It's been a pleasure working with Amanda Dolan on the creation of her colorful fashion & lifestyle brand Spark Pretty. I always have a great time diving into Amanda's world...saturated, playful and fashion fun all over. Browse her vintage finds on Ebay and Etsy.
A special and inspiring trilogy by directorial team Fleur & Manu, set to three tracks from M83's 2011 sonic masterpiece, Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming (view top to bottom):
The word 'GIF' conjures up memories of distracting, seizure-inducing, blinged out MySpace templates and flashbacks to Web 1.0. Historically, the use of looping low-res GIF art on the web was an eyesore at best, and the clearest mark of poor website design. But over the last few years, these graphic vermin have found new footing, and have been embraced by artists, bloggers and brands alike for their compatibility, simplicity and ability to relay a clear and concise message. While the GIF technically remains just as simple in structure as it did 25 years ago, its potential has grown dramatically alongside viral marketing, social media, and the birth of the 'meme'.
Oxford American Names 'GIF' Word of the Year
The GIF trend garnered some new bragging rights in 2012. Oxford American dictionary named GIF the Word of the Year, citing it's growing popularity, and evolving usage. Highlights of the year in GIFing (via blog.oxforddictionaries.com)
"GIF celebrated a lexical milestone in 2012, gaining traction as a verb, not just a noun. The GIF has evolved from a medium for pop-cultural memes into a tool with serious applications including research and journalism, and its lexical identity is transforming to keep pace."
January 2012: The New York Public Library launches the stereogranimator, a tool enabling users to make GIFs of vintage stereographs in the library’s collection to create an illusion of the 3D experience of viewing through a stereoscope.
October 2012: Tumblr and the Guardian team up to live-GIF the presidential debates.
Uniqlo launches Holiday 'GIF Box' sweepstakes
Supercool Japanese clothing brand Uniqlo gave away GIFs as gifts to people who entered their email addresses. The series of coveted GIFs were masterfully created (kittens and all) by commissioned artists, chosen as experts in the GIF world. Each prized GIF came with a $5 gift certificate, or more, depending on how lucky you were. (Agency: Razorfish)
Cinemax Premiere's New Show, 'Banshee' Online in GIF
To promote the new series, 'Banshee', Cinemax released the entire first episode of the show prior to the premiere, online, in animated (silent) GIF format. (see http://www.buzzfeed.com/banshee/a-new-beginning-8bqh)
They also embraced the lo-fi graphic medium with the creation of the 'Banshee GIF Shop', a Tumblr dedicated to sharing animated GIFs from the show, tagged with LOLs , WTFs and humorous captions to bring the short animated clips to life. (Agency: Campfire)
To promote the new series, 'Banshee', Cinemax recently embraced the lo-fi graphic medium with the creation of the 'Banshee GIF Shop', a Tumblr dedicated to sharing animated GIFs from the show, tagged with LOLs , WTFs and humorous captions to bring the short animated clips to life. Additionally, the entire first episode was released prior to the premiere, online, in animated (silent) GIF format. (see http://www.buzzfeed.com/banshee/a-new-beginning-8bqh) (Agency: Campfire)
Corona Extra: It's on me. No it's on me. (Agency: JWT Spain)
The newest trend in the animated GIF realm is the cinemagraph, defined as 'still photographs in which a minor and repeated movement occurs' (Wikipedia). JWT Spain embraced the new lo-fi concept to promote World Kindness Day on behalf of Corona Extra. The results are simple, cute and effective. coronaextra.eu/worldkindnessday
"It's on me / No, It's on me"
"After you / No, after you"
"You can have it / No, you can have it"
"World Kindness Day is a day that few of us have marked on our calendars, but Corona Extra Europe through JWT Spain has undertaken the responsibility of reminding everyone with a very entertaining website that features Cinemagraphs. So we have created the longest film in history: "It's on me. No, it's on me"."
There's an App for That
The list is long of iOS apps like GifBoom and 5Seconds, which convert short clips of video into animated GIFS. Interestingly, now that many phones are capable of recording solid quality 1080HD video, users are down converting their footage into low-resolution snippets.
…AND There's a Meme for That
Internet meme culture is defining new territory in the humor department, and animated GIFs play into the viral trend seamlessly. Additionally, hundreds of sites (many Tumblr-based) are dedicated solely to humorous recapping of current events and pop culture by way of animated GIF (i.e. Olympics, awards ceremonies, election). Many include comedic sidelines and captions - great for a quick chuckle.
We're super excited about the official launch of Snaxtime, a food & entertainment centric visual blog. The tagline says it all: "Food, Fun & Stuff"... Snaxtime is the latest project of Electric Wonder Creative partner Justin Ulloa (who is the genius behind many of the illustrative projects here (see The Top Bun Look), and also 1/2 of the creative behind our recent animated film, 'WHITE WIDOW: A PSYCHOLOGICAL THRILLER').
Under Ulloa's quirky creative direction, we produced a fun and fancy-free design-scape meant for the hyperactive, sugar-fueled kid in all of us.
These visual tags appear on all relevant posts. (L-R: Fast Food, Retro/Vintage, Hot Eats, Art, Entertainment, Sweets, Snacks)
branding, icons and web design electric wonder creative by Justin Ulloa w/ Jamie Dwyer
"Twinkle & Charms"
-Digital C-Print on Metallic, 20”X16”, 2012
A little something special for this Halloween season. This new piece is also available at the EWC store at Society6.com in art prints, t-shirts, canvas prints, totes and iPhone/iPad skins.
digital collages electric wonder creative by jamie dwyer
Had the great opportunity to develop branding and web design for this beautiful line of handbags by Paige Bluhdorn. We translated these hand-drawn branding treatments (below) into engraved metal hardware and interior on-fabric branding...And then built the site to showcase the full collection of these simple, yet innovative and eye-catching handbags.
Check out the newest trailer to our animated film (produced to the incredible sounds of White Widow), which will kick off its release in July.
The soundtrack drops next week on iTunes. The 'A Psychological Thriller' Original Motion Picture Soundtrack will also be available to stream in its entirety at AOL Music for a full week following the release as part of AOL's Full Album Listening Party. Check it!
We're pleased to showcase this extended trailer, a larger spoonful of what we've been producing here in Brooklyn over the last couple months of radio silence...
We've been working feverishly on a new animated film to coincide with the release of White Widow's upcoming album, 'A Psychological Thriller'. Slow and steady it goes, but here's a little taste of what's to come this summer! Can't wait to share more!
I'm quite excited to unveil the new artwork for White Widow's upcoming single, 'Miss You Bad,' the second single from the Summer 2012 release, 'A Psychological Thriller'. It's always an honor and a pleasure to visualize the sonic geniusness of White Widow, and this is no exception. The single drops on February 28, and the album in June. More on the APT project soon -- much more in the works!
