This video was a commercial produced for Bic pens featuring Alexis Taieb, a graphic designer and type designer from Paris, France. View more of his work here.

400 of these newspapers were laser printed in black and white by Say What Studio as a self-promotional piece. The work is a prime example of grayscale printing looking like a luxury. The newspaper contains 64 pages printed on 80 lb uncoated paper. The signatures were sewn by hand.

View more of the work here.

Why is the Internet on strike? Two reasons: SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and PIPA (Protect IP Act). These two bills (that have already been introduced to the United States House of Representatives and are to be voted on in the upcoming weeks) would basically allow the U.S. Department of Justice, as well as copyright holders, to sue websites accused of enabling or facilitating copyright infringement, which is very vaguely outlined in the bill. The bill would also make “unauthorized streaming of copyrighted content a crime, with a maximum penalty of five years in prison for ten such infringements within six months” which basically means no more amazing videos of people paying homage to their favourite Lady Gaga song, a capella style…

Not only will this bill, if passed, ruin the beautiful freedom of entertainment and knowledge that is the Internet, there are also concerns that it will technically break the Internet. It won’t work anymore. Done. Gone. And if Google is against it, you know it can’t be good. Here’s what they’re doing to stop it.

Unfortunately, despite the fact that this effects the entire world, the only people that have a say in the matter are American senators. Find out how to contact yours here. But, if you simply want to show your support because that’s all you can do and it’s so frustrating, but that’s life, click here to find out more (including a full list of confirmed participants in the strike at the bottom of the page).

And now, what just might turn into our official protest song (a cover, appropriately enough)…

UPDATE: We will continue with our regularly scheduled “Bry Spy” next Wednesday.

Benjamin Falvo merges his digital practice into a fully integrated communications firm.

NEW YORK CITY – January 11, 2012

Benjamin Falvo, founder of the NYC digital and interactive agency Dream Store, is joining the New York office of ClarkHuot as Lead, Digital Practice, a new position. Falvo, who starts immediately, will report to the agency’s CEO Peter Clark.

The hire underscores a growing trend of agencies looking to diversify their services and better their ranks within the industry. This is paramount as the boundaries of media, digital technology, and brand integration become increasingly blurred.

The addition of Falvo and his digital expertise emphasizes ClarkHuot’s push to extend its digital practice and activities by placing him into a leadership and client-facing role.

Falvo, 31, started Dream Store in 2002 as a trans-media digital planning agency that was focused on finding new ways of developing vehicles to communicate creative ideas faster than ever. Falvo’s approach to digital planning will become an integral part of ClarkHuot’s integrated brand solutions.

“Falvo’s expertise and ability to create tailored digital connection strategies will create a significant advantage for our agency and its ability to offer a more integrated service. We are always looking to attract a wide range of people with varied skill sets and backgrounds in the interest of building an agency with a great depth of knowledge, creativity, and point of view,” said Clark. “Falvo will be working with our Executive Creative Director Edmond Huot and our creative team to generate new ways of thinking and working. This is about more than just expanding our digital service.”

“Ben is a business builder at heart, which makes him a great fit for our agency,” said Huot. “His non-traditional thinking and approach to digital marketing is an ideal fit for our agency to create innovative ways for our clients to engage with consumers.”

A great example of how Falvo crossed the power of the digital grapevine with traditional business sensibility is the highly successful Down & Derby, a unique and interactive event that fused old time roller disco with modern sites and sounds. The event grew to reside in six American cities and has become a staple at the Rain Night Club at the Palms Casino.

About ClarkHuot:

ClarkHuot is a strategic integrated branding and interactive firm dedicated to helping companies design, launch, and manage their overall brand experiences across all points of customer, employee, and shareholder contact.

For information or interview requests, please contact:

ClarkHuot NYC office: 1 (212) 564-8716

Benjamin Falvo Direct: 1 (412) 841-9431

bfalvo@clarkhuot.com

A great short film on two Los Angeles businesses, a specialty paper company and a letterpress shop (lead-type traditional letterpress). The titles of the film are set on a Linotype machine!

Click the images below to find out more about their past work and the proverbial leaf that they will be bringing to our extendable table.

Erik Spiekermann, born 1947, studied History of Art and English in Berlin. He is information architect, type designer (FF Meta, FF MetaSerif, ITC Officina, FF Govan, FF Info, FF Unit, LoType, Berliner Grotesk and many corporate typefaces) and author of books and articles on type and typography. He was founder (1979) of MetaDesign, Germany’s largest design firm with offices in Berlin, London and San Francisco. Projects included corporate design programmes for Audi, Skoda, Volkswagen, Lexus, Heidelberg Printing and way finding projects like Berlin Transit, Düsseldorf Airport and many others. In 1988 he started FontShop, a company for production and distribution of electronic fonts.

See more of his fonts here.