Steph's Blog

Dulux - Own a colour

2011-09-29T12:43:00.002+01:00

I absolutely love Dulux's new initiative - "Own a colour"
In an effort to raise money for Unicef, Dulux are selling 16.7M colours to the world...

It even gives you the option to base your decision on the latest fashion trends and by gender. I couldn't guess how much money they'll raise but my guess is a hell of a lot!!

It's only in it's earliest stages at the moment but as competition for colours hots up, perhaps donations will have the be more substantial? Maybe the last ones will get auctioned off? I need to buy mine now!

3 British Films

2011-09-18T16:08:00.000+01:00

High Hopes (1988). East is East (1999). Submarine (2010).

High Hopes is a sweet observation of the life of couple Shirley and Cyril amongst the lives of Cyril's aging mother, stuck-up sister and mother's upper-middle-class neighbours. The film starts however, with a bashful, lost young chap - who you expect to be the protagonist - who introduces the viewer to Cyril. The reoccurs throughout the film highlighting Shirley's longing for a baby as she helps him and looks after him as if he were her child.

East is East is set in 1971 Salford, (stars the majority of the cast of Eastenders) and watches the lives of the Khan family and the influence Manchester has had on the views of the Khan "children" (young adults). The hypocrisy of Mr. Khan is plain to see when he demands that his sons marry Pakistani women despite having married both a Pakistani and a Caucasian woman.

Submarine is an adaptation of the book by Joe Dunthorne. Richard Ayoade (the geeky on from the IT Crowd!) writes the screenplay and directs the film.

Submarine is set in 1980's Swansea and is the tale of a lovelorn teenage boy, Oliver Tate. His parents are experiencing marital problems since the rearrival of his mother's old flame, a self-help guru...called Graham. His lust for schoolmate Jordana feels quite Amelie-esque, as polaroids line his wall and they are seen sitting in a bath tub on the beach. I like how this film is similar to the other two in its subtle humour but adds in surreal scenes, a slightly modern touch bringing this film into the 21st century and setting it apart from the other two.

All are truly British comedies, funny but also quite poignant; without plot or story but just allowing the viewer into their lives for 120mins.

Steph's brief history of: Art Kane (1925 - 1995)

2011-09-18T15:38:00.000+01:00

Arthur Kanofsky "Art Kane", was a fashion and music photographer in NYC from 1950s - 1990s. He started his career at Esquire magazine and then went on to become the Art Director for Seventeen magazine (the youngest Art Director of a major magazine at the time). In the 1950s he became the prodegé of Alexey Brodovich.

Perhaps his most famous photo, "Harlem" features 58 of the greatest legends in jazz:

15 minutes of CSS fame!

2011-09-18T13:14:00.002+01:00

Found out today that the last design for my website made it onto ccscollector.com :)

Steph's brief history of: Henry Wolf (1925-2005)

2011-09-17T15:49:00.001+01:00

Henry Wolf was born in Austria but made his fame in America. He became Art Director for Esquire in 1952 and the succeeded Alexey Brodovich (see post below) when he became the Art Director for Harper's Bazaar in 1958.

I really like the way Wolf has created both a facing and portrait image of his subject using a glass of water - something only a fantastic photographer would think of doing.

In 1965 he joined McCann Erickson producing advertising for Coca Cola, Alka Selzer and Gilette amongst others.

In 1971 he launched Henry Wolf Productions where he worked for 30 years producing over 500 tv commercials.

Wolf was certainly influenced by Brodovich, his work feels like an extension for that of Brodovich.

Steph's brief history of: Alexey Brodovich (1898 - 1971)

2011-09-17T15:26:00.000+01:00

Brodovich was born in Russia but fled to France in the Revolution of 1920.This Bal Banal poster started his career as a Graphic Designer when he entered it into a competition, beating a drawing by Picasso:

As Paris started to lose its design flair, Brodovich decided to move to America where he would create his most famous works for magazine, Harper's Bazaar:

Hi work emits movement, energy and modernity. He turned blocks of text into elegant and abstract forms:

He assigned cover illustrations to avant-garde artists such as A.M. Cassandre, Herbert Beyer and Salvador Dali.

Steph's brief history of: Milton Glaser (1929 - pres.)

2011-09-17T15:08:00.000+01:00

Milton Glaser has to be one of the most respected Art Directors. Being a spring chick when it comes to advertising, I find it hard to imaging the industry without computers and Glaser's work is a beautiful example of analogue times. The work of Milton Glaser Inc. even now has a feeling of being artwork as opposed to computer generated work.

I can't help but feel that perhaps something like this Zero7 cover art would be a computer-made version of Glaser's Bob Dylan poster...

Nice little Lego ad

2011-09-15T18:06:00.002+01:00

Weetabix Spoonsize

2011-09-15T18:02:00.001+01:00

Weetabix - Dancer from Tonic Music on Vimeo.

Maybe it's just me but I think this fashion for dubstep might have gone a little bit too far...?

V&A Power of Making exhibition

2011-09-15T17:14:00.000+01:00

The Power of Making exhibition at the V&A showed me what we can achieve if we just put our minds to it and apply a little bit of patience. Pieces such as the gorilla made of coat hangers was a perfect example of this. The sculpture is simple in structure, the most astonishing thing is the amount of concentration and commitment that it must have taken to produce it.

The following piece is a japanese-style "wheelchair" designed with Stephen Hawkin in mind.

I had never really seen the produce of a 3D printer before so this urn really impressed me:

Crochetdermy bear, Shauna Richardson:

Fantastic glass sculpture by Dale Chihuly:

Cool Beans

2011-09-15T16:49:00.000+01:00

I had no idea mother nature had created these! I swear some of the most creative things are right underneath our noses...

Beans prepared by hand by yours truly!

British Museum

2011-05-31T12:42:00.000+01:00

This week I visited the British Museum in London. I was quite surprised that hardly any of the artifacts were British but nevermind!

I couldn't resist taking a picture of the magnificent roof:

And comparing it to that of Westfield shopping centre:

I really like the swirls and patterns in this vase:

This fella is just awesome:

This just doesn't look 1000s of years old, incredible:

Pollock's Toy Museum London

2011-05-31T11:39:00.001+01:00

I visited the Pollock's Toy Museum in London recently and managed to capture a few interesting patterns and pieces of artwork amongst the old toys.

The above work reminded me of some of Dali's work I had seen in Paris:

The following are discs from a "Zeotrope".

A zoetrope is a device that produces an illusion of action from a rapid succession of static pictures. The term zoetrope is from the Greek words ζωή - zoe, "life" and τρόπος - tropos, "turn". It may be taken to mean "wheel of life".

"The New Game of the Goose":

"The Aviary: The Bird Fancyers Recreation" wallpaper:

Pretty door patterns:

Oriental folk toy:

Little Bubbles

2011-05-07T11:55:00.002+01:00

Calling all young parents! Please check out my project "Little Bubbles" - it's a community for young parents and I need lots of feedback and support. So have a look round and let me know what you think about it :)

Little Bubbles Website

Little Bubbles Facebook Page (please "like" it!)

Check out my Degree Show!

