With all the corporate concern floating around that consumers will adversely impact their brand (some of it valid), there are times when the suits sitting in boardrooms should take a clue from some of the more inventive mashers out there… like urban vinyl artist Sket One. Via Vinyl Pulse comes notice of the Subcultures show (Link) which opened this evening and features five custom pieces of Sket’s blending toys with household items. Nicely done.

We could only wish all packaging was this much fun. But it’s far more important to shave a tenth of a penny off a blow-molded bottle so some CEO can have a golden parachute that includes a penthouse he may never use than making the everyday things that litter our lives less mundane. Isn’t it?

{Images source: Vinyl Pulse}

{Update: It appears this post has been picked up and is spreading around the net. I just want to point out that I’m well aware of the reasons why bottles are the way they are. As a product designer – especially one very familiar with high-volume plastic production – I’m all too versed in the practical reasons that go into choosing a bottle. However, I’m also aware that putting a few pennies into material, maybe adding some minimal tool action, and allowing designers to be a bit more creative can yield better returns than sticking an expensive and mostly-ignored television commercial in front of ad-resistant consumers who don’t really care what brand of commodity X they buy. It’s not like most people believe half the claims floating around out there anymore. Now put your product in a promotional container that people absolutely love, and you’ve got some relatively priceless buzz.

Of course, if executives sit around and say stuff like “We don’t know who buys this sh*t” – a phrase I actually heard once at a client meeting – then maybe more drastic changes are required within the company. But I suspect there are lots of white collar-types out there who are totally into their own branded commodity. The world in general may not understand that particular enthusiasm, but everyone likes the results of such happy dedication. How about letting it show a little? We could all use a little of that in this day and age.}

I’ve only recently discovered the Mass Customization & Open Innovation News website/blog; it’s a nice resource. What I’ve not yet seen mentioned (and which a search of the site seems to confirm) is any notice of Second Life. That is until now. The good folks as the Mass-Custom site have posted an entry (Link) referring to an article on Wired concerning Linden Lab (Link).

There’s nothing much said in their entry, but I’ll be watching to see if the site begins to come to some of the conclusions I’ve already discussed here and elsewhere… especially concerning the eventual merging of PLM and MMORPG’s (reLink). This is, in my opinion, bigger than “crowd-sourcing” (which really isn’t a new concept afaic; videogame modders have been doing a kind of crowd-sourcing for years).

While my computer gently weeps crunching through something in the background, I thought I’d post a quick entry on the very cool mention of an artificial eco-system set up inside Second Life. New World Notes has a great post (Link) relaying the story of SL resident Laukosargas Svarog’s efforts at creating a balanced, interacting environment on her private island sim in Second Life. Awesome stuff and very much worth reading.

I’ve not had a chance to do more than pop-in and grab an image, but I’ll be finding time to explore Svarog’s creation this weekend. Maybe I’ll even find some artificial fish.

{Update: I’ve found that Raph Koster has posted about this as well – Link. Read the comments.}

via Boing Boing

I received an email Monday from Paul Hemp, Senior Editor at the Harvard Business Review pointing me to an article on the HBR website: “Avatar-Based Marketing” (Link).

It’s a nice overview. The big thing I noticed, however, was the idea that avatars are anonymous. That may be largely true now, but I’ve mentioned previously that afaic anonymity is a myth, and the New Yorker cartoon (you know the one) represents a bygone era. The majority may still think they’re anons, but that will change. When it does, the dynamics of marketing inside virtual worlds will change as well. I suppose the first thing that will happen is that the number of people who rip off brands or engage in griefing will decline. This alone would make online environments less risky for real world companies. After that, there’s no telling how marketing and advertisers will use virtual spaces to promote their products. One thing for sure though, they’ll have to be more creative than what I typically see coming out of Madison Avenue.

By the way, there’s a Q&A over on Ad Age (Link) about this article. Might want to check that too.

I’ve spent a little time the past couple of weeks browsing the net for inspirational work, images, textures, whatever. One of my best finds is Joe Ginsberg Inc (Link). That company does amazing work. Check out their Interior Design portfolio. Also be sure to check out the Materials and Surface Treatments section.

The above image is the bathroom from the Tsunami Restaurant (sorry, don’t know where that is) which has cast limestone cone sinks with polished copper supports. Another image on the site shows stone floors and metal panel walls. Too sweet.

{Image Copyright © 2004 Joe Ginsberg, Inc.}