The Murakami Chair’s attached lamp powered by your rocking back and forth. Designed by Rochus Jacob. The Chair’s OLED lamp even senses when it’s light or dark and it has a battery pack which stores ‘your rocking’ in the daylight . Found here..

You might think it hyperbolic to refer to a redesign of the cardboard pizza box as a stroke of genius, but that’s precisely what this is. Green Box‘s design breaks down into four plates and a smaller (fridge-friendly) box for leftovers. What a thorough use of materials. Found here

Morrisons’ has redesigned it’s entry level ‘value’ range as part of the retailer’s strategic overhaul of its own-brand offering. The rebrand is part of the biggest design brief in the UK this year. The aim is to strengthen the Morrisons brand and increase the share of its own products bought by customers by transforming Morrisons’ own label into a coherent own-brand. The redesign will roll out over the next 18 months. Read more here.

The Boxer binoculars have been out again – searching the tree tops and beyond for those high flying consumer trends! And here is our first “trend twitching” publication of 2012. Our little feathered friends below are not just beautiful, they bring to life some key consumer behaviours too.

Pluma Connecticus
This community focused bird is a great role model for being true to your values – could your brand be doing more to live all its values in all that it says and does to build a deeper consumer connections?

Accipter Experius
Always grabbing the next new experience, this party bird is always searching for new ways to wring great new adventures from life – what’s the next adventure you are going to create to turn your consumers into brand fans in the analog world?

Domesticus Heritigus
A bird with a huge respect for its past and its heritage – he always retains the best of his family history. What is in your history that could inform your future as consumers crave the comfort of simpler times?

Stepera Storyus
Always telling stories, this little chap understands the power of telling the story consistently and continuously whether in person or by pigeon post! And he tells it so well, you’ll want to stop and listen! What’s your brand story . . . is it clear and consistent and reflected in all media?

If you’d like to hear more about these key trends or think you’d like us to inject a bit of feather power into your brand – give us a chirrup!

A very Merry Christmas to all!

We hope you enjoy this year’s card. Cause we sure had fun making it! A mash up of Bohemian Rhapsody tributes*, music styles and aspiring Sock Stars.

A special shout out to inspiration from Freddie Mercury for the tune. The only song to have reached the “UK Christmas Number 1” twice.

The original, at 5 minutes and 55 seconds, was considered too long to ever be a hit. Now it’s a timeless classic. And an inspiration to us for breaking conventions through artistic expression and craft.

Note: No socks were actually hurt in the making of the card. However, a few were lost in the wash.

*thanks and credit to:
Rockabye Baby
Richard Cheese
Hayseed Dixie
Queen
Mario Rosenstock
Jesi and the Jesi’s
The Braids

While time is a four-letter word. Creativity is not. Some are convinced that time pressure stimulates creativity. Others believe it stifles. For these creatives, the answer is entertaining and inspiring:

Makes me want to get my crayons out… and creates a strange craving for paste!

Harvard Business School article says there’s some sort of a time pressure “sweet spot”. Too much pressure, lowers creativity. Too little pressure, lowers creativity. According to the “Ivy Leaguers” things that help to get the balance right are:

Spend focussed time
Limit distractions
Work with a purpose
Fight the status quo
Avoid harsh criticism
Set goals

Makes sense. But I suppose I’d add “take a trip to the Boxer beer fridge” to the list!

It’s another win for Boxer!

For the third year running, Boxer has been named a recipient of the 2012 DBA Effectiveness Award, this one for the 1955 Burger in Europe. While the award of gold, silver or bronze as of yet, hasn’t been announced, simply being on the shortlist for such a prestigious award has an honor all its own.

By taking the look and feel of the Global Quality Packaging (developed for McDonald’s by Boxer in 2008) and combining it with the look and feel of the 1950s (when McDonald’s opened their first restaurant), Boxer created a brand story that translated into a coherent voice that helped drive sales across European markets.

Vincent Mesnage of McDonald’s Europe knows why Boxer received this award:

“The 1955 burger is the most successful premium burger that McDonald’s has ever launched in Germany and this really has been driven by the brand storytelling and packaging group identity”

"The Hand Burger"

New mini-chain of burger bars, The Hand Burger in Singapore giving us a fresh take on a quality burger. I’ve not had the opportunity to taste but they claim to be artisan quality with scrummy-not-for-the-burger purist burgers like Duck Confit, Stuffed Portobello and the Battered Dory. Burgers are served up in a convenient box, complete with playful brand story to boot.

We have seen the future, and the future is Cats.

Thanks John St.! We are big fans!

In pursuit of improved consumer engagement, brands are gamifying their businesses, creating playful products and campaigns that change the relationship with the consumer.

Case in point…this year’s Starbucks Red Cup comes with a Christmas-themed smartphone app that creates augmented reality (AR) animations around the festive cups. Great way to fuse packaging and technology together, rewarding customers who engage and share the spirit of the season with family and friends.