DARK ADVERTISING

For this week’s blog we thought we’d look in to the wonderful world of advertising, with a slight twist!

This time we delve deeper in to the darker side of advertising. By ‘dark’, we mean the clever use of shadows & shading of course.

Something so simple can create such impactful results, so much so that many brands have taken this clever usage of negative space within design to another level, helping create ever-lasting and rememberable advertisements.

Below are a just a few examples of how this is achieved, from printed campaigns through to the more adventurous.

[Left] – Lego advert
It’s all in the imagination. A simple idea, but yet so simple at getting across the core values of ‘Lego’.

[Right] – Ariel
Saatchi & Saatchi (Paris) produced this print advert to show off ‘Ariel’s – brightest whites’.

Here are two great examples, of how using the suns light to good effect within real life surroundings can help highlight campaign messaging.

Carefully placed within a German city street, ‘VW’ projected its message of encouragement for passes by below to read and admire. Not only a great idea, but it will only work on days when it really is perfect for a test drive…

The second example, shows a billboard advert with a difference.

Produced for the brand ‘WWF’ as part of a campaign, this ad touches on a more poignant message of rising ocean levels across the globe.

As the sun rises, so does the shadow cast, a captivating way of hammering home the brands message to the viewing public.

And if that wasn’t enough!

If you wish you view more creative ad’s online, we can highly recommend paying a visit to Ads of the world website http://adsoftheworld.com/

And to see how we at Higher Ground Creative can help out with your advertising needs, please get in touch via our website

http://www.highergroundcreative.co.uk/ or check out our creative work directly by visiting our portfolio section http://www.highergroundcreative.co.uk/our-work/

Until next time!

HGC.

Flickr Highlights

Here at Higher Ground Creative, we’ve recently been updating our very own Flickr account with some new photographic additions.

We all enjoy travelling and capturing that moment, or point in time, via our very Nikon D60 at any given moment. Whether it’s closer to home or deep in the southern hemisphere, here we’ve highlighted just a few examples of our creative imagery taken over the past year.

Seattle, Washington, USA.

Taken from the Space Needle, a black & white photo depicting Seattle’s downtown area.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/highergroundcreative/4007935821/in/photostream/lightbox/

Damüls, Austria.

More recently, this photography was taken by Jay approximately 2,000m up, in the Austrian Alps.

This has been achieved by stitching together 5 photos, then merging via Photoshop to create a wide angle panoramic. This was taken using the studios Nikon (Digital SLR)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/highergroundcreative/5536601977/in/photostream/lightbox/

Frinton-on-sea, UK.

Taken by Greg, using his iPhone 4 (who needs a ‘proper’ camera eh!?)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/highergroundcreative/5553065082/in/photostream/lightbox/

Victoria Embankment, London, UK.

A long exposure taken on Waterloo Bridge, looking east on London’s Victoria embankment.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/highergroundcreative/4033944355/in/photostream/lightbox/

And why not check out the best of the rest here…

http://www.flickr.com/photos/highergroundcreative/

As if that wasn’t enough, you can visit our site http://www.highergroundcreative.co.uk/

to see how we can help you with any consultancy, branding, digital or print.

Until next time followers, ciao for now!

HGC.

LIVE & DIRECT!

 

Here at Higher Ground Creative, you may have noticed over the last few weeks a slight overhaul as part of our website updates. Of particular notice, is the new ‘HGC TV’ promotional box sitting rather comfortably on right hand side of our home page.

 

Housed within this, you’ll find a few examples of digital animations, either produced or video edited by us over the last year or two. So what are you waiting for?

Check it out…

 

http://www.highergroundcreative.co.uk/hgc-tv/

 

 

Recommended highlights:

 

A short animation produced for our friends at ‘Rough Guides’.

 

For the blue chips! A flash produced animation for our client ‘Deutsche Bank’.

Concepted, storyboarded & designed by HGC.

 

Something colourful, illustrative & quirky produced for image stock specialists ‘moodboard’.

 

If you like what you see…

Why not leave a comment, hit the ‘like’ button : ) OR drop in to our studio here at London Bridge.

http://www.highergroundcreative.co.uk/

 

 

ALL IN THE MIX…

For this weeks blog post we’re digging deep in to the archives… dusting off the 45s…

…and looking in to the close collaboration between good design and good (or sometimes bad) music.

Left: Average White Band ‘AWB LP’ [1974]
Right: Aphex Twin ‘Window Licker LP’ (Warp Records) [1999]

Many of us at Higher Ground Creative have a passion for all things music & design related, and so often we find that the two go hand in hand. Whether you’re keeping it real and hitting the record shops of Soho, or simply downloading it straight from iTunes (*cough cough* Pirate Bay!), record covers and artwork design is very much apart of the music itself, and in some cases has had a longer lasting presence than the music itself.

