In a somewhat shoddy move, the promoters of Michael Jackson’s planned London gigs are offering to send fans a souvenir ticket in lieu of a refund. A ticket that, we are told, was designed by Michael Jackson himself
“The world lost a kind soul who just happened to be the greatest entertainer the world has ever known,” said Randy Phillips, President and CEO of the promoter, AEG Live. “Since he loved his fans in life, it is incumbent upon us to treat them with the same reverence and respect after his death.”
Apparently, this ‘reverence’ manifests itself in attempting to persuade concert-goers to forego getting their money back in favour of being sent the tickets that they would have received anyway.
There are eight variants (shown above, copyright AEG as you can see). According to the promoter’s website “The tickets, printed with the special lenticular process, were inspired and designed by Michael Jackson for the fans attending his shows.” Given the tragic state Jackson was reportedly in before his death, we’re not sure what exactly his involvement in the design would have entailed – we’re not imagining him slaving over PhotoShop for too long, to be honest.
The tickets are sized 82mm x 186mm. “The front of the ticket is the lenticular image and the reverse side is the standard ticket detail including the performer name, tour name, show date, venue, section number, row number, and seat number,” says AEG, before adding this spectacular piece of emotional blackmail “His hopes were his fans would want to keep the special ticket as a reminder of the memorable evening that they would share together.”
As my colleague Gavin just pointed out, they look like the kind of thing you’d expect from a particularly tacky West End musical.
MTV launches a spanky new look as of today – as its international brand refresh rolls out across the company’s network of 64 channels, created by MTV’s creative directors from around the world in collaboration with UK-based studio Universal Everything…
We use the word refresh rather than rebrand as the MTV logo is still recognisable – the new logo (above) is, in fact, the old logo – but in MTV’s new look, the logo remains black on a white ground – no colour, pattern or texture will ever adorn it – which is a change from MTV of old where the idents were based on the logo being played around with.
“Now the logo is sacred,” says Roberto Bagatti, Vice President of Creative for MTV Networks International and Creative Director of MTV’s World Design Studio in Milan, who oversaw the project.
So if the logo’s the same, what’s new? MTV Networks International now has a new flexible typographic navigation system for displaying onscreen information. The MTV logo remains in a fixed top left position onscreen at all times and acts as an anchor for the new system of information display – with the title of the current programme always appearing immediately to the right of the logo in a blue progress-bar so viewers can guage where they are in the current programme. To the right of this info is where viewers will occasionally see information in yellow text boxes: yellow denotes what’s coming up next on the channel. And to the right of this, appears what’s coming up later – always in a pink info box. The typeface used for this primary information is Pharma Bold Condensed by Swiss type foundry Optimo.
As well as the main programme info, more playful messages will appear in the lower third of the screen – and for this text, there is a collection of secondary brand typefaces to choose from, depending on the mood of the message. The eight secondary typefaces were selected for their expressive or emotion-inducing nature – and to add an element of fun to the onscreen identity of the channel.
The faces, shown above, are American Typewriter Light Italic, Balloon Bold, Bigcity Maxi, Cozzap Open, Flash ND, Futura SB Bold Italic, Sahara Bodoni and Signpainter House Brush. Here’s an example of how these will be used onscreen:
The first six new channel idents make it clear beyond doubt that MTV is sporting a slick new look – based on an idea of “pop x 1000%” which was, says Bagatti, “the rebrand project’s title and mantra.”
