ultimate thing for me. How do I go about approaching stores and what do I need? What's the process and how do you determine a price? Do they pay you upfront or do you get a percentage of the sale price? HELP please!