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IKEA recently announced they'll be investing $77 million USD into its GreenTech energy fund over the next five years. The move will make a number of environmentally heroic products both accessible and very affordable throughout the company's 270 stores. Solar panels, alternative light sources and water purification wares are just some of the once-elite items to be introduced into the retail mainstream by the Swedish behemoth.
Gone are the days of black, white, red and blue. Car manufacturers are devoting much more resources to developing colour palettes that both entice and satisfy specific demographics. Ford's been talking about the palette it developed for its all new 2009 Lincoln MKS and in these days of auto-frugality, they took a chance and fostered the creation of a palette meant both to highlight the vehicle's architectural elements, as well as convey a spirit of quality. Colour names like Tuxedo Black Metallic, White Suede, Smokestone and Cinnamon round out this palette of 'liquid luxury'.
So, the whole idea of making old things into art is certainly nothing new, but come on! Who can look at Jean-Luc Cornec's Telephone Sheep and not say they love them? These things are adorable, and while we're at it, it never hurts to be reminded of the value of being earth conscious and green-minded and all those other things that are easy to overlook due to messaging overkill. Consumption. Environment. Reuse. Recycle. Rethink. Green. Really, these words should never lose their currency. Anyway, lesson over.
Walgreen's recently announced they'll erect the world's largest LED sign in Times Square. It'll be 341 feet tall, weigh 250,000 pounds, comprise 12 million LEDs and will clad the company's new three-level drug emporium at the 1 Times Square Building. The site's been a bright spot for ads since O.J. Gude, the "Sign King of Times Square" became the first man to use an electric bulb on a billboard in 1917. Walgreen's expects brand recognition to be raised bigtime and foresees the site as a "focal point for (the company) nationally".
Walmart recently unveiled their new word mark and logo, to somewhat mixed reviews. The update comes on the heels of a two-year, customer focused makeover that will remake the image of the world's largest retailer into a more approachable, less titanic entity. The colour of the word mark itself recalls Sam Walton's earliest logo from 1962 and the new sun / star / "whispered wow" graphic looks to a simpler and more inclusive expression than Mr. Smily and the patriot star ever did. Call it plain. Call it uninspired or underwhelming or even 'fine enough'. I might call it a harbinger of what's to come as companies everywhere try to renovate their corporate befores into people-oriented afters. Check out the evolution of Walmart's identity in the timeline provided by the company.
This beautiful and somewhat ghostly image comes from the Statler Hilton Hotel in Dallas, Texas. The building, long empty now, was added this year to the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s 2008 list of America’s 11 Most Endangered Historic Places. Every year the Trust releases their list of man-made phenomena that are in danger of disappearing, either through demolition or redevelopment, or mere neglect. It's an impressive list and always succeeds in reminding the viewer how much there is to offer one's love of history throughout the United States. But because they're smaller sites, they somehow strike a more personal chord than say, Mt. Rushmore or the Smithsonian. Becoming a member of the Trust is easy and serves to save these ghosts that are disappearing at an alarming rate.
http://www.preservationnation.org/issues/11-most-endangered/