words

Some of the videos of this campaign are pretty weird but this one is kind of cute:

More at: https://www.youtube.com/yt/music/

What if instead of trying to cure people with severe mental illness, the solution to their problems was for us to simply embrace who they are? No labels or technical diagnosis, but patience, respect and empathy.

It sounds easy on paper but which one of us would be willing to embrace a stranger in a critical mental condition and bring the person to their home to take care of him, sometimes even for decades?

Apparently some folks in a small town in Belgium called Geel have been doing that for centuries now, and their de-institutionalized psychiatric approach sounds straight up counterintuitive, but also bold and brave — and it's yielding great results.

If you haven't watched O.J.: Made in America yet, you definitely should.

"The most powerful and essential documentary about class, race, and gender in America in years."— Anne Helen Peterson, Buzzfeed

You can check the trailer here: http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=15529273

Oh man, this is so bad ass. Now I really want to watch it on a nice VR headset.

Full 360º video here:

Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Though wise men at their end know dark is right, Because their words had forked no lightning they Do not go gentle into that good night. Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light. Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight, And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way, Do not go gentle into that good night. Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay, Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

— Dylan Thomas, 1914 - 1953

such a powerful poem, recited a few times in the movie Interstellar.

An Interstellar x Google Play collaboration. Building off the themes of Interstellar, this short film weaves submissions from people around the world into a story celebrating the human experience on Earth. Directed by David Brodie and creative directed by Angus Wall, the film will serve as a time capsule that shows future generations what life on Earth was like, should we leave this planet.

What better than an ad campaign for marketers than one that makes fun of common strategic marketing mistakes and misconceptions (as well as their weary jargons)?  

Goodby Silverstein & Partners is the name behind the series of commercials for Adobe Marketing Cloud called "Do You Know What Your Marketing Is Doing?", and they are just great.

Don't get any big ideas They're not gonna happen

You paint yourself white And fill up with noise But there'll be something missing

Now that you've found it, it's gone Now that you feel it, you don't You've gone off the rails

So don't get any big ideas They're not gonna happen

You'll go to hell For what your dirty mind Is thinking

I just finished watching Beyoncé's Lemonade and whoa, what a strong, powerful film. 

Apart from the great lyrics and beautifully crafted visuals, I was specially impressed by the poetry V.Oed between the songs.

The words written by the upcoming poet Warsan Shire and read by Beyoncé herself were at a first glance noticeably simple yet emotionally charged and thought provoking. You can check the transcripts here: http://www.bustle.com/articles/156559-transcript-of-beyonces-lemonade-because-the-words-are-just-as-important-as-the-music

If it's what you truly want ... I can wear her skin over mine. Her hair over mine. Her hands as gloves. Her teeth as confetti. Her scalp, a cap. Her sternum, my bedazzled cane. We can pose for a photograph, all three of us. Immortalized ... you and your perfect girl.

I don't know when love became elusive. What I know is, no one I know has it. My father's arms around my mother's neck, fruit too ripe to eat. I think of lovers as trees ... growing to and from one another. Searching for the same light.

Why can't you see me? Why can't you see me? Why can't you see me? Everyone else can.

For more information about the album: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/music/news/beyoncs-new-album-why-is-it-called-lemonade-plus-everything-else/

By the way Jay-Z my man, what the hell did you do to get your woman so mad? 😬

Because Recollection is a music interactive experience to celebrate the 10 years anniversary of Because.tv crafted by 84 Paris.

For this piece they recreated the artists album covers in some pretty unique and interactive ways. Each one of them is truly well made.

Some of my favorites are:

http://www.because-recollection.com/major-lazer

http://www.because-recollection.com/laurent-garnier

http://www.because-recollection.com/sebastian

I am always impressed by the quality of work Supercell is constantly putting out. From massive game hits such as Boom Beach, Clash of Clans (great site) and now the delightful and super addicting Clash Royale, the company is over and over pushing the boundaries not only of the game industry itself, but also helping redefining the way marketers should be advertising games (take a look on their Superbowl commercial and their YouTube 360º VR experience for example).

So congrats Supercell, for the 100 Million users playing your games everyday, as well as the fat 1.7 Billion dollars in revenue in 2014. 

Following this whole Star Wars fever, Spotify just launched a website where based on your music taste profile, they match you to a Star Wars character. Nothing too crazy but a campaign that is simple, fun and efficient from a co-branding standpoint.

They also generate a playlist based on the character you matched (mine was Finn), which is when things start getting interesting design-wise.

When you click to listen to the playlist, the link automatically launches your desktop app with a wonderful detail: the music player now looks like a lightsaber.  

What a nice touch! And if you click on the lightsaber itself, you can toggle through different designs:

I feel bad that I have been so oblivious, but today was the first time I've actually payed attention to the lyrics of this song and wow, what an amazing storytelling feat. 

Just for a little bit of background, on Wikipedia:

"Hurricane" is a protest song by Bob Dylan co-written with Jacques Levy, about the imprisonment of Rubin "Hurricane" Carter. It compiles alleged acts of racism and profiling against Carter,[1] which Dylan describes as leading to a false trial and conviction. 

Carter and a man named John Artis had been charged with a triple murder during a robbery at the Lafayette Grill in Paterson, New Jersey in 1966. Carter and Artis were found guilty of the murders, which were widely reported as racially motivated. In the years that followed, a substantial amount of controversy emerged over the case, ranging from allegations of faulty evidence and questionable eyewitness testimony to an unfair trial.

