Armani Cafe

While walking in SF today I noticed a banner saying "Armani Cafe," with a line of tables onside, to which I thought, a cafe of a high end luxury clothing brand? I immediately got curious about what the cafe might be like, what the interior and overall design and menu of the cafe would look like as extensions of the Armani brand. When I went in I was surprised to see a bar in the middle of a clothing store, with the cafe seating upstairs. My friend and I pondered, why put the bar in the middle of the store, where all the food particles might get onto the clothing? After thinking about it it does seem like a good strategy to have the bar on the bottom floor to draw in potential Armani customers not intending to buy their clothing (drawing in more people to see Armani's merchandise during the day and as well as increase brand awareness among people who may be future customers). And having the clothing surround the customers while they eat makes it easier for the customers to see or admire the merchandise. Now I wonder what an Armani (or any other brand) cafe would look like without the actual clothing as its focus, but rather its brand essence design experience.

London's Creative Sector and Global City Brand Image :)

http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/126/global-city-of-the-year-london-calling.html

This is an article about London's creative sector and how it has evolved. Ever since I was little I was fascinated with London. I have never set foot there in my life, but something about that city's image made me curious and attracted to it. What was it that made it so attractive to me and so many others? Interning at the official foreign direct investment agency for the city helped me realize how great of a city it is, its strengths in many different industries especially its finance and creative, and how easy it is to find reasons to help convince new businesses to set up and invest in London. The article mentions that the future of creativity for London is unsure of because the price of space is rising, however, (despite the disappointing Olympic 2012 logo), I feel that the government understands the importance of the creative sector as a core part of London's growth and admired global identity and no matter what will continue to support that effort.

The Secret History of 12 Famous Brands Slideshow

http://www.fastcompany.com/multimedia/slideshows/content/famous-brands.html#pause

Top 25 most creative people in business

http://www.fastcompany.com/multimedia/slideshows/content/mcp-top255.htm?page=2#pause

inspiring :)

Awesome Apothecary Packaging Design

http://www.artbistro.com/news/articles/9374-the-big-collection-of-apothecary-inspiration?page=1&utm_content=ab_r3_20090730_uvot&utm_source=nlet

Tissue (Boxes) and Issues

I really like the idea of improving the designs and providing variety of looks on tissue boxes and Clorox's new and improved disinfecting wipe packaging, however while looking at the boxes yesterday in the supermarket I can't help but stand unsatisfied with some of the designs, how out there and bold some of the designs are that they would clash with the rest of the rooms at home. It'd be great if customers could submit designs that complement their own home ambiances or have a virtual website that showcases certain box designs to see how great they look in certain environments. Too often it pains me to choose a box design knowing that the boring or outlandish design would clash with my room or living room.

Design for Different Pricing

In the Objectified documentary a designer mentioned how people would unfairly price better designs at a higher price, when it should be the opposite. However another designer mentioned that "better" or "good" designs are sometimes cheaper while others that are not "better" or "good" are priced much higher. (I agree with this as well, having been down Rodeo drive or in high end fashion bag stores where I don't understand how some designs of clothing or accessories survive in the market.) I always hate it how the functionality of the design is the exact same but the colors or aesthetic look is different and are priced differently just because of that (ie. black vs. white macbook). I was in a Sanrio store today and picked up two tote bags. One of them was a light blue Hello Kitty tote with daisies that was attached to the original price of $6.50. Another was an equally adorable (perhaps even more in my taste) red tote of Hello Kitty with apples that was priced at $5.95. I was so confused why the red tote was less expensive. It was the exact same material and size, with even more print material on it and almost, in my opinion, a better looking tote. I don't get it... maybe the design of the Hello Kitty with the apples is less popular or more (I've definitely seen more of that design), but it would be great if I could find out how that particular pricing decision really came about.