The Society for Environmental Graphic Design recently relaunched its magazine with a new name and design by London studio Holmes Wood. The studio made a film revealing the process behind it
The new magazine, renamed eg, was unveiled at the recent SEGD conference in New York where Holmes Wood used this video to explain what they had done.
Here’s the final cover and a spread from eg.
It’s a nice way to present a project, both from a client and a conference point of view – certainly better than some of the dry as dust Keynote presentations we have sat through in the past. Anyone know of other design studios making good use of video to present their work?
CR for the iPad Read in-depth features and analysis plus exclusive iPad-only content in the Creative Review iPad App. Longer, more in-depth features than we run on the blog, portfolios of great, full-screen images and hi-res video. If the blog is about news, comment and debate, the iPad is about inspiration, viewing and reading. As well as providing exclusive, iPad-only content, the app will also update with new content throughout each month. Try a free sample issue here
CR in Print The July issue of Creative Review features a piece exploring the past and future of the dingbat. Plus a look at the potential of paper electronics and printed apps, how a new generation of documentary filmmakers is making use of the web, current logo trends, a review of MoMA New York’s group show on art and type, thoughts on how design may help save Greece and much more. Also, in Monograph this month we showcase a host of rejected design work put together by two Kingston students.
Please note, CR is no longer stocked in WH Smith high street stores (although it can still be found in WH Smith travel branches at stations and airports). If you cannot find a copy of CR in your town, your independent newsagent can order it for you or you can search for your nearest stockist here. Alternatively, email Laura McQueen (laura.mcqueen@centaur.co.uk) or call her on 020 7970 4878 to buy a copy direct from us. Based outside the UK? Simply call +44(0)207 292 3703 to find your nearest stockist. Better yet, subscribe to CR for a year here and save yourself almost 30% on the printed magazine.
D&AD announced the winners of its annual Student Awards this week. Here’s our roundup of Yellow Pencil winners…
In the Advertising category, Fernando Barcelona and Juan David Manotas of Miami Ad School won a yellow pencil for their response to a brief for Internet Explorer 9. The duo came up with the notion of “sorbing” – where users phones note locations visited or passed during a daily routine, then offered users a host of exploration options next time they used Internet Explorer. See more at dandad.org/awards/student/2012/
Emma Leamore and Michael Pollard of University of Salford also won a pencil for their work for Internet Explorer 9 that involved an adventurous Hamster who explored “off the wheel”. More info here.
Adam Gäfvert, Fredrik Broander and Jesper Stein of Beckmans College of Design also won a pencil for their Internet Explorer 9 work. Their concept was to reward users who tagged visited sites or pages as having the potential to be popular. The more popular one of your tagged sites becomes, the higher you soar up the ratings, possibly to become a Top Explorer, thus encouraging people to explore more online. More info here.
Chris Nuelle of The Arts University College at Bournemouth answered a Channel 4 brief with this entry (above) to win a pencil.
…and Stephen Pierce from University of Ulster also won a pencil for his “The best is yet to come” campaign for Channel 4. More info at dandad.org/awards/student/2012
Louise Flanagan and Naomi Hodgson from University of Central Lancashire answered a brief by Pitch & Sync to win a pencil. Their idea was to create visual metaphors for music using objects associated with various different brands – to highlight that P&S can make music for any brand.
Norhumbria University student Steven Kelly also answered the Pitch & Sync brief but took a very different approach – creating a series of video mash ups, overlaying crazy, inappropriate and unexpected music over kids TV clips. There’s a particularly good one of Sooty and Sweep having a rave. See all three films at dandad.org/awards/student/2012
In the Open Advertising category, Matthew Kern and Westley Taylor of Miami Ad School won a pencil for their Aviva entry that encouraged people to save (above).
From Singapore’s Chatsworth Media Arts Academy, Amelie Kam Pei Wen, Andy Dexiang Xu, Fleur Vella, Goh Ting Yu and Violaine Hernery picked up one of two pencils awarded in the advertising Open Brief category for their Peace One Day campaign. Watch their entry film here.
Martin Headon and Olly Wood from the UK picked up the other for their Peace Day campaign. Watch their film here.
A Digital Advertising pencil was awarded to Claire Stokes and Christina Smith of the University of Lincoln for their Top Fans campaign (screen grab above) encouraging users of Spotify and Facebook to play their favourite song more than anyone else to earn Top Fan status. More here.
