Ryan Inspiration

The return of the one-page website

2010-04-29T09:57:00.002-04:00

Get the scroll wheel rolling -- some fun stuff.

http://www.bountybev.com/home.html

http://www.digitalbuzzblog.com/the-worlds-largest-edm/

Ryan Inspiration in Transition

2010-04-22T09:31:00.004-04:00

It's been a while since we posted anything here. In the interim we launched Ryanext.com and our Rynext social media presence on FB and Twitter. Going forward we'll use the Facebook fan page and Twitter as the primary source for links to cool stuff. This blog will become more of a collection of writings and perspectives on design, social media and marketing in general.

So check back often, and spread the word.
-D

Method Pulls 'Shiny Suds' Ad After Sexism Complaints

2009-12-03T12:04:00.000-05:00

Vocal Minority Claims Droga5 Spot 'Condones Rape'

http://adage.com/article?article_id=140830

By Jack Neff

Published: December 02, 2009

BATAVIA, Ohio (AdAge.com) -- Household cleaner marketer Method has pulled down a viral video roundly applauded by marketers at the Association of National Advertisers annual conference last month and by most viewers who've seen it because of heated complaints from some women who view it as sexist and even condoning rape.

The "Shiny Suds" video from Droga5, New York, the agency's first work for Method since winning the account a year ago, was a parody of traditional household cleaner advertising meant to support the Household Product Labeling Acts, which would require disclosure of ingredients in household cleaners.

The video, while taken down late last week by Method from its website and Droga5 from YouTube, remains available through unauthorized versions.

It shows a woman doing a commercial for seemingly friendly bubble creatures not unlike SCJohnson's Scrubbing Bubbles, which the next day turn into leering perverts commenting on the woman taking a shower and urging her to use a loofah. The message: "You deserve to know what chemicals are in your cleaners."

The video got more than 700,000 views in a week on YouTube and a five-star rating from viewers before Method pulled the plug. Method competitor Unilever seemed to like it, too. Search ads for its Dove brand appeared alongside results for searches on the phrase "Shiny Suds" the day the video first appeared Nov. 18. (A spokeswoman for Dove didn't return an e-mail for comment by deadline).

Little did attendees at the ANA or most commenters on YouTube and Twitter know, however, that the Shiny Suds were really about degrading women and promoting rape, at least in the opinion of commenters on one blog, Shakesville, which posted the video in its "Today in Rape Culture" section.

That elicited more than 100 angry comments from posters, many of whom said they would stop buying Method products and helped produce some of the hundreds of negative responses to the company's website MethodHome.com. Among the posts: "Making us fear chemical residue from cleaning products because it's tied into a rape threat is beyond sickening."

Of course, that's not the point Method was trying to make. "Due to the sensitive nature of [concerned viewers'] concerns we chose to take down the video," a spokeswoman for Method said in an email statement.

"We received a great deal of feedback about the Shiny Suds video, much of it overwhelmingly positive," she said. "We also received feedback from concerned viewers. ... As with all media messages, people will interpret our video in different ways. The purpose of the video was to raise awareness for transparency in cleaning product ingredients, to which we remain committed."

Besides offending some people, the video did result in 2,500 letters supporting the Household Products Labeling Acts to more than 400 members of Congress, according to Method.

Method: Shiny Suds, Pervert Bubbles

2009-11-19T14:53:00.003-05:00

Method Soap creates a "movement" around product labeling; the video is very funny -- way to make a strong point using humor. Perverted bubbles.

http://peopleagainstdirty.com/

Rubick's Cube Art

2009-07-23T13:21:00.001-04:00

Abbey Road and London Calling album covers in Rubick's Cube.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9ek87_top-10_creation

Flashmob MJ Tribute in Stockholm

2009-07-22T09:24:00.005-04:00

Sign of how flash mobs are becoming more orchestrated; these dancers are clearly well rehearsed -- but it's pretty cool nonetheless.

http://viralvideochart.unrulymedia.com/break/michael_jackson_flashmob_tribute_in_stockholm?id=ODE5MDc3

Eternal Moonwalk

2009-07-13T17:18:00.002-04:00

It's a modern-day "Hands Across America"; a global collective tribute to MJ.

