Come see MSLK’s eco-art installation, Take-Less, at Brooklyn’s Dumbo Arts Festival on September 24th – 26th!

We’re pleased to be a part of this amazingly creative event once again, building on the success of last year’s event. Our project can be seen on Washington Street, the center of all the action for DUMBO’s annual art festival.

The event itself is described by the event planners as a showcase for: “touchable, accessible, and interactive art, on a scale that makes it the nation’s largest urban forum for experimental art.”Take Less is MSLK’s 3rd project in a series of eco-art installations focusing on society’s thoughtless consumption of plastic. The number depicted, 2629, stands 8-feet high and represents the quantity of takeout meals consumed each second in the United States. Within these meals are countless plastic components designed to be used once and thrown away. To illustrate this, plastic containers of every imaginable type are mounted to the number’s surface. Additionally, informational signage containing facts and solutions are mounted to the piece.

The purpose of the installation is to help people visualize the immense waste we produce, all in an effort to inform viewers that they can be a part of the solution. How? By requesting recyclable components, saying no to plastic utensils, containers, etc.

For more information about the festival, click here.

What does it take to launch a fashion line these days? During New York’s Fashion Week, Nolcha’s Beyond the Runway competition has emerged as a solid platform and a reputable outlet for launching top-tier designers from around the globe.

For over 55 years, the I.D. Annual Design Review has recognized the best in graphic, environmental, product, and furniture design. We are very proud that MSLK’s own Sheri L Koetting has taken her place among a jury of the field’s leading practitioners. Her voice and sensibility played a large role in the winners chosen this year in the graphics category. Viewing everything through a lens of sustainability, Sheri not only examined the purpose and aesthetics of each piece, she questioned its material usage and life expectancy.

You can see all of the winning pieces on view now until September 10^th at the AIGA National Design Center. Read more to view some of the winners and see what Sheri had to say about each of the pieces.

Best of Category – X Exhibition Space
“I appreciate the innovative use of light and type, as well as the way luminosity engages viewers throughout the project—from the exhibit’s interior to posters and lights mounted on outdoor fences.”

Design Distinction – Ballerina Who Loves B-Boyz
“I really love the die cuts that expose the walls and graffiti beneath. It’s a poster that engages with its environment”

Design Distinction – BOOKtiga 2009
“To me, the message and the medium are in perfect harmony. As designers, we’re so compelled to trash what we did last year and start over. Here they’re incorporating last year’s materials into this year’s campaign by literally painting over last year’s poster.”

Design Distinction – Dinamo
“Designers often want to use special effects, but for a company that focuses on harnessing solar energy, glow-in-the-dark ink acts as a communication tool rather than a gimmick.”

Design Distinction – Expansion in all Dimensions
“This tiny set of 5″ x 7″ booklets made me smile—the bright colors, the cover. I was expecting it to be a bunch of zines, so when it turned out to be a corporate report, I loved that juxtaposition.”

Design Distinction – Human Rights Watch 2009 Annual Report
“The handling of the information is incredibly compelling and drew me in. They’re successfully using  information graphic to advocate their cause.

Design Distinction – Ring Roads of the World
“They’ve taken something people might not even think about—urban sprawl—and turned it into a design that’s beautiful and meaningful. Each layer of color here represents the relative size and shape of the ring road around American cities.

Our website, www.mslk.com, is cited in the current issue of How Magazine in an article entitled, “The Marketing-Smart Website” written by Ilise Benun. The article gives examples of what to do — and what not to do — for designers setting out to redesign their site. Our site’s innovative and sorting features were given the following compliment:

“There are 90 examples of work in the portfolio section of MSLK.com, but it’s not overwhelming because visitors can sort by medium or industry category to find what they’re looking for. Mouse over any thumbnail and it automatically enlarges and identifies the image.”

We’re so pleased that we’re being recognized for this feature. After all, it was the main concept that our whole site was built around: giving the user a wide sampling of our work, and the ability to sort and refine.

That feature, combined with our site’s videos, continues to receive compliments from clients, potential clients, designers, and colleagues alike.

If you’re a marketer, you’ve probably thrown around those ubiquitous terms, push and pull marketing. The marketplace has seen a major paradigm shift from pushing products onto consumers, to pulling them in, inviting them to engage with the brand in novel and unique ways. At MSLK, we think this is especially important to consider when creating sophisticated branding campaigns in the beauty industry. How can you stop consumers dead in their tracks, invite an interaction or ignite a conversation? Burt’s Bees skincare installations do just that. In a series of three installations that have traveled to public spaces across Canada, the pieces educate women about the harmful effects of most allegedly natural skincare products on the market.

In one piece, a clear torso is filled with pink lotion, representing the amount of body lotion absorbed in your system in a lifetime. In the next, a nine-pound cube of lipstick illustrates the amount of lipstick a woman eats in her lifetime.

