Accidentally eco-friendly

I  love this campaign by KKOutlet UK for a budget hotel in Amsterdam.

Hans Brinker budget hotel

Hans Brinker budget hotel

Hans Brinker budget hotel

Happy pills

Happy Pills

Candyshop Happy Pills in Barcelona already exists for a couple of years but I wanted to write about it anyway because to I think it’s a great concept that’s not only well executed on the level of shopdesign but extends to the packaging as well. When you buy some candy you get these nice containers and jars to take them with you.

another container

Happy Pills containers

Shift your target

Studio M is behind this concept, they were approached by their client who wanted to open a candyshop in the centre of Barcelona. They faced a problem though, in this area some candyshops already existed and there weren’t any schools nearby; so a lot of competion and only a few potential costumers. They managed to turn this problem into a advantage though, the shop is located right in the citycentre and bustling with people; locals and a lot of tourists, so they decided to shift their target from children to adults and create a concept that connects more to this newly chosen target.

Happy Pills Containers

Candy as a remedie

The concept is based on the idea of candy as a remedie to uplift your spirit, like a vitamine or medicine. The facade of the store looks like a farmacy with a big pink cross, you can handpick your own ‘remedies’ which you put in plastic medication bottles labeled with pink crosses and funny phrases. A great, playfull concept and a good example of how to turn a problem into an advantage by shifting your ideas and create something unique. Well done!

facade Happy Pills

different labels to put on your jar ('against a bad mood', 'for sundays without football', against mondays'.

Get the hint

If you really want the message get across you can always use these post-it notes as a last resort:

get the hint

available at Unica Home

from: bb-blog

This way to karma

Shoe lovers must-have bath tub

For all the shoe fetishist; Italian SICIS created these stunnig bath tubs.

veganism is justice

go vegan

Being a vegetarian I believe that eating less meat and/or dairy products is a good thing. The mass production of meat is not only a bad thing in terms of animal welfare, eating meat is also bad for the environment and contributes to hunger in the world (I strongly recommend reading these articles -or any other article, just google and you’ll find lots of them- and get informed about this problem).

I hope and strongly believe that more and more people are getting aware of the problems caused by eating (too much) meat and will cut down on their consumption. I think the best way to accomplish this is to inform and educate. Although the message on the above shown picture may make sense in a way, I’m against such strong statements. I wonder if this message really motivates  to eat less meat or even to get informed about the subject – which should be the goal of putting this sticker up in the first place-. So, good thought, bad approach.

the rest is cardboard

I really like this ad from Ben & Jerry’s.
It’s simple, to the point and with a little twist;

99% enjoyment, the rest is cardboard

ben & jerry's ad

Great shop design

Yesterday I was at the H&M at the Portal de L’Ángel in Barcelona, this shop opened it’s doors the 2nd of April this year and I haven’t been there until yesterday and was amazed by it.

The building in neo-classical style is build by 19th century architect Domènech. It’s a big building with lots of open spaces and a big central staircase. The fact that the usable floor space isn’t in direct relation to the amount of square meters and the fact that the building is listed must have imposed a lot of challenges to the architects of Estudio Mariscal but they did a great job transforming the former head office of Catalana de Gas into a new and hip clothing shop.

The staircase leading into the shop. It consist of thousands moving led lights and is a real eyecatcher, it draws you into the shop. I felt like a rockstar walking on it, great job!

The huge central staircase

Former offices of the directors of Catalana de Gas, a beautiful integration of old and new

Trimming the bush to make the tree look taller

This week I’ve read that people are more and more appalled by body hair.  The times of lushly growing bushes is definitely in the past, it has to be nice and tidy, this holds not only for women but also for men.  Gillette wants to help men out that aren’t yet very familiar with shaving certain body parts.

Trimming the bush to make the tree look taller. Haha, great one!

Google’s missing link

Apparently Google didn’t make friends with orthodox Christians this Wednesday. Since Google has such a strong logo, they can adapt it according to their liking and they do this all the time.

This Wednesday they changed part of their logo into a famous fossil that is thought to be 47 million years old and considered to be the missing link in human evolution. Since its discovery it has been part of a private collection and this Wednesday it has been exhibited to the public for the first time; for Google an opportunity to adapt their logo, for orthodox Christians a reason to get mad at Google.