In an effort to promote their commitment to “live positively,” Coca-Cola has created their first living billboard in Manila, Philippines. The green billboard was created by Momentum Philippines, in collaboration with McCann Erickson Philippines and Starcom MediaVest Group.

The billboard contains 3,600 Fukien tea plants, potted in recycled Coca-Cola bottles and watered by a micro-irrigation system. These tea plans are said to absorb about 13 pounds of carbon dioxide a year, which is why the billboard boasts absorbing air pollution.

It is an interesting concept and a great “green” initiative, especially with how much CO2 the plants consume. It has definitely gotten us thinking green. Have you implemented any green standards into your home or business? 

Check out our wrap for the Susan G. Komen for the Cure for Shelby Cobra of Arizona’s Pink Cobra Campaign! We spoke with Christal, owner of the Shelby Cobra that is being wrapped. She described the campaign perfectly: “We think pink never looked so dangerous.”

Video of the wrap, as well as more pictures from its trip across the United States, will be posted in the next few weeks. We’ll keep you updated on the amazing trip this Shelby Cobra will be taking. We are so excited to have been a part of this amazing campaign! Please take some time and visit the Susan G. Komen for the Cure website and see how you, too, can make a difference.

The creative minds behind the studio Dentsu and the innovative skills of Linden Gledhill have come up with a fantastic series of these paint sculptures for the Canon Pixma Ink Printer. Through the use of ink drops and speakers, the footage was documented with high-speed video cameras and still cameras. The vibrations made the ink “dance,” which is what is recorded and pictured.

Here’s their crazy setup:

And here is the video:

Canon Pixma: Bringing colour to life from Dentsu London on Vimeo.

Canon Pixma: Bringing colour to life from Dentsu London on Vimeo.

See more pictures here.

Animators

Animation Film Festival – Animated Dreams - Deadline: August 15, 2011
Submit a short film no longer than 45 minutes, open to any genre and animation technique.
Prize: Hotel and accommodations to film festival, recognition.

Graphic Design

ScrapLab Design Contest – Deadline September 18, 2011
“Make art. Not waste!” Using recycled waste materials, form new products like furniture, art, accessories, etc.
Prize: $2,900.00

AGDA Poster Annual “Inspired by Music” – Deadline August 12, 2011
Be inspired! Entrants are asked to create posts about whatever they like, inspired by music.
Prize: Winning poster will be exhibited in Sydney during Sydney Design 2011.

Andreu World International Design Contest - Deadline September 12, 2011
Design a chair or a table, but it must be sustainable with innovative features.
Prize: $4,200.00 First Prize, $1,400 Second Prize.

For more contests, visit Graphic Competitions.

3D printing has become a hot topic in recent weeks, what with scientists in the UK printing edible chocolate hearts and Objet printing a working folding chair.The possibilities are endless, which worries some manufacturers.

CNN World recently had an article titled, “3-D printing: The Napster of manufacturing?” If only we had thought up that title…

The article discusses the printing war between Ulrich Schwanitz and Artur Tchoukanov, two 3D modelers who have a knack for 3D printing, and whom should be attributed for the blueprint of the 3D model. Schwanitz decided to market his 3D printed product at about $70 per design. A few weeks later, however, Tchoukanov uploaded his own instructions to Thingverse, allowing users to download and view them for free. Schwanitz was angered, demanding the instructions be taken down from Thingverse, claiming copyright infringement. How about the original creator of the Penrose, Oscar Reutersvard?  He must be rolling in his grave with all of this arguing over his design. Originally, Thingverse took down the instructions per Schwanitz’ request. However, they have since been reinstated after Schwanitz rescinded his complaint.

Okay, enough about optically-challenging triangles. This leads to the fact that if a person can look at something like an optical illusion, make a blueprint and then insert the design into a 3D printer and print it…what are the limits to printing, say, that expensive Coach purse worth a couple grand? Or a pool table that you saw at a billiards store? How about a 3D model of…a model? See? Possibilities are pretty much endless when it comes to stationary items. Apparently, there are already blueprints for an Alessi Il Conico tea set, some expensive Jonathan Adler chair, and a Darth Vader head. So if you have a 3D printer, you too can be printing such high-tagged items.

The CNN article poses the question on everyone’s mind: “What’s the appropriate ‘market price’ for a 3D design file for a fancy chair versus the cost of the chair itself?” When you go to the 99 Cents Only Store and see name brand items for 99 cents, isn’t that kind of like this?  If you go into printing clothes, there are tons of places where you can buy knock-offs of brands or popular brands at discounted prices (think Ross). So really…how is printing something that looks like the real thing any different than selling knock-off brands?

In an article from CBS News, a supermarket in Brooklyn, N.Y. has implemented “specialized scent machines mounted on its walls that fill the air with a never-ending scent” of something…delicious. These “scent machines” are from ScentAir, a company that specializes in providing commercial scent solutions.

Since the installation of the machines, the store has seen a 7% increase in grocery purchases. Scents they have been using include grapefruit, chocolate and rosemary focaccia. These scents appeal to shoppers’ sense of smell, hopefully making them hungrier and leading them to purchase more groceries. Consumers in the U.S. spend close to $500 billion a year on food. Because smell plays such a big role in what is tasted, it is no surprise that “scent marketing” works.

ScentAir offers over 1,600 scents and even allow customers to create their own. For $99 a month, you can rent a ScentAir machine. If you are interested in creating your own scent, it costs about $5,000. For more details, visit their Services page.

Do you have an epic grocery bill due to hunger pains? 

