University food shopping

The workshop had a great end, fab work leading onto some really interesting thoughts on how the new fee process might affect the future of higher education. One of the key points is that universities are able to charge what they like as long as it doesn't exceed £9,000. Oxbridge understandably will be charging £9,000. Best education requires the highest price.

What the other universities do from here is very interesting however. Now there will be a situation of universities having to market themselves to certain demographics. The best way to represent this is using supermarkets. M&S and Waitrose delivering the best products, in the nicest place, but at premium prices, with Tesco battling Sainsbury's, Lidl battling Asda and so on an so forth.

Could this be the beginning of the 'bargain university,' positioning itself as the place where every little helps, lots of choice and 2 for 1 offers on lectures or/and beer at the union. Alternatively it might choose 'your UCL' where the premium prices really do guarantee quality education. You could be someone that genuinely wants a quality education but can only afford to shop at Iceland.

In a country where university is frowned upon for joke subjects and boozy students, the rise in tuition fees might not restore respect in education (thanks Zata for that one), but make it one huge fucking gamble instead.

theartschool Round 2

Having sent in some follow up work from the workshop back in December I was invited along to M&C Saatchi to push my ideas forward. It was an invaluable learning experience but an intense day or scribbling idea after idea to wring everything out of the brief.

Intersection

Intersection magazine are lucky enough to have me around for the foreseeable future.

G.O.T

Remember the day I coined the term Glass of Tap?

Original picture

Asking for a glass of tap water in a restaurant will now be as easy as ordering a G&T. J.O.T would make a good jug of tap, a carafe, a C.O.T, but essentially the point of this blog is the glass of tap.

Simon Amstell - work in progress

Went to see Simon Amstell last night at a small venue called Etcetera above a Camden pub. It was a great little performance with Simon trying out some of his new material.

I wondered how long it would take

So Shaun White has put aside the baggy pants and is sporting a fetching pair of tight pants. This could have little impact on the snowboarding sub culture, or the effect could be massive. No one else has the status to make such a huge transition from one style to another and with all of his fans I would not be at all surprised if there was a market shift as the tighter pants start flying off the rails.

White might well be the catalyst for this change. Watching the Vancouver Olympics I could not help but feel him could get even more speed from his runs without the baggy restriction of previous styles. At the X Games White looked like he had even more time to compete his tricks without the bulky clothing in the way. Could this be the time when style finally overtakes function in snowboarding?

Writing a memorable slogan

1. Count on accidents - 2. Create an emotional response - 3. Strike the right balance - 4. Don't be afraid of going long - 5. Negative is not always a bad thing - 6. Make a call to action - 7. Stay away from buzz words

from The New Rules of Writing a Memorable Slogan

Absinthe Whitelines video edit

Check out my entry and vote here and a bit more about the competition here.