If you’re wondering whether or not you want the new iPhone, well, watch this video.  This phone is amazing! I’m dumping my Blackberry for this phone!

Seth Godin recently wrote about Scott McCloud’s book on comics as it relates to marketing. As a huge fan of comics i just couldn’t let the opportunity pass without adding my two cents.

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July 1st marked the beginning of Levis new campaign “Go Forth” which places a huge emphasis on American Exceptionalism, our fight for independence and manifest destiny. They have invited us to take part in the campaign, the illusion they have created (and make no mistake it is an illusion). They have declared us “generation denim”…

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You can’t say ‘restaurant’ in Sacramento without saying Paragary’s. The two have gone hand in hand for longer than I have been alive, and Paragary’s Restaurant Group (PRG) latest foray into the restaurant business is simply swinging!

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Recently I stumbled across a series of ads produced in 2006 for a men’s clothing company by the name of Stori. I have to admit that the first thing that caught my eye was an image of Spiderman getting dressed, but upon further inspection I noticed a few other things that I thought made these ads worthy of the awards they won.

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Identities get redesigned, that is just the nature of design evolution. A company starts with and an identity and five, ten, fifteen years later the company has evolved. Their mission, their audience, their culture is different. Their original identity no longer reflects where they are, let alone where they want to be. Naturally the thing to do is to redesign the identity.

And when an identity is redesigned a host of things will come into play. From competitor logos to what is “expected” from your field in terms of color, form, image, symbol, even type. Audience must come into play as well. Who will see this? What impression would you like them to take away from it? Where will they see it? All of this is in some part determined when the redesign is done, and what is going on in the culture at that time.

Logos always seem to follow the trends of design, almost marking an era. Our current era, the one of social media and user generated content has finally crept into the mainstream of design.

Do you see it?
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That is what design is all about.

How does one communicate a feeling, a thought, an idea to a wide range of people who have different experiences, different understanding, different points of view purely through a visual representation? And what happens when that idea becomes more and more complex? Take wine for example, it is complex, it has all manner of classification and variety, each with a surprising number of subtle nuances. How would one explain wine, a topic of much interest here at Merlot, to a relative novice?

This is how.

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Here are a few more products that caught my eye at the show.

Although I mentioned Poggenpohl in my last post, I can’t help but to highlight a few more things about this line.  First, the quality is impeccable and the product line somehow merges sleek and sexy design with functional attributes. And given its European heritage, it optimizes every inch of space with unique niches here and perfectly organized partitions there.  www.poggenpohlusa.com

A place for everything...

...everything in its place.

New kid on the block Italian range maker, Fratelli Onofri, introduces some beautifully detailed products including a new ‘hammered’ finish as well as the very sexy “Divina.’

The new Divina Range

Toto came to the show in a big way introducing some amazingly beautiful new products in what I believe to be their biggest booth ever! One product that had more bells and whistles than I am comfortable with in that particular product category was the Neorest 600.  With its sleek and minimal exterior and seemingly easy-to-use gagetry, I did become a little more comfortable with the whole idea of this hands-free experience. Given that the toilet is self-cleaning, self-closing and helps keep the nether-regions exceptionally clean and dry, I think this product could very well be the best thing you ever did for your marriage, I mean, your home.

Neorest 600: Saving marriages one toilet at a time.

If you want to be pleasantly distracted by shiny objects then visit the Rohl booth at K/BIS. Modern, traditional, classic or country, they feature an amazing array of luxury faucets and fixtures for the home. Taking a more minimal approach, Rohl introduced its Vincent Bath Collection featuring subtle angles and straight lines that are as contemporary as they are timeless.   

