Strongandfree.ca

Subway Station Advertisement – TTC Information Graphics “Not Bad”

mikooshka — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 18:52:07 +0000

I guess we are bombarded with images and advertising all day long, from morning until night, and one place a I spend a few hours a week, and I always hope I’ll get some half decent design with my serving of advertising, is the TTC. I take the subway about 8 trips a week and spend about 3 hours total in (mostly) subways and stations.

To be completely fair, the TTC has been plagued with terrible design. They have little fashion sense and miss opportunities to make income from their brand and logos (via their boutiques or websites), and the information graphics are notoriously horrid and almost patronizing (ie “How to hold a handrail while on escalator”).

A week ago I saw one of the first nicely designed ads, with a little cleverness and a little color, that I’ve seen in what seems an eternity. This photo was taken with my cellphone in High Park station, at platform level. It’s a pretty decent attempt at a well-designed ad to encourage ridership that utilizes the typical subway route image to an overall nice effect.

Graphics and Illustrations of 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games

mikooshka — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 18:50:22 +0000

The branding and identity work for the Olympics features some stunning illustration. Kudos to the Vancouver Olympic committee!

Today I fired up Google Chrome and saw the Olympic graphic (or “doodle”) Google created for their homepage. (It’s pictured at the end of this article). The image is subtle and appealing. It doesn’t even use the color scheme that the Vancouver Games have been using – relying instead on a range of subtle blues punctuated by a dull orange flame. On the other hand, I’m fed up already with the punishing barrage of TV commercials from CTV, McDonalds, HBC, and the dozens of other companies that have jumped on the back of the Olympics in an effort to increase their brand appeal.

Perhaps you have seen the amazing illustrations that were created for the games. I didn’t know much about who created these icons and images until I picked up a couple of magazines recently – Applied Arts, and How Magazine – both of which feature articles on the talented people behind the look of the 2010 Olympic graphics. The key designer on the VOC project, Leo Obstbaum,

Graphic illustration by Vancouver Olympic Committee led by Leo Obstbaum and consulting by Karacters Design Group

Design by Vancouver Organizing Committee led by Leo Obstbaum and consulting by Karacters Design Group

Google Doodle for Vancouver 2010 by artist Dennis Hwang

Links:

How Magazine article on Olympic Design Process

http://www.howdesign.com/article/winterolympics/

Canada Post redesigns postal boxes

mikooshka — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:26:31 +0000

It seems Toronto streets have had some fresh new postal boxes appearing in the last few months. I spotted a couple on Carlton and King and took these quick snaps with my cellphone. I let out a big “Wow!” and had to stop and investigate when I realized the new colorful all-over wrap design with postal codes was meant to discourage taggers and other vandals. I don’t know if it will stop people from postering the boxes but I bet it will deter the marker taggers quite a bit. An impressive design that adds a little flair and color to the streets – and ironically/interestingly is a concept directly influenced by graffiti.

Radio Coco Rocks! New HD Video and Website Work for Mikooshka

mikooshka — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 20:24:10 +0000

Header graphic for Vimeo.com

Strongandfree.ca has been working feverishly on “Radio Coco Remix,” an “open source” music and video remix project presented by Toronto musician Mikooshka.

We’ve completed an HD video which is probably best viewed at YouTube.com/mikooshka but is also on Vimeo, and MySpace. Perhaps our proudest moment was the completion of the promo website which features some spectacular full-page graphic work. If you are interested in progressive music, video and design then check out http://radiococoremix.com