Martin Winters

Tube Map

2010-05-06T18:23:00.006+01:00

Recently the London Underground pocket tube map has had a new cover designed for it, this was designed by Barbara Kruger. The new cover has took away the station names and replaced them with one-word words that relate to that part of the city for the artist.

This is a nice idea to have for instance Embankment has been replaced with Brilliance. This is probably down to the amazing architecture around that part of London . . . that's how I see it anyway.

Overall this is a good idea for a new cover, it could lead to more opportunities. You could get the public sending in their own versions of this and the most popular ones could lead to another new cover.

Ambient Media

2010-05-06T18:22:00.009+01:00

These are a collection of some ambient media that I have come across and I think are really powerful.

These are all strong pieces of work, which have made me go . . . 'I wish I was the one who came up with that idea.' The animal piece which looks like that the pole has stabbed the animal to kill it is a very powerful piece of work which gives such a strong message out even if you don't read what the ad is about.

The Vix bus shelter ad is a very clever idea. I like how they've made out that when the the person breathes up/in it's that powerful and clear the whole ad moves.

Graffiti Snake

2010-05-06T18:22:00.005+01:00

Recently I was researching into graffiti as this is something what appeals to me.

Upon my search I came across this image of a snake what someone had done in America.

When I stumbled upon this, I was like wow, I really like this. No, it's not the best drawing of a snake or the most detailed, but how many times do you see a snake interacting with a stair case?

I really like how this person has interacted his art into an element what's around everywhere. This makes the piece more fun and creative instead of a simple painting on a wall.

Signature Balloons

2010-04-27T12:16:00.001+01:00

Recently for my final major project I purchased some balloons what illuminated in the dark.

Now these was purchased from a company called Signature Balloons.

I've never used this company before never mind hear it so I didn't know what to expect.

Upon arrival of the goods I opened the packaging and found that they had sent me some free chocolate coins. Straight away this put a smile on my face.

It made me feel like they appreciate my custom, it's not like you go out buy something and people will give you a little freebie as a thank you because you've bought something from them.

With my custom feeling appreciated so much I will make sure I use them again in the future.

David Sedgwick Vs. Mike Rigby

2010-04-13T09:38:00.008+01:00

In the three years of studying Graphic Design at Stockport College we have some a fair few practitioners come in from the outside to speak to us about different things such as; their work, life after graduation, how important placements are and what it's like working in the industry.

Deciding who to do my last design comparison on wasn't an easy task considering the amount of designers I've seen over the last three years. When thinking about it, I decided to choose two designers who stood out to me more than the rest. One of these designers was Dave Sedgwick, Dave is my favourite designer to date and the other was Mike Rigby, I chose him because of the impact of his talk with us.

Dave is an ex Manchester Metropolitan student during his time there he worked as a freelancer to get a bit of extra money in which is always a bonus. David has been on placements with Flux Magazine in the Northern Quarter, Splinter in Liverpool and Dinosaur.

Mike is an ex Preston University student. Mike has worked for companies such as, Imagination, Chase (Manchester,) Moon Design, Pentagram and Landor Sydney.

When Dave did his talk he spoke about how serious we take things. This to me is something that stood out and was very striking. As we are students the majority of us are very laidback people who don't think that far ahead, but as we are all trying to make it into the design industry this is something that we should do, the people who are more serious about it have that advantage straight away. Dave's tips was that 'we should be more determined to be successful and being more involved.' Certain things Dave did when he realized this was how he researched into design companies so he could try and get portfolio viewings etc.

When Mike did his talk he approached it very differently to how everyone else. Mike did his talk about the good and negative points about being a designer. Some of the good points about working in an industry like that are; easy to work for yourself, easy to work abroad, all the free parties and people in the industry are very helpful. Although as we all know with everything there's bad points to it, the negative points about being a designer are; long hours/unpaid overtime, poor quality of work and the pressure on you.

Overall these two designer's did their talk differently. For instance Dave did his talk in a big lecture theatre, this resulted in there being more people in the talk, more pressure on us to ask questions, whereas Mike did his talk in the classroom which I found was more relaxing and when at the end we asked questions it was a lot more relaxed we didn't feel like the question was going to be daft and embarrass us or something like that.

In the end both designers did their talks very different, but both was very enjoyable. It didn't matter to me where the presentation was because each talk is interesting and their is always something, big or small, that amazes you with what is said in each presentation.

Portfolio Visit

2010-04-13T09:38:00.005+01:00

Recently I went on a portfolio visit with a free lancer called Angela Woosey.

I came across Angela through word of mouth and the fact she lives relatively close to me.

Unfortunately Angela doesn't have her own website where she puts her work on.

The feedback I got from Angela was really impressive. She really liked the posters I have created for the British Literature Festival, how I use space and I'm not scared to be minimalistic on my designs.

One thing Angela recommended was, that I should try and further my projects so they well stand out even more, also it allows people to show that I don't just do the brief and think it's finished.

Portfolio Visit

2010-04-13T09:36:00.005+01:00

Recently I went on a portfolio visit to Reform Creative in Manchester.

Initially I was suppose to see Paul but unfortunately he had to rush out in the morning due to a business meeting, which meant I had the portfolio visit with Jamie instead. I had no complaints with this because I still got someone to look at my portfolio.

When Jamie was looking through my work he seemed to be really impressed with my final major project (MOSI promotion) the flyer for the Brass Band Museum in Birmingham and some other pieces I've done.

Jamie spoke about how he liked how the idea of each piece of work was there and mentioned how it tied in with a company like Reform.

The feedback was really good from Jamie, his feedback of detail was really impressive and very helpful.

Overall the visit was really good even if it didn't go according to plan.

Crazy Old Spice Commericals

2010-04-08T13:41:00.007+01:00

Whilst on Facebook recently a friend of mine shared this video with the Facebook community.

When I watched this video I actually thought what the?!

What kind of commercial is this?

Who would actually want there product being promoted like that!

I've never seen something so bad in my life, I don't know who actually came up with the idea for the body wash to be promoted like that but if it was me I wouldn't be proud to admit to it.

If I was Terry Crews I would of asked myself, what made him do that commercial. Are you that skint to want to do it?

Maybe it was because he's an ex-American football player, and an actor (he's been in the film White Chicks, Friday film series and Everybody hates Chris) that the only reason the commercial got done like this is because he's somebody people already know.

I don't know what it is but this is something what is actually horrendous!

Lemonade Illustration Agency

2010-04-08T10:09:00.004+01:00

On my FMP (Final Major Project) I'm doing some work which involves illustration.

Whilst researching into some illustration I came across an agency called Lemonade Illustration Agency.

On here there's over 40 different artists portfolio who all do illustration. All of these are of a high exceptional standard. They vary from cartoons, to illustration vehicles, to illustrated people, to illustrated objects.

The one's that stood out to me (just for the relevance) was the work of David Swang, Todd Graveline (he's got an awesome website!) and lastly Gary Swift.

Decathlon Ads

2010-03-15T11:10:00.004Z

Whilst researching into typography I came across these Decathlon Ads.

These to me where something different, we don't usually see these type of ads around so it's great to see something different. I really like how they use the word to exaggerate the object.

Overall I like how the typography links into sports venues/objects to make the word more powerful, and the actual ad more powerful.

Moving Typography

2010-03-11T14:58:00.003Z

Whilst researching for moving typography, I came across these video's on youtube.

The reason I like this video is because I like how a story/conversation is being spoken yet the typography movement is giving it that extra special element.

This video was really impressive. How this person has created something like this out of just typography (and obviously software of some sort) is something unbelievable. This is something I wish I could create.

Portfolio Visits

2010-03-11T14:52:00.002Z

I have lined up two portfolio visits with Reform and Like A River for the upcoming week or two.

Stay posted for feedback on they visit.

Dew Gibbons

2010-03-11T14:05:00.005Z

Whilst in London a few of us went and visited Dave from Dew Gibbons.

Dew Gibbons is a brand design company.

Whilst there Dave took us on a tour of the whole office area (consisted of three floors,) he went through a slide-show of the work the company create, he shown us what awards the company has won as well.

Dave also went on to talk about what it's like moving away from where you've grown up and moving into a whole new area of living not knowing anybody. He mentioned the average salary for a young designer to be on in London and how it works up with time.

Whilst visiting Dave I was really impressed. Soon as he answered the door we felt welcomed, he greeted us shook our hand etc, really warming. I was really impressed with the quality of work the company has created the amount of awards they've also won as well is something special.

Even when we met all the other staff who worked there, they was all warming and welcoming saying hello, shaking our hands as well, none of them was stuck up which was something I like seeing. At the end Dave gave us his card saying how he would look at our portfolio's and give us some feedback if we liked to do so.

Overall it was a great experience, and I'm glad I went and visited Dave when I had the chance.

MOSI - London

2010-03-11T13:25:00.014Z

Whilst in London I went and visited the M.O.S.I in London. I did this because I wanted to compare this one to the one in Manchester due to research purposes for my final major project I'm currently doing in University. Whilst visiting the M.O.S.I straight away my first impression was how much of a better museum this is compared to the one in Manchester. This was due to straight away the security there was much more secure, the quality of the whole exhibitions themselves was an improvement on Manchester.

Each exhibition space was well lit, they was all very spacious and the quality of the objects there was much more impressive than Manchester. When in the Manchester museum, there was a barrier around all the objects being exhibited which to me was a let down, but yet you can understand because there's always that chance that the object can get damaged or stolen.

Over all I enjoyed visiting the MOSI in London much more than the Manchester one. Yes they both was free, yes they both had trains in them, yes they both had rockets or space objects in them, but the London one was just more enjoyable.

The interacting events which was thrown were enjoyable and funny, you wasn't surrounded by kids or anything like that so you wasn't frustrated with how compact how the space was. The London venue just had that extra something with everything which means a lot in end.

London

2010-03-11T13:25:00.010Z

At the start of March I went down to London for a few days, visiting the place, researching and then with the possibility of having a portfolio visit whilst down there.

When down there I went and visited such places as the V&A Museum, MOSI London and Dew Gibbons design company and Westminster - being there you know how it feels to be a tourist in London.

Visiting such places as them make you realize how different London is to Manchester. For example the museums down there are more exciting, the quality of them is something what Manchester can't compete with. Even the little details like the lighting of the places, or how compact the places are is something that don't compare. I mean for example when I visited the MOSI in London they offered so much more than the Manchester museum. Here they had over four floors, each exhibition floor was very spacious, not packed, which allowed you to view each piece of art (or whatever it was) much better.

Whilst down there you think to yourself how dear must it be to live down in London (well I did anyway.) This was due to the costs of things down there. I stayed in Kings Cross so the amount of shops down there was not a struggle. I mean the price of a soft drink down there is ridiculous, your hitting £1.40 in some places just for a simple 500ml bottle. When you was getting food, jesus, how expensive! It was like £6 for a simple subway! You every wonder why people get payed more down there? Simple answer, IT COSTS MORE TO LIVE THERE!

Something I wasn't used to down there was using the underground, but using it was so easy! Why people get scared of using it I will never know. It's easy as 1 2 3. Living in Manchester we only have the Metrolink, something I don't use really, but one thing I would love to see is an underground up here. Liverpool have one so why not Manchester? I know our Metro is getting expanded but it's still not as good as an underground now is it.

Overall whilst down there I thoroughly enjoyed my time down there, it's something I'm already looking into doing again in the future, but someone who didn't enjoy being down there was my bank balance! Bad times.

V&A London - Decode

2010-03-11T13:25:00.008Z

Whilst on a University trip in London, I went and visited the V&A in London (Victoria and Albert.) Whilst there I went and viewed the exhibition Decode.

Decode is an exhibition that has been collaborated between the V&A and OneDotZero, a contemporary arts organisation.

The exhibition is explores three themes;

Code presents pieces that use computer code to create new works and looks at how code can be programmed to create constantly fluid and ever-changing works.

Interactivity looks at works that are directly influenced by the viewer.

Network focuses on works that comment on and utilise the digital traces left behind by everyday communications and looks at how advanced technologies and the internet have enabled new types of social interaction and mediums of self-expression.

When I visited Decode, I was partially interested with what I saw, but on the other hand I felt down a bit. This was due to how people was saying how good of an exhibition it is, and how I should go and see it, but when I was there all the build up was for that. Yes it was interesting with how art can be created for technology and I'm glad I visited it, but on the other hand I didn't find it inspiring in one bit, I couldn't generate any ideas from it to do with my work.

Chiquita Bananas

2010-02-18T22:59:00.006Z

Chiquita bananas have recently had a re-brand done for them. The brief was to make bananas more cool.

When I first starting looking at the new designs for Chiquita, I wondered what they first was. When I looked into it further I realized each sticker was a good/bad cartoon character. The bad characters are supposedly meant to represent the idea of not letting your idea go bad, and the good characters are suppose to meant be a good banana.

When I read this it actually didn't make sense to me, too me they were just stickers which would attract young children to eating more fruit. Also they bring a bit of fun and laughter to the older age group who buy fruit.

Overall I'm sure people will like the stickers on the bananas due to the humor in them.

