Hasta La Ideas

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

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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.

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