Hasta La Ideas

50 Shades of Green by Angus Hyland

Over the next month, environmental charity Do the Green Thing is set to release 23 posters encouraging people to take action, designed by a range of creatives from Patrick Cox, Pete Fowler and Sophie Thomas, to several designers from Pentagram’s UK and US offices…

Starting from today, one poster a day will be published in time for Earth Hour on 23 March, the WWF’s worldwide event that will see at hundreds of millions of people across the globe will be turning off their lights for one hour at 8.30pm (local time).

The group of creatives contributing to the project also includes Google creative director, Tom Uglow; Innocent creative director, Dan Germain; illustrator Andrew Rae; artists Su Huntley and Donna Muir; and Pentagram designers Eddie Opara, Michael Bierut, Emily Oberman, Angus Hyland, Marina Willer and Harry Pearce. The Do the Green Thing charity is co-founded by the London studio’s partner, Naresh Ramchandani.

Feel Warm by Eddie Opara

The aim of the Do the Green Thing posters, says the charity, is to inspire people “to take simple green actions at home, school or work. Those actions include walking, cycling, eating a little less meat, switching off lights and appliances, and enjoying a jumper or a hug instead of turning up the heating”.

Fight the Power by Pete Fowler

Do the Green Thing is set to release one poster each day to its worldwide community on its site dothegreenthing.com and also through its social media channels using the hashtag #23posters. There will also be the chance to buy one of 23 limited edition prints of each poster, with all proceeds going to the charity.

DTGT has kindly given CR three images of the posters to show before their wider release over the coming month. Go to dothegreenthing.com to see the project evolve (and check out a larger version of Fowler’s ‘Plug Out’ character).

CR in print
The March issue of CR magazine celebrates 150 years of the London Underground. In it we introduce a new book by Mark Ovenden, which is the first study of all aspects of the tube’s design evolution; we ask Harry Beck authority, Ken Garland, what he makes of a new tube map concept by Mark Noad; we investigate the enduring appeal of Edward Johnston’s eponymous typeface; Michael Evamy reports on the design story of world-famous roundel; we look at the London Transport Museum’s new exhibition of 150 key posters from its archive; we explore the rich history of platform art, and also the Underground’s communications and advertising, past and present. Plus, we talk to London Transport Museum’s head of trading about TfL’s approach to brand licensing and merchandising. In Crit, Rick Poynor reviews Branding Terror, a book about terrorist logos, while Paul Belford looks at how a 1980 ad managed to do away with everything bar a product demo. Finally, Daniel Benneworth-Grey reflects on the merits on working home alone. Buy your copy here.

Please note, CR now has a limited presence on the newsstand at WH Smith high street stores (although it can still be found in WH Smith travel branches at train stations and airports). If you cannot find a copy of CR in your town, your WH Smith store or a local independent newsagent can order it for you. You can search for your nearest stockist here. Alternatively, call us on 020 7970 4878, or buy a copy direct from us. Based outside the UK? Simply call +44(0)207 970 4878 to find your nearest stockist. Better yet, subscribe to CR for a year here and save yourself almost 30% on the printed magazine.

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.

They’re used to creating magazine and album covers but now Angelique Piliere and Lee Owens (aka illustration duo Revenge Is Sweet) have set up their own luxury silk scarf label called Jour Blanc…

As well as designing a collection of scarves adorned with their graphic illustrations, the duo also created the brand identity, packaging and website. We caught up with Piliere and Owens to find out a little more about the venture…

Creative Review: What led you to start making beautiful silk scarves?

Lee Owens: We’ve always been trying to apply our graphics/illustrations to diverse mediums. We started screen printing posters a couple of years ago, as well as wallpaper and a big mirror for our Pick Me Up show. We’ve actually been wanting to do scarves for a while as we always thought our graphic work could fit well with this medium.

CR: Tell us about the name and the approach to the identity.

Angelique Piliere: Jour Blanc means ‘white day’ in French. This is generally referring to a weather condition where everything is white, the horizon disappears completely and there are no reference points. It is a really strange experience in which all senses of perception are lost. We both liked the poetic meaning to that name and also the more scientific approach, which we explored through the visual identity.

Above: Screengrab from the Jour Blanc website

CR: This is, I’d imagine, an image maker’s dream – to create your own product / brand. Did you get any advice before doing this or did you just decide to do it? How did you find a manufacturer to work with?