Fairy Liquid Anniversary

2010-02-18T22:38:00.005Z

As we all know recently Fairy Liquid have celebrated there 50th Anniversary.

With this they decided to bring back out the old design for the Fairy Liquid bottle.

When you see the anniversary bottle, it makes you think to yourself, is the old bottle better than the actual new one?

The original bottle had the simple, distinctive look. The simplicity of the design on the bottle meant that it was very simplistic and very easy to notice. Although some people might prefer the up to date design, what the children will like most, is the fact that they can go back to making rockets out of there empty Fairy Liquid bottle.

In my opinion, I prefer the original bottle design for Fairy Liquid, washing up liquid isn't to do with how good the bottle looks, but with the original design for Fairy Liquid everybody knows what to expect, just the simple white bottle with the baby on and the word 'Fairy.' This is something the customers buying it couldn't miss, also the fact they brought the bottle back out brings back memories for people from back in the day.

Mike Rigby Talk

2010-01-24T20:49:00.004Z

On the 26th November (2009) Mike Rigby came in and gave us a talk about his experience's too date about being in the industry, also too give us some tips on about how to be successful in the industry.

Mike studied at Preston University for four years, since University he's worked at companies such as Imagination, Chase (Manchester) Moon Design, Pentagram and Landor Sydney.

Why Design?

It's interesting also challenging, it's not like any other job, especially being in a call centre stuck in an office 9 - 5.

Great education. No two jobs you get in the industry are the same, so you can always expect something each time you get a new brief.

All the award ceremonies you get to go too, I mean how many other job's do you get that in - obviously apart from being a sportsman/woman.

All the free nights out, and free christmas parties, who would complain about that?

Strong design community - everybody knows everyone.

People in the industry are very helpful.

Easy to work for yourself.

Easy to work abroad.

Positive Impact

Communication you produce with your work.

You produce better design than what's already out there.

Negative Impact

Competition from other deisgners.

Long hours/unpaid overtime.

Pressure on you.

Poor quality of work out there.

Initial pay isn't good.

Client interference - restricts you on how you want to design something.

Placements

Mike had a couple of placements, one was at Imagination in London and the other was at Chase Manchester. The good thing about going on placements is that they speed you up, working on real live projects, networking and yet again free nights out!

One tip that Mark gave us all was if given the chance WORK ABROAD!

Snow Photography

2010-01-07T01:04:00.005Z

Whilst away this christmas as we all know we had a fair bit of snow.

So with this I decided to take some pictures of the scenery I seen/visited. Bare in mind these where took on my camera phone because my digital camera broke . . . the joys.

Bad Typography

2010-01-07T00:47:00.006Z

One thing one seems to annoy me is bad typography!

Yes, I'm not the best at English in the world, but when you state obvious spelling mistakes it just gets on your tits.

For example on this example, a simple miss spelling of 'off' makes the big difference.

Maybe the bad spelling is bad, but another thing what annoys me is when the word is split up, like there's a letter missing off the word.

I mean for example, how hard is it on the 'out of order' sign to change the size of the text so the whole word 'order' fits on the line?

Lynx Postcards

2009-12-25T20:54:00.003Z

Recently I went to the pictures for Orange Wednesday's, whilst there I came across these Lynx postcards for Lynx Bullet.

The reason these stood out to me because initially they made me laugh with what's being implied - basically some sort of sexual activity.

The only concern would be, is it right to have these in a cinema? There is children who won't understand the image, maybe the location of where these are used would work better.

Anagrams

2009-12-15T17:47:00.004Z

An idea I had for a poster for the Kitchen of meaning brief was based upon the idea of using anagrams.

When I did this for the title 'The Kitchen of Meaning,' there was over 52,000 results. Most of these didn't make sense but yet on the other hand some of them had a bit of humor in them.

Anagram website - link

Exploiding Type

2009-12-15T17:01:00.005Z

Whilst working on The Kitchen of Meaning brief, I had an idea of type exploding on the poster.

I researched into this, this are a few examples I came across.

With this piece the question is can you actually realize it's exploding text? It just looks like things cramped together in the centre of the page.

This piece of type I like. It's clean and with the added effects (like the blurred edges) it represents movement. This is also good for the readability - it's clean and easy to read.

This piece I really like. Also it's not the text exploding itself, something is going into the text and then exploding I still like it. I love how powerful it looks, my only concern is how far could you push this with it still being possible to read.

Poster Research

2009-12-15T16:55:00.003Z

During the brief The Kitchen of Meaning I came across a poster, which I found very clever.

This was the poster;

The poster is for a Greek Literature even with Irvine Welsh.

The thing I like about this is how they've repeated a simple word, but from that word they've made another word (porno) which is more powerful and moving. What was the reason to doing this?

Invite Research

2009-12-15T16:44:00.005Z

A few examples of types of invitations.

This was for a brief called The Kitchen of Meaning.

The reason why I researched into invitations, was because I had the idea of to create a poster in a posh/stylish way, basically like an invite. This to me represents a good sense of style and swagger.

A very basic design for an invite. If this was handed to me I wouldn't be that interested due to the style of the flyer, doesn't make me feel excited, there's no real 'WOW' factor about the design just very basic.

On this flyer, I like the chosen typography. This represents a posh event. With this type of font I always presume it's a wedding invite which is straight away a special day, which is also something people would be interested in and looking forward to.

A museum invite, never seen anything like this before, was very nice idea. From the small shots lucks a very basic and clean design, nothing to complicated gets the point across straight away. Only criticism is in my opinion the logos are too big especially the one in the bottom

right corner.

Another wedding invite, the downfall to this one is that there's too many type fonts being used in it. On an invite I'd only want to see one type font being used. Also the use of imagery in this design is very basic nor appealing.

Portfolio Viewing

2009-11-28T16:20:00.003Z

The other day I went and shown Dave Sedgwick my portfolio at 999 design.

The whole talk we had together was great, from the hello to the handshake at the end.

The positives I took out with have the portfolio viewing was;

1) How friendly Dave is.

Since e-mailing Dave on the very first time (regarding blogs) he has always been generous enough to take time out and reply back to any questions I ask him.

2) How we shouldn't be scared of showing off our work.

3) How impressed he was with the way I think - work I produced.

When showing my work Dave mentioned how he wishes he came up with ideas like I have for my work, two of these would be the poster for a museum, and then the other would be the brass band mailer.

4) How helpful he was with suggesting things to do which will benefit me.

At the end Dave suggested things that would held me stand out from the crowd, he suggested how I should take certain briefs further, don't just use the same istock photo that everyone else is, it becomes too repetitive .

Over all the hour or so spent with Dave was great. We mentioned that we should keep in touch still, and hopefully towards the end of my final year we could meet up and show him my final portfolio and see how it's come along.

Container Plus Talk

2009-11-28T16:11:00.003Z

On 02 November 2009, an illustrator called Louise from Container Plus came in and gave us a talk about the work they create, and what the industry is like for an illustrator.

Straight away this was something new for me, I wasn't that much into illustration work, but I went along to see what the industry is like from a different perspective.

Container Plus was set up in 2002, there a company allocated in London.

Louise set up a website up with another student who she was studying with in the second year of her course (Nicola) and till this day they both work together.

They've worked for companies such as Selfridges and Vauxhall.

Whilst in this lecture it appeared that they was showing more of the work they've done, which unfortunately didn't interest me. This was a good experience for me because it's good to see how illustrators or photographers work.

Dave Sedgwick Talk

2009-11-28T16:10:00.007Z

On the 29th October Dave Sedgwick from 999 design came in and gave us a talk about his experiences and what we should expect after we finish University.

Dave is an ex Manchester Metropolitan student, this is where he spent three years wondering what he's going to do after University. During his time in University, Dave was freelancing for his own clients which allowed him to bring in that extra bit of money which always helps.

During his time at Manchester Metropolitan, Dave went on two placements. One was for a company called Flux Magazine in the Northern Quarter, and the other one was called Splinter in Liverpool.

After this he started doing his portfolio, got contacts of people in the industry, rang them and set up portfolio viewings with these people. Dave got a portfolio viewing at Dinosaur, one of the feedback he got was that "you need some Yorkshire pudding packaging added to my portfolio."

After his time on the two placements, Dave had time to reflect on things and question himself on how serious he took things. After a good think to himself he started being more involved and being more determined to be successful. With this he started researching agencies, using the internet to browse through company websites, he kept notes and kept a diary. A tip he gave us was 'find out as much as you can.'

Although his feedback from Dinosaur was like that, Dave ended up having his first placement at Dinosaur (after he finished University.) The feedback Dave us was that the conditions was horrible, he got payed £65 for two weeks work! Also it's hard to get a job there.

After this he got another placement at TCW which is now Love Creative. Whilst working here he got offered a job on a salary of 13k a year. He happily took this, but on 02 January 2003, he was made redundant, nice way to start the year. Although he was made redundant Dave found it a lot easier to get an interview in the industry now that he wasn't a student.

Dave went on to take a full time job at Race. Whilst here he worked with LMDI and The Arts Council etc. He won a pitch at Designersblock and also at 100% Design exhibition, both of these pitches were against at least three other big design companies.

A few extra things Dave went on to say was that it's not as hard as you think it is to get a job in the industry, you just need to be dedicated enough. There's no time like now, you just need to start looking and planning. Don't discount the small agencies. Call up ask who to send a PDF or CV and emails too, never send anything to info@_____.

Last of all SPELL THE PERSON'S NAME CORRECT

Finding Myself On Google

2009-11-28T15:31:00.003Z

Recently I was searching a topic on Google, when the results came up I noticed that I came up on the results, due to my blog.

When I realized this I was rather impressed because for two reasons,

1) It was on Google's first page of results

2) It was through my blog that I was getting promoted.

This links in with my debate 'Blogs - Good or Bad?' because this shows how you get publicity from having a blog - even if you don't think you do.

WKD Adverts

2009-11-12T16:40:00.005Z

WKD adverts and promotions are always something that make me laugh.

I love the humor to them how they always make me laugh no matter how random they are at times. Even when you read the poster campaigns what have been done they manage to be humorous and put a smile on someones face.

As you can see even the video's are humorous, but the only thing what gets me is why are they all aimed at lads? Is this a marketing thing due to mainly women drink them on a night out?

JK Wedding Dance

2009-11-12T16:18:00.003Z

Recently I came across this video on the ASABailey blog.

Although it's not an advertisement for anything this made me laugh. I love how different it is from what you expect to find at a wedding. You just usually expect the bridesmaids to walk down and then the bride to follow after, but with this the bridesmaids, the groom the bride herself all take part in a dance which in turn would reflect the couple themselves.

With the response what has been received from viewings of this video (over 31 million hits on YouTube to date) they have given any sort of money received to a charity of there choice, which in turn is a good thing to do. For more information regarding the video itself, or even donating money just visit the website - www.jkweddingdance.com

Kinetic Typography

2009-11-12T02:12:00.005Z

When researching into typography I wondered how experimental you could be with type itself. I decided to look on YouTube for Kinetic Typography and see what people have created out there.

I came across this video on YouTube, which I was really impressed with.

The reason I like this video, is because how the typography is really clever in how it reflects the song lyrics. Also the creator hasn't gone over the top with what they've produced, they've kept it simple, clean and clever.

As you can tell the results for the search are enormous, but if you wanted to see more examples all you have to do is search Kinetic Typography on YouTube.

Post Typography

2009-11-12T01:56:00.004Z

Whilst still researching into typographic posters, I came across a company called Post Typography.

Post Typography is a creative studio specializing in - well according to there website - literally everything!

When you go on to there website, at first it's like just a pure typographic page listing what the company does, but with this it allows you to easily navigate to what the website itself where you can find there work and portfolio.

This is just a selection of the work the company produces, but when you look at the rest of the work they create you notice how much of a high standard there typographic (and other pieces) of work are.

Black and White Typography

2009-11-12T01:40:00.005Z

Recently when researching examples of typographic posters I came across a blog with a selection of Black and White typography.

When I was reading the article about the twenty selected typographic pieces there was a quote what stood out to me, this was;

"Typography is an art without which every design seems to be incomplete."

Charlie B. Johnson

I couldn't agree more with Charlie's quote, this is down t

o how you could have a beautiful image or a great illustration, but with out typography you wouldn't get the meaning of it.

When I came across this blog I was amazed at some of the poster's what have been created. Typography is something that I enjoy more in Graphic Design and when I saw these pieces of work I was amazed.

These are just a few of my favorites off the blog itself, too see more just visit the blog itself.

Google celebrates Sesame Steet

2009-11-09T13:22:00.006Z

As some people may have noticed Google Doodles have changed recently to include the kids TV show Sesame Street. This is down to how Sesame Street are celebrating their 40th anniversary.

Each day there is a new Doodle up with contains the characters we all know such as, Big Bird, Elmo and the Cookie Monster.

Seeing these each day will bring a good childhood memory of the TV show to the people who are using Google, and you can't complain about thinking about the good old days.

Kasabian Song Promotion

2009-11-04T19:21:00.004Z

Kasabian recently decided to promote their new song in a completely different way than usual!

