Is this the end of the digital age?

Well – possibly not just yet, though if thehumanprinter is anything to go by, then it could be in for a change of direction.

A collaboration of wannabe ink-jets who hand produce these stunning illustrations following the same process as a digital printer. You can send them your own pics to print too, though with results as painstakingly beautiful as this, we dread to think how long the print queue is.

My favorite shopfront so far…

from my friend emily’s blog. londonshopfronts

BBC Live experiment promo

In about the closest thing to exciting advertising the BBC have ever attempted, Dr Wong is going to transport himself 2.5m across a void, using only magnets, live on BBC 1 tomorrow night. Crikey.

In a very Honda inspired style, they aim to essentially recreate ‘cogs’, with Dr Wong being transported via a number of regular lab items (notably a bike powered Van De Graaf generator) across ‘a void’. It really rings of the ambitious Honda live ad too, but only holds the risk of looking stupid, as apposed to dying … this could be a YouTube classic.

Its for their new show ‘Bang Goes The Theory’, and its pretty exciting to see some interesting advertising tactics from the BBC – it even has an element of industry cool in the form of Gorillaz documentary maker Grant Gee directing proceedings. Its going to be streamed live on the interweb too, and adds to the portfolio of interesting digital activity the BBC is creating (after Blast for example). If you cant wait, check out the prep here.

Scamp-a-thon

Alex and Jon having a friday night scamp-a-thon

Celebrity Spotting in Kentish Town

Whilst out on a creative mission this week, we saw Noel Fielding wandering through Kentish Town. In probably the worst papperazzi snap of all time, you can just about make out that the weather was a bit crap, but unfortunately you cant quite see his boosh take on the tennis look… electric blue will be all over Wimbledon next year. Watch this space.

The Eternal Moonwalk

Well here it is – the inevitable MJ post. Theres been plenty said and done in blog land since his death, but The Eternal Moonwalk is a highlight.

On your bike

Being fit healthy types at TBG we all cycle to work, everyday, rain or shine. But Despite Boris’ best efforts to convince us otherwise, it is still a bit dangerous … These bits of kit might be of more use than those lovely posters of (helmet less) riders.

Personal Bike Lanes

Now you can take the bike lane with you using some high power LEDs – probably a bit more useful during the winter months, but even so, it makes sense. How long can we make one lane? Video here.

Nike Hindsight

Another pretty simple and effective idea – giving 25% extra ‘hindsight vision’ these glasses are billed to give riders an extra glimpse of on coming traffic – maybe drivers can wear these too … it goes both ways! Via Rubbishcorp.

Craig Calfee’s Bamboo Frame Bike

Thats right, a bamboo bike frame – the greenest form of travel possible?? It doesn’t really improve safety, but it does do wonders for the environment. The bamboo used is grown in controlled conditions and is smoke treated (rather than chemically). It also requires minimal watering and pesticide treatment, and even produces oxygen. Pretty damn cool. At £3000 its not cheap, but it is strong apparently and beneficially springy. Yes please. More here.

Vauxhall Skate / Mini Openness

Bit of an interesting angle from Vauxhall here. In a bid to come across as a ‘cool, young, and trendy’ brand that appeals to the kids of today, they have created Vauxhall Skate – a one off 70s themed roller disco in Shoreditch. Designer of the moment and Topshop muse Kate Moross has supplied the logo (quite nice), Carl Barat, Florence and the Machine, and Queens of noise will be providing the music (quite good).

Now, roller discos are undeniably awesome – especially ones with a decent soundtrack – but the event doesn’t really make me want to buy a Corsa (the only real affordable option they provide for their target audience) or give much of an insight into the product. They keep trying to position themselves with the cutting edge youth (after sponsoring beatboxing events and Britains Next Top Model for example), but at the end of the day, my grandmas next door neighbour has TWO Vauxhalls, and he is not cutting edge. Although he would probably appreciate a 70s themed anything.

They need to take a leaf out of Minis book – as part of their Stay Open campaign, Profero have created a rather nifty little iPhone App that champions Openness. In a similar tone of voice to Virgin’s ‘Say Yes’, you are given suggestions of fun and quirky activities to have a go at nearby (via maps). As soon as we hit go we found out Karl Marx is buried just up the road from TBG HQ, and that we could attend poetry readings but 2 mins away. Who knew??

Undoubtedly a roller disco could pop up and I would much prefer Mini to suggest it to me that way, rather than Vauxhall elbow its way to me through ‘youth lifestyle’ magazines/blogs – their bid smacks of corporate decision making really. Mini is doing a great job of continually highlighting the strengths of its product, whereas Vauxhall is just hanging on to trends and alienating itself … it would be great to see them enter into the social media world and let us experience that image / lifestyle beyond a one off event.

Free invite here.

UPDATE 02/07 – It just keeps getting better …

The only way to fight fire

is actually with lido.

The Spanish Banksy…?

SpY has been around for ever in the Spanish ‘art intervention’ world practicing his craft since the mid 80s, now rumor has it he’s bringing his slightly sweeter style to the UK. As Banksy’s work in Bristol literally comes under fire (from a paint gun) we will have to wait and see if he inspires more sympathy to installation art / graffiti – he is certainly more approachable and equally as enjoyable, but it does lack that anti-establishment monkey wank humour we all know and love. In other Banksy news its been revealed that the mockumentary ‘Banksy’s coming for dinner‘ was in fact an eloboate hoax by writer / director Ivan Massow. Joan Collins wont be too happy…

More about SpY here.