http://www.eternalmoonwalk.com/nico-tu3

A new way to look at baseball

2009-06-25T11:38:00.003-04:00

Baseball + Graphic art = Interesting...

http://www.facebook.com/ext/share.php?sid=95925073196&h=HxJRF&u=c1wk8&ref=nf

gt

2009-06-04T17:13:00.001-04:00

Check out this video of metal sculptor, Zac Shavrick, fabricating his mega metal masterpiece "Dumpster Divers"

Augmented Reality Music Video

2009-06-03T09:08:00.005-04:00

Julian Perretta created this music video using AR technology; interesting...

http://creativity-online.com/work/view?seed=8cba06f3

Or, to do it yourself with a webcam:

http://www.julianperretta.com/ride_my_star/

If you have Flash 10 installed, you can mess around with this video-version as well (move the cursor left/right and up/down to affect the video).

http://www.julianperretta.com/ride_my_star/

Chris Jordan

2009-05-14T10:24:00.006-04:00

Seattle artist, Chris Jordan's Running the Numbers looks at contemporary American culture through the austere lens of statistics.

non-format

2009-05-08T10:30:00.004-04:00

Check out the portfolio of British design duo Non-Format

Dominoes

2009-05-06T15:35:00.001-04:00

Dominoes Everywhere from Jared Lyon on Vimeo.

Jurryt Visser Portfolio

2009-05-05T10:36:00.001-04:00

Great artwork using photos and drawings.
Jurryt Visser

ThruYou

2009-05-04T16:50:00.002-04:00

ThruYOU is an album of seven original songs, created by a composer, animator and musician known as Kutiman. Each song is built from dozens of fragments of video clips of (mostly amateur) musicians, selected from among the seemingly endless footage of music lessons and private recitals archived on YouTube.

Check out the article on Kutiman in the Sunday NY Times Magazine

Design Your Own Fonts

2009-05-01T14:58:00.006-04:00

FontStruct is a free font-building tool that lets you quickly and easily create fonts constructed out of geometrical shapes, which are arranged in a grid pattern, like tiles or bricks.

Brian Dettmer: Book Autopsies

2009-04-21T13:46:00.002-04:00

Brian Dettmer sifts through stacks of antiquated books, boxes of dusty cassette tapes, and piles of obsolete maps to uncover the perfect source and subject for his conceptual explorations and sculptural dissections. Dettmer alters pre-existing materials by selectively removing and manipulating elements as a way to allow new interpretations and ideas to emerge. With the precision of a surgeon, Dettmer uses scalpels, tweezers, and other medical instruments to carve into the surface of his found objects to reveal hidden meanings.
More on his Flickr page

COLOURlovers

2009-04-20T16:17:00.003-04:00

COLOURlovers is a resource that monitors and influences color trends.

PatternTap

2009-04-20T16:12:00.005-04:00

PatternTap is a community site for interface designers seeking inspiration.

Papervision 3D

2009-04-13T13:39:00.004-04:00

Innovative use of Papervision 3D for navigation.
Freedom + Partners
I particularly like their work for the new Herman Miller, Embody chair:

For more PV3D demos check out:
Underwater
Panorama

Little Red Riding Hood

2009-04-08T14:12:00.001-04:00

The 2009 edition...

Nine Inch Nails iPhone App Extends Reznor's Innovative Run

2009-04-07T11:14:00.002-04:00

Upcoming NIN iPhone app melds many current web technologies into a coherent brand (band) experience. Images, video, photos, Google Earth, GPS, social, etc. These guys really understand how to put it all together.

Full Story on Wired

Microsoft Sustainability Vision

2009-04-01T10:38:00.000-04:00

Forum Nucleaire

2009-04-01T10:30:00.006-04:00

An anti-nuclear energy campaign by Forum Nucleaire

Design Blog

2009-04-01T10:14:00.003-04:00

Design You Trust is a daily design blog and community, full of new design trends, news and events, great design portfolios, young design bloods, design articles, photographies, fashion, creative advertisements, architectural inspirations, video design and hand-picked design stuff from all over the globe.

