Shedding New Light On Chandeliers, Geometrix by Schonbek

Schonbek has revolutionized high-tech lighting with Geometrix®.

With this collection Schonbek put forth the unorthodox idea that spare and simple could also be bold and brilliant. They brought together the purity of halogen or xenon light, and the fire of crystal, to change the way light interacts with designed space.

The New 2009 Jaguar XF: A Very Sexy Kitty

I think this new Jaguar is absolutely stunning despite what long-term Jag lovers are saying about it's losing the classic Jag lines and becoming a more conventional (i.e. bland) car.
Yes, it has hints of the Lexus GS and a rear end that reminds one of the Aston (and that's a good thing).

It is true, it doesn't scream 'jag' and maybe that's why I think it's so beautiful.

Take a look and decide for yourself:




Reprinted from Autoblog:
Last December, the Jaguar C-XF Concept received an early debut ahead of the Detroit Auto Show thanks to some memorable embargo breaks by established media outlets. The 2009 Jaguar XF, the production car inspired by the concept, was supposed to be unveiled tonight at midnight, but again things did not go as planned. We colluded with our friends over at Jalopnik to wait and see how things played out, as well as remained in communication with Jaguar to help identify embargo breakers, but the cat (hahaha) is out of the bag. You can read more about the meta circumstances surrounding the leakage over at Jalopnik.



Meet the 2009 Jaguar XF, the car that could save the automaker from Coventry. The new saloon's styling is polarizing, as evident by the split Autoblog crew that's either deriding or drooling over it. The CX-F Concept's influence is clear, but it's wrapped around a more conventional shape that meets pesky things like safety standards. Those cat eyes remain, as well as more aggressive details in the front bumper, and Jaguar's now signature air vents are present, as well. The rear end from Aston has remained virtually untouched, which is a bit of a distraction, but overall the 2009 Jaguar XF is a looker to the Nth degree.

See the full press release and technical specs from Jaguar, as well as our complete gallery of high-res pics by clicking here.


The debut of the Jaguar C-XF concept at the Detroit Auto Show, inspired/paved way for the production of another Jaguar, the XF. This car might be jaguar’s last chance to prove it’s existence as a luxury brand. The XF has the same detailed bumper and cat eyes present in Jaguar’s line up, the back some will argue it looks like a BMW. New features include signature air vents, and the Drive selector (it raises when you want to select the drive, and disappears when not in use). The XF will be released in four models: a 2.7 liter V6 240hp at the entry level, (Europe only) all the way to a 4.2 liter V8 420hp, which jumps from 0-60 in 5.5 seconds.

D&AD's divider page imagery contest

Below is reprinted from The Creative Review UK Blog:



In order to provide imagery for the divider pages of this year’s D&AD Annual, Fabrica (who are designing the Annual this year) invited creatives around the world to take a picture featuring a D&AD flag.

The flags were sent out in a pack giving detailed instructions on the brief and how to submit images, the best of which are featured in the 2007 D&AD Annual, out on 4 September. Former D&AD President and founder of CDT Design, Mike Dempsey, however, used his opportunity to point out that perhaps this wasn’t the most environmentally sound exercise they could have come up with…

Dempsey’s response (above) is titled “D&AD’s contribution to the concerns of our planet”. It then goes on to question the point of producing a lavish pack that was sent to 500 D&AD members around the world “asking them to ’show off’ for no useful reason at all. Is this a responsible thing for D&AD to do at this moment in time?” he asks.

His image, unsurprisingly, was not one of those chosen to feature in the final Annual (although to D&AD’s credit, they did include it among a selection of images sent to journalists). However, two other somewhat cheeky contributions did make it in.

Dave King from M&C Saatchi in Australia seems to be implying that a D&AD Award is not quite as important to him as those from Cannes in his image.



While another former D&AD President, Michael Johnson of Johnson Banks, came up with this less-than-reverent idea (Photographer, Richard Maxted):


Others, however, took on the brief in a spirit perhaps closer to what was intended…
Such as Rosie Arnold from BBH. Photographer, Jonathan Kitchen:


And This Is Real Art’s Paul Belford:


And Quentin Newark of Atelier Works:


Other contributors included Steve Royle of The Chase Photographer, Paul Thompson:


The Glue Society. Photographer, Sam Hibbard:


The Designers Republic:


Margaret Calvert:


Ruth Bellotti of Publicis Mojo:


Lance Wyman. Photographer, Jonathan Posnett:


Clemenger BBDO. Photographer, Matt Hoyle:


Stephen Bell, Adam Ellis, Wendy Lewis and Joel Pearce of CPB:


Eike Koenig of The Hort:


And Rune Høgsberg / Bleed :


The D&AD Annual is published on 4 September.
It is only available to members, click here for details
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I don't know if I'm unimpressed with these entries because I've been spoiled by seeing so much untapped creativity on the web... or because I've been in the advertising art direction business for 20 years+. But if this is the best that 'creatives' can do with this assignment, it's no wonder so many people I know have stopped looking at the annual D&AD books.