Caramblogage

As the inclined visitor may see, I have added an Oil price widget to the sidebar of Carambolage. This is as much a measure of information as it is an expression of disgust and protest.  In this past year, crude oil has almost DOUBLED in price. I don't drive, but I do fly, take public transport, eat and drink. Recently, various factors have raised the price of oil to a point where our entire supply chain is being disrupted by it. Truckers are protesting all over Europe, an outcry against a cost that used to be stable a couple of years ago. Yes, I know we need to conserve energy, and yes the best way to do that is probably to sell less oil, thus also generating less carbon dioxide, one of the main causes for global warming. But the oil price, as it currently is, is punishing everyone for the mistakes of… well everyone els. Who are everyone, if you come to think of it. So we are being punished for our own mistakes. Fair enough. Micro- and Macroeconomics aside, this is a bit too much o...

So, by now the net is probably abuzz with news and comments of this internet ballon race thing Orange has going on. What I would like to comment on is the fact that this race has gotten me to see more of the net than I have in a while. We are after all creatures of habit, and as such, we keep logging on to the same sites… for news, for entertainment, for porn, for whatever our current need is, we have our set destination. So, navigating that race is akin to floating over known territory in a hot air balloon: you're bound to wonder what that neat new spot you discovered from above is. Today, one little site I want to share is this . They are specialised on the buying and selling of woolen monkey hand-dolls, and the site is quite full of neat stuff, even if a bit traditionally laid-out. But the speaking monkey doll greeting you is fun, as is the movie trailer for the Monkey movie!

One of the things Levis is known for, apart from their jeans, is the quality of their ads. How does a brand that has been known for some shockingly good TV advertising in the past adapt to the new reality of people actually being able to skip the ads on the telly and doing useful things with the time that frees up? They figure the following: They're all watching youTube anyway, and everyone is just itching for the next big funny viddy to hit the web. So they sent out some guys with helium and a pair of jeans and what happened was this: My only niggle with its realism is: wouldn't a guy with helium-filled pants float upside down, as his upper body has more mass than his helium filled pants? Apart from that beautifully produced and a lovely idea, even if the facial expressions to sometimes betray the fact that it is an ad. But even if it isn't, we think it is and so we mention the name levis in conjunction with some really cool stuff. Which is, at the end of the day, good pro...

This falls under one of those things that might raise your virtual eyebrows. In an advertising effort for their new animal plans (?), orange are launching the world's first internet ballon race. Why? Because it's kinda cool. And I suppose the balloons you can blow up represent their plan structure. Every Site that signs up to it gets a sweet little orange balloon icon at the bottom right corner, signaling that they are taking part in the race. I wonder how the hell they intend to choose the winner? Cyberwind? You have to sit in front of a Nintendo DS all day, blowing at the mike? Spinning cooler fans on their servers? Hmmm. Mysteries and mystifications. Somehow, the image that presents itself reminds me of the parade of dreams in Satoshi Kons Paprika. But then again, so many things do these days.

It's been a while since I took to pencil and ink for a sketch, even longer since I put in a photoshop background.  So here's the doodle for today! Hooray! and then I worked on this just a bit more, so here's a slightly popier version for comparision!

No  comments.   just prizes for good advertising (title link). Worth looking at:  —  Halo 3 Believe Campaign  (Grand Prix, Titanium& Integrated) — Tantrum (Film Lions, Bronze) — Uniqlock , as featured on this very blog (Grand Prix, Cyber) — Shutter Chance , for Canon (Grand Prix, Radio) Of course all the rest are well worth looking at, but these are my favourites. There, that's all the commenting I'm gonna do. 

I asked a few friends of mine to do the same. I won't give you their real names, but maybe you can guess who they are. My friend the chair: My Dad: My Mom: Another chair that is dear to me. My friend the bed: Yay! Someone else is a chest of drawers!

Thanx to this little swedish furniture generator, I now know that I am a chest of drawers, containing neatly folded socks, ladies underwear, hopefully no smelly trunks and that marble you've been looking for for the last 10 years! I hope everyone who reads this agrees! And tries this.(title link) Update: Anyone who tries this, please send me a postable pic! I nterstingly enough, if I spell myself with a lower-case C I get turned into this snug and comfy bed! At least I get to stay in bed.