Playoff Creative

2009-04-01T10:11:00.004-04:00

Brilliant Russian design firm. Click on 'ENG' for the site in English.
Playoff Creative

Siftables: Toy Blocks that Think

2009-03-31T12:02:00.003-04:00

Watch David Merill's TED talk.

Oktapodi

2009-03-31T11:54:00.003-04:00

Incredible animation.

Anti-Theft Lunch Bags

2009-03-31T11:44:00.002-04:00

Creativity at it's best... Anti-Theft Device

SXSW Sketchnotes

2009-03-31T11:37:00.002-04:00

If you missed this year's SXSW Interactive Festival, fear not, Mike Rohde provides the next best thing by uploading 70+ pages of moleskin “sketchnotes” to Flickr. Check out the full set here: SXSW Sketchnotes

Where the Wild Things Are

2009-03-31T11:35:00.001-04:00

First trailer of the Spike Jonze film, Where the Wild Things Are

Prada Transformer Building

2009-03-31T11:29:00.003-04:00

The Prada Transformer building in Seoul was designed to accommodate events in the spheres of art, architecture, film, and fashion, and it does so in a wholly unusual way: the entire structure somersaults.

From the site's press release:

The Transformer combines the four sides of a tetrahedron: hexagon, cross, rectangle and circle into one pavilion. The building, entirely covered with a smooth elastic membrane, will be flipped using cranes, completely reconfiguring the visitor's experience with each new programme. Each side plan is precisely designed to organize a different event installation creating a building with four identities. Whenever one shape becomes the ground plan, the other three shapes become the walls and the ceiling defining the space, as well as referencing historic or anticipating future event configurations.

8Tracks

2009-01-16T14:22:00.002-05:00

Now that Muxtape has gone bye bye, I'm happy to have discovered it's new and improved replacement 8tracks. Now you can create a mix and even share it elsewhere. Check out my first mix right here:

My Fonts

2008-12-04T20:11:00.003-05:00

A new and improved version of my favorite font site. Still in beta, but a vast improvement over the old version.
myfonts

AT&T: Speak in Thumbs

2008-11-12T10:13:00.002-05:00

An Atmosphere BBDO and Firstborn produced site for AT&T that promotes the brand's Pantech Matrix and Samsung Propel mobile devices. The site features virtual Pantech and Propel models, where visitors can type in their definitions of popular acronyms like LOL and OMG.

Speak In Thumbs

Threadless Select Series

2008-11-12T09:54:00.003-05:00

John Maeda, the graphic designer, computer scientist and recently appointed Rhode Island School of Design president, is the first guest curator for the Threadless Select Series, the online t-shirt design and distribution company's new stand-alone Web site and brand.

Maeda commissioned four RISD professors to design t-shirts that went on sale at the Select Series site. He also chose a theme for his designers: "newness," to signal both his new post at RISD and the American political climate.

Threadless Select

Epsonality

2008-11-12T09:38:00.002-05:00

Nicely done product selector and product feature demos. Great copy.
Discover Your Esponality

Zappa's Cough Drop Ad

2008-11-11T10:42:00.001-05:00

Frank Zappa was one strange cat. Check out his foray into advertising.

IKEA's Let's Dance

2008-11-11T10:32:00.002-05:00

Promoting IKEAS's wardrobe solutions, Let's Dance allows users to control all of the movements on the site by sound and music. Change songs, upload your own music, play on your keyboard or sing into the microphone.
Try it

Created in Sweden by these guys:
Koko Kaka

Wario Land: Shake It

2008-09-23T16:09:00.002-04:00

Excellent Wii/Youtube advertising:

http://www.youtube.com/experiencewii

Save the Bears

2008-09-10T12:46:00.000-04:00

Great spot from Ogilvy.

T-Shirts Galore

2008-09-10T12:24:00.005-04:00

Threadless is one of my favorite sites. Great idea, great execution, smart business model.

2 Different Approaches to Production

2008-09-09T15:52:00.005-04:00

Crispin Porter + Bogusky Production Department Video Tour

The CEO of WPP's newly-formed production arm, Deliver, talks about offshore production.
Neal Prescott talks Deliver

How will you create the universe?

