The Walkman

Advertising Tool

2008-01-16T21:49:00.000-08:00

Flickr

2007-12-24T13:04:00.001-08:00

This is a test post from , a fancy photo sharing thing.

W+K Late Night

2007-12-21T12:33:00.001-08:00

Brandon Roy's Jordan Moment

2007-12-20T18:07:00.000-08:00

Product Design is the New Advertising

2007-12-19T17:45:00.000-08:00

Chris Rock: Bullet Control

2007-12-17T00:35:00.000-08:00

Prove It.

2007-12-14T12:01:00.001-08:00

The City Golf League wants to be a national network of public golf leagues. It's cool because ALL of the league stats are recorded and kept on their website. So when you have a great round, you can send all of your friends links to your scorecard. I'm sure they will appreciate that.

This is the book that WK12 made for the CGL. The cover photograph is by Portland photographer Martin Thiel.

Para Mi

2007-12-13T18:40:00.000-08:00

Mookie Blaylock Stalker

2007-12-11T22:48:00.000-08:00

W+K Ant

2007-12-10T12:45:00.000-08:00

Joe Wolf: Trading Card All Star

2007-12-05T14:00:00.000-08:00

Kennedy + Wieden

2007-11-20T00:40:00.000-08:00

Headcases

2007-11-12T13:01:00.000-08:00

Due to a reader's suggestion, the Sheed graphic is now available at my Cafepress page. http://www.cafepress.com/copilot

Check back for more images as the 'Headcase' series expands. Also feel free to leave comments and suggestions about who the next Headcase should be!

Tiny Sneakers

2007-10-08T08:19:00.001-07:00

The Tiny Sneaker prototype is nearing completion. Soon many tiny shoeboxes with tiny sneakers of all varieties will begin popping up in random locations. There will be mini-replicas of vintage Jordans, Bo Jacksons and maybe even an old school Pump for kicks.

There will also be new flavors that will prove a testing ground for next level shoe design. We will test the limits of what you can canvas a sneaker with. There will be gold and diamond involvement. There may be rainbow gradiented sneakers tucked away inside boxes littered with text laid out in Chicago font.

There tiny vehicles will serve as my design playground as I attempt combinations as taboo as throwing barkchips or running up a slide. Put me in design time-out and get ready for the era of Tiny Sneakers!

The Advertising Diaries

2007-09-26T20:29:00.000-07:00

I was left with a couple hours of downtime this afternoon in 12, and I decided to work on furthering this style I have been working on. I am working on combining hand drawn elements with photography. I am also trying to find more ways of laying type out in a way that holds together better than my previous efforts. I want the text to exist as a strong element on its own, and then also fit naturally into the rest of the composition. Not quite there yet, but this was a fun exercise that I have now killed by talking about it!

Susan keeps telling me to 'keep it simple.' I have such an urge to overwork things, which invariably ends up leaving them looking muddled and mediocre. I am trying to figure out how much to pull back, and how simple I can keep things. There is a part of me that feels like if there isn't a lot of lines or business that I wasn't doing my job. As you can see in the progression today, I took out a lot of the needless lines from the first to the second version.

I want to do a series of these basketball illustrations. You know at some point I will tackle one for my main man 'Sheed!

Just Do It, Greg.

2007-09-23T20:42:00.001-07:00

Today the world's largest 'get well' card made its way back into the Wieden lobby after its tour of high school football games, the Nike campus, Pioneer Square and an elementary school.

Portlanders have left many well wishes on the 8 foot high card (with a few 'you sucks' lamely sprinkled in. Talk about kicking a man while he's down) I added my name in one of the remaining white spaces.

It looks like a couple of new panels arrived today to be hinged onto the card. I wonder how far we can stretch this thing out? It is already starting to take on the appearance of some kind of war memorial.

OK, so Greg Oden, out for the season... My reaction was obviously one of sadness, but not of total loss. I think the kid has the right attitude and work ethic to get himself back into the swing of things. He already made a few lighthearted remarks on his video blog, so I know his head is on straight and he is gonna make this happen.

As for the fate of the Blazers for this season, I think they are going to be competitive. Maybe not a playoff team at this point, but I think they will be in the hunt. LaMarcus Aldridge is going to have a great season, and add that to what we can expect from B-Roy in his sophomore campaign... I like it a lot. There are plenty of compelling storylines to pull us Blazermaniacs into the Rose Garden.

Can't wait for camp to open!

Advertising Graffiti

2007-09-22T00:50:00.000-07:00

As 12 was attempting to present ideas to the Career Builder team, there was an incredible commotion filling up the building from the atrium. We shouted our ideas while the drums banged, and then they would suddenly stop, leaving us shouting into the silent space for two or three words.

It was a great moment to kind of capture the beauty and chaos of the W+K building and culture. A place where meetings never start on time, tangents are valued and a thrashing drum/spray paint duet could manifest itself at any time.

The graffiti action art was created by visiting artists David Choe and Saber.