2011-05-07T11:46:00.004+01:00

The University of Leeds School of Design Degree Show 2011 will take place between June 13th and June 17th.

School of Design
University of Leeds
Leeds
LS2 9JT

+44 (0)113 34 33700

Fresh way of looking at "boring history"

2011-04-08T16:08:00.001+01:00

Welcome to Fontevraud from Francis Cutter & Vincent Nguyen on Vimeo.

Ikea - Peace Love Storage ad

2011-04-08T12:49:00.002+01:00

Vintage Jewellery Brief

2011-04-08T12:45:00.003+01:00

Some recent work:
Brief: To brand and produce packaging for a new vintage jewellery company.

Busy telephone interviewing

2011-04-08T12:41:00.002+01:00

I've been busy conducting telephone interviews for my Green Marketing dissertation.

I've spoken to:

Head of Campaigns and Marketing at the Department for Communities and Local Government
Brand Development Manager at Toyota GB
Manager of Communications Planning & Research at Toyota GB
Research & Development Manager at Business in the Community
Senior Research Executive at the TGi Surveys, part of Kantar Media
Head of Packaging at innocent

Tentacle

2011-04-08T12:39:00.002+01:00

Some recent work:
Brief: to create, brand and promote a company called "Tentacle"

Response: a tent spray-painting company with a snail as it's logo (or "tag")

Coney Island in Scarborough

2011-02-18T22:31:00.001Z

I visited Scarborough today with some of my coursemates. Shining through the greyness of a not-so-beautiful day in Scarborough was Coney Island amusement arcade. I knew that name rang a bell...The arcade is named after the location of the famous amusement park Dreamland that I had blogged about before.

Green Car Ads

2011-01-01T15:17:00.012Z

Here is a collection of different takes on advertising the same thing, slighlty less environmentally damaging cars(!):

Saving Animals - Nissan Leaf

Cleaner air - Toyota Hybrid Synergy

Amazing New Technology - General Motors EV1

Simple green graphics - Ford Fusion Hybrid

Elaborate green imagery - Toyota Prius and Honda Civic Hybrid

Offsetting - Smart Car

Humour - Audi A3 TDi

Greenpeace's "anti-advert"

The coolest animated gifs I've ever seen!

2010-11-17T16:07:00.003Z

Just stumbled across these...

Graffiti GIFs, lettering by INKIE and backgrounds by INSA.

found at dvdp

Paris vs New York

2010-11-02T23:05:00.004Z

A cute little comparison between Paris and New York.

Blog Rationale

2010-10-29T09:02:00.001+01:00

When I received the brief I was a bit apprehensive as I had never written a blog before. Sharing my thoughts and opinions about pieces of design with the World was something new to me. However I was looking forward to the challenge and the prospect of broadening my mind and discovering things I would otherwise not have.

I started by setting up my account and following some established blogs on advertising, design and illustration on Blogger. I followed all of my coursemates' blogs so that I could comment on their posts and read about things that they had found or seen. I started visiting other blogs such as CR Blog, Fubiz and Coolhunter, I even commented on a few of their posts. I had also subscribed to Marketing magazine so I used that to help keep me up-to-date.

I found that writing my blog really opened my eyes. I was of course reading blogs and magazines by choice but I also found that even when I was just doing some shopping or watching TV I was much more critical of everything around me, taking note of interesting pieces of design that could “go in my blog”. I wanted to visit museums and exhibitions. I do not think there are many museums in Leeds I have not visited. I also went to London, York, Oxford and Paris. Having a camera on me all of the time helped me to get photos for my blog whenever I saw something interesting or worth sharing.

I discovered loads of new design works through conducting my blog. When I did an “Architectural Tour of Burley Road, Leeds” I was really surprised to find out that there was much more to the buildings along that road than meets the eye. I learnt about Brutalist architecture (Leeds International Pool, Roger Stevens building – seen on a poster), saw a completely solar panelled wall and spotted Charles Rennie Mackintosh inspired architecture (Leeds Magistrates Court). I discovered an appreciation for Salvador Dali's work. When I visited Espace Dali in Paris I was really intrigued with his work and decided to do a bit more research about him. I was surprised to find that a really like surrealist art. I managed to view original printing presses in Leeds Industrial Museum and the Museum of London. We had learnt about the printing press in lectures but it was great to see it for real. These are just a few examples of things I have found out that I doubt I would have had I not written a blog.

I started to read. When travelling to London everyday for one of my placements, I had half an hour free to read every morning and afternoon. I picked up Derren Brown's “Tricks of the Mind” first and rediscovered the joys of reading. I took on “A Clockwork Orange” by Anthony Burgess, this was a tough read but I was completely engrossed in it for two weeks. Since starting my reading for my dissertation I have posted about one of the books but I intend to write about more of them. That will not only give me a reference point in future years if I want to revisit a book from my dissertation but also show to visitors of my blog that I have been reading design-related books.

When picking what to post about I at first just posted things I liked but as I got more used to blogging I began to choose which pieces of inspiration I would write about. I started to form opinions and be much more critical of design works. I reviewed the “What the Flock?” campaign by Magpie Communications which was apparently forwarded to the agency, I hope my criticism was constructive!

I think as a designer it is a great asset to have a blog that is up-to-date and with lots of entries. I have a link to it on my website which means potential employers and clients can see that I am actively watching the design industry and always looking for inspiration. It shows that you are always looking for great design and making critical judgements. It is also an opportunity to showcase your most current pieces of work.

In terms of using the blog to support the research for my dissertation and final project I intend to use it more for this purpose in the coming weeks. I posted “Catch of the Day” on 2^nd May 2010 which, although I did not realise it at the time, became the inspiration for my one week brief and then for my dissertation. As I carry on my research I will use the blog to record books I have read and online videos or images that I find. Having an electronic scrapbook as well as a physical one is really vital now that research can be in the form of a short film on Vimeo for example.

In conclusion, I would recommend writing a blog to all designers, whether junior or experienced. As a young designer it becomes part of your portfolio and encouragement to get out there and actively looking for examples of intriguing design. As an experienced designer it keeps you up-to-date with current trends, alerts you what your competitors are doing and pushes you to work your ideas hard to produce better pieces of work. I have been visiting museums, reading books and blogs, observing architecture and watching films that I simply would not have had it not been for this project. I have become much more critical and analyse design from several points of view. I am going to carry on blogging, probably mainly in the advertising and online categories, because I really find it beneficial.

Ashmolian Museum of Art and Archaeology, Oxford

2010-10-25T15:18:00.006+01:00

I visited the Ashmolean museum yesterday, it holds many antiques, coins, works of art, sculptures, textiles...

Above is a picture of some mini porcelain portraits along with a list of the subjects' names.

"Green Marketing Manifesto" by John Grant

2010-10-25T10:17:00.002+01:00

I am currently reading this book as part of my research for my dissertation and I thought I'd mention it because it is a really interesting take on a future direction of marketing. As consumers get more and more aware of environmental issues and have easier and easier access to companies (though twitter, facebook etc) companies are surely going to have to bear green issues in mind. John Grant's book lays out how to approach "green marketing" depending on whether it would be on a public, social or personal level and whether your company wants to be "green", "greener" or "greenest".

