One of the coolest things I've seen for a while...

I saw the headline 'Man decorates basement with $10 worth of sharpie' and had to take a closer look...
This article was originally published in September 2008 but I've only just noticed it so bear with me if I'm behind the times!


Excerpt: When Charlie Kratzer started on the basement art project in his south Lexington home, he was surrounded by walls painted a classic cream. Ten dollars of Magic Marker and Sharpie later, the place was black and cream and drawn all over.

There are fictional detectives Hercule Poirot and Sherlock Holmes, Winston Churchill lounging with George Bernard Shaw — and the TV squirrel Rocky and his less adroit moose pal Bullwinkle.

You can read more here and see the full 360 degree view: http://www.kentucky.com/2008/09/23/532854/man-decorates-basement-with-10.html#ixzz0tdLg2NXD

I'm not sure if Lexmark/Sharpie subsequently used Mr Kratzer within their advertising activity or if they rewarded him with a lifetimes supply of Sharpies but if they didn't, they certainly should have!

Blendtec: Vuvuzela

Another fantastic contextually-relevant blending video from the geniuses at Blendtech, this stuff never gets old for me...

Prezi: The new way to present your ideas

I hate powerpoint.
Hate it, hate it, hate it.

I hate it even more when it forces me to bend my strategic thinking to it's slide-based formatting will.
There is not one element of thought that can be effectively communicated using powerpoint.
It does more damage than good in client presentations with the constant need to skip forwards and back and for your audience to hold in their memory slide 7 when you're talking on slide 11...disaster.

So thank god we now have Prezi

By using Prezi you are no longer confined to how much content you can fit on a slide, you now have an unlimited canvas on which to tell your story with the ability to look at the top line and to zoom into the detail as and when you require it. Genius.

You can input any form of media from text, images and videos etc...

Best of all, it’s pretty simple to use, is free (online) for the basic version but even the ‘pro’ version is still only $159 per year AND you can even print out an A1 ‘strategy on a page’ if necessary (clients love that stuff)

Check out a demo video here = awesome:

The inspirational 14yr-old blogger: Tavi Gevinson

Idea City recently had their 2010 conference combining 'big ideas from the smartest people'.

Once of those people was the amazing Tavi Gevinson, the 14 year-old creator of the hit fashion blog Style Rookie, and contributor to Pop magazine's blog: tavi.thepop.com.
Tavi has already become a key figure in the fashion world and has written for numerous high profile fashion & arts magazines as well as presenting for FashionTV and being an honoured guest of many designers....and all before her 15th birthday.

In her talk, Tavi presents her vision for Sassy Magazine and what it could have been had it stuck to its roots of intelligent, thought-provoking feminist writings rather than going down the 'glossy commercial' route it ended up as following its buy-out in the 90's.

She makes a crucial point that there is a real gap in the female publication marketplace for this kind of writing to return and to help women & girls adopt a more positive 'self-focus' as opposed to hoovering up the rubbish that is put in front of them at the moment about how to please everyone but themselves (i.e how they should look/eat/love/live)

She truly is a star...

First ever 3d interactive music video: Robyn / Killing Me

Music sensation Robyn (one of my personal favourites) has just released the first ever 3D interactive music video for her new single 'Killing Me'

It's really simple, very basic graphics but the addition of the 3D piece makes it extra special, not to mention the Twitter feed!

The first portion of the video features visualization of Robyn's lyrics. The remainder of the video is created by users themselves who tweet in what is killing them using the Twitter hash tag, #killingme. These tweets are visualized and credited to the user.

The video has the potential to become the infinite video as users can continue to add on to the endless stream of #killingme comments.

If you've got a spare pair of 3D glasses sitting around, watch it now: http://www.robyn.com/killingme/

The skills of the rockstar planner...

Here's another fantastic short video series from PSFK looking at what skills you need to have to be a rockstar planner. They've interviewed some of the best planning minds in the business to create a mini-guide, check it our below:

Skill No.1: Intuitive Problem Solving


Skill No.2: Communicating Ideas


Skill No.3: Insatiable Curiosity


Skill No.4: Understanding The Human Condition


Skill No.5: Rolling Up Your Sleeves

Dulux - Lets Colour Project

This lovely video/ad comes from Euro RSCG London. Dulux sent a team of people comprised of Dulex execs, brand reps, bloggers and agency peeps to travel to different cities around the world, partnering with local communities to rejuvenate areas of urban decay. So far they have visited Jodhpur, Rio de Janeiro, Paris and London

Armed with truckloads of Dulux paint and paintbrushes galore, they set out to create a 'colour movement'. Alongside the locals in these rundown areas, they organised groups who set about colouring and renovating their houses, streets, schools and even a multi-story parking lot.

It’s pretty amazing.

via contagious magazine