From the minds of the collective known as FriendsWithYou (Sam & Tury) comes the magic of FWY Studios. We at Lunch are thrilled to welcome the FWY family to our Lunch family.
We were lucky enough to spend some magical and fun days and evenings with the team while they were in town for Luminato Wish Come True Festival this summer and it was like, well, peas and carrots. It looked kind of like this,
As you can see FWY Studios creates some pretty amazing work, from installations, to broadcast, to character design, games, mobile, online experiences - to well, anything you can imagine. The team loves to collaborate and make new things. They've already been featured on Motionographer, have done work for N*E*R*D, Volkswagen, PopTarts, Match.com and more. Everything is executed by the FriendsWithYou team and who better to execute that vision than the artists themselves.
We are absolutely thrilled to have them as a part of the family.
Thanks to Promax BDA's Brief Magazine and to Daisy Whitney for the great article on next gen marketing.
Check out the issue online - Pages 68-71 - Be sure to check out the full issue. Lots of great content.
Included below is the full interview from Amy Miranda from which the excerpts of the article in Brief were taken.
The transition to digital, or any new skill set is daunting. I think with digital it seems more daunting because of the role of technology. There’s been a lot of negative connotations to the digital space and the medium in general has unfortunately been oversaturated with people communicating that the transition is difficult, that people will be “left behind” or there’s an implication that if you don’t have experience in one area you can’t possibly transition to another. To me, that’s not a reality. Making the transition to anything new requires one thing: Passion. A real interest in learning. I can say that because although I’ve been in this business since it became a business, I learned as I went. I didn’t wake up and have the skills, I wasn’t taught them in school, in fact, I wasn’t mentored by any one person. Ever. I think that’s why I’ve concentrated so much on training, sharing the things I’ve learned so that other people can hone it, and make it better, and not have to go through the same challenges I did. My entire career has been a transition. I began thinking I wanted to do one thing, and specializing, to exploring different roles and learning about what I liked and what I didn’t. I asked a lot of questions, and I always encourage people to do the same. If you can’t find resources or people who are willing to help, it just means you should keep looking. People who approach the digital shift or next generation with a closed fist will be left behind, the future of the next generation of marketers is in transparency. I’ve seen too many good ideas, suffer, and in effect suffocate because people held on too tight. It’s really a balance, and whether we always are cognoscente of it or not, marketing is an art, and it’s about that balance between art and commerce. It’s about thinking differently, and taking risks – conversations. In terms of skills it’s about agility, and again a keen interest. Being adaptable and wearing different hats is critical, because everything is really becoming more efficient. So it’s about finding those efficiencies and developing solutions based on that. That’s a skill set that a lot of people have, when I do training and consulting with my clients about making the shift, whether it’s shifting the operational structure, or themselves it’s about knowing what you’re interested in doing and identifying what parts you don’t know. It becomes simpler to backfill. It’s about demystifying all of the unknowns. Most people, figure out quite quickly that they’re not missing the kind of skills they thought they were. You can’t teach people that, people are either interested or they aren’t. The next generation marketer is required to think about everything holistically, not elements individually, So when making the transition I think it’s important to be able to identify people who are thinking that way in what they do currently, and if you’re looking to learn attaching yourself to those people or companies is a great way to learn. You may not necessarily end up working directly with those people, but you can spend time with them. That happens a lot in my business, where people will ask to spend time with me, shadowing, taking part in industry functions or just talking. To me, that’s the best thing to do, is create a network where there’s a trade of knowledge happening, it’s been critical to what I do, and it’s where great ideas and new thinking is born. It’s like a nebula of ideas when you get enough smart people together and share knowledge. You can be a “traditional” marketer, or a “digital” marketer, or a designer, or a broadcaster but the soft skills are the same. It’s the application of those skills that’s different. I think people become daunted by the transition, to me it’s about being excited about it, if you’re not learning or engaged in what might be coming next, I can’t imagine still wanting to be in this business. Our currency is ideas, you can’t be left behind when that’s your focus.
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Pictured: Special & Delicious FWY Chocolate bar from Magic Pony.
