Design Week articles from August 2008

Design Week archives from August 2008

Sky relaunches channels with ident family created in-house.
August 7, 2008... BSkyB is to relaunch Sky One, Two and Three, with brand identities and idents created by its in-house team Sky Creative. The non-terrestrial channel is looking to establish a more premium status by launching a 'family identity' and...

Beijing ceremony releases tidal wave of Olympic-related design.
August 7, 2008... The Beijing Olympics opening ceremony takes place this Friday, designed by live events group Jack Morton Worldwide. During the games, a raft of high-profile designs will be revealed as brands and sponsors try to engage the record number...

Dunning Eley Jones designs graphics for G Star.
August 7, 2008... Dunning Eley Jones has designed the graphics for a new entertainment channel, G Star, for pan-African satellite TV service GTV. Aimed at French-speaking communities across Africa, it develops the graphic approach used on the network's...

LDA admits job losses will follow review.(London Development Agency)(Brief article)
August 7, 2008... The London Development Agency, a key funder of creative initiatives in the capital, has confirmed a Financial Times report that it will be making drastic job cuts as part of a wholesale review of operations. The LDA's interim chief...

Haunch of Venison makes US debut with new NY gallery.
August 7, 2008... UK contemporary art gallery Haunch of Venison is making its first foray into the US market, with the opening of a space designed by Steven Learner Studio. It is Haunch of Venison's first major venture since being controversially acquired...

Mark Dowson creates Surfscreen sunscreen dispenser.
August 7, 2008... Brunel University industrial design student Mark Dowson has created Surfscreen, a biodegradable sunscreen dispenser specifically designed for surfers. It consists of an armband with five gel-like capsules - made from agar, a natural seaweed...

Pixel website and A&D graphics open Kilkenny Arts Festival.
August 7, 2008... This week sees the opening of the Kilkenny Arts Festival, Ireland, showcasing work by a raft of designers and artists. It aims to promote local talent and encourage international artists in the fields of visual art, music and drama to...

London's Royal Festival Hall will showcase furniture of Mark Gabbertas.
August 7, 2008... London's Royal Festival Hall will showcase the work of furniture designer Mark Gabbertas during the London Design Festival. This pink and orange curved modular seating system, which he has designed for contract furniture manufacturer and...

Technical issues delay The Public digital space launch.
August 7, 2008... The Public's interactive digital exhibition, Public Gallery, will remain closed until September, following a technical hitch. The beleaguered West Bromwich-based pantheon to community arts and culture The Public finally opened at the end of...

Someone constructs identity for Starck property venture.
August 7, 2008... Philippe Starck's property company Yoo is this week drumming up interest for its latest uber-luxurious properties, with the help of London consultancy Someone. The Lakes by Yoo, located on private lakes in the Cotswolds and aimed at the...

Design Museum to host This Happened interaction talks.
August 7, 2008... Interaction design event This Happened will take place this month at the Design Overtime festival, held at the Design Museum. This Happened is a series of talks aimed at opening up a dialogue and creating a greater understanding of the...

Harrods commissions Elemental Design.
August 7, 2008... Harrods has commissioned London-based retail and event consultancy Elemental Design to create High Life, a 'high society'-themed window display, which will run until the beginning of September. The windows at the front of the store show an...

CORRECTION: The Brand Union.(Correction notice)
August 7, 2008... The Brand Union is not working on BT's London Olympics sponsorship campaign, and has never worked with British Airways, as stated in last week's issue of Design Week. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

IN BRIEF: Learning and Skills Council launches campaign.(Brief article)
August 7, 2008... The Learning and Skills Council has launched a campaign designed by Haygarth to launch a regional apprenticeship initiative. The plasticine figures are a visual cue that links to the creative theme 'It's in our hands'. Copyright: Centaur...

IN BRIEF: Cadbury to bring back Wispa.(Brief article)
August 7, 2008... Cadbury is to bring back its Wispa bar permanently from October, following calls from groups on social networking sites. A limited edition was trialled last year, with its original blue wrapper, created by in-house design team V4. ...

IN BRIEF: Small Back Room launches sustainability forum.(Brief article)
August 7, 2008... Branding specialist Small Back Room has launched a sustainability forum, www.sustainabilityinbusiness.com, to get designers 'involved, informed and motivated' on all issues of sustainability. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and...

