> We're all blues...

I was diving into the blues of the Mediterranean this Week end... A portfolio presentation for Bleu, a balad in the Jounieh bay, and Chet Baker on the radio...

>So what did you think of Jay Jay?

Jay Jay? You know, Jermanos Jermanos, the new character by Fadi Raidy, star of the Cornelli ads?? Well, personally........ I liiiiike it !!! (i mean him;-)

Seriously, not often we come across a well-thought of campaign in Lebanon:

>The billboards (will post a pict of those soon) look fresh and nice, good composition, the photos of JayJay are nicely taken and well-lit. In a jungle of ugly billboards and bad pictures this is definitely refreshing!!!

>The character and the TV ads : What can say about Fady? Well as Jessica Rabbit says: He makes me laugh!.. He depicts so well the Lebanese cliché! All his previous characters were a hit but this one is definitely my favorite. C'mon we all have an "ameurkaynayyyyyy" cousin, don't we?

So to sum it up, this is an ad to which every Lebanese relates, regardless which side of town they live in ;-) The production is well done, and the visual identity is neat too...

Bravo JayJay & Cornelli! Who's with me?

#update: look at the buzz on facebook in 30 minutes only:

#update 2: AND.. here's a pict of one of the billboards courtesy of Beirut Drive-By:

>Encore elle??

Well yes, I'm all over the media this week! Rest assured though: this doesn't happen often, I'm more of a low key "public" person ;-)
But if you'd like to know more about my work I'll be in PechaKucha Beirut Souks tonight 8pm, to talk about "my zelig path"... (?!)
And on MTV lebanon's Tahkik, Friday 10pm, to talk about the role of visual communication in Lebanese Franchise RECTANGLE JAUNE.

>PechaKucha 20x20: I will be participating on May 25, Beirut Souks!

PechaKucha Night was devised in Tokyo in February 2003 as an event for young designers to meet, network, and show their work in public. It has turned into a massive celebration, with events happening in hundreds of cities around the world, inspiring creatives worldwide. Drawing its name from the Japanese term for the sound of "chit chat", it rests on a presentation format that is based on a simple idea: 20 images x 20 seconds. It's a format that makes presentations concise, and keeps things moving at a rapid pace.
On May 25, Volume 11 will take place in Beirut Souks and if you wanna know more about my path in design and visual communication, see you there!
More here  about PK beirut and here about PK 20x20 in general.

> eye candy

Thought you'd enjoy these picts from an "eighties neon" fashion shoot a couple of years back...

> the real story behind playing cards!

It has been published a few months ago, but i just read it .. and loved it! Ralph surely knows a how to tell (and draw!) a story... If you read french, you're 11 and up, and wanna know all about hearts'n'spades, this is for you!

>new design: nikon bags

Under press right now: 2 new bags I designed for Nikon Leb. One is a lightweight recyclable yellow paper bag, and the other, inline with the I AM campaign, in more sophisticated materials.

>Welcome to RJ in the blogosphere

Welcome to RECTANGLEJAUNE in the blogosphere right here!
The new social media team (soon to be revealed) in collaboration with the visual communication manager (me) will try to keep you up with the latest trends, behind the scene news, style tips and more...
http://blog.rectanglejaune.com/

>Aida's cookies... mmmm!

Very proud to have worked on Aida's cookie pack and logo.. They taste amazing btw, soon to a shop near you!

>It's duck season!

Not so much into eating duck (well maybe some canard laqué...), more into preparing a fun table!

>my latest craze: pinterest!

I've been making moodboards for years now: on my desk, behind my desk, in my home, on my laptop, in certain folders, on my desktop, in clients files... and each time i wanted a special inspirational pict for a job or for my own use... go find it!!!!
AT LAST I'M SAVED.
Pinterest is here! A place where you can pin your collections online in as many boards as you want... and discover other people's boards from all around the world.
A world of its own, i tell you.
Click here for my boards, i've been there for barely 48 hrs so they're still small, and here for Pinterest in general...

>Please vote: left or right?

Which visual is more effective according to you?

>cheers to our set designer!!

I wanted to take the opportunity through this blog to say a huge thanks to Vanessa Dammous our set designer who once again did an excellent job on RJmag 6, though her name was erased by mistake in the credits!
Mea culpa, Vaness' and for what's it's worth, it's not everyday that 2 minds are on the same creative length; here's to working together many many times again and again ;-)

>more pages from RJmag 6, published next week

>pages from RJmag 6: "what's in a chair?"

Here is a series that i really enjoyed doing:
matching famous seats with the appropriate seated!
(click to enlarge)

>Gaga de GLEE? je le suis moi aussi...

What can I say? I love this series!! Great music, stunning performances, fantastic art direction, funny scripts, interesting characters... The Musicals lover that i am is completely thrilled. I wanted to post you about it for quite some time now, but this freshly published article in ELLE France urged me to do it now.. For more info click here.

>BLEU design consultants

Here is a project I really enjoyed working on; Bleu design consultants & architects: I did the corporate image and the notebooks design...

>It's a Victorian tea party dear!..

A little while ago we had an intimate tea party with the girls, every little lady received a vichy brooch and a hat with a tulle to wrap around it, victorian style, of course!
The treats were sweet and savory, accompanied by a proper cup of tea indeed...
All we needed was Mr Darcy but we did manage without him!

>Bic & Marc Jacobs USB boys

Well it seems my friend Marc is a lot like me ;-)
Remember 2 years ago I designed a PVC USB key for BIC with their BIC Boy? Well you've probably seen Marc Jacobs' new USB which is also in the same PVC material and the utter definition of cute!
These boys are definitely having a blast together in my handbag...

>My Rothko Mood of the day...