This Campaign Cost Nothing

The Salvation Army of Northern New England recently launched a pro-bono campaign to create awareness of the agency's services. The entire campaign was done for FREE - creative and media space [online, tv, print] were all donated. Guerilla media was also used and uniquely tailored to each business. :: CREATIVE QUARTERLY, NO. 16

Typography Geography

Rhett Dashwood [cool name] of Australia has spent some spare time from Oct 2008 though April 2009 searching through Google maps of local areas for land formations, urban sprawl and buildings that resemble typographic letter forms. Clicking on the letters below his grid of the alphabet takes you to the exact locations of the letter in Google maps where you can zoom in or out and explore on your own. :: CREATIVE QUARTERLY, NO. 16

Flip Out

Flip out with your own FlipScript Ambigram that can be read right-side-up or upside-down. Use any name, combination of names or your imagination to create a custom script of your own. This site offers a variety of applications if you like your FlipScript - including t-shirts. :: UCDA DESIGNER MAGAZINE, SUMMER 09

World of Trouble for WWF

DDB Needham Brazil designed this ad for The World Wildlife Fund... followed by all Hell breaking loose. The ad features a herd of planes aimed at the Twin Towers and copy that compares 9/11 to a tsunami. Furthering the offensiveness, DDB also created a video which managed to be entered into the Cannes Festival. In the midst of public outrage, finger pointing, agency and client backpedalling, Barbara Lippert of Adweek gives an excellent analysis of the "batshit-crazy situation" in the ad industry.

IKEA + Verdana = ?

In case you have not heard, IKEA has changed its corporate type style from a form of Futura to the ubiquitous and Microsoft-created – Verdana. Grumbles and backlash over the change have been all over the web. TIME posted an article on the many reasons why the switch has customers and designers in an uproar worldwide. Vitaly Friedman, editor in chief of Smashing Magazine says that IKEA's former typeface reflected the brand's design philosophy and the switch creates a loss of originality and credibility. On the opposing end, Christopher Simmons of Advertising Industry Newswire says that IKEA has built a great brand worldwide and are listening to their core market (along with the economy) by switching to a type style that speaks to "young adults buying their first EXPEDIT, JAVNAKER, or KVART, who have more experience reading their iMac screen and MySpace page than they do reading the New York Times..." The question remains for the switch– business savvy or type travesty? Will the IKEA type style change become the New Coke? ZACH SHIRLEY :: CONTRIBUTOR