This & That

Breasts and Cancer: Ads too sexy?

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Breasts and Cancer: Ads too sexy
-Trevor Lee
http://edition.cnn.com/video/#/video/health/2009/09/24/cho.save.boobs.cnn?iref=videosearch

Check out this ad (ink above) for a non-profit organization, Rethink Breast Cancer. Critics say the ad, created by Canadian MTV host Aliya-Jasmine Sovani, goes too far to get its point. Too much boobie, they argue.  I don’t think that’s the problem though. I think the question is: What is it’s point? What is the message? Apparently it’s to raise awareness and educate men about breast cancer. So Sovani’s solution?  Lets focus on her chest!
Does her ad show off her assets?  Yes. Will it raise awareness of breast cancer to men? Probably. Unfortunately, men do constitute approximately half of the population. So, more importantly, which male segment is she really trying to communicate to? Teenage boys?  College students? Typical males who want to check women’s  breasts  for lumps?
Sovani (or who ever else was involved in this creative) might want to rethink the message being communicated here. We can agree that everyone should be aware of the symptoms of breast cancer, and all it’s horrid effects, but an ad like this is questionable and is it really achieving any objectives?
Donations of time, money, and effort to independently educate themselves about breast cancer, I would argue, aren’t coming from the people she’s targeted with this strategy.

However, she get’s an A for effort and a D for, well, her boobs.

– Trevor Lee

The newest contributor to the Definium Design Group blog is Trevor Lee.

Trevor, a brand strategist and planner, believes a brand is the most important asset a company must manage to create a sustainable competitive advantage.  To him, almost everything else falls under the brand umbrella.

He currently calls ‘The Big Smoke’ home, but before arriving in  London, England, he spent several years at The Beat 94.5 in Vancouver, Canada, where he implemented promotional campaigns for the station and for clients like McDonald’s, Rogers Wireless, Mazda, and Vancity Credit Union.

Trevor holds an M.Sc. in Strategic Marketing from Cranfield School of Management, and a B.A. from the University of Waterloo.

www.definium.ca

Definium and Pride Celebrate 2009 Pride Parade

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Over the BC Day long weekend, Definium Design is proud to “Educate, Liberate and Celebrate” with one of our longtime clients, Vancouver Pride Society (VPS), while they host Vancouver’s largest yearly event, Pride Parade 2009.

We have been involved and working closely with the VPS to develop and design the graphics and identity system for their 2008 – 2011 season, a relationship and a client we are thrilled to work with over the years. Stay tuned over the next two years as Definium Design and Vancouver Pride Society reveal the graphics for VPS’s “Educate, Liberate, Celebrate” campaign.

“Educate, Liberate, Celebrate”

Related Links

www.vancouverpride.ca

www.definium.ca

Definium Launches The Cellar

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cellarvan.com

Its cool, its hip, its causal its fun!
Walk into The Cellar on Wednesday night and discover something different from the week before. Tumble in on Thursday, which is just as fun as a Friday or Saturday. The hip crowd, t-shirt crowd and beatnik crowd can party together to hip-hop, rock or mix-mash. In short The Cellar is full of unexpected surprises.

www.definium.ca

Happy April Fools

def_april_fools1Definium Design would like to wish everyone a Happy April Fools’ Day

www.definium.ca

Chris and Kevin's interview on Extrawest

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www.xtra.ca/public/Vancouver/Vancouver_Pride_Society_unveils_new_theme-6480.aspx

http://definium.wordpress.com/2009/03/23/educate-liberate-celebrate-with-vancouver-pride-society/

www.definium.ca

A Tribute to Paul Rand

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Paul Rand (1914-1996) is a graphic design legend in my book and I don’t think many studios or agencies will be here today if not for him.

He studied at the Pratt Institute and Arts League and was one of the originators of the Swiss Style of graphic design. In my opinion he took the best features of what was coming out of the Bauhus and other places in Europe and called it his – making it very “American”, fun and Rand-like.

He started off his early career designing stock images and quickly building a portfolio of work he art directed Direction Magazine. As a well versed designer, advertiser, illustrator, artist and industrial designer, Rand is mostly noted are his corporate identity work, IBM, Ford, ABC and UPS were some of his largest clients. Practically working as a freelancer, Rand single handedly raised the value of designers with his identity work, giving graphic value to these companies who’s logos has been relatively untouched- some for over 25 years – paving the way for other great designers, studios and students to go out in the world and make a living doing what we love to do.

Thank you Paul Rand for all you’ve done.

