In the creative and print industries where long term is often as short as a few months and short term is tomorrow first thing in the morning, it is remarkable that the Imagination book series produced by paper manufacturer Champion Papers was able to succeed and flourish for over two decades from 1963 to 1986. During that time, 26 issues were produced and acclaimed designers, such as Carl Regehr and James Miho, brought their talent and innovation to the pages.

Initially in the early 1960s, Champion Papers began to idle with run-of-the-mill Dunder Mifflin-like marketing where its main focus was on paper sales and order volume instead of the inventive ways paper could be used by the creative industry. But starting in 1963, Champion Papers made a game-changing decision by electing to adopt a different business approach after a survey showed it was virtually unknown to designers, art directors, and creative printers at the time. In response to the findings, Champion Papers became determined to reach out to that elusive market. This effort resulted in the production of Imagination, an annual print publication targeting the design community and showcasing the varied creative uses of paper in stunning ways.

Each Imagination book has a distinct theme beautifully executed through the use of photography and illustrations richly printed on a diverse range of paper grades using a number of different printing and finishing techniques, such as fold outs, die cuts and specialty bindings. Enlightening and educational text exploring the theme often accompanies the images. For example, the theme of Imagination 25 (shown above) is “Fun and Games,” where the text investigates the toys and recreational pastimes of numerous cultures and the value placed on play by ancient and contemporary societies as a means to learn and recreate. Other Imagination themes include a wide range of topics, such as ships, flight, and time.

Creating an issue of Imagination involved a great deal of resources and effort. A single book often took almost a full year to complete. The material used in the series was deeply researched and the design concepts carefully considered so that they would be long-lasting and classic with each issue building on the one before it. Sometimes an issue consists of just one bound book. Other times an issue comprises a set of individually packaged publications in custom carriers. Whatever the format, however, the editions of the Imagination series became long-lasting paper reference tools for creative professionals, many of whom safeguarded their copies over the years due to the unique presentation and engaging content.

photo credit: Robin Benson for his images of Imagination 2 1963  ”Flight”, Imagination 8 1965  ”Ships & Boats”, Imagination 24 1983 “About Time”, and Imagination 25 1985 “Fun and Games”

Cirrus

As I close out Dog Week 2K11, there is a lot to think about: little dogs, medium dogs, but mostly big dogs. These oversized beauties, who are easily overshadowed by the tiny shadows of small dogs, are some of the gentlest creatures on the planet. To know and befriend a large dog is one of those rare situations that a lot of people do not get to experience. I would say definitely try to get to know one, should the opportunity present itself.

A good example? Art director Nate Wells for Applied Underwriters‘ ad campaign featuring a giant Saint Bernard. The campaign, with the tagline “We’re in California in a big way.” as inspiration, not only conveys exactly what Applied Underwriters needed but is very approachable, well done, and fun (not to mention funny). When Wells sent these my way, I literally gasped. Literally.

The campaign is one of those rare moments where industry, silliness, and art all converge. I absolutely adore everything about it and am glad that Wells has inadvertently taken it upon himself to change the face of the Saint Bernard (from the damage Beethoven did to it). I hope you agree and, if you do, please follow the jump for more photos!

With that, goodbye Dog Week 2K11! See you in 2K12!

(…if the world doesn’t end.)

KYLE

PS. Wells informed me that the dog featured in the photos real name is “Cujo.” HOW AMAZING IS THAT??

The presence of street art tends to be a polarising factor in many inner-city communities. While some people love the literal face-lift it provides derelict and empty spaces, others are unable to differentiate between art and ugly tagging. However, Chris and D’arcy, the guys at the head of the KerbScrawl collective in Perth, may be able to charm the detractors. Transforming urban facades with materials that are non-toxic, non-permanent and odour-free, KerbScrawl have converted street art and advertising into an ephemeral and eco-friendly mode of creative practice. It looks incredible and there is definitely something appealing about putting art out in the public sphere that will naturally fade and disappear before the council bring out the pressure hoses.

Check out more of their urban-based work on their flickr.

Danica

When I was in my teens I was harshly dubbed by a member of my family as “an advertising whore.” This family member – who shall remain nameless – was quite clearly referring to how I am easily seduced by both print and television advertising and even went so far as to list various examples of this behaviour. I’d like to think that I am now wiser and less likely to fall prey to the charms of my capitalist suitors, but I must admit that I am rather besotted with this advertisement for Hookturn Industries BYO reusable coffee cup.

