Hasta La Ideas

News: alternatives to the current United Kingdom flag presented by a national flag charity have provoked a debate about whether a new design should be commissioned if Scotland chooses independence in its upcoming referendum.

The Flag Institute, an independent charity dedicated to the study and documentation of flags, asked experts and members of the public to design new versions of the union jack that would reflect Scotland’s independence.

The designs were proposed by people responding to a survey conducted by the Flag Institute, in which 65 percent of respondents claimed the Union Flag should change if Scotland becomes independent.

The United Kingdom’s current flag features the saltire of St Andrew representing Scotland, the English cross of St George and the red saltire of St Patrick for Ireland.

Suggestion for a possible new flag included replacing the saltire with colours or shapes representing Wales, which was part of the English kingdom when the flag was originally designed.

One proposal showed the blue saltire of St Andrew replaced with the black ground and yellow cross of the patron saint of Wales, St David.

Other designs employed the red, white and green colours of the Welsh Dragon flag, or featured the dragon itself. A design by John Yates fragmented the colours and crosses of each nation into a pattern of overlapping shapes, while others integrated royal iconography.

The Flag Institute’s chief executive Charles Ashburner pointed out that the organisation is neither encouraging nor discouraging a change to the flag, but is “simply here to facilitate and inform the debate if there is an appetite for such a thing.”

“As this subject has generated the largest post bag of any single subject in our history ever, there clearly is such an appetite,” Ashburner added.

When the alternative flags were posted on the BBC’s online magazine they prompted further suggestions from the public, including many “which kept the shapes in the current union jack but changed the colours.”

The Scottish public will vote on the issue of independence on 18 September 2014, however the College of Arms, which oversees matters relating to flags and heraldry and acts under Crown Authority, told British broadcaster ITV that there are no plans to change the Union Flag if Scotland becomes an independent state.

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flag without Scotland appeared first on Dezeen.

Graffiti depicting gangly imaginary creatures by street artist Phlegm is currently on show at an east London gallery (+ slideshow).

Sheffield-based Phlegm normally paints giant murals of fantasy beasts and scenes on walls and sides of buildings around the world.

However for this exhibition the street artist has created reliefs of his typical artworks indoors, as part of a large-scale installation made from wood, clay and plaster at the Howard Griffin Gallery in Shoreditch.

“Phlegm creates surreal illustrations to an untold story, weaving a visual narrative that explores the unreal through creatures from his imagination,” said the gallery’s owner Richard Howard-Griffin.

The imagery shows greyscale fantasy figures with exaggerated limbs set amongst woodland animals, ropes and snares.

A group of the humanoids appear to be gripped by the tentacles of a monster and one is in the process of being consumed.

The artist has also illustrated a bestiary – a compendium of beasts – displaying bizarre half-real, half-imagined creatures in specimen jars on wooden shelves.

A boat loaded with these jars is being unloaded by a team of the long-limbed figures further into the space.

The embossed paintings and sculptural elements emerge from a patchwork of reused wooden boards, which have been installed across the gallery walls.

The Bestiary exhibition opened earlier this month and continues until 4 March. Photography is by Marcus Peel.

More information sent to us by Howard Griffin Gallery follows:

The Bestiary

A bestiary was an illustrated compendium of animals, half real and half imagined, setting out the natural history of each beast within and its moral significance. A bestiary was not a scientific text and while some beasts and descriptions were quite accurate, others were completely fanciful. Such bestiarys belonged to the ancient world and were popularised during the Middle Ages as didactic tools.

For The Bestiary, Phlegm creates a modern bestiary within his own universe through an immersive and large scale installation in wood, clay and plaster. Here Phlegm presents a taxonomic categorisation of his creatures and collects them in one place for the first time. Within the expansive sections of the installation, and working in bas and high relief, Phlegm displays a series of works akin to the Lascaux cave paintings. Inspired by the bestiarys of old, these works contain untold fables and narratives.

Phlegm Biography

Phlegm is a Sheffield based muralist and artist who first developed his fantastical illustrations in self-published comics. His work now extends to the urban landscape, and can mostly be seen in run-down and disused spaces. Phlegm creates surreal illustrations to an untold story, weaving a visual narrative that explores the unreal through creatures from his imagination. His storybook-like imagery is half childlike, half menacing, set in built up cityscapes with castles, turrets and winding stairways.

At other times the city itself is the setting for his long limbed half-human, half-woodland creatures. In this dream world a viewer comes across impossible flying machines and complex networks of levers, pulleys and cogs, set beside telescopes, magnifying glasses and zephyrs. Working solely in monochrome, his fine technique and intricate detail can be seen as a curiosity cabinet of the mind. Each drawing forms part of a grand narrative that extends worldwide, in countries including Norway, Canada, Switzerland, Sri Lanka, USA, Belgium, Poland, Italy, Slovakia and Spain.

