Murray’s portrait was released by the gallery last Sunday, and received little mainstream media attention. Enter ANC. Spokesperson Jackson Mthembu expressed the party’s outrage at “the disgusting and unfortunate display of the president”, and have demanded that the portrait be removed from the display as well as from their website and destroy all printed promotional material. Good luck with that.

Of course, Murray, and the buyer of the portrait, who splashed out R136 000 for the piece (no pun intended), must be reveling in all the attention brought on by the ANC’s heavy-handed response. What was a little-know piece of work has now become the talking point of the country, and with that comes financial value. Murray’s response has been nonchalant and would rather “let the art do the talking”. An approach that Mthembu and co. should perhaps take into consideration.

But the debate has drawn attention to the fine line between artistic political satire and the infringement of ones dignity. The Constitution allows for freedom of artistic expression, however it also recognizes an individual’s right to dignity. City Press has refused to remove its picture of the portrait until legally compelled to do so, and the Goodman Gallery has expressed its objectivity by just being a platform that facilitates artistic expression.

Lets see where this one goes.

The Spear features in an exhibition titled Hail to the Thief II at the Goodman Gallery in Johannesburg until June 16^th.

Although these increasing penetration levels provide an array of opportunities for marketers, they may also pose a threat unto themselves.  Let me explain – it is forecast that communication, messaging and advertising will proliferate with greater mobile penetration. A great deal of this received information will be unwanted by the end user, thus fitting the Spam definition, often through mobile text messages.

According to American entrepreneur Seth Godin, Spam is unanticipated, impersonal, irrelevant junk that noone wants. Godin pioneered the concept of “permission marketing” and is a strong advocate of the notion that consumers have more power than advertisers and that more respect should be shown to the audience, specifically through less spam.

With geo-location mobile services and the rise of social media, profiling a consumer is becoming more specific, which is allowing marketers to more easily identify their target market. Consumers are becoming used to this treatment and are recognizing their right to only hear or see what they perceive to be creating value for them. This rising consumer power is increasing and amplifying the anti-spam sentiment.

Marketers are thereby being placed under increasing pressure to create value for the consumer in creative ways that engage more and more with the end user. The more spam there is the more difficult this value creation will become as too much unrefined and unwanted messaging will only serve to kill the mobile medium as a creative space in conveying effective messaging.

To walk a kilometre (or five) into the desert with only a mattress, a blanket and a desire to wake intermittently to bleached stars is special, but it is hardly the most remarkable experience you may have if you participate in an AfrikaBurn event. Participate, I stress, as AB’s website reminds the reader that it is participant-driven, fuelled by creative expression and limited only by the imagination (and a set of 10 guiding principles). Basically, it’s all you baby (and these 10 guiding principles). The AfrikaBurn community is a created, cashless one, in the middle of nerens, promoting gift-giving, “decommodification, creativity, self-reliance and radical self-expression”. Which means no fast food, complimentary French toast and humans as performance art: my kind of town.

Tankwa Town builds itself into a horseshoe, the camps (divided into sections such as 1ish, 2ish and ‘Quiet Zone’ and ‘Loud Zone’, which is super considerate) resulting in the Binnekring. Binnekring is where it all goes down — the art, the performance, the community, the burns. A stroll around the circumference could take you 30 minutes, but it never would. Theme camps populate the inner circle providing entertainment, shelter, sustenance and above all engagement. You can listen to live jazz, get married, dance-wash (yes), send a letter to a nearby camp with Burning Mail, get a massage or relax on some hay.

In the Binnekring itself, amid strolling participants, ‘mutant vehicles’ and bicycles aplenty, you will find artworks of outstanding quality; monoliths, dragons, kaleidoscopes, totems, pendulums, the amazing camera obscura, boxing bunnies, wood-slatted butterflies, tepees, a giant aloe and the eclectically clad participants themselves; many reflecting (aha) this year’s theme of Mirage. Many works I refuse to explain for fear of selling them far too short, but I will say that the creativity of the everyman is astounding. A set of three creature figures constructed out of dark branches is a favourite almost immediately, their simple postures articulate, full of character. It is inside the Binnekring that you may sip some tea at Stasie Kafee (run by volunteers) or collapse onto the couch of a 3m² replica of a 70s living room to watch a surfing vid. Children are rife in the desert and understandably ecstatic; this is a wonderland.

Where the circle should meet but doesn’t stands the San Clan; a wooden monument proudly topped by the amoeba-like AfrikaBurn brandmark. Further beyond you may find Solace (or you may not), a construction of flame-shaped wood that was to be the canvas of hundreds of Burner’s thoughts, ramblings, motivations, quotes of encouragement and words of remembrance. I spent hours reading what people could write if they could write anything, before offering my own words to be burnt.

Because burnt it all shall be. As dusk lengthens shadows to giants and stars unseen in the cities reveal themselves, an abstract new world erupts in a cacophony of light and colour. Blinking lights adorn vehicles, humans and structures alike, music reaches you in wind drifts, and before a burn is seen the dark scuttling of individuals towards it is sensed. The San Clan burns on Saturday, the principal night. After ceremonial build-up the monument burns strong and hot in front of a whooping crowd. Fire represents life, survival and rebirth. Our primal coupling with the element is indisputable; as animals we roar for more, then stand transfixed.

On AfrikaBurn’s website it is mentioned (often) that it is not a disco, not a jol, not a booze-splashed Acid trance fest. It also strongly advocates its guiding principle of ‘leave no trace’. What you bring, you take away: remove all matter out of place (or MOOP). But that is not to say rum, electronic beats and real, honest party are not all found in abundance. Similarly, it means that there is many a go-hard who comes simply for the freedom to get fudged up, with no regard for the message. As soon as the Karoo is dark enough it’s too easy to hide the slip of their grip on the thin neck of the bottle. All villages have their idiots.

