Noisy Decent Graphics

Demi Serif

Without looking on Google, does anyone know what a Demi Serif is?

I was just wondering...

StrawberryFrog

"Hi Mum, yeah I'm doing really well. I got a job with a company called StrawberryFrog."

Peter Saville - skating on the thinnest of ice

I'd like to talk about Peter Saville.

I hope you've all heard of Peter Saville (if you're a graphic designer start nodding now). The thing is, I feel that any conversation about Saville has to be split into two distinct categories, Saville the man and Saville the work.

So here goes.

1. Saville the man.
I've never met him, but believe me I've been close enough. He even gave a lecture when I was at college, a long, long time ago. He is often at design events floating around like something from the 60's, smoking. For the record I think he's an absolute tosser. He talks gibberish, he has pretensions like a pop star diva and he accepted the job "Creative Director of Manchester" without bursting out laughing. However...

2. Saville the work.
... I think the work is bloody brilliant. OK - he has a particular style and he's only really suited to a particular type of job, but the work is lovely. Always really nice stuff. Always. He joined Pentagram but had to leave (probably because he's a tosser) and he routinely goes bust but the actual graphics are innovative, lush, exciting and different.

And that brings me to the whole point of this. He just designed the posters for Somerset House's Ice Rink again. And they are gorgeous. Really great to look at, festive in a contemporary way and best of all they are really different from all the stereotypical ice rink stuff out there.

This year's poster.

Last years poster.

Other, inferior, ice rink graphics.

There is a much better biography of Peter Saville here on Wikipedia and you'll find Saville Associates here.

What do you think of these Oscars posters?

Hello, I'd like your comments please. You tell me what you think of these posters, released last Friday, to promote next years Oscar ceremony. They were designed by Studio 318 in San Diego.

You can read more about the posters on the BBC website or the official Oscars website.

Add your comments below in the usual way.

Close To Water

This a company a friend told me about the other day.

They're called Close To Water. I'm not saying they're the next Pentagram, I'm even saying they're very good. It's just that the logo has a lovely little touch.

Take a look for yourself.

Phone Book by Henrietta Thompson

A talented and very nice person (and someone I know, so I have to own up to a vested interest) called Henrietta Thompson has written a book called Phone Book.

I was at the launch party earlier this week, back at the Design Museum again.

The book is all about mobile phone design, how it's changed and evolved. I know that Henrietta has been working on this book for a long time and hat she's uncovered some real gems from the Far East. Did you know that Marc Newson had designed a phone? Nor did I. Here’s a picture.

I haven't read the book yet, but I've got a copy and I' shall be reporting back soon. I’m pretty confident it will be very good, and I recommend you purchase it today from Amazon. Makes the perfect Christmas present.

Sony Bravia Advert

I'm sure this has been written about on a million blogs, but I'm going to join in because it's beautiful and it takes your breath away. And ads don't do that very often, anymore.

Here's the finished advert.

But more interestingly here's some pictures from flickr taken by local residents present on the day of filming.

PS Does anyone find it weird that they made a whole website about the ad?

Russell Davies - essential reading

If you've been reading this for a while you'll be aware that design is about good ideas. Great bloody ideas. People are always asking me which websites about ideas they ought to read (is that a weird thing to be asking me?)

So here goes.

There are lots of blogs about ideas. There are the obvious gurus Seth Godin and Tom Peters which are both very good, but a little Corporate Americana these days. You know when you get the feeling that now everyone knows about it, it's not fun anymore? That's how I feel about those guys. Still worth reading though.

Dig a little deeper and there are many other, quirky interesting blogs that are about ideas but don't really know it. Funny Pancake and Cool Hunting spring to mind. Then there's industry stuff like psfk.

But I'd like to alert you to someone else.

Ladies and Gentlemen let me introduce to you Russell Davies. He's an account planner (if you don't know there's a good definition of what that is here) for a major sportswear brand. He used to be Head of Planning at W+K London and is partially responsible for recent Honda ads.

There is so much good stuff on his blog it's really hard to pick out the best bits, but I'll give it a try. This post about Lego Lacie drives is a good example, this post where he posts a brief for budding planners to work on, this post about triangles or this post about Tiffins. There is so much good stuff.

It's also absolutely brilliant. It's about ideas, insights, life, honesty, love. work, human nature, style, brands, all the things you should be interested in and absorbed by as a designer.

I can't describe how much I enjoy this blog. Read it, interact with Russell and be inspired.

http://russelldavies.typepad.com

Would you open this door?

Fletcher Forbes and Gill would be flattered

Whilst this is obviously a blatant rip off of the Fletcher Forbes Gill classic, I can't help but like it.