In another, baby soap, lotion and shampoo form a giant baby bottle to show that what you put on your baby’s skin actually goes into your baby’s system.

The message is clear—these statistics are unavoidable realities, and with Burt’s Bee’s products, you can trust that at least what you are ingesting is completely natural and not harmful.

The visualization of surprising statistics as art objects is a unique concept that MSLK responds to and is quite familiar with, as that is what we have done with our eco-art installations 2669 Urban Tumbleweeds, Watershed and Take-Less. Although Burt’s Bee’s might call these pieces installations, I prefer to think of them as artifacts within a mini-exhibition. The unique combination of messaging, art, and information design creates a dynamic brand and learning experience that is truly memorable.

~Ryan Nussbaum

Proctor and Gamble unveiled last week a renewable sugarcane based alternative to plastic that will be implemented on their Pantene Pro-V, CoverGirl, and international Max Factor product lines over the next 2 years. This is truly groundbreaking news and frankly has me more excited about the future of mass production than I have been in a long time. Here’s why:

Obviously when a major industry player like this makes a shift, the impact and influence on the industry is huge. In today’s costly beauty development market only really large companies like P&G have the research and development budgets to create such breakthroughs. Their interest in this development allows material manufacturer, Braskem SA, to be able to grow their knowledge, businesses, and ultimately offer this product to other companies large and small. In addition, this kind of change at a large company who produces billions of plastic packages a year has a tremendous impact on the environment.

The break through comes from P&G, not a brand who is receiving a lot of recognition these days for their green efforts so it’s a big effort from a dark horse. When thinking of large mass market consumer brands going green it seems that Johnson & Johnson has been stealing all the attention. Certainly J&J’s efforts are noteworthy however, they haven’t been able to fully address the issue of plastics with something as sustainable as this. The products J&J are offering with post consumer recycled content are only 30% PCR where as brands like Aveda are already able to achieve products that are 80% – 95% PCR.

Lastly and perhaps most importantly, the packaging is renewable, and recyclable. The material is made from sustainably-grown Brazilian sugar cane verses traditional plastics which come from non-renewable petroleum. Better yet this plastic when cured will have the same properties as high-density polyethylene (HDPE). In fact, it will carry HDPE’s #2 resin code and will be accepted by recycling programs and recyclable.

This is a significant breakthrough because currently most plastic alternatives such as corn and sugarcane based PLA, are biodegradable but not recyclable. These products often look like normal plastic packaging and confused consumers who put them in recycling bins. Through our work with the NYC Department of Recycling, we have learned that when a PLA product ends up in recycling centers undetected it can actually spoil an entire batch of recycling.

According to P&G the demand for this new packaging was entirely consumer driven, which is encouraging for beauty and mass brands alike. ”As we talk with women around the world, they tell us that they want to make themselves more beautiful without making their environment less beautiful,” said Gina Drosos, Group President, Global P&G Beauty.” With this new packaging innovation, women can have confidence that their favorite brands are helping to make a difference.”

The new packaging is set to roll out over the next 2 years. Look for the first products to hit the shelves in 2011.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=tE4lqYzS2m0

In today’s multi-media extravaganza, it’s hard to get anyone exited about one of the world’s oldest mediums, paper. However we at MSLK don’t think that paper has lost it’s place just yet, in fact, we believe that the true presence and importance of paper as a tactical impression you can touch, engage with and hold onto is even more important in this new world of virtual gratification.

Of course the costs and permanence of something paper based makes it even more of a commitment when putting ink to paper, but that type of thinking isn’t a bad thing. In fact, it’s a more eco-friendly behavior than the careless printing of years past.

We are encouraging our clients to think twice about printing and print either only essential elements, driving customers online for more info and/or printing wonderful keepsake items that can serve as long term brand advocates for the experience of your brand.

So what creates an experience in print? It’s a gut reaction you have the minute that piece touches your hands. From the feel of the paper, to the messaging you are greeted with, to the experience of unfolding and unfurling the contents. Like holding a child for the first time, it is a beautiful gift and fête accompli.

To get inspired on the wide possibilities and wonderful experience paper has to offer we suggest catching a glimpse at “Between the Folds,” a new documentary chronicling the stories of ten fine artists and theoretical scientists who have carved out for themselves unconventional lives as modern–day paper folders.

Their paths to paper folding converge on the ancient art of origami. The film follows them as they demonstrate both the science and the art of transforming a 2D medium into new and fascinating 3D art forms and experiences. They even ponder, what can the permutations for paper teach us about science at large?

I for one look forward to being inspired by the possibilities.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiHQbcxgjOs

This fall during Fashion Week, MSLK will be judging the Nolcha Beyond the Runway competition to discover and support the industry’s next hot up-and-coming designer. During the competition, 50 independent designers from around the world will put on a traditional runway show featuring their personal collections. These shows will run over the course of three days during the traditional 7th on 6th tent shows. The focus of the event is to give these designers exposure to press, buyers, and industry figures in the New York fashion market.