It's not too often that you see someone using the classic three-panel comic strip in conjunction with vectorbased drawings and mutated buildings. And yet, that is exactly what one Paul Salmone, a graphic designer currently residing in Berlin, but originally from the States has done. He touches on everyday topics, on surreal topics, on robots, sex, drugs, alcohol, bras and all the rest. Lovely work. Here's a couple for your appreciation: More are to be found by clicking on the title! I just wish this stuff was printed so I wouldn't have to wait for the damn page to load!! Thanks to Paul for letting me use these!

The web is indeed, to quote Ghost in the Shell, vast and infinite. After I saw a bit on newer football ads over here, it kinda got me thinking. There used to be a time when football was the centre of the ad. Not robots, not weird legs. Just pure, clean football in impossible situations. This one was great: It also led me to this: And even though I generally don't support nudity on the web and don't intend to use it to promote this blog, this is too weird not to share.

As you probably noticed, I couldn't resist adding the lovely uniqelock animation to the blog. It really deserves all the awards it's been winning lately, as it is one of the smartest examples of viral advertising I have seen in a while. Though I am still somewhat in the dark what it actually advertises. Is it radio, is it music, is it a clock, is it the Japanese ballet dancers. Someone will have to clear this up for me sometime.  update: I think it's a clothes store, as they do this seasonally and the last qlock featured cashmere sweaters. Didn't Ed Wood have a fascination with cashmere?  Just click on the Qlock to find out more, hear music, see it in a larger window and generally enjoy it.  I really wonder how this was done: random films tied in to a time-controlled flash animation? Director? It's deceptively simple, yet beautifully complex. Love it! Update of the Update: Angora. Not cashmere. Angora.And yes, it pretty definitely is clothes.

Now, facebook usually surprises me with the low quality of their ads, but few of them leave me in doubt as to their legality. This one advertises legal handimen at the price of moonlighters. So now everyone is getting underpaid?

the reason I haven't been posting with accustomed frequency lately is that I took on a job with a social network. In the last few days, I've been given the task of redesiging their emoticons. Most of the work is tied to them exclusively by my NDA, but here's a little taste of what they may look like soon!Don't worry, they come in other flavours too, including covert, blonde and ¡Che! More to come once these hit the web in style!

Now for the first thing I discovered on my daily webround: From one Olivier Beaudoin , a Canadian graphic designer, this beautifully made and scored motiontype video. Currently living in Montreal, Cananda, he made this during a year abroad in Paris in 2007. Made in AFX, it illustrates, in commas, exclamation marks and brackets, what we are doing to our planet, and what, in turn, it will do to us. Utilizing simple grotesque fonts and the abilities of Adobe After Effects, this truly amazing piece of work: The music is NoStrand, by a new York band called Ratatat. Thanks to Olivier, I can now point you to their hardtofind website ! Thanks to Olivier, who allowed me to post an extract here. For the full version of the clip (under portfolio), you'll have to head to his own website by clicking on his name above! There is a lot of nice stuff to be found there! By the way, an HLM is basically a cheap council estate, or a wohnsilo, as it called in Deutsch.

Remember the big guy from Pulp Fiction? Remember Samuel L. Jacksons' monologue about him? Well here's a beautiful typographic rendition of the same. Youtube link in the title, should you want to see more of the mysteriously named isnochyses work.

Doing my web rounds this morning, I came across a couple of things Iwish I had done myself. The second is down here, an ad for the show R.E.D., brought to you by CNN's court TV. I'm pretty sure,without being likely to ever watch the show, that this trailer is more entertaining, not than the real content. It probably offers a bit more excitement and artistic value, too. They're actually three trailers, all of them featuring animated typography with very little background but a lot of action. The power of words, moved. This video is also over two years old, so there's no telling if it's still running. As for the first thing, I'm working on it right now. And for a beautifully rendered music video by los perturbados, with much the same idea behind it, except that it also uses some pictures, head to youTube!