2008-09-09T15:52:00.004-04:00

With EA's newest game, Spore you can nurture your creature through five stages of evolution: Cell, Creature, Tribe, Civilization, and Space. Or if you prefer, spend as much time as you like making creatures, vehicles, buildings and spaceships with Spore’s unique Creator tools.
Spore

Brand Tags

2008-09-09T15:51:00.001-04:00

From the site's creator:
The basic idea of this site is that a brand exists entirely in people's heads. Therefore, whatever it is they say a brand is, is what it is. 1.2 million + tags and counting.
brandtag.net

The Process

2008-07-24T14:46:00.001-04:00

100 Push Ups

2008-07-18T09:50:00.003-04:00

The title says it all. A single-minded fitness program.
Hundred Push Ups

Can't Sleep?

2008-07-18T09:38:00.001-04:00

YouTube + Channel Surfing = upl8.tv

You... but Smaller

2008-07-17T12:44:00.002-04:00

be-a-doll.com

From the homepage:
"How about immortalizing yourself in a doll? Or a loved one - your parent, your child? Your doll will be one of a kind, just like you are! Each doll head is hand sculpted from photos by Doll Artist, Cyndi Safstrom. The head is then sculpted onto a vinyl doll or action figure, and dressed in the clothing of your choice."

Creepy and yet somehow intriguing.

Animator vs. Animation - crazy stuff...

2008-07-14T09:14:00.003-04:00

Animator vs. Animation: Part 1 (Be sure to watch this one first!)

Animator vs. Animation: Part 2

Fantastic photo Blog

2008-06-21T06:28:00.002-04:00

Forgive the fact that it's on Boston.com, but The Big Picture has some of the most amazing photos, updated daily.

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/

You gotta love David Cross...

2008-06-16T10:53:00.002-04:00

Gatorade Ad

2008-06-13T10:00:00.000-04:00

Book Cover Design Competition

2008-06-11T19:28:00.002-04:00

Think you got what it takes? Enter the Penguin book cover design contest.
Penguin's Heart and Minds Artist Competiton

Data Visualization

2008-06-11T09:54:00.002-04:00

Flash 9 allows for some pretty insane 3D visualizations of data. You'll want to bookmark this site.
http://bestiario.org/

AIGA Design Archives

2008-06-11T09:43:00.003-04:00

The AIGA has archived all of the winning entries from their many design annuals. The archive includes a very sophisticated search engine allowing you find content by category, client, agency etc.

AIGA Design Archives

The Harvest

2008-06-11T09:38:00.000-04:00

Ever wonder where great ideas come from?

Content or Contests?

2008-06-01T08:56:00.004-04:00

An article worth reading...
Why Agencies Are Failing

From Gizmodo: MSNBC Newsreader Will Vomit Stories From Household Objects

2008-05-23T05:45:00.001-04:00

Very cool RSS reader, neat Flash.

MSNBC Newsreader Will Vomit Stories From Household Objects

http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i//msnbc/Components/spectra/index.html

Inter "Face"

2008-05-21T10:06:00.002-04:00

This designer really used his head to create a unique portfolio site.
guraphic.com

Got Kids?

2008-05-15T11:36:00.003-04:00

Check out Kidzui, a new kid-friendly browser that recommends sites based on age and interest.

You Suck at Photoshop

2008-05-15T00:15:00.005-04:00

Over 8,000,000 people have seen the "You Suck..." videos. If you’re not one of them then maybe you really do suck at Photoshop. Make sure you watch the entire, 10 video, series. Be prepared to laugh your ass off.
Video #1

Time Magazine did a story on the creators
Fun with Photoshop

Webby Award Winners

2008-05-13T10:04:00.005-04:00

The annual Webby Awards have been announced. If you're like me you'll refer to this list often when you're in desperate need of some inspiration.
Webby Award Winners

Some of my favorites...
Stunning and simple flash animation: Checkland Kindley
Nice portfolio: Red Interactive
The People's Voice winner: Sony Bravia

Standards and Guidelines Reference

2008-05-13T09:57:00.006-04:00

Ever find yourself tasked with creating a style guide or set of standards and guidelines? Here's a directory of online style guides along with some best practices.
Catalog of Style Guides

My favorite; developed for the New School:
New School Style Guide

Mouseless Navigation

2008-05-13T09:54:00.004-04:00

Navigate the new Hal Riney website using hand gestures. (Make sure you have a webcam)

Steven Harrington

2008-04-09T15:11:00.002-04:00

Another cool illustrator/poster designer:
Steven Harrington

Type as Illustration

2008-04-09T14:56:00.003-04:00

The work of Alex Trochut

Identifont

2008-03-30T12:41:00.001-04:00

Very cool, accurate type analysis tool. Asks a lot of questions but does a great job in identifying typefaces.

http://www.identifont.com/

Live Design Discussions

2008-03-26T14:07:00.000-04:00

This is a free, live stream of design industry discussions.

