Make it with a Fireman

Here's one for the ladies - combine a hunk of a fireman with a kitten, French and Sauza tequila and this is the result.

'Make it with a Fireman'  - Enjoy!

Does your website breach new EU legislation for cookies?

Is your website ready to meet the new data protection rules that come into force on 26th May?  

If you run cookies on your website to track and store information about users then from 26th May you will need their permission or you may be in breach of new EU legislation.  

The only exception to this rule, according to the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) is, 'if what you are doing is ‘strictly necessary’ for a service requested by the user. This exception is a narrow one but might apply, for example, to a cookie you use to ensure that when a user of your site has chosen the goods they wish to buy and clicks the ‘add to basket’ or ‘proceed to checkout’ button, your site ‘remembers’ what they chose on a previous page. You would not need to get consent for this type of activity.  

How you gain this approval is the next challenge. If you visit the ICO's website you will see that they now ask you the following question:  

'The ICO would like to place cookies on your computer to help us make this website better. To find out more about the cookies, see our privacy notice.'  

'I accept cookies from this site'  

Many sites will be able to ask a specific question when users register for a service or locked off content however others will also need to ask similar questions not to be in breach of the legislation.  

The ICO has issued a guidance document on this subject which you can download below.

advice_on_the_new_cookies_regulations.pdf (122 kb)

tokyobike store comes to London

The super cool Japanese bike brand, tokyobike has opened its first permanent shop in London this week.

They are offering limited edition models, new frame colours, recent collaborations and a whole host of accessories and Japanese lifestyle products at the new store on Tabernacle Street EC2, which opened today (Friday 20th April).

There promotional material says, 'An instant hit with urban cyclists due to their simple designs and expert handling, tokyobikes weigh just 10kg and comes in almost any colour you can think of and a range of styles. As well as striking new colours- including pastels and the long awaited saffron, the London store will stock the full tokyobike collection and a vast range of accessories including some lesser-known brands like French saddle maker Gilles Berthoud as well as beautifully designed Japanese lifestyle products.'

A great new way to get on 'yer bike.

Click here to see their online store

Armageddon comes to Paris - or does it?

A scene of Armageddon or not? This French ad keeps you and the victim entranced until the end.

Very clever and quite unexpected.

From giant rats to hand fishing, US reality TV bites

If you thought that TV reality programmes could not get much worse than 'My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding' then think again.

Cable TV programmes in the US beat us hands down for niche and outrageous content. Here are a selection of unbelievable programmes:

"Hillbilly Handfishin" 
Some amazing people catch catfish by hand and feet. A net is a lot easier.  

"Cajun Justice"
Crazy times with Terrebonne Parish Sheriff's Office, Louisiana, that promises a range of reports including one of a shape-shifting swamp creature called the Rougarou. It must be a swamp thing.  

"Tattoo School"
Following students who take two weeks to learn "what most tattoo artists spend years learning" in Louisiana. Watch out for the spelling mistakes.  

"Rat Bastards"
Follow the hunters of nutria, which are large, ecologically ruinous rodents. Set in Louisiana - there's a theme here.  

"Full Metal Jousting"
Medieval jousting is back as an extreme sport with modern steel suits and "big money" prizes. A train crash in the making.  

"Texas Multi Mamas"
A programme that follows the lives of mothers of twins, triplets and quadruplets in Texas. Double, triple and quadruple trouble.  

"Doomsday Preppers"
Hunting out Americans that are getting themselves ready for the end of the world. An expert joins in advising them whether their survival tactics would work in the face of Armageddon, the Rapture or a mile-wide asteroid. Good to be prepared.  

"Confessions: Animal Hoarding"
Visiting people who have a compulsion for accumulating various critters. Move over Doctor Doolittle.  

"American Stuffers"
Don't say goodbye to your pets with the taxidermist in this programme. Time to run away and hide we think.  

Bring back Rogue Traders, all is forgiven.

Measuring Online Advertising Response

We recently found a very interesting article in AdAge by Kathryn Koegel looking into measurement of online advertising and calls for definitions to be changed for when an ad is viewed.

Making Measurement Make Sense, or 3Ms, is an initiative backed by the Interactive Advertising Bureau, 4A's, the Association of National Advertisers, the Media Ratings Council, MediaLink and Bain Consulting and calls for a whole new definition of an ad, based on whether anyone actually saw it.

According to a recent study by ComScore in the US of 18 campaigns from advertisers including Kellogg's, Allstate, Ford and eTrade, up to 31% of online ad impressions served were never viewed, even though they counted as impressions in the campaigns.

This is because whether an ad is viewed or not is based upon whether the ad technically loaded on to a page rather than whether someone had the opportununity to see it.  

IAB Senior VP of Research, Analytics and Measurement Sherrill Mane commented,  "We want to put display-ad units on an equal footing with other media. The adoption of viewable impressions will ... give the media community comfort and security for brand advertisers to move forward."

Linda Abraham, CMO of ComScore commented, " Typically, top-of-page placements command highest prices, but research shows that in many cases these are overlooked in favour of in-content or below-the-fold placements -- it all depends on the type of content and how people consume it. What's surprising is how little of these publishers know and use.

"As an example, recipe sites actually have higher viewability rates of ads below-the-fold than top of page placements and we're now "able to unearth the gold below the fold."

This may be US focussed but an interesting article on measurement of online advertising and how it is being addressed.

Read the full article here. And you can find out more about 'making Measurement Make Sense' and their five principles here.

Photosynthesis conveys link between nature and man at Milan Design Week

This year's Milan Design Week sees an installation by Japanese architect Akihisa Hirata who has designed 'Photosynthesis', an installation for Panasonic that celebrates the biological process of storing solar energy.

Panasonic wish to show a potential link between nature and man-made materials through the installation and  'Photosynthesis' will be exhibited at Interni Legacy from the 16th until the 30th April. The installation will transform the Cortile della Farmacia courtyard into a space in which the visitors can experience the natural and technical, futuristic and traditional simultaneously.

The installation creates an artificial ecosystem with solar panels representing leaves, energy storage batteries as the fruits and LEDs and OLED panels represent the flowers.

Find out more on Design Boom.

Two new interiors shows to open in London in 2013

Two new interior design trade fairs are set to open their doors in London next year.

In a brave move in a market that has seen the demise of several shows, including Design Prima, in recent years Office Interiors at Earls Court and DX, at Excel, will avoid the September Interiors scrum focussing on the beginning of the year.

Office Interiors is organised by Diversified Business Communications and will be held on 13th and 14th February. The organisers present the show as a 'vibrant, fresh and exciting new event dedicated to the UK's office interior industry'. 

DX is organised by UBM and launched by Ian Rudge, co-founder of the 100% Design and Tent shows, in collaboration with graphic designer Neville Brody and architect Ad Rogers. The show will focus on the relationship between design and technology and will be at Excel on 19th and 21st May 2013.

To find out more about DX click here

To find out more about Office Interiors click here.

Architecture in fabric; Installation by Do Ho Suh

Hovering like ghostly aparitions of architecture these fabric installations by Korean artist Do Ho Suh create new environments within his exhibition using silk and metal structures.

The artist’s architectural sculptures have been brought together for an exhibition called ‘Home Within Home‘ at the Leeum Samsung Museum of Art in Seoul, South Korea.

Previously on display at New York’s Lehmann Maupin Gallery, they explore the idea of home and the sense of cultural displacement that comes with immigrating to a new place. 

See more of these beautiful structures here on Design Boom