Sony Music, in partnership with Umbro has combined the the creativity of Guitar Hero and came up with Football Hero, this was then used to promote Kasabian's song Underdog.

I love how they have took Guitar Hero and thought of another way it could be used instead of simply pressing the buttons on a joy stick or even a guitar. Although it took a bit of effort and practice to make it happen the overall finished thing is good.

It makes you think what else could you do to further this idea, add it too other sports like Basketball? Golf? Rugby? Could you make it into a competition who does the best, who hits in most timely? The possibilities are endless.

New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation

2009-10-30T17:10:00.003Z

Today I saw a video which was aimed to make public awareness for Breast Cancer in New Zealand. When I first watched the video I wasn't sure what the reason was behind it.

Then I realized. Although when watching the video you can't see how this would make public awareness just from a 'blob,' but after you see the amount of publicity it received that night/following day on blogs, internet and the TV is outstanding.

The New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation - blob - (2009) :60 (New Zealand)

Actual video link

Talking Food Idents

2009-10-30T16:23:00.003Z

Whilst on the Creative Review blog, I stumbled across these talking food idents for FSA (Food Standards Agency.)

These clips was shot by Mark Denton of COY! The ads have been written by an ad agency called RKCR. The idea is that each clip is split into two, so the first half of the clip is shown at the start of an ad break in the Good Food Channel's Family Supercooks programme, then the second section would take up the end of the ad break.

These are just a couple of the videos. These videos are humorous to me, especially the peanuts one with what's said. Although I don't know what the brief is about, or what's trying to be put a across straight it says to me healthy eating. These are a good set of videos humorous but yet they promote healthy eating.

To see the rest just click on the link;

Stop motion with pig and wolf

2009-10-15T17:36:00.002+01:00

Yesterday (14/10/09) I went on Access Advertising's blog.

Whilst on the blog I noticed a post made by stop motion. The video was a stop motion of a wolf and a pig. (Video Below)

When I saw the video I was like wow! That's well impressive. The video reminded me of a recent TV ad for a car company, but I can't remember what the dam car was!

These type of clips I think are really impressive. The amount of photos taken, the amount of time it must of took to put it together, and the amount of trial and error they must go through to get it correct is something what is amazing. With the end production the producers can't have any complaints.

8vo

2009-10-10T18:28:00.006+01:00

Whist researching into typography for an LBi brief I came across Eightvo.

8vo where a British graphic design company which was founded in 1984.

On there website is a selection of work which they have created during there business times.

Whilst looking through I was very impressed. I like how on a lot of there work the typography isn't crisp clean, a lot of the time the readability isn't very clear, which is something what got my attention at first.

On other pieces of work, I like how they take risks with how they create things. For instance they don't always put the type horizontal, they put it vertical which is straight away is something different. On other pieces they use very large images of furniture/objects which is also striking too.

Bemboszoo

2009-10-10T18:15:00.005+01:00

When in Uni recently one of my tutors introduced me into a website called Bemboszoo.

At first I was like what's this got to do with my typography brief?

But when it came up I actually realized. This is a typography website where they make animals out of typography. You have the whole of the alphabet and with each letter there's a different animal. A few examples would be I = Ibis, Q = Quail and Z = Zebra.

This is a fun website, some of the animals made me laugh due to how random they are and how some of them don't even look like the set animal. But over all I was impressed with this website with how clever it is.

Barcode Anniversary

2009-10-10T17:58:00.005+01:00

Recently on Google (7th October 2009) they celebrated the anniversary of the bar code.

It was the bar code's 57th anniversary.

With this they decided to change there logo of google into a bar code. The actual clever thing about this is, that when the bar code was/is scanned it actually comes up with google. Although some people (net citizens) would see this as just another "doodle" there is an actual reason to it.

Finding Myself On A Blog . . .

2009-10-05T18:38:00.006+01:00

Recently I found my self on another persons blog. At first I was like, hold up, what's going on here? But then I read into it more. The post was by Tom. Tom was a designer I e-mailed a while back regarding blogs.

Seeing this was great. It's great to know what I'm doing is interesting other designers out there, which they themselves are informing other people about.

Illuminating Poster

2009-09-18T16:48:00.005+01:00

The other day I had an idea for a Uni piece of work which was to do with make things illuminate in a night club. When I thought of this I jumped onto the Mac and did of bit of research into posters that have been created that illuminate in the dark.

I then came across Daren Newman's piece of work Ever Stopped . . .

This piece of work is a print based piece using phosphorescent inks. (I only know this from asking him.) If anyone wants to know where the print was done it was a company called K2.

Daren works for Me & My Pen, this is where you can find more examples of work he has created which I must say is rather impressive.

RPM Ltd

2009-09-18T16:20:00.005+01:00

Recently whilst searching on the internet for reference in experiential design (which is to do with my current brief in University), I came across a company called RPM Ltd.

RPM are a small company based in London. Last year they was voted in the top 100 small companies to work for by The Sunday Times.

The company have worked with such clients as Strongbow, Sky, Cancer Research, Bacardi, Blackberry, Cadbury and FIFA just to name a few. So just going off the company names this set's the height of the bar this company works at.

To see some of the case studies they have already completed just go and visit there website.

Steve Leard - Blogs - Good or Bad?

2009-09-17T20:37:00.002+01:00

Recently there was a post on the CR blog regarding blogs. After reading this I decided to contact a few people who have posted there thoughts about blogs.

One of these was Steve Leard. Steve runs his own blog also so the feedback should be interesting.

Questions and Answers;

1. Would you recommend that students produce a blog? If so why?

I would recommend it, I believe it's a good learning exercise, especially if you were analysing and presenting your own work. Being self-critical is an important skill to learn as a young designer, it's how you learn and develop.

2. A lot of students aren't safe with putting there design's up on blogs due to the idea getting stolen. What would your opinion be on this?

So what? I wouldn't give it much thought really. As a creative person, you'll come up with an infinite amount of ideas, no one can steal that ability. Ideas get stolen, it's an irreversible fact, you can't let that deter you.

3. People see a way to publicize themselves and their work, but a lot of blogs don't get a lot of hits, so what should the purpose of a blog be?

It's there if you need it. You might not get a lot of hits, but I think it's still a positive thing for a designer to do. It makes you analytical, critical and open to what's around you. If you go for a job interview and tell them you write a blog, that's going to make a good impression, it shows you're inquisitive.

4. Finally, what's one positive and negative about having a blog?

Positive - Makes you a better designer

Negative - I can't really think of one, what's the worst that could happen? If it's not for you, just stop.

Ted Howell - Blogs - Good or Bad?

2009-09-08T15:14:00.002+01:00

Recently I got in touch with Ted Howell regarding blogs. Ted was recommend as someone I should get in touch with regarding blogs by David Sedgwick. Ted works for 999 Design in Salford.

Question and Answers;

1. Would you recommend that students produce a blog? If so why?

Yes. If only as a way through your experience as a student to quantify what you've actually done, looked at and posted on the internet. Speaking as a student who 8 years ago had to hand in lever-arch files of research/photocopies etc to be subjected to some kind of marking process - surely a blog which documents everything you've done for the last 12/24/36 months can only be a useful tool for you, and your tutors.

2. A lot of students aren't safe with putting there design's up on blogs due to the idea getting stolen. What would your opinion be on this?

Ideas do get stolen, it's a sad part of the business - but I wouldn't let this deter you from starting a blog. They were stolen in every decade before the 90s from books and print, and they're being stolen now. But, if you want to start a blog, then do it. It is better to share than to sit on your ideas. I've seen many blogs dry up quickly though, so be upfront if it is simply going to serve us as an online portfolio.

3. People see blogs as a way to publicize themselves and there work, but a lot of blogs don't get a lot of hits, so what should the purpose of a blog be?

The web is awash with blogs and 90% of designers look at 90% of the same blogs - unfortunately this means getting a new blog noticed, and more importantly read, is a tough hurdle to get over. A blog to me should simply be interesting. How that is defined I suppose is in the mind of the reader, but an interesting and indeed interested blogger is a great start.

4. Finally, what is one positive and negative about having a blog?

A positive: It gives you a voice, and if you shout loud enough your audience could be immense.

A negative: You're just one in a million...

Creative Review - To blog or not to blog

2009-09-08T14:54:00.002+01:00

Recently Creative Review have been holding a Question of the Week on there blog.

This weeks questions was: To blog or not to blog?

Neil sent me the link letting me know about this weeks question as this will tie in with the debate about blogs which I previously got in touch with him about.

To read this article, read the responses, or even posting your own opinion (should do that on here) then visit;

http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2009/september/question-of-the-week-080909#feedback

Gareth Dunt - Blogs - Good or Bad?

2009-09-07T19:21:00.003+01:00

Another student I emailed regarding blogs was Gareth, and yes Gareth went to the University of Wales also.

Questions and Answers;

1. When participating in a group/individual blog, how do you find it? Do you enjoy it and why?

Regarding individual blogs, I have found is massively rewarding as it acts as a sort of reflective journal for me as a designer. There's been many times that I've stumbled across a gem of a website, written in the URL down on the back of a book, only to loose it in the vastness of a mess at my desk. The memory rolls out of my brain and is lost forever and a potential love affaire with that website is stopped even before it has begun. Keeping a blog is the quickest, easiest and by far the most logical way of keeping track of finds on the internet.

2. I've found that a lot of student's aren't safe with putting there design work up on blogs due to the idea getting stolen. How do you find this? Are you happy to put your work up?

Yes I've no problem in putting my work up on my blog. There's been many cases when I've posted progress reports concerning my projects to act as a personal account of how things are going. Thing is, the work ultimately gets put up on my main website garethdunt.com and if they really want to steal material then it's there for the taking. I've no problem with it really, I feel idea recycling is a major factor in how we develop.

3. Are you pressured into doing a blog, or do you just want to do it to get yourself noticed and more involved with topics?

Originally the pressure came from my course. We were instructed to keep personal design journals which could be in either physical book or blog format. I tried keeping a book but I found it laborious, far too precious, and most importantly selfish. I didn't like the fact that all the interesting finds, thoughts and philosophies I'd collected over a limited of time were limited to a book that only myself and a few lecturers would read. I wanted to share my findings with fellow students and anyone else that wants to listen. With regard to keeping a blog to get involved with debates, I guess that is also a factor. What's great about this media is that it can bring people from anywhere in the world into the same discussion. Something you can't get with a moleskin sketchbook.

4. What do you find positive and negative about having a blog?

The main positives I have found with blogging is the ability to share you're content with other people in a way that is more subtle than public broadcast. Blogs are quiet, controlled things that people can visit when they wish to. Not loud, brash, invasive websites that preach. Having said that, I guess some are. Also the ability to file and organise content with labels and catagories - my reflective notes are at hand almost anywhere in the world, without need for numerous dog-eared notebooks. Within 10secs of searching I've found that entry I made on that awesome typographer from Brazil who's letter E I really like on the 23rd April 2006. Try doing that with a moleskin!

As for negatives, I can't really think of any... there's plenty of databases of good blogs out there such as thestrangeattractor.net and typeneu.com that keep me ticking as a designer. I don't really have anything negative to say about them!

Blogs = Good

Richie Evans - Blogs - Good or Bad?

2009-09-07T16:55:00.002+01:00

Continuing emailing students regarding blogs, I got in touch with a student called Richie Evans.

Richie, like the other two, goes to the University of Wales.

Questions and Answers;

1. When participating in a group/individual blog, how do you find it? Do you enjoy it and why?

I usually come across interesting blogs when I see links on sites such as psdtuts.com or other design tutorial sites, just to look at what other work they've got to show, or what great music videos or animation that are out there that some people will never get the chance to see on MTV or of course be quite difficult to find on youtube, also what designs or designers interest them in the world of creative communication. But most blogs sites I usually visit do cause a spark of inspiration that I use in my University work or freelance work.

2. I've found that a lot of student's aren't safe with putting there design work up on blogs due to the idea getting stolen. How do you find this? Are you happy to put your work up?

I'm always happy to show my work, but if other students think they've got a design to good 'they must COPYRIGHT it' then expose there great idea/design upon the world which will give them good marks with other designers and bloggers of the world - that is a number one rule in my book and students shouldn't think of it as their work being 'stolen' but 'to inspire others'.

3. Are you pressured into doing a blog, or do you just want to do it to get yourself noticed and more involved with topics?

We are not pressured into doing a blog in Uni but our lecturers do tell us to do a 'reflective journal' in any form of media (PowerPoint display, a book or even a blog) just to show everyone in our year that each individual likes world of design.

But blogs are not the only way to get noticed online, there are many ways to get involved with topics such as

- Competitions on psdtuts.com that somehow all the work is submitted through flickr.com for all the designers to keep in contact with each other.

- www.logosauce.com - a site where designers come together and compare simple brand/logo designs and other interesting competitions that help designers get noticed for their hard graft.

- designerscouch.org - a site that is basically free, the facebook of designers - this site is great to show off your work and get great advice from professional designers across the world.

Apart from entering competition, you can find jobs suitable for your taste of design but my favourite part is when you apply - you don't simply apply like any other site but you have to send them 5 pieces of your work before you are accepted on the site... basically these guys are professionals and they want talent.

