Highlights, Hangovers and Four Designers

As any reader of the Studio blog may know, I enjoy a lecture or two. So when Andy Campbell of NUCA invited me to accompany him and a group of design curious students to this years '4 Designers' conference – I had to go. But was I prepared for itchy bunk beds, neon-lit bars from an 80's nightmare, or Andrew Shoben's balls? Not really.

Our two day trip, away from the comfort of home and Studio firstly took us to the Generator Hostel – I'm still trying to blot out the horror. But at least the security told the rowdy young people to 'shhush'. But still, we had the conference at the Odeon in London's Leicester Square to look forward to. Spread over two mornings, as the title of the event suggests, we had the work and wisdom of Martin Grothmaak, Francis Jackson, Adrian Shaugnessy and Andrew Shoben to soothe our pains. Not only but also, our host was 4 designer's chairman, Patrick Baglee of Navy Blue. So plenty here to take our minds off things.



First up – Martin from Berlin's Projekt Triangle and their work was a treat to behold - his sublime approach to design makes me feel good some how. Maybe it's the consideration of texture, or the understated typography - or is it because he likes big drawings of birds? Because PT had drawn loads of them at a Hugo Boss store in Metzingen, Germany. Martin likes the strange – the odd one out. And that's what he is looking out for in a graduate's book. You could tell the students loved PT's work, one of our lot was suitably inspired to declare Martin his new mentor. Cool.



After fresh air, coffee and so forth we gathered back inside for Francis Jackson and a presentation of the work of OPX. It was good stuff and perhaps a more down to earth contrast to PT. And I like idea-driven design - I agreed with her that some designer's can be stylists, happy to just apply helvetica typo to a nice image. Not sure about the assertion of just presenting one idea to a client. What if they don't like it? But that's just me. Mind you, it's important to make a confident recommendation to your client.

The Q and A was entertaining, when Francis was joined by Patrick and Martin. First question: "What's all this about Helvetica?". Martin appeared rather confused and answered that PT used serif fonts too. Another game student asked whether either of them had noticed any howling mistakes after completing a project – and like many of us, Francis admitted to a few (top tip for students: proof read). But when the same question was put to Martin he answered, "we make no mistakes". Big smiles - I think he's now my new mentor (sorry Peter).

Day 2 – Adrian and Andrew. But what about last night? Let's put it this way, there was much more than just a few hangovers around the crowded Odeon that morning. And Adrian was a little jet lagged. I could detect a little unease among the students, as Adrian talked about the business of design practice – the importance of presentation and understanding the responses of our clients (top quote: 'listen to your client - listen for clues'). If you've read his book 'How To Be a Graphic Designer and Not Lose Your Soul' you'll know how essential this information is. And I soaked it up – I was happy to be coached, as I was about to embark on a pitch once I returned to the Studio. OK, the students wanted to see cool design. And there it was, in his work with Intro and my favourite being the missing vowels and cut-up art of Primal Scream's 'Exterminator' record sleeve.



That collective hungover mood was raised by Andrew Shoben, founder of Greyworld – a collective that creates public space art. Andrew was a delight and as much a stand up comic as an outstanding creative. He even produced a bunch of flowers from up his sleeve, though thankfully no white rabbits. He began by sharing with us that an ex-girlfriend had finished with him on the back row of this very cinema – despite this trauma he told us about creating musical railings, and robotic statues which wink at you and copy your movements. It's called 'Monument to the Unknown Artist' and sited near the Tate Modern. Imagine, it's there right now, teasing the passers-by.

Andrew's account of creating the spectacle of rising balls in the atrium of the London Stock Exchange was another comical episode. Andrew's balls (yes, I know) are intended to rise and fall during the hours of business, brilliantly symbolising boom or bust - champagne or alka seltzer. Greyworld had five months to create this project and strictly in night shifts – 162 cables rising eight stories high, each with nine balls moving freely and occasionally spelling out the odd word. Called 'The Source', the balls did rise in time for an opening by the Queen. Nice one Andrew.



