Black Google = Blackle.

This got me thinking. A black version of google that claims to save energy.


Could the whole internet follow suit? Will the sight of bright, colourful computer screens soon look as dated as those ones in Sci-Fi films with the blocky green-out-of-black typeface?

I read somewhere (I think it was in 'The World is Flat' - a fantastic book about the impact of the internet on world trade and economics) that computers account for 2% of energy that the world uses - and this is increasing. Therefore any attempts to lessen this impact are good by me.

I love the simplicity of the idea. It's easy to imagine trying to solve same problem by spending loads of money on a campaign aimed at getting people to turn their monitors off, or install energy saving software. Whereas 'Blackle' requires no effort from the individual, and has produced a viral effect that has raised worldwide awareness of how much energy computers use. And it can't have cost more than a few quid to make, either.

Oh, and if you're a first-time visitor to Snoozing Under The Desk, its always been black. Honest.

UPDATE: Google's boffins have responded on their blog. They cite research that proves clean, white pages with splashes of primary colours are the most energy efficient! Well, sort of. Regardless of what's true, Blackle has started a debate, and that's always good, isn't it?

Mr. Gherkin's house.

Went on holiday to Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat on the south coast of France in early June. And very nice it was too. In particular, the walk around the Cap itself is lovely.

My favourite bit wasn't one of the spectacular views of the med, but the holiday home of Norman Foster. For those that aren't up on their architecture (like me, until the FUSE boys put me right), he's the dude who designed this:Yep, "The Gherkin" - unaffectionately known as the Swiss Re building. So, what's Mr. Gherkin's holiday pad like then? Well, its a stark modern box right on the tip of the cap, that has an incredible view of the sea. What makes it cool is two huge arches that go into the hillside above and below it. Its probably best if I show you...
There. Not only do they look pretty sweet, but they're functional too. Note the sail-like thingies hanging from the left-hand one... those can be positioned wherever you like, offering Mr. Gherkin shade on his terrace, or perhaps to prevent the sun's glare from obscuring the TV when his little Cornichons are playing PlayStation. There's even massive sails that stretch between the two arches - which I reckon could be used to keep the rain off. Nice.

Der-d-d-d-der DENTMAN!

Me: Hello, nice to meet you.

Friendly guy on motorbike: You too. Incidentally, why did you randomly start talk-WHA?! Hang on... my PrangSense(TM) is tingling.

Me: PrangSense(TM)? What's that all about then?

Friendly guy on motorbike: Sorry, no time to talk. An over-paid marketing executive has just let their regulation Audi get too friendly with a Soho bollard.

Me: I'm sorry? What Audi?

Friendly guy's motorbike: VVVRRROOOOOOOOMMM!!!!

OK, so that's not quite how I first met DentMan. But I still reckon he provides a well thought-out service; when you dink your car, but don't crunch it enough to warrant an expensive trip to the garage, DentMan will speed to your aid on his motorbike.


Then, he uses the same set of tools French restaurants provide for eating snails to fix your car.
Its a fraction of the cost, and a lot less hassle. Not to mention perfect for if your malcoordination happens to have kicked-in when you're driving a hire/company/friend's car. Plus, he really is a friendly bloke - I mean, would you pretend to fix a car you'd already fixed for a complete stranger?
Oh yeah - and his real name's Martin, which for some reason he prefers...

Long time no type.

Ooh. This feels strange. A bit like coming back from school after the holidays and finding you can't write for more than 2 minutes without getting severe wrist-ache.

Nonsense has been incredibly busy. Which is good, obviously. But it has meant that the blog has been neglected. But we might be able to post some of our own work on it soon, which would be lovely.

The strangest thing is that people have actually noticed the lack of posts. Our mate Seb mentioned it at the weekend - mind you, he might not have been thinking too clearly...
...and so did Angus, which is a nice compliment from a blogger we like.

So, we'll now be making a bit more effort to post stuff. Expect ramblings on:

• The fantabulous DentMan.
• The-guy-who-designed-the-gherkin's holiday home.
• Equal opportunities boards.
  
• Sharpie Buddy.
• And more!

Merry Christmas Everyone.

After reading this, I reckon Nonsense should habitually send out yuletide cards in May.

Clever ambient work.

