dig: May 2010

Angela Merkel

Profile: Angela Merkel

Born in Hamburg, Angela Merkel was only a couple of months old when her father, a Lutheran pastor, was given a parish in a small town in East Germany.

She grew up in a rural area outside Berlin in the communist east, and showed a great talent for maths, science and languages.

She earned a doctorate in physics but later worked as a chemist at a scientific academy in East Berlin.

She had never been involved in politics but, at the age of 36, she became involved in the burgeoning democracy movement in 1989 and, after the Berlin Wall came down, she got a job as government spokeswoman following the first democratic elections.

She joined the CDU two months before the reunification of Germany and within three months she was in the Kohl cabinet as minister for women and youth.

She established herself in the party, rising through the ranks until she was chosen to lead it in 2000 and was elected Germany's first female chancellor in 2005. She is known more for her pragmatism and ability to compromise.

She is married to a chemistry professor from Berlin, Joachim Sauer. The couple do not have any children.

Resource: BBC News, Sep 27, 2009

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/4572387.stm

Miranda Kerr

Super Business Model

Now she's turning her beauty into a brand that she owns, rather than hires out.

Kerr's new organic skin-care range KORA was launched at David Jones this month and is available exclusively at David Jones stores and online. She has also licensed the KORA name to include a clothing line and is set to exploit her appeal in other products, including her first book Treasure Yourself: Power Thoughts for My Generation.

"Being the Body is worth so much more than doing the catwalk in Paris, once you start commercialising it that's where the money is," says fashion photographer David Gubert of Macpherson.

Gubert has worked with the likes of Hawkins and Kerr and scored a coup as the first Australian photographer to ever shoot a Victoria's Secret catalogue.

"These girls continuously re-invent themselves... it's like Elle, it started with print and then she went into lingerie and now she is doing cosmetics," he says.

"They have to continuously reassess things, work on things, and (improve) the brand so they have something else to offer."

The commercial appeal of Kerr's beauty enterprise, like Hawkin's Cosi swimwear range, is a boon to the department stores who both support and benefit from supermodels' brand empires.

Megan Gale, another David Jones ambassador, also set to launch her own swimwear range later this year.

"We are delighted to have Miranda's range, KORA, in the store," said Colette Garnsey, David Jones Group general manager of apparel, cosmetics, accessories and footwear.

"They are exploring their own creativity - we welcome that and encourage that."

Resource: SMH, Feb 16, 2010

http://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/beauty/super-business-model-20100216-o3vx.html

Helen Keller

Meet Helen Keller, a woman from the small farm town of Tuscumbia, Alabama who taught the world to respect people who are blind and deaf. Her mission came from her own life; when she was 1 1/2, she was extremely ill, and she lost both her vision and hearing. It was like entering a different world, with completely new rules, and she got very frustrated. By the time she was 7, her parents knew they needed help, so they hired a tutor named Anne Sullivan.

Helen also did research, gave speeches, and helped raise money for many organizations, such as the American Foundation for the Blind and the American Foundation for the Overseas Blind, which is now called Helen Keller Worldwide. From 1946 and 1957, she went around the world, speaking about the experiences and rights of people who are blind. She wound up visiting 39 countries on five different continents! Helen also inspired many works of art, including two Oscar-winning movies, and received dozens of awards, such as the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest honor that an American civilian can receive. She died in her sleep in 1968.

Resource: http://www.afb.org/braillebug/helen_keller_bio.asp

Mashup of three articles

I decided to choose Miranda Kerr and Helen Keller as my clients in this case. For Miranda Kerr, she is an Australian Supermodel and she started her own business which called KORA. She used her beauty as a brand to sell lingerie and cosmetic in her own store. She was continuously re-inventing herself to provide different kinds of products. She keeps improving the brand so l should design a suitable space for her to work on her creative work. Base on she is working on women’s products so l decided set an environment which can provide inspiration to her. One of the most popular place somewhere near the beach. There are lots of tourists love to wear swim-suit and take a sun shower. She can get some in inspiration from observing Tourist activities.This type of place is suitable for her.

For Helen Keller, she lost her vision and hearing. However, she still enthuses on helping blind people by giving speech around the world. She leaned every in darkness and silence so she need a place which is close to the nature environment. She is the first one disability person who got the university degree. She spread the "never give up" spirit to all over the world. It should provide a chance for her to interact with the nature. Therefore, l decided to provide an office on the cliff to have a good looking view all over the world. Those two clients can meet each other by the bridge between two offices.