Yes, it only took one look at the cups’ simple silicone design and the cute Melbourne cafe location and I was gone. Plus, their environmentally friendly ethos really tickles my fancy too. I guess old habits die hard.

If you’re also keen, the BYO reusable coffee cups can be purchased via Hookturn Industries online store.

Danica

For the upcoming Design Currency 2010 Conference in Vancouver, design firm rethink has created this pretty brilliant (but slightly nauseating) video to explain just what Design Currency is. It’s a great little idea of using a money counter, but damn I bet they would have had to print out thousands of these images to get this to work! I love that all of the elements come together at the end to make a piece of currency, I would totally use those Design Bucks.

Thanks for the tip, Todd.

Bobby

Ulule is a service a lot like Kickstarter where you get your friends and social circle to help you fund a project, though it seems as though it’s more of an international version. That said Julien Nantiec was tasked with creating a commercial for Ulule, illustrating all of the previously stated ideas.

What he came up with is an adorable little advertisement that not only makes you smile but it got me curious to check out the service as well. It’s quite a simple commercial overall but its simplicity, to me, translates to clarity of message, which is what’s most important.

Bobby

Did I mention that today is all video day? Cuz’ it is. I don’t usually like to post videos more than once every couple days but I kept finding videos that were really exciting, so here we are. This video above by LEGO, which was created for their Lego CL!CK site, might be my favorite of them all though.

It’s a short film about a man who’s trying to figure out how to make a man fly by himself. But he’s struggling through a creative block until the literal blocks fall upon his table and turn into a factory of ideas. He searches through the factory, trying to find his idea until he finally comes upon it.

The story is told entirely through stop-motion, or something like it, and almost has an Amélie vibe to it. But there’s also a bit of Wallace and Gromitt-esque humor to it as well, that makes you kind of grin to yourself while you watch it. I also think it’s great that hte factory is filled with all kinds of ideas, represented in different sizes depending on how complex they are. The best example is the idea of world peace, which is a giant light bulb sitting in a courtyard, still yet to be completed. But then there are smaller ideas, like the idea of peanut butter pasta… blech.

Bobby

Last Saturday I spent pretty much all day traveling. I got on a plane in Chicago at 1pm and landed in Los Angeles at 8pm. Did that stop me from going to the Where The Wild Things Are pop-up shop at Space 15 Twenty? Nope. This time around they totally tricked out the space, filling ti with all kinds of trees and branches and even made a giant log nest kinda’ thing. Scattered around that were all kinds of Wild Things merchandise like t-shirts with Geoff McFetridege drawings, books, toys and stuffed animals. Max Records, the kid who plays Max in the movie, was even there running around and wearing a big silver crown.

I also wanted to point to a picture of the display artists that work at Space 15 Twenty and do an amazing job. They consistently create some of the best interior displays that I’ve ever seen and they definitely deserve a ton of credit for their work.

Check out a bunch of pictures of the space under the cut.

Bobby

Check out these crazy advertisements for Ben and Jerry’s ice cream! I think these may be some of the most complex ads I’ve seen in a while, all of those elements created by hand. The ads were created by Ogilvy & Mather Asia Pacific Singapore, featuring words and phrases accompanied by some very Friends With You!-esque characters and creatures. These ads definitely caught my eye, though I’m not sure that it makes me want to eat ice cream anymore so than usual.

Check out a couple more of these ads under the cut.

Bobby

I just got an email from Mr. Andy Mueller reminding me of a photo I took a couple weeks ago that I’ve posted above.

A few weeks ago, some of you might remember that I posted about how Coke Shamelessly Ripped Off Evan Hecox, or at least totally stole his style to try make a buck. Some of you got it, some of you were totally blind, but here we are now, and Coke has changed all of the billboards in the Los Angeles area to the top image. That’s right folks, they took out the background of the image, the most offensive part, and replaced it with a new guy.

I’m not going to say that I single-handedly made this change come about, but that’s a pretty weird coincidence, right? I think it’s pretty crazy how much power the internet has these days, and maybe if you make a big enough of a stink about something you can really cause some change, even if it is something small. I will say this though, good call Coke. Even if I had nothing do with this change, at least it shows some respect to a damn fine artist who deserved better than to have his style shilled out for a soft drink.

What do you all think?

Bobby