Some thoughts by Richard Howard-Griffin

Artists like Phlegm are very interesting as they are helping to redefine the dynamics of the art world and causing a revolution in the delivery of public art. High level globe-trotting muralists like Phlegm are reaching huge audiences around the world by painting on an unprecedented international scale. The international breadth and scope of Phlegm’s mural work is staggering as is the quality of the work itself. Artists like Phlegm are not dependent on the patronage of traditional art institutions, museums, critics and curators for their success. By painting outdoors on a grand global scale they have effectively cut out the middle man, it is a democratisation of art. These are the artists that we represent at Howard Griffin Gallery.

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exhibited in east London appeared first on Dezeen.

News: Danish design brand Carl Hansen & Søn has changed its logo back to one originally created by legendary furniture designer Hans J. Wegner in 1950, in honour of the 100th anniversary of his birth.

Carl Hansen & Søn produces many of Wegner’s most iconic furniture designs and has once again adopted the logo created by the Danish designer shortly after he began collaborating with the firm.

“The 100th anniversary [of Wegner’s birth] offers Carl Hansen & Søn an ideal opportunity to return to Wegner’s original logo,” said the company’s CEO Knud Erik Hansen.

“With the new logo, we are adding another page to Carl Hansen & Søn’s history and visually expressing our transformation from a traditional production company into a modern design enterprise – still clearly referencing our 100-year furniture history, but now with a visual identity that matches the company’s present-day position as an internationally oriented design player,” he added.

The logo (main image) comprises a red circle surrounding the initials of the family-run company, which are written in a curving font that evokes the organic modernism popular in Scandinavia at the time of its design.

It was originally used from the 1950s until the mid-1980s, when the company commissioned a new logo with a blue square and a white letter C.

“Wegner’s logo is meaningful to us on several levels,” said Erik Hansen. “The logo visually expresses that at its core, the company is passionate about design and creativity. At the same time, the logo reinforces the strong ties that for decades have linked Wegner with Carl Hansen & Søn.”

The company was founded by Carl Hansen in Odense, Denmark, in 1908 and began collaborating with Hans J. Wegner in 1949. Among the classic pieces that Wegner created for Carl Hansen & Søn are the Wishbone, Shell and Wing chairs.

Wegner is known to have designed more than 500 chairs prior to his death in January 2007, over 100 of which have been put into production.

Here’s some more information from Carl Hansen & Søn:

Carl Hansen & Søn introduces new logo designed by Wegner

Carl Hansen & Søn has changed its logo to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Hans J. Wegner’s birth. The logo, designed by Wegner in 1950, revitalizes Carl Hansen & Søn’s visual identity to reflect a modern design company. The logo is one more testament to Wegner’s brilliant, visionary talent.

Carl Hansen & Søn is celebrating the 100th anniversary of Hans J. Wegner’s birthday by launching a logo Wegner himself designed in 1950. The round logo encircles the family-run company’s initials on a red background in soft, organically curved lines.

The logo was originally used from the 1950s until the mid-1980s, when Carl Hansen & Søn asked architect Bernt to design a new logo in the shape of a blue square marked with a contrasting, white letter C in reference to the initial letter in the company name.

The 100th anniversary offers Carl Hansen & Søn an ideal opportunity to return to Wegner’s original logo. “With the new logo, we are adding another page to Carl Hansen & Søn’s history and visually expressing our transformation from a traditional production company into a modern design enterprise – still clearly referencing our 100-year furniture history, but now with a visual identity that matches the company’s present-day position as an internationally oriented design player,” says
Carl Hansen & Søn’s CEO Knud Erik Hansen.

Wegner’s timeless logo perfectly communicates Carl Hansen & Søn’s approach to furniture production – craftsmanship, quality and tradition reflected in long-lived furniture produced using the finest materials and with the utmost consideration for the environment. Knud Erik Hansen continues, “Wegner’s logo is meaningful to us on several levels. The logo visually expresses that at its core, the company is passionate about design and creativity. At the same time, the logo reinforces the strong ties that for decades have linked Wegner with Carl Hansen & Søn. Given the fact that the logo was originally designed by Wegner, it was just a question of finding the right occasion to reintroduce it, and what better occasion than Wegner’s 100th birthday?”

The story of the collaboration between Wegner and Carl Hansen & Søn dates back 65 years. In 1949, Carl Hansen & Søn, which today has over a century-long tradition of proud craftsmanship to its name, became one of the creative playgrounds Wegner would frequent over the years. The creative partnership produced a series of chairs that went on to become modern classics and treasured collector’s items around the world. Among them are Wegner’s iconic Wishbone Chair, Shell Chair and Wing Chair.

This year, Carl Hansen & Søn will also launch several new Wegner pieces. Both the furniture and the logo pay tribute to Wegner’s remarkable sense of design and craftsmanship.

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by Hans J. Wegner in 1950 appeared first on Dezeen.

British digital designer Daniel Brown has created a new series of his animated flowers that “grow” according to computer algorithms (+ slideshow). 

Daniel Brown‘s Darwin animation is derived from the shapes and textures of exhibits at the D’Arcy Thompson Zoology Museum in Dundee.

It shows a three-dimensional image of flowers that appear to grow in a generative pattern, creating unique blooms derived from colours, patterns and forms found in the museum’s collection of historical taxidermy and plant samples.

