Newspaper Club

I discovered newspaper club at the Design Awards at the Design Museum in London. It was featured in "Brit Insurance Design Awards'. I am really fond of the idea of taking down down at a printers to publish more newspapers at a lower cost. Helping anyone to make their own newspapers.

http://www.newspaperclub.co.uk

Joshua Allen Harris

Joshua Allen Harris has been cutting up and sticking together bin bag to make all sorts of different animals and mythical monsters. Joshua then goes to the subway outlets on the streets and sticks them down. When a sub passes it forces air up into the bags inflating them, whilst the train passes. My favorite is the air ape.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwhzeHR6CjQ&feature=related

ggg Books

I was on the Unit Edition website when I was made aware of ggg Books in Japan. The books are 135x190mm, and 64 pages long. There is 92 in the entire series. The books use high end paper using Japanese printing techniques. All the book are uniformed with a coloured bellyband. The book have a short essay which is in both Japenese and English. GGG stands for Ginza Grpahic Gallery.

Ox Tales: Art on Boxes

To raise funds for Oxfam projects in Africa, asked 14 leading artists. To produce a box to house short stories of the four eements, Earth, Air, Fire and Water.
As a way of raising either more money Oxfam produced a number of limited edition boxes asking artist to sign the boxes.

http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2010/april/ox-tales-art-on-boxes

Haiti Posters, Pentagram

Pentagram's harry Pearce and Justus Oehler have contributed poster designs to the Haiti Project. I think these two poster are the most successful in the series. All proceeds go to the Haiti Project.
I really like the idea of the Richter Scale magnitude spelling out Haiti then the earthquakes hit.

http://www.thehaitiposterproject.com/

McCann Manchester, Cheshire Safer Roads

McCann have done a road safety campaign for drink driving for Cheshire Safer Roads. I really liek the idea of using a stamp in a club as they do not wash off for along time, and when you go in a club every gets on so everyone will be aware of the campaign.

http://www.mccannmanchester.com

Nike, Tiger Woods

Nike finally wheels out Tiger Woods after his post-scandal tournament. You can see Tiger Woods looking sad, starring straight into the camera. You can hear the late Earl Woods Seniors voice in the background speaking asking him questions. "I want to find out what your thinking was, I want to find out what your feelings are, and, did you learn anything?"
I really like the thinking behind the advert.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NTRvlrP2NU&feature=player_embedded

Cadbury's Chocolate Charmer

Cadbury's have released a new advert. I really like Cadbury's adverts at the moment. It feels like they are taking a totally different approach to advertising their products. I read an article about Cadbury's and their view was 'It gets people talking about memorable adverts, like remember the advert with the gorilla for Cadbury's.'
The ad shows a chocolate charmer creating towers of spirals of chocolate and milk spinning in a bowl , before mixing them together to create Cadbury's special chocolate bars.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgOcKFBD2zE&feature=player_embedded

Jessica Helfand, Can Graphic Design Make You Cry?

Jessica Helfand has written this beautiful piece asking questions about how we should personally approach graphic design. Most of the essay has a sad tone but the last paragraph makes you come away with an uplifted tone. A lot of graphic design today is done on computers and therefore seen on computers, not seeing it in real life loses a certain quality to the magic of some work. As graphic design is forever moving away from human craft element, and being done on computers, I feel computers give the work a mechanical feel.
This essay is really worth a read.

http://www.designobserver.com/observatory/entry.html?entry=9737

The Birmingham Post, Eye Of The Storm

Truth have designed a typographic double page spread challenging typographic perceptions. Truth moved away from using traditional grid systems for newspaper and set the type in the title of the piece which is 'Eye Of The Storm'. I think this piece really works for me, because it is different from the norm of newspaper spreads. Its fun and it makes me want to read on the read the whole piece.

http://www.truth-design.co.uk/

Truth, Pump 20 Launch Materials

Truth have recently launched Pump 20, which allows consistency in communications. I really like how they have embossed the materials, which is like a rubber, which is similar to the material found in Reebok trainers. Also Truth published a limited edition brochure which draws imagery from the basketball court. Also Reebok launched a trainer with a pump technology button on the trainer. So if you pressed the button, it in turn push air into the trainer, giving the trainer more support and comfort.

http://www.truth-design.co.uk/

Typodarium 2010

Typodarium is a tear-off calendar, that show cases 365 different fonts. Discovering a new font everyday. Each font contains information and facts of how the font was created and several other interesting facts about the particular font. The front page shows the font, month and date, where the reverse of the page shows the background information about the font.

http://2011.typodarium.de/

Adrian Shaughnessy and Tony Brook of Unit Editions

£15.00

Tuesday 4th May
6.30pm

The Print Works
The Odeon - Screen 18
27 Withy Grove
Manchester
M4 2BS

D&AD North and Stockport College Design Department present:
Adrian Shaughnessy and Tony Brook of Unit Editions.

http://shop.dandad.org/trolley/index.php?main_page=product_free_shipping_info&cPath=67_65&products_id=273

Well what can I say, I have just bought my ticket. Really am looking forward to this Lecture. I have bought most of the Unit Edition Publications, when I could afford them. I have also just required a copy of Studio Culture, which is a book interviewing design agencies from all over the world giving you a large insight into the company and the mechanics behind it, though Questions and Answers.