Regular CR blog readers may recall us writing about Universal Everything’s Advanced Beauty project in which UE’s Matt Pyke collaborated with his sound designer brother, Simon (Freeform), as well as a host of hand-picked film makers to create motion graphics pieces or “sound sculptures”. Well, the new MTV idents look and feel like an extension of this project – perhaps unsurprisingly as they’ve been created similarly – with Matt Pyke commissioning films from filmmakers he admires with his brother Simon working on the soundtrack for each ident. However, each of the MTV idents has exactly the same 2/2 time signature – a heartbeat-like rhythm to which the MTV logo always pulsates. Here are all six of the new idents so you can see how they look:
“We are huge fans of Universal Everything, says Bagatti of MTV’s choice of agency. They apply a fresh direction to each new project that goes beyond momentary trends in graphic design and they approach a brief with a different kind of attitude and a wide range of references spread across multiple disciplines – everything from architecture and contemporary art, to molecular cuisine and biology. We were also drawn towards the non-traditional broadcast side that Universal Everything applies. We knew that their interpretation of pop culture would fit with ours and visually, the rebrand would be spectacular without treading on clichés.”
Icograda is to stage its biennial World Design Congress in Beijing this October. Speakers include Jan van Toorn, Sol Sender (of the Obama campaign), Troika and Michael Rock of 2×4
The Congress will be hosted by Beijing’s Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA, shown above) and have over 100 speakers over its five days, from October 24. This year’s theme will be Xin which, acccording to the organisers means message or letter, but is also, apparently, a popular girl’s name menaing beautiful. In any case, Icograda is promising that its Congress will provide “a chance to look at the energy of design, to share design experiences, and to restore our confidence in overcoming the challenges of this difficult period”.
The full line-up is:
Keynote speakers: Jan van Toorn (the Netherlands) Sol Sender (United States) Patrick Whitney (United States) Kohei Sugiura (Japan)
Parallel session speakers: Huda Smitshuijzen Abifares (Lebanon) Studio Pip & Co/Andrew Ashton (Australia) Peter Bankov (Russia) David Barringer (US) Ruedi Baur (Switzerland) Pierre Bernard (France) Brian Collins (US) Sheila Levrant de Bretteville (US) Base Design (Belgium) Kiko Farkas (Brazil) Peter Hall (US) Dan Hill (UK) Zuzana Lednická (Czech) Laurence Madrelle (France) Victor Margolin (US) Achyut Palav (India) Peet Pienaar (South Africa) David Pigeon (Australia) Rick Poynor (UK) Qiu Zhenzhong (China) Dexter Sinister/David Reinfurt (US) Michael Rock (US) Helmut Schmid (Germany) David Small (US) Hilton Tennant (South Africa) Troika (UK) Michael Vanderbyl (US) Yao Dajuin (China, Taiwan) Yoon Ho Seob (Korea)
Illustration by Elisabeth Manus, Communication Art & Design, RCA
The Royal College of Art‘s SHOW TWO is on until 5 July, featuring work from the Animation, Design Interactions, Products, Textiles and Communication Art & Design courses. We had a look around the latter – here’s what caught our eye…
Page Tsou‘s illustrations of toy guns are well worth seeing in the flesh. They’re also huge. The Gift That Keeps on Giving (below, top) is actually about six feet across and made up of nine meticulously detailed panels.
Lottie Crumbleholme‘s Lost Skills Depository publications offer tips on mending old clothes.
Povilas Utovka‘s typographic work is really strong – his Code Share work for CAC Vilnius (below top) and the Office of Real Time Activity (below, bottom) are collaborative efforts with coursemate Alistair Webb.
Illustration work for Marina Warner’s short story, The Different in the Dose, by Zoe Taylor. (The ahem ‘bottom’ image might require a second look).
Some great type from Alistair Webb in his While the Things of The World Still Do Not Move catalogue (designed for Anne Harild) and two posters for an RCA typography exhibition.
David Fulford‘s portraiture feature in the shortlist for the BP Portrait Award in 2006 (see the untitled portrait of his mother, below). At this year’s RCA show he’s exhibiting more abstract pieces from his Family Portrait series (below, top).
Monika is a new magazine written and produced anonymously, not a byline in sight. We do know that Povilas Utovka (see above) worked on the typeface though. More on Monika, with images of the inside, in an upcoming post…
Eva Kellenberger and Sebastian White often work together and created the Design Interaction 2009 catalogue. The design plays on the notion of the ‘green screen’ – where imagined environments are created to house particular objects.
