Few creative companies have experienced such extreme highs and lows as attik. It’s some story
From humble origins in a Huddersfield loft, to offices on three continents; from two employees to 160 to (almost) none; from making millions to being millions in debt, attik has had a rollercoaster ride.
Read the full story in our feature here
The Walk by Sophie Lewis of Nottingham Trent University, exhibiting at Free Range
Student degree shows start this week across the UK. Click through for a list of dates for most of the shows in the country, plus details on the three main group shows taking place in the capital. As per last year, if we’ve missed any out, please add your details in the comments…
Arts Institute at Bournemouth
June 17-June 25
http://www.aib.ac.uk
Bath Spa School of Art & Design
June 6-June 13
http://www.bathspa.ac.uk/
http://www.artsworkbathspa.com/
Birmingham City University
June 15-June 20
http://www.bcu.ac.uk
Blackpool and the Flyde College
June 9-June 13
http://www.blackpool.ac.uk
Brighton University
June 6-June 11
http://www.brighton.ac.uk
Brunel University
July 21-July 24
http://www.brunel.ac.uk
Bucks New University
June 13-June 16
http://www.bucks.ac.uk
Camberwell College of Arts
June 17-June 27
http://www.camberwell.arts.ac.uk
Cardiff School of Art and Design
June 13-June 20
http://www.csad.uwic.ac.uk
Central Saint Martins
College of Art and Design
Jun 20-July 25
http://www.csm.arts.ac.uk
Chelsea College of Art and Design
June 20-June 24
http://www.chelsea.arts.ac.uk
Cumbria Institute of the Arts
June 10-June 18
http://www.cumbria.ac.uk
Dublin Institute of Technology
June 9-June 13
http://www.dit.ie
Edinburgh College of Art
June 13-June 23
http://www.eca.ac.uk
Glasgow School of Art
May 13-June 20
http://www.gsa.ac.uk
Goldsmiths College
May 28-June 1
http://www.goldsmiths.ac.uk
Kingston University
June 7-June 12
http://www.kingston.ac.uk
KLC School of Design
July 1-July 2
http://www.klc.co.uk
Leeds College of Art and Design
June 22-June 26
http://www.leeds-art.ac.uk
London College of Communication
18 May-July 10
http://www.lcc.arts.ac.uk
Loughborough University School of Art and Design
13 June-18 June
http://www.lboro.ac.uk
Manchester Metropolitan University
June 25- TBC
http://www.mmu.ac.uk
Newport School of Art, Media and Design
May 30-June 5
http://www.newport.ac.uk
Norwich School of Art and Design
June 14-June 17
http://www.nsad.ac.uk
Nottingham Trent University
June 6-June 11
http://www.ntu.ac.uk
Plymouth College of Art
June 26-July3
http://www.plymouthart.ac.uk
Royal College of Art
Design
May 29-June 7 (photography)
June 26-July 5 (design)
http://www.rca.ac.uk
Sheffield Hallam University
June 12-June 19
http://www.shu.ac.uk/creativespark
Southampton Solent
June 12-June 18
http://www.solent.ac.uk
Swansea Institute
May 23-June 5
http://www.sihe.ac.uk
University for the Creative Arts (Canterbury, Epsom, Farnham, Maidstone, Rochester campuses)
Check website for all dates
http://www.ucreative.ac.uk
University of Central Lancashire
June 13-June 20
http://www.uclan.ac.uk
University College Falmouth
June 16-June 20
http://www.falmouth.ac.uk
University of Hertfordshire
TBC
http://www.herts.ac.uk
University of Plymouth
June 20-June 26
http://www.plym.ac.uk
University of the West of England, Bristol
June 20-June 25
http://www.uwe.ac.uk
University of Wolverhampton
June 6-June 13
http://www.wlv.ac.uk
West Herts College
June 24-June 26
http://www.westherts.ac.uk
Wimbledon College of Art
June 17-June 23
http://www.wimbledon.arts.ac.uk
GROUP SHOWS:
D&AD New Blood 2009
June 29-July 2
http://www.dandad.org/education/new-blood.html
Free Range 2009
May 29-July 20
http://www.free-range.org.uk
New Designers
July 9-July 19
http://www.newdesigners.com
Ben Terrett over at Noisy Decent Graphics posted some great Olympics-related work by University College Falmouth student, Alan Clarke. Sadly, the proposed posters aren’t set to be part of London 2012’s official communications program. If only…
Clarke’s work also forms part of UCF’s new graphic design BA Hons website at fromfalmouth.co.uk.
