26.01.2011 // Berlin.
Turn on the TV, pick up a newspaper or flick on the radio and it won’t be long before you are reminded that the human race is still doing its upmost to find, exploit and pilfer every single natural resource we can get our grubby little mitts on.
However we are also doing our utmost to find, exploit and pilfer every penny from each and every person in the world also. Globalization feeds capitalism and capitalism funds globalization and in the end the world appears to be a much smaller place. There are as many pros to this as there are cons but it does seem to bring with it sameness. This feeling that nothing really differs no matter how far you travel has crept up on us in such a way that we don’t notice it. Indeed some find it comforting that the burger you get in small town America consists of the same reconstituted parts as the one you get in far eastern China.
So how can we create something that is truly inspirational? Inspiration is always alluded to as some ephemeral entity that appears from nothingness and vanishes into it as quickly as it appeared. But the truth must be that we draw inspiration from the world around us. The sights, sounds, smells and images are enough to trigger a bout of creativity seemingly from nowhere. However we are bombarded day in day out with advertising and illusions for sale. They tend to blend and blur one into the next and when we may think they no longer have any effect on us they are still part of our collective consciousness. So, with so much sameness surround us where can we go for a new slant on things?
Do we go to the woods and retreat into a cave to reflect upon ourselves? Do we find a Buddhist retreated on some lonely mountainside? The answer may be less complex and closer than you may think.
Berlin is a melting pot for every race, creed and culture you can think of. Unlike many other big cities that are home to many different cultures Berlin appears, somewhat, to have avoided the segregation that can occur. When the population of an ethnic minority reaches a certain number of inhabitants, shops and markets and supermarkets offering the wares of the homeland appear. They offer the foodstuffs and familiar comforts of home.
However, they also offer us something more. A glimpse into a very different form of marketing and advertising. The product packaging that may seem mundane to those hailing from that country can be utterly unique when viewed by a “local”.
Last week in the everlasting search for Perfect Ginger, I stumbled upon an Asian supermarket in Schöneberg. At first I complacently wondered around the aisles. Everything you would expect from a modern city supermarket was there, the fruit and vegetables as you go in, the ordered freezers and open fridges, the checkout person vacantly staring into space. However as I perused the vegetable section, I noticed a banana that was not a banana, something that looked all the world like a leak but was bright yellow and something else that was well, something else entirely. Completely forgetting the reason I had come into the shop I slowly went from aisle to aisle looking carefully at what was on offer. I was bombarded by new and innovative typography, layouts, logo designs and packaging. This place was an Aladdin’s cave of new ideas and directions.
Even if Berlin is a little off your bus route, the moral of the story is that getting out and going for a walk is a fabulous way to travel. And because travel broadens the mind, you're guaranteed to find more than just Perfect Ginger.