Haley Cole, Laura Cabello Molina, Marina Ricciardi, Olimpia Muñoz and Clare Eiluned Prowse of Miami Ad School also picked up a Digital Advertising pencil for their Guilty Pleasure Facebook app which you can check out here.
A third Digital Advertising pencil was awarded to Caroline Ekrem and Sara Marie Hodnebo of Norway’s Westerdals School of Communication for their Friends FM idea. View their entry film here.
A yellow pencil for Digital Design was won by five students of Simon Fraser University for their campaign for Windows Phone. Justin Lim, Kenneth Au-Yeung, Stanley Lai, Yu-Chuan (Felix) Lai, and Sarah Fung combined forces to answer the brief to “create a forward thinking multi-screen experience that can make a significant impact to the user’s personal or professional life.” See more here.
For graphic design, three students from Beckmans College of Design in Sweden won a pencil. Elin Mejergren, Josefin Janson and Nicole Kärnell responded to a brief set by Pentagram. More info and images here.
Two illustrators won a pencil each for illustrations created in response to a brief set by Little White Lies magazine to create a striking cover image:
Above is Norwich University undergraduate Rupert Smissen’s cover illustration, and below is the cover created by Francesca Hotchin of the University of Leeds:
In Moving Image, Yana Mironova, Lidia Velles and Zhanna Nosova of the Higher School of Art and Design in Russia won a pencil for their film (still shown above) made in response to a brief by HP in which a girl talks to camera about her relationship with her laptop. Watch the film here.
Martin Craster of the University of Salford also picked up a pencil in the Moving Image category for his very different take on the HP brief (still shown above). Watch the film here.
Hwasoo Shim and Jay Jung Hyun Yeo of LCC picked up a pencil in the Branding category for their identity system created for London entitled The City. See more here.
One Packaging Design pencil was won by Melissa Preston of Edinburgh Napier University for her WLTM whisky packaging (above). More images and info here.
Michael Skachkov from Russia picked up a pencil for Photography for his project featuring models wearing fabricated “skin suits”. See more here.
Also picking up a Photography pencil, Eason Page (City University Hong Kong) took a series of images of vertical structures such as the two shown above. See more here.
A pencil for Intergrated Communications was awarded to Arina Kisleva and Kseniya Apresyan from Russia for their Maket School campaign which can be viewed here.
And finally, new in this year’s student awards is the Make Your Mark category for which D&AD asked students: “how are you going to stand out from the crowd?”. Three pencils were awarded, one went to Joy Ayles from the University of Salford (see her entry film here) and the other went to Kyle Jacobson and Chad Goddard from Vega, The Brand Communications School in South Africa for their box of 50 engraved anti-procrastination pencils (below). See more here.
To see all of the Student Awards winners, visit dandad.org
CR for the iPad Read in-depth features and analysis plus exclusive iPad-only content in the Creative Review iPad App. Longer, more in-depth features than we run on the blog, portfolios of great, full-screen images and hi-res video. If the blog is about news, comment and debate, the iPad is about inspiration, viewing and reading. As well as providing exclusive, iPad-only content, the app will also update with new content throughout each month. Try a free sample issue here
CR in Print The July issue of Creative Review features a piece exploring the past and future of the dingbat. Plus a look at the potential of paper electronics and printed apps, how a new generation of documentary filmmakers is making use of the web, current logo trends, a review of MoMA New York’s group show on art and type, thoughts on how design may help save Greece and much more. Also, in Monograph this month we showcase a host of rejected design work put together by two Kingston students.
Please note, CR is no longer stocked in WH Smith high street stores (although it can still be found in WH Smith travel branches at stations and airports). If you cannot find a copy of CR in your town, your independent newsagent can order it for you or you can search for your nearest stockist here. Alternatively, email Laura McQueen (laura.mcqueen@centaur.co.uk) or call her on 020 7970 4878 to buy a copy direct from us. Based outside the UK? Simply call +44(0)207 292 3703 to find your nearest stockist. Better yet, subscribe to CR for a year here and save yourself almost 30% on the printed magazine.