I think all designers should start opening their eyes to environmental (and ethical) issues and use their power as a designer to lessen the impact of their work.

"John Grant′s been so smart and percipient with his new masterwork...useful, readable and clever...out now, just when we need it." (Campaign, Friday 23rd November 2007)

Inside-out Architecture

2010-10-25T09:47:00.004+01:00

The Centre Georges Pompidou, Paris, was designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano, the British architect couple Richard Rogers and Su Rogers, Gianfranco Franchini, the British structural engineer Edmund Happold, and Irish structural engineer Peter Rice. It opened on 31 January 1977. It was designed in the style of high-tech architecture.

Inside-out architecture was innovative in having its services such as staircases, lifts, electrical power conduits and water pipes on the outside, leaving an uncluttered space inside.

The Lloyd's Building, London, was designed by architect Richard Rogers and built between 1978 and 1986. Bovis was the management contractor for the scheme. Modular in plan, each floor can be altered with the addition or removal of partitions and walls.

Ispiration
Both buildings were inspired by the work of Archigram in the 1950s and '60s. Plug-in-City is a mega-structure with no buildings, just a massive framework into which dwellings in the form of cells or standardised components could be slotted. The machine had taken over and people were the raw material being processed, the difference being that people are meant to enjoy the experience.

Insomnia Festival 2010

2010-10-25T09:36:00.001+01:00

Insomnia Festival 2010 Titles from Toxic on Vimeo.

This is just a little bit cool.

Eek! I hope I'm in the right profession....

2010-10-18T23:30:00.001+01:00

Conclusion: "What the flock?" Campaign

2010-10-11T14:22:00.007+01:00

I think this was a smart campaign but it does have a few faults:
- the online survey "dragging" selection didn't work so i could only choose 1%...- the poll for where you found out about What the Flock? only let you choose one answer...
- the Research section was "coming soon...", how many people will actually visit the website again to find out the research?
However it has definitely proved to be a successful campaign and it was great to see a completely new approach to getting students talking about a boring/embarrassing/taboo subject.

My predictions...

2010-10-10T20:07:00.002+01:00

So maybe the Magpie brief wasn't set by the Magpie I thought it was going to be, but I had read, and blogged about the Smashing Magazine article that Charlotte the client was talking about!

Say It LOUD: The one that got away...

2010-10-07T13:14:00.002+01:00

My first (developed) idea was a viral campaign of pranks played my designers at the office. The idea of "Serious fun!" captured the spirit of working in the design industry with particular emphasis on how designers must design responsibly and sustainably in order to help save the environment...

Fashion Websites Trends

2010-10-03T19:34:00.004+01:00

The great thing about fashion websites is that they have a licence to do pretty much whatever they want. They are about getting the visitor to experience the band, not to give them ease of navigation through to masses of pages. This article on SmashingMagazine.com highlights the current trends.

Tim Burton's Official Website

2010-10-03T13:33:00.003+01:00

Tim Burton's website is really fantastic. To navigate through the site you have to use your arrow keys to walk "Stain Boy" around mysterious rooms and corridors. You are given the option of walking into either the Public Gallery or the Private Gallery, where you have to enter your email address to get in. A smart move that really works, even if most of us have a "spam email account".

Although navigation with arrow keys is nothing new, it worked really well in this case as it gives the user a real sense of walking around a gallery in a mysterious, Alice in Wonderland style building.

One Week Brief: Say it LOUD! - My inspiration

2010-10-02T16:05:00.005+01:00

Seeing as you can't paste a video into a creative log, I thought I'd post it on here...
Click here to see the documentary that inspired me.

What the flock? (...by Magpie?)

2010-10-02T14:08:00.003+01:00

Walking through Hyde Park to uni on (I think) monday, I was inundated with black, corriflute sheep hanging from trees, standing in flocks and painted on the floor with the strap line, "What the flock?" Although I thought it was pretty cool, I also thought it was a bit of a wasted opportunity as by the time I had waded my way through all the "flocking" sheep everywhere I was pretty ready to hear what it was all about...nothing.

Well I walked into uni again on tuesday at about 5pm and there where 3 students holding a giant banner saying that this "What the flock?" thing would be launch on 10.10.10.

A few minutes ago I was wasting time on facebook... and I saw one of my friends was following this "what the flock" campaign, intrigued, I checked it out. This then lead my curiosity to click on the website link http://www.whattheflock.org.uk/.

I watched the little video which features students' reactions to a mystery question with the answer of "17".

Still intrigued to find out who was behind all of this, and being a bit of web geek, I checked out the source code of the site...

< name="author" content="Magpie Comms">

The agency we are about to receive a brief from, Magpie, seem to be involved in this crazy sheep campaign... well the brief is on the 8th Oct so we shall see what happens...!

About the website, I really like the design, it's very cute and appropriate for students. Students can share their impatience to find out what the flock it is all about on the message board and of course connect online through facebook and twitter. The only thing it lacks to me is a little favicon...but that's not a massive issue.

Leeds City Art Gallery: Sculpture and Tapestry Exhibitions

2010-09-27T18:10:00.012+01:00

Emess is a Berlin-based graffiti artist who does work similar to that of Banksy. Stencil graffiti is a new style in the genre and can be seen more and more frequently as it is getting pretty fashionable.

"Sprayer" by Emess.

"Inlaid Patchwork Berlin" by textile artist, Ursel Arndt, 2008/09 is a patchwork of stencil graffiti art.

At first this sculpture did not seem very interesting, however when I read the little plaque it actually proved to be quite intriguing. Left to right: "Momento", "American Garamond", "Antique Olive" and "Orator", 2005, are scale enlargements of full-stops in the four fonts. They each have the same point size but the large scale shows the intricate details which exist within the apparently universal and uniform symbols.

"Artist's Formula for Success Chart: Aquarius" by Laurence Burt, 1970. I found it strange that someone would want to attempt to create a mathematical formula or flowchart to how to find success as an artist. This piece of art, or science(?), almost shows how "unlogical" art is but is juxtaposed with how it is itself a "successful work of art".

An extract of "Family Tree 1970-1981" by David Nash, 1985. This drawn work was appealing to me as it had been carefully hand drawn and showed lots of possibilities that a tree holds.

"A Work Between Two Insitutions" by Stephen Willats, 1987. This shows the relationship between a block of flat and a City Art Museum in a strange, electric-circuit-style diagram.

"Sign Elements III" by Matt Rugg, 1963. I'm not really sure what to think of this piece but I quite liked it...

"Untitled" Computer generated and screen printed by Darrel Viner, 2001. Darrel Viner produced a whole series of these 2D spheres for which he had written a computer program to create them. There is a debate as to whether computer generated works count as art, I personally feel that the computer is merely a medium, like a paint brush or pencil and that it is still the work of an artist.

"Extended Cube" by David Nash, 1996. The same artist who produced "Family Tree" has extended a wooden cube...for some reason...

"Acrobats" by Ian Hamilton Finlay, 1966. This is one of Finlay's "Concrete poems". The title is the main part of the work with the letters jumping and tumbling in mid-air.