We at Lunch are very excited about the week to come. This week the opening of Daydreamers - the first solo exhibition of FriendsWithYou paintings in recent years, as a part of the Wish Come True Festival during Luminato.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
Time: 7:00pm - 10:00pm
Location: Narwhal Art Projects
Street:680 Queen Street West
Narwhal Art Projects is pleased to present a FriendsWithYou solo exhibition, "Daydreamers". With their first exhibition of their painted works in recent years, FriendsWithYou artists Sam Borskon and Arturo Sandoval III draw on a personal mythology of magical themes and spirituality from their colourful universe. Much like the powerful enchantment and creative adventure they insert into all their projects, "Daydreamers" will be specifically dealing with the spirit of their experience with their "Wish Come True" installation for Luminato Festival in Toronto.
FriendsWithYou are globally-renowned for their vivid pop art aesthetic and brilliant character design. "Daydreamers" offers a rare look into the dense, delicate personal layers that take place behind the large-scale, physical presence of the artists' experimental installations. Exploring the more unseen dimensions of the FriendsWithYou psyche, "Daydreamers" presents a softer, more ephemeral portrait of their recent narratives, as Borkson and Sandoval put forward a deeply intimate glimpse into the representations of their transitory, dream-like states where the spirit of their expressive process is just coming into invention. Reflecting themes of metamorphosis, pleasure seeking and pure innocence in the portraiture of their fledgling subjects, Borkson and Sandoval present an unadulterated celebration of the imagination that defines their artistic practice and the visionary outlook that inspired their project for "Wish Come True". Much in the manner that Borkson and Sandoval aim to create immersive totalities for the playful environments of their installations, with "Daydreamers" the artists bring us into an inward realm unto themselves, creating heartfelt emotional space between the greater unknowns of their magical world.
In 2002, Miami-born artists Sam Borkson and Arturo Sandoval III began FriendsWithYou with the aim to promote a different kind of creative practice, and one that is fundamentally inspiring. Developing larger-than-life artistic environments to immerse patrons into their FriendsWithYou universe, the duo seeks to create common ground to give people the chance to believe in themselves and connect with one another. The imaginative world of FriendsWithYou has taken shape in the form of designer toys, large-scale installations, experimental gallery exhibitions, digital video, graphic design and other media—running the gamut of fine arts, public events, advertising and entertainment.
From the "Skywalkers Parade" with 60-foot tall characters for Art Basel Miami, to an inflatable fun house for 30,000 people at Scope Art Fair, to creating a permanent playground "Rainbow Valley" inside Miami's largest shopping mall, one can see why Borkson and Sandoval would describe their large-scale art projects as an "explosion". Creating modern-day sanctums, they curate wonderful performances that are part confessional and part mystical ceremony—furthering the artists' mandate to foster good wishes for luck, friendship and fortune. As a message that is invariably accessible and positive, FriendsWithYou believe in promoting a sense of exuberance against today's general attitude of detachment. As Borkson feels, "In the sterile settings of modern society, spiritual outlets have become a low priority within our daily routines".
With a strong emphasis on belief, FriendsWithYou maintain that the more you believe in their magic powers, the more they become a reality. FriendsWithYou truly believe that items can be enchanted totems and talismans can bring good fortune. And after having established their place in the art world, the group have expanded their reach with FWYstudios to create incredible and innovative products; a home for the characters and concepts that foster/bridge new territory between the fine art and the commercial realm.
It's not often that you get the experience of being the client when you're in the advertising business, but Jack just had the opportunity to do it.
How do you build a site scalable enough to house 30 years of work and some of the best stories in the business? Carefully, methodically and of course, because it's Jack - quickly. This site could have used it's own asset management system.
Reading the copy deck for this site was like reading a white paper on how to have fun in the business. Compelling. Jack Neary was most recently Executive Vice President, Executive Creative Director BBDO Worldwide in New York and now you can track his progress, work and journey at NearyFest.com
From the design, to the hosting, to the production management, this was a real lunch production, fatbox, pixelpusher and of course the amazing content of our client Jack Neary.
What happened to "Calm Down, Breathe. We hear you."? I'm not sure. Due to the fact that I'm in the business of creating things online, and due to the fact that I spend most of my life engaging with the internet, and have spent the majority of my career pushing towards an open source, and therefore open door approach I felt like I needed to comment on facebook's quietly implemented new privacy terms.