My mates Ross & Becky (who are getting married in August - congrats again guys) saw this in Islington:
It's a replica of Michaelangelo's David with a plinth advertising Florence. Hardly the cleverest use of ambient media ever... Hang on though - why are so many birds hanging around it? Ahhhh - the statue's made of seeds. And that line on the plinth? "Get the best of Florence before it goes." Nice thought, I thought.

Plus point: I like the way the birds act as a living attention-grabber. Lots of Londoners walk past lots of statues without looking - but not ones being viciously attacked by hordes of pigeons.

Minus point: it's possible people will interpret the message badly. i.e. Florence is being ruined by tourists - join in! Maybe that's Cynical Rob talking though...

(Unfortunately their photo doesn't reveal the URL, plus I can find jack about it through Google... otherwise I'd've had comments on the site too. If anyone finds it, let me know.)

The 6 month full stop.

Here's our brand spanking new logo. It kind of says "yes" and "no" simultaneously, while overlaying a cheeky hint of "maybe".

Only kidding. We've kept it nice and simple. We wanted it to be the word nonsense presented clearly with no hint of 'nonsense' about the design (i.e. a back-to-front 's', a "wacky" font, or the like).

One feature we discussed at length was the full stop, which we included for 2 reasons:

Firstly it nods to the 'no nonsense' side of our character - we're not airy-fairy, precious 'conceptualists'. Our passion is to produce fantastic creative work that is rooted in the core values and ambition of the brands we work for. And secondly, so that in 6 months time when we proceed with the obligatory logo re-design, we can get rid of it - citing the need to reflect a marginal shift in our brand positioning.

Oh and we kind of like the colour. Comments welcome, good and bad.

Product of the year.

Ever since discovering the existence of blackboard paint, I've wanted to buy some. Partly because I couldn't really believe it exists - surely blackboards are made from some kind of slate, or the dried resin of oak trees?

Anyway, it does exist. I bought some...
Then, I painted a big splodgy blackboard on our office wall (very satisfying it was too)...
And I ordered the cool-liquid-chalk-pen-things that pubs use...
Then Robbie took over and had all the fun. Hmpf.

Working up a lather.

After 4 years experience, a handful of awards, and your own start-up agency, you think you just about understand the creative process. Then, you see something done by a complete amateur that unceremoniously pops your bubble (so to speak):

You stare at it, dumbstruck, and marvel how the art direction subtly reinforces the obvious-but-brilliant knob joke. And all the while you're wondering "Will I ever craft anything as good as this car wash guy from the crap end of Fulham?".

So, all you can do to console yourself is whinge at your girlfriend until she agrees to pose for this shot:

*Image made tiny due to insistence of girlfriend.

Kick someone, feel good.

I've just been having a look at some new work from Weiden + Kennedy Amsterdam, on behalf of the Burnout series of games by EA. The campaign is built around a fake Eastern philosophy called Kah Ra Shin, which promotes "Inner peace through outer violence".

First of all, I like the insight: Anyone who's played video games, particularly ones that involve smashing stuff to bits, knows their stress-busting qualities. And I imagine the Eastern philosophy treatment works well for the Kill Bill generation too. What's more, there's no arguing the site isn't beautifully crafted.

But that's not why I chose to write about it. The thing that interests me is the level of brand presence. The banner ads have none, there's a subtle logo on the website, and some of the content on the site and the YouTube channel of the movement's elders plugs the game.

Now, it's clear that over-branding Kah Ra Shin would've ruined my enjoyment of the piece (and I have no doubt W+K's creatives repeated this like one of their mantras). But, if it wasn't for a bit of perseverance on my part, there's a chance I would have missed the Burnout connection (where the game is mentioned in the content is done nicely, it's just not very up-front). And it's not as if the campaign relies on the intrigue of me not knowing where this mysterious organisation came from: its obviously a joke, and obviously done by a brand. And it's done so well that I reckon Burnout should take more of the credit. But is that just because I like EA?

I guess the trouble is there can't be any hard and fast rules about how prominent branding should be in pieces like this, because it's dependent on the context of the creative idea, the brand's reputation, and who's interacting at the time. (Royal Mail's stoplateness.com is another example that I liked, but was unsure about how branded/unbranded it should've been.)

So all I can say is, for me, EA got pretty close to getting it right for Burnout. What do you think? And have you seen any examples that raise the same issue?