GIULIANO FUJIWARA

FASHION - Giuliano Fujiwara A/W 2010 womenswear.

joes[a]fiend

ZONA TORTONA IS WELL ABOVE PAR

DESIGN - Zona Tortona lives up to its reputation of being the cooler younger brother of the Salone Internazionale del Mobile with the help of the creative collective La Bolleur from Eindhoven. This year will see La Bolleur turning the design fair into a playground, well a Mini Golf Club. The golf course visually stunning, although the Club House may be a little too small for a drink.

The La Bolleur collective is made up ten of the bests creative minds to come out of Holland. Five years ago they decided to change the scene at La Bolleur - a former brothel in the city of Eindhoven. They literally transformed this inglorious lounge an made it their own by undertaking major creative projects which the city of Eindhoven never experienced before.

Check out the La Bolleur website - www.labolleur.com

joes[a]fiend

UTILITY STORE

“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful”

RETAIL - I stumbled upon this true retail gem whilst in the British seaside city of Brighton. The inspiration behind this retailer's concept is from the World War 2 directive that demanded goods were produced with a minimum of wastage, due to a shortage of raw materials. Utility only stocks products that embody this philosophy, in addition they must be functional and hard-wearing.

Now, more than ever this attitude towards products should/will be appealing to the average consumer. When we stopped by Utility we loved the space and products. The store stocks household goods that are made by small, family-run businesses.

In addition to the products curated by the Utility team they have also created their own range of tea towels, aprons and mugs, which are an aesthetic delight. The guys behind the store describe themselves as 'self confessed font freaks' and we like that a lot!

joes[a]fiend

Details:
Address: 28a North Road, Brighton, BN1 1YB
Tel: +44 [0]1273 626 222
Open hours: Monday to Saturday 10-6 and Sunday 12-5
Website: http://utilitygreatbritain.co.uk
Email: info@utilitygreatbritain.co.uk

TYPE HAS NEVER BEEN SO SEXY

ADVERTISING - Campaign for Durex by Andrej Krahne.

joes[a]fiend

SPOTTED [VOL. XIII]

SPOTTED - We've all been in that awkward situation: when you're on the tube and you see what you think could be a pregnant woman... then you begin to doubt yourself. You start thinking is she really pregnant? If she isn't pregnant and I offer her my seat will her fist be speeding towards my nose? If I don't offer my seat and she is pregnant, am I a truly vile person with an express ticket to hell?

Let's be honest, these aren't the thoughts anyone wants running through their head in the morning, sat on a sardine tin like tube.

When I was on the tube today I spotted a woman wearing the 'Baby On Board!' badge. For a guy (or girl) that isn't a selfish twat and is more than happy to give up his/her seat on the tube, this badge could help a lot.

If you have a 'bun in the oven' you can get the badge for free by contacting Transport For London [babyonboard@tube.tfl.gov.uk / 0845 330 9880]. If you know someone who is expecting, let them know!

joes[a]fiend

LACK OF HEALTH CARE VS TERRORISM

GRAPHIC DESIGN - According to Harvard Medical School, 45,000 Americans die a year due to lack of Universal Healthcare. That's 58 times the number of people who die yearly due to terrorism, at least according to the US Department of State [although we're not entirely sure what they class as 'terrorism'].

In this poster there are a total of 59 skulls to represent the 1:58 death ratio. The poster was designed by UK based Schuhle-Lewis.

joes[a]fiend

NAPP APP

DIGITAL - This year has got off to a hectic start. I've been researching in 3 continents, 10 cities and amassed a huge carbon footprint. The fatigue is catching up with me and I find myself needing some down time.

I started thinking about how my iPhone hasn't stopped buzzing/bleeping and I would love an app that would shut down all the features of the device until I had fully recuperated. No more phone calls, FourSquare, Facebook, email, SMS/MMS, twitter accounts, New York Times, mp3 and what ever else is on the four pages of apps on my device. Please excuse my super crass mock-up.