Left: Kraftwerk ‘Autobahn LP’ [1974]
Right: Kraftwerk ‘Tour de France LP’ [1983]

Some of the most iconic covers produced over years have been so simplistic in terms of concept or execution, yet have created that ever lasting longevity that can inspire a life time of people. Such portrait photography as seen on jazz classics released back in the early 50s/60s, to the slightly edgier Germanic movement of Kraftwerk, to the more recent complex illustrations produced by Erosie http://www.erosie.net for the ever prolific Dutch producer, Martyn.

Left: Bobbi Humphrey ‘Black & Blues LP (Blue Note Records)’ [1973]
Right: Gil Scott-Heron ‘The Revolution LP’ [1974]

From folk rock to jazz, latin samba to dustup… our iPod dock is eclectic as ever at HGC, so here’s just a taster of some releases that have inspired us over the years, either musically, or graphically.

And on that note, we’re all off to Urban Outfitters to buy some record cover frames and stick some of these gems up on our wall…

Left: The Shahib Shihab Quintet ‘Seeds LP’ [1968]
Right: Miles David ‘Bitches Brew LP’ [1969]

Left: Marvin Gaye ‘Trouble Man LP’ [1972]
Right: Herbie Hancock ‘Headhunters LP’ [1973]

Left: Pink Floyd ‘The Dark Side of the Moon LP’ [1973]
Right: Rolling Stones ‘Let It Bleed LP (Japanese Release)’ [1969]

From left to right: Martyn ‘Natural Selection 12″ (3024 Records)’ [2009];
Addison Groove ‘Footcrab 12″ (3024 Records)’ [2010];
Martyn ‘Great Lengths LP” (3024 Records)’ [2009]

Wills and Kate’s wedding essential accessory, Throne up!

As we all know, and if you don’t where have you been this last year, April 29th, is the date most of you have probably booked off work, is the royal wedding of Wills and Kate! We are of course happy to see them both so very loved up but there comes a point where it is too much!

This is the impression I get from Lydia Leith, she has screen printed, very beautifully I may add some essentials for all you who are non royal followers. The official ‘Throne up, Royal Wedding, sick bag!’ They are available now from her site for a very reasonable £3!

Enjoy!

Until next time followers

HGC XX

Brit Insurance Design awards 2011

The Brit Insurance Design Awards is the Design Museums annual exploration of the most innovative and interesting design work across all fields of the art world including architecture, fashion, furniture, graphics, interactive, product and transport. It is a chance for new designers to shine and boast some of their most exhilarating and exciting work.

It has been going for a relatively short time but has gained prestigious attention; some say it is the ‘Oscars’ of the design world even! And seeing as it opens today, we at HGC are pretty excited to get down there and check out the talent.

Last year’s winner, Designer Min-Kyu Choi with his Folding plug was an ‘elegant reinterpretation of the humble plug’.

Take a look at some of this year’s contenders; competition is of a high standard as always, but some are standing out already, there is plenty of time to check it out as it is exhibiting until August this year.

Until next time followers

HGC
XXX

P.S check out our newly updated website with new exciting work! http://www.highergroundcreative.co.uk/our-work/

The Ever Colourful Keith Haring

Despite what you’ve seen on Style Wars or Wildstyle, not all early graffiti came out of a spray can. In the early 80’s Keith Haring was utilising a white piece of chalk and the New York street as his canvas. As his works could simply be wiped off, he was debatably the first legal graffiti artist.

He quickly moved onto murals using paint, and his style adapted accordingly. Harnessing vivid bright colours, Haring’s simple characters began to take on a life of their own, moulding around each other with dynamic movement. His murals began to appear bigger and brighter than ever. Invited to paint all over the World, Haring became an internationally renowned artist with high critical acclaim. However, this did not suppress his love for street art where he continued to paint socially aware pieces such as the infamous ‘crack is wack’ mural in New York 1986, painted in response to the crack cocaine epidemic sweeping the streets.

Haring could debatably be seen as the first commercially successful street artist, paving the way for many others to follow. He was employed to create adverts for both Absolut Vodka and Swatch watches. He also opened the infamous ‘Pop `Shop’ in Soho selling merchandise bearing his iconic images including t-shirts, toys, posters and other objects with reproductions of his art.

Sadly, Haring died in 1990 at the age of just 31. Its amazing to think what he could have achieved had he lived longer.

His influence on modern day artists, designers and advertising is still felt today.
The governments recent exercise campaign ‘Change4Life’, aimed at children is directly lifted from Haring’s characters seen below. Recently Banksy employed Haring’s dog DJ character for one of his street pieces.

We’ve included some of our favourite works below to show the breadth and depth of Haring’s images. So the next time you see a bubbly, flexing 2D character, you’ll know Haring influenced it!

Our Favourite Galleries

Now let me start this off by saying this is a contemptuous piece… there were a few disagreements in the studio regarding this subject so the following compiles most of our favourites’ as there are probably too many to mention!