"Faithful Servants (Marine)" by Edward Wadsworth, 1928. This piece was in the main art gallery rather than the sculpture exhibition. I particularly like surrealist art as to me it has more thought put into it as there is a meaning behind each object and its positioning.

The plaque reads: "Wadsworth served in the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve as a gunner. After the war he made drawings of the Black Country and northern slag heaps that highlighted humanity's devastating impact on the landscape. They echoed Nash's scarred battlefields. In the late 1920s Wadsworth made a series of still lifes of nautical objects in marine settings. Often the objects were no longer in common use. The idyllic, other-worldy nature of these still lifes suggests a yearning for a pre-war era of peace and calm."

"A Clockwork Orange" directed by Stanley Kubrick (film)

2010-09-14T18:28:00.004+01:00

I had read the book before I saw the film, for me I think this is the best way round as it allows you to imagine it all first before being shown someone else' idea of a book first.

The film was a lot more weird and surreal than I had ever imagines the book to be. Strange 70s fashion and decor. I was however impressed by Kubrick's take on the book as I think he captured the emotions of the youths well. He made up feel sorry of Alex at the end of the film despite all of his wrongdoings in the past.

A film well worth seeing, however read the book first!

"A Clockwork Orange" by Anthony Burgess (book)

2010-09-14T18:07:00.004+01:00

I first picked up this book when I had time to kill taking the tube to my placement. After reading a few chapters I hated the book and decided to stop reading it. A friend told me to keep reading, get through the violence and then to discover just how good the book is.

I may not have read that many books so far but this book was by far the cleverest written of those I have read.

Anthony Burgess creates his own slang of Russian-style words which are never explained and are left to the reader to decipher for themselves. This added a level of intrigue into a book that I had not experienced before.

The beginning is very violent and the teenagers in the story enjoy every second of it, "then out comes the blood, my brothers, real beautiful", the main character, and narrator, Alex says. Alex speaks to the reader as if they are another member of the gang by using the words "my brothers".

The book is written in 3 parts: The first tells of his violent life as a teenager, committing terrible crimes with his gang of friends, the second his is in prison for killing an old lady as he is trying to rob her. He is keen to get out and get back to his old ways. He hears about the new Ludovic Technique which can "rehabilitate" prisoners and allow them to be set free over a matter of weeks. He is very keen and embarks on the new treatment, little does he know that he will be a changed man when it has finished. The third part sees Alex released from prison but the thought of violence makes him feel physically ill.

The book tackles an interesting, fictional argument concerning the treatment and human rights.

I would highly recommend reading this book, persevere through the violence and you will discover a fantastic book.

"Art Direction Explained, At Last!" by Steven Heller and Veronique Vienne

2010-09-14T17:52:00.003+01:00

This is a book I picked up from a cute little art and design book shop near Old Street, Artwords Book Shop, in London.

This book explains exactly what being an Art Director entails by speaking industry professionals across Photography, Typography, Illustration and Editing. It covers lots of tips and theories for creating a successful advert or interesting piece of work.

The book is very stylishly put together, as most boos aimed at designers are, and includes lots of little things to keep your interest or to allow you to dip in and out of the book including a comic, a few quizzes and lots of pictures!

It is well written and gives you lots of help with how to face/work with/understand clients including a dictionary of clients' terms such as "We're looking at something in the style of (X)." = "Here's a fresh supply of tracing paper. Now get to it."

Super mignon !

2010-09-10T20:37:00.007+01:00

I love this little animation about how the French love a "petit café".

Stock Photo Rights

2010-08-19T15:12:00.002+01:00

Copyright for images is a minefield and up til now, stock imagery sites have not helped us to understand how it works. Check out www.stockphotorights.com to help get your head around it. Basically remember these 3 things to watch out for: Models, marks and designs.

Inception

2010-08-19T13:53:00.006+01:00

Whoa!

This film blew me away. It is the story of a time when the technology exists to enter people's dreams allowing thieves to extract secret information from people's subconscious minds eg, the combination to a safe... Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio), a successful theif, is asked by the owner of an energy company (Saito) to complete a mission in order to grant him entry to America to see his children again. Saito's main business competitor is an old man who is very sick, and his son is about to take over his father's company. Saito wants the son to break up his father's empire. Cobb agrees out of desperation to see his children again.

However instead of performing 'extraction' (getting information out of someone's head) he needs to perform 'inception' - the planting of an idea into someone's mind. This requires a team of people and creating dreams within dreams. As time passes much quicker in dreamstate than in normal life, this creates a multiplying effect - 5 mins asleep = 1hr in a dream, 1hr of a dram within a dream = 1 week etc.

The creators had really thought everything through very very carefully. One interesting aspect was that as they fall of a bridge, whilst asleep and dreaming, this affects the dream - there's no gravity!

The ending is very smart. It is a cliffhanger, but because of that it encourages you to really think hard over what you have just seen in order to fathom out the answer to the question left hanging.

How can I sum it up? "Watch it!"

Links: IMDB, Inception website

Gorillaz.com

2010-08-19T13:33:00.004+01:00

I have just finished reading an article about the redesign of the band Gorillaz' website and although I'm impressed with the site, all the games you can play, features etc etc I can't help but feel that the website homepage doesn't have a "Gorillaz feel". It's a bit too "websitey". Gorillaz to me is hand drawn, telling a story about the characters, if you look at the header bar (in white at the top) it's just boring and manufactured.

The homepage is pretty good aside from the header bar, however as you navigate through the rest of the site there's next to nothing hand drawn. Maybe it's a good thing as it gives a bit of space and tidiness from the characters, I can't make up my mind! Any thoughts?

Links: Gorillaz website, Mike Robinson, Ben Sims

Design Society Website

2010-08-18T14:35:00.002+01:00

I have been working on the new Leed University, Design Society website recently and I'm interested to hear what people think of it. The target audience is of course the School of Design students but also the tutors and potential employers of Leeds Uni graduates/students.

There are a few aims for the site:
- to give advice to School of Design students, advice written by students, not lecturers.
- to let our members (and non-members) know about what's going on in the society, socials etc.
- to help put University of Leeds design graduates firmly on the employee wish-list!

So please let me know what you think!

Student life: how to make an alternative income

2010-08-18T11:53:00.004+01:00

I have been lucky enough to win quite a lot of freelance projects from websites such as freelancer.co.uk and studentgems.com. My contact details got passed onto the Guardian to be interviewed for an article published today: "Student life: how to make an alternative income"

Pictionary Campaign, Ogilvy & Mather

2010-08-17T19:01:00.006+01:00

Really like the simplicity of this campaign for Pictionary by Art Director, Juan Jose Posada of Ogilvy & Mather. However would it make me go out and buy Pictionary or would I just think to play it if I was really bored one day? Although it reminds me about the game, it doesn't give me a reason to buy the game as opposed to just playing it, I have no idea what the advantages are of actually owning it...

La Geode, Cite des Sciences, Paris

2010-08-17T18:50:00.002+01:00

La Geode at the Paris Science museum is really very impressive. It's like a miniature planet that changes appearance with the weather, time of day and angle from which you look at it.

