A few examples of products and designs for 3D printing.

3D printing, or additive manufacturing, sure has come a long way from its beginnings. As early as the mid-1980’s, Chuck Hull had invented and patented stereolithography (solid imaging) and founded 3D Systems, Inc. His vision, shared by many, of turning digital files into physical objects, has finally become a reality, soon to be as simple and commonplace as camera phones. Today, anyone anywhere can employ additive manufacturing – and here’s how:

1. Take a 3D digital file, created yourself through computer-aided design (CAD) software or downloaded from sites like Shapeways. You’ll know it’s the right kind of file by the .stl ending (for “Standard Tessellation Language” or “stereolithography”). The software will divide the design into digital layers and translate it into a language of three-dimensional polygons that 3D printers understand.

2. Send the file to a 3D printer, which will then “print” the design layer by layer of approximately 100 micrometers each, using your choice of materials. Hence the term “additive manufacturing”: while typical subtractive manufacturing constructs objects by cutting a desired shape from raw materials, 3D printing builds objects by adding material in layers.

3. Enjoy the 3D rendition of your design, customized exactly to your specifications and ready for use, sale, display, or any other desired purpose.

Watch this video on YouTube.

With its enormity of possibilities for customization and creativity, 3D printing stands to revolutionize the entire dynamic of consumer culture. Even the most passive consumer can become an active creator, designing and producing unique objects at costs competitive with basic retail prices. This new technology can essentially operate as small, cost-effective production runs for engineers, artists, designers, and the like who want to sell their ideas without the risks attached to inventory management and finding a viable market. Creators can design a new product and produce it on demand, so regardless of whether ten people or ten thousand people buy it, they stand to lose nothing.

Watch this video on YouTube.

So what does this mean for companies with distinctive brands and designs that rely on a creative niche, or on patents and copyrights? How can they prevent unauthorized reproduction of their products and maintain a claim to originality if consumers can simply reprint their wares? As it stands, there are no legal precedents or case laws that address this yet, since the technology is still so new. However, the opportunity to use, experiment with, alter, and improve upon ideas could mean great leaps towards general scientific and technological progress. This is the concept embraced by the open source movement. If we are free to create and recreate, working towards a “better” product, we are much more likely to break ground in areas such as medicine, engineering, environmental sustainability, science, and much more. For instance, forays have already been made into the task of replacing essential parts of the Great Barrier Reef that would otherwise take thousands of years to rebuild naturally. Scientists are also experimenting with the possibility of creating structures out of living cells so that patients requiring transplants could have the heart, lung, kidney, or other organs created for them in the hospital using the exact genetic makeup they need to limit – if not eradicate entirely – the risk of rejection.

Screenshots of sites devoted to the 3D printing community.

So in short, 3D printing is the next great enabler of creativity and innovation – the tools and technology that increase even the average Joe’s chances of affecting enormous change. As Joseph Flaherty of Wired.com explains, 3D printing has inspired a community of eternal innovation in which individuals can finally unleash their pent-up creativity. And we here at Kihada Kreative have certainly witnessed the distance a little creativity can go!

The post 3D Printing: Creativity Takes Shape appeared first on Kihada Kreative | Brand consulting | Creative and Design Services.

Launching her sixth season of the bi-annual exhibition, fashion designer, writer, and ecostylist Myriam Laroche was once as much a fashion waste culprit as the rest of us. But when she discovered how much clothing the average North American wastes – 68 pounds in a lifetime – and witnessed first hand the damage caused by the chemicals used in textile manufacturing, she decided to reverse the trend. Eco Fashion Week became her vehicle for uniting style and sustainability, bringing together the eco-friendly and the fashion-conscious – because chic and world betterment needn’t be mutually exclusive. As a proponent of responsible treatment of the people and the natural resources involved in the entire process, the event seeks to inform and inspire its participants in two primary ways:

• By presenting sustainable innovations, solutions, and alternatives in fashion, modeled on the runways of the event’s numerous award-winning fashion shows.
• By building the capacity within the audience to align consumer values, intentions, and actions, through engaging seminars on topics like, “Designer Challenges and Solutions” and “Rethinking Second-Hand”.