In a business world dependent on change, design is one of the few differentiators left.
Design Matters, with Debbie Millman, is an opinionated and provocative internet talk radio show. The show combines a stimulating point of view about graphic design, branding, and cultural anthropology. Explore the challenging and compelling canvas of today's design world with Debbie Millman and her weekly guests every Friday from 3:00-4:00 P.M. EDT. Or listen at your leisure by downloading previous broadcasts. Design Matters with Debbie Millman

You can also go to archived discussions here: www.sterlingbrands.com

Print Magazine's New Artists 2008

2008-03-25T14:31:00.004-04:00

Every year Print Magazine publishes a list of up and coming designers, illustrators etc.
The List

Some of my favorites...
Mike Perry
Elena Wen
Mario Hugo
Stephan Walter
Phil Lubliner

Coke Zero Game

2008-03-25T14:17:00.002-04:00

A video? a game? a floor wax? you decide...
Coke Zero football game

The Next Creative Revolution

2008-03-25T13:55:00.001-04:00

Interesting article by Nick Law, Chief Creative Officer at R/GA.
Creativity

AdAge Digital Marketing Conference '08

2008-03-25T13:31:00.004-04:00

Last week Gene Tiernan, Josh Sacks, Suzanne and I attended the AdAge Digital conference in NYC. Gene took detailed notes (I just sat there staring at my shoes). Below are some of Gene's takeaways:

Traditional metrics are outdated -- need to apply success to emotional measurements (although no one is sure how).
Brands need to integrate within experiences -- and across platforms, often blurring reality and virtual.
Talent is willing to take risks online; opportunity for experimentation.
Consumer-generated media will never eliminate need for professional-produced content created by "talent."
Marketing needs to evolve to "customer service" mindset.

Some interesting projects and agencies represented:
Rockband.com designed by Mekanism
Sharkrunners created by Area Code
Hulu.com a joint venture between NBC and FOX, just officially launched

For a full summary click here

Modernista: The Website That Isn't

2008-03-19T15:59:00.001-04:00

(From Adrants)

For its latest site redesign, Modernista tossed caution to the winds. It did away with elaborate imagery, hype-laced content and the notion of using a website at all.

Now, users that run a search for Modernista -- and that click on the link to Modernista.com -- will be redirected to the search engine they used. In the upper left-hand corner they'll find a funky red nav bar. (Look past the bizarre 'net-speak and spelling; it is so Web 2.0.)

Clicking on "ab.ou.t" will give you the option of bookmarking Modernista and visiting the agency's page on Wikipedia or Facebook.

"wrk" drives users to flickr images of Modernista's client efforts, organized by client, category or medium. "n3wz" sends you to recent Google News stories about Modernista, and "cont@ct" will give you USA/global contact info to copy onto a clipboard, as well as a link to job and internship options.

Direct visits to Modernista.com now point to the Wikipedia article.

This is a print ad.

2008-03-13T12:16:00.003-04:00

No flash animation necessary. Straight-up optical delight courtesy of one of my favorite blogs, copyranter.

Wii Head Tracking

2008-03-11T13:52:00.003-04:00

An interesting demo on how create a 3D gaming environment by reversing the role of the Wii controller with the infrared sensor bar. I can't wait to see the games developed using this approach.