4. What do you find positive and negative about having a blog?

I don't think there is anything negative about blogs but you can have negative bloggers which are always amusing (well maybe for me) but blogs are inspirational, creative, and communicates well to the world of design. Maybe the only thing negative about blogs is top up the pages with more work that can kill off alot of time haha

Julian Wiedemann - Blogs - Good or Bad?

2009-09-07T16:34:00.003+01:00

Another student I got in touch with on the agenda of blogs was Julian.

Julian is another student that goes to the University of Wales. Although Julian mentioned how he found it hard to speak English, due to being back in his homeland as he finished University for a few months, I was very grateful for him answering the questions.

Questions and Answers;

1. When participating in a group/individual blog, how do you find it? Do you enjoy it and why?

- I do enjoy to work in a group of creative people and providing interesting stuff on the web.

- Also I find it cool to publicate your own interests and attitudes as well as designs and approaches.

2. I've found that a lot of student's aren't safe with putting there design work up on blogs due to the idea getting stolen. How do you find this? Are you happy to put your work up?

- To be honest I've never heard of one telling me that this has happened to them, but I can imagine, I always state the copyright stuff to my pictures... the little c is my friend (copyright symbol)

- I would never put up some work which is still being processed or which hasn't been discussed with the client.

3. Are you pressured into doing a blog, or do you just want to do it to get yourself noticed and more involved with topics?

- It's a really cool thing to have a blog, hardly every design student do have one and keep them up to date. But I don't feel that I'm pressured doing this.

- Maybe a bit. but only to match up with 'em.

4. What do you find positive and negative about having a blog?

Positive:

- To keep your audience up to date about your stuff that you're doing.

- To publicate all your thoughts and things that come into your mind.

- It's a cheap way to communicate.

Negative:

- I do find it hard to keep it up to date and writing new articles and pages.

Ideas being stolen (as you mentioned before)

Ruth Lucas - Blogs - Good or Bad?

2009-09-07T15:58:00.003+01:00

Continuing with the debate about blogs, I decided to get in touch with a few students regarding blogs which enabled me to see what they thought about producing a blog.

The first student I got in touch with was, Ruth Lucas. Ruth goes to University of Wales, which is the same as Tom Harle, this is where the link comes into it.

Question and Answers;

1. When participating in a group/individual blog, how do you find it? Do you enjoy it and why?

I enjoy updating my individual blog when I know people are reading it, hopefully people will discover something they didn't know or something they like. At the moment though I suppose I don't really update it enough to get too much enjoyment out of it. I hope this will change in the next few weeks though.

2. I've found that a lot of student's aren't safe with putting there design work up on blogs due to the idea getting stolen. How do you find this. Are you happy to put your work up?

Hmm, good question. I haven't really thought that much about it before - I haven't personally known of anyone I know having their work stolen, but I think you have to be cautious. It'd be a shame if it stopped other students putting their work up on blogs and things as I like browsing other students work to see what they're up to and to get some inspiration. And it's helpful to promote your work whilst you're still studying.

3. Are you pressured into doing a blog, or do you just want to do it to get yourself noticed and more involved with topics?

Bit of both really, my course requires us to produce an on-going 'reflective diary' of the projects we do and I thought it made the most sense to do mine online.

For the first few weeks I kept that up, but soon realized that when I'm forced to do something it sounds really unnatural, so have decided to just post stuff that I like, and things I notice - which is much more interesting and fun!

4. What do you find positive and negative about having a blog?

The negatives: it's hard to motivate yourself to update when you don't have many people reading it. It's also hard finding the time to keep up with saving bookmarks of things you like, taking photos and commenting on other peoples blogs, especially when you have other pressing issues need dealing with like course deadlines and such!

The positives: noticing that people are reading, when you get an occasional comment, the satisfaction once you've posted a new update, and discovering some really nice and inspiring blogs through having your own.

Dave Sedgwick - Blogs - Good or Bad?

2009-09-04T18:47:00.004+01:00

Continuing with the debate about blogs, I recently got in touch with Dave Sedgwick. Dave has his own website what is set for his work to be shown off.

Dave has produced some outstanding work in his career, these can be viewed on his website, also his portfolio I found was an inspiration, to show how to constantly design something which is smart, shows the work off an is appealing.

Questions and Answers;

1. Would you recommend that students produce a blog? If so why?

Hmm, to blog or not to blog? Well I'd recommend that students produce blogs that have the possibility to be a bit 'different'. It's easy for people to set one up these days, so the outcome is a multitude of fairly non descript and horrendous ones. If you genuinely think you'll find the time to constantly update with new and interesting topics and work, then go for it. But if you know deep down that there's absolutely no chance you're dragging yourself away from the Playstation or Student Union to update, leave it well alone. It's not worth it. Do a portfolio site instead and simple showcase your own work.

2. A lot of students aren't safe with putting there design's up on blogs due to the idea getting stolen. What would your opinion be on this?

Tough one. I can see why some students might think that, but I don't think it would be much of a concern for me. Work is always getting 'stolen' or plagiarized in this industy. It's part of the course I'm afraid. Most designers, whether individuals or agencies showcase their work online and by doing this they're offereing themselves for criticism as well as anything else.

3. People see blogs as a way to publicize themselves and there work, but a lot of blogs don't get a lot of hits, so what would the purpose of a blog be?

To me a blog needs to be updated regularly, with interesting and informative topics. I want to see something new, something I can't find anywhere else. I want to read short and interesting snippets of information, well written, without loads of bad spelling mistakes or terrible grammar. If I wanted some inane drivel, I'd read The Sun.

4. Finally, what's one positive and one negative about having a blog?

Positive - Blogs offer a chance for students and graduates to showcase their own work as well as presenting their personality and opinions to the outside world.

Tom Harle - Blogs Good or Bad - Part 2

2009-09-02T17:19:00.002+01:00

After Tom Harle answered my questions regarding blogs, I asked him who he would recommend to get in touch with regarding this debate. He went onto mention Ben Terrett and David Hyde.

As noticed I have already been in touch with both these people.

Some posts Tom forwarded to me are:

Link One

Link Two

I'm very thankful to Tom for these links, but yet again I have already read these. This shows I'm looking in the correct places to get my answers. One last thing Tom did suggest I do was to take a look at his course blog from his old College, UWIC.

Michael Murdoch - Blogs - Good or Bad?

2009-09-02T16:40:00.003+01:00

Today I emailed Michael Murdoch (Creative Director at The House.) Michael got back to my email within a couple of hours and I was very grateful for this.

Questions and Answers;

1. Would you recommend that students produce a blog? If so why?

Yes. Updates help show other creatives and potential clients you know your stuff and have a passion for design or whatever area you are interested in. Blogs are great for Search Engine Optimisation. Wordpress makes it easy to start a blog in minutes. One thing to note is be careful what you write. . remember the blog goes out to the world so make sure what you say is accurate and you happy to defend it.

2. A lot of students aren't safe with putting there design's up on blogs due to the idea getting stolen. What would your opinion be on this?

Ideas will always be stolen. It is unlikely that an idea uploaded will be completely original in any case, so I would not worry too much. Images on the web are of poor quality for print so the actual image is unlikely to be reproduced. Slap a Copyright symbol on the web and you're covered. The problem is proving your idea has been stolen. The web is about sharing, so relax and share.

3. People see blogs as a way to publicize themselves and there work, but a lot of blogs don't get a lot of hits, so what would the purpose of a blog be?

It's about relevant hits. If you talk about design you want other designers to look and potential clients. So target these people. Write in relevant blogs, tell everyone you meet you have a blog, talk about it on Twitter, mention it on Facebook. There's no point in making a blog and then hiding it. Blogs can get hits, it's all about marketing first and hard work.

4. Finally, what's one positive and negative about having a blog?

Negs: Blogs can be ugly. Use a new theme or develop your own. Keep titles bold and clear and make it easy for the end user to get snippets of info. Navigation in blog is also normally a nightmare.

Pros: Good for SEO. Easy to communicate your message. Good for sharing!

Neil Ayres - Blogs - Good or Bad?

2009-09-02T16:22:00.003+01:00

Continuing the debate on blogs, I emailed Neil Ayres. Neil works with Creative Review so the response I should receive should of been very helpful.

At the time I emailed Neil, he was very busy due to the vast amount of work he had going on. With this the main priority he emailed me back saying he will email me again responding to the questions by the end of the week.

As the week came to an end Neil emailed me again, but unfortunately he was still busy with work. Although this time he did respond to the email, he couldn't answer's the questions in full due to how busy his schedule was.

Neil went on to say, "Obviously from a publishing perspective, blogging makes a good deal of sense, if done properly. In relation to design, I think our readers might be better placed to address that question." He also went on to say how I should keep my eye out on the CR blog, due to how they are going to post up a weekly question, with one of them regarding blogs. This is something I am going to keep my eye out for, this due to, how this will be very helpful with my debate, and also, I will be able to read into a lot of other people's opinions on it.

Tom Harle - Blogs - Good or Bad?

2009-09-01T16:01:00.003+01:00

Continuing my debate on blogs - Good or Bad - I emailed Tom Harle.

Tom runs his own blog, also Tom is a graduate creative in Cardiff and London.

Question and Answers;

1. Would you recommend that students produce a blog? If so why?

I would recommend that students do something, but whether it's a blog that they do depends entirely on the kind of work they see themselves doing when leave for the outside world. There is flickr, tumbir, delicious, twitter and a loads of other ways to be publicly online, it doesn't have to be a straight up 'blog'. The problem is that just producing beautiful print work, although it may get you into creative review from time to time, won't prove to anyone who's just come across your work that you have any of the skills or awareness we need as designers now. I was amazed how little digital work there was at D&AD this year, but nearly all branding and advertising is now considered with the internet at least near its core (if it isn't it should be). The advantage of a blog, or whatever online, is that it allows a student to explore their interests over time, make connections with other bloggers, and prove to any professionals out there that you are serious about what you say you are, more than you could with a single cover letter or portfolio session.

2. A lot of students aren't safe with putting their designs up on blogs due to the idea getting stolen. What would your opinion be on this?

Thats a danger whether work is online or not - look at episodes like the Kozy'n'dan rabbit/sony brava commercial. And I would say that it doesn't really have to be about students' own work. I'll come back to this in question three, but for now I'll just say it's really about deciding what you want from your blog - if your just passionate about design, surely you want to share that with people? If you're just doing it 'for the CV', then aren't you getting a head start by potentially showing people your work before the June of your (and 20,000 other people's) graduation ceremonies? Either way, my own personal opinion of a traditional blog is that it's an opportunity to explore whatever about design or the creative arts that fascinate you, show how your work relates, and link up with other people who share that love - whether they can offer you a job or just engage you in stimulating conversation.

3. People see blogs as a way to publicize themselves and their work - but a lot of blogs don't get a lot of hits - so what should the purpose of a blog be?

I Think it's really defeatist to think of it that way - If you believe that what you have to say or show is good enough, then you have to stick with it. No one's going to check your blog as soon as you've done a first post, the internet doesn't work like that. As young creatives we need to be out there on other people's blogs, having conversations, discussing other work and generally being as keen online as we are in person. Once that starts to seep around the internet, then you see the hits to your own blog go up. Hopefully, your work, if you're showing it, will be strong enough to get passed around a bit as well.

4. Finally, what's one positive and negative about having a blog?

The main negative is that you have to keep posting regularly, but that's also a real positive - it gets you constantly evaluating the world around you and trying to establish your own opinions on the issues, looking for ideas that you can talk about. I find that trying to put my thoughts into words is a really useful way of working out exactly what those thoughts are.

David Hyde - Blogs Good or Bad?

2009-08-27T19:31:00.004+01:00

When I emailed David Hyde regarding blogs, he asked me to excuse him from answering the questions due to how I have already asked Richard from AceJet 170. When he said this I was happy to oblige, so after this he gave me some feedback about blogs and informed me of some places to look to help me out with this debate.

Firstly he recommend that I read his post about what connections blogging could bring about. (link)

He also went onto mention, that if I wanted a students opinion about blogging that I should look at Tom Harle. David also happily sent me a link as well for it. (link)

Although I didn't get the questions answered by David I found him very useful, he agreed to what Richard had already said to me and he also helped me out with further people to contact.

Raphel Boguslav

2009-08-27T19:05:00.007+01:00

Recently I got an update from another blog regarding Raphel Boguslav.

Raphel is a Logo Designer and someone who specializes in Calligraphic Lettering.

When the post came up, the post had a selection of logos Raphel had designed. After looking through a selection of these designs I went onto his website where the whole collection of logos are allocated. On here there must be over a hundred logos!

On his website the variety of logos are amazing. The selection of just typographic logos, illustrated logos or symbolic logos is inspirational.

Here are a few that stood out to me;

This was one of my favourites that Raphel had created. I like how the A's tail has turned into a brush and then is painting the letter itself. Maybe one thing I would consider would be does it really need Arnold Art underneath it?

This one I like because of the choice of font, and also how the ampersand is in the centre which results in the text running around the ampersand.

On this one I like how he was made the R and P into one object, this then could be used on letter heads, business cards etc with out the text.

