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brands
Turn Yourself into a Brand
Sep 29th
It’s a symbol about you, or any website or organization that might need a symbol. Mikons.com is a website that allows you to create a symbol to communicate your story. It’s absolutely free, and you can make more than one if you want. There’s also the option of putting the Mikon on a sticker or shirt (this one does cost money) as well as on a blog or as an avatar for online profiles.
Mikonoclast, LLC is headquartered in Cedar Park, Texas, and was founded by Mark Smith and Kenna Smith, the creators of Mikons.com, which features the most advanced online vector drawing tool in the world. Mikonoclast, LLC is the parent company of Mikons.com and is managed solely by Mark Smith. Mikons.com offers a new form of self-expression that connects people through visual symbols. Founded in 2006, the purpose of Mikons is to be a service and a catalyst for personal self-discovery, self-expression, sharing, acceptance, and community, worldwide.
Mark, a bicycling fanatic, nearly fastened to his television (like most Texans and bicycle enthusiasts) watching the 2005 Tour De France, noticed something curious about Lance Armstrong’s time trial bike. The bike’s disk wheel was adorned with small icons, which Lance went on to later describe as the representation of his life journey. At the same time (okay not while watching the race) Mark was reading about the social Web community phenomenon, and coupled with his own passion to encourage people to boldly live their life’s vision, presto the idea for Mikons.com was born. Mark and his wife Kenna took this idea of building a Web community where people could come and create their own Mikons and share them with their family and friends as well as connect with new people, and began to build a team that would bring the idea to life.
Mikon is great for those who aren’t artistically inclined, and for those who are, since Mikon allows artists to upload their own work. But if artwork and graphic design aren’t your things, then there are over 2200 pieces of clip art to choose from to put together the Mikon that tells your story and represents what you want to represent.
Mikonoclast, LLC is headquartered in Cedar Park, Texas, and was founded by Mark Smith and Kenna Smith, the creators of Mikons.com, which features the most advanced online vector drawing tool in the world. Mikonoclast, LLC is the parent company of Mikons.com and is managed solely by Mark Smith. Mikons.com offers a new form of self-expression that connects people through visual symbols. Founded in 2006, the purpose of Mikons is to be a service and a catalyst for personal self-discovery, self-expression, sharing, acceptance, and community, worldwide.
Mark, a bicycling fanatic, nearly fastened to his television (like most Texans and bicycle enthusiasts) watching the 2005 Tour De France, noticed something curious about Lance Armstrong’s time trial bike. The bike’s disk wheel was adorned with small icons, which Lance went on to later describe as the representation of his life journey. At the same time (okay not while watching the race) Mark was reading about the social Web community phenomenon, and coupled with his own passion to encourage people to boldly live their life’s vision, presto the idea for Mikons.com was born. Mark and his wife Kenna took this idea of building a Web community where people could come and create their own Mikons and share them with their family and friends as well as connect with new people, and began to build a team that would bring the idea to life.
Mikon is great for those who aren’t artistically inclined, and for those who are, since Mikon allows artists to upload their own work. But if artwork and graphic design aren’t your things, then there are over 2200 pieces of clip art to choose from to put together the Mikon that tells your story and represents what you want to represent.
New Band-Aid brands so germs don’t stick on you
Sep 4th
Who knew that bandages needed remodeling? Biotechnology labs around the world have been hard at work developing the next generation of bandages normal cuts and scrapes. HemCon Medical Technologies is company based in Portland, Oregon dedicated solely to the civilian and Armed Forces markets. HemCon manufactures bandages and wound dressings that localize clotting. Clotting is localized with chitosan, a biopolymer made from a component in the exoskeletons of crab, shrimp and other crustaceans. The chitosan attracts the outer membranes of red blood cells, which localizes the clotting. There’s also the gecko bandage, a bandage out of MIT that’s inspired by the hairs on a gecko’s feet that give it its adhesive abilities. The gecko bandage can stick to wet surfaces, so its used to bandage internal organs and other injuries. It’s also biodegradable, so no worries of the heart mummifying accidentally.
