"Oh, you shouldn't have"

Earlier this year we had been invited to design this year's Christmas card for our printer Gallpen in Norwich.

Not an easy task, as there are so many cliches but I still prefer design to possess an idea and in this case, make you smile. So here it is, the jumper you never want but forever associate with Christmas. With more time and budget we could have had a few knitted and created something viral but I'm pleased with the classic end result. And being print, the front cover detail was foil blocked too.

Merry Christmas to all Studio clients, friends and collaborator's  – all the best for 2011.

Newspapers – Not Dead

One of our favourite clients, Access to Music walked into the studio recently and announced, "I have no prospectus, I have no promotional materials and I have an Open Day in a couple of weeks – what can you do?"


After a considered sip of tea, and the offer from our client of a Disco biscuit, we suggested a newspaper. They are very much in vogue at the moment in certain design circles, and apart from their usual function as a carrier of news, the format had been rarely utlized commercially. We had already discovered Newspaper Club, a brilliant new printer who create cost effective newspapers and for short runs too. With our tea and the Disco biscuits finished, our decisive client gave us the green light to proceed.

Designed by NUCA graduate Billy Thorpe, who had just completed a successful Studio internship, Billy also recommended the illustration talents of another graduate Lauren Marina. It was one of those enjoyable projects which seemingly design themselves. But that's because of a great idea, and the momentum of a print deadline. And Newspaper Club only print every Tuesday at 2pm.



I love this project – Studio created a desirable object which would be irresistible to pick-up and take home if you are discovering a new university or college campus. But there was an added twist – during the project I attended the Future:Content design conference, organised by the good people of It's Nice That.



One of the inspirational speakers was Russell Davies, Head of Planning for Oglivy and Mather – who gave a brilliant talk on new methods of communication, the limitations of the screen and print finding a new purpose. I had a tingle when he told us he was the owner of Newspaper Club and how it was fun to re-purpose a format which the digital evangelists continually tell us is dying.


Find out more about Newspaper Club here.
And please view the Access to Music Open Days newspaper there.
With thanks to Billy, Lauren and Ian.

A Reason to be Cheerful

It's important to occasionally have a day out from the Studio.


And it's especially important if you're being culturally re-charged by seeing a new exhibition or hearing an info-rich lecture (Billy and Scott will be soon attending V&A talks by Angus Hyland and Neville Brody – lucky fellas). I recently visited Chelsea Space with photographer Andi Sapey to see the retrospective show of the work of designer Barney Bubbles.

Barney isn't instantly recognisable as Saville, Garrett or Farrow, maybe it was because he never put his name to his work. But his work was amazing, a real explosion of style which possessed charm and wit. And you find it in his work for Ian Dury, Elvis Costello, Stiff Records (and many, many more). I especially liked his numerous full page adverts for Ian Dury in NME. And the full set of wallpaper covers for his LP, 'Do It Yourself'.

For designers of a certain age and pedigree, it's a reminder of previous working methods. Here at Chelsea Space, you see all of Barney's original artwork, alongside the still-stuck-bromide, cow gum, rotring pens and air brush – the original tools of the designer's craft. Sadly, Barney died in 1983, before the arrival of the Apple Mac and its revolution of change. It's a shame because he would have had a riot with a Mac.

'Process: The Working Practices of Barney Bubbles' is a brilliant show and will hopefully open next year at the Norwich University College of the Arts. Certainly, Andi and myself will do our best to spread the word. Afterwards, we enjoyed a couple of drinks with Chelsea Space manager and curator Donald Smith – a lovely guy, who told us all about Jerry Dammers and various ex-members of Big Audio Dynamite and other characters in Barney's working life who had recently attended the Private View.


Please see the rest of Andi's photos of the show here.
And, as a special treat, a couple of the rare videos Barney directed.

Late But Timeless – The Headstone for the Manchester Man

It maybe typically late, but Peter Saville, Ben Kelly, Paul Barnes and Matt Robertson have created an immaculate grave stone for Tony Wilson, the former head and self-proclaimed idiot of Factory Records.


Three years late in fact, as Tony died in 2007 but like most of Saville's work (and his collaborators), it was worth the wait. The black granite headstone features beautiful typography, a considered layout and a quote chosen by Tony's family, from 'The Manchester Man', a 1876 novel by Mrs G Linnaeus Banks.

Tony was no idiot and helped create a superb record label which nurtured creativity, eccentricity and independence. And the work left behind is timeless and a great example to any budding designer or musician.


Tony's resting place is in the Southern Cemetery in Chorlton-Cum-Hardy, Manchester. I must plan a pilgrimage in the near future. Here's Tony's favourite Joy Division track, 'Atmosphere' – and my favourite version from the Live LP 'Les Bains Douches'.