Vincent Bath Collection by Rohl

So this last product is more personal preference than the best product found at K/BIS.  I have this asian-themed bathroom with a bamboo mirror and saw this faucet and fell in love! It’s the South Sea Collection by Danze. It’s all about the finishing touches…

South Sea Collection by Danze

 There were a lot of other amazing products at the show, but now we’re going to move on to something a little more fun! Stay tuned…

So, K/BIS 2009 was a far departure from K/BIS over that past 10 years.  There were a lot of companies missing: Viking, Sub-zero/Wolf and Thermador to name a few.  I spoke with a lot of people who were at the show, but were recently laid off.  Everyone confirmed that sales were, well, a challenge.  The aisles were wide (and open).  Most of my memories of K/BIS are shoulder-to-shoulder people literally ’squeezing’ through the aisles.  While that certainly wasn’t the case this year, for the most part, it seemed that those that attended were cautiously optimistic.  Yes, the show was slow. But some of the new products were amazing and the overall tone wasn’t too bad.  So, what products did I find the most interesting? Call me biased, but I can’t help but start with two of our clients:

Gemstone(TM) Walls by Eldorado Stone: CandleWall

Eldorado Outdoor: A collection of modular units that quickly create a stunning outdoor environment.

rugged appearance, yet is half the weight and half the cost of real stone. Take a look at the backdrop to the “Eldorado Outdoor” image - it features Moonlight RoughCut. 

Everpure eliminates bottled water waste.

Everpure introduced two products at the show including its new ViruPure(TM) Filtration System which filters out even the smallest possible viruses from drinking water. And given the current concern over viruses, Everpure provides peace of mind.  If you’re interested in a whole-home system, be sure to check out Evepure’s new Protega Whole-home Ultra-filtration System.   Unlike point-of-use systems installed at a single faucet, the Protega is a point-of-entry system; it filters all of the water that enters the home. 

So, why water filtration for your home?  Just check out the stat on the image to the left: “Americans used 50 billion plastic water bottles last year, 40 billion ended up in landfills.” With each bottle taking up to 1,000 years to biodegrade and bottled water costing more than gasoline per gallon, it only makes sense that we begin to take better care of the environment and ourselves: www.everpure.com

 Other cool finds at K/BIS 2009 include:

Elica Star Ventilation Hood

Elica introduced a stunning hood called Star.  It’s ventilation, lighting and decorative art, all in one: Beautiful!  http://www.elica.com/index~lg~us~mer~9.htm

Okay, it’s the worst photo ever (I never claimed to be a photographer), but the product is really beautiful.  It’s called Motivo(TM) from Ceasarstone.  It’s a visual and tactile experience that applies sand-blasted technology to create beauty and texture in “Lace” and “Crocodile” designs.  Seriously, if you haven’t seen it, it’s a must: www.CeasarStoneUS.com

Lynx introduces a kegerator that even a girl could love.  Yes, it holds a keg, but even better is that when the keg is gone, it’s a refrigerator: perfect for holding fruit, meats (perfectly marinated for your man to grill), vegetables, brie and yes, a bottle of chardonnay (what can I say? It’s a little too cold for merlot).  So when the ‘unsophisticated’ keg is gone (thank goodness), the refrigerator becomes what it should be, the perfect place for a sophisticated party…www.lynxgrills.com

Poggenpohl kitchen

I was not terribly familiar with Poggenpohl prior to this K/BIS show.  And wow! I had no idea what I was missing. The sleek lines. The smart and functional drawers and cabinets. The sheer beauty. I want to trade in my entire kitchen today.  Let’s just say, they know kitchens.  Although they told me what they were showing at K/BIS was affectionately called the ‘guys kitchen,’ I am not a guy, but I loved that kitchen. Everything from the television built into the back splash to the amazing framing of every cabinet and drawer, this is what K/BIS is all about - highlighting the best of the best (and making me go home to what I am now considering my VERY humble abode…) www.poggenpohl.de

So, that’s just the start from the show. More to come tomorrow.

If you thought you enjoyed reading blogs, hold on to your ‘wine glass’ because we’re creating a Merlog – two, in fact (see our agency Merlog “The Water Cooler”). “Get to the Grapes” is just that – a place to gain insight and access to the world of marketing (and other things of interest to me. In this industry blog (or Merlog as we like to call it), I’ll forego pretentious ponderings and simply get to the grapes about what’s happening in marketing and the world. Agency life is our life and we’d like to share with you our thoughts, ideas, and expertise from the agency perspective – and trust me, in this business, it’s a unique perspective. So, come back often and leave us a line – we encourage the conversation.