Manchester-based agency Dorothy recently created these five screenprinted posters to help promote five new shorts directed by up and coming film makers…
No Way Through poster, designed by Craig Oldham and Jordan Stokes (from Music)
“The short films were the winners of a national competition launched by Ctrl.Alt.Shift in 2008 which invited young filmmakers to write a treatment based around a global issue – War and Peace, Gender and Power or HIV and Stigma,” explains Ali Johnson, who set up Dorothy last year with Phil Skegg. “The winners were mentored by established UK directors including: Aoife McArdle, Chris Harding from Shynola, Kinga Burza, Paul Andrew Williams and Jim Threapleton. Actors lending their support include Julian Barrett (Mighty Boosh) and Martin Freeman (The Office). Soundtracks were recorded by Young Knives, Chipmunk, Shy Child, Metronomy and Jesca Hoop. The project builds on the success of Ctrl.Alt.Shift’s other cultural collaborations with The Baltic and Vice Magazine.”
Dorothy’s Phil Skegg worked on two of the five posters: 1000 Voices (shown above) and also War School (below)
Dorothy invited different designers to work on some of the posters. James Quail worked on Man Made, and ‘HIV: The Musical, Craig Oldham and Jordan Stokes (from Music) worked on No Way Through. Dorothy’s Phil Skegg worked on War School and 1000 Voices.
To mark the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Bauhaus school – and their own 190th anniversary – Thonet is producing a special edition of Mart Stam’s s43 cantilever chair in 11 colours
2009 sees Thonet celebrate the 190th anniversary of the founding of the company by Michael Thonet and also the 150th anniversary of the bentwood classic 214 Chair.
It will also mark the 90th anniversary of the founding of the Bauhaus school, where in 1926 Mart Stam developed the first prototype of the cantilevered, tubluar steel chair.
Thonet is producing a special edition of the S43 chair for the Bauhaus exhibition in Germany (Weimar, Dessau and Berlin July – October 2009) and New York (MOMA November 2009 – January 2010).
NB: This post has been changed since first published. In the original post we stated that the 214 ‘knotted’ chair from 1859 was being produced as a special edition (below). The original version of this chair is still in production.
Stephen O’Malley is one half of the seismic drone-rock band Sunn 0))) and he also oversees the design and art direction of their releases. With their new album, Monoliths & Dimensions released on Southern Records this week, we asked him about how the band takes an active role in packaging up some of the heaviest music around…
In the ten years they’ve been creating their own brand of low-end rock as Sunn 0))), the band has released a series of records with covers that both eschew and knowingly reference the visual motifs of the doom metal scene from which they’ve emerged.
Over seven albums they’ve used various artists’ works to try and convey the esoteric, other-wordly nature of their intense music (including UK illustrator Jo Ratcliffe, as shown below). For the latest album, the band approached the artist Richard Serra for permission to use one of his works, Out-of-Round X, on the sleeve.
Creative Review: The visual is an important component to Sunn’s music. [The band wear robes on stage, standing in front of a wall of Sunn 0))) amps, from which they took their moniker.] Does your creative input in Sunn’s album sleeves differ from each release depending on how you feel you want the music to be represented?
Stephen O’Malley: Well, it differentiates with each release with the constant being that I’m personally art directing and designing each piece. This includes the art direction of the commissioned artwork, when it happens. This can be quite literal, like Justin Bartlett working off of my own sketches, or more classically directed, as in Jo Ratcliffe‘s imagery for the Black1 album which was based off of text instruction. I’ve been working as a designer for 15 years, and while these days I’m doing much less of it, I’m still present in the design of each Sunn O))) title.
Each release has a strong visual concept, which attempts to personify what I hear as our conceptual audial approach. This can be an enormous challenge, coming from both an internal perspective of the music, and attempting to have an external interpretive and fresh and clear visual standpoint. Maybe this isn’t the best way to going about creating a well rounded work… but many aspects of Sunn O))) operate in similarly insular, but collaborative, fashion.
Dømkirke, 2008. Art by Tanya Stene
CR: How did the sleeve for Monoliths & Dimensions come about? Presumably Richard Serra sees Sunn’s art as a good fit with his own?
