January 25, 2007
VANOC searches for an advertising agency
VANCOUVER—VANOC’s RFP deadline for advertising services is fast approaching. The Vancouver Organizing Committee for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games has issued a request for proposals for advertising creative services and is asking interested parties to send in their submissions by Feb. 9 at 2pm PST.

According to the VANOC website, its vision is “a stronger Canada whose spirit is raised by its passion for sport, culture and sustainability.”

VANOC is searching for an advertising agency that will help it achieve its objectives and revenue targets “with a consistent voice that engages Canadians in Vancouver 2010.”

The chosen firm will be required for various services including advertising production management, and campaign and creative development in an array of media such as television, print, out-of-home and Internet.

The contract term will commence once it has been awarded and end when the Games close on Mar. 31, 2010. The successful agency will be announced in March.

January 18, 2007
Pantone spices things up with colour of the year
CARLSTADT, N.J.—Pantone has chosen Chili Pepper (Pantone 19-1557), a deep, spicy red, as the colour of the year for 2007.

Pantone chooses Chili Pepper as the colour of 2007

“Whether expressing danger, celebrations, love or passion, red will not be ignored,” said Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute, in a released statement. “In 2007, there is an awareness of the melding of diverse cultural influences, and Chili Pepper is a reflection of exotic tastes both on the tongue and to the eye.” It’s a confident colour that reflects an adventurous spirit, she adds.

“In 2007, we’re going to see people making greater strides toward expressing their individuality,” said Lisa Herbert, executive vice-president of the fashion, home and interiors division at Pantone, in the release. “The colour red makes a bold statement.” Contact: www.pantone.com

January 10, 2007
Can you design a better way for the TTC website?
TORONTO—The Toronto Transit Commission recently announced that it’s looking for help to redesign its ageing and inept website.

“It's abysmal. The TTC webpage fails in all regards,” said newly appointed TTC chairman Adam Giambrone in the Toronto Star on Monday.

Unveiled in January 1998, the website has never been redesigned.

Giambrone has invited local bloggers to share their thoughts on how to improve the archaic site after he was openly challenged by Reading Toronto website editor Robert Ouellette to improve the site, with help from Toronto’s active blogging community.

Several Toronto websites including Reading Toronto, Transit Toronto, Torontoist, blogTO and Spacing attract a significant number of transit enthusiasts where suggestions for trip planners, searchable maps, and email alerts have already begun pouring in.

Eventually these suggestions will have to be implemented. Keep your eyes peeled for a potential web contract popping up at the TTC. Contact: ttc.ca.

Signals rings in Lunar New Year with Year of the Pig stamps
VANCOUVER—Signals Design Group created Canada Post’s first Canadian stamps for 2007.

Signals designs first Canadian stamp for 2007

The stamp’s colourful design, created by Signal’s associate creative director John Belisle and principal Kosta Tsetsekas, is a modern interpretation of the traditional Chinese cloisonné style – patterns formed by pieces of enamel in various colours, separated by strips of flattened wire.

The embossed pig and simple hand-cut shapes were combined to illustrate the story of the Zodiac race. The souvenir sheet, which includes both the domestic and international stamps, is designed in the shape of a lantern. Contact: www.signals.ca

Potential flaws in Adobe Reader and Adobe Acrobat 7
SAN JOSE—According to a recent story posted by The Canadian Press, computer security researchers have identified vulnerabilities in Adobe System’s Acrobat Reader.

Discussed at a hacker conference in Germany over the holidays, the flaw exists in Acrobat Reader, the plug-in that allows Acrobat users to view PDF files within web browsers, leaving any website with PDF files vulnerable to attack.

The defect could allow intruders to attack personal computers by manipulating the web links to the PDF documents and running harmful code when users attempt to open those files, according to CP’s sources, researchers from Symantec and VeriSign’s iDefense Intelligence.

In a security bulletin posted Dec. 5, Adobe acknowledges that vulnerabilities have been identified in Adobe Reader and Acrobat 7.0 through 7.0.8. It states that, although Adobe is not aware of any specific code exploits at this time, an attacker can only take advantage of these vulnerabilities if the end user loads the malicious file.

