Advertising

ABSOLUTely Lyrical Installation Art

By Delphine Hirasuna | September 23, 2009September 4, 2014

Sometimes it seems insulting to call a television ad a “commercial,” especially when it feels like a very very short film on the making of installation art, akin to Christo’s red gates of Central Park. That’s how ABSOLUT Vodka’s “Anthem” ad struck us. Created by TBWA/Chiat/Day New York, the ABSOLUT ad has a poetic quality that is magic to view. Shot at six different locations, the film presents vignettes of artisans creating gigantic installations of words shaped out of blocks of ice, wheat, 2,000 hanging ABSOLUT bottles, flying lanterns, gigantic balloons, and a myriad of glass cylinders. It’s entertaining enough to keep you from heading to the refrigerator during commercial break. The creative team included CCO/Art Director Mark Figliulo, Creative Director Rob Baird, Art Director Hoj Jomehri, and Director Rupert Sanders.

Posters

Art Center’s Instrument of Creativity

By Delphine Hirasuna | May 14, 2009September 4, 2014

accd

For Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, the humble pencil holds special significance as an instrument of creativity. Traditionally, it has been the way that designers first give visual expression to raw ideas surfacing from their subconscious. The erasable-leaded pencil gives artists and inventors permission to test concepts, doodle and sketch without committing anything to the permanence of ink.

For decades, Art Center has used the pencil as a symbol for creativity and artistic endeavors. Each year it recognizes the outstanding achievement of alumni with Gold and Silver Pencil Awards. For its donor wall, it has made a display of oversized pencils etched with the names of donors to the College. This year when Art Center launched its fund-raising effort, it asked one of its most illustrious alumni, Michael Schwab (Advertising, class of 1975), to create a poster for the campaign. Although Schwab’s strong graphic illustrations have become the brand identity for countless companies and for the Golden Gate National Parks, he admits that being asked to create something for his alma mater was both a “proud moment…and daunting assignment.”