Put simply, the equation might look like this:

diverse team of artists, designers, producers, strategists, visionaries, etc
+
> 2000 global VIP guests, buyers, stylists, media, etc
x
multi-disciplinary approach to fashion and sustainability
=
collaborative shift towards responsible fashion, from process to product
(sourcing –> design –> production –> distribution –> purchase –> use – and re-use!)

Watch this video on YouTube.

So prepare to see some serious innovation – think avant-garde vintage more than hemp-clad hippies – at Robson Square, April 21-24th; the type of innovation that makes a brand outlast its competitors through commitment to lasting change. Because, as we believe here at Kihada, a brand – and a branding agency, for that matter – should have a distinctive signature, not a sizable footprint. Find out more about these progressive ideas at Eco Fashion Week – and ask us how to make your brand more sustainable!

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Since 1950, the Kelowna Skating Club (KSC) has offered a wide array of services, from beginners’ lessons to intensive competitive training, to the community all year long. It also hosts the Okanagan Skating Academy, the region’s official training centre for figure skating competitors and coaches. Through its alliance with Skate Canada, KSC became the second Centre of Excellence in BC, establishing the Kelowna Centre for Skating Excellence with a coach-driven program helping skaters attain their full potential through systematic and thorough instruction. The staff and coaches take great pride in providing exceptional training at all levels, from helping the tiniest tot take his first steps on the ice to coaching the competitive skater to victory.

Watch this video on YouTube.

This dedication to excellence comprises the core of our branding strategy for KSC. We created a brand design that would reflect the true nature of the services they offer, and the devotion with which they do so. We built a brand-new website with an easy-to-use back end so that they could easily maintain and update information, such as schedules, photo galleries, achievements, YouTube videos, and events.  We also redesigned their logo, combining Kelowna’s emblematic apple with Skate Canada’s maple leaf for a modern, patriotic tribute.  It wasn’t an easy task, but the final image of a rink-encircled apple with a maple leaf stem smoothly merged the old with the new, to great avail. Throughout all brand materials, we used blue white and silver to reflect the theme of sparkling ice and skates, and finished with red accents to represent KSC’s alliance with Skate Canada.

Through dramatic, in-action images that emphasized their standard of excellence within the world of ice sports, we helped KSC build the brand identity that helped them get where they are today. Its sterling reputation as an exceptional competitive training hub now has a brand identity to match!

This is the sort of project that gives us great pride – the knowledge that our work helps our community grow is an enormous reward for us. We’re dedicated to helping companies like KSC grow the right way through modern branding and design.

Because a company’s greatest asset – non-profit or otherwise – is the power of its brand.

Written by Alison, alison@kihadaworksdesign.com

The post Branding the Kelowna Skating Club for Success appeared first on Kihada Kreative | Brand consulting | Creative and Design Services.

Our creative process comprises five steps, each of which we have strategically designed to flow naturally into the next as concepts and ideas take shape. Every one of them is a crucial part of the final whole, so we complete each to the fullest degree before moving on. That way, the success of any brand and/or project becomes fairly straightforward! Here’s a little description of our Five Steps, and how they worked for our website:

1. Getting to Know You

Brands are expressions of identity, as unique and distinctive as the companies they represent. That’s why it’s so important that we really get to know the heart of the matter before we try to tell its story. So before we tackled our website, we sat down as a team and took a look at everything that’s inside the box – our core values, our vision, and who we are as a branding and design firm. We clearly defined the message we wanted to communicate to clients, both prospective and current, through our online platform.

2. Research & Brainstorming

Next came the mock-ups and concept development, analyses and assessments, from which our creative momentum would begin. As you can imagine, multitasking was crucial if we were to see our project from all the right angles.  We identified our strengths and successes as a business, and established where we needed to improve. For instance, we wanted to make ours a more responsive, mobile-ready website that would deliver optimal viewing experience on all devices, so we’re always only a click away. We also further refined our SEO strategies through further research and skills development.  At the same time, we compared our competitors as a baseline, noting what we liked and what we would do differently. This reminded us of what distinguishes us from the market standard, the edge that sets us apart and defines our direction – and the key is in our Five Step Process.