Judy Brown - Blogs - Good or Bad?

2009-08-21T16:26:00.005+01:00

Continuing with getting in touch with people regarding blogs, I got in touch with a lady called Judy Bown. Judy run's her own blog as well so it's good to see what kind of reaction she has on this. Another thing about Judy is, that she is the designer and founder of Bown - a British luxury bags and accessories company.

Questions and Answers;

1. Would you recommend that students produce a blog? If so why?

A true blog (I'd say mine is more a business newsletter and product information page) needs a regular update... daily, weekly or monthly... any longer than that and people don't follow it or loose interest.

You have to have a lot to talk about! And make it interesting. So many blogs are so boring. And time wasting. And most blogs are really about an individual and their lifestyle or opinion on a particular subject, which can often be really boring (except to the writer!).

You need to be really disciplined to take note of an interesting thing everyday and write it up quickly while it is still topical... no use writing about a design show 6 months afterwards, it needs to be as it happens or just after.

Would I do a blog if I started all over again? I had good intentions at the start, before I launched the business, but one you get really busy then a blog is sometimes a slog to keep up, unless you get to the stage where someone else can do it for you! Then its not really honest you speaking, of course. I'd say it is a minor part of self-publicity.

Think who you are targeting and find out whether they spend hours a day reading blogs. Is it your mates or are you trying to get your work noticed further afield? Students might follow blogs avdily, but employers, and employees, will be too busy!

2. A lot of students aren't safe with putting there designs up on blogs due to the idea getting stolen. What would your opinion be on this?

I personally wouldn't put up any designs that were not already filed with a solicitor or other body that could protect your IP in case of copy (I'd recommend ACID (anti copying in design, I think they do a student rate. You can use their logo on your blog once you are a member, and they file design ideas on your behalf).

In terms of examples of student work, unless you think have something really amazing, a new invention, I wouldn't worry about putting it up.

Mind you. I haven't been a student for a couple of decades, so I've probably forgotten how precious I was about my ideas at that time.

If it shows your great drawing, presentation, CAD skills that is what the employer is interested in, not whether you have had a nice day or not.

3. People see blogs as a way to publicize themselves and there work, but a lot of blogs don't get many hits, so what would the purpose of a blog be?

Again, unless you have a lifestyle that is essentially your work (I know a few designers who are magnificent at self-promotion, but who's design ability is negligable, but they do get themselves noticed!), I'd concentrate on having a good webpage or two, with a newsletter page to update people on who you are and what you are up to.

Blogs take a lot of time to make interesting, so unless you are a natural writer, I'd concentrate on doing the deisgn work to get noticed rather than spending hours (and it is HOURS!) writing about yourself.

4. Finally, what is one positive and one negative about having a blog?

One positive thing about having a blog is you can very quickly reach an audience with your news... and if you are really good at it, and write regularly, Google 'spiders' will notice you and put you up the search engine listings. You can also get onto Technorati and the like, but it takes a lot of time. I'd allow at least 6 months to a year to get noticed, and that's trying really hard every day.

I have found the best blog sites are by people who have one passion or subject that holds it together, they are based at home, and don't have a full time job elsewhere (as a good blog IS a full time job.)

One (other!) negative, I think, is that you can expose yourself very quickly and its up there forever for all to see. You have to be quick to add a relevant comment, but one angry or misguided comment and you do yourself no favours. Keeping the balance between personal and private info is a tricky one. What you say now sticks around for a long time, and you may always regret it.

So, in short, it is not a magic to get noticed. A good blog is an art in itself, and needs years of commitment to get noticed, let alone a cult following.

Employers do not have time to read reams of pages, they want to see ideas, and that those ideas come fast and often, and someone who will work hard (not spending time dreaming up their evening blog update!)

Veerle Pieters - Blogs - Good or Bad?

2009-08-21T15:57:00.004+01:00

Since I haven't been continuing the blog debate for a while, I recently decided to get in touch with a few fresh people regarding blogs - good or bad? The reason for this is that I have now decided to further this into my critical journal in my last year of University.

One of the first people I got in touch with was Veerle Pieters. Veerle runs his own blog, but he also has his own joint company called duoh.

Veerle quickly responded to my questions with his answers which I'm most grateful for.

Questions and Answers;

1. Would you recommend that students produce a blog? If so why?

You should only start a blog when you have something worthwhile to say. Starting one because others do as well is wrong. One reason to start a blog could be because you have a unique perspective on things.

2. A lot of students aren't safe with putting there ideas up on blogs due to there idea getting stolen, what would your opinion be on this?

You have to take a risk otherwise you don't gain anything. If you aren't prepared to share your work online in a bigger size you shouldn't be sharing anyway. It has to have value to those who visit and you don't get that from tiny thumbnails. My work gets stolen on a regular basis but that doesn't stop my from putting my work online. The day that I don't have any positive outcome of putting my work online anymore is the day that I'll stop putting things online.

3. People see blogs as a way to publicize themselves and there work, but a lot of blogs don't get a lot of hits, so what would the purpose of a blog be?

If you start a blog because you want to get hits you are doing it wrong already. Blogging is a passion and one that takes up a lot of time and effort to keep it going. You should start for the right reason and that could be your passion to share your ideas with the world. A blog should be what you want to read because it is personal.

4. Finally, what is one positive and one negative about having a blog?

Positive: getting to know other creative like minded people to share and bounce your ideas off.

Negative: wasting time on tracking down people who stole your content.

Pentagram World Cup Logo Bid

2009-08-20T13:56:00.004+01:00

Whilst visiting the Pentagram website recently, I noticed how they have designed a logo for the FIFA World Cup big 2018/2022.

Whilst looking at this I started to think how does this relate to football? The logo seems to be more of a slogan "The game is in US" The idea of that is rather good but I still would relate it to football. With the slogan saying 'Game' this could relate to any type of sport, Baseball, Rugby, Hockey, Cricket etc.

Whilst reading up on this logo on the Pentagram website, they go on to say that "The Game is in US, and utilizes a custom-designed typeface called Game and a bold multicultural color palette to convey the unmatched enthusiasm and amazing diversity of soccer fans in the US." This though does not go on to say how this relates to football, it just says how it relates to football fans.

Over all I don't like this logo I don't like how each letter seems to have lines going through it and most of all I don't like how it relates to football - your suppose to be trying to win a World Cup bid surely they could do a stronger idea?

Creative Surgical Masks for Dentists

2009-08-20T13:41:00.006+01:00

Whilst browsing through Blogs recently, I came across a post about Surgical Masks.

It went on to show how Surgical Masks in Hamburg, Germany, have had there masks redesigned. The goal was to lighten up a visit to the dentist for the kids, and for everyone else, and to promote Colgate Smiles Kids toothbrush.

Looking at the results they aren't very good!

The new designs look scary and just pure creepy. Can you imagine going to the dentist and then they turn around with that on, I don't know if it's just me but I wouldn't find that funny! I'd actually feel more scared than I initially did.

For more info/pictures visit - Toxel

Frank Chimero - Blogs - Good or Bad?

2009-07-17T15:55:00.002+01:00

Continuing to get peoples opinion's about blogs, Duane recommended that I emailed Frank and asked him the same set of questions. So I emailed Frank Chimero (an illustrator graphic designer and writer) and he happily replied with his set of answers on the topic.

Questions and Answers;

1. Would you recommend that students produce a blog? If so why?

I would recommend students creating some sort of creative archive of work they find inspiring. Reference libraries are always useful for creatives to get themselves "unstuck," I think, and doing so online is easier, but I think it encourages students to share inspiration with one another.

I also think it's a good idea for students to write and talk about their own work and share their process with one another. If a blog is their chosen medium to do so, than so be it. But if it isn't and they decided they'd rather do so exclusively person to person, than so be it.

2. A lot of students aren't safe with putting there designs up on blogs due to the idea getting stolen. What would your opinion be on this?

I think educational environments need to be felt safe by the students. If they fear that posting their ideas will result in theft, I think there's a larger issue at play than just blogging. If it's professionals stealing ideas from students, than shame on them.

3. People see blogs as a way to publicize themselves and there work, but a lot of blogs don't get a lot of hits, so what should the purpose of a blog be?

The purpose of a blog should be to archive and share your process, thoughts and work. The archiving aspect makes you the audience. The sharing involves everyone else. Who says that you need a large audience?

4. Finally what is one positive and one negative about having a blog?

Positive: Force you to write. I think writing capabilities is an under-appreciated skill that all designers should have. It makes you organize your thoughts and communicate them in a clear, concise and compelling way. Communication is communication, wether visual or not.

Negative: The time you spend blogging is the time you take away from making design. As a student you learn by doing, so the more exposure you give yourself to the design process, the better. Also, with publishing entries and commenting, it may make some students overly concerned with people's opinion of the work that they produce.

Yellow Pages Ads

2009-07-13T15:19:00.017+01:00

Whilst browsing Adland's website I came across some Yellow Pages billboard ads.

When I initially looked at the billboards I couldn't understand them due to the language barrier (the billboards being located in Israel.) After I looked past the language barrier and then actually looked at the idea this made a big impact on me. I was like WOW. Some of the idea's are really impressive and how they've actually done it is even better. On one of the billboards it's become interactive, this is down to how it's a big scratch card so people are scratching it off whilst waiting at a bus stop. The idea of this is really impressive.

My favourite's out of the lot of to be, the magnet's idea, the ink cartridge and the tire repair.

Rob Mortimer - Blogs - Good or Bad?

2009-07-13T14:47:00.003+01:00

I emailed Rob Mortimer today and asked him the question's about blogs.

There's two reasons why I emailed Rob;

a) He run's his own blog - http://the-ad-pit.blogspot.com/

b) He got recommended to me by Simon from LOVE.

Happily Rob answered my question's about blogs (within the hour) so here are his questions and answers.

1. Would you recommend that students produce a blog? If so why?

I don't, anyone shouldn't start a blog until they have a reason of starting it. 'Forced' blogs never work, only those with purpose and enthusiasm.

2. A lot of students aren't safe with putting there designs up on blogs due to the idea getting stolen. What would your opinion be on this?

It's a relevant worry. But when you go for jobs you take your portfolio to agencies, is that not the same thing? Besides, if your stuff gets copied its a good sign you are doing well, and you may be able to use it to give your career a boost.

3. People see a way to publicize themselves and there work, but a lot blogs don't get a lot of hits, so what would the purpose of a blog be?

The purpose is individual, and should come before the blog. Mine was originally to help me get a job in adland. Views will come if you engage the community and write interesting content.

4. Finally, what's one positive and one negative about having a blog?

Gaining great contacts --- Pissing people off when you don't like their work/views.

Hula Hoops Ad

2009-07-10T17:03:00.004+01:00

Whilst browsing the web recently I came across this Hula Hoops Ad.

This ad i think is something I really like.

I like how simplistic it is, it's silly but yet humorous, it's short and sweet and finally it shows how much fun you can have with the product . . . even if it is a packet of crisps.

Simon Griffin - Blogs - Good or Bad?

2009-07-10T15:15:00.010+01:00

Continuing on e-mailing around to get some response on the debate about blogs, I emailed Love Creative. I happily got a response from Simon Griffin. Simon is the Commander-in-chief of LOVE's blog.

1. Would you recommend that students produce a blog? If so why?

No. Unless it's something totally new and a million miles away from all the other student blogs that begin with "I went for a portfolio crit at the Billy Beef agency today..." blah blah blah. If you want to do a blog, do it about something totally different - standinaqueue blog (now, sadly no more) was a great example of a student blogging about standing in queues, and far more interesting than anything else I've read. It's just too easy to do what everyone else is doing; like there's a checklist of things you need to have before you get a job. Website? Check. Blog? Check. Twitter? Check. Job? Soon. It can take up so much of your time - time better spent sorting your portfolio out or creating an online portfolio. A blog probably won't get you a job. A good portfolio will.

2. A lot of students aren't safe with putting there design's up on blogs due to the idea getting stolen. What would your opinion be on this?

Everyone has ideas stolen. Sadly there's nothing we can really do about it. And remember it's not just students that have their ideas stolen. But if you don't put them out in the world (with a date that says when you did them), then

there's no way of proving that yours (at least) came first.

If your idea does get stolen, you should feel two things:

1) Happiness: that someone likes your work enough to steal it in the first place.

2) Sadness: that there is someone sat at a desk somewhere who is truly out of their depth, and has to survive by stealing other people's ideas. Perhaps they've got two children to support and they've just found out their wife's pregnant with triplets. And it's the neighbour's.

3. People see blogs as a way to publicize themselves and there work, but a lot of blogs don't get a lot of hits, so what should the purpose of a blog be?

The purpose of a blog is really up to whoever is writing it. But (and this contradicts the point I've just made) it's purpose shouldn't be to just get lots of hits.

4. Finally, what's one positive and negative about having a blog?

Positive: The whole world is your audience.

Negative: The whole world is your audience.

Duane King - Blogs - Good or Bad

2009-07-10T14:55:00.007+01:00

Another designer I e-mailed to get involved on the debate of Blogs was Duane King. Duane is an American based designer who works for BBDK. Happily Duane answered my question's and also was helpful if I had any other queries.