Special mention for Patrick Baglee, not only a great host but a gentleman too. As he walked across the stage to stand under a spot light to close this years conference, I almost expected Patrick to sing us a song. Maybe next year, please write in with your requests, but here's mine Patrick. Many thanks for a great event – all together now...



All the best to Andy, Rod and Selwyn and big thanks to David Pearson for sanctuary.

Want more? Visit here: PT / OPX / Intro / Greyworld

Studio Gets The Bug

I was stuck for ideas for what I wanted to do for my birthday. But inspiration arrived in one of my client's emails, recommending me to go along to BUG – The Evolution of Music Video at the Norwich Playhouse.

It was the first time this event had been hosted outside its regular venue at the BFI Southbank in London, which I guess could be because its presenter Adam Buxton now lives up here. Bearded, very funny and prone to breaking into a Christian Bale type rant, Adam presented a night of the latest in music video innovation. I guess most of us are now more used to seeing this kind of film making on youtube, so it was cool to see it on the big screen.

My favourite was 'What's A Girl To Do' by Bat for Lashes and directed by Dougal Wilson. It reminded me of Twin Peaks - but with animal masks and BMX bikes. Plus, we had the additional treat of an interview with Dougal who told us about a rejected video proposal for Coldplay – involving chattering false teeth and Chris Martin getting his dentures mixed-up with Noel Gallagher's. Now that would have made a good promo.



The night finished off nicely with the Oscar nominated 'I Met The Walrus', directed by Josh Raskin. More a short film than a music video, the soundtrack features 14 year old Jerry Levitan in 1969 interviewing John Lennon, back when he was staying in bed for peace. It was a cool bit of animation but it's John's wisdom that shines. But I thought the Walrus was Paul? Enjoy.



www.bugvideos.co.uk

Nadav Kander and Obama's People.

Wasn't Tuesday a great day? Like many, many people Studio were excited to watch Barack Obama finally being sworn in as President of the United States of America.

I had spent the day at the Norwich University College of the Arts, providing tutorials for Year 3 students – as they all booked in for their 10 minute slots (which always over run) I charged one student with the task to make sure that one mac in the studio was ready with a live news feed of the inauguration at 5pm, our time. I'm glad that I didn't miss it – watching the two million spectators that flocked to Capitol Hill, Washington to witness this historic moment. Many of whom were excited and emotional that potentially, here was a President who could make a significant change for the better. So, no pressure then.



And here are the people behind Obama – the guys who will hopefully help to affect a positive change to all of our lives. This Sunday (25.01.09), the New York Times will publish 52 full page photographs of Obama's government team who were shot last December by photographer Nadav Kander. He was an interesting choice to shoot these portraits, as he is famous for his work in advertising for brands such as Nike and Levi's.

But his landscape and portrait photography are worthy too, though sometimes have a sense of sadness and emotional detachment. What I like is, that when he takes a the picture of a celebrity, there is no glamour – just their character and life experience engrained on their face. But would Annie Leibovitz (who took the recent portrait of the Queen) have taken a more flattering picture? Maybe. Then again, these are politicians and each of these portraits convey a stark honesty.



If want to see all of these portraits, click here – then familarise yourself with the individuals, who together with Obama shoulder a remarkable responsibility and the expectation of millions – and don't miss the Back Story, there you'll hear the background to this prestigious project. The behind the scenes images are cool too.

And because I know you want to, visit Nadav Kander's site here.

You Ad Is Not Here

It's cold, it's January and they keep telling us there is a recession. There is such doom mongering in the media at the moment that I expect to see men in flap caps stalking the streets, wearing sandwich boards proclaiming, 'the end is nigh'.

