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Ice Tea? Like a BOS. shoutOut on 19/7/12 by travis.lyle1 in peeps |
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It’s bright, its design is about as funky as a star-spangled lion can get and it’s set tongues wagging ever since it landed in a blaze of glorious flavours. Yes folks, it’s the little can of iced wonderful that packs a healthy punch and has all the right faces making all the right noises in all the right places. It’s BOS Ice Tea - possibly the closest to a religious experience most mouths will ever get and it could quite possibly save the universe if it had opposable digits and a red cape! Why the ever-so-slightly raving review about a can of Ice Tea? The good people at Bos slung us here at The Leap a pack of their finest yesterday, and a little love goes a long way in this world!
OK, but seriously? From its award-winning design, to its range of flavours and on to innovative and eye-catching activations, BOS is the little can of 100% organic rooibos ice tea that’s making positive brand vibrations across the Interweb and on the ground at a vendor near you. Of course the ripples have been helped by the fact that BOS has pushed the envelope as far as activations go, getting itself featured prominently on the net and in traditional media as a result of its groundbreaking Twitter-activated vending machine, Bev. Created by the BOS team, and conceptualized by digital agency Cow Africa and designers Marc Nicholson and Lyall Sprong from Thingking (whose work we’ve featured before on The Leap in this post).
Bev (real name BevMax 4-45) has done the rounds at major events and earned the BOS crew accolades and column inches all over the show. Check her out here:
Add a healthy dose of activations done by none other than the Corne and Twakkie of The Most Amazing Show fame, who have plied their whackjob trade at music festivals and other highfalutin’ social gatherings, and the results are predictably high profile.
Now here at The Leap we love homespun success stories that feature a small but beautiful idea that rises to the top to become the cream of the crop. And BOS is just such an icon – it was featured at Design Indaba 2011 as one of the finalists in the Most Beautiful Object In South Africa contest thanks to its simple yet arresting African design styling by Peet Pienaar (from The President). One look at this slim, bright little can and your eyeballs are in love, even before your tastebuds start doing the funky fandango of joy. And oh - hold me tight, what a flavour sensation – take one part authentic organic rooibos flavour and mix well with a range of subtle yet sweet natural flavours, and serve chilled to a parched and appreciative palate, and what do you get? Shazam! Kapow! Supertea to the rescue! (And hey, it doesn't hurt that it goes down really well as a mixer, too...) Want to know more? Go BOS. |
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C'est La Vie. Why? Because of the sandwiches there! shoutOut on 18/7/12 by travis.lyle1 in peeps |
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The humble sandwich: feeding the world since god was in nappies! It’s the simple slice that make things nice, the daily delight that’s still good late at night. It’s also a great way to give some love back today, on this International Nelson Mandela Day! Yes folks, for just R67 worth of sandwich ingredients or 67 minutes of your time, you too can feel the love that Madiba has generated, and generate some good karma for yourself too. If you’re feeling it, take yourself down to La Vie in Seapoint and get stuck in! The good people at theforwardeffect.co.za in conjunction with Ubuntu Digital, IDKraft.com and laidback La Vie are hosting the 2nd annual Cape Sandwich Drive – it’s a simple process, and requires only that you have R67 worth of tasty sandwich goodies to share and are willing to get stuck in so the lesser fortunate can tuck in. They’re not asking for cash – they’re asking for love! And hey, if you have a fast car which could be used to deliver that sandwich love, all the better! Wanna get involved? Of course you do! Get down to La Vie this afternoon from 3pm and get stuck in! Even better yet – bring a friend and share the sarmie love! More info? No problem, here it is: Cape Sandwich Drive on Facebook |
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| Happy Birthday, M.C. Escher! shoutOut on 17/7/12 by Maike in peeps |
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New MC on the scene? Reggaeton toaster? Maybe a forgotten artist in the Island Records back catalogue? Actually, M.C. Escher was none of these - he was in fact one of the greatest illustrators of all time, and he was probably singlehandedly more responsible for bending minds through his art than any other. Who was he? MC Escher’s full name was Mauritz Cornelis Escher. He was Dutch and he was a mathematically precise artist whose work has gone on to inspire many others. If he were still with us, today would be his 114th birthday. He’s no longer with us, but his art endures as a testament to his uncanny ability to create illustrations which turned our usual sense of dimensions on its head. Take, for example, his ‘Drawing Hands’ – an absolute marvel of twisted perception that creates a scenario that couldn’t ever exist in reality, but somehow makes visual sense.
