Following on from our recent rebrand we are pleased to launch the new and improved dna website. It took a little longer to complete than we had hoped but we’ve been very busy getting some exciting client projects finished first. As always, we wanted to take the time to get it just right, so we hope you like it.

Check out the ‘see our work’ section for an assortment of projects from our ever-growing client list, providing a good representation of the quality and variety of our work. On the ‘meet the team’ page you can find out more about the people behind the agency and see for yourself what a good looking bunch we are.

We’ll be updating the site often, so make sure you check back soon, or even better sign up to receive updates using the link at the top of the page. We hope you enjoy looking through the new site and would love to hear what you think of it, so get in touch!

www.dnaadvertising.co.uk

This shot shows Katie, Matt, myself (Paul) and Tim from DNA on board the flybridge area of the new Princess 32M.

The Princess 32M is the start of a new era for Princess Yachts, now entering the super yacht market with boats costing around £12 million and at lengths over 30 metres. The next boat to launch from the newly acquired South Yard development in Plymouth will be the Princess 40M. To view more information on the new Princess 32M, please click on the following link http://www.princessyachts.com/index.html#/en/mclass/32M/movie.

These shots show the Princess 32M inside the hall at the London International Boat Show.

Article written by Paul Mabin – Managing Director

We hope you all had a very merry Christmas and eventful new year celebrations! If you were not one of the lucky ones to receive our c-fold DNA Christmas card, we thought you’d like to salivate over these snaps. Roll on 2011!

Things are changing here at DNA. We’ve recently taken on some great new hires which have helped to restructure and refocus our business, so we’ve given ourselves a makeover with a refreshed brand identity! It was an exciting process (we took a few snaps along the way, see below), and we’re really pleased with the outcome. Our new business cards arrived today which was very exciting, although we love them so much it’s going to be hard to hand them over! Watch this space for our shiny new website, coming soon…

You’re never sure what’s real and what’s computer aided trickery when watching television advertising any more. It’s easy to be fooled by high-end CGI and the artists behind it will undoubtedly say that it’s the biggest compliment that you could give them. On the other hand, there is a general presumption that anything that might have presented something a physical, logistical conundrum is most probably CGI (and that it’s actually a doddle to do in Maya). It’s a shame that the most difficult hands-on route, with the biggest pay-off, is often left under appreciated – well, as long as it gives the desired affect… That’s why I was pleased to see that for the most part, the latest Samsung LED 3D TV advertising, much like the Sony Bravia (bouncing balls) ad, was done for real.

Take a look at the making above or see the full video here.

In the commercial design world there are a number of common ways of printing we’re all used to; offset litho, digital, flexo, etc… But what about printing in 3D – and running off body parts?!
I sounds far-fetched but ’3D printers have been used in architectural schools for quite some time already (and self-replicating home models are becoming more and more common), a 3D food printer is under development, and now several sources are working on 3D bio-printers: machines that will “print” organs so patients will no longer have to wait for transplant donations. Recently, the first commercial organ printer was built by biomedical company Invetech and delivered to Organovo, a company that has pioneered the bioprinting technology.

The printer is already capable of producing arteries, which doctors will be able to use in bypass surgeries in as little as five years. Other, more complex body parts should be possible within ten years: bones and hearts, for example. The printer works by using two print heads. One lays down a scaffold and the other places human cells into the shape of whatever organ is being formed. There’s little threat of the new organ being rejected since it’s made of the patient’s
own cells.’ – Read more at Gajitz.

So what does this mean for the graphic design industry? Well, obviously it  means we’ll finally be able to send flesh bound books like the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis to print!

(Opinion: Jon Price – Graphic Designer)

Old news it may be, but Jérémy Clapin and Stéphane Piera’s 2008 Oscar contender ‘Skhizein’ is an absolute must see. For those who missed out on this beautifully realised and curious tale of Henry and his slightly displaced universe, here it is in full. Quintessentially quirky and French, it’s a joy to behold full of original ideas and visual cleverness not to mention rock solid art direction and admirable follow-through in all aspects of the execution.

Available here to buy on DVD with an insightful making of.

Thanks to monographer.

(Opinion: Jon Price – Designer)

Whilst perusing the affordable Scandinavian wares of Ikea, I happened upon a particular sequence of wall graphics that told the story of how Ikea’s savings are passed on to the customer. Strangely, only five of the seven ‘Ikea concept’ panels used correct spelling with the remaining ones neglecting to use apostrophes (the above example also has a rogue space before the question mark). I’m now well versed in Ikea’s efficient production and distribution methods but surely they could have spent a few extra euros on spell checking. We’ve all made mistakes, but three in twenty nine words at 124pt nationwide is quite special. At first I thought ‘trust me to notice that’, so my biggest smile came from the huge ‘Thats why!’ that came after the equals sign, where a staff member had pasted a cut-out apostrophe on the wall!

This is the Ikea concept as it should have looked!

