By: Adnan Arnautlija
RETROSPECTIVE EXHIBITION “COMPLICATE SIMPLY” IN MIKSER HOUSE SARAJEVO
Last Friday at Mikser House Sarajevo, as part of the festival “From Belgrade With Love”, a retrospective exhibition opened titled “Complicate simply”, featuring 30 years of award winning works by Slavimir Stojanovic Futro, a famous Belgrade graphic designer and visual artist. The day after the show, on Saturday, Slavimir held a masterclass lecture at Mikser House, where visitors had the opportunity to learn more about his life and work.
Slavimir says that his formative years took place in some complicated times, so it was logical that he adopted “complicate simply” as his life motto. “Complicate simply” thus became the name of this retrospective exhibition, and looking at the exhibition it is easy to feel that spirit, because even the most complex topics are presented clearly and loudly through simple and approachable design.
His works are included in the collections at the Pompidou Museum in Paris, the Museum of Art and Advertising in Hamburg, the Poster Museum in Warsaw, and many others. Earlier this year, Slavimir Stojanović was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the trade organization UEPS from Serbia. Interestingly, his selection was a precedent, as one of the rules to be given this honor is that the candidate is older than 50. The rule was not broken because there were no other candidates, but because there was no one better than him.
The exhibition “Complicate simply” is open at Mikser House Sarajevo until 30 October, after which it will continue its tour. So if you have the opportunity, be sure to visit!
APPLE SUED BY TOKYO-BASED EMONSTER OVER THE USE OF THE WORD ‘ANIMOJI’
Tokyo based Emonster has sued Apple over the use of the term ‘Animoji’ unveiled by Apple as a feature for iPhone X according to a report by Reuters.
Emonster, in an appeal to federal court in San Francisco, pointed out that using ‘Animoji’ is a “textbook case” of deliberate infringement.
Emonster chief executive Enrique Bonansea registered a trademark on the product name ‘Animoji’ and Apple is fully aware of Emonster’s app because it is available for download on Apple’s App Store according to the lawsuit .
Emonster is now seeking financial damages and a court order blocking Apple from using the term while the lawsuit is pending.
UNILEVER’S IN-HOUSE AGENCY IS NOW OPERATING IN OVER 20 COUNTRIES
Just one year after launching, Unilever’s in-house agency U-Studio has a presence in over 20 countries.
Little has been revealed about the U-Studio division since it began piloting last September, although one analyst – Greg Paul from consultancy R3 Worldwide – speculated at the time that the FMCG-giant was looking to rapidly expand globally.
The agency was established to develop “utility and informational digital content” such as how-to videos, infographics, articles, product information, while Unilever simultaneously slashed some 3,000 agencies it worked with in half.
VOLVO ‘DISAPPOINTED’ AS IT AXES GREY’S UNAPPROVED CHANNEL 4 DIVERSITY FUND AD
Volvo has expressed disappointment after its creative agency Grey London was found to have submitted an unapproved advert to Channel 4’s annual ‘Diversity in Advertising’ competition. As a result, the auto brand has walked away from the £1m worth of free airtime the broadcaster had awarded.
The competition offered the airtime on the basis that the winning ad focused around a non-visible disability. Grey’s submission for Volvo was announced as the winner in July after being selected over entries from seven other brands, including Marks & Spencer, Bose and Ford.
However, Volvo has since claimed it had not approved the ad created by Grey.
The concept for the ad which had been submitted to the competition has not yet been revealed, and Grey London spokesperson confirmed it had withdrawn from the Diversity in Advertising Award.
LYFT STEALS A $1BN MARCH ON UBER COURTESY OF ALPHABET
Ride-hailing app Lyft is set to mount a more vociferous challenge against tainted market leader Uber after it successfully raised $1bn in financing in a funding round led by CapitalG, Alphabet’s growth investment fund.
Following hot on the heels of a successful $600m funding round just six months ago the latest fundraiser leaves Lyft sitting pretty with a market valuation of $11bn, up from $7.5bn before.
Lyft has been steadily deepening ties with Alphabet as it continues its slow but steady expansion, rolling out its services to operate in 41 US states and conducting over 1m rides per day.
By contrast Alphabet hasn’t invested in Uber since 2013, coinciding with Uber’s decision to go it alone for its own self-driving car development plans – a decision which came to a head this year when Alphabet’s Waymo sued Uber over the alleged theft of trade secrets.
MARRIOTT LAUNCHES GLOBAL MEDIA REVIEW FOLLOWING ITS MERGER WITH STARWOOD HOTELS
A little over a year after completing its merger with Starwood Hotels and Resorts, Marriott International has launched a review of its global media buying and planning account.
Marriott International spent nearly $233 million on measured media domestically in 2016 and $96 million in the first six months of 2017, according to Kantar Media.
MEC has handled global media buying and planning for Marriott since 2011. It is unclear if the incumbent was invited to participate in the review.
