Moleskine launches architects series

The Moleskine book has been a favourite of designers, creatives, writers and many others including Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso and Ernest Hemingway for more than two centuries.

Now, to celebrate the notepad's association with architects and their sketchpads, Moleskine has launched a new range of raw grey cardboard books with excerpts from the original notebooks of four inspirational architects, Zaha Hadid, Giancarlo De Carlo, Peter Wilson of BOLLES+WILSON and Alberto Kalach.


Providing unprecedented access to their archives and personal files these small Moleskine books show reproductions of their works alongside blank pages for the owner’s own use. Passages of handwritten text from the architects explaining their inspiration for the original sketches are also shown within the notebooks as well as replicas of line drawings on table napkins and scraps of paper and early plans for now completed buildings.

These are really interesting insights into the thought processes of some of the world's leading architects and a must have for architecture fans.

They are a bit difficult to find on the Moleskine website but if this link does not take you straight to them search for Architecture. You can also see more on Design Boom.

Sensory marketing that grows on you

Last week TTT met CURB, the natural media company that helps brands create innovative and award winning media.   

CURB uses attention-grabbing media such as chalk advertising or bespoke interactive productions where the individual acts as an instrument for creating the experience or message - pedal to charge your phone or dance to make the music louder!   CURB also uses natural media which they tailor to their clients’ briefs – to promote the movie Contagion they worked with a world renowned microbiologist to create an enormous Petri dish inoculated with mould, penicillin and Pantone-matched live bacteria. Over the span of a few days these grew into the movie title ‘Contagion’ (and yes, it went viral).



During the Multisensory Media demonstration TTT’s meeting room was filled with the scent of freshly-cut grass from the pitch of a well-known Italian Serie A football club. Unfortunately for CURB there were no football fans in the meeting to appreciate this particular experience; nevertheless we were amazed at how particular they can be with creating scents and sounds. We found out that specific scents can be used to change an emotion as well as perception of time and environments.

CURB has also developed a technique to package the scents in a way that is sustainable and fun. We enjoyed the experience of small customizable pouches that released a lovely scent with just one squeeze – some of the scents included the smell of chocolate truffles or red roses (a note to all men – do not use as a substitute for a gift).  

CURB uses entirely natural or sustainable materials that are recycled after they’ve been used. If that is not possible, the materials are upcycled; for example a huge poster of Michael Jackson’s album next to Heathrow airport was made out of plastic that was later upcycled to mobile phone cases and various other goods.  

To find out more about their fun and innovative approach to Out-Of-Home media, PR and experiential marketing, visit www.curbmedia.com

Turn your iPhone into a car, boat or ice cream van

If you have ever fancied turning your iPhone into a car then this is the app for you.

With the Makego app you can turn your iPhone into a racing car, ice cream van, or river boat, simply download the Makego app and select your vehicle. Then add Lego for cars or maybe a pencil case for a boat.

The app allows you to interact with the drivers via some very cute animations and sound. If you are looking for a second childhood or are just bored then get downloading.

Just the right amount of wrong!

The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas Hotel is running a great series of ads verging on 'just the right amount of wrong'.

These charismatic ads feature some classic tracks with the most recent being a very unusual cover of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody.

These are both worth a watch and are great fun.

'Sorry for Party Rocking' tops video viral chart

Want to keep up to date with the latest viral videos then take a look at the Viral Video Chart.

This week's top viral is a video called 'Sorry for Party Rocking' with 377,000 shares in the last seven days.
 

Research says that 80% of US brands respond to online customer feedback

In a recent article in Corporate Comms a survey by software company 'Get Satisfaction' measured how US brands monitor online converstaions and feedback.

Nearly 90 per cent of US brands say that they monitor online conversations and feedback while 80 per cent also respond to feedback. More than three quarters of those polled also distribute customer feedback internally and nearly two thirds thought that listening and engaging on social media has raised brand awareness.

The article also highlights that more than two fifths cited availability of budget as the greatest internal challenge to listening and engagement, while more than a third said the same about their difficulty in managing programmes across multiple platforms.

'Almost a fifth cited privacy issues as the greatest challenge, while 30 per cent said the same about availability of talent. The top five departments that create strategies to listen to consumers are, in order, the social media team, marketing or public relations, web-interactive marketing, product marketing and marketing operations.

Half of businesses say that listening to their customers on social media is not a core function of their business. Just six per cent of companies said that listening and digital engagement initiatives are integral to their organisation,' the article says.

It seems that brands in the US are taking social media engagement seriously. It would be interesting to carry out similar research in the UK.

Article by Emily Nicholls for Corp Comms Magazine.

'Anyone and No One' exhibition - Will Ryman

Two new sculptures by American artist Will Ryman are now on exhibition in 'Anyone and No One' at the Paul Kasmin Gallery, New York.

They are both massive installations created from everyday objects. 'Bird' is constructed from nails of various lengths and towers 12 feet tall whilst 'Everyman' uses a diverse variety of household items, such as paint brushes, bottle caps and work boots, to create a 90-foot figure within the gallery space.

Due to the sheer size and impact of both sculptures, Ryman's installation has been separated in two parts - 'Everyman' has taken up residence in the 293 Tenth Avenue location while the 27th Street space hosts the Bird, inspired by Edgar Allan Poe's poem, 'The Raven'.

Beautiful structures that really catch the eye.

See more sculptures and how they were constructed on Design Boom.