Another great example of his exact mathematical ability are his tiled illustrations, which take images of fish, birds, horses and other animals and morph them from one to the other in an interlocking grid. Mindblowing? Most definitely!
He may no longer be with us, but his art continues to inspire others, among them perspective artists like chalk pastel pavement painter Julian Beever, perception artist Regina Silviera (see image below) and 3D artist Nagai Hideyuki.
P.s: for a 3D take on Escher’s famous ‘Waterfall’, check this video out:
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| Hey Mac, This Is A Stickup! shoutOut on 16/7/12 by Maike in peeps |
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Happy Monday to you all here on The Leap and indeed out there in the wide weird world! Today we’re going to show our true colours by featuring a twist on the products of a little-known company based out in Cupertino, California. It’s possible you may have heard of the company as a result of their creation of a range of personal computing devices. Now, most people don’t use their particular brand of microcomputers, but according to those in the know, their products are, in the language of the street, the ‘shizzle’.
Yes Leapers, we’re talking about Apple, and we’re taking a look at the many supercool stickers that people have designed, which make great use of the Apple icon that lights up the lives (and laptops) of creatives worldwide. It’s always there, beaming its fruity cheek out at the world, making PC users feel a little less awesome, which is a bit cruel admittedly, but then life itself, as we all know, isn’t always fair. Good thing, then, that there are hundreds of ways out there to give the icon a creative brand spanking!
It’s not as though Apple weren’t asking for it all along – after all, with that minimalist design sensibility and the ubercool hipster cache that comes with owning and using what is arguably the last word in personal computing, someone was bound to start taking the mickey. Speaking of Mickey, here’s a fellow Disney icon, taking on the icon…
And for our last shot across that apple bow, here’s the Marvellous man of steel, with a heart of fruit, just for kicks!
Want to see more? Check out this cool list of 50 Creative Macbook Decal Stickers on Twistedsifter.com - stickers include the likes of Darth Vader, Super Mario, more Snow White, Batman and many more awesome designs to have fun with.
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| Behold the power of the Cube! shoutOut on 12/7/12 by Maike in peeps |
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Yes, we’ve blogged about paper toys recently. Yes, they are truly about as much fun as you can have with a pair of scissors without getting hospitalised. And no, we’re not bored of them yet, because why? Because one of our awesome community members here on The Leap (thanks, Matt Reid!) alerted us to the power and glory that is the mighty Cubeecraft: "papercraft toys that feature interlocking tabs for construction – eliminating the need for tape, glue or other messy adhesives".
And well, what can we say, we now bow to the manifold glory of humble paper made glorious but colour and cuts. Cubeecraft offers a huuuuge selection of papercuts, both created by Christopher Beaumont and by fans. So it’s not a one-a-day thing, but the whole enchilada in a selection of popular flavours. These flavours include, well hell, just about every cartoon, comic, anime, film, series and graphic novel character you could possibly think of. So, you can have your paper-cake and eat it, because this is a buffet where anyone could glut themselves ill till the cows come home. Want to know more about how it works? Watch the video below. Some pretty cool stuff! Looks like fun.
Check out the cool Paper Mario and Hellboy below for a taste of what's on offer. Rad, right?!
Chances are you’ll die of papercuts before you run out of things to do on Cubeecraft, but it's a challenge worth accepting. Like graphics, characters, interesting new takes on classic themes? Let your fingers do the walking to Cubeecraft now – but remember, don’t run with those scissors!
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| Illustration: They’ve got it Covered! shoutOut on 11/7/12 by Maike in peeps |
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Out here on the Interweb it’s often the case that there’s so much going on you actually don’t know where to turn. But that’s why we’re here at The Leap, to point you in the direction of a few of our favourite things. Take today’s feature for instance: Covered.
