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'Thats Not Litter, Thats Groundvertising'


A sort of new phenomenon regarding advertising; concert posters and general announcements plastered on sidewalks and other various ground levels. A really nice touch I must say, especially in a town like Stockholm where people tend to spend 8 months out of the year scurrying the city streets in gloomy weather obsessively staring at their feet. 



Even Stockholm's public transport system have picked up on the trend. Here's advertising for a new metro card being introduced in the coming months.

2009-jun-14 @ 10:51 am Permalink
Tags: groundvertising, disruption, stockholm


'Desire Path'


I've been intrigued by shortcuts like the one above for some time, and I finally found a few words to explain my curiosity. The thing is that paved roads and sidewalks have been designed from an authoritarian perspective telling people where they should walk whereas shortcuts are created where people actually do walk, organically and free forming. When people stop using these paths vegetation grows back and nature takes over once again. You could probably turn this small observation into a quasi-philosophical outburst regarding urban planning, societies as a whole, fixed rules, organic vs mechanical flows.., but I won't. It's Sunday morning and I haven't even had coffee yet. Anyhow, funny enough after doing some netsearch it turns out that these shortcuts actually have an official name; 'desire paths/lines' or 'social lines'. There's even a whole Flickr group on the subject. True nerds can also watch this videoclip.



2009-jun-14 @ 10:12 am Permalink
Tags: desire path, disruption


'Wheelie'


2009-jan-31 @ 10:00 pm Permalink
Tags: fixie, copenhagen, bike, disruption, mp3


'Common Light'


I've seen a lot of this during my travels in Thailand and beyond; papercups, waterbottles and other waste recycled as decorative lampsheds on lesser developed resorts. A really appreciative simple solution and it works remarkably well with it's surroundings. These lampsheds work great for composition and actually very functional for lightcomposition and ambience. Ofcourse, it's also a reminder that there's way too much waste around but atleast because of this 'sampling' it's coming to use again.







2007-dec-20 @ 9:33 pm Permalink
Tags: asia, thailand, design, lighting, atmosphere, disruption


'Randomness'


I have to say; it's an incredible source of inspiration to build something like a personal planning case while being exposed to such an neverending mix of impressions and everyday momentums as a city like Bangkok can offer, 24 hours a day. I've developed the luxury habit of experiencing a good cup of coffee or espresso in the mornings while randomly 'mindwalking' (some call it daydream) on various matters, doodad and thumb through the local press. Other than that, a day could present random imagery like this:




This is what I personally experience as 'positive disruption', (as opposed to 'negative', if the tree lay flat over the street). That tree and those cables and the very same tree located smack in the middle of the sidewalk, forcing you to pass on the road with the obvious risk invoked would probably pose grave concern in most well-tended Western cities. Bangkok's city planning seem to be a bit more 'organic' though which I think suits the cause better. That tree is actually an important landmark, it's the black dot on a white sheet of paper and it gives the small street (soi) where it is growing a sense of character. It gives value to the area, and best of all seemingly non-deliberate. Without that tree this would be like any other of the thousands of small sois in Bangkok. Luckily almost every street in Bangkok shows a personal side like this to appreciate.


Stumbled upon this youthmarket in the Siam Square area which I thought was a magnificent initiative. I couldn't make out who or how it was sponsored but basically anyone up to a certain age could sell/trade self-produced handicraft, music or whatever the creative output might be. I wish more projects like this (self-expressive, mass motivating) would be targeted towards youths to meet likeminded creatives.




I've been conducting mini-interviews with people within the retail- and skateboardindustry on various matters these last days and some of the material will show up in my case - if I find it useful. The fellas @ Preduce introduced me to this brand new skatepark @ Esplanade in Ratchada. A smartlooking artgallery/park/café with an adjoining conceptcomplex including several brandstores; Stussy, Volcom, Reef... The most interesting observation was watching the young'uns skate the area fresh from school, still in their schooluniforms.





Nike has a strong presence on all levels in Bangkok. The Nike SB (skateboard model) account and Nike limiteds are eagerly sought after business deals for most skate/street boutiques. This interest alone among retailers is probably one of the fundamental pillars for streetwear culture in general here.




At 6pm everyday a sharp whistle blows in most public parks in Bangkok and everyone present rises to the sounds of Thailands national anthem. After that it's aerobics class accompanied by squeaky Thai popmusic. It's a peculiar feeling for a farang (foreigner) to experience being pulled into these alternative customs and habits without truly being able to understand or appreciate it's meaning. It makes you wonder about important things like how to utilize and understand the importance of habits, norms, values, routines when creating any identity, whether it be corporate or individual. Much lays within the process itself I would reckon. (Un)fortunately I couldn't participate in the aerobics class but I do stand up every time the national anthem is played which practically makes me part Thai.
2007-dec-13 @ 4:25 pm Permalink
Tags: bangkok, thailand, asia, disruption


'Waste'


2008-may-06 @ 8:41 pm Permalink
Tags: coffee mornings, disruption, expectation, bob marley, mp3


'Citizen Censorship'


Usually I don't pay that much attention to the daily tabloids but the other day I got a bit curious as to why these were hanging upside down. At first thought I suspected it to be some sort of marketing trickery as to create an 'attentive disruptiveness' with bypassers, but that didn't make much sense. Being the header for the biggest newspapers in the country there really wasn't any point in that kind of strategy. I shrugged it oFf as a simple mistake until I entered the store and saw the same tabloid; again upside down:


At this point, naturally I simply had to ask the cashier what was going on. Part of the story is that there has been quite a few tragic and horrendous cases of child killings recently in Sweden. The cashier explained that there was an elementary school nearby and that she simply had taken the initiative to place the tabloid upside down as to not expose the children to this particular newsheader when passing by the store on their way to school. I thought about that small but genuine gesture quite a bit afterwards and found it quite moving. In all honesty it might not have had the desired effect since it almost draws more attention to it than if it was hanging upright, but it felt fundamentally important that a single person, not as an employee, but as an individual had felt the need to extend and express her own emotional relation to this tragic event. Of all the stories, articles and media coverage that has bombarded the nation about the murder of Engla in recent weeks this single act was probably the one that spoke to me with the most sincere language of empathy.
2008-apr-19 @ 01:08 am Permalink
Tags: disruption


'Trash Not Trash'


2008-apr-14 @ 8:19 pm Permalink
Tags: street culture, design, subway, disruption


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