My love of food as demonstrated by a GIF #poundcake #theimagemoves #gif #foodaddict #sweets

What is it about food that invites us to photograph it with cool angles and lighting? Surveying Instagram and Pinterest demonstrates this rise of food photography by average people. Would baristas even create little foam hearts in your soy latte if there was no chance it would end up on the newsfeed of a social media site? I’m not sure if it’s for the better or worse that our society is becoming obsessed with ‘pretty hipster food’. All these pictures of delicious looking food (ex. chickpea avocado burger with blue cheese dressing) does not mean that I’m actually eating these cool foods. There might be a recipe attached, but let’s be honest? How many of those Pinterest pins turned into a Friday afternoon of cooking? My pinning of vegan food has not directly led to more vegan cupcakes in my apartment. Nevertheless, I feel more artsy and creative with my food habits …

Also, how cool are gifs? I’m a huge fan! (pst….. it’s like a little animated film of sequential images)

Chocolate can bring back to life Audrey Hepburn! How morally acceptable is that?

Well, the digital revolution of character creation using digital computer software has finally been applied to television commercials. This Audrey Hepburn is life-like, organic, and beautifully lit. Visual Special Effects technology has come a long way since the awkward looking gaming characters that were not quite realistic enough. Initially, I like this ad because I’m a fan of Hepburn’s work.

Although there is something unsettling about bringing back Hepburn through digital technology. It seems that now more than ever before, people are loosing the ability to control their public image. How is it possible that a company can use Hepburn’s image to add to her persona without her written legal consent? I understand that celebrities are media constructs that are separate from the actual person, but nevertheless, it is the celebrities image that is at stake. I understand if it’s a fictional character based on a look-a-like, but this was intentioned to be Hepburn – her look, performance, aura, everything. If we can start bringing back celebrities from classical Hollywood, how will that change celebrity endorsements? And who will chose which advertisements the dead celebrities will star in? Will VFX threaten ‘the self’ image in today’s digital world?

Conclusion: Amazing, but unsettling

Madagascar Chocolate. 100% African.

There I was… standing a couple seconds away from the cash registers at Whole Foods Market in Piccadilly Circus, London. And the packaging design of Madecasse caught my attention. I thought, this chocolate managed to hold my attention for more than two seconds and it intrigued me, so I went ahead and bought two chocolate bars.

1. Sea Salt & Nibs: 63% Dark Chocolate, Cocoa Nibs & a touch of salt (Fruity notes with a savoury crunch)
2. 80% Cocoa: Heirloom Madagascar Cocoa (Bold flavour with a smooth finish)

And my oh my was the chocolate delicious. I’m glad I picked up it up in that ‘blink‘ second of a decision. And then I did more research on the company to find it’s purpose and manifesto of bean to bar – the goal to harvest the beans and make the chocolate in Africa in order to invest in the local economic structure. Corporately responsible and beautifully packaged… its a win-win situation in terms of marketing strategy.

Read more about it on their website.