IN BRIEF: Brand identity for Salaam Halal Insurance.(Brief article)
August 7, 2008... The Pepper Corporation has designed a brand identity for Salaam Halal Insurance, which claims to be the first Shariah law-compliant independent insurance provider in the UK. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

COMMENT: A champion of the disabled who deserves our support.
August 7, 2008... You can't help but have noticed the tremendous feat being carried out by Gill Hicks and friends in the name of humanity. The much reported WalkTalk walk from Leeds to London, which ends later this month, aims to bring people together who...

Morgans Hotel books in new Andree Putman interiors.
August 7, 2008... New York's iconic Morgans Hotel will next month unveil a contemporary new look created by interior designer Andree Putman. The French designer first crafted the Madison Avenue site's dramatic black-and-white interior back in 1983, forging...

The Jones to host animal-inspired show.(Brief article)
August 7, 2008... The Jones, a Guest Invest hotel in London's Bayswater, is to host a design exhibition of works inspired by animals. Marcus Fairs and Rupinder Bhogal, curators of the event, were approached by the hotel group to conceive the show, Menagerie...

Bognor design course born from south coast push.
August 7, 2008... King George V may have been reflecting popular opinion when he uttered the words 'Bugger Bognor' on his deathbed - he was advised to spend time in the south coast resort to aid his recovery - but notions of the town as a cheap and tacky...

NEWS IN PICTURES: Artwork for Other Lover and Stimming's short story.
August 7, 2008... London-based design and illustration group Jawa and Midwich has produced the sleeve artwork for Pezzner's Other Lover and Stimming's Short Story, both released on Freerange Records. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

NEWS IN PICTURES: New packaging for Green's.
August 7, 2008... Packaging for cake brand Green's has been reworked by structural and graphic design consultancy Path Designs, ready for launch early next month. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

NEWS IN PICTURES: Bulletproof designs Purple Dragon.
August 7, 2008... Bulletproof has designed the branding for Purple Dragon, a members' club for children up to 12 years old, which is due to open this autumn in Battersea, London SW11. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

NEWS IN PICTURES: Synthetic version of Eames Elephant to be launched.
August 7, 2008... Following the creation last year of a commemorative edition of the Eames Elephant to celebrate the centenary of Charles Eames' birthday, a 'synthetic' version for children is to be launched by design company Vitra. Copyright: Centaur...

NEWS IN PICTURES: Bisset Adams designs wayfinding signage.
August 7, 2008... Bisset Adams has designed the wayfinding and signage for Idea Store, Tower Hamlets Borough Council's four-strong group of libraries and lifelong learning centres in east London. Initially applied to its Bow site, the work will be rolled out...

NEWS IN PICTURES: Zaha Hadid designs shoes for Melissa.
August 7, 2008... Architect Zaha Hadid has designed a pair of shoes for Brazilian footwear company Melissa. The limited-edition recyclable plastic shoes cost #200 from Dover Street Market, London W1, and are available from September. Copyright: Centaur...

ANALYSIS: The value of simplicity.
August 7, 2008... A no-frills design approach hasn't affected the growing popularity of discount retailers. Should supermarkets take note? asks Gina Lovett If the daily economic lament is to be believed, supermarket retail is suffering. Discount retail,...

PRIVATE VIEW: Bohemian utopias.(Column)
August 7, 2008... Whether you thrive on rough-edged urban spaces or polished architectural gems, the summer travel season should bring fresh inspiration, says Jeremy Myerson As designers start shutting down their Macs and pack their sun oil and shades for...

INSPIRED: Nicholas Saunders.(Brief article)
August 7, 2008... Nicholas Saunders Illustrator When looking for inspiration I always find myself looking at a person's process - what they have been through or what lengths they have gone to in order to produce a final outcome. I have chosen Hot Bed...

LETTER: Graduates too busy travelling miss out on work placements.(Letter to the editor)
August 7, 2008... I have read many letters over the years bemoaning the lack of opportunities for graduates trying to get a start in the design industry. This year we decided to offer eight graduates a placement, with a view to taking one of them on as a...

VOXPOP: What's the worst information system you've experienced?
August 7, 2008... Dublin's bus information system, overhauled last week by Applied Information Group and Image Now, has been criticised in the past for failing to indicate which direction passengers are travelling in. What's the worst information system...

LETTER: Branding is the natural domain of the designer.(Letter to the editor)
August 7, 2008... I could not help but be carried along by Simon Black's sweeping prose and passion for branding as a core mission for ambitious design consultancies, set to leave behind their tactical roots and make for the verdant canopy of the branding...