Though installed in a new venue, D&AD’s graduate talent hypermarket, otherwise known as New Blood, is as overwhelming as ever. Patrick Burgoyne battled through the private view crowds to find some favourites
Both the D&AD Student Awards and its New Blood show, in which visual arts courses each take a stand to display the pick of their graduates’ work, are in London’s Spitalfields market this year. It’s a great space, which no doubt will attract some valuable passing traffic, but the New Blood show itself is very cramped. Colleges sit cheek by jowl, the fruit and veg stalls of the old market replaced by tutors and grads hawking their creative talents.
Here are a few who stood out for me, but, with the show open until the evevening of June 28, I’d recommend a trip down there to se for yourself if you are in the vicinity. I’ve deliberately avoided colleges whose shows we have either already covered on the blog or who we know we will cover separately in the coming weeks and concentrated on institutions whose shows we may otherwise not have been able to see.
So let’s start with the Illustration course at UCA Maidstone where the vivd, quite aggressive work was a counterpoint to medium’s tendency toward the twee. I particularly liked Ian O’Shea‘s project on Tom Crean, a survivor from the 1912 Scott expedition to the Antarctic
And Aleksandra Jablokova‘s bizarre interpretation of Beauty and the Beast was memorable, if disturbing!
This is from her version of Little Red Riding Hood
At the Dundee illustration stand, Sally Hackett‘s ceramic tribute to notorious streakers, including Erica Roe, was hard to miss
Staying with illustration, Southampton Solent impressed, notably Christopher Todd‘s series of circular works on notable people, places and events related to the city.
And Nate Kitch‘s project on the patient studies of psychiatrist Oliver Sacks as related in the book The Man Who Mistook His Wife for a Hat, including this piece on an elderly ex-submariner who could not remember anything between the second world war and the early 70s.
I also liked the vivid work of Jack ‘Ren” Reynolds of University College Bournemouth
Simon Cheadle‘s project on mistakes at the Kingston illustration stand was beautifully presented: “Drawing tools that generate mistakes were designed and used to reinterpret objects and ideas that are considered perfect. By then printing and manufacturing the results, these notions of perfection are pushed back into the realm of creativity and the imperfections of the object are celebrated.”
You can download and print out paper versions of the tools here
At the Arts University College at Bournemouth graphics show, Kudzai Dyirakumunda attempted to tackle the topic of the London riots using messages about the events that had been posted on Twitter. Some were etched into News Blocks presented in a wooden tray, giving permanence to these digital communications.
Others were immortalised in poster form
Also at Bournemouth is Peter Smart who is behind the hugely impressive 50 Problems in 50 Days, which he describes thus: “I’m on an adventure – to explore the limits of design’s ability to solve social problems, big and small. To do this I attempted to solve 50 problems in 50 days using design. I also spent time with 12 of Europe’s top design firms.”
Each day, Smart attempted to use design to tackle a different social problem, from easing tube congestion to improving translation tools, while also interviewing and visiting top design firms around Europe. A really strong piece of work.
On to the UWE graphics stand and CJ Brown who applied to Facebook to see all the data it had on him. The massive file he received in return was made into a hardback book.
Brown also created One Country Two Systems in response to an ISTD brief. The book is split into two sections “with each focusing on the attitude and objectives of the two major countries involved in the transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong. This concept of having two books originated from the term given to China after the handover, ‘One Country Two Systems’. Although each book is intended to be read individually there are certain occasions when the chapters and content relate.”
In a strong UWE stand, I also enjoyed Magnus Hearn‘s book OMG in the OED about new words admitted to the dictionary
Andrew Duncan‘s film on the formula for the perfect romatic comedy
And Sam Stefan‘s The Waitress, created in response to an ISTD brief on “tales to change the world”. Presented as an iPad app, the book responds to its location.
At the Stockport design and visual arts stand, Helen Porter wrapped various iplements in coloured twine, making a striking display
The project was in response to a GF Smith brief which asked ‘ If colour was something physical, how might it interact with objects?’. Porter created a hand-boound book showcasing her work.
Last but by no means least, what would a degree show be without some Risograph action, this time prodiced by Gabriella Marcella Ditano aka Risotto of Glasgow School of Art
This is just a small selection of the work on show. Get down to New Blood if you can – details here
CR for the iPad Read in-depth features and analysis plus exclusive iPad-only content in the Creative Review iPad App. Longer, more in-depth features than we run on the blog, portfolios of great, full-screen images and hi-res video. If the blog is about news, comment and debate, the iPad is about inspiration, viewing and reading. As well as providing exclusive, iPad-only content, the app will also update with new content throughout each month. Try a free sample issue here
CR in Print The July issue of Creative Review features a piece exploring the past and future of the dingbat. Plus a look at the potential of paper electronics and printed apps, how a new generation of documentary filmmakers is making use of the web, current logo trends, a review of MoMA New York’s group show on art and type, thoughts on how design may help save Greece and much more. Also, in Monograph this month we showcase a host of rejected design work put together by two Kingston students.
