More interweb joy. I was looking via Technorati at who links to here and discovered that this Japanese blog is pointing at this post about the Brian Clough chair. I don't know what it says but I'm happy that the appeal of Brian is so universal.
perfect object
I've never wanted to own anything as much as I want to own one of these. A Brian Clough chair. Apparently this sits in Forest's reception, but another can be made by these splendid people
want to work at wieden?
Neil asked me to post this. And he's a nice man, so I said yes. Contact them, not me:
"Wieden + Kennedy London is an independent,
creatively-driven communications agency whose clients include Honda,
Nike, EA Games, and Yakult. The quality of our work has consistently
been recognised by creative awards juries as amongst the very best in
the world.
We're looking for new media designers who are ready to do the best work of their lives. People that have raw talent and experience in concept and content development for web and preferably experience in other new media channels (mobile, mp4 devices etc). Skills should include concept, visualisation, design and build. Advanced HTML, CSS, Javascript, Flash 8, Photoshop, ImageReady, Fireworks, After Effects, Dreamweaver, etc.
They won't be part of a separate digital division or department, they'll be an integral part of the creative development and execution process. If you're interested contact simon.summerscales at wk.com"
good enough
"Good enough is not good enough" Chiat Day always used to bug me by saying that. I know what they were trying to say but it was the worst sort of sloganeering because 'good enough' is, by definition, 'good enough'. That's what it means.
Anyway, I was reminded of that because there's a lovely piece about the power of good enough at Dear Ada which manages to connect a Timex watch and a toasted cheese sandwich. Good stuff.
Trevor Horn is God
If, like me, you were 16 in 1982 you will worship this man, Trevor Horn, as a God. And there was a suitably God-like documentary about him on Radio 2 this week. You can still listen to it here (scroll down a bit) but I don't get the impression it'll be there for long. (I have an MP3 if you want to email me.)
it reminds you that he changed the face of music multiple times by being funny, imaginative and deeply perfectionist about the tiny details. It's all in here: Malcolm McClaren, the World's Famous Supreme Team, Dollar, Buggles, Fairlights, Go-Go, ABC, The Frankies, The Blockheads, that orchestral stab, whizz-bangs, 808s, Yes (Jon Anderson's bizarre speaking voice being a particular highlight) and then it goes slightly flat with Seal. But you've got to listen.
Mr Brand (and, if you want to be patronising, Little Miss Brand)
Popped into The Animation Art Gallery today, they have a Mr Men exhibition going on. Brilliant.
A board in the exhibition said someone had come in and bought three Mr Men prints for a friend - the three that summed up their character. Made me think that's exactly the kind of thing a brand consultant would make you do, but then I thought, actually that might not be such bad discipline, because the Mr Men at least include negative characteristics, as well as positive ones. It might force you to be honest, and get you away from the usual bland six adjectives.
I can think of many brands that should acknowledge they've got a bit of Little Miss Bossy in them.
josie, the pussycats and continuous partial attention
Rummaging around an old hard drive the other day I found a movie clip I used in a few presentations a while back. It's a little sequence from the movie remake of Josie And The Pussycats and it's here (about 4MB). It was the perfect way to illustrate the way a particular generation of consumers assumed large corporations behaved. And it's funny. I'm not so sure if it does that anymore but it's still probably useful.
(And if you imagine Piers in a strange blue dress this is probably exactly what PFSK looks like behind the scenes.)
But the point is, people kept asking me - how did you find this? why are you watching unsuccesful, teen girl movies and using them in your presentations? (Though I'd argue that it's a rather succesful unsuccesful teen girl movie, quite sharp and clever and with a great cast).
And I think the answer is a key planning skill - half-watching lots of things. A variation on Linda Stone's continuous partial attention. Or what my son would call flicking around. Or the habit that Anne hates - me always having lots of media on at once.
But I think it's about more than just my bad media/work habits.
It's about being culturally omnivorous.
It's about monitoring as much media as possible, always read to snap up an unconsidered trifle that will give you an idea, illustrate a point, bring something to life, or lead you somwhere else. So I read books with the TV on, semi-flicking around, so I never read a book very well, but there's always a chance that something provocative or useful will turn up on the telly. I work with the radio on, because something might show up. I download 1000s of podcasts and shuffle through them rapidly, looking for the occasional gem. Probably while doing something else. IT Conversations is a particularly fruitful place to do this. (Their tagline says it all - new ideas through your headphones).
Planning is about the density of ideas, the number of ideas, not the quality of ideas. Or at least my version is. (Kind of. Because I think density gets you quality.) And being open to media, or to people, this is why I like cafes, always half-listening, is a crucial source of idea density.
Anyway, I've been distracted now. Something on the radio. More anon.
starlings
Remember the ducks and the anchovy? Here are the starlings. Off Brighton Pier.
Don't watch if you didn't like 'The Birds'.
Quicktime movie (1.5MB)
VideoPod version(5.5MB)