LETTER: Want a good return on your investment? Try collaboration.(Letter to the editor)
August 7, 2008... Collaboration, as discussed by Lynda Relph-Knight (Comment, DW 3 July), is key to the entire design process. Designers are often treated, at best, as just suppliers by clients and, at worst, as a kind of giant Etch-a-Sketch service. In turn,...

LETTER: Store design, not price cuts, will beat the retail downturn.(Letter to the editor)
August 7, 2008... It is reported that Tesco is looking to win back customers defecting to cheaper rivals. As prices rocket, the German discount stores probably think all their Christmases have come at once. Long seen as downmarket stores for the poor or the...

PROFILE: Rob Howell.(Interview)
August 7, 2008... Rob Howell creates sets for some of the biggest West End musicals, but he is just as keen on small-scale drama. The busy theatre designer talks to Nick Smurthwaite about budgets - and taking audiences on a journey Even though he designed...

RETAIL: Geometry lesson.(Geometry menswear store )
August 7, 2008... Long dominated by shabby chic, low-key interiors, Berlin's retailers have lately adopted a wittier design aesthetic. John Stones takes a look at Geometry, a new menswear store which features a 'mad professor' look with a skeletal twist ...

SIGNS: Paths to safety.
August 7, 2008... Public spaces can be intimidating, especially for the more vulnerable sections of society, but better wayfinding and intelligent layouts can transform the most hostile environment, says Scott Billings. Not only do perceived levels of safety...

BUSINESS INSIGHT: Striking the right balance.
August 7, 2008... Can creativity be pragmatic? Or do practical considerations stifle the ability to push the envelope? asks Barry Seal When clients come to design consultancies, it's for innovative thinking and a high level of creativity - and yet all too...

REVIEW: Bullet point-to-point.(A Motorbike Adventure/Himachal Pradesh/India)(Brief article)
August 7, 2008... By Sarah Frater You can almost hear revving engines, and taste dusty air, when you look at Iain Crockart's photographs. The one-time creative director of CDT Design rode 1600km through the Himachal Pradesh, the sparsely populated region...

Dyson may scrap Bath design school plans after new setback.(James Dyson)(Dyson School of Design Innovation)
August 14, 2008... James Dyson is considering backing out of plans to build a design school in Bath, following the beleaguered project's latest setback. The Government Office of the South West opted last week to launch an inquiry into plans for the Dyson...

Design projects face uncertain future as the LDA cuts staff jobs.(London Development Agency)(Brief article)
August 14, 2008... An air of uncertainty looms over creative industries initiatives at the London Development Agency as it begins its restructuring of operations and cuts staff jobs. There is growing concern that funding and support for design projects of...

The illustrations of Osbert Lancaster.(Cartoons and Coronets: The Genius of Osbert Lancaster)(Brief article)
August 14, 2008... The illustrations of Osbert Lancaster are celebrated in a new book by Frances Lincoln Publishers. James Knox's Cartoons and Coronets: The Genius of Osbert Lancaster features jacket artwork for his collections of cartoons, which first...

Gap outlines plan to reduce London team.
August 14, 2008... Fashion retailer Gap has revealed further details about plans to reduce its London marketing and design team to Design Week. The global chain will axe its European fashion design team from September, and is moving its advertising team to...

The Ivy reveals design plans for a new members' club.
August 14, 2008... The first visual details of London restaurant The Ivy's forthcoming private members' club have emerged this week, Design Week can reveal. Located above the capital's well-known celebrity haunt with a discreet separate entrance through a...

Freeview set to launch new range of digital TV recorders.(Brief article)
August 14, 2008... Freeview is set to launch a new range of digital TV recorders with branding by 999 Design. Freeview+ is being trialled in Currys stores in Milton Keynes next Wednesday before being rolled out across Currys, Comet and Tesco outlets from the end...

Interbrand recruited by Hays for rebranding.
August 14, 2008... Interbrand has this week won the pitch against rival Landor Associates to rebrand international recruitment network Hays. The global recruitment specialist is embarking on a major strategic brand review, which will result in a new...

Richard Ardagh creates identity for My Cup Of Tea.
August 14, 2008... Designer Richard Ardagh has created an identity for new tea brand My Cup Of Tea. He won the business through a credentials pitch. The identity comprises a hand-written word marque and elephant logo. Ardagh worked with London advertising agency...