3. Creative Concepts & Ideas

Distilling clarity from our brainstorm, we nurtured and developed our best ideas into one solid concept. We used what we like to call the right way of thinking – focusing on various aspects simultaneously while keeping the whole (and the final result) in perspective. This involved lots of team meetings and collective creativity, and while a lot of great ideas hit the cutting room floor, we’re looking forward to sharing a few of them with you in upcoming articles! We talked, doodled, paced, and constructed the Five Steps into streamlined perfection, then fashioned the words and visuals to express each one. Then we designed all other website content and components around this core process. Above all else, we wanted our unique brand identity to shine through in one consistent message.

4. Drafting & Reviewing

Finally, all our creative contemplation came to life: we lovingly created drafts, mock-ups and prototypes of every page, picture, and paragraph so we could see how our ideas appeared in the flesh. This is the point at which we create the beta version of every project we do, and review it closely with the client for feedback and follow-up. Our site was no exception: we put it through the gamut of tests, making necessary adjustments as we went. We polished the visual architecture to perfection, resizing and reformatting elements and comparing the mobile with the desktop versions to create a compatible flow. We carefully wrote and re-wrote content until we were fully confident in its efficacy. Not a single detail escaped our keen inspection.

5. Revealing Your Masterpiece

This is the winning moment when all that work comes to fruition!  The masterpiece is unveiled at last, the reward of a process that works.  We launched our new site, with much fanfare across the Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest profiles we’d created to engage with our followers. We take the social media side of marketing very seriously, as it is an essential tool that every client needs to succeed in business nowadays.

Now you see how through our creative process, we can satisfy client objectives to the fullest degree, on time and within budget, with full confidence.  No matter what we’re working on, the Five Steps are the key to our success.  It could be the key to your success too – now that you know our process, why not put it to the test?  Get a free quote here, or contact us today!

Written by Alison, alison@kihadaworksdesign.com

The post Kreative has a New Face! appeared first on Kihada Kreative | Brand consulting | Creative and Design Services.

Ads of the World | November 2012 Winners.

BEST FILM

HAVANA HEAT

Watch this video on YouTube.

Advertising Agency: String Theory, New Zealand  |  Executive Creative Director: Jeremy Taine |  Director: Mcbess and Simon  | Production company: The Mill Agency  | Executive Producer: Nick Barnes

BEST PRINT

Make the world closer  |  Ukraine International Airlines: Statues

Agency: kaFe, Kiev, Ukraine Creative  | Director: Aleksandr Bozhko  | Art Director: Igor Dzhemesiuk  | Copywriter: Aleksandr Bozhko |  Illustrator: Antonina Aleksandrova

Update: This work turned out to be fake. And creators of the print apologize to UIA. 

The post Havana Heat appeared first on Kihada Kreative | Brand consulting | Creative and Design Services.

On April 20th, Dreams Take Flight will host its annual fundraising gala at the Delta Airport Hotel’s elegant Sea Island Ballroom, and the theme this year is Havana Nights. Escape to a land of Latin magic and colourful rhythm, where every moment of fun supports a magnanimous children’s charity. Each ticket, modestly priced at $200 each ($175 for Early Bird Registration), includes a full 3-course plated dinner, a complimentary signature cocktail, access to live and silent auctions, and unlimited spins on the dance floor – proceeds from which go towards flying kids with mental, social, and physical challenges to Disneyland for one magical day free from their struggles. With Global BC Sports Anchor Barry Delay, the event’s Master of Ceremonies, and live performances by Side One, this is destined to be a night to remember!

Every year, Dreams Take Flight flies 125 kids from all over Canada to Disneyland, the Happiest Place on Earth, where the magic is real and hardships are forgotten. In accompanying each trip so far, we here at Kihada Kreative have witnessed that extraordinary magic at work among the kids and their families. The brief reprieve from their ongoing struggles, in which kids can just be kids, leaves a lasting imprint that, we hope, remains a ray of hope for years to come. That’s why we’re honoured to provide all the promotional creative design, print and online campaigns for their cause. We took particular pleasure in designing this year’s gala media with a modern, Latin-themed take on the 1950’s graphic design. Taking part in this event means so much to us, because none of the amazing gifts given by Dreams Take Flight would be possible without the generous donations and support received through fundraisers like this one.