While the above is just a selection from the Communication Art & Design work on show this year, there’s also the Design Products, Fashion, Textiles, Design Interactions, Animation and Industrial Design Engineering shows to check out as well.
Most have their own dedicated website – see Communication Art & Design‘s for every graduate of the course – and some, it seems, may owe a little of their inspiration to other sources. : )
Have a look at the site for Open_Sailing, an innovative marine architecture project that also features at SHOW 2.
SHOW 2 runs until 5 July (closed 3 July). Exhibitions open at 11am, closing times vary. For address details, see rca.ac.uk/.
Rose Blake, also from Kingston, created this lovely comic about David Hockney
This poster for a child obesity campaign is by Jon Massey of Stockport College (jon.massey@hotmail.com)
Also from Stockport, this lovely print from Rose Lloyd
Ken Wong of Leeds College of Art and Design (who is coming to CR on a placement in September) created his college’s degree show campaign
Also from Graphic Design at Leeds College of Art and Design, a course with its first graduating year, comes Daisy Argyle, who created this rather nice poster
And Jimmy Smith, who made this newsprint publication about football hooligans
Ryan Boyd (ryan@boyd-design.co.uk) from Duncan of Jordanstone made this typographic installation concerning the consumption of concrete. Each block represents a different country and has their usage of concrete detailed on its side. Boyd salvaged leftover cement from building sites around Dundee for the raw material which he then cast into the blocks.
He even made a business card dispenser the same way
For more (and better…) images of each project, go to the students’ linked websites. New Blood is on until 4pm on Wednesday July 1
D&AD’s New Blood showcase of graduate work opened tonight. As one of the judges, I got a good look before the private view crowds arrived. Here are a few projects that caught my eye
Loved this twist on the venetian blind from Helena Karelson on the Product and Furniture Design course at Kingston University
Lydia Leith of Edinburgh College of Art designed this quilt featuring prostitute cards
Detail
This skeleton, a comment on the inequality of access to food and resources around the world, was made from plastic cutlery by Laura Bowman, Jamie Breach, Ashley Maine, Elliott Mariess and Lewis Woolner of Kingston
Also from Kingston, Hannah Rodde produced this set of tabloid newspapers, one in each process colour. Here’s what she says about the project: “The independent wastes roughly 2000 sides of ink daily by printing unnecessary colour bars. I set my self the mission of visualising this amount. Many days of screen printing later!……. the result was this mound of CMYK papers. My aim is to make people aware of this waste and the impact that it has on the environment, considering that the independent is just one of 12 national papers. Lets put pressure on Newspaper companies to change their ways!”
Illustration from Jack Clayton of Leeds Metropolitan University
Loved this charming set of booklets on walks by Toby AshbeeDylan Glynn of University of the West of England
D&AD has announced the appointment of a new chief executive – ex Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam MD Tim O’Kennedy (above). What do you think his first task should be?
D&AD has been without a chief executive ever since Michael Hockney left under a cloud in March 2007. O’Kennedy comes in at a difficult time for the organisation as, in common with all awards bodies, it faces up to the consequences of the recession. There are also longer term challenges for D&AD in reconnecting with the design community, ensuring its relevance and combatting disenchantment with its global positioining among sectors of the UK ad industry .
The D&AD press info includes the following about O’Kennedy’s career to date: “O’Kennedy’s career began at Saatchi & Saatchi London in the early 1980s, following which he was hired by Jay Chiat as ‘one of the first Account Planners in the US advertising industry’. Following 2 years at Wieden + Kennedy Portland steering the original ‘Just Do It’ campaign, he became International Marketing Director at Nike. O’Kennedy returned to Europe with Nike in 1994 and later joined The Lowe Group Europe as Chief Operating Officer. He was a founding partner of marketing agency Circus in 1998 and subsequently became Managing Director at Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam, where he remained until the end of 2007. O’Kennedy currently serves as a non-executive director of digital creative agency Perfect Fools in Stockholm, and of communications agency Indie in Amsterdam.”
