Laura Marling has collaborated with creative agency Studio Juice, and visual artist collective Shynola to create an interactive, animated digital poem, entitled The Beast.
The project, which utilises the interactive features of HTML5, presents an animated, scrolling poem, accompanied by illustrations by Shynola. The poem itself tells the story of a dark, fairytale love, with a distinctive ‘movie-trailer’ narration provided by Laura Marling’s friend Gil, from the band Old Crow Medicine Show.
The poem, based on Marling’s song of the same name, was also written by the singer, and she explains, “The first line of the poem was essentially what sparked the ideas behind the album, for one reason or another though, it didn’t seem to work as a song. It came from a quote from Thomas Jefferson that I came across in a book called Sisters of Fortune, talking about the abolition of slavery, ‘We have the wolf by the ears and we can neither hold him nor safely let him go’. Blind plagiarism.” For comparison, the opening line of The Beast runs, “The Beast was a creature I did not know. I held him once and could not let him go.”
It’s coming to the end of another year in the wonderful world of visual communications. Time to test your knowledge of who did what in the CR Quiz of the Year.
We’ve divided the questions up into the months of the year. If you’re stuck for an answer, you can find them all by digging around either in this website or in your back issues of the printed magazine. Best of luck. Answers to be revealed in the New Year.
January
1. CR’s January issue introduces readers to six Ones to Watch. One of these young creatives also designed our cover – who was it?
2. Starbuck’s reveals a new stripped-down logo designed by which US consultancy alongside the brand’s in-house team?
3. Intel launches The Chase, an innovative ad featuring a 105-second chase across a wide variety of programme windows on a computer desktop including iTunes, Facebook, YouTube, Microsoft Office and the Adobe Creative Suite. Which agency was responsible?
4. “It does look like a bulbous penis, unfortunately.” Which major sporting event’s logo, launched this month, was this CR commenter referring to?
5. The Gunn Report reveals the most awarded commercial of 2010. An unlikely tale in French, can you remember the name of the ad and the client?
February
1. Can you name three of the typefaces honoured in the Best in Book section of our Type Annual?
2. Droga5 launches a campaign to remove all the advertising from Times Square in aid of the new documentary by which filmmaker? Bonus point: what was the film called?
3. VW reveals what would go on to be the most viewed ad of the year at the Superbowl. Name the ad and the agency responsible
4. Unit Editions launches its book on Dutch studio Total Design: can you name two of Total’s founding partners?
4. Penguin Books follows up Great Ideas with Great Food. Who was the art director on the series?
5. Which country threatens to boycott the 2012 Olympics because of the logo? Not as a comment on the quality of its design but because it allegedly spells ‘zion’.
March
1. The Brit Insurance Design of the Year Award goes to…?
2. CR profiles the designer of pictograms that represent every aspect of life. His work also appears in our Monograph booklet that month: what was his name?
3. Which punk band did we also feature in the same issue?
4. Wieden + Kennedy launches a new commercial featuring cats with thumbs: which client was it for?
5. Eurostar launches its new identity – or should we say ‘brand world’? Who designed it?
6. The Design Museum’s Wim Crouwel show opens. Which London-based designer and self-confessed Crouwel stalker co-curated it?
April
1. CR announces its list of our 20 favourite logos of all time. Which one came top?
2. Who designed the cover of our April issue?
3. Hat-Trick designs a series of RSC stamps featuring Shakesperean quotes written out by which illustrator?
4. A spoof Royal Wedding video becomes massively popular on YouTube (comments on CR range from “You can feel the smugness coming off the screen in waves” to “I LOVE this ad, it’s funny, and that… as they say, is that! “- which ad agency was responsible?
5. D&AD launches a new award for work done for creative ideas that change the world for the better: what colour pencil will the winner receive?
May
1. In CR, Rick Poynor interviews someone described as a “musician, artist, film director, writer and patron of great graphic design”. Who?
2. Name three projects honoured as Best in Book in the CR Annual
3. The Little Chef gets a makeover, courtesy of which brand design studio?
4. BBH creates an epic two-and-a-half-minute commercial for Audi in which a driver talks about his experiences of which famous race?
5. The Design Museum stages a show about which soft drink?
6. What was this little feller advertising?
June
1. CR profiles veteran ad man Sir John Hegarty: what was the name of his creative partner on the 1985 Levi’s Laundrette commercial?
