asking questions

The ability to ask provocative questions is a gift. Just discovered this tumblr via @kthread. Guess it’s a part of an ITP class. Full of great questions that really make you think.

Check it out: http://communitp.tumblr.com/

why i love lookbook

I've decided to start a new series on my blog called "why i love..." Not sure how often these will roll out. The last time I did one of these was on Kid Robot. But, with no further delay...

Why I love LookBook.nu

I recently decorated a tri-fold as a piece to introduce myself, the parts of culture that I love as well as a trivia game on those parts of culture. As it goes with tri-folds, it was for a science fair, of sorts, in which myself and my fellow students were the experiments on display. It was the annual Brandcenter recruiter fair and I was the nerd with the tri-fold.

One of the areas of culture that I hit on was fashion and as my board said "Fashion trends in the near future will not be determined by high-end designers, but by your 18 year-old neighbor with an armful of cloth and a camera."

Living, photographic proof of that is Lookbook.nu. LookBook calls itself the "collective fashion consciousness." It's a collection of photographs, submitted by members, of people in different outfits they have assembled.

Lookbook is truly brilliant because...

1. It scrolls down endlessly. You never hit the bottom of the page while scrolling through "looks," which means you could peruse it non-stop for 40 minutes (no, seriously).

2. "Hyping" looks - A quick and painless (i.e. it won't send you to another window, just takes a click) way to show your love for a certain look.

3. Exclusivity. You have to be invited to be a member in order to "hype" looks. And exclusivity makes people feel as though they belong to something elite, special. Something to be proud of and write long blogposts about.

4. Not only does it take the creativity of putting pieces together, but an acumen of photography to really earn a lot of "hypes." So in other words, this site combines two parts of culture that I love.

5. It showcases the best of young design trend navigators. Some of the members on here are 15 and posting a maturity of style that would have knocked the 15 year-old pig-tail laden me into a locker.

6. Global.

7. Look descriptions - "Looks" are posted along with the title of look, name, age, location and general description of the person. Some examples:



And that is why I love LookBook.nu. Let me show you some looks and who knows, maybe you'll love LookBook too.

these tricks ain't for kids

When trying to explain Kid Robot to friends, they cannot understand why I am so enthralled by a toy store with smoking rabbits (I am very anti-smoking, however smoking bunnies for some reason I can condone). So, for those who find my fascination bizarre, here are the three main reasons why I love Kid Robot:

1. The store is like a museum - The “look, don’t touch” atmosphere created by the glass barrier between yourself and the cleverly designed plastic creatures worsens your natural desire to feel the smoothly textured toys. The museum feel is what elevates these creators off the toy shelf and into the category of ‘designer.’ Each piece in its case appearing more like a work of sculpture that tourists and other unworthy admirers can stare and drool at.

2. The power is in the hands of the card holder - Kid Robot is toys for adults and who ever really grows out of toys? Now that we are adults shopping for toys we are finally have the power to buy the toys we desire. No whining or begging, just card swiping!

3. Premium pricing! Truly the best strategy in play here. Putting the brand just out of reach for the common man, it creates the “Christmas-Effect.” Just as you held out all year for that one special gift (that you bought, wrapped and put under the tree for yourself) you appreciate it soo much more. Kid Robot, being as expensive as it is, makes buying one of the items a special event. Were their Dunnies or Star Wars styled creatures $20, they would get thrown aside a month after purchase. But no, if you shell out $200 for a Luke Skywalker Dunny, you will create your own museum-like atmosphere on the shelves in your office where only true fans and lovers will be privileged enough to touch the toy.

Congrats Kid Robot, you have managed to elevate your brand above any Toys R’ Us shelf. Go forth toy fans and spend $600 on a plastic toy that looks like something you’d see on a bad acid trip, after all we were all deprived of enough toys as kids.