How does a digital-age art lover visit a museum? There’s an app for that

// September 15th, 2011 // View Comments // b-inspired, b-scene

Museums have been developing new ways to make exploring exhibitions more interactive, educational and collaborative.  Sure, we’ve all used headsets to listen to audio guides, but now, with smartphones and the gamification of social media, museums are getting more involved.  The modern museum experience extends to gaming, augmented reality, social media and even a meet-up service for visitors.

Gamification

Do you ever skip the permanent collection at museums and go straight to the most recent exhibition?  Well, now there’s a way to spice up the experience of visiting the permanent collection.  The Tate Modern launched Tate Trumps, an iPhone app that turns a visit to the permanent collection into a game.  Visitors are invited to form teams and decide if they want to view the gallery as different ‘players’: Battle mode, Mood mode or Collector mode.  Each ‘mode’ encourages viewers to respond or interact with the artworks in a different way.  The players choose artworks that they believe will bring them victory in their ‘mode’.  They then meet to play the game to discover who uncovered the best examples from the collection.

Educational

The The Museum of Modern Art’s app helps users with their entire experience of visiting the museum – from planning to finding a specific work of art.  Visiters can learn about current exhibitions, browse works, take a “multimedia tour” and read biographies about specific artists or information about works.  Users can take photos of artwork to share with friends.

Making artwork social

The American Museum of Natural History launched an app that allows users to share their experiences through social media.  Users can also share insight and photos with other dinosaur lovers who have visited the museum.

There are many more museum apps out there – in fact, it would be difficult to find a museum that doesn’t offer some sort of multimedia experience.  These apps are engaging with a younger audience and are encouraging those of us who may get bored in museums to look at artwork in a different way.

Need original artwork for your next campaign?  Submit a brief and get started today!

Top 5 most influential fonts for consumers

// September 7th, 2011 // View Comments // b-Crowd, b-inspired

Why do some brand logos seem to stick with us while others don’t?  Some brands take the plunge and either build their own font or use one that isn’t among the ‘safe’ fonts.  It can get boring to see the same logos using Futura, Times New Roman or Helvetica (well, Skype uses Helvetica).  Let’s take a look at the top five logos that businesses have used to set their brand apart.

1. Giorgio Armani – Didot LT Std Headline

This sleek font is named after a famous French printing and producing family in the 18th century.  Didot derives in name from its stressed lines and ‘modern’ look and feel.

2. Coca Cola – Coca Cola ii

This font just gives you that ‘it’s the 1950s and you’re drinking a cold Coke from a glass bottle’ feeling doesn’t it?  This distinctive logo has undergone a few changes – can you believe that it’s been around for 125 years!  But it still maintains its trademark ‘fishtail’ off of the C.  

3. Twitter – Pico Alphabet (modified)

Twitter’s font is a light-hearted twist on a very normal looking logo.  Now, the font is so widespread that just the T can be recognised around the globe.  Perhaps we’ll see more with fonts on Twitter in the future?  For now, here’s a website where you can write your name (or anything you want, really) in ‘Twitter’.

4.  Walt Disney – Walt Disney v4.1

The Walt Disney font may be the most loved and widely recognised font for children of the last 50 years.  Who doesn’t have warm and fuzzy memories of watching Cinderella or The Little Mermaid after seeing this logo?

5. Facebook – Klavika (modified)

Of course, no list of brand messaging is complete without mentioning Facebook.  This brand selected a simple, sans serif font that emphasised the technical nature of the social platform without seeming like a tech company.  Perhaps Klavika will surpass Disney as the most-loved font for Generation Y?

René Magritte: A is for apple, I is for irony

// September 5th, 2011 // View Comments // b-Crowd, b-inspired

Everyone’s favourite Surrealist, René Magritte, never  disappoints.  Magritte’s work is full of ironies about the human experience, emotions and impossible situations.  It’s not possible to describe Surrealism or the complexity of Surrealist artists in any one way – the concept of Surrealisim is ironic and explaining irony is like explaining a pun.    René Magritte: The Pleasure Principle, now showing at the Tate Liverpool, is no exception.

The exhibition boasts around 100 works of different media by the Belgium artist, many of them have never touched UK soil.  Instead of organising the exhibition chronologically, the curators chose to arrange the works by theme – an idea that makes sense, given that the Belgium Surrealist repeated symbols throughout his works.  To keep things simple, the curators arranged the catalogue alphabetically so that Magritte fans can easily discover the artist – as long as they explore the works from A to Z.  Magritte is most well known for his image-text paintings, men in bowler hats and apples paintings; however, these are just a sample from his career, which also includes many erotic works and commercial designs.