2. The Glue Society creates an installation consisting of a house where it rains on the inside for an arts festival in which country?
3. Name two of the six Black Pencils awarded at D&AD
4. And the winner of the Titanium Lion at Cannes?
5. Wieden + Kennedy launches an innovative scheme by which fans of which band can create their own album cover and even earn a share of sales?
July
1. Name two of the illustrators featured in the Best in Book section of the CR Illustration Annual
2. And who designed the cover of this issue?
3. Former graphic designer and music video director Mike Mills releases his second feature film, starring Ewan McGregor. What was it called?
4. MoMA in New York opens a major show on interactive design – what was it called?
5. Which Leeds-based studio created this new identity for the National Railway Museum?
August
1. CR’s Summer Reading issue features a selection of great writing on visual communication. Who wrote this? “Early in my life as a designer, I acquired a reputation as a good bullshitter.”
2. Levi’s releases the latest in its Go Forth series of ads but which event made the timing of this ad somewhat awkward and ensured that it would not be shown in the UK?
3. Which illustrator releases a Daily Monster Maker app?
4. How old would Bill Bernbach have been on August 13?
5. The Radio Times launches a controversial website designed by which studio?
September
1. CR features a book on the in-house packaging design department of which major supermarket?
2. Name one of the graduates featured in our September Graduate Special issue?
3. Interbrand renames Airmiles as what?
4. At last some interesting work for the Olympics – a series of Paralympic posters by agency McCann Worldgroup and which illustrator?
October
1. CR features the Comedy Carpet, a major installation in which seaside town?
2. In his regular logo design column, Michael Evamy looks at the Google Android: who designed it?
3. The Imperial War Museums unveil a new identity by which studio?
4. Steve Jobs passes away: in which year was the Mac launched with Ridley Scott’s famous ad?
5. “What an appalling redesign. The choice of font is uninspired. The mark is lazy (ten minutes in illustrator?). The positioning of the mark lacks dynamism. And the strapline is so trite that it must have come out of a marketing dept group ‘workshop’.” Which logo for a major UK corporation is this CR commenter talking about?
6. Name three of the cartoon characters featured in TBWA’s Müller yoghurt Wunderful Stuff commercial
7. As the Occupy movement pitches camp outside St Paul’s it publishes a newspaper, The Occupied Times, using which Jonathan Barnbrook typeface?
November
1. “I like it to be powerful. I like to have some humanity in it.” That’s why his body of work still speaks to us decades later. It has humanity. Who was Rick Poynor talking about in a major feature in CR?
2. Who painted Coke’s Yes Girl, the subject of a major piece in CR this month?
3. “Such a great twist at the end! Watched the video 3 times and wanted to cry each time!! So heart wrenching… but lovely” Which ad is this CR commenter talking about?
4, Name three of the artists producing posters for the 2012 Olympics
5. “Looks like he spilt his paint and was trying to wipe it up”. Which artist’s Olympic poster was this CR commenter referring to?
6. Students from which college produce alternative Olympic poster designs featured on the CR blog?
December
1. Which city is the focus of CR’s attention in print this month?
2. Which Dutch designer, profiled in CR this month, increased her body weight by almost 50% during the course of one mammoth project during which she barely left her desk?
3. The Design Museum acquires which weapon and design ‘classic’ for its collection?
4. Which brand suggests shopping with it will allow us to avoid the Walk of Shame?
5. Which rapper-turned-design critic offered this analysis of the work of Charles and Ray Eames: “they was doing mash-ups before mash-ups even existed!”
Merry Christmas and a happy New Year from all at CR
CR in Print
If you only read CR online, you’re missing out. The January issue of Creative Review is a music special with features on festivals, the future of the music video and much much more. Plus it comes with its very own soundtrack for you to listen to while reading the magazine.
If you would like to buy this issue and are based in the UK,you can search for your nearest stockist here. 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.
Another end-of-the-year list for you: this time it’s the turn of music videos. Here, in no particular order, are ten promos that rocked CR’s world this year…
First up is OK Go’s splendid website for the track All Is Not Lost. Created in association with Google Japan and choreographers Pilobolus, it features the band performing bodily contortions in tight green lycra across a series of pop-up windows. There is an interactive element too, where the band spell out messages submitted by users. You can find the site at allisnotlo.st.
