illy, the well-known Italian coffee brand, dedicated to visual arts, has launched a revised platform of its digital network, illysustainArt.org, which is dedicated to artists and curators, who live and work in emerging and developing economies. The online program, which was first presented in 2008, offers representatives of the modern art scene from the countries, which provide little opportunities for those who want to share their creativity with the world, to join the global community for better communication and getting a feedback on their works.

The Absolut brand has been a source of inspiration for a plethora of creative minds since it was introduced in 1979. For over three decades, it has become the most artistic vodka of all times with a range of paintings, installations, art projects, photo sessions and gorgeous advertising campaigns being created to celebrate Absolut’s nature. Recently, Paul Graves, the famed photographer), has joined the ranks of cult art personalities by presenting his vision of the iconic vodka, reflected in a numerous pieces of mirror.

On January 27, Google presented ‘Life in a Day’ documentary at the Sundance Film Festival. This crowd-sourced featured film by Kevin Macdonald was created from over 450,000 hours of footage, sent by 80,000 users from 192 countries. People from all around the globe were invited by YouTube to record their daily routines on July 24, 2010, to create “an emotional journey.

The running theme has been one of the most explored ones in Nike’s promotional activity. This motif is frequently employed in interior designs of the brand’s flagship retail locations all around the globe. In October, the sport gear brand invited fans of urban running to visit the renovated 1948 store located in the capital of England and see the impressive installation ‘From Moon to Lunar’, which was created as a tribute to the iconic sneakers and the brand’s heritage. This time,  in December 2010, Nike re-imagined the space of its Berlin Stadium keeping loyal to the same ‘cosmic’ style.

At this year’s Sundance Film Festival, brands showed their dedication to cinematography by presenting their own projects or announcing their future contributions to the field. While Honda was premiering its eighth film from the ‘Dream The Impossible’ series, Puma stepped out launching its PUMA.Creative Impact Award from the set of filmmaking initiatives announced last fall. This is an annual competition, which is designed to highlight documental projects, which have made (or are making) the most significant impact in the world.

HUGO is inviting artists and designers from all around the globe to join the next round of its international competition, HUGO Create, which was kicked off back in 2008, and since that time gathered over 32 thousand submissions by nearly 15,000 designers. Every 2 months or so the brand announces one theme (so far, there has been 19 of them ranging from ‘The Skyline’ to ‘The Elements’ and ‘Visual Mixtape’), and now HUGO kicks off the next challenge entitled ‘Surreal Appeal,’ asking participants to interpret the idea of modern surrealism in their new designs.