New Math Mug, Craig Damrauer

Craig Damrauer is the designer/writer behind 'New Math'. A website that puts topics in the form of sums. It really funny to read some of the topics to see how he has put them in a 'math' sum. Some of the sum are really clever and witty.

Also Craig has put some of his equations on mugs. Want one.

http://www.morenewmath.com

10 Penneth, Craig Oldham

I have just recently order 10 Penneth of Craig Oldham. I am currently waiting for it to arrive in the post. I am really looking forward to reading it, not only have I read 12 In 12, but Craig's creative style of writing really captures my mind.
Craig has written 10 maxims to help student become better graphic designers.

1. Graphic Design isn't interesting.
2. Design is a joke.
3. Limits are possibilities.
4. Ideas are whores.
5. Apple. Apple.
6. Find faults not friends.
7. Eat with your eyes.
8. Never become a professional.
9. It's always better to be honest.
10. Value freedom not genius.

Craig taken each maxim and forms a short essay around each subject. This should be a very witty and fun read, but also could have some ideas that help form my practice as a graphic designer.

http://www.craigoldham.co.uk

You Never know Who Is Watching You?

Just a quick note to people writing blogs. Its all in the title. You really never know who is watching you and reading your posts. Sometimes good things await. I really had a nice comment off Anthony Burrill, after recently posting about his work. He is currently sending some samples off his work.

Thanks Anthony.

London Gym Park

Whilst on our visit in London, visiting Hat-Trick Design. Me, Jack, Ed and Mike stumbled upon a park, that was a really good park. It was a park but instead of having any normal slide or swings it had working gymnasium equipment in place. All the equipment worked on the principle of lifting of using your own body power or momentum. I had to have ago, I got some funny looks but it was really fun. Its good to see parks trying to combat obesity and losing weight, plus its free where gyms cost.

Hat-Trick Design Visit

During our trip in London we got to visit some design agencies. I was lucky enough to visit Hat-Trick design. Slightly hung over from the night before at Shellsuit Zombie, myself, Jack Fowler and Mike Mara set off on the tube to get to Hat-Trick. We got their a little bit to early so we decided to grab a coffee. We started to talk about placements and in general our Final Major Projects.

We then walked over to Hat-Trick to buzz in to walked up to the fourth floor. We arrived with out portfolios in hand to hopefully to get some feed back on them, but also to talk about their work and their personal experience from design graduate to getting a job.

The contact that we had been told to ask for was a woman named Alexandra Jurva. We was meet at reception by Alexandra and took into the conference room where there was examples of their work on a table neatly laid out, and awards on the floor of what they have won.

Something that grabbed my eye was a limited edition Thank you poster that Anthony Burrill had sent them, limited edition 2/10, signed by himself. I had a sneaky look at it first, picking up the stock and feeling the weight of the paper. (Yep, the first Anthony Burrill work I had seen in real life, first hand, quality.)

Alexandra then walked back into the conference room and we sat down and immediately starting firing questions towards her. She seemed a bit startled at first, but explained she was slightly rushed off her feet due to a deadline that just popped up. My first question towards Alexandra was "What was her first steps from graduate to design agency? and How did she get it?" Alexandra explained it was from contacts she had from doing placements. Also she said to get her job at Hat-Trick she was lucky. Right place right time. I just never seem to be in the right place at the right time though. She explained that determination and passion will eventually get you spotted.

We then had a chance to look at some of their work that they had done for clients and charities. Some of the like the work for The British Heart foundation was very touching as Alexandra explain it was for children who had lost parents due to heart problems, explaining feelings and emotions that they might have during this difficult time. All the work shown was nice to see first hand again, but also better than looking at a picture, getting to touch the paper.

Anthony Burrill

I have been following Anthony Burrill for some time now. I have been following him because he is still using some old letter press traditions.
I have a fondness of letter pressed typography. There is something that continuously draws me into them. I think it just the huge point size of the fonts or the fact that the simplicity is something I want to pursue in my own work. Also some of the letters have slight imperfections of the woodblock prints. I really enjoy the fact that Anthony is keeping alive some dying traditions. I once had ago go setting up a chase for letter press printing, and its very hard to set the type back to front and position the type adjusting the leading. I am currently saving up for some of the posters, but it will take me some time.

http://www.anthonyburrill.com

Burn Stewart Distillery, 999 Design

Being somewhat of a whiskey fan every now and again, I have a little attraction to some of the packaging the whiskey arrives in, even the bottle are crafted beautifully. Ledaig is a single malt from the island of Mull. I have drank this brand before and was immediately attracted to the packaging. 999 design commissioned a hand cut wood block of the island of mull that blind embossed the packaging along with the crafted logo type.

http://www.999design.com/work/categories/Packaging/Ledaig-27