Next we have the quite astounding video for Duck Sauce track Big Bad Wolf. This promo does feature the band but not quite in the form that you’d ever expect to see them. You’ve probably already viewed it, but if not, be warned, it might be deemed NSFW. Director: Keith Schofield.
Directing collective Canada picked up the Best Director gong at this year’s UK MVAs. Our favourite video of theirs in 2011 was for the track Ice Cream by Battles.
Another big winner at the UK MVAs was this exquisite film for Manchester Orchestra track Simple Math, directed by Daniels.
Director Tom Haines shocked and surprised with this tale of class warfare, created for the track Money and Run by Unkle (feat. Nick Cave).
Isaac Rentz’s poignant stop-motion tale for Aberdeen by Cage The Elephant melted our hearts earlier this year.
And we loved Lykke Li’s bonkers but brilliant performance in the video for Sadness Is A Blessing, which was directed by Tarik Saleh.
Thom Yorke danced like we’d never seen him dance before in this video for Radiohead track Lotus Flower, which sparked many a YouTube spoof. The director was Garth Jennings. An honourable dancing mention must also go to this video, for Lonely Boy by the Black Keys, which was directed by Jesse Dylan.
New creative company Party created this beautifully illustrated interactive website for the track Bell by Androp. The site invites visitors to type in a message, which then turns into an animal that must be guided through a landscape fraught with peril. Play the promo at androp.jp/bell.
We finish our list with the promo for In Pieces by J Majik & Wickaman (feat. Dee Freer). The film was shot by photographer Josh Cole and stars a number of street dancers from Rwanda and Burundi. The video picked up a Best in Book award in this year’s CR Photography Annual (this year the awards featured moving image projects by photographers for the first time).
CR in Print
If you only read CR online, you’re missing out. The January issue of Creative Review is a music special with features on festivals, the future of the music video and much much more. Plus it comes with its very own soundtrack for you to listen to while reading the magazine.
If you would like to buy this issue and are based in the UK,you can search for your nearest stockist here. 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.
Who doesn’t like watching an artist at work? Thanks to the web we can see how more and more people go about making their art and the ‘process’ video is now a YouTube staple. Illustrator Alex Pearson’s latest is well worth watching…
The web is full of these kinds of films. Here’s Hergé in the 1960s drawing Captain Haddock, for example, and another fuzzy snippet of him penning Tin Tin and Snowy. And here’s animator Peter Shin sketching the American football-headed Stewie from Family Guy.
Earlier this month one of my favourite comic book artists, Jim Woodring, also posted a process film online that showed fans how he constructs Frank, one of his most recognisable characters. As it’s more of a drawing ‘tutorial’ Woodring filmed himself in real time, narrating his progress and technique, whereas most process films play out at higher speeds in order to condense the hours of work into minutes.
What it reveals though is the exactness of Woodring’s method. Frank is always three heads high, apparently, with his eyes drawn over to one side to convey the fact that he’s thinking.
Being a fan of these kinds of clips, it was good to see that illustrator Alex Pearson had posted one this week. It shows the development of a lovely three-colour screenprint called A Ride Through Town, inspired by the the 1958 Jacques Tati film, Mon Oncle.
In Pearson’s film, you view the work in progress as he does, via the computer screen. He uses a Wacom Graphire pad to sketch and draw in Photoshop, and what’s great about it (aside from the artistic skill on show) is the way he uses reference material, continually, alongside the ongoing artwork. It’s sped up to five minutes in length but is, I think, captivating stuff.
With the focus on one individual artist at work, the process video becomes a kind of instructional ‘making of’, but one without the bells and whistles of the DVD extra, or the agency short.
Personally, I could watch anything being done well for hours, be it drawing, painting, wood-turning, or drumming. In fact here’s percussive legend Buddy Rich on the drums, telling the kids of the 1970s how it’s done.
It’s the same idea really: an artist just doing their thing.
Alex Pearson’s finished print is available from the Family Tree site for $35 (edition of 100, printed by Kangaroo Press).
