whizdumb

One designer's visual take on Buy Nothing Day

Spending Black Friday in Los Angeles has given me a few things to post about.  One of them is this gem from the Los Angeles Times op-ed page today.  Its' a visual take on conspicuous consumption by British graphic designer Jonathan Barnbrook.  You could call it the family tree of Black Friday's doppelganger, Buy Nothing Day.

Download buy_nothing_day.pdf

Sprinkle Brigade finds inspiration in unlikely places

These guys call themselves the Sprinkle Brigade.  They search the streets of New York City and create their own brand of found art. 

"Our mission is to be a solution to the problem, to put a smile on your face, and to meets [sic] some ladies in the process. So if you're out with your pooch and you don't have anything to pick up its chud baby, just leave it ... we got it."

Talk about finding art in unusual places.  They've even created some rather nice videos of their installations.

It's a clear reminder that inspiration is everywhere.  You just have to sniff it out. 

If you find yourself in New York starting 11/29/07 their work will be on exhibit at Riviera.

Thanks to Andy for the link.   

The Buddhist planner 2.0

"Strictly speaking, there are no enlightened people, there is only enlightened activity."

- Shunryu Suzuki-Roshi

Planning For Good entry: UNICEF

We used our Coffee Morning last Friday to chew over the Planning For Good assignment.  It was based on an interesting brief for UNICEF's holiday period giving drive. 

Many thanks to Ameet, Elizabeth, Eric, Sarah, Erin, Ralph, David and Tom for their energy and ideas. Sarah even wrote a follow-up about the coffee.

I've done my best, in a very short time, to bring it all together in our idea submission.  Already when I read it I see some things I'd do differently but such is the nature of short timelines. 

You can download our submission here.  What do you think?

Can't wait to see what other groups have submitted.

MediaSnackers leave me hungry

I've been tagged by Neil Perkin to comment on MediaSnackers, the self described "site/weblog/project/call to action for people interested in how young people consume and create media across the globe."  I applaud Neil for jumping in the arena, and for the tag, but I've been reluctant to comment on this because I feel like MediaSnackers is less a genuine meme/project/idea as it is a direct pathway to sell consulting services.  Take a look at the site and you can see what I mean.  There's nothing wrong with that, I'm just not sure what there is here that is really new to react to.  So I'll just leave a quick comment on the broader thought which concerns people consuming information and entertainment in small forms whenever they want.  I think there are a few things going on. 

- The expectation by leading edge media consumers of whatever age, that time has no bearing on their ability to consume information and entertainment.  It started with the web, then TiVo, video on demand, and mobile content.  The center of gravity moved from the media (TV, movies) where stuff was consumed only when people moved to it; to the person, where media orbit us and we consume on demand (rss readers, mobile content, etc.)  The ability to shift time put people in the driver's seat.

- The nature of the content has evolved too; in two opposite ways.  Think of these snacks as short conversations over the water cooler.  Taken individually they can be trite nonsense.  But over time they allow you to get to know a person, a brand, an idea; they take on greater meaning.  So the access to all these bite-sized and easily consumed bits of content can either leave you empty and wanting more; or given enough variety (as Neil suggests) can be quite nutritious. 

- The best kinds of 'snacks' are ultimately laddering up to something of meaning.  Ideas, recipes, humor, drama, etc.  The timeless ingredients of all good content. 

Not sure what else.  Anyway, that's my two cents.