Please note, CR is no longer stocked in WH Smith high street stores (although it can still be found in WH Smith travel branches at stations and airports). If you cannot find a copy of CR in your town, your independent newsagent can order it for you or you can search for your nearest stockist here. Alternatively, email Laura McQueen (laura.mcqueen@centaur.co.uk) or call her on 020 7970 4878 to buy a copy direct from us. Based outside the UK? Simply call +44(0)207 292 3703 to find your nearest stockist. Better yet, subscribe to CR for a year here and save yourself almost 30% on the printed magazine.
Taking into account the Queen’s Jubilee, the theme for this year’s Colchester Institute show was Make Do & Mend. We sent our talent-spotter, Jason Stone, to scope out some of the best work from the exhibition, which was held in a disused bus station waiting room in Colchester town centre.
Immediately as I entered the exhibition space, my eyes were drawn to the work of Chester Fletton, with his 3D Union Jack Baskerville B setting off the room and capturing the theme of the show. Combined with his outstanding book about the effects of Oil, Chester’s work appeared again and again throughout the show, with his attention to detail second to none. chesterfletton.blogspot.co.uk/
Jade O’Bryan’s illustrations of British models were expertly drawn, and the larger model drawings set themselves apart from the rest of the exhibited work. jadesvintagedelights.blogspot.co.uk/
Adam Benton’s fabric-paged screenprinted book on the history of Nintendo was a pleasure to behold, with excellent typographic layout and attention to detail. Adam’s work had a clear style and was complemented beautifully by a set of screenprints of Nintendo consoles. bentonafolio.tumblr.com
Becky Bigmore’s The History of Ford book was an excellent example of outstanding visual layout, using type and images to present the information in an easily digestible way. beckybigmore.tumblr.com
Another student to watch for, Hannah Yapp’s bold screenprinted poster for local film The Vicious Dead stood out amongst the Live project briefs, where students work with real clients to get a taste of the industry. Hannah’s set of screenprinted childrens books about Roads are another excellent example of her work, complemented with colourful screenprinted postcards. hannahyapp.co.uk
The exhibition hall featured posters by Year 1 students for Amnesty International, here are a few which stood out:
CR for the iPad Read in-depth features and analysis plus exclusive iPad-only content in the Creative Review iPad App. Longer, more in-depth features than we run on the blog, portfolios of great, full-screen images and hi-res video. If the blog is about news, comment and debate, the iPad is about inspiration, viewing and reading. As well as providing exclusive, iPad-only content, the app will also update with new content throughout each month. Try a free sample issue here
CR in Print The July issue of Creative Review features a piece exploring the past and future of the dingbat. Plus a look at the potential of paper electronics and printed apps, how a new generation of documentary filmmakers is making use of the web, current logo trends, a review of MoMA New York’s group show on art and type, thoughts on how design may help save Greece and much more. Also, in Monograph this month we showcase a host of rejected design work put together by two Kingston students.
Please note, CR is no longer stocked in WH Smith high street stores (although it can still be found in WH Smith travel branches at stations and airports). If you cannot find a copy of CR in your town, your independent newsagent can order it for you or you can search for your nearest stockist here. Alternatively, email Laura McQueen (laura.mcqueen@centaur.co.uk) or call her on 020 7970 4878 to buy a copy direct from us. Based outside the UK? Simply call +44(0)207 292 3703 to find your nearest stockist. Better yet, subscribe to CR for a year here and save yourself almost 30% on the printed magazine.
What the what, Tattly did what? How much do I love this vegetable set by Julia Rothman over at Tattly? Only as much as this vegetarian loves vegetables…which is a lot! They are perfect for anyone that is a fan of vegetables, the gardener in your life, or just if you want to feel like summer all over. There are a lot of farmers where I live, and I am wondering if this will give me field cred if I sport them at my next visit to the seed shop…basically I can't wait to order mine! – Tiffany King
With 78 graphic design students alone, Northumbria’s Reveal proclaims itself the canniest degree show on Earth. Our guest reporter, Livija Dale, covered the graphic design section of the exhibition, finding some beautiful illustrated books, a text-speak interpretation of Romeo and Juliet, and a cheeky underwear rebrand.