Greengaged puts sustainability into focus at the LDF.
August 14, 2008... This year's London Design Festival will host a creative space that will reach out to the design community, its clients and the wider political arena on the key issues around the role of design in sustainability. It is the first time that...

Tate Media shows off multimedia tour.(Brief article)
August 14, 2008... The Tate has created a multimedia tour for the Apple iPhone that may soon banish the humble exhibition audio tour to the dustbin of history. Tate Media, the gallery's London-based content and creative arm, recently began work on a free...

Tangible creates logo for Outward Bound.(Tangible Financial)(Outward Bound Trust)(Brief article)
August 14, 2008... Educational charity The Outward Bound Trust has revealed a new logo and brand identity, created by London-based design group Tangible Financial. Tangible Financial, which has not worked in the charity sector before, was appointed by head...

UK 2012 Cultural Programme.
August 14, 2008... As part of the UK 2012 Cultural Programme, 300 young people from six west London boroughs have been encouraged by five artists to produce art in digital media. Using video, photography, sound and animation, the designs show London as seen by...

IN BRIEF: Sonic ID opens US office.(Brief article)
August 14, 2008... Audio branding agency Sonic ID has opened a US office in Portland, Oregon. It will be led by business partner Noel Franus, who joins co- founders - former Human League and Heaven 17 member Martyn Ware and Dan Kirby - as the key leadership team....

IN BRIEF: Swisson unveils new user interface.(Brief article)
August 14, 2008... Swisscom has unveiled a new user interface for its Internet Protocol Television service Bluewin TV, designed by creative consultancy Dunning Eley Jones. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

IN BRIEF: Stand creates identities for luxury holiday apartments.(Brief article)
August 14, 2008... Glasgow-based design consultancy Stand has created a new brand identity for two luxury boutique holiday apartments in Edinburgh, for Crieff- based developer Braemore Estates. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

IN BRIEF: Frost Design appointment.(Brief article)
August 14, 2008... Frost Design has appointed Australian design director Anthony Donovan to head up its London studio, with Nicole Bradfield as senior account director. Donovan has previously worked on multi-disciplinary projects including the Sydney Opera...

COMMENT: Jury is out on London Mayor's commitment to design.
August 14, 2008... We may swear by change as a generator for creativity, but the huge shifts currently underway at the London Development Agency leave a slightly uncomfortable feeling about the future of design in the capital (see News Analysis, page 9). The...

Speedo gets eco-friendly packaging from R Design.
August 14, 2008... While Olympic swimmers are this week contending with Beijing smog, Speedo is set to reinvent its entire goggles range with what it claims is the category's first sustainably designed packaging. North London consultancy R Design, which won...

Buddy Creative gives Kleenex Collections a clean new look.
August 14, 2008... Kimberly-Clark has relaunched its Kleenex Collections range, commissioning design group Buddy Creative to create new box faces which will be on display from mid-August. Buddy Creative won a creative pitch against Flipflop Design and Anthem...

Opportunities for design as shops return to Cheapside.
August 14, 2008... London's Cheapside is to become a major shopping district again for the first time since the departure of its medieval market, opening up design opportunities all across the Square Mile. Due for completion in 2012, 12 developments will...

NEWS IN PICTURES: Jonathan Barbrook creates animated film.
August 14, 2008... Free Tibet campaigner and founder of Barnbrook Design Jonathan Barnbrook has created a 90-second animated film supporting Tibetan independence. Not Made in China can be viewed from tomorrow on www.remembertibet.org. Copyright: Centaur...

NEWS IN PICTURES: The Blimpy to be unveiled.(Photograph)
August 14, 2008... Nottingham-based creative design and build company Philip Watts Design consultancy will unveil its latest light design at the 100% Design show, London, SW5 in September. The Blimpy, which can be hung in three different ways, is a...

NEWS IN PICTURES: Fritz Hansen to introduce Alphabet.
August 14, 2008... Furniture brand Fritz Hansen is set to introduce a new Piero Lissoni- designed suite - Alphabet - inspired by Lego bricks. Its makers claim that it allows customers to 'design their own sofa'. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and...

NEWS IN PICTURES: Wishful Thinking.(Photograph)
August 14, 2008... Wishful Thinking is a contemporary art and design exhibition exploring the common ground between the two disciplines, running at Somerset House, London WC2 from 17 September to 7 December. It will feature commissions from designer Martino...