So get your tickets early before they’re gone! You won’t want to miss this spectacular Latin-themed gala. Bring your friends and get the most bang for your buck: register a table of 8 for only $150 per person ($1200 total)! Dance the night away with a hot date, your closest comrades, or the entire family – because one fantastic Havana Night could grant a child one extraordinary day with Dreams Take Flight.

Buy your tickets online at www.gala4dreams.com or call 604-270-5437. For more information about Dreams Take Flight, visit their website: www.dreamstakeflight.ca. Stay tuned to Kreative Finds for future updates on Dreams Take Flight and other community events!

The post Havana Nights for Dreams… appeared first on Kihada Kreative | Brand consulting | Creative and Design Services.

If knowledge really is power, it’s no wonder that Skillshare has taken off which such success.  The web-based “marketplace” is fuelled by the collective desire of students and teachers to share real-world skills through collaborative learning – in other words, the power of knowledge sought and exchanged.  Within the Skillshare community, you can “learn anything from anyone” – much like the villages of early civilization or native tribes, those with knowledge and skill pass them on to those who seek to learn.  No one needs a teaching degree – just the right know-how and the willingness to teach it – and any place can become a classroom.  By empowering the natural penchant for learning and teaching that we all possess, Skillshare transforms the world of education into one of seemingly limitless possibility.

Watch this video on YouTube.

While its headquarters are located in New York City, and its two most vibrant communities are there and in San Francisco, Skillshare enables teachers and students to collaborate from anywhere in the world.  Anyone with a skill or expertise they’d like to teach can list a class on the Skillshare website by following a few basic guidelines.  All listed classes are organized into Creative Arts, Culinary Arts, Entrepreneurship, Lifestyle, and Technology categories and curated by Skillshare’s education team to ensure the best learning experience for all involved.  Local classes can be taught in any community, in any venue the teacher deems fit, and students in the area can meet in person for a single or multiple sessions.  Hybrid classes, on the other hand, combine project-based online lessons with in-person workshops, where students near to each other can meet and work on assignments.  Effectively flattening the boundaries of time and space, Skillshare creates the sort of global village of which communication luminary Marshall McLuhan would be proud.

Furthermore, Skillshare makes education affordable – class fees are determined entirely by the teacher, and usually cost nowhere as much as their traditional equivalents (i.e. college or university courses).  From this Skillshare draws a small portion – 15% per ticket sold – to cover its expenses and its ongoing feature development.  On occasion, organizations like Kickstarter, Twitter, and Quora will teach classes for charity; for instance, designers from these three companies offered Skillshare classes throughout May and June this year to benefit the non-profit Project H Design.  Thanks in part to generous funding from companies like Union Square Ventures, Spark Capital, the Founder Collective, and other investors, Skillshare has established an education system that actually promotes its community’s economic interests – with much more in store.

Watch this video on YouTube.

When the internet was first conceived in our early days of business, we at Kihada knew it would have enormous implications across the board, but exactly how they would transform the world, we never could have imagined.  Since then, we have witnessed a dramatic acceleration in globalization and technological development, powered chiefly by the web.  While these changes might not always be for the better, Skillshare is an example of how global connectedness can open up entirely new horizons of possibility.  We love how this type of thinking outside the box leads to creative solutions with incalculable widespread benefits – and we can’t wait to see more of this on Skillshare.  The chance to expand our collective creative faculties is simply irresistible.  Who knows – you might see one of us teaching a class or two one day!

Check out the list of local and hybrid classes currently offered by Skillshare, or find out how you can teach one yourself.  Follow their blog for the latest updates on classes, schools, and education.  As always, keep your eye on us for the news and discoveries that are moving our world forward!

Written by Alison  alison@kihadaworksdesign.com

The post Skillshare: the New Way to Learn and Teach – ANYTHING! appeared first on Kihada Kreative | Brand consulting | Creative and Design Services.