Audi “Unboxing” The Car
Aug 5th
There’s been a massive change in car design in the last 10 years. From boxy to sexy. Audi leads the pack when it comes to shedding the boxy appeal of the car to create smooth curves and sharp lines. Not just aerodynamic, these cars look good. Audi created an advertisement for the Q5 that tried to convey this message of “unboxing” of the car via an animated sequence. The message is so crisp that you cannot ignore the smooth curves anymore. Video after the break.
Private Music In A Public Place
Aug 5th
The next time you visit a Burger King joint in Japan make sure you carry your iPod along. BK Japan is installing music bowls for customers to listen to their music without headphones. The system is built to isolate sound to individual tables so that every table can have its own ambient sound playing. All you have to do is plug in your iPod or iPhone into the dock and crank up the volume. Innovating doesn’t have to stop at the frying pan you know.
How Southwest Airlines Is Innovating
Aug 4th
The airline industry in the US has gone through some rough weather in the past few months. This turmoil has forced these companies to innovate. Southwest airlines have made sure they stay afloat by being different. Be it the quirky no-fees-for-baggage ads or its logo change at checkin counters, nothing beats the heart to heart communication with its customers southwest is trying to get into its daily operations.
The best example of such communication is the rap-pre-flight-instructions to customers by the flight steward. The flight steward seeks participation from seated passengers while he raps away! Video after the break.
UPS Pushing Carbon Neutral Shipping To Customers
Jul 28th
UPS was already working hard at making its clients greener via its Eco Responsible Packaging Program but now it’s pushing carbon neutral shipping to companies. This means that your company can ship guilt free via UPS. This is how it works – you pack the stuff you want to ship, choose the carbon neutral shipping
Kia Ads Seem To Equate Humans To Hamsters
Jun 18th
I don’t know how many of you have bought the Kia Soul, but one thing’s for sure – if you bought one, you must be thinking of yourself as a hamster. Kia’s moved its advertising up a notch in quality from lame scenic drives to hip hop hamsters. Kia’s spending about $270 Million on creating ads that “rebrand” Kia as a cooler brand than what it is today. The sock monkey and the hamster are a part of this re-branding campaign to place Kia in a unique segment. Apart from the ad campaigns the cars themselves have started to look different, more modern although the designs are heavily influenced by other brands. Kia’s cars are still a mash-up of different cars, nothing original about the design. The grill is different though and the interiors are being loaded with high end looking low end music systems. The engines on these still remain underpowered and unrefined. This may be in line with Hyundai’s plan to push up the brand image to the likes of Toyota and Honda while keeping Kia below Hyundai’s brand image. So yes, Kia thinks we are hamsters – unable to decide on Kia’s lack of creativity under the hood. And Kia doesn’t seem to realize that rappers wouldn’t want to be seen in a Kia, at least while rapping – it’s a self esteem issue. Video of the hip hop hamsters after the break.
Sun + Fun + Design = Puma Phone
Jun 17th
The day when the sun will power almost everything is not far away. Puma has decided to take a head start, at least in making an awesome looking mobile phone with Sagem that’s solar powered. The phone has a great interface, mainly aimed at the youngsters. But the best part is that it’s battery gets charged
PepsiCo Issues Open Call for Innovation Incubator Program
Jun 16th
Hey, lets accept it, we are getting out of bad times and going into good times. Great innovation booms at such junctures and Pepsi wants to nurture this. After their “refresh the world” campaign Pepsi is setting up an innovation incubator program “Pepsico10″ to incubate new ideas. The program will connect 10 entrepreneurial groups with mentors, investment and eventually – success. Head to pepsico10.com to get in line for this gold rush. BUT, there’s one catch. Your ideas will be used to make Pepsico better. Still interested? Full PR after the break.
India: Ford Sees 272% Y-O-Y Sales Growth
Jun 15th
American car companies may have stared at bankruptcy a year ago in the US but Ford has seen some tremendous growth in India. Dubbed as the second fastest growing car market after China, India is helping Ford to stare at a healthy future. Thanks to its latest launch – Figo, a small hatchback, Ford has clocked a