Firstly, everyone was in agreement when the Tate Modern was mentioned. Tate Modern remains the best place to expose yourself to contemporary art, with a wide ranging collection stretching from Duchamp to Bacon. Despite a number of works not being to everyone’s taste, you can always find new pieces and exhibitions to catch your eye and imagination. Obviously, the grandiose Turbine Hall exhibits bring the masses flocking through the door, however, we would argue the real gems are to be found in the permanent collection, for instance Roy Lichtenstein’s ‘Whaam!’ is a constant source of fascination.

Also, its worth mentioning Late at the Tate which takes place at Tate Britain, where you can see some of the Underground’s music luminaries performing sets with the backdrop of amazing art!

The next gallery to feature is the Royal Academy. Despite many sighting the gradual downward spiral of the summer exhibition ruining its reputation, we would like to disagree. The Royal Academy is the probably the only real place a layman can expose themselves to the newest and most relevant work coming out of this country. The real bonus of the summer exhibition is you get to play art collector! Walking round the gallery, checking costs and imagining what you yourself would buy! We urge you to check out the Summer Exhibition, it really is worth a look.

Next is the Serpentine Gallery. Hidden away in Kensington Gardens, next to Hyde Park, the Serpentine seems to escape the gaze of a lot of London’s young art lovers. The gallery prides itself on commissioning not only fantastic exhibitions, but great examples of architecture and sculpture in the surrounding area. For instance, the 2010 summer pavilion designed by Jean Nouvel was a great space to discover. Check out this link to see what you missed:

Serpentine Gallery Pavilion 2010 by Jean Nouvel from O Production Ltd. on Vimeo.

Anish Kapoor has currently adorned the surrounding area with a major collection of warped, reflective sculptures, which have captured the eye of all who behold them.

Lastly, we wanted to feature a small yet exciting gallery in the heart of Brick Lane. The Stolen Space Gallery features mostly street art and its offshoots. It is probably the best place to see examples of the World’s greatest modern street artists in London. Such legends to grace its small but well founded walls are Mode 2, Shepard Fairey, Seen, Pete Fowler and Chris Levine to name but a few. Definitively worth a look on a regular basis, we love Stolen Space and can’t recommend it highly enough.

These are just a few of the many great galleries just in London. So there’s no excuse not to get out there and be really inspired by some fantastic art.

If you haven’t got time to visit any of these galleries, how about checking out our portfolio of work for some inspiration…

Until next time followers…..

 

HGC XXX

Blog and buy sale…

Here at HGC we’re always on the lookout for weird and wonderful design related stories, so when we came across this site, we thought it was well worth a blog mention. It’s similar to a mini creative ebay where you can also submit your own suggestions (Higher Ground gloves perhaps?). Whereas ebay is fantastic for buying a great second hand designer bag, ‘blog and buy sale’ is purely creative. We think it’s great that you can browse for things you never knew existed, but once discovered, couldn’t live without… a divorcee ring perhaps… or a cookie USB stick, maybe a sandwich bear plate or just a great looking Bill Murray poster, the possibilities are endless! We think the cupcake Beanie hat is a favourite..… just don’t eat it!

Until next time followers…

HGC XXX

Classic Football Shirts make us Smile!

We just wanted to take a moment to bask in the glory of our all time favourite football strips. A classic shirt is a true thing of beauty, who can forget the England 66′ red kit, or the 86′ Argentina shirt.

We’ve complied just a snippet of our favourites below. Most utilise simple and clean design which aids to their timeless properties. Some are so over designed its ridiculous and some just stick in the mind for the memories associated with them.

Take Schmeichel’s goalkeeper shirt from the 92 – 93′ Premiership season. The colours clash, the pattern is hideous, yet we can’t help remembering it! A classic kit which evokes so many memories (mostly bad as none of us support United!). How about the Norwich City shirt from the stella 92 – 93′ Uefa Cup season. Any shirt that sees an East Anglian team beat European giants Bayern Munich is surely ear marked to be a vintage!

On to the minimalist classics… the 95′ AC Milan shirt goes down in history for two reasons. Firstly for its great design, completely stripped back with only the essential sponsor and badge being present. Secondly, because it was the shirt George Weah wore when he scored one of the best goals of all time, running around 80 yards from area to area, beating around 8 players on his own and coolly slotting it home! The 88′ Liverpool shirt must also be heralded as a classic. Probably our favourite sponsor from over the years, the ‘Candy’ shirt as we like to call it was donned but such players as John Barnes, Ian Rush and Peter Beardlsey.

Honorary mentions also go to the 83′ West Ham shirt, 90′ Italy World Cup winning shirt, the 88′ Arsenal shirt and last but by no means least, the 93′ Man United away shirt.

What are your favourites?

Until next time followers…

HGC XX
PS. We’re off down the shops to pay £400 for a signed 88 – 89′ Tottenham shirt!