“The shape of the stems and flowers are generated using splines and 3D surfaces that follow mathematical equations,” Brown told Dezeen. “A second formula generates petal surfaces by taking segments of images of the museum exhibits, and arranges these to create seamless larger textures.”

He added that the two-stage process means every bloom will be unique: “The combination of the two [formulas] ensures that no two generated flowers will ever look quite the same.”

Various plants and animals from the museum’s collection informed the shape the digital plants grow into, while the surfaces of petals and leaves are decorated with patterns influenced by textures taken from the same sources. “For example, the colourful bulbous stamens that appear on some plants take their form from birds in the collection, and their rich texture comes from their plumage,” Brown explained.

Brown employed techniques similar to those used in the production of computer games and cinematic special effects to develop an animation specially for the museum that pans around the flowers as they evolve.

The visuals are designed to be suitable for vertical or horizontal projection so the installation can be presented in a variety of different spaces throughout the museum, or even tour other galleries.

Over the past ten years, Brown has been developing algorithms based on mathematical principles which can generate realistic-looking flowers that never repeat the same characteristics.

The original flower series called On Growth and Form was named after a book written in 1917 by Sir D’Arcy Wentworth Thompson, the biologist and professor after whom the museum at the University of Dundee is named.

Brown said the processes explored by Thompson in the book influenced his investigations into the relationship between nature and mathematics. “My work essentially uses the same thinking but in a practical context rather than theoretical: using seemingly ‘cold’ mathematical equations to create hyper-real organic behaviour,” he explained.

The museum commissioned the installation as part of a collection of new works it is compiling called the Renew Project, which is inspired by D’Arcy Thompson’s legacy and influence on the artistic world.

Brown has previously produced animations for installations at the Design Museum and Victoria & Albert museum in London, as well as working on interactive interfaces, websites and projects for architecture and fashion. His website for fashion brand Mulberry generated unique flowers that users could send to their loved one on Valentine’s Day.

The designer sent us the following project description:

Darwin – a new artwork by Daniel Brown for the D’Arcy Thompson Zoology Museum

“The harmony of the world is made manifest in Form and Number and the heart and soul and all the poetry of Natural Philosophy are embodied in the concept of mathematical beauty” – Sir D’Arcy Wentworth Thompson, from On Growth and Form.

London-based designer and digital artist Daniel Brown is pleased to announce the recent completion of a specially created artwork for the D’Arcy Thompson Zoology Museum.

Commissioned by the University of Dundee Museum Services with grant funding from the Art Fund, the work uses shapes and textures taken from and inspired by exhibits in the museum. The work is part of the museum’s ‘Renew’ programme

Over the past ten years Brown has become known for creating his ‘Flowers’ series – ornate artworks that use complex mathematics to generate never repeating floral animations. The series was originally entitled ‘On Growth and Form’ in homage to D’Arcy Thompson’s pioneering book and Brown states ‘it was an honour and the ultimate privilege to create an artwork for the museum given the huge influence Thompson’s book has had on my work’.

The piece is the first in a new phase of the series, utilising cutting edge 3D technology that is more commonly used for computer games and cinema features, creating realistic-looking flowers that grow on screen like time-lapse documentary photography. It is designed to work both in portrait and landscape arrangement to allow for large format projection and flat-screen presentation in different spaces.

Previous pieces from the series have been exhibited at the London Design Museum and a three-story-high projected version was commissioned by the Victoria & Albert as the entrance feature for their Decode – Digital Art Sensations blockbuster show that took place from December 2009 to April 2010.

Brown was voted Designer of the Year in 2004 – the year after Apple design guru Jonathan Ive was also awarded this major national accolade. Ive commented that… “Daniel Brown’s work changes the way we look at and engage with digital imagery. It is technically innovative and emotionally engaging, but also gives us an extraordinary amount of freedom in the way we experience it”.

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based on exhibits at Dundee museum appeared first on Dezeen.

Competition: Dezeen is giving readers the chance to win a set of Christmas cards printed with wintery images of London‘s Modernist architecture by designer Stefi Orazi.

Stefi Orazi‘s range of six Modernist London Winter Edition greeting cards are festive versions of her original Modernist London range.

The cards depict the Barbican Estate, Centre Point tower, Golden Lane Estate, 2 Willow Road terraced housing, Brusnwick Estate and the penguin enclosure at London Zoo, all in the snow.

Orazi’s greeting cards can be purchased from her online store.

To enter this competition email your name, age, gender, occupation, and delivery address and telephone number to competitions@dezeen.com with “Modernist London Christmas cards” in the subject line. We won’t pass your information on to anyone else; we just want to know a little about our readers. Read our privacy policy here.

You need to subscribe to our newsletter to have a chance of winning. Sign up here.

Competition closes 2 December 2013. Five winners will be selected at random and notified by email. Winners’ names will be published in a future edition of our Dezeen Mail newsletter and at the top of this page. Dezeen competitions are international and entries are accepted from readers in any country.

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Christmas cards to be won appeared first on Dezeen.