But it is bad out there. And heart breaking too. Having heard that a big printer went under this week it brings it all very close to home. As my London link and fellow NUCA alumni Jason Hyde observed this week, even some advertising spaces are standing empty. Strange days indeed. The poster pictured above reminds me of the kind of promotions that you see when travelling on the train, telling the stressed commuter 'if you lived here, you'd already be home'.



We must keep positive - as many of us of a certain age would agree, we have been here before. And the way forward is to continue to be innovative in our work and our clients to keep communicating to their customers. It's all best summed up by the poster, 'Keep Calm and Carry On' - first designed by the government to soothe moral of the nation in the early years of the second world war as we faced possible invasion. They thankfully went unused, but all these decades on it's message is relevant and poignant for today.

Is it the best motivational poster of all time? The BBC think so – find out more.

Design at Duke Street No.2: Alice Rawsthorn

Following David Pearson's lecture we returned once again to Duke Street for 'The Culture and Business of Good Design' – an event organised by Richard Denyer of Norwich University College of the Arts and Lucy Marks of Norfolk Network.

Tonight's guest speaker was international design critic Alice Rawsthorn who was joined later by an industry panel featuring packaging design guru Nick Farrow (Farrows), product designer Alastair Kingsland (Minima), Head of Design School Hilary Carlisle (NUCA) and Tim Lynch, Marketing Services Manager of Britvic. And the chair in charge of the tea party was brand purposer Simon Middleton - so in all, a rum bunch to feed our brains.

Alice knew her stuff. Opening with an image which featured football hooligans throwing plastic chairs, she declared that the public's broadest understanding of good design was the chair – as we can all judge if it is comfortable, attractive to the eye or merely functional. Or getting straight to the point, ask how ethical is its design – unfortunately for the bruised and battered chairs thrown by the boys on the terraces, these products are indestructible and will be massed in landfill for thousands of years.

The technology industry is driven by the new and the innovative, creating a need for products which are arguably inessential (it reminded me of a great Paul Weller comment that before mobiles we used to manage, now everyone has to have one). But times change and we grow to rely on these new products, but where do they go when they die? This grim reality was defined by an image of a rubbish tip of computer hard drives and monitors – once desirable but now lifeless and resistant to decay. However, Alice likes the iphone as it bundles several products into one and reduces space when it's tossed into the twilight zone of disposal. Whether it's a chair or a sleek iphone, brands of the future will have to design and manufacture their products with a clear conscience.

Printed graphics weren't touched on, but it brought to mind the latest Bernard Matthews campaign which is endevouring to restore consumer confidence after being savaged by Jamie Oliver and his loathing of turkey twizzlers. You can clearly see that they are trying to communicate a message which is considering health, taste and even employee pride. They've even re-branded as Bernard Matthew Farms to make it more rural and green. Still makes me wonder if they've improved their farming methods though.





After having to decide whether a honey comb vase or a chair made from ice was the most efficient (the bees won Studio fans), Alice had another surprise up her tailored sleeve. Have you heard the one about the car made of fabric? I hadn't but here it was, created by BMW and it's a real marvel. Its fabric skin, reminicient of an ancient World War One bi-plane is stretched over a light weight frame, the engine accessed via a clean line similar to a surgical incision. So it's renewable, dent proof but what about safety? Great concept though. I would love to know what my engineering client Active Technologies makes of it.

You now know that the theme was responsibility not recession. As a delegate later said, 'we've heard enough about that'. But I think there is another event there which could discuss the importance of design and delivering a clients message effectively when times are tight. And celebrates great work and client product and service too.

It was an enjoyable evening, and thought provoking stuff for students, design professionals, and the Norfolk Network members – all representative of a variety of industries – everyone was buzzing in the reception area afterwards. Plus, it was great seeing Alice Rawsthorn – she has superb taste in shoes you know.

More events like this please.

For more information on Norfolk Network and future events, click here.
Plus Studio recommends Alice's blog, here it is.