Answers and Questions;

1. Would you recommend that students produce a blog? If so why?

A blog may or may not be beneficial to a student. Certainly having a site that promotes your thoughts and shows samples of your work is a must, but a blog format may not be the best for these purposes. It's a judgement call. If the format fits your needs and understanding of HTML, then it's a valid tool, if not, don't force it. I'd recommend against simply pushing links to the work of others (there are far too many blogs that already do this - myself included) and instead offer your audience real insight on your motivations and explorations as a designer.

2. A lot of students aren't safe with putting there designs up on blogs due to the idea getting stolen. What would your opinion be on this?

I don't think that this is a valid concern. The ownership of ideas is fleeting at best and imitators or thieves will always do what they will. I'd recommend forgetting this concern and instead focus on generating ideas of value that are worth stealing. If someone does appropriate them, typically it's obvious where the ideas were lifted. Get your work out in front of the public and take criticism with an open mind. Success nullifies. Once you do succeed, you then have to do it all over again.

3. People see blogs as a way to publicize themselves and there work, but a lot of blogs don't get a lot of hits, so what would the purpose of a blog be?

Blogs can be whatever you'd like for them to be. Ideally, instead of simply adding more noise, they should contribute something of value to the world. Even it's a simple smile.

4. Finally, what's one positive and negative about having a blog?

Positive: Anyone can publish their thoughts to the world. Negative: Anyone can publish their thoughts to the world.

Ben Terratt - Blogs - Good or Bad?

2009-07-10T14:45:00.003+01:00

Following another recommendation of someone I should get in touch with on this debate, I got in touch with Ben Terratt who's a Graphic Designer in London. Ben does his own blog so the answer's should of been extra interesting.

Unfortunately Ben wasn't able to answer the questions due to how busy he is, but he sent me a link to an article on his Blog which should help with the questions.

http://noisydecentgraphics.typepad.com/design/2009/04/how-to-be-a-graphic-design-student-online.html

This is very useful it recommends what student's should be getting involved with, what websites to be publishing on etc.

Richard - Blogs - Good or Bad?

2009-07-10T14:18:00.006+01:00

Continuing to get responses on the debate of wether Blogs are good or bad Craig recommended that I got in touch with Richard (an English Graphic Designer) who runs his own blog, Aceject170. So going with Craig's recommendation I e-mailed Richard, and thankfully Richard answered the questions to do with Blogs.

Questions and Answers;

1. Would you recommend that students produce a blog? If so why?

I don't think there's any point producing a blog "for the sake of it" - except as a programming exercise I guess. Good blogs are fuelled by enthusiasm - if you don't think blogging's you're kind of thing, why force it? I certainly don't think being a designer should mean you should blog. Having said that, I've found that blogging has lead to some significant benefits: you can broaden the number and type of people you interact with and bounce ideas off; you can make

connections you wouldn't otherwise make; your blog can help raise you profile; you might even get work through it.

There's more: blog entries are kind of transient: you can post work, an opinion,a question and get immediate feedback but in a week that entry is history so whatever you've said or asked isn't "set in stone" - at worst, you can delete it.

Also, a blog provides an opportunity to write and writing is really useful for designers.

2. A lot of students aren't safe with putting there designs up on blogs due to the idea getting stolen. What would your opinion be on this?

Get it up there! Don't be precious. Your work is always in danger of being ripped-off by second rate spongers. Let them do it and take the moral high ground: if someone rips you off it's because: a) you're good, and b) they're crap.

3. People see blogs as a way to publicize themselves and their work, but a lot of blogs don't get a lot of hits, so what should the purpose of a blog be?

You don't need lots of hits, you just need the right hits. That might be your mates or it might be prospective employers or clients. If you want hits, you have to work at it and encourage them by publicising your blog somehow.

The purpose of a blog? That could be any number of things. A blog provides a format for you to present work in a less formal way than you might in a portfolio site so you could show experimental work, personal projects or un-realised projects as well as successful live work. You could use it to show rejected concepts that you really like. I've got a pile of those going back years. I wish I'd have a blog ten years ago.

Of course, lots of designers are using blogs to catalogue things they like and influence them. That's a good thing I think. It's a scrapbook.

Others use blogs to express broader ideas and that can give an insight into the way they think. A blog can be an expression of your personality, your sense of humour, your concerns. These things say a lot about you. That kind of insight could make you much more interesting to employers or clients (of course, it could also turn people off but let's stay positive). These are "brand" things aren't they? It's about building a "me-brand" and a blog is one channel that can help you do that.

4. Finally, what's one positive and negative about having a blog?

Positive: The connections you can make

Negative: Can't think of one

Gary Clarke - Blogs - Good or Bad

2009-07-09T01:52:00.006+01:00

Continuing to get opinions about blogs from people in the industry I emailed Gary Clarke with the set question's and thankfully he replied with his opinions.

Questions and Answers;

1. Would you recommend that students produce a blog? If so why?

Well, a Blog is no more than a website that you can update without any knowledge of HTML. The only difference is that feedback can be left on a blog. I would recommend that students have online portfolios of some sort, whether that be in the shape of a blog or website. I'm personally not that interested in how people reach ideas, but others might be.

I have me own blog at - http://www.flickr.com/photos/ilikegraphics - Flickr is good in that it's easier to be found, than a blog that is sat alone somewhere and relied on Google to drive traffic to you. If I was a student I would actively have a Flickr page and upload every idea I have.

I love visiting Fffound.com and Boooom.com, and many of the other 'collective' design blogs (as opposed to 'designers own blogs').

2. A lot of students aren't safe with putting there design's up on blogs due to the idea getting stolen. What would your opinion be on this?

I've never come across this as a problem. The only work that should be of concern to you is the work you are doing at the moment, so what if someone steals an idea? It meant it was a good idea. I'm not arsed if anyone steals my ideas, I've got plenty of others.

3. People see blogs as a way to publicize themselves and there work, but a lot of blogs don't get a lot of hits, so what should the purpose of a blog be?

Placing your work in the public arena should help you learn to be a better designer. If no one was interested in your last posting, then make it better. Take on board any criticism. Learn from other designers.

4. Finally, what's one positive and one negative about having a blog?

Positive is the comments and feedback

Negative is the work involved.

Joshua Trees - Blogs - Good or Bad?

2009-07-08T01:52:00.017+01:00

Continuing the debate about whether Blogs are good or bad, I decided to e-mail Joshua Trees from Fake I.D. with the same questions and see what his response would be.

Questions and Answers;

1. Would you recommend that students produce Blogs? If so why?

I'm not in the habit of recommending things. Blogs or otherwise. I see blogs as another platform in the spectrum of communication.

2. A lot of students aren't safe with putting there designs up on the blogs due to the idea getting stolen. What would your opinion be on this?

If the fear of plagiarism didn't stop you making a website or an online portfolio, then don't let it stop you from making a blog.

3. People see blogs as a way to publicize themselves and there work, but blogs don't get a lot of hits, so what would the purpose of a blog be?

Blogs should be whatever you conceive them to be.

4. Finally, what's one positive and negative about having a blog?

One positive thing about blogs is that it enables people to circumvent the rigid hierarchy of traditional publishing. One negative about blogs is that there's more shit to sort through to get the information you're looking for.

Craig Oldham - Blogs - Good or Bad?

2009-07-07T21:30:00.007+01:00

I emailed Craig Oldham asking him the same few question's about Blogs.

Although he took a while to reply, due to how busy he was, I was most grateful when he sent me the e-mail with the answer's to my question's in.

Question's and Answer's;

1. Would you recommend that students produce a blog? If so why?

There's no right or wrong answer here as it depends on what the blog would be.I see the blog as an opportunity for expression, whether expression in creativity, practice or theory, but what I don't see the blog as is an opportunity for show and tell. If you want to show and tell then get a website, not a blog.

So, if a student was going to have a blog it should be to promote their personal and creative development and not simply link to other peoples work that they think is cool and will then subsequently imitate. Not that I think linking is bad, on the contrary it can be very good, just as long as the reasoning behing the link is critical in approach and expression, saying why they like something and equally why they don't.

When it comes to putting their own work on blogs this again should be to add something to the work or give the student the chance to review, summarise and reflect on the design work they have undertaken. It should become a critical examination in an honest account of what is good, what is bad, and what, in hindsight, one might change. Then the often simpler of tasks—putting a finished project to the world—will improve you as a designer, forcing you to reflect on your work.

2. A lot of students aren't safe with putting there design's up on blogs due to the idea getting stolen. What would your opinion be on this?

Being honest and frank, as I can only be, I find this idea to be ludicrous.

Students are all too concerned about ownership of ideas, who came up with what, and who takes credit for that. The majority of this is irrelevant within education. Design isn't a solitary exercise and every designer should share their ideas with other creatively minded people, they should seek criticisim of their work not praise to further their development. Sure, some people are influenced by ideas, but this isn't necessarily a bad thing.

In terms of the close quarters of education, if your idea is stolen, it become obvious to everyone that it has been so I wouldn't worry. Take the moral high ground.

If you don't get your work out there then what's the point? Peter Saville says, "Graphic Design is for others, to others" so if you keep your work in the closet then you're not really a Graphic Designer.

3. People see blogs as a way to publicize themselves and there work, but a lot of blogs don't get a lot of hits, so what should the purpose of a blog be?

I think I covered that in my rant on question one, but to try and expand, I think they should be 'interested'. Now that's not a grammatical error, I meant to say interested and not interesting. People that think they are interesting are almost always not. People who are interested in things become enthusiastic, and enthusiasm is personal which makes someone interesting. Which rounds nicely to me saying that you should be critically interested in things which will develop you.

4. Finally, what's one positive and negative about having a blog?

Good: if used right, becomes a development tool, similar to a diary.

Bad: everybody has one, and anybody can get one.

Darren Scott - Blogs - Good or Bad?

2009-07-07T21:11:00.011+01:00

I recently e-mailed Truth questioning them about Blogs.

Thankfully Darren Scott got in touch and gave me his opinions on the matter.

Question's and Answer's;

1. Would you recommend that students produce a blog? If so why?

I would only produce a blog if you have something notable to say that you think people may be interested in.

However, many people are using blogs as and alternative to a website to host a portfolio.

2. A lot of students aren't safe with putting there design's up on blogs due to the idea getting stolen. What would your opinion be on this?

I am afraid that is the chance we all take as designers everyday, putting your work out in the public domain will always make it subject to plagerism. The vast amount of design blogs now make it very easy for other designers to ‘borrow ideas‘ rather than being original. They have become a short cut to thinking that many are guilty of using, students in my opinion a more guilty than most. I see many portfolios every month and they all have work very similar to high profile agencies like NON-format or people like Si Scott or they have chopped the serifs of Times New Roman and claimed it as there own. It is a sign of the times I am afraid.

3. People see blogs as a way to publicize themselves and there work, but a lot of blogs don't get a lot of hits, so what should the purpose of a blog be?

Again, I would only produce a blog if you have something notable to say that you think people may be interested in.

Many people think just because you have a blog with some work on it, people will visit in their masses, they wont. People want information or inspiration, you need to give them a reason to come back.

4. Finally, what's one positive and negative about having a blog?

It is a great way to share your work and love of design, it is also a great way to request feedback and get stuff of your chest.

But, don’t expect massive hits overnight if at all.

Anthony Jones - Blogs - Good or Bad?

2009-07-07T20:59:00.010+01:00

Another person I emailed about Blogs, was Anthony Jones from TWBA Manchester. Anthony is the creative head at TWBA.

Question's and Answer's;

1. Would you recommend that students produce a blog? If so why?

Yes. It is a very flexible tool that can accommodate a plethora of uses. The key is to decide how you want to use it for yourself.

2. A lot of students aren't safe with putting there design's up on blogs due to the idea getting stolen. What would your opinion be on this?

I’d simply recite the adage ‘you’ve got to be in it to win it’. Frankly, there are no shortage of designers (myself included) or designs. If somebody wants to plagiarize they will. The point, while the work has value, is that it is really the designer that is the valuable resource, not the work itself. The reason you will be employed is because there is more where that came from.

3. People see blogs as a way to publicize themselves and there work, but a lot of blogs don't get a lot of hits, so what should the purpose of a blog be?

There are many, many ways a blog can be used. When used in the form of professional publicity, you have to ask yourself, is it to generate work in of itself, or is it a tool you will use to point people to yourself, like a CV or Portfolio? Both routes require a different mindset about what you publish on it, generating work requires a lot of constant input and effort.

4. Finally, what's one positive and negative about having a blog?

Positives are easy, but to choose one at random; a blog can show not only your work, but a passion and enthusiasm by the frequency and flavour of the content you add, in and around your work.Negatives generally arise from a deviation from how it was intended to be used and the reality, or neglect, it may get. This roughly translates to, if you don’t keep it updated, it looks like you’re doing nothing, which is generally bad.

James Corazzo - Blogs - Good or Bad?

2009-07-07T20:53:00.004+01:00

To start the blog debate off I decided to ask James (my tutor) a few question's about blogs.

