This Friday, Professor Phil Baines and Dr Catherine Dixon of Central Saint Martins will lead a walking tour of public lettering sites around London’s Smithfield and St Bart’s…
As part of the Winter Walking Weekend series of brief tours taking place across the capital and organised by The Cultural Capital Exchange, Baines and Dixon are inviting walkers to join them in exploring the typography of the area around Smithfield market.
Smithfield is an area dense with examples, say the organisers. “From small scale architects’ dedications at St Bart’s, to grandiose naming by the Port of London Authority there is much to see, admire, and discuss.”
The walk will take in the streets surrounding Smithfield market – including St Bart’s – and starts and finishes at Farringdon Underground station (meet there at 2pm on Friday 28).
Tickets are £8 and available here. The walk lasts approximately an hour and a half. The full program of walks is here.
It’s been almost four decades since Saul Bass whipped up the jaunty Avery logo, its leaning red triangle of paperclips a beacon on many a binder, label, and even the collection of Hermès knockoff totes rolled out under the “Martha Stewart Home Office with Avery” brand. But change is afoot, and the new parent company of the office and consumer products division of Avery Dennison is looking to place a giant divider between the primarily business-to-business company Avery Dennison and the consumer products brand now known simply as Avery. Enter Chermayeff & Geismar & Haviv, who were challenged to create a new visual identity for Avery. It had to be distinctive and modern while retaining the brand’s recognition in the marketplace and (d’oh!) work within Avery’s existing package design, which was to remain unchanged—all as the ghost of Bass peered over their shoulders and whispered strong opinions about the capital “R”. Their solution? Keep the off-kilter red square, and move it behind a redrawn Avery wordmark.
From this month De Nederlandse Opera, the Dutch National Ballet and The Amsterdam Music Theatre will operate as one organisation, the Dutch National Opera & Ballet, with a new identity created by Lesley Moore (original designers of Mark magazine among other things). We talk to the studio’s co-founder Alex Clay about the project
The Dutch National Opera & Ballet officially adopted its new name on February 17. The two companies (opera and ballet) will keep their own brand names, but from now on will operate together as one house, operating out of the same building which opened in 1986.
A new website, (below) designed by Tam Tam in collaboration with Lesley Moore uses a selection of stunning Gifs derived from trailers created by photographers Petrovsky & Ramone to dramatise upcoming productions
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Design: Lesley Moore. Animation: Simon Francois. Music: Machinefabriek (Rutger Zuydervelt)
CR: The Dutch Opera, National Ballet and Amsterdam Music Theatre have merged to form the Dutch National Opera & Ballet, each keeping its own name but operating as one house, that sounds like a tricky issue to resolve as a designer. What was the reason for retaining the two names? Did you try to persuade them to operate under just one?
AC: Opera and ballet are very different art forms which draw different audiences, although there is some overlap. We felt it was important to respect those differences. So we were on one page with the client on keeping the separate names. At the same time they were looking for a visual identity which tied everything together. That was indeed a challenge to resolve; a typographic solution putting emphasis on the art forms came out of that.
CR: Can you explain a little more about the ‘storytelling’ concept which underpins the identity?
AC: In essence, storytelling is what both opera and ballet are about. Both art forms are strongly influenced by tradition and history. To really appreciate opera and ballet we believe that some knowledge is important. As an institution, National Opera & Ballet wants to educate their audience in order to make them get the most out of it. The themes of the art forms are often universal, as relevant to us now as they were 300 years ago. Both the National Ballet and the National Opera are focussed on translating those themes to the 21st century.
The Dutch National Opera & Ballet also has ambitions to share more of what happens backstage with their audience. Traditionally the focus has been solemnly on the performances. What is shown on stage is world class, but to really grasp that it is important to understand what has been done to get there. From the artistic choices being made, the military-like repetitions, the historical research, the workshops and the craftsmen behind every performance.
Visually, we translated these multiple stories into layers on top of each other. As a story has a certain chronology, the layers do too. The layering also refers to the nature of theatre; on- and backstage.
Season brochure cover
CR: Can you explain how the identity system works?
AC: The logo works as a frame, creating space for the story being told at that specific moment. Top left [on the website and posters] is always the typographic logo, bottom left always the icon of the theatre.
CR: Why was it felt necessary to include a drawing of the building in the lock-up?
LM: An important aspect of the new strategy, is to focus more on the location as a hub for creation, production and presentation. Until now the theatre itself has been very anonymous, despite the success of the two companies. The icon of the building emphasizes this shift, and illustrates the brand architecture; one house, two art forms.