It works like this: First you find a classic cover from one of the biggest comic titles of yesteryear from Marvel, DC Comics, Zap Comix or perhaps even a contemporary classic like a Pokemon. Then you find a contemporary artist like Coop, Mike Loya or Daniel Cox, and invite them to create their unique take on the original.
The results are sometimes wild, sometimes whack but always interesting – hell, sometimes they’re better than the originals! The artists featured are frequently up-and-coming new kids on the block, but there are also some very well-established players, such as Coop, a.k.a the man famed for his saucy NSFW big babes. Say what you like about him, but one thing Coop sure is, is a damned good artist. Which is helpful, considering he covered the R.Crumb original illustration for Weirdo #20. Here are the Before & Afters:
Covered takes in a whole lot more than these few examples you see here – there are literally hundreds of reworks, so if this is your flavour, check out more of these great reinterpretations here.
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| Action Comics No.1 – The Comic That Started It All shoutOut on 10/7/12 by Maike in peeps |
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Printed in 1938, the cover features a grown man in red and blue underwear, wearing a red cape. Somehow, he’s managed to pick up a car, and is smashing it against a rock, scaring the hell out of the poor sap that was driving it, and his passenger, who has bolted into the distance. The driver’s friend is running for his life, pulling a scared baby face. (OK, to be fair, that’s not the actual story! Check out the link at the bottom of this page to get the real story).
This is the image on the cover of Action Comics No.1, the most coveted comic book of all time. It’s also the comic in which a little-known character known as ‘Superman’ was introduced to the world.
There are rumoured to only be between 50 and 100 copies of Action Comics No.1 thought to exist. Of these, there are only 6 copies of collector grade - one of which belonged to actor Nicholas Cage, which was stolen in 2000 and found in 2011 and subsequently sold for $2.16 million. Hang on a minute…let’s try that again – a comic that was once sold for 10 US cents in June 1938 is now worth OVER TWO MILLION DOLLARS! Holy green bits of Kryptonite!
For the creators of Superman – Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster – their fame and fortune may never have happened at all, if it weren’t for the fact that the former National Allied Publications (later DC Comics) editor, Vin Sullivan, couldn’t find a lead feature and turned to a former colleague, Sheldon Mayer, who unearthed the rejected Superman strips. The rest is history – a history that features a man in tight fitting clothes who some 75 years later continues to loom large over all subsequent superheroes.
Ever wanted to read the full version of Action Comics No.1? Now you can! Click here for an online version.
(Images: Courtesy DC Comics / National Comic Alliance 2012 )
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| Music Festivals 2012 – Take Your Pick shoutOut on 9/7/12 by Maike in peeps |
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(image borrowed from: SoundoftheDay.co.uk) Here at The Leap we’re mad for music festivals. Mad for them. How mad? Up-at-the-front-of-the-crowd-waving-our-hands-like-we-just-don’t-care-mad, that’s how mad. So mad we even keep an eye on festivals in the northern hemisphere whilst it’s petty cold down here in deepest darkest Cape Town. So, without any further ado, we bring you: the Springleap Festival Report 2012. First up, Tennessee’s finest: Bonnaroo! OK, sure, it’s already just taken place, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t warrant a mention – after all, it’s pretty much up there as far as Big Festivals go, considering it attracts such Big Names as Radiohead, Red Hot Chilli Peppers and The Beach Boys. OK, enough about them, we’re starting to get all teary eyed. I mean, The Beach Boys? Have some mercy, it’s not fair. Moving on… Let’s skip back over the pond and check out Lollapalooza, which runs over August 3 - 5 in Chicago, USA. Now in its 20th year, this one’s always going to pull very serious heavy hitters into its lineup and this year doesn’t disappoint. Jack Black. The Black Keys. Black Sabbath. (that’s a lot of black) Bassnectar. Chilli Peppers. Oy vey, enough already, have a look the lineup if you can handle it! Watch the line-up video here:
Next up, England’s finest - Glastonbury! Or as it happens, not, this year. Every so often Michael Eavis has to let the farm recover. Too right. Next? Bestival! Yep, the annual reason for an army of nutters descending on the Isle of Wight is back again from 6 – 9 September and better than ever, featuring…oh lord….New Order, Florence & The Machine, The XX and some guy named Stevie Wonder and a whole lot more. Possibly one of this year’s best lineups, hands down. It hurts to talk about it, so let’s not.