Photographs and rarely-seen home movie footage supports the paintings and helps flesh out the larger-than-life artist and his relationship with the Surrealist movement.  The artist once famously stated that “there is very little difference between seeing a work in reproduction and looking at the real thing”.  This is a sentiment that many Surrealists believed; reproduction and automatisation were common themes in Surrealist artwork.

Don’t miss:

Although the exhibition has received mixed reviews, it’s a rare opportunity to see so much of Margritte’s work all in one place.  Much of Magritte’s commercial work has been overlooked given the popularity of his flat, symbol rich paintings.  However, this exhibition boasts a broad scope of his commercial works, displaying his experience as a designer of wallpaper and fashion advertisements.

Give a miss:

Apples and bowler hats.  Much of the Surrealist movement dispensed with the “traditional” method of naturalist painting and instead embraced symbolism that explored the human condition.  The exhibition’s arrangement of works by theme (e.g. apples, bowler hats, image-text paintings), this dispenses with the depth of the works.  Seeing 14 men in bowler hats is, well, interesting, but doesn’t suggest that these symbols have a depth and meaning.  It would be just as effective to see a juxtaposition of 5 apple paintings as 14.

- René Magritte: The Pleasure Principle

Tate Liverpool 24 June  –  16 October 2011

The revival of fashion illustration – from ink to digital

// September 2nd, 2011 // View Comments // b-inspired

Fashion illustration has been around for a long time, and not just as a way for fashion designers to plan next seasons’ line.  They were a way for brands to showcase their current line in newspapers.  Unfortunately, there has been a decline in fashion illustration since the 1930s when Vogue decided to replace its prints with photographs.  More recently, however, illustrations have made a comeback in publications and with retailers.  Some artists have adopted new technologies to rework their art, others adhere to the old-fashioned way: drawing from a model and redrawing different layers of the design until they have the final piece.  Here’s a look at some of the top contemporary fashion illustrators.

Masha Karpushina, UK

Masha Karpushina is a UK-based artists who draws her illustrations in black and white and later re-constructs them in Photoshop.  Her work combines the ‘classic’ style of illustration with intricate designs and prints.

David Downtown, UK

David is a UK-based illustrator whose can boast having some of the top clients – Tiffany & Co, Bloomingdales and Vogue, to name a few.  His style tends to focus on a clear, black outline and bold background colours. David launched the first ever fashion illustration magazine, Pourquoi Pas?

Laura Laine, Finland

Laura Laine is all about hair – in fact, it’s the fine detail of each lock on her drawings that sets her style apart from other illustrators.  These models have attitude, and their body language suggests emotion and movement compared to the upright pose of most models.

Barbara Alhfield, USA

Barbara’s work is in the more ‘classic’ style of illustration – naturalistic shapes, shading, clearly defined figures.  She’s designed for many major retailers in the USA, defining their “signature style”, as well as for major newspapers such as The New York Times.

The Museum of Broken Relationships: the ritual of romance

// August 30th, 2011 // View Comments // b-Crowd, b-inspired, b-scene

The summer is coming to an end, and so are a number of art exhibitions in London.  What show should you see in the final days of summer?  Well, you could go see whatever is on at the Tate Modern, or you take a chance on an alternative arts experience: the ‘Museum of Broken Relationships’, for example.

‘The Museum of Broken Relationships’ is a unique exhibition that is both visually and emotionally engaging.  Conceptualized in Croatia by Olinka Vištica and Dražen Grubišić, each work of art tells the story of a past relationship – good or bad.  The works of art are a collection of random objects that are donated by people from around the world.

A forgotten wedding dress, underpants and a crumbling garden gnome are showcased alongside the descriptions of the stories that they represent: passion, romance and remembrance are explored in these stories.  There is no single way to view this show; the objects could represent the symbolic value of the relationship or the ruins of a failed romance.  However way you want to view the exhibition, one theme is true throughout: the Museum offers creativity in place of destruction.

When viewing the exhibition, one can’t help but wonder about these people who are willing to donate objects of such sentimental value to be placed on public display.  Perhaps it’s a way to overcome a destructive relationship or to honor a positive one.

Alongside the romantic shrines are objects donated by people living and working in the Covent Garden area as well as commissioned works in response to the exhibition.

Do you have a campaign that needs original artwork?  Submit a brief and get started today!

What crowdsourcing means for the art market

// August 24th, 2011 // View Comments // b-Crowd

What can crowdsourcing do for the art market? Well, first of all, the art market needs a radical change as prices have plummeted and auction houses are struggling to make the sales of even the most famous artworks.  Of course, world-renowned artists such as Jeff Koons and Damien Hurst will continue to rake in money.  What about the other artists out there?  The ‘auction house’ method doesn’t seem to cater to the rest of the artists who don’t benefit from traditional methods.  What is the other option for artists?  Art market 2.0.

