Artist Curtis Kulig's 'Love Me' For Valentine's Day On Clothes, Kicks, Cosmetics and Playing Cards.

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Love Me, the signature of artist Curtis Kulig is the perfect mantra for Valentine's Day. The iconic image, which has been seen in galleries and on rooftops around the world, has already appeared in collaborations with such major brand as Ace Hotels, Burton, Citizens of Humanity, Converse, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Estee Lauder Cosmetics, HBO, Nike, Obey Clothing, and The Standard Hotel.

First, some images of Love Me public art by Curtis Kulig:






Some original available Love Me art by Curtis Kulig:

above: Love Me, 2011, oil on canvas, 36 x 36in, available at 618 Gallery


above: Love Me, 2011, neon sculpture, 24 x 36in, available at 618 Gallery



above: various Love Me prints by Curtis Kulig are available at Poster Child Prints

Now, the latest to adopt the script artwork for branded Valentine's Day products is Vans, Smashbox Cosmetics, Urban Outfitters and Theory11 Playing Cards.

Vans 2013 Curtis Kulig Love Me Collection
LOVE ME is featured in three distinct looks on Vans Classics. The Vans iconic red Authentic is adorned with an all over embroidered LOVE ME while the Checkerboard Slip-On becomes the canvas to a paint splatter design. Finally, the SK8-Hi Slim, a women’s specific style, features an oversize embroidered LOVE ME on the side panel.





Shop the Curtis Kulig Love Me Vans here

Smashbox Love Me 2013 Spring Collection.
A limited collection of art meeting beauty. Two eyeshadow palettes, a red lipstick, two lip glosses, an eyeliner and a blush designed to emulate and /or incorporate the artists paint pens, signature colors and iconic script 'Love Me' image.



Shop the Smashbox Love Me collection here

Urban Outfitters Love Me by Curtis Kulig Collection
Clothing, tote bags, socks, flask, bed sheets and more are available in the Urban Outfitters 2013 Spring Curtis Kulig Love Me Collection







Shop the UO Love Me by Curtis Kulig items here

Love Me Playing Cards by Curtis Kulig for Theory11
The new set of playing cards hand illustrated by Kulig and produced by Theory11 are made in the USA on FSC-certified paper derived from sustainable forests using vegetable-based inks.




The cards feature an original Ace of Spades, Joker, Back Design, Box Design, Sticker Seal, and Ace of Hearts - renamed the Ace of Love. The box is striking, with vibrant red foil accents on premium, fine-linen paper.







In stock now for immediate shipping worldwide, they make a great affordable Valentine's Day gift. Produced and Distributed by theory11. Arrangement by Michael James and Jonathan Bayme. Love Me™ Artwork © 2005. Buy them here.


Curtis Kulig's Love Me Blog

 Love Me™ is a Registered Trademark of Curtis Kulig.

The Controversy (and the Talent) Behind The Beautiful Farmer Commercial for Dodge Ram Trucks From The Super Bowl.

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One of the most memorable spots on yesterday's Super Bowl - and one that has made it on most reviewers "Best Spots of the Super Bowl" lists - is also one which has been stirring up some controversy, at least amongst the ad community. Frankly, anyone outside of the advertising business could not care less, so I won't be surprised if you've stopped reading this already. But back to the subject at hand.

You may think the uproar is because of the numerous mentions of "God" or because of the the fact that some feel Farming has radically changed since Paul Harvey gave the speech used as the voice over at the National FFA Convention in 1978, but it's actually the spots' originality which has been questioned. I wanted to clear up a few things regarding that as well bring some credit the well-deserving photographers whose work was used in the ad.

Created by the Richards Group, the two minute spot with the Paul Harvey voiceover is an updated version of a concept originally seen in a video for Farms.com.

The Dodge Ram Truck  "Farmer" Super Bowl commercial:

The Farms.com video:


But let it be known that Farms. com has made a point of publicly supporting the ad with both tweets and this new description under their own video on You Tube:



As well as including this info in a hovering window atop the You Tube video:


While it's not the first Super Bowl commercial to have been inspired by a previous one, nor the first to take an already produced idea and make it far superior in terms of production quality, both The Richards Group and Farms.com - as well as the Chrysler brand - are to be commended for creating and running an ad that was powerful in its quietude and a refreshing change from the fast-paced, noisy, special effects ads that dominated most of the broadcast.

Whether or not you feel the ad was derivative, one thing that is not debatable is the incredibly stunning imagery in the ad and it is those photographers whose work I want to bring to your attention.

Below are the ten photographers whose beautiful imagery is to credit in the Dodge Ram Truck "farmer " Spot:
Andy Anderson
William Allard
Jim Arndt 
Daniel Beltra,
Mark Gooch,
Andy Mahr,
Kurt Markus,
David Spielman,
Matt Turley and
Olaf Veltman.

Creatives from The Richard's Group who worked on the spot include Creative Directors Jimmy Bonner and Rob Baker and Freelance art buyer/ producer Deb Grisham.

Addendum: If it wasn't already clear, the Dodge Ram Farmer ad by The Richards Group also stands as a testament to the importance of production values and having people in charge with taste. Creatives, Account Staff, Producers and most importantly, a client, that understand the impact of visuals in addition to the content and copy (and sometimes the need to spend a little more) can make all the difference. Imagine if they'd simply run the Farms.com version.

