The Design Block

If you're looking for the latest in advertising and marketing, design related technology and lifestyle tips, and art or design highlights then you're in the right place. Find all this and more with the Design Block blog.

Humorous Pizza Hut parodies selfie stick abuse PSA

There’s probably no point in me asking if you’ve taken a selfie lately. The answer is yes, which means you’re the target audience for this new over-the-top selfie stick parody PSA from Pizza Hut.

Pizza Hut box transforms into a movie projector

Movie nights and pizza are a natural fit. That’s why Pizza Hut created a new cardboard pizza box that turns into a working movie projector powered by your smartphone.

Watch what happens when Facebook removes everything people complain about

Facebook has over a billion users and people still find things about to complain about. And I’m not just talking about trolls sharing their personal opinions; I’m talking about the user interface for the social media platform.

How different generations consume content online

When marketers think about online behaviours, Millennials typically receive more attention than other generations. While Millennials are the social media generation, you shouldn’t rule out other generations—like Gen X—when marketing online.

How to share your personal opinions on Facebook

Sharing your personal opinions on Facebook can be a great way to meet new people who disagree with you. It’s also a way for you to test your blood pressure limits and your faith in humanity.

Microsoft introduces the Middle Finger emoji for Windows 10

Emojipedia has recently announced a host of new emojis for Windows 10. Most notably is that of the Middle Finger emoji. Also referred to as the Reversed Hand With Middle Finger Extended emoji, it comes in a range of diverse skin tones for users to choose from.

BMW shows us real helmet hair in humorous ads

You can buy a sweet new motorcycle and you can purchase stylish gear to go with it; but there isn’t much that can save you from the epidemic known as helmet hair.

This humorous ad mocks the Apple Watch with simplicity

Sometimes “smart” is simple. Created to promote Detroit-based Shinola’s Runwell watch, they’ve unveiled a humorous print ad that mercilessly skewers the technological capabilities of the Apple Watch.

NSFW: What would happen if Carlsberg did erotic drama

Your typical beer ad contains some form of sexual innuendo or another. But what happens if a beer company was able to blur the lines of alcohol advertising and take it to the next level? You’d get this erotic drama from Danish-brewer Carlsberg.

American Egg Board wants you to wake up to eggs and… Kevin Bacon

In its latest campaign to get Americans to start their day with eggs, the American Egg Board decided to pair eggs with back — Kevin Bacon to be exact. Actor Kevin Bacon has traded off the whole six degrees thing in ads for years, but now…

Ad executives get nude to celebrate agency’s rebranding

To advertise the rebranding of their agency, the executives of New York-based Viceroy Creative decided to take an unusual approach: they decided to take the bold step of getting nude in a series of ads.

Honest, humorous descriptions of popular apps

Downloading apps onto your smartphone can be incredibly addictive. Every Android or iOS user has their favourite apps, such as a beloved social networking app or an entertaining, time-killing game. With the thousands upon thousands of popular apps available to download, do you know what any…

Clever posters to learn fun facts about your body

Who doesn’t love the cool information featuring weird did you know fun facts about the human body? For instance, the human eye is so sensitive that if the Earth were flat, you could spot a candle flickering at night from up to 30 miles away.

Humorous versions of 2015’s Oscar-nominated movie posters

For many the awards season is the time to glue yourself to the television with a bowl of popcorn and hope that your favourite movie gets nominated. Some years you’ll see well known movies, other times they’re niche documentaries with German subtitles.

Naughty print ad likens a wallet to a vagina

To promote the affordability of German online sex shop EIS.de’s love-making products, Hamburg-based ad agency Jung von Matt has created a naughty print ad.

The world’s first sex commercial to promote the act

Sex is used to sell everything from automobiles to real estate, hamburgers, and everything in between. But do people really buy a product just because it has sexually stimulating imagery attached to it? And more importantly, do they respond to it regardless? 

Can you stand to watch the longest ad in the world?

What does a day in the life of a terminally-ill cancer patient look like; and how much of that day can you stand to watch? Clocking in at 25 hours, this ad bags the title for The Longest Ad In The World.

5 reasons why your awesome content isn’t going viral

Okay, so you’ve created a killer blog article. You posted a painfully funny image or video. You put so much work into your awesome content that you expect it to go viral as soon as it hits the Internet. And no one cares.

Dress becomes transparent the more you share info online

Did you know that photo you took with your phone can reveal the exact location of where it was taken? And every time you fill in a profile, blog, share a video, send a tweet, or post a comment, you create a digital footprint that’s both…

Hilarious images poke fun at hipster motivational posters

If you’re regularly on social media, you certainly get a good dose of the usual hipster motivational posters posted on Facebook, Tumblr or Instagram. The pattern used to create these trivial posters is always the same: a heavy processed or filtered photo, with a motivational sentence placed somewhere…

Passed out drunk people on the streets are turned into billboards

For most people, a quiet drink after work is a quick treat before they head home for their dinner. However, for these Japanese, the end-of-the-day quickly pint turns into one too many. The result is people becoming passed out drunk and end up sleeping on the streets of Tokyo. 

Infographic: Translating client-speak like a pro

If you’re in the marketing industry, like myself, trying to understand client feedback can be a tricky and confusing affair. Clients say one thing, but they actually mean another. It’s basically listening to a non-designer trying to explain type theory to you.