This is art market 2.0

The online sphere has opened up endless possibilities for artists wishing to market themselves and their work.  We’ve talked about the ‘artist’s aura’ in the past, meaning what defines the work and sets it apart as authentic. This theory applies to the online world as well.  Artists can join online communities to create digital portfolios to gain more exposure in addition to their personal website.  They can develop their personal brand and an online following for both their work and their artist persona.  Cloud technologies have opened up a new ‘markets’ for artists as well, one’s that doesn’t depend on the rigidity of auction houses.

b-uncut provides is a new kind of market: art market 2.0.  Artists can join the Creative Services Exchange to pitch for work with brands from all over the world.  These artists can post their portfolio, blog and connect with a fast-growing community of creative professionals globally.  Businesses who are looking for original artwork can now find it in a unique way.  The Exchange helps businesses who are looking for creative work outside their network or region, a niche skill-set, or who want to expand their budget.  Art market 2.0 is a valuable resource for businesses who hadn’t considered including original artwork as part of their campaigns in the past.  Now they can, with the help of the Exchange.

Crowdsourcing 2.0

‘Crowdsourcing’ is a method that many businesses are turning to as part of their research and development programmes since its processes are well-discussed and proven to be effective.  Crowdsourcing 2.0 is ‘expert sourcing’, in which both the crowds and the businesses are managed.  This is a technique and not the businesses in itself.  With Crowdsourcing 2.0, the crowds are screened before they can join and the projects are managed by a team to ensure that everything stays according to plan.

Co-creation

Online communities can act as a platform for artists to meet and exchange ideas, or even collaborate.  With an online Exchange, artists can collaborate with one another to pitch for projects.  The ability to co-create art is now possible with the online Exchange and is a valuable resource for artists who are looking to expand their artistic presence.

Looking for original artwork for your next campaign?  Submit a brief and get started today!

#ilovelondon: art after the riots

// August 19th, 2011 // View Comments // b-Crowd, b-inspired

Brilliant art often derives from difficult times.  The recent riots throughout London have inspired ad hoc campaigns to spread positive feelings throughout the city.  The London clean-up groups, the social media #ilovelondon campaign and artists have gathered to promote the love for this amazing city.  During the events, designers, artists and even amateur photographers took part in documenting and reacting to the unrest.

Nick Scott. Be Safe. 2011.

Some artists are using their work to give back to the community.  Hackney-based designer Nick Scott created a series of inspirational posters, which sum up what the non-rioters were feeling during the events.  The artist is selling his work at blog.narcsville.co.uk.  All proceeds going to help young people in Hackney, London. 

David Lewis-Baker. London Riots #5. 2011.

London Riots #5 by UK-based artist David Lewis-Baker is a conceptual piece in that depicts the various emotional responses resulting from the riots.

It’s often said that great art is born from major events in history.  The recent unrest in London has proven to be an event that everyone has an opinion about – some were in the thick of it and others watched the events unfolding on the news.

The street artist known as Pochoir put this piece up quite recently. If you notice, the ‘riot’ sign is the same colouring as tourist signs in London.

Pochoir. 2011.

Do you need creative work for your next campaign? Submit a brief and get started today!

White Cube: the abject or shock value?

// August 15th, 2011 // View Comments // b-inspired, b-scene

While wandering around Shoreditch this weekend, I came across White Cube in Hoxton Square and decided to see what the latest exhibition had to offer.  The current exhibition in Hoxton is one half the joint venture between Jake and Dinos Chapham.  The artists are brothers, and for the first time, they’ve developed these works independently of one another, and have displayed them separately.

The brothers have been working together for nearly 20 years, and their artistic style tends to mirror one another.  Themes of religious iconography, abjection, satire and commentary on well known imagery are common throughout their artwork – and this show is no different.

At the Hoxton location, the ground floor is covered in 47 sculptures that evoke Picasso’s obsession with “orientalism”.   However, these sculptures are combined with found objects; cardboard, toilet rolls and cotton buds form the shape of the installations.

At the back of the exhibition space is a crowd of children surrounding a painting, each similarly dressed and standing in a casual pose.  As you walk around the sculpture, the children transform into monsters- each figure’s face is a monstrous dog, duck, elephant or bear.  This may sound cute, but the shock of the transformation from childhood innocence to disfigurement has a profound effect.

The works in this exhibition play on the viewer’s reaction to the abject.  In art historical jargon, ‘the abject’ is a complex psychological and linguistic concept orginally developped by Julia Kristeva in Powers of Horror: an Essay on Abjection.  The abject consists of elements that threaten our sense of cleanliness and that is simultaneously repulsive and desireable.  In other words, the abject is something this is so horrific that we can’t tear our eyes away.

