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
JULY 9th, 2009
The Make Lounge invites busy Londoners to “meet people and make stuff”. Journalist Jennifer Pirtle felt there was no place to relax, socialize with drinks as you sew, knit, make jewelry or paper crafts. Seeing the need for a creative break after a day at the office, she started to arrange crafting gatherings for beginners, intermediate and advanced adults and kids.
JUNE 22nd, 2009
The Pollocks art collective recently opened a temporary shop named Worthless that played with notions of consumerism and the perceived value of material objects. Participants brought in a variety of random objects to the London store that would usually be considered junk, everything from old hard drives to tattered shoes. The team at Worthless then set to work customizing all the cast-off goods into unique pieces of art. Customers were then able to buy back their submitted items for whatever the felt they were worth.
AUGUST 13th, 2008
Cycle Chic is a new website dedicated solely to making a modern girl look good as she sashays around town on her eco-friendly bike.
With helpful tips on buying a bike, safety, fashion advice and planning the best route around town, this website will enable even the most haphazard bike rider to look effortlessly chic.
JULY 10th, 2008
A new sustainable nightclub launches today at Bar Surya in London’s King’s Cross, called Club4Climate. The eco-friendly nightclub features a dance floor that captures 60 percent of its energy resources with low-voltage lighting, organic spirits served in poly-carbon cups and a recycled-water system for flushing the toilets.
JULY 3rd, 2008
This exquisitely structured dress has been made entirely out of recycled old phonebooks, creating something unique and appealing out of an obsolete old item.
We wouldn’t, however, suggest going out in the rain in this little number.
JUNE 11th, 2008
The UN has announced that 2008 is the International Year of the Potato. The humble Potato has been gaining more and more importance as a growing food staple for developing nations, and is finally getting the recognition that it deserves during the recent soaring Food Prices. A single medium-sized potato provides about 3g of protein, half the daily adult requirement of vitamin C, and substantial amounts of vitamin B, as well as iron, potassium and zinc.
