Native Creative: StarBNB, Wes Anderson’s H&M Ad, and Much More

Here at Figmints we thrive on the new, the creative, the innovative, and the eyeball-widening joys of the Internet. Every other week, we meet as a team to share the most interesting things we find online. Anything goes. It could be a well-designed website, a video or an article that give us goosebumps, a product we just can’t seem to believe, a new brand making waves, or something else entirely. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the pu pu platter of cool stuff from the world wide web.

Advertising: Wes Anderson Directed a New Short Christmas Film for H&M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VDinoNRC49c

All aboard! Catch a glimpse of Wes Anderson’s latest miniature film featuring Adrien Brody and H&M’s new line of winter-wear. The short spot captures the multi-headed hydra of Christmas emotion, evoking a sense of nostalgia, worry, and sheer joy. The entire production is unmistakably Anderson’s, from the shot sequencing to the enchanting script, all the way to the heartwarming climax, pushing viewers into the Christmas spirit whether they are ready for it or not.

Website: Airbnb Spoof Site Opens Up an Entire Galaxy of Fictional Travel Possibilities

The loyalty of die-hard fans should never be questioned, especially if said fanbase is that of Star Wars. This unbelievably detailed AIRBNB spoof site takes travel accommodations to galaxies far away. And, aside from the attractive site, the copywriting on each listed location is filled to the brim with Star Wars lore and humor. They even went so far as to add extensive user rankings and reviews of each place. Check out the description for the Party Palace pictured to the left: “A spacious, earthen, hedonistic resort with golden accents in all the right places. This location is ideal for spring break getaways and bachelor / bachelorette parties. Residents from across the Outer Rim can vouch for the fact that Jabba knows how to throw a party.”

Advertising: Spotify Crunches User Data in Fun Ways for this New Global Outdoor Ad Campaign (Via Adweek)

Spotify just launched its new global outdoor ad campaign, and it’s a gut buster. The streaming music titan sifted through mountains of user data and extracted insights that ranged from quirky, to endearing, to downright strange. The campaign’s tagline, “Thanks, 2016. It’s Been Weird,” reveals the company’s commitment to amusing its user-base well beyond satiating their musical sensibilities. Cheers to an even weirder 2017.

Article: The Year in Band Names (Via A.V. Club)

This one is self-explanatory, so let me provide some explanation: the best band names from across the sonic spectrum. Some of my personal favorites from this list are:

Someone in a Tree

Fro-Yo Ma

Radio Shaq

Say “No!” to Architecture

Check out the article for a treasure trove of other funny (yet real) band names.

Brand Spotlight:  Bombas Only Asks One Thing of Us, to Bee Better

Bombas doesn’t merely sell high-quality socks of your dreams, they also donate high-quality socks of your dreams to homeless organizations. In fact, they donate a pair of socks for every pair they sell. Not only is their mission admirable and product impeccable, their branding is on point. I urge you to watch the video on their website entitled “A Million Pairs Was Always The Dream.” It’s a work of branding mastery.

Tech, Now: Meet Cubetto, the Wooden Robot that Teaches Kids to Code

This friendly wooden robot takes abstract coding theories and concepts and transmutes them into a readily understandable game. There’s no screen, no dense thickets of code, just four pegs and endless programming possibilities. Not only is this a great brain game for tots, it’s a way for them to get ahead in our technologically laden world. The best part? You don’t have to know how to read if you want to code using Cubetto.

Article: 15 Cheerful Examples of Holiday Homepage Designs (Via HubSpot)

Hubspot is known for churning out some of the most useful (and germane) marketing-related content on the web. And now, in the midst of the holiday season, Hubspot is gifting us a compilation of beautiful holiday homepage designs to draw inspiration from. Take a look through the list and draw some inspiration for your own homepage designs.

Product/Service: Function of Beauty: Personalized Hair Care

For all of you hair care aficionados out there, Function of Beauty is right up your alley. This elegant service customizes hair products for all of your woolly needs. Do you have frizzy hair, enjoy grapefruit fragrances, and want it to shine? No problem. What if you have straight blonde hair, prefer a cucumber-mint scent, and want to volumize your luscious locks? Can do. Function of Beauty does a wonderful job making their customers feel cared for and fills a niche market with the best of them.

Design: City Flags are a Hot Mess. Here are Some Beautiful Redesigns

If “brevity is the soul of wit,” then simplicity is the soul-ution for unappealing city flags. City flags are known to be too crowded and out of touch from a design standpoint. These redesigns, while just conceptual, are a welcome breath of fresh air.

Design: Visions of the Future (Via NASA)

Rounding off this edition of Native Creative, we give you a collection of stunning fictional travel destination posters that NASA created to give our imaginations an extra dose of rocket fuel. NASA hopes that we can, one day in the not so distant future, move these destinations over from the fictional category to the feasible one. And after losing myself in these posters, I’m hopeful too.

That’s all we’ve got for you this week, tune in next, next week for another edition of Native to discover more cool things on the internet!