Sappi Fine Paper North America, the makers of McCoy, Opus, Somerset and Flo, established a grant program named, “Ideas that Matter.” They have used this program for the past twelve years to honor and recognize designers who contribute their time and talents to charitable causes worldwide. According to their website, “Sappi believes that the creative ideas of designers can have an impact beyond the aesthetic and that those ideas can be a powerful force for social good.”

One example of social change by design is from 2007 “Ideas that Matter” grant recipient, Scott Santoro. Santoro’s project for the New York City Alliance Against Sexual Assault created communications materials with visual integrity and helped reach out to the community. After this grant, the alliance was able to remain constant in their commitment to their communications efforts.

“Designers know that a consistent voice and message is loaded with meaning for the viewer. It means the organization cares about their communications with each person,” Santoro said about designing for non-profits.

The “Ideas that Matter” competition is not your average “best design” contest. Each piece will be judged based on how well it conveys and supports the mission of the chosen non-profit organization and also how effectively design was used in the project. According to the “Ideas that Matter” Twitter handle, judges advise that when it comes to design, be “concise and clear” and “avoid the obvious.” This is sound advice that can be heard and appreciated throughout the design world.

Rewarded grants range from $5,000 to $50,000, which will be determined by the projects budget needs. The deadline to apply is July 22, 2011.

Are you applying? Let us know!

The process is a lot easier and as less expensive – it’s as cheap as “printing a photo on your inkjet.” The current method requires high-temperature liquids at several hundred degrees Celsius to create the cells. This new process, however, requires temperatures less than 120 degrees Celsius, which allows for the use of untreated paper (meaning it won’t burn through).

Furthermore, the current method requires expensive heavy-duty materials and was most exclusively made out of glass. Because this new process allows for the use of paper or fabric for the new substrate, the creation of the solar cell is much cheaper. MIT’s David L. Chandler compares the simplicity of the new process to the creation of the “shiny lining in a bag of potato chips.” Who knows, maybe the potato chip bag producers can start doing both.

The durability of the solar cells is fascinating. MIT researchers tested this by taking the printed cells on a piece of paper and folding it into a paper airplane (that would have been the first thing we would have done, too). It worked just as well as it did before it was manipulated into a shape. With this in mind, the number of origami-solar-powered-animals is endless! Can someone imagine an origami paper crane that power’s up your smartphone?

The materials involved are lightweight, allowing them to create “scalable solar cells that can reach record-high watts-per-kilogram performance.”  They would be portable and easily shipped to areas that would usually be expensive (like sending them to remote countries). Applications for this are endless, being easily applied to your own home. Stick them on your windows and now you’ve got some solar panels on your house!

The lifespan of these cells, since their development last year, is so far…a year! The ones developed in the first tests last year still work. A more definitive lifespan is still being tested due to the longevity of the project. According to researchers, the paper may be coated with lamination materials and still work, meaning putting them outside is no problem. If they need to be replaced, you can just print off a new sheet and re-laminate. This is TONS cheaper than replacing a current solar panel.

Thus far, the only drawback is that these cells have about a 1% efficiency. But because of the length and affordability of the cells (as well as the minds behind the study at MIT), this will “drastically increase” with more fine-tuning. Who knows, this time next year we could be powering our phones with some shiny stickers, or event laminating sheets of paper to power our houses.

We think this is a fantastic idea, especially with how easy they are to print. As large-format printing is kind of our forte, printing these on a larger scale would be AWESOME!

What are your thoughts? Share them with us! 

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21O0tBe-Alk&w=640&h=390]

2012 seems to be bringing about quite a few bad omens - the end of the world(12/21/2012), global warming, a 3rd World War…

To further add to this hysteria, 24/7 Wall St. has listed 10 brands they believe will disappear in 2012. The list is based on criteria created by the site: rapid “fall-off” sales, disclosures by the parent of the brand, rapid rising of costs, companies that have been sold or claimed bankruptcy, firms that have lost customers, and the market share of companies. 24/7 Wall St. claims that each company listed has fallen in at least one of these categories in the last 18 months.

With all of that in mind, here are the 10 brands expected to wither away in the ominous year to come:

1. Sony Pictures – Falling sales, falling market share, loss of profits

2. A&W – Firm for sale since January, competition too steep in comparison to its size (it’s too small…it’s got this “David vs. Goliath” image going for it)

3. Saab – It hasn’t lived up to the standards set by its competitors

4. American Apparel - Reached the “brink of bankruptcy earlier this year”

5. Sears – The parent company, Sears Holdings, has been struggling since 2005

6. Sony Ericsson – Drop in unit sales, lagging behind its compeititors

7. Kellogg’s Corn Pops – Drop in sales and not exactly “fitting-in” with the “healthy breakfast” craze

8. Myspace – This might change with its recent change of ownership

9. Soap Opera Digest – Long-lived shows have been canceled (“All My Children” and “One Life to Live“), fan sites are more popular than the magazine

10. Nokia – It is too outdated in comparison to competitors

Is there anything you’re surprised to see on the list? Are they others you would add? Leave us a comment and we’ll let you know if we agree. 

The infamous tweets:

The hackers changed the Fox News Politics logo to read, “H4CK3D BY TH3 5CR1PT K1DD3S.” For all of the non-l33t speakers, this translates to, “Hacked by the Script Kiddies.”

Fox News made the announcement of their hacked account via a story on their site, published Monday after the findings. Web Host Industry reports that Fox has stated the US Secret Service has become involved, launching an investigation into the “attack,” and that Fox has requested Twitter’s involvement into the security investigation.

So what can we learn from all of this?

Use passwords that not even you can remember. Like the ones Qwest CenturyLink makes up for you when you’re installing their high speed internet. Also, do not reuse passwords for different accounts, because once one account has been hacked, it’s only a matter of time before your other ones start behaving strangely.

Have any of your accounts been hacked? Let us know in the comments below.