Letter-pressing and Loteria Cards in Cedar Boxes Make For Stunning Wedding Invitations by Konnect Design.

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Branding and design company Konnect Design, took the bride and groom's backgrounds and the the event venue into consideration when designing these beautiful and unique wedding invitations which include letter-pressing, elegant typography, loteria cards, reply cards and vintage stamps, packaged in a cedar box.

Union at the Union


She’s from East LA. He’s a gringo from the South Bay. When their worlds united it was truly meant to be, which made for an appropriate theme surrounding this couple’s big day.



Her Latin roots inspired the use of Loteria (Spanish Bingo) cards, as well as cedar boxes that Konnect Design of Santa Monica had custom made and shipped from the Dominican Republic. The boxes housed the letterpress invitation and reply cards (complete with vintage postage stamps) and also served as a nod to the cigar roller who would be entertaining the guests at the wedding reception.



Reply Cards:


The letter-pressed menus at the wedding were also designed by Konnect in keeping with the look of the invitations:


Since the couple was to be wed at the historic Union Station in downtown Los Angeles, it seemed more than fitting to title the piece, Union at the Union.



all original images (they have been composited for this post) and descriptions courtesy of konnectdesign.com

The bride and groom are as beautiful as their invitations. Here they are in Argentina on their Honeymoon:
above image from Facebook

konnect design
710 Wilshire Blvd
Suite 404
Santa Monica, CA 90401
310.394.1247

Pencils Packaged To Make the Portrait of Russian Mathematician Grigori Perelman.

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Using a portrait of Russian Mathematician Grigori Perelman by artist Jules Julian, designers Alan Temiraev and Volodenka Zotov created a beautifully designed pencil set.

The packaging is designed so that when intact, the eight individually boxed graphite pencils make up a the illustrated portrait, by Jules Julien, of the Russian mathematician Grigori Perelman, famous for solving the the legendary Poincaré Conjecture.*



The beautifully designed pencil box has a die-cut window in the shape of the portrait's head and foil stamping. The interior of the box has a color printed image of the universe.





Each graphite pencil is a different degree of lead  (2H, H, F, HB, B, 2B, 3B, 4B) and individually packaged in multi-colored four-sided boxes so that, when properly aligned, they make up the graphic portrait of Perelman seen through the die-cut window.






Grigori (or Grigory) Perelman:


*Perelman solved the legendary Poincaré Conjecture, one of the world's most difficult mathematical tasks. He was awarded the Field Medal but Perelman didn't show up to claim the award, and said he doesn't want it. He told a British newspaper, "I do not think anything that I say can be of the slightest public interest." Refusing to take the one million dollars in prize money, he remarked "Why do I need a million dollars if I can control the universe?"

Designers: Alan Temiraev, Volodenka Zotov
Illustrators: Julien Jules, Phil
images courtesy of The Bold Studio on behance, first sighted on Fubiz

Apple's iPhone 4S: Siri's Buzz

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    Like every other Apple product before it, the iPhone 4S has been highly anticipated. But this time, the buzz is about Siri, the phone’s “personal assistant”. Siri is a feature that allows you to ask it or tell it to do virtually anything, and will answer immediately. It understands most natural languages. While it is not new technology and is available in Google’s Android phones, Apple has completely mastered it.The amazing feature can do tasks as simple as playing the song you ask, setting an alarm for the time you specify, or making an internet search, to a task as advanced as making a reservation at a restaurant. Siri can obviously be perfected and will continue to evolve, but after buying the rights to the software Apple made it feel as if it’s the only product like this, and more importantly, the one you can’t live without.

For further reading: http://www.forbes.com/sites/roberthof/2011/10/17/apples-siri-the-culmination-of-steve-jobs-legacy/

Glad's New Green Trash Bags

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      Glad Products Company has a new green trash bag. Beginning Monday, October 24^th, the tall kitchen drawstring trash bags with be made with less plastic. Not only will it cost the same as previous kinds, but also Glad will reduce their use of plastic by 6.5 million pounds a year. This equals 140 million bags, a huge amount that definitely requires a huge marketing campaign. Glad is spending between $30 and 40 million to create a buzz and demand for the eco-friendly trash bags. But Glad is being smart; instead of showing an obnoxious save the planet, overly exaggerated environmentally beneficial commercial, Glad is adopting a simple and clever plan. The ads, also to begin on Monday, use lines such as “strength with less plastic” and “stronger with less plastic waste”. The campaign will even boast the millions of pounds of plastic it will save by explaining it’s enough “to cover all of Manhattan” or “to fill over 200 garbage trucks”. Some ads will show the product’s environmental benefit with a small single green leaf, versus an entire forest.       Even with a culture where consumers pay so much attention to social issues and greener products, Glad wants to advertise the whole products benefits, with its eco-friendly aspects an added perk.  Glad’s new product sales will most likely soar above their original trash bags. The new trash bag will clearly succeed with prices the same as ones with no environmental benefit, especially considering eco-friendly products are usually more expensive.
For further reading: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/19/business/media/glad-cuts-the-hyperbole-for-its-new-green-trash-bag.html?_r=1&src=recg