Minestrone

Cmdr. Chris Hadfield is returning back to Earth tonight and this...

Mon, 13 May 2013 22:44:00 +0200

Cmdr. Chris Hadfield is returning back to Earth tonight and this song is his melancholic farewell to Space.

Neverthless to say, this video left me completely speechless.

Let’s celebrate the Star Wars Day, but be aware of the...

Sat, 04 May 2013 19:51:07 +0200

Let’s celebrate the Star Wars Day, but be aware of the twisted meaning of this day thanks to this PSA..
And remember to give a look to this work!

How a classic masterpiece of advertising could look if it was...

Mon, 15 Apr 2013 16:57:30 +0200

How a classic masterpiece of advertising could look if it was done today?

via jaymug

Yesterday I moved to the Adobe CS6 from the CS4 release and...

Fri, 12 Apr 2013 10:00:26 +0200

Yesterday I moved to the Adobe CS6 from the CS4 release and complained for the whole day because I felt unconfortable with the new rules of vector masks.
Suddenly, I remembered this illustrator, Bob Staake, who still uses Photoshop 3 (not the CS3, but the 1994 release) for making his great works. And I was ashamed for all my whining.. :-)

Disney closes LucasArts: LeChuck is not amused.via emmanuelnegro

Thu, 04 Apr 2013 09:46:00 +0200

Disney closes LucasArts: LeChuck is not amused.

via emmanuelnegro

Chris Novello is an awesome guy who developed the Super Mario...

Tue, 26 Mar 2013 22:50:00 +0100

Chris Novello is an awesome guy who developed the Super Mario Spacetime Organ, a sort of theremin effect applied to a videogame.

via parislemon

Debunking this photo: what’s true and what’s...

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 09:54:00 +0100

People fill Via Della Conciliazione boulevard about 950 meters (2900 feet) away from the facade of St. Peter's Basilica (2005) - Luca Bruno / AP

Debunking this photo: what’s true and what’s not.

Yesterday many people shared this image released by NBC Official Page on Facebook.
It is a simple but impressive description about how much our lives changed between 2005 and 2013, thanks to the advances in Mobile and Telco.

However, there are many things in this comparison that I was not convinced at all:

1 - In 2005, no tablet or smartphone as we know them were available.
So, it is obvious why we don’t see any! :-)
Just kidding. One of the first tablets, the Nokia 770, wasn’t available in stores until November of that year.
There were, however, many camera phones (and we see one). They found to be useful in the tale of 2004 Tsunami but it is only after the London bombings reports made by “citizen journalists” that mobile phones were acknowledged by media as disruptive tools with a tremendous potential.

2 - The two photos were taken in two totally different situations.
The 2005 image shows people queuing to pay homage to the mortal remains of the late Pope John Paul II.
The event in question (mourning the body of the Pope) takes place inside the Basilica, not outside like the “Habemus Papam” election depicted in 2013.
I remember many photos and videos showing lots of believers walking past the body, preferring to take a picture rather than a pray for the Pope soul.

Why should have people wanted to take pictures of a queue?

3 - The two photos are taken in completely different places.
In 2005, the photo was shooted almost a kilometer from St. Peter’s Basilica, in the middle of the via della Conciliazione where nothing was happening!
In 2013, the photo is taken just in the middle of St. Peter’s Square, next to the Vatican Obelisk, only a few minutes before revealing the new Pope from the loggia of the Basilica.
It’s obvious that the moment and the place of 2013 picture have a lot more pathos and interest than a day-long queue.

I think the comparison made by NBC is certainly impressive, but it’s definitely built to look even more spectacular.
The Mobile revolution was already under way in 2005, but at those times we were missing only a “place” where people could share such touching moments with their friends: there were no Facebook, noTwitter.

Without a social media environment we would still be in 2005 mobile universe.

Did you know advertising also existed in communist USSR? I...

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 08:30:03 +0100

Did you know advertising also existed in communist USSR?
I don’t mean propaganda, but real “western style” advertising for consumer goods. Here above you can see over 50 minutes of genuine soviet commercials.

In 1988, the only USSR Advertising Agency (based in Tallin, Estonia) partecipated in Cannes Lions and also won a Bronze Lion, the first and only advertising award ever won by USSR.

If want to know more about USSR Advertising visit www.retrosovietads.com

via helloyoucreatives

Meet Ying Hang "Hannah" Zhang, a Starbucks barista

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 08:30:03 +0100

It was January, 9th 2007 and during her shift Hannah answered to a phone call: an anonymous prankster asked for “4,000 lattes to go, please” but immediately replied, grinning “No, just kidding. Wrong number. Goodbye!”.
It seemed to be one of the usual prank calls made by a fool. Well, it was a fool, but a hungry one: he was Steve Jobs.

