Royal Mint Launches 2012 Olympics Coin

‘The 2009 UK Countdown to London 2012 £5 Coin is an Official Licensed Product of London 2012 and as such is housed in specific London 2012 packaging and features the official London 2012 logo.’ And that’s the problem.

The coin is the first in a series of four to be launched annually from now until 2012. On the reverse, it features the number three to signify three years until the start of the Olympic and Paralympic Games, alongside images of swimmers racing to the finish line, while the framework border is a reference to the new Olympic stadium as seen from above.

A press release explains that “The gold and silver versions of the coin are the first UK £5 coins to feature the Olympic rings and logo in full colour.” And doesn’t it stick out like a sore thumb?

Ever since the logo was first unveiled, designers have been querying its ability to work alongside other visual elements. In our May issue, we have a major feature on design and the Olympics in which this issue is further discussed and cited as a reason for some leading design groups choosing not to apply to work on the games (read it here).

Print ads from sponsors have been featuring the logo for sometime now, with decidedly mixed results. Every morning, I pass a BP billboard on which the logo appears in black and white, stuck as far as possible into the bottom left corner. And still it looks wrong.

In this instance, it doesn’t help that the logo has, bizarrely, been rendered in bright blue. While it’s an interesting development to see colour used on a coin, here the effect is to make the logo appear even more awkward as it totally overwhelms designer Claire Aldridge’s composition.

Anyway, here’s what she had to say about the design: “The central theme to the coin’s design is counting down to 2012, with the design depicting the idea of a ticking clock and the number of years until London 2012. The 2009 coin represents the sport of swimming and features figures made up of angular shapes to echo the style of the London 2012 logo. While the idea of counting down is dominant, it shouldn’t jump out immediately due to the use of frosting.”

Only 4,000 gold proof coins (which cost £1,295 each) will be produced by the Royal Mint. In addition, 30,000 silver proof coins (£54.95 each) and 500,000 cupro-nickel coins (£9.95 each) will be available.

CR May Issue/The Annual


CR May issue cover, issue side. Photography: Luke Kirwan

The double, May issue of CR features nearly 100 pages of the finest work of the past year in The Annual, plus features on design for the London Olympics, advertising and YouTube, the amazing rollercoaster ride of Attik and, we hope, lots of other interesting thing too…


Cover, Annual side


The Designers Republic’s special issue steel cover for Autechre album, Quaristice, was one of our Best In Book selections. Warp and tDR have produced so much great work that this seemed a fitting endpoint for a great client/designer relationship


More spreads from The Annual


Will designers remember the London 2012 Olympics as fondly as they do those of 1968, 72 and 84? Not without an improved tendering process and a strong creative director, says Mark Sinclair


Inspiration? Rip-off opportunity? Eliza Williams looks at the effect of YouTube on advertising


The amazing rollercoaster ride of Attik


Beatrice Santiccioli colours your world – she may even have chosen the colour of your Mac


Airside is ten, but it nearly wasn’t. Gavin Lucas interviews Fred Deakin


Rick Poynor on Milton Glaser, artist


James Pallister reports from the Colophon magazine festival


Do we need 128 versions of the same typeface? David Quay responds

This month’s Monograph (for subscribers only) features Dixon Baxi designer Aporva Baxi’s collection of Nintendo Game & Watch games, shot by Jason Tozer

The May issue of CR is out on 22 April. Or you can subscribe, if you like…

Damien Hirst Gives Away Album Cover Painting

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So Damien Hirst has been everywhere lately, hasn’t he? To Kiev, designing skateboards, suing kids, opening new shops, and all places in between. Now, after art directing a weird music video for them last year, Hirst has teamed back up with the band The Hours in a promotion with the Guardian, asking people to submit an entry with a chance to win the painting he created for the band’s latest album cover (valued at £125,000, which isn’t too shabby at all, even with a lousy art market at the moment). Unfortunately, it’s only open to residents in the UK, but maybe you have some non-art savvy friend or relative over there who you can get to register for you. Just make sure they don’t see the aforementioned value and tell them “Aw, it’s just some nobody artist I learned about.” Then laugh all the way to the bank once you win, because what are they going to do, fly over here to punch you? Doesn’t seem likely.

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media

City of Paper

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Ana Serrano creates a city out of paper. It’s pretty cool.

Paper Cuts

Miami-based artist, Jen Stark , on a limited budget while traveling in France, explored the most economical medium at the time “colored construction paper.” Maximizing it to its full potential, her beautiful sculptures are very inspiring – to say the least. Below is a video showcasing the artists’ journey into the art world.