AP: Yes, it’s something we’re really excited about and no, we didn’t get any advice about the project, we just decided to try making some beautiful scarves and see what would happen. In terms of finding a manufacturer, Lyon has been renowned for silk manufacturing for a very long time, since the 16th century, in fact. I am from Lyon so it made sense to get the scarves produced there.

CR: How many different designs are there in your debut collection?

LO: At the moment there are five scarves in the collection, but we’re already thinking of new designs for a future collection.

CR: You also art directed a photographic campaign for the launch of the first collection, tell us about that.

AP: The photographer, Fred Mortagne, is a friend of ours so the shoot took place at his house in Lyon, France, the city where all the scarves are made. Funnily enough, the house used to be a silk workshop many years ago. We wanted the photographs to reflect the idea of being in a white/ foggy environment but we also wanted to be a bit abstract using the colours from the scarves to create various textures and layers.

See more at jour-blanc.com

And to see more of Revenge is Sweet’s illustration work, visit breedlondon.com.

CR in print
The March issue of CR magazine celebrates 150 years of the London Underground. In it we introduce a new book by Mark Ovenden, which is the first study of all aspects of the tube’s design evolution; we ask Harry Beck authority, Ken Garland, what he makes of a new tube map concept by Mark Noad; we investigate the enduring appeal of Edward Johnston’s eponymous typeface; Michael Evamy reports on the design story of world-famous roundel; we look at the London Transport Museum’s new exhibition of 150 key posters from its archive; we explore the rich history of platform art, and also the Underground’s communications and advertising, past and present. Plus, we talk to London Transport Museum’s head of trading about TfL’s approach to brand licensing and merchandising. In Crit, Rick Poynor reviews Branding Terror, a book about terrorist logos, while Paul Belford looks at how a 1980 ad managed to do away with everything bar a product demo. Finally, Daniel Benneworth-Grey reflects on the merits on working home alone. Buy your copy here.

Please note, CR now has a limited presence on the newsstand at WH Smith high street stores (although it can still be found in WH Smith travel branches at train stations and airports). If you cannot find a copy of CR in your town, your WH Smith store or a local independent newsagent can order it for you. You can search for your nearest stockist here. Alternatively, call us on 020 7970 4878, or buy a copy direct from us. Based outside the UK? Simply call +44(0)207 970 4878 to find your nearest stockist. Better yet, subscribe to CR for a year here and save yourself almost 30% on the printed magazine.

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.

If the Academy doled out little golden men in the category of Best Movie Poster, Bill Gold would have hundreds. The legendary graphic designer (and Pratt Institute alum), who turned 92 last month, created posters for films ranging from Yankee Doodle Dandy (1941) to J. Edgar (2011), which he came out of retirement to design at the request of his old friend Clint Eastwood. The posters for Casablanca, A Clockwork Orange, Alien, The Exorcist? All pure Gold. He recently did his part to celebrate the achievements of another notable nonagenarian: Warner Bros. As part of a 90th anniversary celebration that will span all of 2013, the studio invited Gold to create a poster of posters. You can find it, along with art cards featuring his movie poster designs, in two new megacollections of Warner Bros. films: 100 films on DVD and 50 films on Blu-ray. Gold recently made time between Oscar screeners (he’s a member of the Academy and has watched some sixty films since November) to discuss posters past and present, and some highlights of his seven-decade career.

1. One of your first assignments at Warner Bros. was designing the poster for Casablanca. How did you approach this project, and what did you seek to create/convey with the poster?
I approached this project like I would any other. I was a young art director that was given an assignment. This was one of my first posters. My initial thoughts were to put together a montage showing all the characters depicted in the film. They appeared to be an interesting ensemble of notable characters.

Something was missing, however. And I was asked to add some more ‘excitement’ to the scene. I added the gun in Bogart’s hand, and the poster suddenly came alive with intrigue.

2. If you had to choose a poster of which you are most proud, what would it be?
The Unforgiven teaser poster. Because of the simplicity of the. The setting was appropriately dark, and the image of the gun more than provocative. It wasn’t the typical image that you’d see on a poster.

3. Of the more than 2,000 posters you’ve worked on, which one would you describe as the most challenging to design?
Bird was one of the most challenging posters I worked on–mainly because I was told not to depict it as a “jazz” movie, but rather to emphasize the more human aspects of the life of a musician. The studio was trying to promote the film as more of a ‘family’ movie. So I worked on several comps of Charlie Parker and his wife, along with his kids. But I still felt the story was primarily about this wonderful jazz musician; so I did one comp of him alone playing his sax and we dramatized how he played his whole life in a very dramatic way. As soon as Clint [Eastwood] saw it, he said, “That’s the one!” It went on to win several awards, and is also one of my favorites.
continued…

New Career Opportunities Daily: The best jobs in media.