CR: What is the typeface used and why did you choose that one?
LM: The main typeface is Edward (Our Type), a ‘descendant’ of Edward Johnston’s typeface for the London Underground. Johnston’s typeface was based on Roman inscriptions which still forms the basis for our alphabet today. Using craft and tradition as starting point for a contemporary expression fits well with the mentality of the Dutch National Opera & Ballet. And it is something we strive for with the design of this identity.
CR: Petrovsky & Ramone’s images are beautiful – what is the extent of their involvement? How will their work be used beyond the website?
LM: From the very start, we knew that photography would be play an important part in the identity. Hence the logo as a frame. When we proposed the overall concept for the campaigns, the keyword was ‘movement’. Traditionally, the focus had been static images. Communication is moving more and more towards online, and considering the nature of the art forms, ‘sound and motion’ seemed like a logical step to take. We wanted to use video as a starting point, and extract still images from that when needed. Petrovsky & Ramone were among the names on the shortlist we proposed to do the job, and we are very excited about what has come out of it. Their background is mainly fashion, which gives an edge to the imagery which suits what happens on stage.
It’s interesting to see how some of the more forward thinking opera and ballet companies around the world have been utilising spectacular imagery on their websites. The New York City Ballet and New Zealand Opera, for example, both feature stunning, full-screen images to emphasise the promise of the experience they offer.
The new Dutch National Opera & Ballet site is a beautiful addition to that trend. Faced with a tricky brief, the identity works well both online and on posters with the ‘layered’ element top left quickly and simply identifying the art form while the main lock-up, running bottom left, emphasises the merged offer of the institution.
An ‘obstruction’ of creative directors? A ‘delusion’ of creatives? A ‘grid’ of graphic designers? The Creatures of Adland attempts to coin collective nouns for the creative industries
“A murder of crows, a crash of rhinos. Why is it the animals that get all the fun collective nouns?” asks Adrian Flores. “For too long the humble folk of Adland have sat there silently, letting the animal world get all the linguistic glory. Well, enough is enough. Enter the Creatures of Adland.”
Devised with creative partner Jana Pejkovska, Creatures of Adland assigns a suitable collective noun “the various species that make up advertising”.
For GraphicDesign&’s latest book, Golden Meaning, 55 creatives were asked to interpret mathematical concept the golden ratio. Responses include some witty and inventive work exploring how graphics can be used to convey complex or abstract theories…
Golden Meaning is the second release from GraphicDesign&, a publishing venture set up by Lucienne Roberts and Rebecca Wright. The first, Page 1, featured 70 designers’ interpretations of the first page from Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations and offered a look at the effects of typography on reader experience (you can read our blog post on it here).
The golden ratio – also known as the golden mean or divine proportion – was first studied in Ancient Greece and has been used for centuries by artists, architects and even composers to create work with harmonious proportions. Contributors to the Golden Meaning were asked to create work based on this theory and have produced illustrations, mnemonics, typefaces and interactive software.
Malika Favre created a silhouette of a woman using a golden ratio grid (above), while Bibliotheque devised a mnemonic to help people remember the golden ratio as an angle:
Oli Kellett doctored a portrait of himself in accordance with a template devised by a retired US surgeon that uses the golden ratio to determine how a beautiful face should look:
Other designs consider how the golden ratio relates to our everyday surroundings – such as Mark Hudson’s, which compares the proportions of everyday objects, from a Mars Bar to a pack of playing cards.
And some involved a creative approach to coding: Face37’s Rick Banks and Tom Duncalf used Processing and the Fibonacci code to generate a typeface, and Sennep used coding to create a visualisation examining the relationship between the Fibonacci code, the golden ratio and the patterns on the head of a sunflower:
Not all of the works are entirely mathematically accurate but each presents a thoughtful, creative way of visualising a complicated theory. By choosing contributors from a range of countries, disciplines and age groups, Roberts and Wright have compiled a diverse collection that challenges traditional notions of how we can visually convey abstract ideas.
Illustration by Rose Blake highlighting the short period of time when the height of a parent and their child equals the golden ratio.
Julia’s submission, which matches numbers in the Fibonacci sequence to words in the Oxford English Dictionary.
“We invited contributions in batches,” says Roberts. “This allowed us to see how the book was progressing and ensure we had a real mix of work.
“We were keen to include illustrators, who are lateral thinkers by trade, but we also wanted plenty of contributions from typographers and some from creatives with a more mathematical or scientific background, such as The Luxury of Protest [which specialises in data visualisation],” she adds.