It has been almost two weeks and the bean bag still pulses (yes) in my stomach. This personal resolve to be more… decent. And to get a head start on my taxes. Start one of those files. To be crass, it’s time to sort out my sock drawer. The escape that AfrikaBurn offers is a beautiful fugue that provides you time away from the world as you know it, and if you’d like, the you as you know yourself, allowing for unparalleled introspection. To face so many cultures (cultures, not demographics, but that’s another story) in such a basic environment is illuminating. To shower naked under the sun with a bucket and acknowledge bodily functions as what they are (universal) is refreshing. And to exist in a place where you are for a few fleeting days not a consumer, offers an enormous release. Ironic, the liberation of such self-reliance.

An extravagant indulgence perhaps — to take part in this inclusive community is not cheap, nor logistically simple — but a truly rewarding one. Now to think about next year’s costume…

It seems that applications like Flipboard (a social-network aggregation, magazine format application software for Android and iOS devices), and the interface format of the new Nokia Lumia, have adopted a format that integrates grid-like blocks into their functionality, as well as adding their own kind of style to it.

Blocks could just be the new branding trend that combines both a functional interface language and a new coolness.

Check out how strongly blocks feature in the Nokia Lumia promotional video below.

The online banners:

You can subscribe to Mahala here (and in case you missed it, it’s free)

These posters are by Shoe Shop, which is a series of events and project nodes that reflect on the human movement in public space, particularly walking.

It’s refreshing to simply have this kind of public dialogue in the form of art. More please.

The Digibate intended to share insights on trends affecting the media, marketing, branding and tech space, as well as explore how consumer behavior is affecting the industry landscape. Some of the context, pointed out by Redelinghuys, is that the world is still suffering from turbulent economic conditions which is effecting consumer behavior and spending. Contrary to global trends, however, is the economic emergence of Africa. The continent is experiencing some of the highest economic growth rates in the world, mainly driven by the resource boom, which is effecting the consumer in a number of different ways on the ground.

As industry professionals, it is important to gear ones brand to resonate with consumers in these emerging economies that speaks to their behaviors and habits. Understanding these trends can dictate the success of a marketing and branding campaign.

Some of the key trends identified by the panelists include:

The proliferation of mobile consumption. Africa is the fastest growing mobile market. According to Shapshack, global media traffic will multiply by ten times in the next five years, mainly driven by mobile devices. Under this rationale future media and ad spend will be focused on mobile.

Cloud computing is set to grow within the next few years as sharing of information is set to increase.

Near Field Communication (NFC), is set to increase dramatically in the future. NFC is a set of technology standards for smart devices such as tablets and smart phones, that links them together within a few centimetres to perform transactions and data exchanges. The concept also incorporates scanning barcodes to access information. The development and use of an e-Wallet was punted at the Digibate and promises to be an important tool for consumers in sharing information and transacting.

One of the greatest challenges for marketers is to understand how consumers absorb content through multiple devices. Developing platforms is therefore becoming increasingly important in brand engagement. Redelinghuys concluded that with the proliferation of devices and the increased channels of communication, there is a danger of alienating the consumer through a technology-overload, which can become confusing to the end user. Simplicity and understandability is therefore key in capturing ones audience.

To listen to the first podcast from the Aegis Digibate click here.

For the rest of the podcasts and a report on the Aegis Digibate visit their site.

So have you ever wondered who came up with the concept and why it is so ingrained in Facebook’s brand architecture? Well, the icon and concept was originally developed by in-house designer Aaron Sittig, who also pioneered photo sharing and tagging, which forms a crucial part of Facebook’s incredible success as a social media site and brand.

Initially founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg questioned the value of Sittig’s work, who was bought onboard by former president Sean Parker. After Sittig’s proven success in promoting the Facebook brand, despite him leaving for six months to pursue personal endeavors, Sittig is now one of Zuckerberg’s closest confidants and is back at Facebook’s headquarters in Palo Alto, California.

The “Like” button has now become iconic in the branding world with a number of campaigns using the generic “like” icon to promote their own product and service. It is also considered to be a symbol that is largely representative of the social media generation. The icon is perceived by consumers as being fun and catchy, but also runs the risk of being overused and unoriginal as was expressed in a previous post on the topic – http://livinglab.hklmgroup.com/article/thumbs-down-on-thumbs-up-ads/

Legally, the copyright rests with Facebook, but third party use is subjected to the terms and conditions on the Facebook website. The icon is widely used and generally promotes the use of the website and use is thereby largely permitted by Facebook.

Apparently this was shot as one take, with no special effects.

The clear line of sight, high tech feel and counter full of tablets on display make it easily mistakable for a technology retailer.

Their apps are built for all platforms (iPhone, Blackberry, Android, Palm and Nokia) so they offer the latest model gadgets.

With Microsoft Surface they’ve developed an interactive table with financial planning tools (gimmick maybe, but this table features often in design concepts and far less often in reality):

Their Dot FNB app uses augmented reality to overlay information on things within the branch. If you point a device running the app at any of their products (which are merchandised in boxes) the app unpacks the box in front of your eyes to let you know what features that product offers:

If you point the device at an FNB logo it brings up the history of FNB:

The branch only features electronic posters, which I’d presume can be centrally controlled across all their branches:

Their conference cubicles offer very efficient video conferencing technology for video consultations, so you can chat face to face with your banker from any branch with this feature:

To top off the new branch they only close at 19:00 on week days and 16:00 on Sundays and public holidays:

Disclaimer: the gentleman that showed me around gave me permission to take photos and blog them, saying, “why not, free advertising..”