Most of the Chapham’s works have an element of shock value, but don’t necessarily cross over into the realm of the abject.  However, it’s the old Christrian paintings and sculptures that evoke the abject.  The sinister room, decoraded with tacky lamps and boudoirs, sets the scene for the morose paintings.  The Christian paintings and sculptures at first look like average religious iconography, however, on closer inspection, the flesh is melting away or burned.  The works are meant to play with imagery and reference to religious artwork, and are successful in evoking the abject.

If you are easily offended, then this exhibition isn’t for you.  However, if you enjoy artwork that puts you outside your comfort zone, then the Jake and Dinos Chapham shows can easily push you there.

- White Cube, London. Until September 17 2011.

Looking for unique artwork for your next campaign?  Submit a brief and get started today!

The Brit Insurance Design Awards: stylish and sustainable

// August 8th, 2011 // View Comments // b-Crowd, b-inspired

The Brit Insurance Design Awards exhibition currently showing at the Design Museum in London, displays some of the most groundbreaking designs from around the world.  Known as the “Oscars of the design world” this exhibition showcases some recent themes in innovative design: sustainability, transportation, green building and office furniture.

This year Stephen Bayley is chair of the jury, joined by art and design curator Janice Blackburn OBE, graphic designer Mark Farrow, novelist Will Self, Pro Vice-Chancellor of Kingston University Penny Sparke and Simon Waterfall co-founder of digital agency Poke.

On March 15, judges announced that the British designer Samuel Wilkinson and the product design company Hulger as the overall winner of the Brit Insurance Design of the Year 2011.  The designers blew judges away with their innovative low energy lightbulb Plumen 001.  While not the most aesthetically pleasing of the designs on display, this invention has [great things to offer]: it is both stylish and more energy efficient than the average bulb.  Known as the “world’s first designer lightbulb”,  the Plumen 011  is formed by two intertwining glass tubes.  The bulb uses 80% less energy and lasts eight times longer than the average incandescent bulbs.

Here are some other stylish and sustainable designs on display at the Design Museum:

Sustainable commuters’ bike:

The VANMOOF № 5 is a stripped-down commuters’ bike.  The designers have removed anything unnecessary and upgraded essentials.  The bike boasts a solar-powered LED light actually built into the frame of the bike and a lock and cylinder chain lock integrated in the frame.  The LEDs are solar powered and can be charged through a micro USB cable from your mobile phone.  All you have to do is out of the frame, wrap it around a pole and turn the key in your frame.

Generating electricity by walking:

Pavegen Systems may be the future for community lighting.  The Pavegen System looks like a slab of fake grass embedded in the pavement.  This slab harvests kinetic energy in high footfall areas and then converts it into electricity.  The electricity is stored within the slab and then is converted into light on the Pavagen slab, local advertisements or pedestrian lighting.  Keep an eye out, these may be popping up around London soon.

With so many innovation gadgets and gizmos on display, it’s no wonder the judges had such a difficult time picking the overall winner.  I do recommend a visit to this museum though.  You’ll probably see a gadget that we’ll all be using a year from now.  Or, maybe it will spark some ideas for your own inventions.

Have a gadget, gizmo or design that you want to get off the ground?  Submit a brief to the Creative Services Exchange and get started today!

Top 5 mobile apps every artist should be using

// August 5th, 2011 // View Comments // b-Crowd, b-inspired

Earlier this week, we discussed the top 5 ways artists can self-promote through social media, and today, let’s take a look at the top mobile apps for the arts.

1. Connecting artists to local businesses

ArtVenue’s goal is to spread art throughout local communities by making it easier for artists, venues, and art lovers to connect.  This app helps artists find local businesses that are interested in displaying original works.  The app is similar to online dating in the sense that artists upload a bio and portfolio, and the app helps connect them with local businesses or artists that may have similar artistic tastes.

2.  A little bit of art history goes a long way…

Art Lite gives art fanatics background on famous masterpieces that they stumble upon.

3.  Share your portfolio with fans

Apps like iPixFolio lets you create a portfolio that you can share through mobile devices.  The app can create mulitple galleries, a share option for fans and an artist statement.  Artists’ blogs and social media channels are also integrated in the app.

4. Sell artwork anywhere

OK, Square isn’t really a mobile app, but it’s an add-on for smart phones that is proving to be groundbreaking for artists.  Now small businesses and artists selling works at festivals or outside markets don’t have to turn away business just because the customer can only pay by card.  This function allows smart phone users to swipe their credit card to take payment anywhere, anytime.

5.  Search for artistic venues in your community

Portland, Oregon is a hub for the arts.  There are two new Portland-based apps that can help art lovers wander the city and discover hidden galleries: the Public Art PDX App and the Heathman iPhone App.  The Public Art PDX App combines the information from the Regional Arts and Culture Council, a database with over 450 public art works, and Google maps.

Do you need someone to build your app?  Submit a brief and get started today!