Illustrator, graphic designer and former ad man, Bob Gill, has created six new hand coloured silkscreen prints at Print Club London‘s Dalston print studio…

Gill was in London for D&AD’s 50th birthday celebrations last year and spent time at Print Club creating the six new works, each printed in editions of just 12 and hand numbered and signed by the artist.

“We have been huge fans of Bob and his work and were really excited when he agreed to work with us producing some new prints,” says Print Club’s Kate Newbold-Higginson. “Bob joined us in our studio where he spent a couple of days hand finished his silk screen prints with watercolour, making each one completely original and unique.”

The six prints are priced at £850 each and will be exhibited from March 29 to April 11 at the Print Club Gallery, 10-28 Millers Avenue, London, E8.

printclublondon.com

CR in print
The March issue of CR magazine celebrates 150 years of the London Underground. In it we introduce a new book by Mark Ovenden, which is the first study of all aspects of the tube’s design evolution; we ask Harry Beck authority, Ken Garland, what he makes of a new tube map concept by Mark Noad; we investigate the enduring appeal of Edward Johnston’s eponymous typeface; Michael Evamy reports on the design story of world-famous roundel; we look at the London Transport Museum’s new exhibition of 150 key posters from its archive; we explore the rich history of platform art, and also the Underground’s communications and advertising, past and present. Plus, we talk to London Transport Museum’s head of trading about TfL’s approach to brand licensing and merchandising. In Crit, Rick Poynor reviews Branding Terror, a book about terrorist logos, while Paul Belford looks at how a 1980 ad managed to do away with everything bar a product demo. Finally, Daniel Benneworth-Grey reflects on the merits on working home alone. Buy your copy here.

Please note, CR now has a limited presence on the newsstand at WH Smith high street stores (although it can still be found in WH Smith travel branches at train stations and airports). If you cannot find a copy of CR in your town, your WH Smith store or a local independent newsagent can order it for you. You can search for your nearest stockist here. Alternatively, call us on 020 7970 4878, or buy a copy direct from us. Based outside the UK? Simply call +44(0)207 970 4878 to find your nearest stockist. Better yet, subscribe to CR for a year here and save yourself almost 30% on the printed magazine.

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.

Illustrator Mat Maitland (who is also creative director at Big Active Design) has created a suitably vibrant film to promote fashion label Kenzo‘s Resort 2013 collection. Colourful swirling patterns and brightly coloured animal prints abound…

“I wanted the film to be an extension of my illustrative world, to bring that to life, so the jungle itself is quite surreal and otherworldly, a kind of electric parallel universe,” Maitland explains in a short interview posted this morning here on kenzo.com.

“I also wanted to blend the model with the clothes as much as possible so used the Kenzo patterns as an integral part of the story, sometimes over her face and sometimes embedded into the scene,” he continues.

“I imagined the story as though dreamt by a wild cat, lucid snap shots of a neon jungle world that only make sense in a dream.”

Electric Jungle cedits:

Art direction Mat Maitland
Direction Smith & Read / Mat Maitland
Animation Natalia Stuyk
Production Alastair Coe at Big Active
Music Mädchen Amick by Buffalo Tide

To see more of Maitland’s work, visit matmaitland.com.

CR in Print
The February issue of CR magazine features a major interview with graphic designer Ken Garland. Plus, we delve into the Heineken advertising archive, profile digital art and generative design studio Field, talk to APFEL and Linder about their collaboration on a major exhibition in Paris for the punk artist, and debate the merits of stock images versus commissioned photography. Plus, a major new book on women in graphic design, the University of California logo row and what it means for design, Paul Belford on a classic Chivas Regal ad and Jeremy Leslie on the latest trends in app design for magazines and more. Buy your copy here.

Please note, CR now has a limited presence on the newsstand at WH Smith high street stores (although it can still be found in WH Smith travel branches at train stations and airports). If you cannot find a copy of CR in your town, your WH Smith store or a local independent newsagent can order it for you. You can search for your nearest stockist here. Alternatively, call us on 020 7970 4878, or buy a copy direct from us. Based outside the UK? Simply call +44(0)207 970 4878 to find your nearest stockist. Better yet, subscribe to CR for a year here and save yourself almost 30% on the printed magazine.

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.