Super Bowl Commercials: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

MSNBC features its lists for the Good, Bad and the Ugly of Super Bowl advertising. This year's Super Bowl will be occurring during one of the most economically stressful times in history, but there seems to be no shortage of advertisers willing to spend $1 million per ten seconds.

Mag Cloud

Last semester in Publication Design class, I discovered a Beta site called MagCloud where anyone could publish their own magazine for a low cost - up to 20 pages for as little as $4.00 an issue. One of our classmates, Judith Trevino, took this site to heart and created a magazine for her church's youth program for girls. Check out the premier issue of True Beauty.

Party on the Catalog

Check out this interactive piece HEMA from the Netherlands. Just be patient and what appears to be an online catalog will begin to transform... very clever!

Eating Like College Students

With the economic downturn, American pasta makers are reporting record sales. Gone are the days of fancy no-carb diets as more and more consumers return to the food groups utilized by most college students - cheap ones. All hail Ramen noodles and the old reliable, mac & cheese! 

Most Valuable U.S. Retail Brands for 2009

When we discussed brand value last semester, several of you did searches on the top U. S. brands and their value. One of the largest brand consultancies, Interbrand, has released this report on the most valuable U. S. Retail Brands for 2009. Not surprisingly, Walmart leads the pack with over six times as much value as its closest contender, Best Buy.  

What the Font?

From one of our Typography classmates (thanks Monica!), this rockin' link to some killer typefaces MyFonts.com. Be sure to click on the link for the new web site - it has even more links, a newsletter, and lots of info for typophiles like us.

2008 Best Magazine Covers

The American Society of Magazine Editors has announced the 2008 Winners for the best cover design competition.

Courier kidnapped by Ransom

A former colleague of mine sent me this link. It is a hilarious video titled "Font Conference" where actors portray fonts (typefaces) at a conference where the membership of Zapf Dingbats is being discussed and voted upon. But, in the middle of proceedings, Courier is kidnapped by the dasdardly Ransom and... well, I don't want to spoil the ending. This is a great piece of work - not only for the concept, but the dedication of the students who crafted it. See the video at College Humor.

iHistory

For all of you iAddicts, a recent issue of Wired Magazine features a nice history of the beloved Apple. From the beige box to the iPhone, Mac still rocks the creative market. Full story at Wired.

Raising a Fist for Retail

New ads by Shepard Fairey for Saks Fifth Avenue reveal a Russian Constructivist slant. Is this Saks' response to hard economic times? See Steven Heller's analysis and more Constructivist inspired ads, including Stoli, at The Daily Heller.

Graphic Design-y Tatts

A recent issue of Print Magazine lists an online gallery of some graphic design related tattoos. You can see all of them at the Graphic Ink.

51 Creative Business Cards

This site offers images of 51 - yes, I said 51 - business cards that will make you look and think twice. Some are a bit too complicated or costly, but all are VERY creative and reflect the personality of the maker/owner. See them all on quicksprout.com

Tesapack's Tape Masterpieces

For all of you who struggled last semester with your concepts for 3M Duct Tape, this campaign will put your suffering to an end and make you wave the white flag of surrender. This is the ultimate solution in creating tantalizing tape - Mark Khaisman created these artistic masterpieces. More on Brandinfection.com

Freaky PSA for Skin Cancer

After spending time on the beach during break, and as usual, getting some type of sunburn, I found this creepy PSA fitting. It features the Australian rapper Al Bino and a rapping, snaggle-toothed cancerous lesion - Eeewww. Check it out and don't forget the sun block. By Tim Nudd on Adfreak.com