SO’M: I started working on the art direction for this album nearly a year before the design was completed. The main differences, and the main progressions, with this album sonically were the expansion of the timbre through a weaving and incorporation of acoustic ensemble instrumentation and arrangement. The processes of achieving this in an integrated way required a level of layered delicacy and subtleness which was frankly new to our music. I wanted the visual aspects and packaging designs to capture this element as well and this required a lot of breathing time with the various ideas to see how they settled, in the longer term.
Serra is an artist I have been a fan/follower of for several years and whose sculptural work has provided a large sense of inspiration and pleasure when encountered. This blatant elemental use of magnetism and gravity appeals as a physical sense of some of the principles we see in our music as well. I guess we are fortunate to have this sculptural metaphor with our music.
The communication with Serra’s studio was very friendly and encouraging. It was a great surprise, honour and gratification to have the work offered for use to our project!
Out-of-Round X by Richard Serra, as featured on Monoliths & Dimensions, 2009
CR: What was it about Out-of-Round X, that you’ve used on the cover, that appealed to you?
SO’M: I encountered Serra’s painting rather recently actually, but again there was heavy resonance there, especially in the physicality of his surface emerging from a rather minimal material use. Out-of-Round X provides many metaphors with our project’s moniker, the implication of radiation and collective colour, movement and energy in stasis, etc. I’m also very attracted to the title concept, which directly relates to the concept of our track, Big Church, on M&D. I interpreted as simply: working freely outside of the space, physically and of implied societal morals and ethics.
Black1, 2006. Art by Jo Ratcliffe
CR: Can you tell us a bit about the Japanese edition of the record, that includes the four art cards? Is this the visual equivalent of bonus tracks?
SO’M: Our partner label in Japan, Daymare, usually asks for an extra element to differentiate their release from the US domestic one mainly to provide an attractive alternative for Japanese buyers vs. the US imports. Classically, and traditionally, this is piece of unreleased music. Monoliths & Dimensions was a complete album, there were no other relative tracks available. I decided to work with a more archival package design instead, to give more attention to the great visual artists we are working with on the album.
The ‘art cards’ are small prints of the portrait cyanotypes prints created by various photographers and printed by Mathilde Darel. The edition also has a poster of the band at the Temple of the Moon in Teotiuachan as shot by by Gisèle Vienne. Generally the Japanese edition in this case is a more artistic presentation of the visual material than the more commodified jewel-case consumer edition.
The Grimm Robe Demos, 2000 (demo 1998)
CR: How important is the ‘physicality’ of a release to you? [One of the band’s previous vinyl releases, Dømkirke, weighed in at over a pound]. It seems that with more music being experienced digitally, bands are perhaps putting more effort into creating beautiful packaging?
SO’M: I don’t know if there’s more effort being put in than in the past; its probably actually being noticed more as the alternative is a non-physical-space digital file. It’s a long topic which has already been debated endlessly. I feel like the free access and encountering of music via files is actually closer to music tradition than the obligatory purchasing of product containing the musical experience. Nevertheless, we pride ourselves in the object of our efforts. The vinyl especially is an extension of various parts of the aesthetic principle of what Sunn O))) is. The analogue, the historical rock productions, etc., not to mention the sense of scale and space, and of being more permanent.
White2, 2004. Art by Pieter Brueghel the Elder (The Beekeepers, detail, 1567-68)
CR: Looking through your releases, do you have one that you feel particularly good about when you revisit it? The art used on White2, for example, has those faceless figures and works really well with the typography. Where does that image come from?
SO’M: As far as Sunn O))) is concerned White2 is a favorite for certain. The Breugel image on the cover symbolised the psychedelic and illusionary elements which were emerging from the music more presently then for the first time. It’s simply an image of 15th century beekeepers, but seems alien to the viewer’s modern sensibilities. Much as Sunn O))) may exist in some ways in early 1970s heavy rock but orbit far from contemporary metal. Beside this, the typography, graphics and art direction were a highlight for me. It’s implied sophistication, or rather a minimal approach allowing the listener, viewer, to draw their own impression out of the canvas on their own terms.
All Sunn 0))) album sleeves art directed and designed by Stephen O’Malley. Monoliths & Dimensions is out now on Southern Records.