Another blog worth reading

2008-03-11T13:30:00.001-04:00

Lots of valuable info on design and web development

Six Revisions

Fantasy Illustrators

2008-03-11T10:43:00.005-04:00

Incredible illustration from a studio in Italy and Russia

Saizen Media

Have a seat

2008-03-11T10:39:00.002-04:00

Really nice Flash demo of AA's first class seating

Bed Transformers

Frozen in Grand Central

2008-03-11T10:31:00.003-04:00

Check out this awesome prank:

Frozen

Unscrew America

2008-02-26T10:57:00.004-05:00

A whimsical approach to going green. Check it out.

www.unscrewamerica.org

Juice Salon, Escalator Advertising

2008-02-26T07:42:00.005-05:00

The escalator as an animated advertising medium. Brilliant.
Watch the video:
Hairscalator

Rick's Picks

2008-02-26T07:19:00.001-05:00

Rick Webb, The Barbarian Group co-founder/COO picks some of his favorite recent items around the internet.
Creativity Online

Rock Posters

2008-02-25T12:20:00.006-05:00

The rock poster as an art form is alive and well.
Check out some great examples:
Newbury Comics
Gig Posters

One of my favorite designers:
Todd Slater

Who needs agencies...

2008-02-20T09:38:00.003-05:00

when there's BootB?

Check out the new eBay for creativity. The online creative auction house connects marketers, and anyone looking for a great creative idea, directly with the people who come up with great creative ideas. A brief is posted. Creative solutions are posted. One is selected. No middlemen. No pitch process.

Interesting idea and the site ain't half bad either.

Here's the site:
www.bootb.com/en/

And here's Ad Age feature:
http://adage.com/brightcove/lineup.php?lineup=1182767334

Nice Navs

2008-02-08T16:55:00.000-05:00

Innovative site navigation:
Thomas Edison
Section Seven
Jan 3 Media
Urban Silo

CommArts Winners

2008-02-08T16:37:00.000-05:00

Winners of the CommArts Interactive Annual:
Winners List

HP Banner for Gwen Stefani

2008-01-29T13:51:00.000-05:00

Found this on MTV.com It's a pretty simple idea for interacting with a Rich Media banner. No mouse required. Each keyboard key is tied to a different customization feature of the doll. Pretty cool.

Pandora.com - Incredible

2008-01-28T09:43:00.000-05:00

If you haven't already heard of it through Facebook, check this out.
You set up your own stations with the music you like and it has an incredible interface.

pandora.com

Pulp Fiction in Typography

2008-01-22T14:06:00.000-05:00

what?

2008-01-08T14:33:00.000-05:00

Very interesting talk by Sir Ken Robinson, who is an education guru. He talks about the fact that education tends to put us into compartments, rather than help derive our own talent based on our way of learning...

TED Talks

2008-01-08T08:42:00.000-05:00

A collection of videos from the TED conference:
TED Videos

The Bubble

2008-01-03T14:09:00.000-05:00

A funny video...

Don't Click

2007-12-20T13:33:00.000-05:00

Interesting user experience experiment.

www.dontclick.it

Pop-Up Videos

2007-12-10T14:13:00.000-05:00

"Relax" and spend some quality time with Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Duran Duran, and a-Ha. VH1 has posted all of your favorite pop-up videos.

VH1 Classics

Mapmaker, mapmaker, make me a map...

2007-12-10T13:54:00.000-05:00

A map specialist who works in Illustrator and Photoshop, John Grimwade is the Director of Information Graphics at Conde Nast's Traveler and Portfolio magazines based in NY.
John Grimwade

Some blogs worth reading...

2007-12-10T13:36:00.000-05:00

Written by the experience designers at AOL...
Control Shift

The interaction design bible:
boxesandarrows.com

A few more...
Joshspear.com
Marketing & Strategy Blog
Core77 Industrial Design Blog
Design Observer

Voice response to web execution

2007-12-06T08:49:00.000-05:00

Pretty cheesy viral campaign from Weather Channel but check out the way you can send messages: canned, text to voice and voice reponse.

http://www.snowjoke.com/

Nike M4 site by Blast Radius

2007-11-30T13:55:00.000-05:00

This site is amazing! Clean graphx/Fullscreen Video/Smooth multidrectional navigation. Really takes Nike sites to a new level. Bravo! Our good friend Jeff D. validates that the site uses papervision for the 3D effects.
-Josef

http://www.nike.com/jumpman23/m4/

Interesting Transitions

2007-11-30T10:34:00.000-05:00

Check out how this site transitions you from section to section.
Fuze Group