2nd Proof    February 2012

NOTES FROM THE BIG CHEESE

Welcome to the all new Apula newsletter.

As February was the month of luuuuuurve, and all things 'Apula' are red - our theme for the newsletter this month is, quite simply RED.

The colour red is a strong, assertive, eye catching colour.. Studies suggest that red provides a distinct advantage in many ways, the reason could be as simple as red being more eye-catching. Other studies suggest that our weakness for red comes from primates' unique colour vision that in the past allowed the first humans to forage the forest and successfully locate ripe fruit... (and, as the office often degenerates into a Monkey's tea party on a Friday, this may well be pertinent to the Apula team). "Instinctive or not, red definitely boasts some serious power".

While red might not be the colour choice for a business looking to soothe and relax customers, if a company hopes to grab a bit of attention and give off an assertive message, strong shades of red might do the trick. Coca cola, Red, KFC, Levis, (Apula) and countless other companies have created instantly recognizable logos, websites and packaging that all appeal to our predisposition for all things scarlet, cherry, ruby, and straight-up red

Red is the colour of emotional outbursts: Shame or anger colors our face red. Losing control lets one "see red". (You can see a perfect example of that in this youtube video)

Things that make ME see red are: Litter, broken traffic lights, BMW drivers, (excluding, of course some very considerate, and extremely wonderful clients who drive BMW's) LANDLORDS, Rhino Poachers and Shark slaughterers, slow bandwidth, waiting for the Super 15 to start, (and losing to the Blue Bulls) polluted rivers, employees not coming to work with feeble excuses of writing off their car after someone skipped a (almost) red light, ugly typography, Ju Ju, ... and the phrase "I'm not feeling this.. logo, layout, advert, design, concept (insert word at will).. "Not Feeling" ... WTF??

Some of the Red things that we love are: RED logos, the movie RED(with 'Mr Cool', Bruce Willis), apples, underwear, red noses (for charity) cupcakes, sports cars, running shoes and red offices!

OBEY THE RED GIANT written by Gary Meyer 3 minutes reading time For our red theme this month, I want to pay homage to a legendary designer, skateboarder, street artist, graphic designer and illustrator Shepard Fairey. He was an ideal candidate for this months article since his work usually carries a red theme. Some of Shepard's more recent projects include the iconic 2008 Barack Obama "Hope" poster. He created album cover artwork for Led Zeplin's Mothership, The Smashing's Zeiteist, the official 52nd Annual Grammy Awards and SuperHeavy to name but a few.

RED HEAD written by Craig Horne 3 minutes reading time Princess Merida, being a firey Red Head, with attitude to boot, is a striking and strong character in the up and coming 3D computer-animated fantasy adventure film Brave. In the film, the skilled archer Merida defies an age-old custom, unleashing chaos in the kingdom. After consulting a wise old woman for help, she becomes cursed and is forced to undo the spell before it is too late. The movie is being produced by Pixar, making this their thirteenth feature film. I can't wait for this one.

RED WEBSITES I ABSOLUTELY LOVE! written by Leigh du Preez 3 minutes reading time I think that red in website design encourages, action, and always grabs the attention of the viewer. I've collected some examples of red websites I love, and also included my personal favourite red website that we designed for Volcan Bikes.

10 THINGS THAT MAKE ME SEE RED written by Jeanine van Aswegen 7 minutes reading time Awful Client Clichés That Make Every Designer Cringe Being in the design industry, means that you've heard and seen it all, and certain phrases are bound to drive any designer up the wall! Here's a list of the top 10 phrases that could get you fired as a client

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