News: Win A Trip To Berlin With G-Shock

I remember when I was a little kid, having a cool watch was probably the most important thing in the world. That and having trainers that lit up when you walked in them. I never did get those trainers, something about them being expensive and my parents hating me so much that "normal shoes" were a good substitute for being awesome, but I did get a sweet watch and like many kids my age, I had a G-Shock. It was green, it didn't break when I jumped out of trees, it told you what day it was and it shot laser beams out of it just like James Bond's. OK that's a lie, but I always imagined it did. My point being, I'd long since grown out of thinking watches were cool, they were just something that sat on your wrist and reminded you how late you are for everything.

So, on the point! Vote for your favourite watch and you can win a trip to Berlin (if you're around, say hi to Ivo and Juan). For more info - scroll below ;)

I can hear you saying, "Well why should I care?" Firstly, shut up, fool. Secondly, by voting for your favorite design, you have the chance to win a limited edition watch (one of the ones created by the teams) AND you can also enter a competition to win a trip for two people to Berlin and celebrate at the G-Sessions party. If that's not reason enough to care then I don't know what is. You can find all the relevant links down at the bottom of this post, so head there after you've brushed up on what this is all about. First, some background on the project.

G-Shock have an impressive history of creating tough, durable watches and to celebrate their 30th Anniversary, they decided to run a massive experiment spanning 7 cities in 7 countries. Ambassadors were selected from each country to design a brand new watch along with a creative team of their choosing. The teams had to create a new G-Shock watch and the packaging to encompass what they think represents 'The Spirit of Toughness' for their respective cities. What's more, there were no limitations imposed on the entries. The design and more specifically the 'packaging' could literally be anything.  Here's a quick rundown of each city, the ambassador and their take on the project:

Berlin - Patrick Mohr

German fashion label founder Patrick Mohr recruited the talents of Thomas Hanisch, a recent graduate of the international fashion school ESMOD to create his take on the 'Spirit of Toughness' challenge. Naturally, the pair decided on clothing to represent their vision, choosing the idea of oil in water as a visual link between the watch design and the final clothing pieces. Patrick was extremely impressed with Thomas' attitude and approach to the project saying, "Thomas did a really good job and implemented our idea in the best way." Watch the creative process behind their entry here.

Barcelona - Johann Wald

Johann Wald is a name that many Spanish readers may already be familiar with. He was a TV presenter working for MTV as well as hosting a wide variety of television shows in Spain. Johann decided on an audio-visual project to represent his entry, taking an art director, a video director and a musician to accomplish the task. Pol Gonzalez, a director of photography in Barcelona, headed the video direction. Taking inspiration from the light and sun that is a constant in the city, the project is a short piece about light and time. Ana Dominguez took on the role of art director and used plexiglass prisms in order to represent clock faces and digital displays. The music came from minimalist electro producer Nehuen using ticking sounds backed by white noise to enhance the visuals. Check out the entry here.

Paris - Kirikoo Des

Kirikoo Des is a Parisian artist working in the fields of dance, music and digital art. Using dance as his medium, he has created a concept in the visual arts style. Here, inspiration has come from the Greek personification of time, Chronos (aka Father Time) and expanded into the universe as a whole, imagined through textures and, of course, the dance element of the product. Harnessing the largest team of the project, Kirikoo's entourage consists of a massive plethora of talent, ranging from DJ's and promoters to artists and video directors. Kirikoo says, "Toughness, it comes with time. One's personality gets shaped by experience, and so does the fact of being tough, be it on your head or body-wise." A true indication of Paris, watch the creative process here.

Milan - Giorgio Di Salvo

The Italian entry into the G-Sessions comes via Milan from creative designer Giorgio Di Salvo. Giorgio and his team (consisting of Lorenzo Senni, Piotr Niepsuj and Daniel Sansavini) decided on using Italy and particularly Milan's great footballing heritage as base camp for their idea, which centers around using flags, an anthem and a collective identity that will grow into a viral sensation. G-Team. The clubs slogans are Club, Mode, Adjust, Split/Reset, Start/Stop which all have transcending meanings, but all have relation to time and time keeping. See the process behind the viral campaign here.

Amsterdam - Tomas Overtoon & Liza Korfman

Tomas and Liza are the brains behind mens high street fashion label Ontfront which has seen considerable recognition on catwalks across the world, being featured at Amsterdam, Hong Kong and Shanghai. The pairs team is buoyed by sneaker designer extraordinaire Guillaime Philibert of Filling Pieces fame and Matthis Bout an expert of urban trends and architecture. The team have put together a fantastic piece of cinema much like a traditional watch advert, with spoken word poetry and a rugged, urban feel. The tag line of 'Times is Rough and Tough like Leather'. View the ad here.

St. Petersberg - Nikita Yarutskiy

Nikita is one of the most popular action sports photographers of his generation. With roots in urban life and skateboarding, they seemed to him incredibly fitting for his 'Spirit of Toughness' entry. Supporting him in his task is Sasha Snoom. Pro skater with St. Petersberg's LVO crew, designer, illustrator and T-shirt aficionado. The pair have created a skate video with imagery and colors that tie in with the DIY design of the watch. Sasha explains that, "The result should be a video which will contain a crazy mix of street life, freedom and creativity". See their explanations here.

London - Ghostpoet

And finally, we arrive at London's ambassador, Ghostpoet. Ghostpoet is a very successful rapper and musician and with the help of his friend Lee Hempstock, came up with a rather interesting concept. To have a beating heart, alongside the watch in a G-Shock protective case. The piece comes as a complete package, merging the watch, the packaging and the art piece into one. Using an artificial heart created by Artem Studios, the pair created a link between human life, and time itself. Check out this cool concept here.

For your chance to win a limited edition of one of the watches featured, follow this link and get voting for your favourite! That Berlin trip I was talking about? Oh yeah, that's here too. Just enter your deets on this page. (It'll take place on the 28th of November, so make sure you're free) There are a total of 7 pairs of tickets up for grabs! Check out G-Shock facebook page to keep updated on the competition.