George Hardie chose to represent the golden ratio using wine.
The book was compiled with help from Guardian blogger and mathmetician Alex Bellos, who suggested using the golden ratio as the key concept.
“We discussed a few options with Alex and thought this was a fitting choice, as it’s often associated with aesthetics and creating things of beauty,” explains Roberts. As Roberts points out, the standard dimensions of a paperback also use the golden ratio – something Erik Spiekermann addressed in GraphicDesign&’s first title.
Homework drew a ‘golden ass’…
As well as providing an interesting read for designers and mathmeticians, Roberts hopes the book will help make maths more accessible.
“As with all GraphicDesign& projects, our ambition was to show how the knowledge and practice of graphic designers, typographers and image-makers is uniquely capable of shedding light on ideas,” explain Roberts and Wright in their introduction to the book.
The pair are already working on a third title about religion, and hope to release a range of books marrying design with a range of subjects.
And Jessica Nesbeth used hair to illustrate the golden mean.
Golden Meaning is available to buy now at graphicdesignand.com at an introductory price of £15.
Roberts, Wright, Bello and selected contributors will also be discussing the project at London’s Design Museum on Wednesday, February 26 – see designmuseum.org for details or to book tickets.
Typeface by Adrian Talbot, made using golden ratio proportions..
Why Not Associates has collaborated with the artist Charming Baker on a series of artworks whereby old film and wrestling posters have been reprinted with new drawings…
Why Not’s Andy Altmann is a keen collector of print ephemera but it is perhaps more unusual for him to raid his plan chest in order to use old material in the creation of new work.
But digging out a series of film posters from the 1950s, Altmann decided to silkscreen new images onto them, and so produced a test poster which just used typography.
“It worked really well and then I thought I’d take them a step further by seeing if Charming Baker would be interested in printing some of his drawings over the top of the remaining posters,” says Altmann.
The pair have known each other for around 20 years and Baker has collaborated with Why Not on a number of projects. For the new posters, Why Not and Charming worked with Jealous Print in Shoreditch in east London.
“It was fascinating to see how the ink of the silkscreen reacted with that of the old posters,” says Altmann. “Some colours bled through, some didn’t. Various colours seemed to intensify – it was quite random and we were never sure what would happen. But that was the fun of doing them.
“As each was an original poster we were then creating a unique one-off poster – there was no going back once the ink was down!”
Altmann also looked through his collection of 1970s British wrestling posters and some of these were selected to be overpinted with knights drawn by Charming.
The prints will be exhibited by Jealous Print at Art 14 London (stand F6) which opens at Olympia’s Grand Hall at the end of the month and runs until March 2. More details at artfairslondon.com
Our March issue is a craft special and examines how a range of creative work was made, including Maya Almeida’s underwater photographs and a 3D-printed slipcase by Helen Yentus. We also explore the science behind Jessica Eaton’s extraordinary images, and go behind-the-scenes of new ads for Schwartz and Honda…
On top of all that we look at the BBC’s new iWonder platform, review the Design of Understanding conference and books by Wally Olins and on the Ulm School of Design, and Paul Belford explains the power behind one of the most famous posters from Paris 1968.
The March issue of Creative Review will be available to buy direct from us here. Better yet, subscribe to make sure that you never miss out on a copy – you’ll save money, too. Details here.
Opening the issue, our Month in Review section looks back at the The Lego Movies’ ‘ad break takeover’; Black + Decker’s new identity; the return of the Old Spice guy; and the debate around the new Squarespace Logo service.
Daniel Benneworth-Gray raises a sleep-deprived toast to working through the night; while Michael Evamy’s Logo Log salutes the Mobil identity on its 50th anniversary.
Our craft features begin with a look at the work of underwater photographer, Maya Almeida. Antonia Wilson talks to her about what it takes to create her beautiful images…
And Helen Yentus, art director at Riverhead Books in New York, talks us through her radical 3D-printed slipcase she recently designed for a special edition of Chang-Rae Lee’s novel, On Such a Full Sea. (Yentus also created this month’s cover.)
Rachael Steven looks at the thinking behind iWonder, the new online storytelling platform from the BBC…
…While six of the objects that appear in BarberOsgerby’s In the Making show at the Design Museum are featured – each one ‘paused’ midway through its manufacture and beautifully shot by György Körössy (two pound coin shown, above right).
Antonia Wilson also talks to photographer Jessica Eaton about the process behind making her stunning images of cubic forms.