Design at Duke Street No.1: David Pearson

In collaboration with Andy Campbell at NUCA (and with a little help from our friends) Studio had been planning this since the Summer – inviting book designer David Pearson to the Norwich University College of the Arts to give a lecture on his valuable work for Penguin and beyond.

And like a much desired Routemaster - we also had the treat of another design luminary, visiting the Duke Street lecture theatre on the same day – the design critic Alice Rawstorn (more on Alice's lecture in a bit). So with great anticipation, Andy and I had our very own design festival (with better catering and no portaloo's).

David learnt his typographic craft under the watchful eye of Phil Baines at Central St.Martin's, which soon earned him an exciting work placement at Penguin Books. And here is where David's talk began, with an image of Penguin's archive – endless rows of every book it ever published. The holy grail is probably buried somewhere here, not that would interest David – he was too busy archive raiding and consuming Penguin's rampant design invention.



And if you love paperback books, but more importantly judge a book by its cover, you'll be familiar with Penguin's commitment to producing challenging book cover designs which inspire new generations of readers. Even the most casual observer could re-collect the classic characteristics of a Penguin paperback – the iconic parallel orange bars, the bold black san-serif typeface and the curious symbol of the Penguin standing to attention, but distracted by something over his right shoulder.

Penguin began in 1933 by founder Allen Lane, who knew the importance of publishing good writing for the masses but also the value of it's book jacket, stating "I have never been able to understand why cheap books should not be well designed – for good design is no more expensive than bad". And Penguin attracted many great designers – Jan Tschichold practising his new typography in the late 1940's, produced a whopping 500 book designs in three years. In keeping with post-war austerity, his design method relished the challenge of working within limitations such as using black and one other colour and consistent positioning of title, author's name and that distracted Penguin motif. Later, if there was a famous author, perhaps one more colour could be added to the palette.

Influenced by US sales figures and their extravagant full colour front covers, Penguin flirted with imagery too. Coming to life in the 1970's with the design work of David Pelham – this lucky chap actually used photography which would have alarmed Allen Lane and his accountant.



You can appreciate, when David began at Penguin he was following in the foot steps of some design greats. But his work soon had a lasting feel of quality – classic typography but still mixing modern styles, which are explored in his 'Great Ideas' series. Complimentary illustration pops up in the 'Great Journeys' series, but you can imagine Penguin's founder wincing at the sight of the many colours applied throughout the collection. I love the 'Penguin Classics' range (£2 each - buy them while you can) which celebrates consistent copy positioning and colour restriction. You can sense Mr Tschichold nodding with approval.



It was a pleasure meeting David and seeing not only his inspirational work but the timeless legacy of Penguin Books. Just imagine those dusty volumes at rest in the Penguin archive – I'd love to explore it one day. Before I sign-off I feel a tangent coming on – I must apologise if David was distracted by some idle student chatter from the back row – they obviously know it all. But being a Seinfeld obsessive I was reminded by this scene and how to silence disruptors at the cinema. We could have used George Constanza at David's talk. But then, maybe not.

Find more of David Pearson's work here.

With thanks to Matty and Jason Hyde X

Enzo Discovers The Lost Levels

Studio enjoys the occasional opportunity to design record sleeves. This year, we've been working with the Lost Levels, producing two designs which had a 'Roxy Music' theme. If you are familiar with their iconic sleeves, you'll know what I mean.

For their latest single, the Levels commissioned Steve Jones, a graduate from the Games course at Norwich University College of the Arts. And boy has he created something special. The animation follows the adventures of games character, Enzo the Explorer who escapes his colourful 2D environment into the real world.



The animation took a mighty four months to complete, but it's been worth the effort. It's already created a buzz in the creative industry and has been profiled by Computer Arts Projects (the real 'how-to' guide - recommended reading) and The Guardian.

Studio wishes all the best to Steve with his future career - on this form he will do very well.

Visit the Guardian Blog for more details and download the track for free here.