MAM
Kyoorius concludes the Fourth Edition of FYIday
MUMBAI: Kyoorius – a not-for-profit initiative by Transasia Fine Papers today concluded the fourth edition of KyooriusFYIday: Future of Branding with Michael Johnson.
The seminar featured Creative Director – Michael Johnson, who is at the forefront of brand thinking worldwide, responsible for changing the way we look at brands.
Based out of London, he shared insights on branding’s past, present and future. There are certain things about branding that are irrefutable; companies, products and organizations will always need to position or reposition themselves in a market, yet many of the ‘truths’ that we took for granted are being refuted as brands look to the future.
Sharing case studies he discussed how Johnson banks re-positioned legacy brands such as Virgin Atlantic & Science Museum, in addition to turning brand theory on its head with examples culled from his global portfolio from projects spanning Japan, New York, Paris and London.
Michael Johnson, Creative Director and Principal, Johnson Banks said, “I feel Kyoorius FYIDay is a great learning opportunity and platform for exchange of new and innovative ideas. In this day and age the brand is more powerful than advertising. This has led to a paradigm shift across the USA and UK. However in India and China, I still feel the Indian creative minds need to find their Indian voice and not look at selling the international style. Having said that there is immense scope in a young nation like India with lots of interesting times ahead.”
Rajesh Kejriwal, Founder CEO, Kyoorius said, “India is becoming a place where the best of design in Asia is coming alive and it is imperative to nurture this talent. We are in a developing stage when it comes to branding and I am sure the learning’s from this FYIDay would help benefit the industry and budding talent four fold.”
Across the FYIday format, Kyoorius are working closely with D&AD’s young blood program to create value for young creative minds through an annual series of seminars and workshops.
Brands
Apple bites back: the $599 MacBook Neo is the cheapest Mac ever made
The tech giant unveils a budget laptop that packs a punch — and a lot of cheek
CALIFORNIA: Apple has never been shy about charging a premium. So when Cupertino rolls out a MacBook at $599 (approx. Rs 55,000) , it’s worth sitting up straight.
The MacBook Neo, unveiled Tuesday, is Apple’s most affordable laptop to date — undercutting its own MacBook Air and taking a sharp swipe at the budget PC market in one fell swoop. It starts at $499 for students, which, for a machine with Apple silicon inside, is frankly a steal.
At the heart of the Neo is the A18 Pro chip — the same muscle that powers the latest iPhones. Apple claims it is up to 50 per cent faster for everyday tasks than a rival PC running Intel’s Core Ultra 5, and three times quicker on on-device AI workloads. Fanless and featherweight at 2.7 pounds, it runs silently and promises up to 16 hours of battery life. Try doing that on a Chromebook.
The 13-inch liquid retina display clocks in at 2408-by-1506 resolution with 500 nits of brightness and support for billion colours — sharper and brighter, Apple says, than most rivals in this price band. It comes dressed in four colours: blush, indigo, silver, and a zesty new citrus, with matching keyboard shades to boot.
Connectivity is modest — two USB-C ports, a headphone jack, Wi-Fi 6E, and Bluetooth 6 — but this is a budget machine, not a pro workstation. The 1080p FaceTime camera, dual mics with directional beamforming, and Spatial Audio speakers round out a package that punches well above its weight class.
Apple senior vice-president of hardware engineering John Ternus alled it “a laptop only Apple could create.” That’s the kind of line that makes rivals wince — because, annoyingly, he might be right.
The Neo runs macOS Tahoe, with Apple Intelligence baked in for AI writing tools, live translation, and the sort of on-device smarts that keep user data away from the cloud. It also boasts 60 per cent recycled content — the highest of any Apple product — for those who like their bargains with a side of conscience.
For $599, Apple isn’t just selling a laptop. It’s selling an argument — that good design and real performance needn’t cost the earth. The PC industry had better have a decent comeback ready.