Back to home turf. Sure, it’s pretty cold and wet down South right now, but the darling buds of spring will return soon enough and you know what that means – festival mania all over again! Kickstarting the season, tickets to one of our favourites – Rocking The Daisies – have already gone on sale, and their headliner of last year (Band of Skulls) is being topped by UK band, Bloc Party this year. The Daisies rolls from 4 – 7 October outside Darling, South Africa. Check out the 2011 video by local blog DON'T PARTY for a taster of what can be expected:
And that, for the time being, should see you through until the end of the year, when we’ll be rounding up the likely lineup of events over the southern half’s summer season.
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| WIN a Nokia Lumia 800 shoutOut on 5/7/12 by Maike in peeps |
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Springleapers, today we have a very special treat for you! WIN a brand new out the box NOKIA Lumia 800 - just by tweeting and helping us to get @NokiaRSA trending. Compliments of Nokia South Africa we are doing a nice little giveaway in conjunction with the Nokia Pimp our Devs design contest today. We already have a whopping $2700 (R20 000) in cash prizes up for grabs for designers in this contest, but now anyone who isn't a designer can also win. Want to win? Of course you do! Who wouldn't want to walk away with a styling new Nokia Lumia 800?
Follow these easy steps to twitter your way into awesomeness:
1. Check out the designs entered into the Nokia ‘Pimp our Devs’ contest so far: http://ht.ly/bIAwH 2. Click on a design that you like, to enlarge it. 3. Tweet about it using the button provided in the ‘Sharing is caring’ bar to the right of the design. (NB: Keep the tweet copy as is, but include “@Springleap @NokiaRSA” to make sure we can track it.) 4. VOTE! Give the design the vote score you think it deserves by clicking the stars in the top right corner of the modal box. 1 star for "Meh." and 5 stars for "Whoa. That's awesome" 5. Follow @Springleap and @NokiaRSA 6. For extra entries, Retweet the following message as many times as you want: I wanna win a #Lumia800 with @Springleap & @NokiaRSA http://ow.ly/c1Gbg
Terms: 1. You must follow steps 1-5 above to qualify. 2. Winners will be randomly selected and announced on Friday, 6 July 2012. 3. This contest is only open to South African residents. |
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| Lighten Up With Colwyn Thomas shoutOut on 4/7/12 by Maike in peeps |
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You might remember Colwyn Thomas. Wait a minute - there’s no might, his Tiger Hug illustration was a popular one here on The Leap, and not to forget his beautiful design Hug (yes, it seems the man likes hugs. Nothing wrong with that). Man about town, musician? Hang on, no, that’s his brother - Gary Thomas (who’s damn good, by the way). But anyway, back to the action: Colwyn Thomas.
Right, well, anyway, moving along…dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to pay homage to sheer gorgeousness of Mr. Colwyn Thomas’s latest creations - his lightbox series - which combine the artistry of his illustrations with the permanence of home appliances.
OK, so most home appliances last about 2 days past their warranty, so that’s an unfair comparison. These are not appliances in that sense, then. These are wall-bound pieces of illuminated art, folks, and they’re as gorgeous as his prints. With the added dimension of glowing from within on account of the LED’s in them, of course. Here is a sneak peak into how he puts them together:
Considering Colwyn’s masterful work in prints, it’s no surprise that his designs have comfortably made the transition to lights. But rest assured he’s not resting on his laurels - for more insight on the artist and his other artistic pursuits, check out this interview with him on Empty Kingdom. For more on his other work, check out his website and blog. There's some truly mind-blowing stuff there!
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