At one point Mark Zuckerberg may have cared about community, but I think Venturebeat's article says it best, I'd like to hear it from Mark himself.
A lot of companies in the internet space make mistakes- well, a lot of companies in general make mistakes. The thing that companies forget is that it's the people that make the company, not the company that makes the people. It's what facebook seems to be forgetting as they grow. We are facebook. facebook is a place where our social networks gather. It's a park we go to. They may own the place we hang out, but we own the relationships, and we can take those friends and hang out somewhere else.
facebook called a meeting at 4pm today to discuss the changes, because people are leaving in droves. What is facebook's policy on our privacy? I'd like to know. I think social networking sites owe it to us, they're borrowing our information to sell advertising, so I'd like to know how we're being protected. Their new policies would allow anyone to see what movies you like, what you like to do, where you like to go depending on what you "like" in your profile. Whether they are in your social network or not. It will be interesting to see where Zuckerberg chooses to take this, if he indeed understands the online gathering place he's built, he'll recover from this, like he did last round and we'll stay. Mark knows how the internet community works, when we don't like something, we say something. Let's see if he listens. CNN.com Article
Those of you who know Amy know, that she enjoys a good story. Lunch's founder Amy Miranda, has been confirmed to speak at NXNEi (June 14-16) and will be discussing The Lost Art of Storytelling. Amy believes that without a story, there's nothing to produce and on the heels of just wrapping up a semester teaching Interactive Storytelling @ Centennial College, she'll be discussing the lost art of Storytelling at NXNEi.
The Lost Art of Storytelling
Humans have been telling stories for thousands of years, but the earliest mode of communication was oral, supported by hand gestures and expressions. Over time visual mediums were introduced to help tell stories as well. While the art of the storyteller has persisted over generations, the interactive world is often quick to re-invent the wheel, or loses site of the fundamentals in the quest to develop new ways to make the consumer an active part of the story.
What can we learn from the people who carry on the basics of oral storytelling, be they radio hosts, comedians or anyone else who still relies on their words, sounds and movements to tell a tale? A mix of old and new will aim to take you back to the basics in an attempt to inform your visions for new narrative forms.
Recently for Icograda's Design Week in Vancouver Rethink came up with a pretty amazing idea to actually enable attendees, speakers and designers alike to weigh in on great design. We were lucky enough to help execute, STEM, General Metrics, Fatbox and Lunch came together to help launch the Design Currency Counter.
The symbol represents the value of design calculated by its impact on communication, culture and commerce.
Use the site to help define, debate and expand your understanding of design value.
Lunch's newest partner Zeitguised will have their short film screened twice during the CFC Worldwide Short Film Festival in Toronto from June 1-6 2010.
Peripetics, a short film created and directed by Jamie & Henrik of Zeitguised will be screened on Tuesday June 3rd at 2pm and again on Sunday June 6th at 1:45pm
What happens inside a bag of AERO Bubbles? Well, all kinds of stuff. It's best to have a look, because there's lots of stuff happening. It's much better than us trying to describe everything. Our favorite is the high five.
We're pretty excited about FITC in Toronto this weekend. Not only are we thrilled to be sponsoring a special Saturday night installment of Inter-action (For details go to Inter-Act.ca along with lunch family members,Fatbox, Pixelpusher and STEM - but we're thrilled to be a studio sponsor of FITC along with our partners atRelish
Lunch's founder Amy Miranda will be doing double duty as a panelist & moderator with North Kingdom's David Eriksson, Tool's Jason Zada, Birthplace's Adrian Gunadi and TBWA Vancouver's Jennifer Mete in her panel on Producing Creative in the Global Digital Playground
We also seem to be out in full force this year judging the FITC Awards show with: Andrew Harris, Pixelpusher, Nathan Jurevicius, Narwhal/Lunch, Amy Miranda, Lunch, Adrian Busschaert, SociMedia, and Dayton Pereira of Indusblue being included among the many judges.
We're excited that 95% of the lunch family will be in town for FITC this year!
Looking forward to seeing everyone in the next few days. It's been a big year for digital and we're all looking forward to celebrating it with you!