And Eliza Williams discovers how over a hundred sacks of spices were blown up in a new ad for Schwartz…
… while a more sedate approach is explored in a behind-the-scenes look at Honda’s Inner Beauty spot from Wieden + Kennedy.
We also look at why VFX is becoming more invisible, and (above) look at the latest trends in packaging.
In Crit, Nick Asbury reviews Wally Olins’ new book, Brand New…
…Mark Sinclair reports back from the recent Design of Understanding conference…
… and Professor Ian McLaren looks at a new book on the influential Ulm School of Design, which he attended in the early 1960s.
Finally, this month’s edition of Monograph, free with subscriber copies of CR, features photographs of Norfolk by designer Pearce Marchbank.
The March issue of Creative Review will be available to buy direct from us here. Better yet, subscribe to make sure that you never miss out on a copy – you’ll save money, too. Details here.
A new exhibition at Zürich’s Museum for Design showcases more than six decades of Japanese poster art, exploring changing aesthetics and attitudes towards the medium…
Japanese Poster Artists – Cherry Blossom and Asceticismincludes more than 130 posters dating from the 1950s to the present day. These works are also featured in accompanying book Japan – Nippon; the latest addition to Lars Müller Publishers’ poster collections.
As the book and show explain, the poster’s role in Japan’s visual culture has changed significantly since the Second World War. In the 1950s and 60s, the Japan Advertising Annual Club – the country’s first association of graphic designers – held annual exhibitions of hand drawn and painted designs inspired by modernist ideals, which won international awards and recognition.
Rapid economic development in the 1960s led to the introduction of new printing techniques, and an increase in the quality and quantity of posters being produced. In an essay for the book, Kiyonori Muroga cites Yusaku Kamekura’s work (above) for the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo as a milestone in Japanese graphic design, “as it represented the intense visual impact achieved by art direction and well-executed typography, rather than pictorial graphic design.
“The poster was the most authentic and successful “advertising” for the national event, though the total design for the Olympic Games — including the pictograms — were recognised as a monumental achievement of, and an effort realised through, modern graphic design,” notes Muroga.
In the decade that followed, designers also embraced silk screen printing, creating limited editions works for artists, musicians and cultural venues and re-defining the poster as an autonomous artwork instead of a vehicle for advertising. “The development of posters sold upon their own inherent merit “generated a wave of public astonishment and fascination…helped along by the advent and quick ascension of the psychedelic poster spawned by the American Hippie counter/subculture,” explains Muroga.
A consumerist boom in the 1980s saw another new wave of designs, where fashion brands, photographers and artists collaborated on experimental artwork and many designers employed “allusive image-based pseudo-narratives” in their posters.
Posters from these decades have since become sought after collectors’ items in Europe and the west, and now feature in many foreign museum archives. In her introduction to Japan – Nippon, Bettina Richter says this probably due to their conceptual, experimental style and exoticism.
“These artworks possess an unusual visual aesthetic that is utterly captivating, and yet seems to refute all the conventional rules of visual communication…What is actually being advertised is often unclear, and the Japanese poster tends to be viewed instead as a visual embodiment of philosophical ideas of the Far East,” she says.
Today, however, Richter and Muroga say the poster no longer holds the same prestige or prominence in Japanese visual culture.
“The Japanese poster scene seems to be at a standstill. The same designers who invigorated the format generations ago now make “artistic” posters detached from any criticality in terms of content or subject….the “old masters” of the Japanese poster tradition, individuals with established reputations, dominate both poster competitions and commissions, while younger unproven designers have little opportunity and much less interest in the making of posters,” she says.
The allure of the poster may be fading in Japan but as the book and exhibition demonstrate, it’s a format that should be cherished. The range of artistic styles on show is astonishing, and the collection includes some beautiful, intriguing and innovative designs.
Japanese Poster Artists – Cherry Blossom and Asceticism is open at Museum für Gestaltung, Zürich until 25 May. For details, see museum-gestaltung.ch. Poster Collection 26: Japan – Nippon is published by Lars Müller Publishers and priced at £24.00. For details or to buy a copy, click here.
Art director and illustrator Kate Moross has published a book offering advice for aspiring creatives and a look at her impressive career so far…
By the time Kate Moross was 21, she had set up a record label, designed a clothing range for Topshop and created work for Cadbury’s, Sony, Vice and Dazed & Confused.
We first featured Moross as one to watch in 2008, when she was in her final year of a graphic design course at Camberwell College of Arts. In the six years since, she has set up a successful studio and produced record sleeves, music promos and campaigns for an impressive range of clients, including MTV, Jessie Ware, Disclosure, Paul Smith and Ray Ban.
