Posts by Rob Jung
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EuroBlog
Here’s a little personal project that started out back in 2002/03, and sitting in its original analogue state has been gathering dust for a while. Now, several years later I’ve scanned, cropped and tweaked and have finally brought my EuroProject into the digital world.
I’ll explain; It was about the same time as the euro currency entered circulation back in 2002, that I started to notice a dramatic increase in euro naming. Very quickly it became apparent that these businesses, services and products preceeding with ‘Euro’ often had little relevance, if any at all, to europe. A touch of irony still, my observations were exclusive to the UK, a country not even in the euro currency zone. Put simply, we had entered the era of the euro.
Yet it wasn’t simply the lack of relevance that caught my attention, I found, from a branding perspective, that these finds showed a complete lack of imagination, whilst often achieving comical results. It seems that if imagination is your enemy, then euro is your friend!
Bringing this project to life again seems more timely than ever. Greece and Portugal, amongst others, are facing economic woe, eurozone sovereign debt is huge and the euro currency scrabbles for composure. If the euro was to collapse, what would it mean for the businesses I’ve catalogued? Perhaps a turnaround to a more patriotic Great British perspective… I’m seeing a lot of union jacks all of a sudden.
Here’s just a small sample to wet the palette, find more over at the euroblog.
I’ll be continuing to delve into the catalogue updating the blog with new finds from here on.
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Friday YouTube fun
For some Friday blog fun, we thought we’d pull out some classic clips from YouTube and a theme soon became apparent as we ran through some favourites… parodies and mash-ups. Here’s a notable one from a while back. Microsoft advertise a new bit of music software in typical Microsoft style.
Hilarious responses quickly followed putting the very same advertised music software to the test:
A little more recently, Jay-Z’s Empire State of Mind was quickly re-hashed for a more Welsh-centric audience and a video that truly epitomises the word viral, Rebecca Blacks “Friday” has countless parodies all of varying degrees of success.
So it seems YouTube has become the home for a brand of humour that has long been around, but now, more than ever, a parody or remix seems to be the de facto response to any videoclip that has at least mild pop-culture success. There are a number of reasons that would point to why, not least the ability of the public to make video responses at a cost that’s never been lower and outreach thats never been greater.
That same public, namely us, are the filter of what is successful and what is not, we need to sort the wheat from the chaff. It seems the most successful parodies and mash-ups always offer an insight, a production skill, or tone of humour that has an originality and creativity. If we discover it, the author is given a massive springboard and a chance to reach out to millions of viewers in a matter of hours. Perhaps successful careers can be started?
This cut-up version of The Apprentice gained massive appeal, not just based on the popularity of the show, but in its own right:
The likes of Kutiman, remixing and reshaping musical YouTube clips from his bedroom to construct whole new original tracks, has gone on to be a prolific producer:
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All aboard the Gingerline
In each episode of Mr Benn, the animated children’s television series from yesteryear, Mr Benn leaves his home and visits a fancy dress costume shop where he is invited in by the shopkeeper to try on an outfit. At this point Mr Benn enters a world appropriate to his costume – last Friday night I had a remarkably similar experience at the hands of the Gingerline team.
One of London’s more recent pop-up restaurants, Gingerline brings to the mix imagination and creativity, constructing events fit for a theatre as much as a dining table.
A twenty minute ride on the Gingerline (London Underground’s former East London Line, and the same thread that stitches every month’s event together) found us in New Cross Gate outside a costume shop, window shutters on. The door opened, we were greeted with top hat and tails and we stepped inside to the backstage of a Siberian Circus.
I’m not sure where to start with trying to explain what I witnessed for the next four hours. Swinging ladies on a perch, colourful characters feeding us popcorn and vodka, and all set off with the background sounds of a Ukranian accordion player.
It would be an injustice not to mention the fun my tastebuds had with three of the finest courses I’ve had in a very long time. Wild boar dumplings, venison goulash, spice poached apples and ice-cream and shot after shot of all varieties of vodka.
The evening’s memories were taken away along with the menu – a limited edition print for each guest to keep. Mr Benn may have had some amazing adventures, but I doubt he ever feasted this well.
Photographs by Emli Benxiden taken from Ginerline’s Facebook page.
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Le Corbusier’s Radiant City
On my rather wonderful honeymoon in the south of France, my wife(!) and I spent a day living the Le Corbusier vision at his seminal Unité d’Habitation development, Marseille. Dubbed “the city in the sky”, this was a revolutionary experiment in urban living when it was built between 1947 and 1952.
Set amongst the many residents of this imposing block (337 apartments), 2 floors function as a hotel and restaurant (part of Le Corbusier’s original plans) with each guest studio preserved exactly as it was in the 1950s, bar a flat screen tv and a new shower!
The experience is unlike any other hotel I’ve stayed in, sharing the corridors (referred to by residents as “streets” due to their immense width) and lifts with its residents enforces the experience of living in a building such as this.
It was fantastic to be a part of a vision that has remained truly intact over half a century later. Every light fixing, every wooden panel, every inch of space had been considered and designed and it’s not often one can witness such a complete piece of work from a designer.
Much information can be found on the web but here are two starters for you, one on Le Corbusier and the other “Cité Radieuse”
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Bella Rock
Since sharing a house with me whilst at Brighton University, the wonderful Bella Rock has now settled, via the Royal College of Art and exhibitions in India, France and Greece, near Twyford, west London. Choosing a Portakabin in the middle of a field as the place to run her International Art Career, Bella seems very at home.
It’s this kind of space that Bella needs, enough room for her huge imagination and large scale paintings. Bella has no time for high brow musings or discussions, she simply loves to spend time making up stories and thinking about magical things that could happen. We then get to witness the results of those thoughts.
It’s difficult to fully appreciate Bella’s work on screen, so may we recommend you walk your eyes to Deptford High Street at the end of June to see new work with her brother Casper. In the mean time, if you’re eager to see more of Bella’s work, head on over to her website and sign up to Colouring-In Club, where each month Bella sends out a drawing for you to print off and colour-in, in the comfort of your home.
‘Eye Pain’ opens at the Bearspace gallery on June 25th for 4 weeks, details of which you’ll find here.
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High Flyers
A recent project for Transport for London has seen us filming all over London at all times of the day, there’s not a nook or cranny of the metropolis that we haven’t captured. Topping it off was a fantastic dusk shoot from the air, with help from Flying TV.
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BT Tradespace version 2
We’ve just created three new animations for BT to coincide with the launch of version 2 of their online business community, BT Tradespace. Narrated by Hugh Dennis, this version centres around three fictional ‘Tradespacers’ – Bea, Jim and Sally. View all three animations here.
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Merry Christmas!
We’d like thank all our clients, suppliers, partners and friends for a really exciting year – Merry Christmas and best wishes for next year! Rob and Shaheena have been busy designing Christmas cards with our new screen printing kit.
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BT Tradespace video launched
BT Tradespace is BT’s online business community, directory and marketplace. Applied Works was appointed to produce a two minute animated tour video to coincide with the launch of a new ‘Communities’ section of the website. The video features animated community members forming relationships with one another as they build their Tradespace profiles.
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Giant worm invades Applied Works
As part of the current YCN Live event promoting emerging international talent, Riitta Ikonen has installed a huge worm outside the Applied Works studio, weaving its way through the windows, into the pavement and under the road, appearing opposite in Hoxton Square.