La Géode is a sphere with a diameter of 36 metres, consisting of 6433 steel triangles. It cost 130 million francs to build.

"The Bayswater Omnibus", 1895 by George William Joy and "They Could Not Imagine", 2009 by Gasan

2010-08-17T18:28:00.007+01:00

The first of these paintings, "The Bayswater Omnibus", shows passengers inside a horsedrawn omnibus. The artist's wife and daughter posed as the mother and young girl on the left.

Joy described the passengers, "In the farthest corner sits a poor, anxious mother of children, her foot propped on an untidy bundle; beside her, full of kindly thoughts about her, sits a fashionable young woman; next to her the City man, absorbed in his paper; whilst a little milliner, bandbox in hand, presses past the blue eyed, wholesome looking nurse in the doorway."

The artist of the second painting, "They Could Not Imagine" said:
"I was interested in how the artist had different classes of society together, and wondered how realistic this was. The painting provides so much information about how people lived, from fashion to travel and advertising. I transported these people into 21st century life. The ladies are fascinated by what they see and the businessman has already adapted with his laptop. The smaller characters have been affected by the recession, but the balloons represent hope. The fading reflection of St. Paul's shows Christianity as a traditional lifestyle disappearing, which I think is sad."

Both photographed in the Museum of London.

"Viaduct", 1998, Michael Johnson

2010-08-17T18:08:00.004+01:00

This painting from 1998 is a bitter comment on Modern Britain, made at the time when London was enjoying its reputation as the fashion "capital of cool".

It is set on Holborn Viaduct in London. On top of the viaduct are Arts Council officials, artist Damien Hirst, politician Peter Mandelson, businessmen, scientists and their mad-cow creations. Mandelson is holding the Millenium Dome and Hirst is holding a pickled sheep.

Under the viaduct are the poor, whose contributions to the National lottery keep the arts going.

Photographed in the Museum of London

Museum of London

2010-08-17T16:43:00.014+01:00

I visited the Museum of London to see the "Exploring 20th Century London" exhibition. In amongst all the "history stuff" were some examples of the early advertising and a printing press dating from 1780.

1780s Printing Press:

Some examples of early promotional posters:

The more typefaces the better:
www.dollardreadful.com:

Link: Museum of London, Advertising

Espace Dali, Paris

2010-08-16T14:50:00.019+01:00

I recently visited the Salvador Dali museum in Paris, Espace Dali. I didn't really know anything about the surrealist artist before I went and was suprised to find that I really liked his work and found it very interesting. Not long before I visited the Museum of Modern Art in the Pompidou Centre and had been really dissappointed by the works there so I was pleased to have my interest in art reinvigorated!

Salvador Dali (1904 - 1989) was particularly interested in the juxtaposition between the strength and fragility of life forms, in particular the snail, with it's tough outer shell protecting it's vulnerable, slug body.
"As Dalí believed that nothing occurred simply by accident, he was captivated when he saw a snail on a bicycle outside [Sigmund] Freud's house, connecting the snail with the image of a human head; more particularly, with the head of Freud. Dalí was also fascinated by the natural geometry of snail shells, and like the egg, the duality of its soft interior with its hard exterior." (Quoted from this site.) This is his sculpture, "The Snail and the Angel":Another animal that fascinated him was the elephant. Dali liked to exaggerate this contrast but giving the elephant long spindly legs in his pieces of art:

This work of art is particularly interesting as Dali has taken a proposal for the site of the Arc de Triomphe in Paris to be used as the body and trunk of the elephant:" There was a pre-Napoleonic (1758) proposal by Charles Ribart for an elephant-shaped building on the location of the current arch." (Quoted from this site)

Here are some other items I photographed in the museum....

From his "Alice in Wonderland" series:
Sculptures:
Some of his furniture designs:

Espace Dali Website

"Dreamlands" Exhibiton, Pompidou Centre, Paris

2010-08-04T15:14:00.010+01:00

The title of this exhibition came from the name of an amusement park built in 1904 at Coney Island in New York. Dreamland marked the beginning of a sensational new movement in architecture. Dreams were becoming reality.

Dreamland Amusement Park, 1907. This was to be a high-class entertainment village with elegant architecture, exhibitions, rides and thrills however the park was destroyed by a fire in 1911.

The exhibition had a section about Salvador Dali's "Dream of Venus" pavilion for the New York's World Fair in 1939. This was a piece of installation art before installation art had even begun. You can guess that the pavilion was a very weird and wonderful place; topless mermaids swimming around, a leopard-faced mannequin covered in shot glasses, Venus in her boudoir....

"Skyline" by Kader Attia is a collection of fridges covered in tiny mirror panels.

"Delirous New York" original cover by Rem Koolhaas.

“Nothing Stops a New Yorker” by Malachi Farrell. This was a quirky piece of installation art, the cardboard skyscrapers were at first made to do a work-out then that was interrupted by news reports from September 11th, terror alerts broadcasts and exerts from Public Enemy songs. It was interesting how the artist had surrounded the skyscrapers by junk. It seemed to show the collapse of New York's infrastructure and the nature of our "disposable" way of life accumulating in the streets. The installation was cleverly placed by the panoramic windows of the Pompidou centre, showing the city carrying on behind as if forever into the distance.

Museo Games Exhibition, Paris

2010-07-27T17:35:00.006+01:00

I visited an exhibition held at the Musée des Arts et Metiers in Paris all about the history of video games over the last 40 years.

I learnt a little bit about the history of video games, but it's so brief that it's not particularly interesting. The exhibition was really there to re-play games-gone-by rather than to learn however. I think it was my first experience of seeing things that I used to have in a museum...except for the Spice Girls easter egg at the Museum of Brands, but we won't go into that! I have to say it was a bit surreal, I don't consider myself a "gamer" but I was pretty pleased/surprised to re-play RayMan!

One thing that caught my eye was this "Keaton vs Mario Scroll" (which i handily found on Youtube) which shows footage from Buster Keaton's "Seven Chances" (1925) and Super Mario Bros' videogames (1985 onwards).

Museo Games site

Mia's Website

2010-07-27T15:17:00.007+01:00

I've been keeping an eye out for truly original website designs and I've definately found one.

Mia's website is mad. I don't think I have ever seen so many animated gifs at one time! I do however really love it. I felt like a hacker using the site, it feels like you have access to a personal computer and that you shouldn't really be using it.

Mia is well known for her political views. Recently she released "Born Free" which was accompanied by a video/short film directed by Romain Gavras which I know realise was acually working as a trailer for a film to be released in September this year, "Nortre Jour Viendra" or "Our Day Will Come".

Links :
miauk.com
dailymotion.com/
notrejourviendra.com/

Put Me to the Test - Stream London

2010-07-27T10:58:00.006+01:00

I've now finished my third brief from my Put Me to the Test experiment given to me by direct marketing agency, Stream London.

Brief: Buddies are know to vets as the company that delivered the puppy pack - a free pack given to all owners of puppys/kittens. This good will means they can have POS in Vets promoting their pet insurance. The only real competitor in this environment is PetPlan. The proposition to pet owners is - Buddies - competitive pet insurance from the young pet specialists.