The will be the 9th annual Beyond the Runway competition organized by the leading fashion business consultancy, Nolcha. The Nolcha platform helps fashion designers via educational workshops and events. As a judge, MSLK will be helping the Nolcha team determine which of the contest participants shows the most potential to launch a viable business.

The winner of the competition will receive an entrepreneurship accelerator package that is aimed at growing the fashion designer’s career beyond the runway. This package will include online retail placement on LooseButton.com, a profile on GlobalFashionBrands.com, as well as legal, accounting, and brand design services.

We look forward to this great opportunity to help give back to the fashion design community and to help designers understand what it takes to launch a successful brand in today’s highly competitive market.

Personally, I will be looking for brands which serve a niche demographic and designers who are able to create a unique point-of-view and style that their market will find appealing. A highly targeted and narrowly focused position will make it easier to break out and make a splash on the fashion scene. This will ultimately help the designer with brand positioning, messaging, PR, and retail strategies.

MSLK will certainly be participating in the shows and parties around this event. If you are attending or want to join us, please let us know!

Brooklyn seems to tbe the epicenter of New York City’s most forward-thinking green initiatives. Whether it’s urban farms, green roofs, farm-to-plate initiatives, or green buildings themselves — it’s got it all.

MSLK is proud to be partnering with Brooklyn Ecopolis, a non-profit 501(c)3, community-based education and resource center aimed at promoting access to sustainable products, services, and innovations for healthy living.

Located on Smith Street, Brooklyn’s newly crowned “restaurant row,” Brooklyn Ecopolis  was founded in 2009 to provide easy access to education and information on products and resources for energy efficient and sustainable living. The building incorporates eco-friendly materials, energy efficient systems, and solar technologies.

It’s really quite impressive — there’s a local café below with a free, community-accessible space for people to learn and explore practical information on how to incorporate cost-effective, energy efficient, affordable products and solutions into everyday living. The food and beverage sold at the café comes from local sources.

We are currently in the process of installing Take-Less in the café area. Our project’s message of reducing the amount of plastic waste fits in perfectly with Ecopolis’s ideals as well, since the Café uses biodegradable and recycled paper supplies and focuses on recycling and composting as a strong aspect of waste management for local sustainability. We especially liked their plastics, which are made from sustainable vegetable sources, rather than petroleum.

We’ll keep you posted with updates as to the installation for an opening date. Until then, please go and visit!

Product manufacturers have a unique opportunity when presenting their brands and product lines online. Unless they have the privilege of running their own brick and mortar locations or a branded shop within a shop, this virtual storefront is their one opportunity to present their full product line in a controlled environment.

Such is the case for MSLK client, Wigwam Mills. Wigwam’s number one touch point with customers is their packaging and, as a sock manufacturer, the amount of space available on that packaging is pretty limited. In the retail environment, Wigwam is forced to display their products in retailers’ branded environments with very little, if any, additional space to tell their full product story.

As a result, when it came time to redesign the Wigwam.com website, MSLK was committed to creating an experience that allowed customers to understand the core brand offerings at a glance, yet also allowed dedicated sock enthusiasts to dig in deep and wallow in the tremendous amount of technology and care that Wigwam puts into every pair. We call this experience “edutainment,” part education, part entertainment.

Recently our client at Wigwam passed along an article they stumbled upon reviewing our efforts. The article was featured on BrandChanel, the blog of branding giant, Interbrand. MSLK was excited to see that the author, Mark J. Miller, not only noticed but was incredibly fond of the attention to detail and experience we put into leading visitors on this journey through Wigwam Socks.

Miller was quick to observe and engage with our promotion of the five Wigwam categories within the updatable marketing panels on the home page. He also strategically noted the highlights from the blog featured on the home page. These allowed Wigwam to tell their green story and now promote their presence on social media. He also noted some “adventurous travelers” posting about “where they are in the world with their Wigwams,” which was also a strategic concept created by MSLK in order to encourage fans to visit the site more frequently while alleviating the pressure on Wigwam to constantly generate fresh content for those visitors.

Perhaps the most reassuring was Miller’s detailed comments on the interactive sock finder. With 173 unique styles to choose from, Wigwam has more sock features than most customers might even consider as possibilities. As a result, MSLK conceptualized the sock finder as a way of ensuring that “no sock was left behind.” We sought to connect the right sock to the right customer every time and it seems that Miller has observed and appreciates this alternative method of shopping.

Certainly it’s rare to find someone who is keen to notice all the details that go into making a targeted web experience. In fact, when done properly, these are the details that the average customer may not notice at all.  After all, some marketing efforts are best when working subconsciously. However, it’s quite a thrill to be recognized by another industry expert. As to his full thoughts on the intentions behind the website, I really couldn’t have said anything better myself.  Check out the full article here.