 We’ve had a keen eye on the iPhone 5 since its release, eager to see if it lives up to the Apple-culture hype.  Time and trial will tell – but in the meantime, the inevitable wave of new iPhone cases has our creative design radar buzzing. As avid designers with a zealous taste for originality, we truly appreciate the clever, quirky, and classy ideas clearly conceived outside the box. Here, we share a few of the best we’ve come across so far.

From left to right: Vintage Rotary and Dual Lens Camera designs by Spasticase add a touch of old-world elegance to a modern tech essential. Bamboo and plant fibre composite offers the perfect canvas for custom engraving on the new and improved iPhone case by Grove. A classic cassette tape disguise delivers a cheeky blast from the past.

Canny cases by CRAFIC offer clues to the owner’s character.

Appoint your favourite exotic animal to guard your iPhone against bumps, bruises, and other mishaps! Choose from XING, GRIZZLY, TIGRIS, ELLIE, and more from Case-Mate’s zoo of contenders.

Griffin rolls out a parade of adorable animal friends in its new KaZoo and Animal Parade series, complete with downloadable app for creating matching screen backgrounds.

Watch this video on YouTube.

Clockwise from top left: FUSION dual layer case with stand by iLuv holds its own while you work.  EXOvault’s latest design, the EXO15 with brass and rosewood composite, proves that durable can also be dashing. Your plastic’s safe and sound inside the secret compartment of the Stealth case by HEX.  Miniot’s Book offers functional elegance for your new iPhone. Enjoy handsome leather protection and storage, courtesy of the Targus Wallet Case.

Possibly our absolute favourite – Brain by NoNaked expresses the yin and yang of the analytical left and creative right sides of thinking.

Want to get creative? Customize your iPhone with your own case design at Zazzle.com!  Check out their cheeky “Backsides” promo:

Watch this video on YouTube.

As always, stay current with Kihada for more kreative finds!

Written by Alison, alison@kihadaworksdesign.com

The post A Case like No Other: Getting Creative for the iPhone 5 appeared first on Kihada Kreative | Brand consulting | Creative and Design Services.

Beautiful 2012, part of the Dragons & Tigers series.

Prepare to compete for seats at all of this year’s shows – as one of North America’s top five largest film festivals, the VIFF experience is in high demand. Fortunately, the non-profit society has added some sleek new technology to their system, including an enhanced online ticketing centre, as part of their commitment to providing the best customer service and festival experience possible. Now, you can browse the full program and event schedule online using advanced search capacities, view ticket availability for each show ahead of time (rated Plenty, Going Fast, Limited, or Rush Only), and purchase various combinations of tickets or passes from the advance online box office. Planning your festival fantasia has never been so easy! However, if you do miss that cinematic marvel you’ve been eyeing, fear not – chances are the feature will return for a commercial release.

Occupy Love, one of the much-anticipated Canadian films from the Canadian Images series.

As for this year’s line-up, we’re extremely pleased to see a prominent Canadian Images program at its core, featuring a diverse coast-to-coast selection of feature films, documentaries, and shorts. Among these is a marked Atlantic presence, proof of the significant growth and development taking place in the region’s film industry. As one of the world’s biggest exhibitions of Canadian film, VIFF offers the ideal chance to view Canadian films that haven’t been produced in Hollywood, countering the industry trend; the society even runs a fabulous program for high school youth that focuses on just that – a “Same Planet, Different Worlds” theme.

Becoming Redwood, part of the Canadian Images series.

In addition, VIFF hosts a Film and TV Forum each year to “develop and strengthen the Canadian film and television industry, and to help filmmakers produce quality product for domestic and international markets”. This year more than 1200 delegates will participate in a series of panel discussions, pitching forums, master classes, and many other engagements, taking advantage of incredible networking opportunities and gaining access to both local and global industries. The Forum highlight, New Filmmaker’s Day, caters specifically to writers, producers, and directors of film and television media – a one-of-a-kind event born from VIFF’s mission to stimulate the motion picture industry in BC. To its ongoing focus and dedication to supporting Canadian film and filmmakers, we especially tip our hats.

The Secret of the Ant Children, part of the Spotlight on France series.

Watch this video on YouTube.