(Opinion: Jon Price – Designer)

Check out this cool Christmas game – but be careful, it’s addictive!

Once again we’ve saved a tree and developed our own digital Christmas card, but this time, you can PLAY it….

P.S. If you decide to register your score, you’ll need to type in your name!

Click here to see the SCORE TABLE
Click here to PLAY THE GAME

Building yachts in excess of 160 metres Devonport requires quality marketing material to match the specialist service they provide. When tasked to create a presentation box intended to house the finer details of the Devonport offering, we set to work and came up with a variety of deigns. We were very happy with the final result – a high quality presentation box, containing a bespoke business card and branded USB stick, sourced especially for the event. The USB stick contained a full-screen interactive Flash presentation with video footage and boat specifications, as well
as a screensaver. Initial feedback is that the boxes have been well received in Monaco; take a look at the photographs and let us know what you think.

So I went out last night for a spot of grub and when ordering at the bar I spotted a small green Buddha smiling at me from the fridge. Of course, being an enthusiast of Japanese and Chinese lager I had to snap-up a bottle of Lucky. Lucky – an Asian style lager, is owned by Barons Brewers of Australia, is bottled in China and consists of rice flake, malted barley and Czech hops. But all of that is insignificant – it’s the unique bottle that sold it for me. With design emphasis on the bottle rather than label graphics (although the logo is pretty vintage-cool),
the bespoke beer bottle features the seated, laughing Chinese character Pu-Tai, holding a large gold ingot above his head. “Many believe this figure of a Buddha to be a symbol of wealth, happiness and life fulfilment. We consider him to be the enlightened good-time guy”. In Eastern culture it is considered good luck to rub the Buddha’s belly, I decided to just take the bottle home instead… is that sad? (No comments on this post please.)

Lucky isn’t a new beer on the market but is apparently quite hard to find, despite it reportedly being sold in some supermarkets. Find out more here: www.luckydrinkco.com

(Opinion: Jon Price – Designer)

Has it been a year already? Last night DNA once again attended ECO (Exeter Contemporary Open) at Exeter Phoenix. ECO is a national platform for emerging contemporary artists and aims to reflect themes and concerns in current practice over a broad range of disciplines. DNA were proud to sponsor the New Media category and awarded the prize to Hayley Lock, whose striking work has become the poster image for the exhibition. Congratulations to Hayley and Exeter Phoenix for putting on such an enjoyable event. ECO runs from 17 Sep – 4 Nov, so be sure to drop by if you can. Here’s a nice smiley pic of Rich with winner, Hayley Lock.
www.hayleylock.com

Have a look at Leo Burnett’s advert for for ‘All-Bran’. I love the simplicity… As odd as it sounds, I think we’d all like to be a Bran flake, just for one ride…

 (Opinion: Jon Price – Designer)

The recession appears to have set in for at least a two-year period, and more and more people are turning to the Internet for a better deal. But still so many businesses are getting it wrong.

Most of us now accept that a website is a shop window. Just as most shoppers will look in a window on the High Street before they walk into a retailer, figures now indicate that more than 80% of potential customers will visit your website before they do business with you. With such compelling figures, why would any business not invest in a professional, well-thought-through web presence and online marketing strategy?

Click here for full article

This adshel however is quite the opposite of the one featured below. Very much an unsubtle approach in an attempt to grab your attention, and failing to deliver a complete message in the process. In these times, the negative header is controversial for it’s own sake and the supporting copy that completes the sentence (giving it a positive spin) is so small in proportion, there is very little chance of you catching it from a distance or at 30mph. Standing at the bus stop it’s another matter – but how many members of senior management, entrusted with the authority to send their staff on courses, get the bus? A small percentage I would hazard a guess. Sorry to bash local, Devon advertising – but for me, it left quite a pessimistic, bad taste in my mouth. 

(Opinion: Jon Price – Designer)

As I was perusing my local newsagent last night I couldn’t help but notice the surprising cover design of the Daily Star. Covering the Government’s ‘Bangers for Cash’ scheme, the front of newspaper bravely adopted a sparse design with minimal copy, which amongst the myriad of tabloid clutter, stood out like a lighthouse for the lost. I wouldn’t normally pay the newspaper stand any attention, but as I passed, I just couldn’t help but notice. In this instance less was definitely more – it’s not always the ones that shout the loudest that get heard.

(Opinion: Jon Price – Designer)

Beverage Brands are releasing a spanking new WKD cider called WKD ‘Core’ which is due for release very soon. To help Beverage Brands with their product-launch conference, we produced some interactive display boards for their presentation, which went down a treat – much like their new tipple! 

DNA are proud to announce that our client, British Ceramic Tile, won ‘wall tile of the year 2009’ at the TTA awards. The ceremony is the focal point of the tile industry, being the only opportunity to praise the products, services and people.  The prize was awarded for the Tactile Collection; designed in London by Studio Conran and manufactured in Devon by British Ceramic Tile. Well done guys!