Leakbusters' van from 2005

The Fletcher, Forbes and Gill designed bus from 1962

I'm sure Fletcher, Forbes and Gill would have approved too. As I took this photo the lads in the van were laughing and smiling, a sure sign that that wasn't the first time someone has stopped to take a picture. I always admire it when small businesses do something like this. I was going to call it DIY branding but I don't want to give the impression that I think designing your own logo is a good thing. No, no that's a very bad idea. Well whatever it's called, it's a good thing. It made me laugh out loud, it made the Leakbusters lads proud and hopefully it made you smile.

All in all I think that's a good thing.

Has Bill Gates done the Knowledge?

Now, what's this all about?

I spotted this the other day in Lewisham. I'm well aware that many people fall foul of Microsoft's American spelling system. I'm even more aware that there is probably a whole generation growing up thinking that wordz are zpelt with z's inztead of s'.

But this takes the bizcuit. (OK, I'll stop now.)

Really, Lewisham Council, what is this all about? Do the people that make the signs really use Microsoft Word and the spell check came up with this? Is it a genuine mistake? Is it named after an American street? (To my American readers - in the UK enterprise is spelt with an S.)

I did a quick search on Google but all it said was:

Quite.

Understatement

Independent reviews?

Someone sent me this the other day graphicdesign.org.uk looks interesting. I like the idea of graphic designers being reviewed independently, let's see if they can keep it up.

And they're right, Pentagram are the best design company in the world.

Looks like Kate made it

You read the prediction here first.

Now the read the actualitae. "Virgin Mobile set to sign Kate Moss for campaign".

"I can't quite believe that I'm alive today"

As reported by Richard Williams of WMH - further to my post about Williams Murray Hamm someone has sent me this hilarious story.

It’s from a website called Roller Coaster World (which is funny enough in itself) and tells the tale of how WMH avoided near death on Brighton Pier. I’ll leave you to read the rest here.

"Even better"

Had a meeting with a potential new supplier last week.

Sometimes we like our suppliers to meet our clients and sometimes we keep them as far away as possible. In this meeting I asked the Managing Director if he would be happy to come to client meetings occasionally. "Yeah" he said, "that will be no problem".

Then I asked if he'd be happy, on some projects, to never meet the client. "Even better" he replied with a wry smile.

Genius.

Wonderful

I want you to look at something with me. Ready?

OK? That's fairly straightforward isn't it?

Right, now look at this.

You see? I think that's pretty bloody clever.

Wonder Branding

Brand Autopsy

http://brandautopsy.typepad.com

This quite an interesting site in a US kinda way. I fear it takes itself a little to seriously but there is some interesting stuff here.

This entry about Seth godin is particularly interesting. Especially Seth's reply. I agree with ya, Seth.

Shit, I used interesting 3 times in that post. Better get a thesaurus for Christmas.

Fucking Elle

Very strange this.

I've been buying Elle Decoration a lot recently. Whilst mindlessly staring at the cover I noticed this abnormality.

Can you see how the edge of the D doesn't line up with the serif edges of the E. Instead it lines up with the edge of the E - disregarding the serifs. We started discussing this in the office and we all thought it was, well, weird. But not just weird, wrong. I've added a yellow line on the photos below so that you can see what I mean.

Then we all started asking whether this was a "right" or "wrong" issue. Don't get me wrong we've all read Erik Spiekermann's Stop Stealing Sheep but I don't think there are rules for this.

Then we started looking at the international editions and we noticed something even stranger. Yes the D's and E's are lined up in the same way as the English edition but whilst all the Elle's are in the same font all the Decorations are different!

I'm very puzzled by all of this. What do you think?

Robert Brownjohn - "real" graphic design

I went to the Design Museum's retrospective of Robert Brownjohn at the weekend. He did what we ideas led designers call "real" graphic design. Brownjohn created such great work as the Goldfinger titles and the Stones Let It Bleed record sleeve.

The actual exhibition (as quite often with the Design Museum) was a little short and not particularly exciting. But the work was superb.

Born in New Jersey in 1925 Brownjohn was one of those great designers that came out of Chicago’s Institute of Design in the 40's. For those that don't know the Chicago Institute of Design is kind of where the Bauhaus ended up after Hitler shut it down. Sort of.

In 1957 he opened Chermayeff + Geismar (with the great Ivan Chermayeff and Tom Geismar) in New York City. But there's a much better history here
and here.

He died sadly just before his 45th birthday. Which means he achieved all that great work before 45. Food for thought.

Just look at some of the great stuff below.

Sanatogen multivitamins packaging. Simple, classy, stylish, dramatic. Good.

Taken from a Pepsi Annual report (the P is from the Pepsi logo).

Again, simple but relevant (relevant is very good) and effective.

It's about this time of year that graphic designers all over the world agonise about the Christmas card. Almost always they are shit. This one isn't.

These are two photographs from his lounge in Notting Hill. He lived in a council flat that he rented for £9 a week.

Look at this brilliant logo for a company called Irwin. It's so effortless. This is what graphic design is about - simple, effortless, witty communication.

Inspiring stuff.