AUGUST 27th, 2009
We live in an age of information overload, attention deficit and general brand-bashing. It’s a bad time to be a brand, nobody likes big brands anymore they’re just not fashionable. So how do the big names fight back and beat the brand-boycott? They get subversive, and suddenly nothing is what it seems and it gets a bit difficult to tell who’s selling what.
McDonalds has spent generations actively building one of the world’s most instantly recognizable brands. However, you wouldn’t know it by looking at the latest two McDonalds to open in Toyko. “Quarter Pounder” (pictured above) offers only two choices on the menu and there’s not a glimmer of golden arches.
Meanwhile another high street giant, Starbucks, is undergoing a process of complete brand-abandonment. The famous coffee shop is opening new stores that not only make no mention of their owners but also deliberately mock the much criticized faux-ambiance of traditional Starbucks shops.
It is hard to know what to make of these changes but one thing is for sure, ‘no brand’ is the new brand and its seems to be working.
Source: WebUrbanist
AUGUST 26th, 2009
Last Thursday we were lucky enough to be given a guided tour of BedZED by BioRegional co-founder Pooran Desai. BedZED is one of the UK’s most exciting and inspirational eco-developments that has successfully improved residents standard of living while reducing their impact on the planet. So take that Tony Blair, who recently declared it ‘completely unrealistic to say to people you can’t have a car, you can’t use a motorbike. It is just not going to happen’. At BedZED car usage has been reduced by 64% just through clever design and making sustainable choices easy and normal.
Designed by BioRegional and Bill Dunster architects ZEDfactory Ltd and developed by the Peabody Trust, Beddington Zero Energy Development (BedZED) is the UK’s largest sustainable community with both residential and commercial spaces.
As we walked around the site Pooran explained how the various successes and failures of BedZED led to the development of the “One Planet Living” concept. Seven years on BedZED is a thriving eco-community where residents know on average 20 of their neighbours by name (as opposed to the national average of three!).
The One Planet Living principles have now been brought to life for the first time in a new development, OneBrighton, the UK’s first sustainable development on similar scale. Neo is working with Crest Nicholson BioRegional Quintain LLP to promote the commercial units available at OneBrighton. Watch this space for updates!
AUGUST 25th, 2009
We blogged about it a couple of weeks ago and last Friday we went to take part. So what is this flashmob business all about? Organised by environmental charity Thames21, the idea was simple: get a group of people together and clean the Thames foreshore at various locations. The section of the operation we were involved with ran between Putney Bridge and Wandsworth Bridge.
The whole project was part of the Cleaner Thames Challenge, which has been running for four years and is part of an ongoing drive by Thames21 to mobilise volunteers to clean up waterside grot-spots, remove graffiti and create new habitats for wildlife.
Although the day was slightly too well organised to have the true feel of a flashmob, it was still an enjoyable experience and all in all the morning was a success. It was great to be a part of such diverse mix of people teaming up to clear such a diverse range of rubbish - everything from buired tires to vacuum cleaners and even an electric wheelchair.
AUGUST 24th, 2009
“So many of the photographs I’d seen of polar bears failed to show the power of the animals or any sense of the harshness of the polar environment.”
It was this assumption which led Miguel Lasa to take this amazing shot of a Polar Bear silhouetted in the Polar sunrise. The photo went on to win the Visitor Choice award at the 2008 Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year exhibition.
The competition, which has been running for 45 years, showcases the very best in international nature photography. This year’s winners will be announced on the website on 22nd October and will be available to view at the Natural History Museum in an exhibition opening on the 23rd.
AUGUST 20th, 2009
Ardent anti-bottled water campaigner and BPA-free plastic flask retailer Tappening get provocative in their latest fly-postering campaign in New York. Despite being based in America, their message (bottled water is an “unnecessary and extreme waste of fossil fuels and resultant pollution of the Earth”) appears to be catching on in London, with supermarket sales of bottled water down 9%. .
Source: PSFK
AUGUST 20th, 2009
Rather than the usual ’scare-tactic’ approach to anti-smoking campaigns this ad from Brazilian agency ADESF takes a more motivational angle, replacing graphic images of the effects of smoking with a tantalising, tongue-in-cheek glimpse of the future you’ll be missing out on if you continue to puff away.
The caption reads “Live it to see it. Quit smoking now”
Source: The Blong
AUGUST 18th, 2009
The lives of millions of people across the globe are shattered by sexual violence. In order to limit the long-term consequences of rape it is essential that victims receive medical attention within the first 72 hours. This animation aims to draw attention to the urgent nature of the help that is needed. The shattered lives website provides further information on this important issue. Join the campaign by changing your profile picture on Facebook, MySpace and other platforms for 72 hours.
Source: Osocio
AUGUST 18th, 2009
The Bambulance (it’s made from Bamboo), is a human (or animal) propelled gurney designed to transfer sick or injured people across rural terrain. Made from cheap, local resources its unique design provides a lifeline for many people with no direct access to hospitals. It’s one of this year’s finalists for the INDEX:Award, one of the largest design awards in the world. The INDEX:Award splits a prize fund of €500,000 between five designs which substantially improve life.
Check out this video about the design and manufacture of the Bambulance and visit INDEX:Award to find out more about the other designs in this year’s competition.
Source: TreeHugger