Dorothy Kwan’s illustrated books are delightful and show a unique flair. 10 Ways That Rainy Destroys My World is based on her real experiences with her flatmate, telling a funny stories of her eccentric friend through illustration and small snippets of text.
Alex Edwards’ book, Romeo and Juliet, seeks to highlight the shortcomings of textspeak by by providing an alternate ‘txt-spk’ version when you flip the book – ‘RMO + JLT’. Humorous, but also effective at getting you thinking about the effect of text speak. alexanderedwardsdesign.com
In DRA, Angela Burnell explores the plans Hitler had for Nazi Germany, creating a hypothetical world in which Hitler is still in power. This architecture magazine shows the Nazis’ vision of the future. Another of her works is a response to the day Martin Luther King Jr gave his iconic speech, utilising bold typography to encapsulate the spirit of that day. angelaburnellgraphics.com
Merlin Duff explores the social tensions within an elevator, inspired by John Cage’s silent composition 4’33”. Very clear work with a great sense of motion and space. thatsduffdesign.co.uk
Jim Clayton, Aaron McConkey and Rowan Van Blerk collaborated on this piece, Indent, a magazine which looks at the more hidden characters in typography such as indents and pilcrows, likening them to the designers in the publication. A smart way to explore more ‘unknown’ designers. amaaron.com typtwo.com
A little bit of cheeky and off-kilter advertising, Rachael Jackson rebrands Triumph using colours for clear correlation to sizes, and the analogy of jelly for, well… the wobbly parts! In seeking to make bra fitting a more approachable subject, some humour is definitely the way to go. Her NorthSouth project creates a restaurant that focuses on the differences between Northerners and Southerners, offering menus featuring dishes from both regions. Some good use of bold, simple and funny ideas. rachaeljackson11.tumblr.com
Josh Goodman shows a distinctly physical style, especially in his piece for The Wordsmiths, which communicates the idea of the English language being lost through the metaphor of a bar of soap with words imprinted, which will eventually disappear with use. joshgoodmandesign.co.uk
CR for the iPad Read in-depth features and analysis plus exclusive iPad-only content in the Creative Review iPad App. Longer, more in-depth features than we run on the blog, portfolios of great, full-screen images and hi-res video. If the blog is about news, comment and debate, the iPad is about inspiration, viewing and reading. As well as providing exclusive, iPad-only content, the app will also update with new content throughout each month. Try a free sample issue here
CR in Print The July issue of Creative Review features a piece exploring the past and future of the dingbat. Plus a look at the potential of paper electronics and printed apps, how a new generation of documentary filmmakers is making use of the web, current logo trends, a review of MoMA New York’s group show on art and type, thoughts on how design may help save Greece and much more. Also, in Monograph this month we showcase a host of rejected design work put together by two Kingston students.
Please note, CR is no longer stocked in WH Smith high street stores (although it can still be found in WH Smith travel branches at stations and airports). If you cannot find a copy of CR in your town, your independent newsagent can order it for you or you can search for your nearest stockist here. Alternatively, email Laura McQueen (laura.mcqueen@centaur.co.uk) or call her on 020 7970 4878 to buy a copy direct from us. Based outside the UK? Simply call +44(0)207 292 3703 to find your nearest stockist. Better yet, subscribe to CR for a year here and save yourself almost 30% on the printed magazine.
As we noted in our July issue, the humble dingbat can be a thing of both beauty and utility. Which is why it was chosen as the name and identity for a new range of notebooks and diaries designed by Silk Pearce.
CR’s July cover story is all about the past, present and future of the dingbat. Shortly after the issue came out, we were alerted to a serendipitous new range of stationery products from the Lebanon. Dingbats is a range of notebooks from paper manufacturer K Bekdache et Fils. UK design studio Silk Pearce was responsible for the name, product design, identity, advertising and website for the range which is made in the Lebanon and will be available worldwide next year.
Each 100-page A6 pocket notebook comes with a foilblocked cover featuring a different dingbat.