Hurricane

Pistol shots ring out in the barroom night Enter Patty Valentine from the upper hall She sees the bartender in a pool of blood Cries out, “My God, they killed them all!” Here comes the story of the Hurricane The man the authorities came to blame For somethin’ that he never done Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been The champion of the world

Three bodies lyin’ there does Patty see And another man named Bello, movin’ around mysteriously “I didn’t do it,” he says, and he throws up his hands “I was only robbin’ the register, I hope you understand I saw them leavin’,” he says, and he stops “One of us had better call up the cops” And so Patty calls the cops And they arrive on the scene with their red lights flashin’ In the hot New Jersey night

Meanwhile, far away in another part of town Rubin Carter and a couple of friends are drivin’ around Number one contender for the middleweight crown Had no idea what kinda shit was about to go down When a cop pulled him over to the side of the road Just like the time before and the time before that In Paterson that’s just the way things go If you’re black you might as well not show up on the street ’Less you wanna draw the heat

Alfred Bello had a partner and he had a rap for the cops Him and Arthur Dexter Bradley were just out prowlin’ around He said, “I saw two men runnin’ out, they looked like middleweights They jumped into a white car with out-of-state plates” And Miss Patty Valentine just nodded her head Cop said, “Wait a minute, boys, this one’s not dead” So they took him to the infirmary And though this man could hardly see They told him that he could identify the guilty men

Four in the mornin’ and they haul Rubin in Take him to the hospital and they bring him upstairs The wounded man looks up through his one dyin’ eye Says, “Wha’d you bring him in here for? He ain’t the guy!” Yes, here’s the story of the Hurricane The man the authorities came to blame For somethin’ that he never done Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been The champion of the world

Four months later, the ghettos are in flame Rubin’s in South America, fightin’ for his name While Arthur Dexter Bradley’s still in the robbery game And the cops are puttin’ the screws to him, lookin’ for somebody to blame “Remember that murder that happened in a bar?” “Remember you said you saw the getaway car?” “You think you’d like to play ball with the law?” “Think it might-a been that fighter that you saw runnin’ that night?” “Don’t forget that you are white”

Arthur Dexter Bradley said, “I’m really not sure” Cops said, “A poor boy like you could use a break We got you for the motel job and we’re talkin’ to your friend Bello Now you don’t wanta have to go back to jail, be a nice fellow You’ll be doin’ society a favor That sonofabitch is brave and gettin’ braver We want to put his ass in stir We want to pin this triple murder on him He ain’t no Gentleman Jim”

Rubin could take a man out with just one punch But he never did like to talk about it all that much It’s my work, he’d say, and I do it for pay And when it’s over I’d just as soon go on my way Up to some paradise Where the trout streams flow and the air is nice And ride a horse along a trail But then they took him to the jailhouse Where they try to turn a man into a mouse

All of Rubin’s cards were marked in advance The trial was a pig-circus, he never had a chance The judge made Rubin’s witnesses drunkards from the slums To the white folks who watched he was a revolutionary bum And to the black folks he was just a crazy nigger No one doubted that he pulled the trigger And though they could not produce the gun The D.A. said he was the one who did the deed And the all-white jury agreed

Rubin Carter was falsely tried The crime was murder “one,” guess who testified? Bello and Bradley and they both baldly lied And the newspapers, they all went along for the ride How can the life of such a man Be in the palm of some fool’s hand? To see him obviously framed Couldn’t help but make me feel ashamed to live in a land Where justice is a game

Now all the criminals in their coats and their ties Are free to drink martinis and watch the sun rise While Rubin sits like Buddha in a ten-foot cell An innocent man in a living hell That’s the story of the Hurricane But it won’t be over till they clear his name And give him back the time he’s done Put in a prison cell, but one time he could-a been The champion of the world http://www.bobdylan.com/us/songs/hurricane#ixzz3VpAsBFAU

Good design:

Is innovative - The possibilities for progression are not, by any means, exhausted. Technological development is always offering new opportunities for original designs. But imaginative design always develops in tandem with improving technology, and can never be an end in itself.

Makes a product useful - A product is bought to be used. It has to satisfy not only functional, but also psychological and aesthetic criteria. Good design emphasizes the usefulness of a product whilst disregarding anything that could detract from it.

Is aesthetic - The aesthetic quality of a product is integral to its usefulness because products are used every day and have an effect on people and their well-being. Only well-executed objects can be beautiful.

Makes a product understandable - It clarifies the product’s structure. Better still, it can make the product clearly express its function by making use of the user's intuition. At best, it is self-explanatory.

Is unobtrusive - Products fulfilling a purpose are like tools. They are neither decorative objects nor works of art. Their design should therefore be both neutral and restrained, to leave room for the user's self-expression.

Is honest - It does not make a product appear more innovative, powerful or valuable than it really is. It does not attempt to manipulate the consumer with promises that cannot be kept.

Is long-lasting - It avoids being fashionable and therefore never appears antiquated. Unlike fashionable design, it lasts many years – even in today's throwaway society.

Is thorough down to the last detail - Nothing must be arbitrary or left to chance. Care and accuracy in the design process show respect towards the consumer.

Is environmentally friendly - Design makes an important contribution to the preservation of the environment. It conserves resources and minimizes physical and visual pollution throughout the lifecycle of the product.