Save the Arts

Sometimes the thought of Coalition government cuts in the UK make me more nervous than the recent recession.

Obviously, common sense cut backs are necessary to avoid the UK lurching further into economic meltdown. But to make more cuts to the Arts sector would be a mistake, given its vast contribution to the economy. The importance of the Arts has been illustrated here by this superb animation by David Shrigley - funded by the Paul Hamlyn Foundation. You quickly get the idea.



Sign the petition and visit the Save the Arts blog.

St George & St Peter

Here's a project to disturb the hornet's nest of graphic design commentary.

Peter Saville, purveyor of arty design (and creator of Studio's favourite LP sleeve, ever) has been commissioned by Umbro to design the new England football shirt. And it ticks all the classic Saville hallmarks – understated cool, colour-coded and divisive. I know little about football, but I do know that genuine fans care to an almost religious level. So this design project will cause quite a reaction.

I like it, but then I would. The shoulders of the garment are decorated in multi-coloured crosses of St George – which on a white shirt, are hard to spot from a distance. Apparently it was St Peter's original intention to cover the entire shirt, instead this will be a limited edition. Following his classic colour-coded typo for New Order's 'Power, Corruption and Lies', I wonder what these array of crosses spell out?

It's interesting to see such an iconic designer operating in an unexpected sector of design. But it's not the first time, as he previously designed New Order's World Cup single in 1990. Hopefully it will signal a change of fortunes for the England football team, as indicated by the recent success in its match against Bulgaria where players wore the shirt for the first time.

Here's Umbro's promo film:



And a link to Peter's recent interview on designing for such a 'potent symbol'. The comments section gives you an idea of the strong reaction. It reminds me of when pop stars such as Morrissey or Ian Brown have worn a football shirt in concert - a contingent of adoring fans suddenly scream for their blood.

Arty Fish & Chip Paper

You know how it is. You visit a gallery or an exhibition and the gift shop has a tremendous pull - time to look at postcards, books and stuff. After you've been culturally enriched, it's just nice to leave with a memento of your visit.

And so it was, with this year's BA Graphic Communication graduation show at Norwich University College of the Arts. Following the recent trend for design journals using a newspaper format (thank you Unit Editions) graduates had this additional platform for their work, and for visitors to enjoy as an irresistible freebie.

It did mean more work for third year student Billy Thorpe, who designed it at the Studio (with print sponsored by Archant). Everyone was pleased with the end result and Billy earned himself an internship at the Studio. Which was nice.

You may remember from the previous post that a fish tank was available to win from the graduate show at Norwich and D&AD New Blood. Interested visitors were encouraged to give their details to Andy Campbell or students on the stand. Studio can exclusively reveal that the winner was...(drum roll)... Emma Booty of Landor – a branding designer who covets supermarkets as our 'new church' and 'temples of temptation'. Congratulations Emma.

Racing Goldfish - views from the fishbowl

I'm a bit late with this blogpost, but having lost but now found my camera,  I can finally share some shots from this years BA Graphic Communication graduation show at Norwich University College of the Arts.

Throughout the past year, Course Leader Andy Campbell and I had occasionally discussed the look of the show; it was time to up-our-game and present the work differently, and create more of a gallery exhibition experience. The presentation of the third year's work drew more upon Andy's fine art background, dumping the nasty foam board and spray mount, in favour of A0 and A1 sheets each hung from the same horizon, by large silver clips.

And it was still a layout task for each student, using the larger format to display a chosen project which featured a campaign across communication media. I'm pleased to say each exhibiting graduate succeeded and met the challenge. Film and digital was also embraced, I especially liked the addition of the showreel, bringing to life each presentation.

When it came to a theme for the show, Andy had a thing about goldfish. Each student would be a numbered goldfish racing into the industry, from river to ocean I guess. For me, it was the fairground image of winning a goldfish, but instead the racing goldfish would be potentially awarded with an internship or that valuable first job.

The course's best students had another challenge of creating another show for D&AD New Blood, this year being held at the Truman Brewery at Brick Lane, London. Here, they would have wider industry exposure. In the centre of both shows, stood the goldfish bowl, which each visiting agency had the chance of winning.

The show received great feedback from industry visitors, so the hard work and presenting the work differently had certainly paid off.

A newspaper was also produced for the Racing Goldfish, designed by Billy Thorpe and put together at the Studio. More about that and the winner of the goldfish bowl in the next post.

All the best to all graduating students from Norwich University College of the Arts and big pats on backs to all the students whose hard work helped put together the show.

Farewell Grafik

This was a shock. Studio was saddened to hear the news of the closure of Grafik magazine. And in this era for instant communication, I feel the last to know.