There are also various A4 and A5 pads in the range in a variety of bindings and cover styles.
CR for the iPad Read in-depth features and analysis plus exclusive iPad-only content in the Creative Review iPad App. Longer, more in-depth features than we run on the blog, portfolios of great, full-screen images and hi-res video. If the blog is about news, comment and debate, the iPad is about inspiration, viewing and reading. As well as providing exclusive, iPad-only content, the app will also update with new content throughout each month. Try a free sample issue here
CR in Print The July issue of Creative Review features a piece exploring the past and future of the dingbat. Plus a look at the potential of paper electronics and printed apps, how a new generation of documentary filmmakers is making use of the web, current logo trends, a review of MoMA New York’s group show on art and type, thoughts on how design may help save Greece and much more. Also, in Monograph this month we showcase a host of rejected design work put together by two Kingston students.
Please note, CR is no longer stocked in WH Smith high street stores (although it can still be found in WH Smith travel branches at stations and airports). If you cannot find a copy of CR in your town, your independent newsagent can order it for you or you can search for your nearest stockist here. Alternatively, email Laura McQueen (laura.mcqueen@centaur.co.uk) or call her on 020 7970 4878 to buy a copy direct from us. Based outside the UK? Simply call +44(0)207 292 3703 to find your nearest stockist. Better yet, subscribe to CR for a year here and save yourself almost 30% on the printed magazine.
The graphics courses at Norwich UCA have a decidedly practical focus, producing degree shows full of brand identities and packaging projects. This year’s show was particularly strong
There are three graphics courses at NUCA, showing together in the University College’s St Georges Street building: Graphic Communications, Graphic Design and Design for Publishing.
From the latter, comes Chris Cole, although his stand-out project is actually a brand identity, for the RAF Museum.
I also enjoyed Liam Drane‘s set of Charles Bukowski covers
Samantha Kerr created this range of manly Old Spice products, which won her the Design Bridge Award earlier this year
and this range of Monster energy drinks
From Michael Law comes this identity for 21 Club, an upmarket cocktail bar
Simon Jefferis and David Clulow work jointly as togetherandapart. In response to an RSA brief asking students to identify a journey and improve it, Jefferis created Shake Five, a game that gives users points when they shake hands or high-five someone. The game would use a wristband with an accelerometer inside to link to an app.
He also produced this interactive poster: hit the disc and it says “Great job buddy! 10 points!”
Working together, the same pair also produced this poster promoting Lance Wyman’s recent show at NUCA, which cleverly references Wyman’s use of pictograms but introduces Norwich landmarks into them
Adam Jewson also incorporated app design in his identity for Veg Patch, a greengrocer selling home-grown produce
Steve Burtenshaw proposed a clever new identity for Habitat, built on the idea of ‘nesting’
Emma Raimbach‘s campaign for the Science Museum’s Hidden Heroes show was beautifully done, combining the Johnson Banks identity with hand-drawn illustrations by Hollie Crofts Morris, a third year illustration student at NUCA.
While Gary Beare showed two nice identity projects, one for the city of Belfast
and the other for Tango
And Beth Drummond created this lovely packaging for Waitrose chocolates
Becki Turner’s campaign for Fedrigoni paper was bright and witty
As was Alexander Harazim’s Sunny Delight project (also shown top)
If I had one criticism it would be that I would have liked to have seen more examples on the main displays of how projects incorporated digital media, particularly the web. The two projects above that incorporated apps really stood out in this respect. Otherwise it was another very strong showing from NUCA graphics.
The show website is here. Private view is tonight (June 26) with the show open to the public from June 27 to July 3, details here.
CR for the iPad Read in-depth features and analysis plus exclusive iPad-only content in the Creative Review iPad App. Longer, more in-depth features than we run on the blog, portfolios of great, full-screen images and hi-res video. If the blog is about news, comment and debate, the iPad is about inspiration, viewing and reading. As well as providing exclusive, iPad-only content, the app will also update with new content throughout each month. Try a free sample issue here
CR in Print The July issue of Creative Review features a piece exploring the past and future of the dingbat. Plus a look at the potential of paper electronics and printed apps, how a new generation of documentary filmmakers is making use of the web, current logo trends, a review of MoMA New York’s group show on art and type, thoughts on how design may help save Greece and much more. Also, in Monograph this month we showcase a host of rejected design work put together by two Kingston students.
