Creative

You may have noticed some of your favourite brands look a bit different lately. 

Perhaps your favourite packaged goods have been redesigned, or some signs in your neighbourhood have changed. Over the last decade, thousands of companies have changed their logos, fonts, colours, and entire brand identities, taking on more minimalist appearances. It’s part of a phenomenon that experts call “debranding.” 

Debranding is when companies simplify their logos and brand assets, often discarding detail and depth. Companies trade gradients, shadows and highlights for trimmed-down, one-dimensional versions of their logo.

Web 3.0 technologies like NFTs have gained popularity very quickly in the last two years. But, people still have a healthy dose of scepticism about this blockchain ‘revolution’ – and fair enough. The NFT space is saturated with fraud and is subject to some serious ups and downs.

Some consider NFTs to be a bandwagon fad poised to ‘pop,’ while others position them as emerging tools that will revolutionize the marketing and investing landscapes.

Either way, artists have been looking for a tool to better commodify their work for some time, and NFTs offer up a way to do so. While we undergo a rapid transition towards Web 3.0 and a digital economy of goods, more artists – musical, graphic, and otherwise – are producing digital works in an online, shareable space. NFTs emerged in response to artists’ need for a way to monetize their work.

They’re also a great example of the influence marketers have, along with a potentially effective strategy for companies looking to create a more personalized customer-brand community.

Have you ever wondered what Oprah Winfrey would look like as Winnie the Pooh? What about the Pope shredding guitar? Darth Vader ice fishing? The chances are, you haven’t. But what if you wanted to? 

The good news is that now you can – and the possibilities don’t end there. 

A new artificial intelligence called DALL-E 2 can create virtually any image from a simple text prompt, such as “an armchair in the form of an avocado” or “a photo of a radish walking a dog.” While this AI is in its initial beta phase, it has already received widespread attention for its potential, both good and bad, and its implications within the art world.

This new AI’s rise to prominence leaves many people wondering; what does DALL-E mean for designers and artists, and if or when will it replace them?

Want some tips to help write your first blog post? You’re not alone.

Honing your writing skills takes practice and persistence; it’s one of those things that you can never truly ‘master.’ The ultimate goal – whether you’re a blogger, a persuasive writer, an email marketer, or want to be the next Margaret Atwood – is to engage your audience and spark interest. Every word and phrase is intentional. 

Unfortunately, there is no fixed recipe for capturing a reader’s attention. After all, writing is a creative endeavour that comes in various forms.

For our purposes, let’s define creative (or “blog”) writing as anything that’s not academic, scientific, or news writing – the opportunities are endless. But sometimes, the trick is just getting started. 

In the post-COVID era, people and brands are seeking an opportunity to turn a meaningful new leaf, and it looks like Instagram is the latest member of the visual refresh club.

The last time Instagram visually rebranded was in 2016 when it changed its iconic polaroid logo to its now well-known pink gradient logo.

The 2022 update features three significant changes to the platform’s architecture:

1. A vibrant update to its gradient motif via 3D modelling.
2. The introduction of a brand-new typeface, Instagram Sans.
3. A seamless, full-bleed layout that places community and content before anything else.

The last couple of years have been rough on everyone and changed basically everything. A lot has changed since our last look at this subject in 2018. Now more than ever, it’s hard to grab an audience’s attention—and nearly impossible to keep it. People are working harder, rushing around faster, and dealing with a lot more than before. But even so, there are slivers of genius that break through the clamour of daily life and remind us just how special advertising can be. Here’s our take on the best Canadian advertising campaigns in 2021.