Then I realised that my app wouldn't be appearing in any TV adverts, or be the most popular download in the app store. The clever guys at Apple had beaten me to it, it's called the 'off switch'. So time to use it and get some sleep!

joes[a]fiend

CHEEKY MARKETING

MARKETING - American Apparel advertising and communications, as we all know, tend to be a little revealing to say the least. The brand's latest campaign sees them seeking out the best bum in the world to 'front' a new campaign. As they put it:

"We're looking for a brand new bum (the best in the world!) to be the new "face" for our always expanding intimates and briefs lines. The winners will be flown to LA, photographed and featured online. Send in a close-up photo of your backside wearing American Apparel panties, bodysuits or briefs for consideration and vote for your personal favorites."

Fear not guys, they're not only looking for female rears, so get on your 'tidy whities' and clench. When team joes[a]fiend have submitted our pics we'll be sure to let you all know.

Click here to see the site or don't, and turn the other cheek.

joes[a]fiend

PS.
We blurred out the image as we know a fair few of our readers access the blog from work. We wouldn't want to anger the 'IT guy'.

COMMUNICATE CLEARLY

ADVERTISING - We love this 'double take' advertising campaign by Scholz & Friends NRW for Vodafone Germany which makes use of the NATO phonetic alphabet.

joes[a]fiend

SPOTTED [VOL. XII]

TECHNOLOGY - We have been talking about QR codes for over two years, in that time we have seen them become ubiquitous. This advert was spotted on Broadway Market, London.

joes[a]fiend

MY CITY VS YOUR CITY

MUSIC - At joes[a]fiend we throughly believe that data is beautiful, we hate spreadsheets but love the creative complexity of data visualisations from the likes of Aaron Koblin.

My City Vs Your City utilises user data from Last.Fm, the hack allows you to compare the music being listened to around the world. My City Vs Your City was created at Music Hack Day in Stockholm by Michael Schieben.

Go and have a play... http://www.rockitbaby.de/projects/mycityvsyourcity/

joes[a]fiend

SOCIAL SUICIDE 2.0

SOCIAL MEDIA - Are you feeling Facebook fatigue? Is twitter tedious? If you're feeling it's time to cut the digital umbilical cord Web 2.0 Suicide Machine is here to help you with your assisted social media suicide.

"Liberate your newbie friends with a Web2.0 suicide! This machine lets you delete all your energy sucking social-networking profiles, kill your fake virtual friends, and completely do away with your Web2.0 alterego. The machine is just a metaphor for the website which moddr_ is hosting; the belly of the beast where the web2.0 suicide scripts are maintained. Our service currently runs with Facebook, Myspace, Twitter and LinkedIn! Commit NOW"

Are you ready for the long sleep?

joes[a]fiend

THE ONLINE BASKET IS FULLEST IN THE UK

RETAIL - UK shoppers spent more online than anywhere else in Europe last year, accounting for almost a third of all European sales, research suggests. UK consumers spent £38bn online in 2009, or an average of £1,102 per shopper, according to the Centre for Retail Research (CRR).

Online sales now account for almost 10% of total retail sales in the UK, the centre calculates. It added that internet shopping would continue to grow sharply this year. The centre foresees total online sales hitting £42.7bn in 2010.

Via the BBC

joes[a]fiend

LET IT SNOW, LET IT SNOW

ADVERTISING - At joes[a]fiend we always look forward to the Christmas period, mulled wine is great, secret santa and office parties are even better. The thing that really gets us going is advertising agencies unleashing their creativity, not to mention the one-upmanship that comes with Advertising Agency Christmas cards, or websites and now apps.

Last year was a good, we loved the AKQA microwave song. However, this year our favourite so far has to be the Ogilvy 'White Xmas' app. It's a simple iPhone camera app that adds snow fall when you take a picture within the app.

Click here to download the app [iTune link].

joes[a]fiend

MINCE PIES & VERSACE TIES

FASHION - Zone7Style will be showcasing ‘the hottest forgotten brands’ in their Pop Up Shop in Kingly Court, London. We’re looking for the selection of Pendleton, Christian Dior, Persol and Valentino. Not to mention the Nike deadstock, which seems to be our Achilles heal.

The Shop will be open from Friday 11^th December, just in time for your Christmas shopping needs. Click here to find more info about the brands on offer at the store.

joes[a]fiend