Buddy Rich in the 1977 documentary series, All You Need is Love, linked above
Vincent Morisset has created a new website to promote Arcade Fire track Sprawl II (Mountains Beyond Mountains), which encourages users to interact with the characters on the screen via a webcam…
The site is the latest in a series of collaborations between Morisset and Arcade Fire, which has previously included an interactive website for the track Neon Bible and a tour film, Miroir Noir. For Sprawl II, Morisset has filmed a number of set pieces of figures performing awkward, jerky dance routines against suburban backdrops. Visitors to the site can interact with the figures by ‘dancing’ (or simply waving their hands) in front of their webcams, or by moving a mouse.
Morisset has built a reputation for creating intuitive, charming sites that show off the creative possiblities of the web without bamboozling people with complicated technology, and he continues this here. The site for Sprawl II is intriguing and fun to play with, and, crucially, the pace and tone of it works well with Arcade Fire’s song.
To interact with the Sprawl II website, visit sprawl2.com. More of Morisset’s work can be viewed at vincentmorisset.com (we strongly recommend checking out his interactive art piece BLA BLA if you haven’t already). And in other Morisset news, he’s recently signed to Unit9 for interactive representation.
CR in Print
If you only read CR online, you’re missing out. The January issue of Creative Review is a music special with features on festivals, the future of the music video and much much more. Plus it comes with its very own soundtrack for you to listen to while reading the magazine.
If you would like to buy this issue and are based in the UK,you can search for your nearest stockist here. 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.
Seven young illustrators have contributed to a short film on the benefits of mobile technology made for Nokia by Build. In an accompanying extra film, the illustrators talk about their craft
NFC (Near Field Communication) is a means of communicating between digital devices by tapping one on the other – think Oyster cards. Build asked seven upcoming illustrators discovered at last year’s degree shows to respond to a script by Nicola Place and Nick Asbury.
Some of them talk about their work in an additional film about the project which also includes contributions from Amanda Moorby at D&AD and CR’s Patrick Burgoyne
CR in Print
If you only read CR online, you’re missing out. The January issue of Creative Review is a music special with features on festivals, the future of the music video and much much more. Plus it comes with its very own soundtrack for you to listen to while reading the magazine.
If you would like to buy this issue and are based in the UK,you can search for your nearest stockist here. 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.
This month’s cover features a detail from the poster for the 2011 by:Larm music festival designed by Rune Mortensen and illustrated by Frode Skaren, re-drawn for CR
The January issue of Creative Review is a music special with features on festivals, the future of the music video and much much more. Plus it comes with its very own soundtrack for you to listen to while reading the magazine
Do you remember the great days of record sleeve design? Of Barney Bubbles and Hipgnosis. Yes? So do we but for our music issue we were determined not to wallow in nostalgia. Enough moaning about the good old days – we wanted to focus on the great work being done for music today.
If you would like to buy this issue and are based in the UK, you can search for your nearest stockist here. 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.
We kick off with a couple of pieces on vernacular design for music – the handpainted illustrations found on guitar effects pedals (above) and the design of plectrums – plectra?
Then we follow up on an idea we first started on Twitter. We asked our followers to nominate their favourite design-led small record labels – the more obscure the better. Emma Tucker has rounded up our pick of your nominations with interviews with each label. She also asked each of them to provide a track for our playlist which you can listen to while reading the issue.
Music videos have long been suffering from depleted budgets and a less prominent role in the music marketing mix but, as Eliza Williams reports, a new wave of interactive projects is breathing new life into the genre
Physical music sales have declined rapidly but, for the dedicated fan, lavishly packaged special editions can be a must-have, as Gavin Lucas explains
Bands now rely far more on earnings from live performances, helped by the huge growth in festivals, each with its own graphic identity and visual style. Mark Sinclair reports
In Crit, The Wire’s Jennifer Allan talks to the likes of Jon Wozencroft and Ian Anderson about the tendency for music’s more obscure genres to adopt distinctive, common visual styles
In his regular magazine column, Jeremy Leslie looks at the independent titles keeping music magazines alive
Stuart Baker looks back at the graphic design of Jamaica’s Studio One
And Michale Evamy uncovers the story behind the graphic identity of America’s oldest family-run company, Zildjian, cymbal-makers to the Ottoman Empire
And, finally, Gordon Comstock discusses the links between music and commercials and why Smiths’ fans outrage was just what John Lewis wanted to hear
The January 2012 issue of Creative Review is out now.
If you would like to buy this issue and are based in the UK, you can search for your nearest stockist here. 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.