Please note, CR is no longer stocked in WH Smith high street stores (although it can still be found in WH Smith travel branches at stations and airports). If you cannot find a copy of CR in your town, your independent newsagent can order it for you or you can search for your nearest stockist here. Alternatively, email Laura McQueen (laura.mcqueen@centaur.co.uk) or call her on 020 7970 4878 to buy a copy direct from us. Based outside the UK? Simply call +44(0)207 292 3703 to find your nearest stockist. Better yet, subscribe to CR for a year here and save yourself almost 30% on the printed magazine.
LifeCycle certainly expected ads from DDB Singapore to raise their profile, but the creative team’s recent wins in the Outdoor category of the Cannes Lions have brought the international spotlight to the local bike shop with two locations in Singapore.
How often does a good ad comes along? and how often does a small local business get a chance to work with an award winning agency? LifeCycle had the opportunity to work with a team of great creatives from DDB Singapore led by Thomas Yang and Andrew Hook (Creative Directors), whom created the LifeCycle’s outdoor and print ad campaign titled “Terrain,” “Roadmap” and “Cityscape.”
Each one is accompanied by a brief poem. “Cityscape” reads:
You live in a little box. You get into a little box that drives you to another little box. And you spend your day thinking little boxed thoughts in your little box. Till it’s time to leave for the other little box. Unbox yourself. Get a life. Get a cycle.
Intrepid explorer journeying to the Elevator, bravely navigating past Office Politics, catching your breath at Cape Watercooler before you venture to the unknown land they call the Pantry. Step out. Get a life. Get a cycle.
The artwork is beautiful in itself, but I’m also interested to see that the ads aren’t specific to LifeCycle or Singapore itself; rather, the clever use of bicycle components in silhouette speaks to the appeal of alternative transportation in cities the world over. Thus, they’re a serendipitous visual complement to, say, the Bicycle Film Festival, which celebrates the very same.
Promoted with a surreal video and a Graphic Spectacle newspaper, The Cardiff School of Art and Design BA Graphic Communication summer show established itself as an exhibition focused on mixing the lighthearted with the progressive. Guest writer Will Humphrey reports.
One of the most immediately eye-catching pieces of work was a large chalk board, mixing hand-drawn typography and illustration. This compelling work by Joe Smith took top Twitter subjects for the day and translated them into a graphically engaging form, with each new day’s work erasing the last and embodying the transient nature of these trends. joe-is.co.uk
Interesting and often media-defying typography work was very much in evidence throughout the exhibition, with pieces by Froukje Offringa and Matt Weeks being some of the most memorable. Froukje Offringa’s Deviant/Normal pairs laser-cut patterns with a stark typography, aiming to explore the idea of judgement via the terms we use to define and attribute behaviour. froukjeoffringa.nl
Less formalised in its outcome, but no less impressive for it, was a typographic development of a hand-drawn typeface by Matt Weeks, which uses ribbon-like forms to create a dynamic display typeface. matthew-weeks.co.uk
Another interesting piece by Matt Weeks was a cover concept for One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, created as part of the Penguin adult book covers open competition. Building on the symbolic significance of hands throughout the book, it manages to be both intellectually suggestive and visually impactful.
Though the work on display in the exhibition was largely conceptual in its objectives, there were several pieces with a more direct end product. Standout amongst these was Jade Baker’s packaging series for a range of chocolate bars, made using raw Jersey cow’s milk. Each variant was packaged with a different pattern and created as part of a set, with a gentle use of colour and type. jadebakerdesign.co.uk
The issue of designing responsible physical outcomes in an increasingly digital environment was succinctly addressed by Kasia Huchrak with her Think Ink booklet. Using clean typography, good colours and a highly tactile form she created a piece which embodies the attitudes it advocates, and works to sway the viewer in an unashamedly engaging way. kasiahuchrak.co.uk
One of the most unexpectedly impressive and engaging pieces was from Julian Deborré, with this video about the crossing of Crwys Road, Dalton Street, and Monthermer Road in Cardiff. The video combines location timelapse footage and information presentation to create an engaging outcome that encourages the viewer to take a fresh look at the mundane. deborre.net
More work from this exhibition, as well as work form the other Cardiff School of Art and design courses, can be seen on their Flickr pages.
With thanks to Will Humphrey, who is a designer at Carrick Creative in Cardiff.
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