everything communicates.

The real-life version of Yelp or Foursquare comments. Dream...

Wed, 03 Apr 2013 17:43:00 -0700

The real-life version of Yelp or Foursquare comments. Dream Sushi restaurant in Vancouver lets us write our (positive) comments on colourful and fun-shaped notes.

While online social review sites help us choose a place, this physical world imitation will not bring in more new customers, since we only see the reviews once we’re inside enjoying delicious sushi (Princess roll is one of my favourite). But they’re fun to read and definitely encourage us to try new items on the menu and become a regular customer. This original, old-school twist on digital social media is smart.

Look for my comments in French on a pink paper next time!

The Vancouver Lego Games

Fri, 15 Mar 2013 08:05:00 -0700

I can think of very fun adaptations of this for a real party. Everyone loves Lego, not just kids, and they make for an exceptional event decor.

In case you missed it: Vancouver Lego Games ow.ly/iVGwU

March 15, 2013

So, when will we have a Vancouver Lego Ball in Vancouver? It could even be a fundraiser.

"How are you doing, ______?"

Wed, 26 Dec 2012 16:00:00 -0800

“What’s happening, ______?”

“What’s going on, ______?”

Those three simple questions are the ones you probably see the most in the Facebook update box, prompting you to provide self-news to the world.

We’ve come a long way since the “YOUR NAME is… ___________” around 2005. Only a few Facebook friends still write in the third person in their updates (please don’t tell me you still call it a status).

Yet if the people at Facebook were as smart as Google they’d use that update box to relate to us and to what is going on in the world. Twitter (in its own way, via the Worldwide Trends, formerly known as trending topics) and Google.com (with the awesome Google Doodles) do.

When a search engine* landing page has become content even before you google a word, how will Facebook catch up? Right now the number one social network is still nothing at all without our content.

*Of course Google is much more than a search engine. It’s our main tool to interact with the online world, combined with Facebook and Apple products.

Noir is the new black?

Wed, 05 Dec 2012 17:36:47 -0800

Now tapping into the vampire trend: Noir Condos by Menkes, in Toronto’s entertainment district. Coffins optional?

More seriously, who is such branding created for? Do people lack identity so much that they can’t self-brand their home, they need it pre-packaged?

"Porn" is the new "democratization".

Sun, 04 Nov 2012 16:18:00 -0800

A few years ago the verb “democratize” emerged in everyday vocabulary. Stepping down from its political connotation, it now applied to everything and anything, from H&M democratizing fashion by selling a Karl Lagerfeld collection in 2004 to the Fondation Cartier democratizing contemporary art by inviting graffiti into its much-coveted space in Paris in 2009. Luxury itself would be undergoing some kind of democratization.

Recently, the word “porn” became stripped of its original xxx meaning and stuck to anything. #Foodporn anyone? It’s all over Instagram and Twitter. Even planeporn, for the team at Jaunted. Porn may have become so mainstream that it shocks no one anymore, yet if you react to food or airplanes the way you do to old-school pornography, you may have a problem. That’s all.

Now, what’s the next word to be recycled by pop culture? Could we invent more new words instead?

*I wonder how much spam I will get after using a certain word above.

Never fall in love with the Medium.

Sat, 18 Aug 2012 08:16:00 -0700

What strikes me about Medium is how it feels like a book - only better. Less is more. Just like Tumblr seduced us with its simple and user-friendly interface, Medium is a real medium. One that supports and enhances the content without trying to take over.

When I first found out about Twitter founders’ latest project, i told myself “Not one more platform’. I have now changed my mind. Read this and you may agree.

**Title inspired by this post by Chris Brogan, which I really liked.

"The things that you get fired for when you are young are the same things that you get a lifetime..."

Sun, 03 Jun 2012 10:10:00 -0700

“The things that you get fired for when you are young are the same things that you get a lifetime achievement award for when you are old.”

- Francis Ford Coppola at C2-MTL on May 24, 2012.

Illustration strikes back.

Thu, 17 May 2012 06:57:00 -0700

At times where photography is instagrammed and has become everyone’s hobby, and when digital is the new black, old-school hand-drawn illustration is making a strong comeback, on blogs, in brand communications, for event promotion.

The Oatmeal has been a star of the genre for numerous years now, bringing one of the simplest forms of expression under the spotlight across the web. Fueled by coffee, a sketch blog by Craighton Berman, is another witty example.

For the beloved newsletter, book and website My Little Paris, Kanako Kuno’s illustrations have been an integral part of the branding and editorial content since its launch in 2008.

Recently, Fast Company used illustration for its 100 Most Creative People in Business 2012 cover, an animated gif where all the individuals featured appear one by one on the image. A very talented illustrator and writer, Wendy MacNaughton, was a one-of-a-kind reporter at the 99 Conference in New York. Her account of the conference is one of the best I have ever read - and watched.

C2-MTL, the first edition of a conference on commerce and creativity that will take place in Montreal next week, used illustrations (sketch below by N. Vallet) to present the venue, a “multifaceted innovation village” to be built just for the event.

Perhaps simple images and phrases help us concentrate on ideas? Because they are a depiction rather than a copy of the real world, we need to use our brain to imagine and therefore we remember more? Then illustration would increase message retention. But that is really just an idea, I have no scientific studies to support it.

Like a Boss

Wed, 09 May 2012 08:38:00 -0700

All brands want to leverage the power of social media, yet how many have really embraced digital culture?

This is not really about Hugo Boss or Like a Boss. My point is, why do it halfway?

Even luxury brands can benefit from being bold and creative. If they do not want to, what is the point of investing in social media?