As someone with a career that many twice her age would be proud of, Moross is well-placed to advise future generations on achieving success – which is what her forthcoming book, Make Your Own Luck: A DIY Attitude to Design & Illustration, aims to do.
As its title suggests, Make Your Own Luck is a guide to creating your own opportunities – something Moross has done since her teens, when she designed the school magazine and sets for school plays. She also made flyers for local gigs and club nights, designed Myspace profiles for bands and created logos and avatars for anyone and everyone she could.
“I followed a simple DIY ethos inspired by the riot grrrl and punk music culture that I had been absorbing…through pirated music, gigs, zines and, more importantly, the Internet,” she says in her introduction. “I didn’t emerge into the world with a fully formed style or approach. Rather, I’ve worked hard for years,” she adds.
The book stresses the importance of self promotion throughout, offering advice on setting up your own website and selling your own prints. It also provides a guide to agreeing fees and rates, being sensitive to clients’ wishes without compromising your style and sticking to your creative vision even if your tutor doesn’t ‘get’ it.
But while she offers plenty of tips for students hoping to make the most of art school, Moross also stresses that having a degree isn’t everything. “When I read a job application I don’t look at the CV until after I’ve looked at (and liked) the portfolio,” she says. “Having a Bachelor of Arts doesn’t make you employable. Experience is just as important,” she says.
As well as being full of practical information, Make Your Own Luck is a hugely enjoyable read. It’s littered with examples of personal and commissioned projects – from t-shirt designs and large scale murals to music videos and packaging – and the thoughtful commentary provides a fascinating insight into how Moross works. Designed by Praline, it features doodles by Moross throughout and the cover image, a collection of objects showing her range of work, was shot by photographer John Short.
For anyone interested in starting a career in a fiercely competitive industry, Make Your Own Luck is an essential read. It’s also an inspiring book for fans of Moross’ fun, varied and colourful style. As Neville Brody says in a foreword to the book, “Kate Moross is…brilliant, creative, fun and unique. And obsessed. You have to be. To not only survive but prosper in this industry requires all the driven craziness you can muster.”
Make Your Own Luck: A DIY Attitude to Design & Illustration is available to pre-order and will be published by Prestel Publishing on March 24. For details, click here.
London studio SocioDesign has created a logo, website and identity system for digital development agency Soap Industries, inspired by industrial lettering and vintage insignia.
The project is one of several new pieces of work from Socio, which was founded by Nigel Bates and James Cramp in 2004. The studio recently updated its own branding and launched a new website yesterday, built by Emil Olsson.
Founded by a team of developers, Soap is launching in Spring this year and will specialise in creating mobile apps. Socio was asked to create an identity that would convey a sense of craft and care and developed a pastel scheme that plays on the company’s name.
“Soap [want to] differentiate themselves from their competitors through craft and detail in their service,” says Bates. “They chose the name to reflect the hard working nature of the agency…and saw Soap as an object that epitomised the robust work ethic of 1930s industrialism,” he adds.
In keeping with the industrial feel, Socio created a logo in the shape of a bar of soap and two supporting marques inspired by vintage stamps and insignia: one communicates the company’s focus on ‘mobile apps and innovation’ while the other reads ‘Made by Soap’.
Soap’s logo, address and contact details are printed in gold foil on business cards and stationery and the ‘Made by Soap’ stamp appears on the debossed cover of a ‘credentials book’, which outlines the company’s ethos and experience.
The marques also appear on the brand’s website, which features the same pastel and grey colour palette. Logos were created using a custom drawn angular font, and Milieu Grosteque’s Maison Neue is used for accompanying text.
“We felt that the inherent contradictions of the brand were a key feature to highlight – the intangible nature of their business versus the tactile nature of something like Soap,” says Bates. “The unusual combination of metal foils and soft pastels served as a visual embodiment of these…[and] the three varying marques gave the brand the versatility it needed to span print and digital collateral,” he says.
While it’s inspired by vintage products, lettering and symbols, Bates says the aim was to create something modern and simplified, rather than a pastiche.
Images: György Kőrössy
It’s a nicely crafted identity and an unusual approach for an app development company – as Bates points out, most opt for brighter, screen-based colours.
As well as creating Soap’s branding and updating its own, Socio recently produced an identity system and quarterly magazine for marketing agency KAE and designed two websites with Mark Bloom’s Mash Creative: one for scenographers collective Curious Space and another for production company Kickstart (below). See more images from each project here.
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