Fashion+Celebrities+Dance=Kate Moss for Topshop Spring/Summer 2010

The fashion brand Topshop from UK has a Spring/Summer collection 2010 designed by the famous fashion icon Kate Moss. This is a really big news for them... but they go even further in promoting it.

A promo video on Kate Moss's collection was launched in May and there you can see Kate... dancing! It is sexy, bold, but in the same time romantic and made with style...
The result is worth to see - watch the official video here.

Rhythm and moves in ads - Pacco Rabanne's 1 million example

Once again we can see the huge influence the body movement is making to the audience in the commercial area.

This time the example is about an ad spot using "par excellence" the power of music and body moves, improved dramatically by the virtuous editing of the video.

It's Pacco Rabanne's tv ad for the 1 million fragrance - a stylish black&white solution.

You probably all have seen it, but still it's useful to look at it from another point of view. Watch the spot here.

Interior Design&Branding: Leo Burnett's Offices Example

The advertising company Leo Burnett had big success creating the company's Offices in Singapore, made by the local designers team of Ministry of Design.

So, what's so different?

First, the whole design concept was inspired by the company's history and, above all, by the company's creator Mr. Leo Burnett. His portrait which welcomes everyone, is creative enough for an advertising agency office. It is not just a simple picture - it starts from the floor and finishes on the ceiling.. and the famous pencil, the agency's symbol is also there, in Mr. Burnett's hand.

Second, the whole office area is devised in 3 unique environments that separately capture a different aspect of the total creative process but yet connect in harmony with each other and with the company culture.
The corporate symbols are everywhere - colors, drawings, the famous pencil which is cleverly incorporated also at the company web-site, the red apples.

At last, don't forget the outdoor area - on the floor and on the white walls there are black lines which viewed in perspective are looking like "7+". This number represents the quality of the agency's ads (in the world of advertising there is an evaluation scale from 1 to 10 - anything marked with 7 and above is in fact marked as an excellent ad).

Just perfectly communicated brand. Well done, Ministry of Design.

Furniture design represented by dance styles - by Calligaris

Calligaris is Italian company - furniture manufacturer since 1923. Today it is a world-wide known brand for home design. This year Calligaris introduces its new brand identity where past meets present. You can see the new brand vision on Calligaris web-site by clicking here.

What captivated me the most, however, is the way the Classical and Trendy collections are represented in Lifestyle section - through the metaphor of dance styles.

Italian style shows its high class once again. Well done, Calligaris!

Furniture design with the body motion in mind - made in Bulgaria

It's a great pleasure for me to present the latest project from the portfolio of Alexander Christoff - a 23-year-old Bulgarian designer.

He is incorporating the idea of body motion and physical exercise in furniture design - his ergonomic chair "Active sitting" has a 42 cm gymnastic ball inside.

The young designer himself describes his creation as following:
Sitting on it your body is constantly making small adjustments with the postural muscles, abdominals, gluteals and leg muscles. It is "active sitting" rather than simply sitting upright in a chair with no movement.

Benefits of using an anti burst ball as a chair:
- Active sitting
- Promotes better posture
- Increases cardiovascular efficiency
- Improves toning and strength
- Strengthens core

Nice concept which I hope will be developed in a whole range of innovative furniture created with concern of active body motion...

Think Global, Act Local - How to communicate global brands locally

Communicating global brands in different cultural contexts is a real challenge. There are numerous global brands, however, that are doing it just perfect.
Now let's see some commercial spots in which are used music, body motion and dance like a communication system to make intercultural connections for different brands:

One of my favorites - Snikers/Don't Stop spot (Dubai)
Successful spot based on the KungFu Panda movie - MacDonalds for Beijing Olympics
One of the MTV local commercials - MTV Arabia

For more, search for videos in the right column YouTube search engine in this blog.

Fashion designer improvisation with Dance

In the end of 2009, Hedi Slimane, a fashion designer, made his Improvisation 1 - a short black and white video with the classic balletist from Danish Royal Ballet Oscar Nilsson.

The result: outstanding style, beautiful vision and mix of classical ballet and improvisation under the drums rhythm of a mysterious dancer with bear head... Don't forget that it's winter time - even the snow is falling over Oscar while he is dancing... This is one more example of how design and dance can work together to cross the know limits of creativity.
Enjoy the original video here!

Social messages through dance

Today I would like to point out the Social Role of Dance and the power of its messages.
The popular dance shows lately are becoming not only a place for a spectacular dance show but also a tribune for the choreographers and dancers and for their social appeals.

Let's remember these exceptionally strong performances:

Addiction - choreography by Miah Michaels for So You Think You Can Dance, Season 5
Addiction remake - VIP Dance (Bulgaria)
Home violence - VIP Dance (Bulgaria) - choreography by Milen Dankov

The Dance TV Shows Attack

During the past few years dance became more popular thanks to the Dance Reality Shows that appeared all over the world. "So You Think You Can Dance" is probably most rated and well-known, but the list of that kind of TV shows is long - Super Stars of Dance, America's Best Dance Crew, Dancing with the Stars, VIP Dance and more.

Just search on YouTube and you will find surprisingly big number of videos from these shows.
Now, I would like to share one of my favorites:
Kherington Payne & Stephen 'Twitch' Boss dance a Contemporary routine (better known as the 'Bed Routine') choreographed by Mia MIchaels, to Dreaming With a Broken Heart by John Mayer performed in So You Think You Can Dance 2009

The World of Mia Michaels

Mia Michaels is probably the most successful choreographer of today. Her unique style brings dance as communication system at new level.

Her dances are a sensual revelation of Mia's universe that was rewarded with recognition all around the world and with Amy award for choreography.

Her talent is manifested in projects for Celine Dion, Madonna, Cirque du Soleil, in advertising spots and many more. She is also choreographer and jury in the world famous TV show So You Think You Can Dance.

Watch a short presentation of the choreographer Mia Michaels and enjoy her dancing messages!

More Dance from T-Mobile

T-Mobile seems to be one of the world-known brands which uses the dance communication system for its commercial strategy during year 2009.

After the special T-Mobile Dance, which says "Life's for sharing" and was realized more like online campaign, in August 2009 appeared new TV spot for the T-Mobile presentation of Sidekick LX with 3G. It shows street dancers whose extraordinary moves are compared to the new phone model Sidekick.

The main idea is represented pretty well in two versions:
- long 60 sec. spot
- short 30 sec. spot

Realization: Agency Publicis Seattle
Country: USA

First spectacle of Sofia Dance Week 2009 - Official Rebranding Event for the General Sponsor

On 10th of September was presented the first show from the Official program of Sofia Dance Week festival. It was free for public and happened in the city center, in front of the Telecommunications Palace of Sofia. In fact, the artists from Compagnie Les Passagers used as a scene the walls of the building.

The event was also representing the Official Rebranding of the General Sponsor of the festival - the Bulgarian telecommunications operator merged its two brands BTK (Fixed Telephone Services for Home) and Vivatel (Mobile Services) into one - Vivacom.

Short report:
Sucessful and original event, worthy for the public.
Watch the show, called "Look Up!" here:
Look Up! - part 1
Look Up! - part 2

As far as the rebranding strategy of the Bulgarian Telecommunications Operator is concerned, it is quite controversial. What is more, the name and the logo of the new brand is shokingly similar to another one... find out the true by comparing this two corporate pages:
Vivacom - the Bulgarian Telecommunication Operator
Vivacom - Italian Web Design Company