Target Audience: Owners of young pets (puppies, kittens)

Deliverable: Point of Sale Item

Deadline: One week

Solution:Sitting in the waiting room at the vets can be very boring especially for a family with young, restless children. My Point of Sale stand could hopefully add some fun to the long waits.

I wanted to make a POS stand that could be interacted with. The thought of the stands at the beach where the family put their heads through the holes and take a photo sprang to mind. Since the insurance is for puppies and kittens, I thought perhaps they could put their heads through the holes and the families at the vets can take pictures on their phones/digital cameras.

The idea behind the astronaut and biker suits was that the animals are ‘protected’ with Buddies insurance. ‘Insured pets have more fun!’ emphasises how insured pets are happier and healthier than uninsured pets.

I have added paw track stickers to the floor to encourage interaction with the stand.

Feel free to leave me feedback, that is the aim of it after all!
Plus, feel free to Put Me to the Test by clicking this button:

Dutch Football Federation - 2010 FIFA World Cup T-shirt.

2010-06-09T12:56:00.000+01:00

Love this t-shirt - such a simple idea but works so well!
Found on Cool Hunter

Put Me to the Test - GameSurgeons.com

2010-05-27T14:06:00.006+01:00

I've just finished my second brief from my Put Me to the Test experiment given to me by web designer Colin Grist.

Brief: Make some really hip, small characters for a new website gamesurgeons.com. It's a site about gaming and game reviews. The characters should be doctors and nurses but with a cartoony feel and they would be dotted around the layout. Really nice, modern and humorous in style.

Deliverable: Set of characters

Deadline: Two weeks

Solution:

I wanted to create a set of characters that reflected the design of the GameSurgeons website.

I decided to imagine characters that would work in the GameSurgeons hospital. Using the style of vector forms without outlines and slight gradients I created a set of Southpark-like figures that can be used to examine new games and consoles.

The nurse carries an Xbox game instead of a clipboard, the surgeon is playing with the GameSurgeons syringe and the doctor has a PlayStation controller for a stethoscope.

Feel free to leave me feedback, that is the aim of it after all!
Plus, feel free to Put Me to the Test by clicking this button:

Cheeky job application

2010-05-14T15:18:00.006+01:00

Such a rubbish but great (only as a one-off) idea! I can't believe how well this worked. Incredible.

Put Me to the Test - Karbon Creative

2010-05-13T17:49:00.006+01:00

I've just finished my first brief from my Put Me to the Test experiment given to me by agency Karbon Creative.

Brief: Get existing Audi owners to visit their dealership.

Deliverable: Press Ad

Deadline: One week

Solution 1: Quite often businessmen and women will stop off to buy a coffee on their way to work.

I suggest that instead of stopping at BP to grab a coffee, they are invited for a free coffee at their local dealership. Whilst enjoying a free espresso they can chat with the sales team and admire the cars on display. This is an opportunity for impulse buys or for booking a car in for service for example.

Audi’s signature headlights were what inspired my creative idea.

Solution 2: Car dealearships are not necessarily located on the way to work for Audi owners to pop in easily. This means that in order to get them to go out of their way to visit the showroom, there has to be a good reason.

I suggest holding Scalectrix competitions at each location and inviting Audi owners and their families to compete against fellow Audi owners. Great fun for everyone, but also a great opportunity for impulse buys whilst waiting for a turn on the Scalectrix track. This time allows the salesmen to talk with the customers, show them the new cars, perhaps give the owners’ cars a quick check and suggest accessories which could be purchased.

The idea of holding events allows the owners and their families to have great fun whilst connecting with the Audi brand amongst the cars in the dealerships.

Feel free to leave me feedback, that is the aim of it after all!
Plus, feel free to Put Me to the Test by clicking this button:

Le scaphandre et le papillon

2010-05-13T13:32:00.004+01:00

This film tells the true story of Elle magazine editor Jean-Dominique Bauby after he suffers a stroke. He suffers from a rare condition of "Locked-In Syndrome" which means he is totally paralysed but still thinks normally, like being locked inside his own body. The title "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" is a metaphor for his condition. The Diving Bell (or better translated, Diving Suit - but one of the really old metal ones with the goldfish bowl hood) represents how he is locked inside his body and the butterfly represents his mind.

He is able to communicate however by winking his left eye after his desired letter is read out from the alphabet.

Jean-Do (as he is called by the people close to him) reacts at first, as anyone would, with a very negative outlook and even communicates to his therapist "I want to die" but after a visit from a friend who tells him about how he was held hostage for 4 years, an almost similar experience to Jean-Do's situation, he has a change of outlook. He decides to write a book about his experiences. Obviously it is going to be a slow process.

The camera work of this film is very well done. The first scenes are shot through the eyes of Jean-Do so the viewer experiences him waking up out of a 3 week coma bleary eyed and they discovering that he cannot speak and cannot move. It takes 30 minutes before we see the first glimpse of his face, which again is seen through the eyes of the protagonist in the reflection of a window. Again this was a really nice tough as we saw his appearance at the same time that he did.

I recently watched "Creation" the story of Charles Darwin (which i will have to write a post about) and that along with other things has got me thinking about life in general. I guess somehow i've been having some quite "hardcore" thoughts recently. One thing that made me stop and think in "The Diving Bell and the Butterfly" was this scene:

Doc: "In the past, we would have said you'd had a massive stroke. You would very probably have died. But now we have such improved resuscitation techniques that we're able to prolong life."
JD's thoughts: "This is life?"
JD's thoughts: [repeats] "This is life?"
Doc: "Yes, prolong life"

And also when he later tells his mentor that he wants to die.

It made me think, for example, if a rabbit has a stroke it's the family of hungry fox cubs that benefits, that's life - something good actually happens. Yes it's sad for the rabbit, but the fox cubs get to eat plus it's good for the race of rabbits because that rabbit won't have children that are likely to have strokes so the species is protected. With humans however, we don't think like that. We think as individuals, not as a race. Is it better if someone with a hereditary disease dies or is it better if they are saved by doctors, have children and then the children suffer of the same disease and this goes on and on and spreads to more and more people? Big question! Food for thought....

Musée de la Publicité - "Advertising the Great Causes"

2010-05-09T14:59:00.010+01:00

Today I visited the Museum of Advertising in Paris to see the exposition "Advertising the Great Causes". This expo covered advertising campaigns about drugs, alochol, AIDS, littering, the environment, human rights, poverty, arms, all of the Great Causes.

I think that this sector of advertising is one of the most difficult to produce. I recently worked on a Bollocks to Poverty (Action Aid) brief and had decided with my 'project partner' that we didn't want to guilt-trip our target audience. It is the obvious choice and is the choice that has been taken by many advertisers before us. I think it probably worked in the beginning but now the public has got fed up of hearing bad news and just shuts it out. Advertising for the great causes is having to be more creative and show matters in a less gloomy light.

Here are a few of the adverts I found the most interesting:

"Non-drinking water kills 8 million people a year in the world. Make the policies act by signing the petition at www.yourdropofwater.org"

"Chaque jour 15 personnes sont victimes du non-respect des feux - en ville, il n'y a pas que des voitures accidentées"
"Every day 15 people are victims of the non-respect of traffic lights - in town, it's not just the cars that are broken" - difficult to translate exactly...