Adobe recommends users update to Adobe Reader 8 or apply the workaround provided here: http://www.adobe.com/support/security/bulletins/apsb06-20.html

Adobe credits FrSIRT.com (French Security Incident Response Team) for reporting the vulnerabilities. Contact: www.adobe.com

January 4, 2007
Bristol Group designs ads to lure expats back to Nova Scotia
HALIFAX­— As part of its three-year place branding initiative for the province of Nova Scotia, Bristol Group’s latest campaign was launched last month in Calgary to lure expatriots back to the province.

New ads by Bristol Group encourage Nova Scotians to move home

Exposing Calgary’s higher cost of living, the newspaper ads and billboards read: Buy a home or two; Get ahead, come back; and Calgary is a nice place to visit.

“The overall goal of the campaign is to raise awareness among expats to rethink about Nova Scotia,” says Communications Nova Scotia brand advisor Angela Campbell.

More elements of the campaign will roll out next month. Bristol is also launching marketing campaigns for Nova Scotia in Boston, Toronto and Ottawa to encourage businesses to expand out east. Contact: www.bristolgroup.ca; www.gov.ns.ca.

Helvetica hits the big screen
NEW YORK­—In celebration of Helvetica’s 50th anniversary this year, a documentary on this ubiquitous font is currently screening at film festivals worldwide.

“The film takes a look at the past 50 years of graphic design and the proliferation of Helvetica,” said the film’s director Gary Hustwit in an interview with Computer Arts magazine. “The film tries to open people’s eyes to what the font has accomplished over the past 50 years, which has been a total domination of our visual communication systems.”

A still from documentary Helvetica; a street shot of Amsterdam

Hustwit was a book designer in the late ’80s, which he credits for triggering his fascination with typography. Five years ago he began producing documentaries, mainly music-related films on bands such as Wilco and Death Cab for Cutie.

The documentary includes interviews with such design greats as Erik Spiekermann, Matthew Carter, Massimo Vignelli, Wim Crouwel, Hermann Zapf, Neville Brody, Stefan Sagmeister, Michael Bierut, David Carson, Paula Scher, Jonathan Hoefler and Tobias Frere-Jones, among many others.

“Helvetica is [the] thread that runs right through the work of all these people,” said Hustwit in Computer Arts.

Stay tuned to Design Edge Canada for announcements on Helvetica screenings in Canada. Contact: www.helveticafilm.com.

Rare Method ranked 2nd fastest growing company in Alberta
CALGARY­—The interactive marketing company was listed as Alberta’s second fastest growing company, with annual revenues under $20 million, in Alberta Venture magazine.

Founded in 2001, Rare Method Capital Corp. has experienced a three-year revenue increase of 146%. Revenues in 2005 were $7.16 million. Rare Method’s revenue results for Q1 2007, which ended Sept. 30, 2006, were $1.84 million, up 20% from $1.54 million in Q1 2006.

Rare Method’s impressive growth also includes the acquisitions of interactive event marketing services company See Your Game Alberta, last March; web design and development company Ground Level, in October; and Stone Monkey Media, an online and custom web software developer, last November – all of Calgary. Rare Method has approximately 85 employees. Contact: www.raremethod.com

New book on magazine covers
LONDON­—Designed by Neville Brody and fellow designers at Research Studios, 100 Years of Magazine Covers features heavyweights such as Vogue, Time, and The New Yorker as well as small titles such as Sniffing Glue and Oz. Write-ups on the history of each magazine with extended captions accompany each chapter.

New book designed by Neville Brody and designers at Research Studios

According to Brand Republic, Brody said, “It has been a pleasure to work on this book as its subject matter lies in the heartland of much of my experience as a designer.

“This collection of magazine covers draws upon archival material from the late nineteenth century to the present day, and from a broad international spectrum of publications.”

Brody is a former art director of The Face and lead designer on Actuel, City Limits, and Arena magazines. Brody also worked on the redesign of Times2 in 2005 and recently unveiled the new Times Modern typeface for The Times print edition, last November. Contact: www.researchstudios.com