CR will be interviewing O’Kennedy at some point in the near future – we’d like to give you the chance to raise whatever concerns you have with D&AD with him. What does he need to do at D&AD? Should it be more British? Should it separate advertising and design? Should it stop doing the awards night? Take the annual online only? What should his priorities be?
Make your suggestions or put your questions in the comments section below and we will raise/ask as many of them as we can on your behalf.
Ah the canvas tote bag: at first you charmed us, but now you’re really quite annoying. Ad agency TBWA\Vancouver has the answer to all that screenprinted smuggery
As Dmitri Siegel pointed out over at Design Observer (in an article that was reprinted in CR) the green credentials of the canvas tote aren’t as clear cut as first imagined. So TBWA’s tongue-in-cheek range of Eco Bags come as a bit of a breath of fresh air.
Some of the designs celebrate the pursuits of right-thinking individuals, but that’s right as in politics not correctness. Such as everyone’s favourite landscape activist, the good ol’ logger
The joys of a spot of hunting
Those diesel drinking kings of the road, truckers
And the kind of car Prius-drivers really wish they owned
At the Cannes Lions ad festival this week, CumminsNitro has picked up an astonishing three Grand Prixs, while Nike Battlefield took the Design prize
Australian agency CumminsNitro has won Grand Prixs in the PR, Direct and Cyber categories for its The Best Job in the World’ campaign for Tourism Queensland. The campaign offered one lucky person the chance to win a six-month contract to act as caretaker and promoter of Queensland’s Hamilton Island.
AKQA won the Grand Prix in the online advertising/innovative ideas category for its Fiat eco:Drive campaign, which also won Best in Book in CR’s Annual this year.
Last year, in what was, depending on your point of view, a bold move to embrace a new sector of visual communications or a shameless and cynical attempt to flog some more cash out of the creative indutries, Cannes launched a Design category, with the Grand Prix going to Turner Duckworth for its Coke identity work. Most of the entries however, came from ad agencies.
This year, it seems that the design world has started to take notice. Gold Lion winners include Williams Murray Hamm (for Jamie Oliver Recipease food kits), The Partners (for its Office Games identity for the Richard House hospice), and Pearlfisher (for Jamie Oliver’s JME food range). The likes of The Chase and Landor also feature among the winners, although the list is still ad agency dominated.
The Design Grand Prix has gone to McCann Worldgroup Causeway Bay, Hong Kong for Paper Battlefield, a series of 350 posters created by and featuring the teenage stars of the Nike Basketball League (which earned just a nomination at D&AD recently). Apparently, the players themselves helped create the posters by silk screening images of themselves on top of one another in various combinations.
In other categories, FFL Paris won the press Grand Prix for its Wrangler campaign (which we wrote about here)
While the Outdoor Grand Prix went to TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris for its campaign for The Zimbabwean (which we wrote about here)
‘The Athlete; the Ambassador; the Icon”. As he looks for a new club, Newcastle striker Michael Owen is being touted to potential suitors using a 32-page brochure listing all the qualities of Brand Owen
The brochure, which looks as though it may have been thrown together with an old copy of PageMaker at his agent’s office, runs through Owen’s career to date, goalscoring record and press cuttings, but it’s this page that we found particularly interesting – his Brand Values.
Owen’s Brand Values, we are told, are that he is Clean & Fresh (is this a footballer or a lavatory cleaner they are selling?), Young (he’s 29, maybe that should be ‘a bit younger than you thought’), Articulate (hmmmm) and, bizarrely, Technical.
He is also Global, Cool (really?) and First Class.
There follows a run of pages seeking to reassure potential buyers that he really isn’t injured all the time
And that, despite what Newcastle fans may have thought, he has “unquenched desire” for success.
And in summary…
For anyone who remembers him doing this, it’s all very sad and not a little tawdry.
The Daily Mail has all the pages here. Thanks to Asbury & Asbury for the link.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
Part two tomorrow. 
