Long before Katie Sokoler and Matt Adams created their sweet Thought Bubbles, The Bubble Project existed. Started by Ji Lee back in 2002, 50,000 bubble stickers were printed and placed on top of ads on the streets of New York. They were left blank, inviting passersby to fill them in. Lee photograph and archived the results. This project instantly transformed the intrusive and dull corporate monologues into a public dialogue, creating public spaces that were returned back to the public. Since its launch in 2002, the Bubble Project has become a global phenomenon with bubblers all around the globe bubbling their own towns. As Creator Director of Google’s Creative Lab, Lee gets to build teams and come up with projects like Google Maps and Chrome. On his time off, Lee dabbles in guerilla marketing and creates clever visuals for companies like the NY Times and Conde Nast Portfolio. (Who could forget that lying bull?) Out of all Lee’s projects I can appreciate the Bubble Project the most because it calls upon us to use our imagination to entertain and enlighten others. As you can see by all the bubbles below, it goes to show just how clever (and sometimes crass) we all can be.
Low Tech Espionage A great and interesting article exists at Behance. Here are a few of my favorite excerpts. Lee’s fundamental secret, as he describes it, is “an element of fun.” For the WTC Logo Preservation Project, the ongoing game to find at least one logo every day kept the project alive. People would hear about the project and take part in the personal challenge as a sort of ongoing game. “Games,” Lee explains, “keep things simple and keep people engaged.” It turns out that games and some element of fun have fueled Lee’s loyalty in projects in and out of the office.” “Everyone talks about ideas but few actually do them. I believe in action. It’s the most important part to creativity.” The Bubble Project Website