Surfrider's Association ad showing a rubber glove flapping in the wind on a beach. It seemed to represent the sea/beach calling out for help.

"300,000 child soldiers dream of simply being children, www.amnesty.fr"
"300,000 enfants soldats rêvent simplement d'être enfants, www.amnesty.fr"
(Sorry for the window reflections in this pic!)

Sleepeater interactive music vid

2010-05-07T15:56:00.005+01:00

Love this music vid! My guess is don't bother using it if your internet connection isn't great however. It's always good to see stuff done a bit different!

Google's fun side

2010-05-06T13:01:00.007+01:00

I wasn't very impressed by Google's advertising for Chrome as I felt it was really boring however they have definately redeemed themselves with this viral video I love the idea, it's SO much more interesting than "Chrome is so amazing beacuse you can have 20 tabs open at the same time" (see below)

Google has never really had to make an effort to promote itself before now. It is the leading search engine - by miles. Now it's in competition with Internet Explorer, Firefox etc and it has had to make an effort. I think the "multiple tabs" campaign was a reflection of Google thinking it didn't really need to promote itself and could just rely on its no1 status.

The problem with promoting an internet browser is that not everyone knows what one is and most people probably don't care/realise which browser they are using anyway. Now they have launched their Speed Tests video i think people will see Google's more fun and human side whilst discovering that they can surf the internet more quickly by downloading chrome.

Definately a step in the right direction and currently featuring on BuzzFeed.com's Just Launched list.

Slice packaging

2010-05-05T14:17:00.003+01:00

A really well designed set of packaging for an equally well thought-out brand.

Catch of the Day

2010-05-02T17:33:00.006+01:00

Recently I watched this documentary on VBS. Since then I have done a lot of thinking about basically everything humans have done to the World. I'm not usually a hippy or anything but watch this and perhaps it will open your eyes too.

Below is an ad which basically sums it up. The campaign is called "Catch of the Day" by Saatchi and Saatchi New York for the Surfriders Foundation. The items where found "fresh" on a beach and show exactly what is happening to all of the plastic we use and throw away.

This is also the reason behind the Gorillaz latest album title : Plastic Beach

Visit to the Centre Pompidou

2010-05-02T17:12:00.007+01:00

What better to do on the first sunday of the month than visit the Centre Pompidou in Paris? I felt a bit like a fly as I walked round because I found my self attracted by anything with neon lighting. Looking at all the art and stuff kind of made me question whether the things I saw were genuinely "works of art" or just a pretty picture/installation or a load of rubbish.
There was one piece that I did like however, below, but merely for its aesthetic qualities and simple but nice interactivity.

If tree is to birds nest, then the Pompidou centre is to.....? Tree houses =) They're a bit pointless but i like them.It has to be said one of the best things about the pompidou centre is the view. Panoramic view of Paris including the Notre Dame cathedral, Eiffel Tower and the Sacre Coeur.

So I wasn't very impressed by the "art" but I did stop by the book shop and spent at least half an hour flicking through the 2009's D&AD Award Winners book. I have been watching some of the interviews with the judges so it was interesting to see the work they picked. Maybe I'll do another post about that...

Put me to the test!

2010-04-27T11:32:00.002+01:00

Instead of looking through my portfolio I ask you to set me a design challenge.

Whether you're stuck on a strapline, have put off commissioning a logo design or just fancy seeing what today's students are capable of - give me a brief and a deadline and let's put me to the test!

Advertising agency - Curb

2010-04-26T15:02:00.002+01:00

I really like this agency's ethos and the fact that they have created a natural, glow-in-the-dark fungus! Every piece of work that they produce is environmentally friendly - i think we should all take a leaf out of their book!

Pixel Invasion

2010-04-15T16:59:00.004+01:00

This is a really cute vid - but it does bring up quite an interesting subject - perhaps that of whether we now don't need to go out (use the metro, drive cars, work in offices...) because we can do everything on our computers, over the net. In fact, the video even starts with someone throwing out an old (analogue) television.

Guerilla Advertising

2010-03-24T14:45:00.001Z

Check out this "The 80 Best Guerilla Marketing Ideas I’ve Ever Seen" Article

Alex Varanese

2010-02-27T18:41:00.004Z

I really like this guy's work. His website is really nice to read and generally looks great!

Goodbye print

2010-02-25T13:09:00.001Z

It's worth stepping outside of your comfort zone once in a while...

2010-02-25T12:20:00.003Z

I was asked to design and build a site in the style of Parasol Group's website. This was a high standard to compete with and obviously I didn't want to copy it. So, I designed my first website in Illustrator which was wierd! I'm not really an illustrator either so it was not playing to my strong points at all. I persevered and actually suprised myself, I'm super pleased with the site =)

CMW Website

2010-02-25T11:24:00.002Z

Check out Advertising/Digital Agency CMW's website. Only problem is that you can spend aaaages waiting for it to load...

I like these...

2010-02-25T11:22:00.002Z

Be Stupid.

2010-02-22T17:11:00.003Z

A friend of mine posted about a Diesel ad campaign so this ambient chalk stencil thing caught my eye when walking down Rue de Rivoli (one of the main shopping streets with the likes of H&M, Zara, Mango etc) in Paris

Can a sausage roll get more facebook fans than sheryl cole?

2010-02-05T14:36:00.001Z

While browsing through the pictures of a facebook group i found this picture - love it.

New Website Design...take four!

2009-12-15T15:05:00.003Z

I don't think a web designer can ever really be 100% happy with their personal website, so I designed it again!

Stuff White People Like

2009-11-24T21:12:00.004Z

This is a t-shirt design for a website called www.stuffwhitepeoplelike.com

I just really like how they've illustrated the website's name

Think you know about print? Think again.

2009-10-05T15:17:00.003+01:00

I thought I knew about print. I have now realised just how complex it is. From ordering your pages correctly so they print in the correct order (above) to inks not drying properly. Every tiny little bit of what a print designer puts together needs to be thought through to ensure success during print.

If, like me you would like to find out what you don't know I would recommend these two brochures: pass4press Version 9 and printing.com's File Supply Guide.

Students aren't all lazy!

2009-10-01T22:54:00.005+01:00

Well these guys from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology definitely should make us proud to be students! They made a camera out of a mobile phone (with GPS), a Canon camera, newspapers, disposable hand warms, duct tape and a Styrofoam beer cooler. It travelled 17.5miles into the stratosphere and landed just 20miles from the launch point!

Totally Loopy!

2009-09-28T21:27:00.003+01:00

Check out these new "spill-resistant" Loopa bowls for kids! Hats off to the designer!

Have You Ever Considered - Designing for the Colourblind

2009-09-27T18:43:00.001+01:00

Check out this really handy website.

What The?!

2009-09-23T14:56:00.000+01:00

Check out the background for this blog.

Victorian(?) Advertising

2009-09-22T16:48:00.007+01:00

You quite often see years-old adverts painted on the sides of buildings but this one (seen from the train leaving Leeds station is a little more freaky than most (find it on Globe Road). Victorians were very interested in psychic abilities, the paranormal and mediums. You can see the jagged outline of the building/factory that was once connected to this building that has preserved the sign.