Discreetly announced in late June, (I stumbled upon the news on the Process Journal web site) Grafik's publisher had gone into liquidation. Previously funded and published by its editors, Grafik had been recently bought by an ambitious private investor with desire for rapid growth. All looked to be rosy, especially as their last issue was devoted to their successful Grafik awards.



I've enjoyed it ever since its days as Graphics International. It re-launched itself as Grafik in 2003, and continued to be the champion of small design studios and individual designers – each issue richly designed and printed to a high standard. Sometimes more arty than industry leader Creative Review but unmistakably passionate about graphic design and its practitioners.

I do hope it returns in the future, but as yet there is no news regarding it being saved. Like other well loved magazines, such as The Face, it will be missed. Below, is the front cover of what would have been the latest issue.



Please raise a Mad Men glass of whiskey and toast a fine magazine. Grafik – rest in print.

Ad Break

There is a current trend in TV advertising to use vintage names from the music industry.

Some are more palatable than others, I still struggle with Iggy Pop selling car insurance, but these commercials must be successful as new scripts are commissioned building on the original theme. Famously, John Lydon (ex-sex pistol) boosted the sales of Country Life butter by 85%. The reason why is that they simply make great telly, each being superbly scripted and enhanced by John's personality. And it has worked for him too, recently revealing that his payment fee has been invested into the reformation of his post-punk band Public Image Limited, who had previously been held in financial limbo by their uninterested record company.

And now Gary Numan has entered the arena – this american ad for Die Hard batteries has a unique twist, and I love the expression on his face throughout.



I like that.

Many of us find the thought of our favourite pop stars in advertising abhorrent , which I guess has its root in the fear of 'selling out'. I think if the resulting film is creative and entertaining, then the participating pop star can retain some credibility but as album sales decline and a tour needs funding, we could be seeing many more pop stars during the ad break.

But let's not get too carried away – I don't want to see Morrissey selling veggie friendly cat food.

2. The Project – UEA Annual Report

Pitching a charitable direction for the UEA Annual Report was a daring proposition. Studio was buzzing to win the opportunity to design this project, so it was interesting to see how our clients would meet this challenge.

Their response was very exciting – to further the awareness of the University's international work and its achievement of the Queen's Anniversary Prize, the UEA Africa PhD Scholarship Programme would be established. Its objective to raise at least £120,000 to fund four african students for a three-year course – providing them with a life-changing opportunity they would not other wise have. It was brilliant to hear this level of ambition. Now to make it happen.



In comparison, Studio's role was simple – creating an Annual Report with a prestigious feel, befitting of the University and announcing this new programme. Its visual theme features landscape imagery from Rwanda, from a region known as the Thousand Hills in Nyungwe an area worked in by the University's School of International Development. Faculty members were then revealed in the inside front of the Report – positioned opposite, the Queen's Anniversary Prize logo which can be used by the University for the next four years.







Additional views of the Thousand Hills (or 'Darren's Hills' as they became known by a few clients) were also applied to UEA Court, the event which launches the Annual Report and celebrates its achievements.

For Studio, this year's Annual Report was not only a victory for the idea, but a design which genuinely makes a difference for an educational programme which could potentially change lives. Nice, eh?

Please visit www.uea.ac.uk for more details on the University of East Anglia Africa PhD Scholarship Programme. And if you know anyone wealthy, please tell them too.

With thanks to Anne-Marie Triggs, Suzy Gook and David Street.

1. The Pitch – UEA Annual Report

The prospect of a pitch for any designer is a challenge, testing our creativity to win new business.

Earlier this year, Studio pitched for University of East Anglia's Annual Report for 2008–09. It's a prestigious project to work upon, but firstly there's a competitive selection process where the effectiveness of your work is measured alongside your peers (nine agencies on this occasion). I've worked on many pitches and it's always exciting but it doesn't get any easier.

For new clients, it's building trust in your abilities and your service – but more importantly, the chemistry between client and designer is vital to the process which creates exciting work.

Studio enjoyed its presentation, putting forward three great ideas – but we were keen to present just one, because it felt right. The University had recently won the Queen's Anniversary Prize for their international research work, helping communities to address poverty and climate change. Taking their work in post-conflict Rwanda as a visual theme, Studio pitched an idea of how the Annual Report could be a charitable booklet and raise money for african charities. After all, it would be good for the soul and not just another corporate document.



After the presentation, there's a huge sense of relief – you've met the challenge – but then you wait, and wait a bit more. Until the phone rings.

Thankfully, Studio were successful, later meeting an excited client with ambitious ideas. More to follow in the next post (with pics!).