Sunday, August 15, 2010

[In] Retrospect.

This dusty lens has its flaws, its cracks as well as an unintentional desire to burn, it can screen everything in retrospect, but will it work well with your new camera?



It was one of those self evaluation discussions that went on through the night, how do you communicate the very essence of you? For me it made no sense. To some it did.


Unless we were all born and raised in laboratories then I would have a record that could personify every premeditated action and reaction to any single studied behavior… but I wasn’t and that’s the point.

We’ve been exposed to a specific need based human niche, dysfunctional social outlets, extremist dogma and the very industry I’m currently in.. the media. So many factors that interfered with the way things were to make them what they are. To a certain extent you don’t even recall what moved you when… but yet here you are expected to represent yourself in an expressive document or a single interview that will dictate your very first impression to others whom their only reference of being human is themselves.

I believe I just stumbled on the definition of subjectivity. Now how abstract is that? More or less every human is an abstract piece of art. What you read and how much you read into them will either always reflect back to your own experiences or classified as a new piece of work.

Now who would you rather be? Someone else’s reflection or a new piece of work?

Monday, August 2, 2010

RUSH Marketing - Creating the Addiction.

The significance of experiential marketing lies in the elements you blend with the consumer’s current mental state. If you trigger, spark, fuel or elevate one of his/her senses then you have achieved a memorable experience worthy of repeating.


You can study the when and how, but it feeds off of spontaneity; you will need the experience to enhance a normal setting unexpectedly.

Rush Marketing is just that, a focus to cater to the tingling that sprouts around your spine, that travelling orgasm searching for an outlet, that mind-liberating rush fuelled by both sight and sound. While some products are built around a platform of producing exhilaration and energy, rush marketing is built around the consumer whose adrenalin alone can be used to trigger the best experiences.

                                                                                   
Getting it right:
Any adrenalin fuelled sport, game or ride can be enhanced to suit its audience. After all a 200 MPH roller coaster has an age restriction, a basketball game has 10 players, skateboarders buy the same brand of shoes no matter how “different” they are and sports enthusiasts keep craving higher endorphin levels. All of which work well when blasting a Blur – Song 2
(this song will definitely work for a large age range).



What has the audio customization in Need For Speed taught us? What stimulates when we simulate? Human senses are key, they unlock memories and create new ones. Energy is a mental state, a breaking away moment you thought had died with your younger self. Stimulate it.


Music is a mere additive to the mixture of elements than can create experiences; however the long-term impact it has -due to its faster recall- remains a lifetime.

Note: Rush can be created in-store, on your screem, in your ears.

Friday, June 11, 2010

Raw Perspective: The Creative Engine

In many respects, we would pretty much hate being regarded as machines. But just as machines produce a certain output, we as humans operate in the same way, how much output we generate however is a result of what we are 'programmed' to produce.

A friend of mine, Karen, had been reading Seth Godin’s latest publication, Linchpin, her one liner from the book was that ‘corporations promote mediocrity’.. That is a complete debate on its own however be it the current financial climate or the clueless syndrome, that statement made alot of sense; managements priority at times like these would be to ensure that objectives have been met and at the lowest cost possible. The fact that we have jobs hints a larger workload. And so anything beyond your job description is sheer right selfish investment..

In fact in my opinion, mediocrity and its components are destructive…

Let’s take the creative industry for example, whether it was advertising, branding, film production, design and the like, an industry that feeds off of mind capital, a resource that by itself is a highly powerful one, one that needs a comfortable environment to function in, it’s a resource that needs constant nourishment (inspiration) in order to produce a certain standard, and that certain standard can’t be restricted by the programmers of the system as creativity is boundless and one cannot assume fixed and concrete roles for it.

Just as a motor engine needs maintenance; fine tuning, servicing and oil changes, the human asset as well is driven by similar basic needs. And so if we eliminate one of those crucial habits that keep our engine in check, well simply we’ll consider replacing the old engine with a new one and at the current inflated market cost…

The creative industries are a competitive field whereby the mediocrity model is challenged. The creative engine is a human one and does not solely suffice to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, it is a fragile raw material that needs protection, nourishment and continuity.

Replacing the old engine only seems to justify the lack of concern for it. And incorporating a medicority model into a creative industry would definitely over ride the system.

Friday, June 4, 2010

Trends - Istanbul: Outdoor Store Design

Taksim Square - known as one of Istanbuls most frequented downtown districts- is a great place to head to when attempting to conceptualize the citys retail landscape. A long pedestrian road closed off from cars, intersected by several other roads and infested by rows of outlets attracting almost everyone.

Although a commercial dimension of this historical town, authenticity is not at a loss, almost every store practiced its own unique tune and managed to dedicate a familiar setting that invited its fresh audience.

I found this city rather interesting, litterally bridging Europe and Asia, its retail scene spoke of that aswell, in the sense the Turks had emphasized alot on store design, branding and modern ways of developing their own local businesses. They had remained true to their heritage -as the old Ottoman styled buildings seemed to suggest- all the while blending a more western commercial feel. 


I was intrigued by the site of these designs that seemed more like an art exhibition taking place at midnight. 


Note: You might get a little caught up with looking left and right, remember the tramway in the middle!