Semi-Permanent 2013 Kicks-Off in Sydney

Semi-Permanent is a leading global creative conference that has hosted over 300 speakers in nine cities spanning five countries. The 2013 series of events kicks off hours from now in Sydney before moving on to Auckland by next weekend. I hope you enjoy the Semi-Permanent titles presented above from Danny Yount and thought you might like to see some more details about the upcoming events (below). Ever wanted to know how something like this begins? If so, you’ll love this personal interview with Semi-Permanent’s co-curator: Incu Edition: Murray Bell.

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GDUSA: Happy 50th birthday

According to Graphic Design:USA editor and publisher Gordon Kaye, May 7 was the actual date of the venerable news magazine’s 50th anniversary: “The moment the first edition rolled off the printing press.” In a May 7 email sent to subscribers, Mr. Kaye shared this note and let us know that he and his colleagues are committed to celebrating this anniversary all year long. As part of those festivities, GDUSA is publishing the results of a series of 50th Anniversary surveys reflecting input from than 40,000 creative professionals about who and what we most respect and admire. Here are some of the results and findings:

To learn more about the surveys and fascinating results, please visit Read more

Creative Entrepreneurs: Shilo’s Jose Gomez

Over the past year, creative production company Shilo and director Jose Gomez took on the challenge of creating a great deal of stunning cinematic content for Qatar TV, as you can see in the montage featured above. After traveling to Qatar to learn more about the culture and people – and make a lot of new friends – Shilo crafted this original HD content and much more for Qatar TV’s on-air identity.

“We were asked to make each promo a metaphor for different aspirational subjects such as education, business, environment and family,” Jose explains. “The main creative challenge was to render these stories in artistic and simple ways that didn’t require further explanation or language. We focused on conveying a feeling and tone for each subject in ways that are abstract and metaphorical but still understandable.” Read more

Inspiration for life: Toys and stories

How many people out there feel like the blockbuster Pixar series “Toy Story” relates to them, and their own experiences as youths playing with toy cowboys and astronauts? You can certainly count me among them, and of course I know that Woody is meant to be Johnny West, and at least to me, Buzz is G.I. Joe. Those two men were my constant companions when I was a young boy, especially after my older brother had gone off to school. They inspired my imagination and brought adventures to life that are permanently etched in my memory banks. With time, I have come to see that this treasure trove of wonder and endless possibilities represented by the toys of my youth is something of a universal phenomenon.

For example, by viewing the video above, you can learn about the toys that inspired some of the top speakers from recent FITC Events. I was equally fascinated by the subject matter presented in Emma Hutching’s PSFK feature story entitled “Children Around the World Pose With Their Favorite Toys.” Check out the story to view photographer Gabriele Galimberti‘s photo series “Toy Stories” wherein children from around the world pose with their favorite toys.

What’s your toy story?

Facing Climate Change on Earth Day 2013

Every year on April 22, more than one billion people take part in Earth Day. Across the globe, individuals, communities, organizations, and governments acknowledge the amazing planet we call home and take action to protect it. The theme of Earth Day 2013 is The Face of Climate Change. This campaign seeks to harness the power of Earth Day to personalize the massive challenge that climate change presents, while uniting people around the globe into a powerful call to action. Earth Day Network is collecting images of people, animals, and places affected by climate change as well as images of people doing their part in the fight against climate change.

On and around this year’s Earth Day, an interactive digital display of all the images will be shown at thousands of events around the world — from schools to parks to government buildings. The display will also be made available online to anyone who wants to view or show it. Learn more and upload your photos at www.earthday.org/2013.

Transcending dimensions with The D4D

Hoping you will enjoy this behind-the-scenes look at how The Department of the 4th Dimension designed the experience, content and technology for the Lucid Dreams exhibit in Sephora & Firmenich’s Sensorium, the world’s first pop-up fragrance museum.

“In the Lucid Dreams interactive installation, visitors can affect floating holographic dream images inspired by Firmenich’s master perfumers. Using a high tech flower sculpture, the images transform based on the power of the individual’s sniff – triggered by the unique sound transmitted by the physical act of smelling. The multidisciplinary team at The D4D designed the complete Lucid Dreams experience including each room’s architecture, short films, floor-to-ceiling motion graphics, glowing sniff-registering flowers and the software that drives the interaction. Every step of the creative process was taken hand-in-hand with the perfumers at Firmenich to ensure a truly integrated and multisensory experience the brings their fragrances to life.” Read more

Doug Pray: Thanks for the Documentaries

Award-winning documentary filmmaker Doug Pray‘s exuberant portraits of subcultures and maverick individuals have led him to three Sundance premieres, critical raves, numerous awards, and worldwide distribution. His feature documentaries include the Emmy Award-winning “Art & Copy,” a film about creativity and advertising, “Big Rig” a 40,000 mile road film about independent, long-haul truck drivers, “Infamy,” an intense journey into the lives and art of six notorious graffiti writers, “Scratch,” a celebration of hip-hop DJs and turntablism, his first film, “Hype!,” which told the story about the emergence and explosion of the early ’90s Seattle music scene that remains on Rolling Stone’s Top 10 list of best rock DVD’s of all time – and “Surfwise” the amazing odyssey of the Paskowitz surfing family.

Doug has directed dozens of commissioned short films and documentary-style commercials for a wide range of major clients, including Read more

Two weeks to go: Adweek Project Isaac Competition

As media, marketing and technology continue to rapidly transform the world, genuine invention has become crucial to advancing brands. The Adweek Project Isaac Awards were conceived to cast a celebratory light on invention across all areas of the venerable publication’s coverage. Submissions are now open (the deadline’s in two weeks: April 8) in 35 categories across four brackets: Advertising & Marketing, Media, Digital and Best Practices. Winners will earn the right to use a custom Adweek Project Isaac seal, and will appear in an invention-themed issue of Adweek to be published on May 13, just ahead of the CLIO Awards in NYC on May 15. The judges will also select one overall “Gravity” award winner who will be revealed and honored during the CLIO ceremony’s Adweek Project Isaac presentation.

Founded in 1978 and fully relaunched and redesigned in 2010, Adweek delivers vibrant, insightful and forward-thinking content via the traditional weekly print magazine, Adweek.com and Adweek on the iPad for the advertising, media and marketing industries. For further information please visit www.isaacawards.com.

Ewasko Days and Lights: Inspiration

It’s a great pleasure to introduce “Inspiration,” a cinematic view inside the pages of the photography book “Ewasko: Days and Lights” now available in custom hardcover, softcover and E-book editions at Blurb’s Bookstore.

If you order a printed book by March 31, 2013, you can use the code SHARE10 at Blurb Bookstore’s checkout to receive $10 off.

In this High-Definition homage to brilliant Ewasko imagery, we illuminate the experiences and ideas behind our visually stunning joint venture. We hope you enjoy it and look forward to hearing your feedback.

Moving forward: World Water Day 2013

In honor of World Water Day, it’s my pleasure to share this video from charity: water documenting the organization’s latest efforts to get people around the world clean and safe drinking water.

More than 780 million people on our planet don’t have access to clean drinking water. For $20 a person, non-profit charity: water funds clean water solutions like shallow wells, deep wells, rainwater harvesting systems, and spring protections to provide people in need with clean and safe drinking water. Find out how you can help give one person clean drinking water at www.charitywater.org/donate

The following infographic Read more