Vimeo is on the hunt for top film-making talent for its second Vimeo Festival and Awards. There are 13 categories to enter this year and the top film-maker(s) will receive a grant of $25K, along with the admiration of the creative industries…
Vimeo launched its award scheme last year, and the 2010 awards received over 6,500 entries. Nine winning films were chosen: two of these are shown below, to give you an idea of the calibre of work the awards attract. First up is a piece by Onur Senturk, who picked up the Best Motion Graphic gong. Since winning, Senturk has been commissioned by Paramount to create the motion graphics credits for Transformers: The Dark Side of Moon. Here’s his film:
Next is the winner of the Best Animation Award from 2010, which went to Eran Hilleli, a young animator from Israel, who following his win has worked on an animated ad for Honda via Wieden + Kennedy. Shown below is his winning film, Between Bears.
This year the event is expanding to include four new categories, bringing the total to 13. The list of categories in full is: Advertising, Action Sports, Fashion, Lyrical, Narrative, Experimental, Animation, Captured, Motion Graphics, Music Video, Series, Documentary, Remix. Each category winner will receive $5,000, with the Grand Prizewinner receiving $25,000. Entry fees are $20 per video, or $5 for Vimeo Plus and Pro members, and entrants can submit any original work that has premiered anywhere online between July 31, 2010 and February 20, 2012.
Vimeo has lined up a set of esteemed judges so far, including David Droga for Advertising, Nick Knight for Fashion and Stacy Peralta for Action Sports. The full list of judges will be published in the new year. The closing date for submissions to the awards is February 20. For all information, visit vimeo.com/awards.
In other Vimeo news, CR has launched its own Vimeo Channel. You can find it here. We will regularly update it with a selection of our favourite Vimeo finds, so keep an eye on it!
A new short film by directors Tom Wrigglesworth and Mathieu Cuvelier follows Marc Manceaux, the philosophical owner of the oldest piano shop in Paris…
In La Mer de Pianos Manceaux describes how his shop deals in parts for vintage pianos. He harvests bits and pieces from various models so that other pianos “can sing again”.
While responsible for breathing life into restored instruments, his difficulty in sacrificing one piano for the sake of many others is plain to see in this lovely little film.
Directed, shot and edited by Tom Wrigglesworth and Mathieu Cuvelier Graded by Luke Morrison at The Mill Mixed by Jeff Smith at 750mph Special thanks to Clare Sullivan at 750mph
In this brilliant short film, Ice Cube delivers his views on LA design, and the importance of Charles and Ray Eames to the city…
Cube may seem an unlikely design expert, but according to the film, he studied architectural drafting before become a rapper, and he turns out to be a beguiling presenter, giving personal insights on the Eames style (“they was doing mash-ups before mash-ups even existed!”), and offering up design truisms such as “one man’s eyesore is another man’s paradise”.
The film is part of a series created by TBWA Chiat Day in LA for Pacific Standard Time, a project by a collective of art institutes in Southern California that aims to celebrate the influence that artists from the area have had on popular culture. A previous film saw Antony Kiedis celebrate the work of Ed Ruscha. More info on Pacific Standard Time is here.
Credits: Agency: TBWA Chiat Day LA CCO: Rob Schwartz ECD: Patrick O’Neill Creative director: Jayanta Jenkins Creatives: Evan Brown, Liz Cartwright, Stephen Lum Director: Dave Meyers Production company: @radical.media
CR in Print
If you enjoy reading the Creative Review website, we think you’ll enjoy reading the magazine even more. The December issue of CR includes a profile piece on the independent creative scene in Liverpool, a major interview with Dutch book designer Irma Boom and a great piece on ‘Poster King’ Edward McKnight Kauffer. You’ll also find articles on Dentsu London, a review of the Walker Art Center’s Graphic Design: Now in Production show and a fascinating debate on the clash between design and advertising betwen Wally Olins and CHI’s Dan Beckett.
And if that wasn’t enough, the issue also includes a FREE paper toy for readers to cut out and customise.
If you would like to buy this issue and are based in the UK, you can search for your nearest stockist here. 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.
This is site is run by Sascha Endlicher, M.A., during ungodly late night hours. Wanna know more about him? Connect via Social Media by jumping to about.me/sascha.endlicher.