The reason for this is, was that he set the brief for us to complete the blog so I thought I'd get his opinion's firstly.

Question and Answers;

1. Would you recommend that students produce a blog? If so why?

We have made it a requirement of a particular module. The rationale being that it has proved to be the most suitable method we have found so far (in terms of use) for a student to document their findings.

A blog can be used in many ways, but because of the diary-like nature of a blog one thing it does fairly well is encourage "reflective thinking". Being able to reflect – look back on and analyse your self, work etc. – is a key aspect to learning.

It is also a means to publish. Until very recently the routes to publishing your thoughts, idea, work, images etc. were strewn with obstacles. Publishing used to mean power. Because blogs are accessible to all and essentially free to set up they have the potential to open up the means to publish and reach an audience to anybody. This is a democratising tool, and generally good for society.

For a student they represent an opportunity to get your work out of your folder, the college, a plan chest and perhaps invite comment, interest or criticism. At the same time, we do not insist that students publish their work on blogs.

2. A lot of students aren't safe with putting there design's up on blogs due to the idea getting stolen. What would your opinion be on this?

I would like to see some evidence of this. What is more likely is students are ripping other peoples ideas off!

3. People see blogs as a way to publicize themselves and there work, but a lot of blogs don't get a lot of hits, so what should the purpose of a blog be?

I agree the internet must be jammed with unseen blogs. But you can make a blog entirely private,this doesn’t reduce its usefulness. If you want traffic you need to develop content that people want to engage with.

4. Finally, what's one positive and negative about having a blog?

Positive -– you can be exposed to things and people (and talk to them) across the globe.
Negative - Reading on screen still has its drawbacks.

Blogs - Good or Bad?

2009-07-07T19:42:00.002+01:00

Recently I had a end of year meeting with my tutor at University. After talking about a few things we came onto the topic of Blogs. This is down to how we have to create a Blog to publicize our work, keep track or work we like, keep a record of what designers we have contacted and then keep track of other things like portfolio viewings and lectures etc.

Whilst we was talking about this we had a little debate on blogs. Little things about why we should do them if they don't get recognized and why do them in the first place.

So, after I left this meeting I decided to further this more and contacting designers and seeing what they thought about blogs.

Each designers opinion's will follow when I hear back from them.

Craig Oldham Contact

2009-07-07T03:41:00.005+01:00

A while back I wrote a letter to Craig Oldham saying thank you for his lecture, how I enjoyed it, how I felt it interacted more than most lectures and also was it a possibility to show him my portfolio.

Recently I got an e-mail back off Craig with his apologies for how long he took to get back in touch. This was good to hear, this is down to how he hadn't forget about the letter even if this was sent about 4-6 weeks ago.

Craig also offered to take a look at my portfolio so I'm waiting to hear back from him with his response and the advice he can offer me.

Agency Contact

2009-06-24T19:43:00.004+01:00

Recently I've been e-mailing Tanya from BrandFour.

BrandFour are a company based in Lincoln but have an office based in Manchester for meeting clients etc.

I started off e-mailing Tanya asking a few questions based upon typography and work they've created for clients. I was lucky enough to arrange a portfolio viewing with Tanya aswell.

LJA Studios

2009-06-23T17:46:00.004+01:00

Recently I e-mailed LJA Studios (a small graphic design firm in Wilmslow) asking them a few questions.

These question's were to do with Blogs, work the company have created, portfolios and placements.

The director of the company got back to me within an hour so the response was very quick.

The answer's I got was interesting due to how LJA are not such a big company like Music or Chase etc.

A positive I got out of this, is that he asked me to send some work to him as a pdf so he could have a look at it, also he said that he will keep my details on record incase any work came up.

Portfolio Viewing

2009-06-18T15:17:00.006+01:00

Recently I went and shown Tanya from Brand Four my portfolio.

This meant travelling down to Lincoln which was good because it got me out of Manchester.

On the way there was a few hiccups, public transport never runs smoothly.

Eventually when I got there I was sent upstairs where Tanya introduced herself.

We started generally talking how I was etc, saying how there moving in to there new office in September etc, which was really warming.

After this we started talking about work, how she's currently working with Coca-Cola and then shown me bits and pieces of other work she's been creating for other clients.

After a thorough talk about this we then moved on to my portfolio. I shown Tanya my work, explained a bit about each piece etc. Certain pieces which Tanya liked was the typographic based work, i.e Brass Band Poster and Manchester Literature Festival. Tanya also liked the idea of the paper exhibition and how that would be advertised. This is when we spoke how it's hard to show an idea as if it's real. For example in the portfolio the Paper Exhibition idea is to have the billboard's cut up and then rebuilt in different way's e.g origami and paper aeroplane.

When Tanya saw the Brass Band poster and the Manchester Literature Festival poster, I got a real positive feed back. The idea of how the Brass Band poster being interactive as well as being a poster is something she really liked. With the Manchester Literature poster Tanya really liked how I have used white space . During talking about this piece of work we got onto the topic of typography, saying how it's good not to use the basic Helvetica and how it's good to get used to certain fonts learn how they work and know how big the family is. One thing what is really good is when designer's don't know what typeface you have used on a piece of work and it makes them think for a bit.

After I shown Tanya my portfolio she gave me some positive feed back. She said that I have really high standard of work and she mentioned how I was better than 20 other designers who have applied for work with the company.

When I got home the next day I e-mailed Tanya again saying thank you for taking time out to see me and enquiring about placements. Unfortunately due to lack of space they don't do placement's at the moment, but Tanya asked me was it Ok to keep my details on file and also to keep in touch as she would like to see my end of year portfolio.

Practitioner Comparison

2009-06-18T15:14:00.005+01:00

Fudge Vs. Truth

Fudge is a Graphic Design company based in Bolton. When Gavin came in to talk to us instead of showing pieces of work what was finished and talking about the company, he instead took us through the branding process of the England Squash identity. Straight away this was something which was more interesting because this showed us how he as an individual worked and how designers work.

Truth is a Graphic Design company based in Manchester made up by a partnership between Darren and Jane. These two previously worked at a different design company so they already knew each other really well. When these two came in to hold a talk with us, they decided to show us work they have been creating, the experiences they both have gone through in the industry and to give us some helpful tips. Yes, this was a good talk but I prefer it when we see how the designer has actually worked, the different stages he has gone through to get to the final stage and the selection of idea's what have been thrown away along the way.

Gavin started off by showing us a selection of the rough sketches he had created for this brief. This included photocopy's of little sketches in like a diary to sketches on A3 paper. This was good to show because in the industry you never turn off you are always switched on, so you never know when you will get an idea for a brief, and you might see something in the street what gives you an idea. Gavin told us how there is six stages to designing; project scope, research, naming, design concept, design development and design application. Gavin and a few other's spent two days researching England Squash, this is important because you need to find out the history of the company, how the company likes to function - as a business and a sport - and the previous identity of the company. Gavin advised us that you need to have a full understanding of the client, what they like what they don't like etc, also we should always consider other branding in that area. It took Gavin three attempts to actually sell the idea, this was down to how the client didn't like the red rose incorporated within his design. Gavin's response to this was "The rose isn't for you, it's for the customers." After this the client accepted Gavin's idea, this is the one that he went on to finalize.

Going back to Truth and how they presented to us, Darren and Jane spoke about different things, this is down to how Darren does most of the design work and Jane does all the organizing, meeting the clients etc. When Darren started talking he spoke about a lot of typefaces he had created for different briefs. This was something I was really interested in because I really enjoy working more type based. He then showed us work he has created for such clients as Amir Khan (Reebok,) Versus Cancer '08 and Coca - Cola. This work was really interesting especially the Versus Cancer '08 campaign. Something Darren did suggest to us was that we should rationalize our work - explain why we have done such a design and to create something with a purpose. Another thing which was said, was that we shouldn't have a set style, we should learn all the fields in the design industry because this will have a bigger impact on the work we create.

Over all both talks were very interesting, both was very presented different which is good because it would be very repetitive if everything was the same. Out of the two I preferred how Gavin presented his work. This is down to how I like to see how the designer work's, the different stages they have gone through to get to the final piece and the good idea's what had to be put a side no matter if they had there heart set on them. Another reason I liked this, is because when a designer comes in and show's either the work they have created or the company have created, and this is a good standard of work, then a lot of the time the students will all swarm around the designer asking questions - why do this when you never do it any other time? Are they trying to make a lasting impression on the designer? Or they just generally ass licking?!

A found that with Gavin's talk I learnt a lot of things. I learnt how we are expected to work in industry - which isn't that different from we are currently working now - I quick we are expected to work to and most of all how hard it can be to sell an idea to the client. With Darren he didn't talk about anything to do with the clients, what it's like to sell idea's to them etc, he just spoke about how he's created different type faces for different briefings. To some people this would be good but I'd prefer to find out more about what it's like working for different clients. Over all both presentations was very good, both had positives to take from and to keep in mind.

Portfolio Viewings

2009-05-15T12:35:00.003+01:00

Recently I've been in-touch with agencies with the possibility of showing them my work.

I've been lucky enough to get two agencies to view my portfolio:

BrandFour - Roughly a week (re-arranging date)

Truth - Friday 29th

So watch this space for feed back.

Portfolio

2009-05-08T19:18:00.007+01:00

Recently in University we was set a task of creating our own portfolio and then going out into the industry to get some responses. Although this seems an obvious brief due to the fact that we want to promote ourself not many people had actually done this before. The following spreads is how my portfolio looks.

One day brief.

2009-05-06T15:38:00.006+01:00

On Tuesday 5th May, I was handed a one day brief which i had to accomplish in 5 hours.

The brief was to take photos around the local environment, of every day life, that has an odd twist to it. We didn't have to take an image that was WOW in quality, it was just how the image came across, the way we titled it and what we was trying to show also was a major factor of how good the image was.

Floating Cone

Teddy bear outing

Whats CCTV coming to?

New type of Staff Car Parks

Fake I.D. brief.

2009-05-05T22:41:00.009+01:00

On the 30th April, I was lucky enough to do a one day brief with Fake I.D.

Fake I.D. was founded in 1999 by Yvan Martinez and Joshua Trees.

Fake I.D. is an independent graphic design practice that develops projects for cultural contexts (exhibitions, games, performances, publications, social media, websites and workshops.) Fake I.D. initiates collaborations between artists, brands and institutions, and works with companies to expand the cultural dimension of their communications through the origination motivation and support of thought-provoking activities and productions.

Currently in its tenth year, Fake I.D. had produced a diverse rang of work recognized in numerous books and magazines, including commissions from Aiwa, Anthropologie, COLORS, Emigre, The Face, Giant Robot, GBLT Historical Society, Harmony Korine, IdN, MTV, Nike, Sony, Urban Outfitters, Venice Biennale, Wieden + Kennedy and Zune Arts, among others.

The brief that Joshua and Yvan set us, was to use a set photograph and then produce a two minute voice over. Although this sounded an easy task, the catch was, that you couldn't directly reference anything appearing in the photograph itself.

For all the finished pieces, please visit;

http://www.wefakeid.com/p_lstn.php

Pot Noodle Ad's

2009-04-28T21:44:00.005+01:00

Recently there has been a set of new Pot Noodle adverts on the television.

The two I've seen recently are for the new Kebab Pot Noodle (Kebabalab) and for the Beef and Tomato flavour (Tastified.)

Whilst watching these video's there is a lot of idea's being copied from other items. For example Tastified ad is blatantly copying the High School Musical scene. Some people might see this as a good idea because it's so recognizable, but I don't agree, because when I watch the video it doesn't promote the pot noodle much to me, I just think of High School Musical more.

Another example how they've copied thing's would be, in the Kebab Pot Noodle advert there's a dance scene which has been copied out of a song by Beyonce - Single Ladies.

To view the video's just click on the Kebab Pot Noodle link and you shall find the selection of video's there, enjoy.

Marian Bantjes

2009-04-24T14:13:00.011+01:00

Marian Bantjes is a Canadian designer, artist, typographer and writer.

Marian has done projects for companies and people such as, Saks Fifth Avenue, Stefan Sagmeister, Michael Bierut/Pentagram, the AIGA, Winterhouse, Print Magazine, Wired, The New York Times, Wallpaper, The Guardian, FontShop, Houghton-Mifflin, Little, Brown & Co., Knopf Books, Young & Rubicam Chicago, just to name a few of them.

Marian is an inspiring person with the work she has produced, her work is appealing with how she uses and produces typography. She doesn't do it basically, Marian likes to experiment with things, for example using laser printing and oil paintings to Vector Art and cutting up paper.

A few examples of Marian's work;

Type burned into wood - " All The Boys Who Loved Me Back"

For an article on Jay Z in a magazine - "The Audacity of Show"

Creative Review Monograph - For the subscriptions editions of Creative Review.

Coca-Cola Posters

2009-04-06T20:01:00.003+01:00

Recently I was browsing through the Coca-Cola website trying to find information about there new packaging design on some of the Coca-Cola items. Although I didn't find any information about them I came across some Coca-Cola posters which I found appealing to me.