Touch Bionics (title link) has just won a prize for what I consider to be a remarkable piece of tech. They have built a prosthetic hand which actually behaves like a real hand! Using electric signals from your body, it flexes and moves just like the real thing, which is of tremendous benefit to anyone who has lost a hand.    They are currently working on the rest of the body.  Six Million Dollar Man, anyone?

In true Apple geek fashion, I forwent the footie tonight, even though some very good matches are on, and spen the last two hours pressing command+R, reading the liveblog of the WWDC (worldwide developpers conference) webcast on Engadget and Appleinsider simultaneously, and was happy throughout. The iPhone and Ipod touch seem to be shaping up to what I have been expecting ever since they came out– true minicomputers in your pocket.  And Steve Jobs introduced the new iPhone, which is comparatively affordable, and, as expected, almost more gorgeous than the first one.  Good one.  I won't post a picture of it here as you're bound to be inundated with footage of this new product over the next few weeks. But the title link will take you directly to Apples product page for it :-)> Update: The BBC thinks this is front page news… Amazing how a simple item of gear can be so important. The comments section of the article might prove to be pretty interesting, as it is not the usual s...

From Flickr, Mike Stimpson gives us some amazing recreations of historical shots in Lego. He's played around with kind of thing before, so for those who to like to see their history recreated in those brilliant bricks, this is well worth a look. V.J. Day Times Square  recreation Monk On Fire  recreation Thanks to Mike for letting me use his pictures here!

..and all was good with the world. If anyone notices anything weird, strange or faulty, let me know!

Hello all.  There comes a time in a mans' life when he gots to do what he gots to do. So I am engaging in some fairly serious maintenance and cleanup behind the clean an polished facade of Carambolage. This may result in some entries looking weird or disappearing entirely for a while. But fear not! This frightful phantasmagoria should be ended by the evening of the next day, when Carambolage will return, in rejuvenated and refreshed radiance! Rejoice! Recline! Read!

(This post was originally started in July 2007, and left to rest for almost a year.) Now, Apple. Apple Inc. has, for a long time, been one of my favourite companies. They developp innovative and user-friendly products, their interfaces are full of eye candy and general usability than the competitions, they offer the promise of a virus and hassle-free computing experience. All of which maybe very true, I am writing this on a Powerbook ( since deceased ), which, in spite of a major overhaul last year, continues to serve my excessive and exxcentric needs admirably, albeit slowly. This is one of the pieces of computing kit I do love and hope to be able to do so for a long time to come. Apple, though, is no longer your friendly neighbourhood computer maker. They have in the four years I have owned this, and various other pieces of their stuff, developped from being an expensive fanboys toy to becoming one of the hottest items of merchandise on the shelves these days. In this post, I would l...

A while back, I was amused find a lingerie ad from the gulf in which the lingerie had been censored out very generously, leaving me with the distinct impression that the model shown must have had double-, if not quadruple D breasts. From Ogilvy Saudi arabia this slightly innuendous series of ads, which do the contrary. They leave us with the (uncovered!) head of the model and a few pieces of underwear. The could easily be misconstrued as an attempt to make Saudi women shed their hegabs , nequabs and all the rest in favour of transparent dresses that do not hide their lingerie. On the other hand, it might be a comment on the prevalent culture of censorship and repression in many Arab states. By contrast, here's an odd Disney ad from China, also featuring lingerie (note the pattern!)in an unusual context. I guess that is what they must call cultural differences.

Now, it has to be said hat I have a thing for beautiful hair. Ze flow, Ze shape, ze texture, eet ees marvelousse, non? From Russia, hopefully with love, this project showing people before and after washing their cabezza. It's interesting to see how that can change a person, as seen below. It also show how much alike we are when we let our hair get down and wet. interesting(title link)

Last time, I said, this time would be about titles. Big fat lie. We got almost all the componenets to make a beautiful book out of and print that millions and gazillions of times: We got indexes, we got tables of content, we got lists, we got quotes and much more. And we got titles, too. A (largish) selection:  Titles: Footnotes: Differentiation Tables of content, indexes: Right, I won't bore you with all the commas and semicolons I set, nor will I show you all the lovely tables set in 36pt or the footnotes separated by the thinnest of en spaces.. Back to the real world!