Overhang at Baltic


Overhang by Tobias Putrih and MOS, all photographs: Colin Davison

Resembling an epic game of Jenga, this installation by Slovenian artist Tobias Putrih and US architecture and design company MOS is currently on show at the Baltic Centre for Contemporary Art in Gateshead.

Putrih is known for his predilection for using temporary materials such as cardboard and packing tape, and the precarious-looking installation at Baltic is created using Styrofoam blocks. It will be on show at the gallery until August 31.

New Banksy

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Banksy updated his site with some new stuff. Go check it out.

Letterhead Fonts Gets a Serious Makeover

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After

Picture 10


Before

Letterhead Fonts is one of my favorite font foundries. I’ve discovered gems ranging from old-style reproduction sign lettering to energized, modern brush scripts perfect for food packaging design. Their fonts are unique in their generous inclusion of alternates and bonus swashes and embellishments. The quality is always excellent and they’re so much fun to work with.

A couple days ago when I was looking for fonts for my latest packaging design project, I checked out Letterhead’s website. When the website came up on my screen I was totally taken aback by the astonishingly lavish new look (see before and after above). I had to compliment Chuck Davis (the man behind Letterhead Fonts) on the new look and he was kind enough to share some great behind-the-scenes info.

Firstly, the credit for the design goes to supertalent, Dave Smith. Dave completely hand-illustrated and rendered the header and footer for the web pages.

Continue for behind-the-scenes sketches and hand work, and more of the story behind this extraordinary website design.

Font sketch first art

In Chuck Davis’ words:



" I think some misunderstand what we are doing and what Letterhead Fonts is all about. Letterhead Fonts was created because I wanted to return to a certain period in lettering and design. Advertising from the late 1800’s to the early 1900’s always fascinated me.



The advertising from this period was hand-crafted and very elaborate. With fewer products, and a slower pace than what we are used to today, advertising could risk erring on the side of beauty over functionality. The designs were effective because people appreciated this kind of work.



Today however, we are bombarded with advertising from all sides… radio, TV, Internet, and magazines. When you go to the store, you have a choice of 20 different brands of cough syrup. As a result, design has been pared down to the subtle shape the letters make in the NyQuil logo. You gotta see it fast and first. This is the new standard for modern design.



But let’s assume that your intended customer was something other than a manic business woman rushing into the local Wal-Mart for a bottle of cough syrup. What if the customer was an artist and you were not selling cough syrup, but fonts? And you weren’t selling them on the shelf of a store, but they were effectively already in your store when they arrived. I believe (and the comments we have received confirm this) that our customers enjoy the new site design because it gives them something new to appreciate each time they return. Visitors to Letterhead Fonts come not just for the fonts, but for the experience. Many people never even buy fonts from us – they just like to be inspired by the designs.



See, the intended viewer determines if a design is successful or not. Wal-Mart is designed to help you find what you need as quickly as possible and get out. They have sacrificed design for the sake of efficiency. And there’s nothing wrong with that. It works for Wal-Mart. But would it work for say, Disneyland? No. People come to Disneyland to wander around and enjoy the experience. And that is exactly what we want people to do when they come to Letterhead Fonts."

Font design5small 

Font sketch 1 

Font design3


Michael Crowe Lenka Clayton send a letter to every household in Cushendall (467)

Amazing letters.


Mysterious Letters

Also visit Fig Crumbs, some of my favorite poetry ever by Michael Crowe.

(Not Just) Another Student Auction


This crate, customised by Research Studios is one of a number of pieces to be auctioned in aid of Ravensbourne students’ degree show

This, it seems, is the year of the student auction. Back in March we reported on UCA’s Beg, Steal or Borrow event. Lincoln students were quick to jump in and claim the idea for themselves as they were about to host their second Design Auction, which we also covered last year. Now Ravensbourne is joining in the fun with Blank Canvas

The Ravensbourne event takes the idea in a slightly different direction: students on the BA (hons) Design for Moving Image Design and Graphic Design courses have sent their “favourite designers and illustrators packages containing random items (which could be anything from an old teapot, to a skateboard, to a vintage suitcase). They will then be asked to customise these items in any way they see fit. These masterpieces will then be collected and put in a silent auction on the 30th of April at the Vibe Bar on Brick Lane.” Funds raised will go to support the costs of their degree show plus a percentage will also go to Artists in Residence, an initiative run by the Whitechapel Gallery which places artists in schools on one year residencies.

Among the customised lots will be this ukulele by Bob London:

A skateboard by Designers Anonymous:

This vase by Hellovon:

Two pieces by Kerry Roper, a hubcap:

And a skateboard:

A teapot from Supermundane:

For more info on Blank Canvas, go here