Too Many Cars and Nowhere to Put Them

Nigel Roddis/Reuters

Photograph: Nigel Roddis/Reuters

If you haven’t slept the last 6 months away, you would know that the recent downturn in the economy is affecting us all. People are waiting to make large purchases and investments – a large economic pause is in effect. One of the biggest hit areas is the auto industry. A combination of thousands of layoffs world-wide from all of the large manufacturers and consumers keeping their cash in the bank, the question is where are the unsold automobiles going? Well they aren’t going anywhere. Stocks of unsold cars all over the world where lots, bays and docks are reaching near capacity. Soon these manufacturers will be looking for new inventory solutions or ways to get these cars into people’s garages. Maybe its time to offer a different transportation solutions if people are no longer buying automobiles and are driving less.

Thanks Guardian for the news source.
To read more about this article and see more images  click here.

Franz Ferdinand's Tonight: Franz Ferdinand Reviewed

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www.franzferdinand.co.uk

The Glasgowian greats have done it again with their new album rightfully entitled Tonight: Franz Ferdinand, their 3rd album which follows their 2004 debut self-entitled, Franz Ferdinand, and their 2005 album, You Could Have It So Much Better.

Tonight:Franz Ferdinand, which releases on January 26, 2009, is considered to be ones of those albums to watch out for this year and I must say that Valentine’s came early – thank you cupid! For any Franz fans out there, including myself, this is an album hard not to love.

Tonight… can be described as a well infused departure combining rock, pop and 80’s electronica but still never forgetting their trademark Franz Ferdinand post-punk elements of sexiness, up tempo-ness, charm and perfectly timed pauses and slow-downs. Their last two albums has left the world with a solid Franz Ferdinand impression – an image of stylish, funky rockers who really know how to lay down a fist pounding rock beat while keeping the dance floor alive. They’ve taken some slack for, You Could Have It So Much Better, for sounding like a first album continuation, but after listening to Tonight…, this one proves that they can be creative producers, capable of expanding beyond their comfort zone – not afraid of trying out something different (probably realizing that they will take some criticism for it) and making it work!

The most noticeable inclusion to Tonight… is their creative exploration of the synthesizer and electronica-sounding elements. The 12 track ensemble follows suite to previous albums in terms of tempo, creating the right flow to carry listeners through a great “night-out” listening experience. Alex Kapranos, lead vocals and guitar, has stated that this album is more of a dance album than a rock album, drawing Jamaican and African influences.

Most notable songs that stand out is Ulysses, a great introduction to the album with a taste of their new techno-synth which I’m sure will go down in history as a song worth singing under the category: Songs That Includes The Words “.. let’s get high”. Bite Hard, found halfway through the album begins as a Kaprano ballad and quickly turning into a fun-hopin’ bumpin’ beat reminiscent of classic indie-Franz. (It’s also a song I heard them open with when they played in Vancouver… magnificent!). Lucid Dreams, probably the most pleasantly surprising track, a near eight minute song that breaks into an over three minute electronic homage that simply blew me away – showing a wide talent range. (This would make a great live finale song – watching them escape from their conventional guitars to an electric jam!). After listening to Lucid Dreams I developed a whole new level of respect for this band as musicians, leaving me in hopes that their next album will include this electronica rhythm as their over-arching theme. Reminding me of their well known, Eleanor, the album ends of withKatherine Kiss Me, a soft “lul-alling” tune , featuring Kapranos and an acoustic, which to me, is reminiscent of their Scottish roots, most noticeable by its tongue-loosening lyrics.

The rest of the album sounds perfectly smooth creating good pace from one track to another, proving that they can work within their familiar roots and dabble and experiment with new sounds, the blues, Jamaican and African influences, and 80’s techno. Enlightened by the cover art’s likeness to a crime scene photograph, the album’s sound lives up to the title, Tonight: Franz Ferdinand, easily convincing you and the fans that its time to go out and party tonight with Franz Ferdinand – creating a night of exploratory debauchery.

Franz Ferdinand, formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 2002 is comprised of Alex Kapranos (lead vocals and guitar), Bob Hardy (bass guitar), Nick McCarthy (rhythm guitar, keyboards and backing vocals), and Paul Thomson (drums, percussion and backing vocals).

Track Listing

“Ulysses” – 3:13
“Turn It On” – 2:23
“No You Girls” – 3:44
“Send Him Away” – 3:01
“Twilight Omens” – 2:32
“Bite Hard” – 3:31
“What She Came For” – 3:28
“Live Alone” – 3:36
“Can’t Stop Feeling” – 3:05
“Lucid Dreams” – 7:57
“Dream Again” – 3:20
“Katherine Kiss Me” – 2:56

This is Definium’s own Kevin Mak’s first review.

www.definium.ca