Jiggery Pokery‘s window display, as viewed from inside YCN’s new studio/gallery/library space
The Young Creative Network (YCN) has opened its newly renovated headquarters at 72 Rivington Street in London. While it functions as the YCN studio base, the ground floor will provide an exhibition space for designers, illustrators and other emerging creatives and also house a lending library which is now open to the public…
“This is our first physical space,” says YCN’s Nick Defty. “It will enable us to constantly showcase the outcome of YCN projects, to invite creatives we represent to present work within and, importantly, to promote and sell the work of emerging designers. We’re in the process of putting together a collection of products – all made by emerging talent – to be presented and sold in the space.”
The space itself has been designed by The Klassnik Corporation, the London based interdisciplinary design practice focussed on architectural research, and contains a series of interconnected, mobile display units; a kit of parts including plinths, vitrines, shelves, walls, and steps that can be easily configured to suit different uses.
“Responding to the way YCN operates, the interior of 72 Rivington Street is designed to enable creativity by providing a functional environment adaptable to the needs of its users,” says Tomas Klassnik. (Klassnik collaborated with Peter Marigold and Oscar Magnus Narud from OKAY Studio and Rob Thuring who collectively manufactured and installed the project.)
The space will also function as a lending library, stocking a wide range of books. “The books and magazines are broadly intended to be stimulating and inspiring; currently ranging from Tim Key’s 25 Poems, 3 Recipes, and 32 Other Suggestions to Dale Carnegie’s How to Win Friends and Influence People. There are also lots of art and design titles, many kindly provided by publishers such as Gestalen. We’ll be announcing some Guest Librarians soon who will pick out ten of their favourite titles, to be stocked in the library.”
Inspired by the shape and markings of the building, a graphic identity for 72 Rivington Street has also been created by Eat Sleep Work / Play (see below). It’s being used on posters, membership cards and a dedicated website (bottom image) for the building, which was produced in-house by YCN, at 72rivingtonstreet.com.
A case study about how the identity was created (it’s based on the look of the front of the building) can be seen here.
All photos by Guy Archard.
Both Coke and deadly rival Pepsi have Coke produced limited edition runs of can designs in recent years – here’s Coke’s effort for the summer.
The first can featuring a Sunglass icon (above, far left) launched this week with four additional designs to be released over the next two months, culminating with a special July 4th holiday can (above, far right).
The cans were designed by Turner Duckworth. They will be featured on packaging, in-store displays and TV ads in an integrated campaign devised in collaboration with Wieden + Kennedy and Coca-Cola’s rather portentously titled ‘North America Creative Excellence team’ . The designs will also be used for merchandise – T-shirts, hats, beach towels etc etc (you know the kind of thing).
Turner Duckworth’s work for Coke (which has won a lot of awards in the past year) is explained by the brand’s design director Moira Cullen in this video
One of 8vo’s posters commissioned by Wim Crouwel in 1989
The International Society of Typographic Designers announces a new series of lectures this week, the first of which is quite a coup: Wim Crouwel on 3 June. The Dutch legend will also be introduced by 8vo’s Hamish Muir, who will talk about the studio’s work that was commissioned by Crouwel in the early 90s
Crouwel’s lecture, entitled Designer and Client, will take place at the The Royal College of Physicians’ Wolfson Lecture Theatre, 11 St Andrews Place, Regent’s Park, London NW1 4LE (7pm – 9.30pm).
Hamish Muir will open proceedings with a talk on 8vo‘s work for Crouwel when he was director of the Museum Boymans-van Beuningen (1989-1994). A Flickr set of some of the work produced for the museum can be found here.
Tickets are £16 (£12 for ISTD members, £10 for students) and are available in advance from istd.org.uk/wim-crouwel.
Attendees will be invited to celebrate the ISTD’s 80th birthday with a complimentary drink in the Dorchester Library after the lecture.
Tickets also includes entry to a raffle for the chance to win a very special prize which will be presented by Crouwel himself.
Artist and art director Yuki Chong of Singapore studio Creamy Visual Communications created this installation for the ultra-hip New Majestic Hotel in which stained glass creates the feel of a forest canopy
“By using geometrical shapes, colours and light based on modular grids, a textural blanket was created to reflect the intricacies of depth found in a real forest canopy,” says Chong. The installation is on the ceiling of the hotel bar.
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.
creamy.com.sg