The posters area a collection of images that are designed by leading arts and designers from around the world. Each designer has depicted there own interpretation of 'The Coke Side Of Life' philosophy. The work of the artists reflect different styles, personalities and cultures, and all designers have one thing in common: they are all colourful explosions of energy, optimism and happiness.

A few of the examples are below:

For more examples visit; http://www.coca-cola.co.uk/cokesideofliferemix

Chubb - End Sting Design

2009-04-06T14:55:00.009+01:00

For the past five weeks I have been working on a brief, which was to design an end sting for the company Chubb. The end sting had to be between three and five seconds long. My idea was to base if on a CCTV, so the idea was to be zoomed into the Chubb logo and move around the letters then near the end if pans out so you see the logo itself.

Chubb - No Sound

Chubb - Sound

Anthony Smith Talk

2009-04-06T13:33:00.004+01:00

Recently i attended a talk held by Anthony Smith who is from the design company called Music.

Anthony graduated at H.N.D level in 1989 at Bolton University, he worked at Tucker Clarke Williams for five years and he went to London and worked as a free lancer - this is just a section of his career to date.

Anthony started his talk by saying how he's split down into four different parts;

How got his first job
How Music was set up
How the company work
Some of his current work

So Anthony started with saying about what it was like for him after he had finished University and what it was like to get a job in the industry after it. It took Anthony roughly a year until he was in permanent employment, he had part time jobs at the council and for a design company in Warrington though so he was able to bring money in to help him buy food and water etc. Whilst he hadn't been in employment he kept his portfolio updated with work, this is something he recommended to do, because a lot of people will just finish there degree and forget about there work, we need to stay optimistic.

After this he started about interviews and what he finds important at them. Firstly he said about presentation, be clear about what the brief was and how we answered the brief, always be positive about your work - even if you don't like that piece so much, if you get into a company ask them for other contacts and mainly ATTITUDE - always ask questions, be interested and make yourself useful.

Anthony then moved onto talk about how Music was set up. Eighteen months ago Dave Simpson from Love Creative asked Anthony if he wanted to set up a company, so obviously the answer was yes. After this they started working in Dave's flat whilst they found a suitable office for the company. They found an office in Ancoats, but they still worked in the flat whilst the office was refurbished. Anthony said if any of us get the chance to set up our own business then go for it! Although he wouldn't recommend doing it on his own.

With setting up a new company it was hard for them to get clients to give them briefs or clients come to them. The good thing about Anthony and Dave setting the company is, that they both have come across clients and received contacts due to the companies they have worked for. Another way they they got work was through there website, word of mouth and awards they have won. When they receive a brief they have a bit of time to digest the brief, understand what the client is asking for and then they back to the client with different answers - pics and ideas etc.

Some of the work the company have done or are currently doing is for D&AD Judging Week and Manchester City Football Club.

This is a company I hadn't heard of before but when Anthony came in I was very impressed with what he has achieved with the company within eighteen months and also the quality of the work that they produce, I will regularly checking there website to keep track of the work they are producing.

Andrew Paul Brooks - Hidden Manchester

2009-03-31T00:22:00.004+01:00

Andrew Paul Brooks is a Photography who has recently had an exhibition up at Urbis.

I hadn't heard of Andrew before nor came across any of his work but now I'm glad I decided to go see the exhibition.

From the photo's on display i got the impression that Andrew didn't like taking the obvious photograph. He tended to go out explore places and take pictures of places that people wouldn't normally imagine of shooting. For example there was images of sewers, courtyards and then city skylines - but not from the so obvious places.

When i was looking at the photo's the images reminded me of pin hole cameras - I doubt he used to a pin hole camera to shoot the shot but just the way the image is formed reminded me of such things.

When I got home from the exhibition I decided to research further into Andrew because of how much I liked his work. This is where I found more information about Andrew as a Photographer. Andrew is a 'conceptual digital artist and film maker - based in Manchester.'

On his website Andrew says;

"The crucial element to my work is atmosphere. . . No matter how much digital application is going on, the atmosphere and feel of a picture is always the most important thing."

Further reading into him on his website it say's how he comes up with such stunning and abstract imagery. This is down to how he captures hundreds of images to create a complete piece of work. Then, a meticulously developed sequence of cut, paste and rebuilding, moulding a new scene from his own vividly re-imagined viewpoint that is consistent, yet also a parallel with that of the perceived reality it represents. Andrew finishes off by saying;

"The large scale of my stills photography enables a viewer to enter and explore each scene in depth and to constantly find new elements and hidden layers with the jigsaw."

Emory Douglas - The Art of Evolution

2009-03-30T23:22:00.006+01:00

Recently I went and viewed an exhibition at Urbis which was based upon the artist Emory Douglas & The Art of Revolution.

Emory Douglas used to be a member of a group called Black Panther. During the exhibition on one of the walls there was a speech wrote on it which explained how the group name came along. It goes;

"You know the nature of a panther is that if you push it sooner or later it is going to come out of that corner to try and wipe out who's oppressing it. This is like Racism, keeps everyone pushed into a corner."

A lot of Emory's work was based upon Racism, how black people don't get treated equally nor correctly. Douglas' work was produced a lot of the time on the wall's of the ghetto. fences, doorways and storefront windows etc.

When i viewed the the exhibition i found the art very striking and powerful. This was down to how it showed the past and how racism and fascism was such a bad thing back in the 60's - when i wasn't around to witness or experience such a thing.

Rick Poynor Lecture

2009-03-24T23:33:00.012Z

"I'll be your mirror: A critical look at the design monographs"

Rick Poynor

On Tuesday 17Th March I went up to Sheffield Hallam University and attended a talk held by Rick Poynor. Rick is a British writer, he writes about graphic design, typography and visual culture. Some of the things Rick has achieved/done in his career is; founded Eye Magazine, co-founded Design Observer, taught at such places as the Jan van Eyck Academy in Maastricht and finally, stared in the film Helvetica.Rick Poynor is someone who has a great interest in design monographs, one thing he did mention about design monographs is that they are aimed at the 'star' people within design industry. One tip Rick advised us upon was that design monographs are no good to critically analyse. This is down to how there is no right nor wrong within the text and each piece is very opinion based.

Rick then moved onto talk about the monograph as a self-interpretation, this is where he started showing us different sets of books and

there spreads. One that he did show us was The End of Print, David Carson, this was the most successful selling design monograph book to date, and what helped was that the book was set out in Carson style work, this resulted in type overlapping imagery and the type not being readable. But looking at it from a monograph perspective, Rick found it very hard to separate his work pieces from one another.

Another book that Paynor showed us was that by Stefan Sagmeister. In this book Stefan started the monograph by putting 'not another design monograph' on the front spread. This implies that he doesn't really take his monographs very serious. Another thing about Sagmeister which is interesting, is how he annotates his own work, this is a rare thing because you don't see many designers doing that.

Rick ended off by talking about the future of the monograph. This isn't an obvious conclusion due to the fact of the introduction of the web based information. Due to the internet being so easily accessed from such broad places and areas this results in that the monograph sales are going down hill due to the fact that the internet is cheaper and quicker.

Dan Ingham & Stephen Owen

2009-03-23T22:05:00.005Z

Recently Dan and Stephen came into to do a talk to us about what they both have been doing since graduating from the course in 2007. The first positive they both gained was that in there results they both achieved Firsts and also, they both won D&AD New Blood 'Best in Show' awards.

The first tip they gave us, was that they recommended that we should be in college as much as we possibly can. This was because being in college it allowed us to produce more quality ideas instead of being at home and isolated, also this allowed you to get an input from other students on your ideas to see what they thought of the idea and/or how it could be improved etc.

Both Ste and Dan had the opportunity to showcase there work down in London, which consisted of over 2000 students and there work. They mentioned how this was a great opportunity to them due to the fact that they was able to build relationships with members of companies and more importantly show off there talents to the big companies down south.

Whilst down in London, this is where Ste and Dan both gained there awards for 'Best in Show.' There was over 2000 students which had an opportunity to win this award, which went out to 40 students, but both of them each won an award each which thinking about it is a great achievement - winning two of the same award, the same year, from the same college!

When they both got back from London they both started getting numerous of offers for jobs, but remarkably they both turned them down! The reason to this was that they both knew they could do better than just designing kebab house leaflets. You have to think this was a great decision because with the awards they both just won you'd expect them both to do miles better than that. Also how they both turned down the opportunity for money straight after qualification was a bold move.

After they had these job opportunitys they both decided to look for work placements instead of being stuck inside doing nothing and not using the skills they have. They had placements with such companies as Thoughtful and The Chase. They was both currently on placement with Mark Design and McCann Erickson

Further in the talk they started to talk about there life when they was in college. They mentioned that they both had a strong bond which each other, which is a great asset and this will be a great move because you never know when you might need someone's help in future reference. When they was in college they mentioned how they received negative comments and jealousy - which you wouldnt expect. This was down to how it was always them two getting picked for things, but if they work the hardest, put most effort in etc then they deserve it!

Glorious Talk

2009-03-23T16:48:00.013Z

Recently Tom Shaughnessy from Glorious came in and spoke to us about the work they have recently been producing. Glorious are a multi-award winning design company based in Manchester who are currently ranked in the top 5 design companies in the whole of England, which is remarkable seeming they have only running three and a half years under glorious.

Tom showed us a handful of examples of work that he and the company have produced. One of these was for a reading room. This consisted of using bookmarks, but nothing developed of this idea due to them falling out with the company they was doing the brief for.

Another piece of work we was shown was based on Pay & Display tickets. They was briefed and asked to produce a clever idea that would generate awareness of an exhibition of designer/makers in an NCP car park through word of mouth. The solution they came up with was to use the car park tickets and then just put the

details on the ticket in the style of a parking ticket. They actually re-created the typeface for this brief because this was better than any bitmap font, and also it would result in the typeface not pixelating.

Another brief which Tom showed us was for a company called Client Centric. The client asked them to produce a corporate identity for them and in doing so there company name got changed to REDdog. The solution to the brief was that they created a red dog who would perform various tasks for each item. For example on stationary he would be 'begging' on the invoice and 'fetching' on the address label and 'tickling tummy' on the compliment slips.

Another piece of work that Tom shown us was a calendar for Karl's barbershop in Manchester. The owner of the company wanted something creating which would celebrate 40 years in the business. The final piece was a calendar which was run over the financial year (this due to that most customers are city professionals.) One object i like about the calendar is when pulling it out it's sleeve it acts like it's the iconic red and white barbers pole which is found outside the barbers. This calendar went onto win many awards.

Fudge Lecture

2009-02-18T23:01:00.007Z

On the 5Th December, Gavin Bates from Fudge came in and spoke to us.

This talk wasn't like any previous talks we've had because in this one Gavin gave us a talk about a project they was currently doing. The project was the redesign of British Squash and Tennis. The main objective of the brief was to, redevelop and redesign the existing England Squash brand.

Gavin started off by explaining about what they had and how many days these things took.

1. Project Scope and Evaluation - Two days.

2. Research and Analysis - Go out and research into the specific field or similar.

3. Naming Solution (Already had a name this time though) - Two/Three days.

4. Design Concept - Five days.

5. Design Development - Two days

6. Design Application and Artwork.

Gavin started off by doing rough sketches on paper . . . and post-it notes. When he was talking about this it allowed me to realize that he works like we have been taught to work instead of just going straight onto the Mac.

After he came up with his ideas he then met the client again and then they chose which ones they prefer the most. With the chosen six solutions they had a week to develop this further and then think of the applications. During the week they would also have meetings with the client where they spoke about things like editing etc.

The first logo was a typographic solution.

This combined the racket and ball into one logo. This then was tried on business card's and also the kit which is worn.

The second logo was the St George's cross. This also looked like an aimer also.

With this idea it became more alive when the branding started to happen.

The third logo was the lion represented with England. This also represented strength and courage. This logo was made up of dots, this represents where the squash ball has hit.

The fourth logo was a crown. The English monarchs symbol of authority was this as well. This was also made up of dots.

The fifth logo was a shield. This was made up of the markings from the court. The bad thing about this idea was that it had to be dropped because the Rugby League did there rebranding to and then there logo ended up being a shield.

The sixth logo was a rose. The image was of the English rose which is a royal badge which originates from Tudor time.

With all these logos the first thing which had to happen was that they all had to work in black and white.

The two logos which were under consideration was the rose and the shield.

Overall this talk was very interesting because we could see things which we was already doing which are useful for later reference, another reason why this talk was good was because instead of going through there work he went into detail and explained the stages which know body has done before in any of our talks.

Research for Feel Good Drinks

2008-12-10T14:21:00.016Z

Recently I have been given a YCN competition brief for the company Feel Good Drinks.
The brief is to make people more aware of how happy Feel Good Drinks can make you.
Whilst researching into examples of different types of I came across a website which was packed full of different types of examples. For instance there was;

Advertising on the internet
Advertising for Men, Gays, Parents, Students, Teens and many more
Creative Concepts
Direct Mail
E-Mail Advertising
Graphic/Advertising Design
Guerrilla Marketing
Posters
Print Advertising
Vintage Advertising
Viral Marketing

And thats just to name a few of the categories. A few examples off here are;

Link to the website - http://pzrservices.typepad.com/