Hannah ignored the call she answered was the first real public phone call made from an iPhone in history.

Kim Jong-un owns a smartphone and all the internet is now trying...

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 16:25:00 +0100

Kim Jong-un owns a smartphone and all the internet is now trying to figure out which brand is it. Experts agree it looks like a HTC.

Probably it may seems strange to somebody that a in regime like DPRK a mobile telco industry could exist.

One year ago I wrote about this report by Alexandre Mansourov. That document accurately reports that in North Korea there’s a growing demand of cellular phones and also what seems the bud of a digital business.
Read it if you want to know more this country and how this changes are shaping a new North Korean culture.

This pic is one of the most tweeted advertisements of last...

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 10:00:16 +0100

This pic is one of the most tweeted advertisements of last Superbowl.
What’s the recipe of a success? Sarah Hoffstetter, president of 360i, Oreo’s digital agency says:

the agency creative and strategy teams were all together at the 360i offices in New York. The presence of the client meant being able to get quick approval.

Teamwork, intelligence and luck are always the key of success.

September 1983 was probably the worst moment in video game...

Tue, 27 Nov 2012 01:12:00 +0100

September 1983 was probably the worst moment in video game business history.
Now Pacalin, a californian based artist, portrays that moment by making unique photos of the infamous Atari Landfill, haunted by E.T. and Space Invaders.

1983 - The Death of Atari E.T., is the title of a series of limited edition prints now available at Yetee Gallery.Signed, limited edition prints from the 9-Bit Art Show now available for $20 USD at Yetee Gallery.

Via it8bit

Twine now available in shops

Mon, 26 Nov 2012 10:00:08 +0100

Remember Twine, that little device able to tweet when something particular happens in your environment, which received funding on Kickstarter one year ago? Well, it’s now available in shops!

Client: HariboAgency: Hagakure, Milan - ItalyAll the signs...

Mon, 26 Nov 2012 10:00:08 +0100

Client: Haribo
Agency: Hagakure, Milan - Italy

All the signs inside the Cadorna Station in Milan were customized using Haribo candies to reproduce all the info travellers need. At the same time, every morning, for three weeks, small packages of candies were given to all the commuters, making their days start with a sweeter taste.

This is the music video of “Il tempo più...

Mon, 26 Nov 2012 10:00:08 +0100

This is the music video of “Il tempo più importante”, the last single released by italian band Amari: it is completely done using cinemagraph tecnique.

Looking for Street Art? There's an app for that!

Mon, 26 Nov 2012 10:00:08 +0100

Street Art London is an app that lists all the work of art scattered through the streets of London. You can find them using the GPS of your mobile, turning the city in a great museum en plein air.
Here is the blog, with interviews of famous artists, and there is the app on Apple Store.

Dinah Fried's "Fictitious Dishes"

Tue, 25 Sep 2012 10:38:12 +0200

Dinah Fried is an American designer with a great experience in editorial and graphic design. Here above is one of her projects called “Fictitious Dishes”: a series of perfectly set photographs depicting some famous meals portrayed in literature.

Guess who’s having tea in picture above?
A hint: the cookies are called “Madelaines”.

Nike+ technology soon available for Golfers

Mon, 24 Sep 2012 14:25:00 +0200

On September 4th Nike obtained a patent allowing them to put data-collecting sensors on golf clubs and shoes: this gives golfers the next leading role in customization and monitoring of sports performance, just as Nike did a few years ago with runners.

Read More

Nestlè - "We Will Find You"

Sat, 22 Sep 2012 13:16:00 +0200

Client: Nestlè
Agency: JWT, London - United Kingdom

Reinventing Wonka Gold Tickets campaign by adding some digital era gimmicks. Something similar was done two years ago in Brazil, raising the same question: what about privacy?

Defend the Diaoyu Islands: how to use gaming for propaganda

Sat, 22 Sep 2012 13:00:00 +0200

If you live in China and have access to Candou marketplace you can download a game called “Defend the Diaoyu Islands”. It seems to be a game like Plants vs Zombies, where the player has to defend his fortress against caricatured soldiers. By looking closely at them you will notice they all bear Japanese flags and insignia.

It’s not a coincidence that this summer most prominent argument on foreign affairs news in Far East was the Senkaku-Diaoyu-Tiaoyutai Islands dispute. It seems that someone in China wants to convey nationalist propaganda to young and tech savvy audiences using digital entertainment, like other governments did in the past using comics and movies.

Using videogames to raise awareness on certain issues it’s the mission of Italian studio Molleindustria: they call themselves as makers of “Radical Games Against the Tyranny of entertainment”. Browsing their catalogue you will find games about war, religion, environment and other issues.

The game was pulled out quickly by the Apple Store because it was against Apple Policy, but I don’t know if it is still available somewhere else.