Kreativity wears many faces, comes in more colours than any crayon box could hold, and puts the unimaginable on the big screen. At Kihada, we thrive on new ideas and innovation – and we can hardly wait to get our fix at VIFF 2012. This celebration of talent, vision, and the drive it takes to get it off the ground is one you won’t want to miss.

Watch this video on YouTube.

Watch this video on YouTube.

Download your program guide here, or browse the online program directory on the new VIFF website. Be sure to buy your tickets soon before the seats on this sensational cinematic journey sell out!

Watch this video on YouTube.

Written by Alison, alison@kihadaworksdesign.com.

The post Canadian Creativity at the Core of VIFF appeared first on Kihada Kreative | Brand consulting | Creative and Design Services.

Since the release of Ron Fricke and Mark Madigson’s film SAMSARA, you no longer need 88 days to see the world – 99 minutes will more than suffice. In that period, you’ll reach more than 25 countries and experience hundreds of global phenomena in unbelievably vivid detail. You may also discover an unexpected sense of connection to the earth’s pulses and organic flow, channeled through the magnificent flow of images and music. Weaving together the ancient and the modern, the simple and the spectacular, and an entire spectrum of poignancy, SAMSARA truly exemplifies its Sanskrit expression of “the ever-turning wheel of life”.

“[The film] was conceived as a non-verbal, guided meditation on the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth,” explains director Ron Fricke, “sculpted, produced, and directed by the power of flow. It’s when that natural flow of organic environments is interrupted by disturbing images – animals in cages, people in cages – that lack the breath of life, that [we see] the Other Side.” It’s through this flow that Fricke and producer Mark Magidson seek to link humanity and nature, revealing the wondrous symbiotic ebb and flow of their respective cycles and rhythms. By delving into the inconceivable realms of man’s spirituality and the human experience, and presenting their discoveries unfettered by dialogue or descriptive texts, they hope to inspire unique interpretations in each individual viewer.

“The hope is that the viewer comes away feeling a sense of connection,” Magidson says, “connection to the phenomena of life around the world at this time.”

While the film itself is an astonishing wonder to behold, its creation was an equally mind-blowing feat for many reasons. Over five years of filming transported Fricke and Magidson, along with associate producer JC Earle and line producer Myles Connolly, to the world’s nooks and crannies in search of diverse, visually compelling material. To each sacred ground, disaster zone, industrial site, and natural wonder the crew Sherpa-ed their 70mm camera, a custom-designed time-lapse camera, a small jib arm, 30 feet of dolly track (split into 6 sections to comply with airline regulations), and a carefully engineered support package of essential equipment. Not your average tourist luggage bound for Epupa Falls in Angola, the Thiksey Monastery of Leh, Ladakh in India, France’s Chateau de Versailles, Ninth Ward in New Orleans, or the Burmese kingdoms of Bagan!

As if trekking across the globe with film gear in tow wasn’t steep enough, the use of 70mm film required a laborious conversion process to make the material digital-ready. The production team had to scan each frame at 8k resolution, creating a massive 20 terabyte file that could then be reduced in size for the final film. Ricke and Magidson pioneered this method in the creation of BARAKA, their previous film, and its extraordinary results won the filmmakers widespread acclaim for pushing the technical and logistical envelope; consummating BAKARA’sBlu-ray marked the first successful introduction of 70mm analog quality into a digital format.

Watch this video on YouTube.

Once again, the two visionary filmmakers prove that creativity and art know no bounds – not even those apparently axiomatic to technology. Their fearless pursuit of concept to completion demonstrates exactly the kind of devotion Kihada stands for – the unabashed daring to think outside the box. SAMSARA defies the typical expectations of traditional documentary and delivers instead a tour de force of unprecedented conception, connection, and contemplation. Accompanied by a rich landscape of music composed by Michael Stearns, Lisa Gerrard, and Marcello De Francisci, the film is destined to transport its audience to places never seen before.

SAMSARA is showing in select theatres across North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. For complete listings, see the official website. As always, keep an eye on Kihada for more film and movie updates!

Written by Alison, alison@kihadaworksdesign.com

The post SAMSARA: a World beyond Wonder appeared first on Kihada Kreative | Brand consulting | Creative and Design Services.