if: Inspiration Festival identifies and explores the most noteworthy issues and trends of the day in an exclusive and engaging forum. Over a course of three days at extraordinary venues around the city, award-winning advertisers, media visionaries, business leaders, scientists, inventors, anthropologists and designers will explode the trends that are reshaping our culture, our economy, our work and our lives.

I was fortunate to be invited to IF and spent several days immersed in discussion on topics that ranged from Science as Culture, The Future of Connection and Creativity, to Global Business Opportunitites. A heady mix to be sure, with a tremendous mix of people. Many were creatives who were in town for the New York Festivals and the rest were a diverse collection of New Yorkers selected by Juliette Powell, the curatorial and inspirational mind behind IF.

For me the surprise bonus was being asked to fill in at the last moment for an absent speaker and to present with my dear friend Andrew Sispoidis. We talked about creativity and collaboration and ways that we as a creative community can use new tools to leverage our collective talents.

It was very refreshing to go to a conference that broke out of the usual mode and not only allowed for a free exchange of ideas but mandated that. I'm sure that there are many who were there who will join me in hoping that IF becomes a regular event in NY and will look forward to the next year.

Some interesting charts by Clement Mok, Global Director of Design Planning for Sapient. His take on Agency 1.0 vs Agency 2.0 shows the correlation between emerging/exisiting media and the state of marketing. What's most interesting to him is that this still seems to be news to some marketers.

The first chart is an overview of the evolution of agencies to adapt to the new landscape. The second is the underlying philosophy for each system.

The idea that the customer owns and builds the brands feels a little unrealistic. Certainly customers feel a great deal of "ownership" and loyalty to brands that they feel help to define their lifestyles but that brand had an identity before they discovered and adopted it.

This applies more to brands that have gone through an identity renaissance like Hush Puppies did when they were brought out of a 20 year slumber by people looking for something that was outside of the mainstream. The revamped image due to this new customer is a better example of customers driving brand identity.

So where does that leave the agency? Brand builders and stewards open to partnership with consumers? Ringleader or barker? The smart agencies won't engage in a power struggle with the passionate public but harnessing the power of consumer generated content has yet do be done in a way that makes it feel like a new model.

Bonfire Of The Brands

Bonfire Of The Brands

In 1497 the Bonfire of the Vanities, courtesy of Girolamo Savonarola, consumed pornography, lewd pictures, pagan books, gaming tables, cosmetics, copies of Boccaccio's Decameron, and all the works of Ovid which could be found in Florence.

On September 17, 2006 Neil Boorman is going to burn all his branded goods in an attempt to re-evaluate his lifestyle.
Neil Boorman is a the consummate label whore. He is also a DJ, a writer for The Guardian, and founder of a satirical fanzine called The Shoreditch Twat.
On September 17 all of his shoes, clothes, designer bags, furniture and electronics will go into a massive bonfire and he will begin to live an "un-branded life". This blog is a diary of his journey towards a brand-free lifestyle complete with a countdown to the bonfire and the publishing of his book, hmmmmmm.

Is the whole thing just a publicity stunt to sell another book on brands and why they are or are not evil? Or is Neil Boorman really going to be able to live his life with nothing but a carefully de-branded iBook and stock his shelves with no-name hummus and non-branded plimsolls (running shoes)? Check his blog to see or follow the publicity storm as it unfolds.

Strandbeesten

I just came across an article on Theo Jansens and have become utterly fascinated by his work.

For the last ten years he has been creating "Strandbeesten", fantastical creatures that are able to walk powered only by the wind. These kinetic sculptures are made of plastic tubing, cardboard boxes, plastic bottles, hose, tape and all sorts of other things which you might commonly find as detruitis on a beach which Jansens transformes into primordial looking creatures which step delicately along the beaches of Holland. His goal with the Beesten is to "put these animals out in herds on the beaches, so that they will live their own lives."

The creatures are constantly evolving as Jansens "breeds" the most successful ones into more complex creatures that can flap their wings,

discern abstacles in their path and even hammer themselves into the sand on sensing and approaching storm.

His work has been featured in a spot for BMW.

PikaPika

PikaPika means "twinkling" in Japanese and is also the name of an amazing project known as "the lightning doodle project".

They have created a series of animations all done with long exposures and edited together to create beautiful and whimsical scenes.

here's how they describe the process:

" We got all sorts of friends in different fields together to work on this project.
During the process,they got to know each other and discover new things. This is also about "communication".
People can meet new friends as they create a piece art very easy which brings every one happiness.
We spend a very enjoyable evening at the workshop and the party through this animation."

They have also produced a short film that was nominated in the Ottawa International Film Festival, enjoy.

How Stuff Works

Ever wondered why someone would make a false confession to a crime or why the sky is blue or how caffeine works?



HowStuffWorks is a revelation of discovery. It covers topics from the quotidien to the truly obscure in a style that makes it all very accessable. This is the perfect combination of practical tool and joyous time waster all in one.

Expoloding Color

Remember the Sony Bravia spot that featured thousands of brightly coloured balls bouncing down the hills of San Francisco?

Sony is following this up with a spot that features a high-rise building with various colors exploding from each floor. This time they're making a huge buzz about the spot - there is a site about the making of the spot before the spot has even been released.



There is even an amateur video of the spot being filmed on the web.

My Gallery at The Tate

The Tate Gallery has devised a new way of looking at their incredible collection with a range of themed 'Collections'. These suggest a number of personal journeys you could take, reflecting different moods and enthusiasms and reminding us of why we go to galleries in the first place - to find things that inspire and refresh us.
You can see some Collections that have already been curated from the artworks currently on show at Tate Britain - have a look at these and then why not create your own Collection?
Tate Britain displays British art from 1500 to today. You can create your Collection, print it as a leaflet, or send it to a friend.