I found a comment about the advertisement:

Keith Dorrington, on June 19, 2008, said:

Can anybody help me with what the advertising says? I know the company is W.H.Turner, Tobacco Man'f. I can see outline of 'EVENING POST' in tall thin letters. I can see 'ING MEDIUMS' and 'T BRITAIN' (which I think should read 'GREAT BRITAIN'). Thanks for your help.

When Graphic Artists Get Bored

2009-09-20T19:05:00.001+01:00

Visual Art

2009-09-17T09:15:00.000+01:00

Etienne De Crecy Live 2007 Transmusicales de Rennes from Clement bournat on Vimeo.

Trellick tower's been calling

2009-09-16T13:28:00.005+01:00

Trellick Tower in North Kensington, London: a work of art or just another ugly block of flats?

This famous tower was built by brutalist architect Erno Goldfinger. The building is now a Grade 2 listed building and features in the lyrics of "Best Days" by Blur. The wikipedia page about the tower is quite amusing and includes a story about a pirate radio station who managed to install a transmitter in the tower.

Life without the internet

2009-09-16T13:23:00.004+01:00

It has so far been a struggle, living life without the world wide web - no emails, no iPlayer, no Facebook (not that gutted about that one though...), no anything useful! But luckily I came across this postcard that will allow me to search google without the need for an internet connection.

Gay Icons - National Portrait Gallery

2009-09-12T20:50:00.003+01:00

On Thursday I visited the Gay Icons exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery. 10 gay celebrities were asked to pick some of their personal icons, gay or straight. Among the 10 celebrities were Elton John, Ian McKellen and Sandi Toksvig (the main coordinator). Each of the iconic figures had been photographed and a few paragraphs written about them.

Iconic figures included: Lady Diana, Martin Luther King and Will Young.

I personally found the exhibition a bit dull, I'm not really sure what I was expecting. It was interesting however to find out a bit more about a way of life I didn't really know anything about.

Can I Have A Job Please?

2009-09-12T19:33:00.004+01:00

On thursday I attended the invite-only exhibition of the Creative Review Graduates at Downstairs at Mother near Old Street in London. James & Joe's work was being exhibited there so it was not to be missed!

I was a little bit disappointed that the graduates had not show cased a bit more of their work but never mind!
I also must say that although I really like Eilin Bergum's interactive artwork, the higher up pieces became un-interactive due to their height above the floor which I think let down her display.Of course I couldn't resist the chance to photocopy my derriere using the i-Bum...

Paris Je T'aime

2009-09-07T17:02:00.005+01:00

Paris, Je T'aime (Paris, I Love You) is a film like no other. It comprises 18 short films by directors including Joel and Ethan Coen and Gerard Depardieu. Each film is about love in the city of Paris. Story lines range from involing metro stations to grave yards to vampires. Actors include Juliette Binoche (Chocolat), Steve Buscemi (Pulp Fiction), Willem Dafoe (Spiderman), Natalie Portman (Garden State) and Elijah Wood (Lord of the Rings) amongst others.

Each of the films are situated in a different province of Paris so not only do you get to enjoy the dialogues and stories in the collection but you also get a tour of Paris.

My New Website Design www.stephburningham.com

2009-09-07T12:59:00.002+01:00

I have just finished redesigning my website - woo! I originally had a one page layout but it wasn't working for me. I've now got a multiple page, fully validated website that I've translated into french as well. Bring on Paris!!

Film Noir, A Bout de Souffle

2009-09-07T11:21:00.003+01:00

I watched Jean-Luc Goddard's A Bout de Souffle (Breathless) in 6th Form when I was studying french, but I didn't really get it. I watched it again the other day to see what I would make of it a second time around.

The film is very cool, american-french with a sexy jazz soundtrack. It is typical of the french nouvelle vague (new wave) and has clear ties with Film Noir.This spurred me on to watch The Rules of Film Noir (find it on BBC iPlayer until 2:24am Thursday 10th September 2009) a documentary all about this dark genre of film.

I would like to sum up the genre using some words and phrases I picked up from watching the programme:

Shadows, carved up faces, guns, paranoia, sex, leading the viewer's eyes, voice overs, hard boiled, pulp fiction, suspence, touch guy, to the point, everyone for themselves, lonely, gloomy, pessimistic, fog, cigarettes, WW2, make it any colour as long as it's black, german expressionism, dream sequences...

Cheap Labour Inside - Congrats to James & Joe

2009-09-06T21:04:00.008+01:00

This month's Creative Review showcases some of this year's best design graduates, including fellow G&CD students James & Joe from the year above. I have to say, it's great seeing Leeds students in CR and it certainly gives you something to aim towards.

Their work is mad, their website is one of a kind and they're not afraid to smash some taboos yet I thought they seemed quite down to earth when I met them at socials... I can't get my head round how their minds work, I'd never be able to come up with some of the random stuff they come up with but it is very impressive.

The other graduates range from oil painter Mark Boardman (University College of Falmoth) to interactive designer Tomomi Sayuda (London College of Communication) with her "i-bum", a chair that takes a picture of one's derriere and prints it out for you to keep.

Tom Lovell has a very impressive portfolio of typographic work which I can see expanding vastly as his career advances. I was particularly impressed by his "Keep Us Busy" project he did with a friend, they set themselves up in a studio, desks next to the window and invited people to give them little projects to work on. They used the glass next to them to showcase the work and advertise their services.

Matt Robinson and Tom Wrigglesworth worked together to win D&AD's Best New Blood award with their promotional video of HP printers...

Eilin Bergum is a very cool Norwegian girl who studied at Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication, London. She did a particularly interesting project aimed at involving blind and partially blind people with her designs inviting the audience to interact with her work through touch and bright colours and different textures.

If you can get yourself down to design agency Mother's studio 2pm-5pm until Thursday 10th September then you can see their work showcased at "Downstairs at Mother".

Mum's the word

2009-09-03T10:47:00.007+01:00

Advertising agency Mother's website is dead simple but pretty sweet! The website just displays a video in the centre except if you scrol over the header then it will reveal the company logo, address and phone number. The video player flicks between what I would guess is a live webcam and other strange videos including one of a rabbit and some of skateboards being let to run wild in their studio. Wierd but I like it!

"Spies" by Michael Frayn

2009-09-02T20:56:00.002+01:00

This is a book about a 2nd World War espionage seen through the eyes of a young boy. Steven and his friend Keith's games turn into reality when the trust starts to hit home. A very captivating and exciting book. Well, if I made it to the end then it must have been good!

Museum of Brands and Packaging, Notting Hill, London

2009-09-02T19:28:00.015+01:00

The Museum of Brands and Packaging really is a must-see for all Graphics students. It traces advertising right from the Victorian era to the present day comparing the old with the new.

1900s

1910s

1920s

1930s

1940s - War time

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

Cadbury's Roses through the ages

Guiness advertising over the last century

(The reason for the number of Guiness ads is because a friend is doing her dissertation on it!)