Harrell Fletcher and W+K 12 Collaboration

2007-09-15T12:12:00.000-07:00

12 met with Harrell Fletcher this week to discuss a possible collaboration for a gallery show at the Portland Art Center this March.

When we had internal meetings about doing an art show, there had been mention of ignoring the advertising context which has brought the twelve of us together. But as we met with Harrell it was interesting to hear him explain how that is an essential part of our context as a group, and that he would find it interesting if we incorporated advertising methodology into our eventual show.

It is fun to think about creating ads for super unfeatured things and people. Take a random person and give them the type of spokeperson treatment as LeBron James. Pump up their individual attributes in a multimedia campaign. It is a funny and intriguing idea. I'll keep you posted on the show's direction as our talks continue.

I am super excited to get a chance to work with Harrell. I have really enjoyed our meetings with him thus far and getting some insight into his personal artistic philosophy.

Juliette + The Licks

2007-09-13T08:07:00.001-07:00

The actress Juliette Lewis stopped by Wieden on Monday to play a lunchtime concert in the Atrium with her band Juliette and the Licks. There was dancing, clapping and even a special moment shared between Juliette and world renowned author David Neevel.

It's hard to get any work done when there are 10 amps set up in your office. Thanks WK Lunchbox series!!

Bruce Davidson Visit

2007-09-05T20:53:00.000-07:00

Bruce Davidson stopped by Wieden + Kennedy today and talked us through five decades of his photography. He talked about how easily he would get distracted on assignments, and how he could never follow the imposed guidelines for extracting meaning from his subject matter. He needed time to immerse himself, to investigate and find the most interesting storyline or meaning to him. He talked about needing to find a point of view in your photography, and that in this day and age of the digital image, point of view and intimacy with your subject matter cannot be shortcutted. You cannot point and click an inspired photo that fits into a greater thematic context. It made sense, and I think the same argument translates into video and film, as it does any creative endeavor. The work that will truly resonate will always come from sources that attack their subjects with depth and perspective.

What a great talk.

He also quickly flipped by a picture that the Beastie Boys commandeered for the cover art to 'Ill Communication.'

Biscuits & Gravy T-Shirts

2007-08-27T20:26:00.001-07:00

Westies

2007-08-25T22:10:00.000-07:00

As the annual initiation rite of passage descends upon the halls of West, it comes to my attention that there is now a Facebook group dedicated to the oft-maligned band of merry pranksters known as Westies.

Equal parts misunderstood and misguided, a West man is ever mindful of capturing the big moment. Some images of big moments in West lore have already been added to this page. I am hoping that other Westies will follow suit and add images and stories to the growing database.

West is nothing without a large gathering of West-men. We have a start, but it is not nearly enough.

My goal is to summon a network of every single Westie who has ever heard of the information superhighway. I want to create a place where Westies can share stories, pictures and talk trash all in plain view of the rest of us.

West never died, despite all the efforts to dilute and kill its spirit. The tradition lives on.

West lives.

And now, I cry throughout the halls of the information super highway... 'HOUSE MEETING!'

Midnight Madness

2007-08-20T19:08:00.000-07:00

The hoops court at the heart of Wieden + Kennedy saw an intense series of Bump games last Saturday at midnight.

The victories were spread around pretty well. And when you sprinkle in some cursing and a few dejected ball punts, you have yourself a classic evening of the schoolyard classic.

Special props are in order for Chris 'Triples' Gibson on his first ever Bump championship. (the rest of us must have been pretty damn tired for a thing like that to happen...)

I jest, for the man quickly mastered the his technique and effectively utilized the 'bump technology' in his favor, to the dismay of many a flailing competitor.

Retro-Future Product Design

2007-08-18T10:22:00.000-07:00

I want to see companies start recreating classic and seemingly bygone products like the typewriter again.

Imagine if a company like Apple, with its flawless product design aesthetic came out with a fully functional, and supremely designed typewriter. Recreate a product category. Give it the modern Apple look, and have it function in a mechanically seamless way. It would be a joy to operate, and it would serve as sophisticated functional art when the muse was put on hold.

Or what about bringing back the 1970's/80's style boombox? Sure, the boombox has evolved into all sorts of rounded and easily portable devices. But, hey, I liked the look of the early 80's ghettoblaster, with its clunkish, blocky perfection. Give it the technology to hold a trillion jams, and make it shock proof, sure. But bring it back to the future baby! You can't tell me they wouldn't sell, so you better have another excuse why the 80's funkbox hasn't been digitally remastered and re-released into the wild!

I Love/Hate Helvetica

2007-08-14T23:34:00.000-07:00

Gary Hustwit stopped by W+K to screen his award-winning documentary 'Helvetica.'

I never knew a movie about the most overly used font in design history could be so enthralling. I now see what all the fuss is about. It was beautifully shot and provided a nice range of expert opinion.

They passed out two types of buttons, both set in Helvetica.

One said 'I hate Helvetica'

The other said 'I love Helvetica'

I took one of each and am currently wearing them both proudly.