And Finally - What on Earth Has Studio Been Up To?

Firstly, big apologies for the delay in updating the Studio blog. It's been a busy few months. And I'm not just saying that. But one confession - I have been distracted by twitter.

Loads of news, but where do I begin?

In August Studio took on the tenancy of Rigby's Court which was very exciting and I immediately treated the new Studio space to one Charles Eames and a Wassily chair for visitors. Plus, our new intern Scott Robinson began work here and instantly settled in. A recent graduate from the Norwich University College of Arts, Scott is keen to explore digital work. The NUCA internship scheme is worth supporting and gives graduates their first valuable step on the ladder toward employment.



Late September, I was re-united with the tall, curly haired Andy Campbell and gentleman of the industry Selwyn Taylor and together plotted the first term of the Graphic Communication course at NUCA. But first we sought to be creatively enriched by the D&AD Xchange conference. Must say, in the beginning the atmosphere was a bit sombre with too much talk of recession and not enough positivity to inspire us to work smartly despite it. Plus, the over-used term '360 degree skills base' really grated on me.



I got over it. And working my way through the numerous tea breaks, the fun began with Damon Murray and Stephen Sorrell of Fuel. Quite an arty pair these guys (their next door neighbours include the Chapman brothers, Gilbert & George and Tracey Emin) and not your conventional graphic designers but still love to work with image and type. Publishing their own magazines, their strange leftfield view of the world was soon appropriated by the ad industry with commissions for Virgin and Diesel jeans, which funded more ambitious projects. They love creating books, whether it's documenting Russian criminal tattoos or post war football programmes.

What I found the most rewarding was hearing about a different way of working; creating inter-grated brand campaigns which embrace social networking to sustain public interest, way beyond the casual impact of a poster or advertisement. It got me thinking, 'is conventional design dead?'. I got over that too. Ed Elworthy of Nike walked us through a superb campaign, dedicated to urban five-aside football, its objective to nurture brand loyalty and a love for the sport. Encouraging local enrollment and ramping-up regional rivalry toward a championship event. Interest was stimulated by crude youtube movies featuring Wayne Rooney being 'nutmegged' by a teenager:



If football is not your thing, I'm sure Mark Chalmer of Perfect Fools could interest you in his Nokia Unloader, which promotes a business phone for a cleaner working life. What these dutch guys did was amazing and would have made Heath Robinson proud. Creating a fascinating contraption, which exists somewhere in Stockholm and within your reach online. Visit their site to upload all your useless documents and then watch them being destroyed in real-time. Thoroughly useless or useful? - you the consumer can decide. But how can you resist not to find out? www.the-unloader.com

That was ages ago - now back to my own design reality.



I'm currently planning the first Studio portfolio booklet which will be available in the new year. Featuring selected results from our first two years and lovingly printed on GF Smith papers. Details to follow. Anyway, I promise to keep the blog updated - the next month will see Studio attend the D&AD President's Lectures, featuring Paula Scher and Neville Brody. And let's not forget The Specials at Hammersmith Apollo and Paul Weller at the UEA.

Stay with-it.