NEWS IN PICTURES: Signs & Symbols.
August 14, 2008... Signs & Symbols: An Illustrated Guide to their Origins and Meanings, is an illustrated book published by Dorling Kindersley, featuring the graphics of Debajyoti Dutta. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

ANALYSIS: Where now for design at LDA?
August 14, 2008... The root-and-branch review of the LDA and cuts to staff numbers could spell change for its design set-up, says Emily Pacey As the axe swings at the London Development Agency, could the capital's design industry be about to lose a useful...

PRIVATE VIEW: Genesis of an idea.(Column)
August 14, 2008... Religion is an established market, but there's always room for new players. Would-be messiahs just need to get the uniforms right, says Hugh Pearman Nobody has ever asked me to run a design course, more's the pity. But just in case...

INSPIRED: Josie Harold.(Brief article)
August 14, 2008... Josie Harold Dirty Design Think of a number, any number. Numbers play an integral part in our daily lives and have been truly inspirational throughout history. Without numbers, the world today would be a very different place. No computers,...

LETTER: It's time to start treating co-design as an opportunity.(Letter to the editor)
August 14, 2008... I read with alarm the comment 'Watch out: co-design is as big a threat as free pitching' (DW 17 July). Co-design is not about getting members of the public to do designers' jobs, it's about drawing stakeholders into a design process...

LETTER: Get the details right to create the perfect picture.(Letter to the editor)
August 14, 2008... I'd been away for two weeks and on my return I picked up the two issues of Design Week that I had missed out on. I was met by the usual mix of informative news and thought-provoking discussion. In fact, I was quite enjoying grabbing ten...

LETTER: The CSD needs to be consistent when backing members.(Letter to the editor)
August 14, 2008... The Chartered Society of Designers' chief executive Frank Peters has a point in stating that, when 300 designers are 'chomping at the bit' to take part in free-pitching, it is pointless to complain (DW 17 July). This is surely more a...

VOXPOP: What's best piece of work you've seen around Beijing Olympics?
August 14, 2008... What's the best piece of design work you've seen around the Beijing Olympics, and why? I believe the most dramatic designs at the games are the bold architectural statements seen in the stadiums, probably none more so than that seen in...

LETTER: The return of paid-for pitching simply adds insult to injury.(Letter to the editor)
August 14, 2008... In recent weeks the perennial debate about free-pitching has once again come to the fore, partly driven by Boris Johnson's proposed Routemaster design competition. What has not been noticed is that the 'paid-for' pitch is also returning...

PROFILE: Chip Kidd.
August 14, 2008... After a stellar dual career designing book jackets and editing graphic novels, Chip Kidd has little to prove - so he's written two novels. Simon Creasey asks him about storytelling, and art directing his own covers With his smart...

TYPOGRAPHY: Fount of all fonts.
August 14, 2008... Books on typography are often dreary tomes, but a new sourcebook goes some way towards conveying the excitement of fonts. Michael Johnson, however, is still on the look-out for the definitive publication ONCE, anyone interested in...

HOTEL INTERIORS: Whispered luxury.
August 14, 2008... Who needs gold, marble and old-school opulence? These days, discerning boutique hotel designers opt for simplicity and understated elegance, convinced that sparingly used quality materials beat glitz and glamour, says Clare Dowdy ...

BUSINESS INSIGHT: Negotiating the digital maze.
August 14, 2008... The digital revolution has created a wealth of opportunities. Guy Lane says exploiting these openings means understanding your client's businesses as well as your own All businesses, from small design groups to FTSE 100 companies, face...

REVIEW: Toon in.
August 14, 2008... By Sarah Frater Crikey! Who'd have thought The Beano and The Dandy were 70 years old? The sibling comics may be publishing veterans, but Dennis the Menace, Roger the Dodger and the cow-pie-eating Desperate Dan feel like eternal small...

B&Q to aim for female market following strategic repositioning.
August 21, 2008... B&Q is undergoing an important repositioning to try and make its brand appeal more to women, Design Week can reveal. The DIY retailer reviewed its packaging design roster about three months ago, when it named Lewis Moberly as its lead...

Emily Campbell takes new role at the RSA.
August 21, 2008... British Council head of design and architecture Emily Campbell is leaving the organisation after 12 years to join the Royal Society of Arts as director of design. The move could spell a major shift across design and architecture for the...

A reintroduction of cutlery and silver.
August 21, 2008... A reintroduction of David Mellor's cutlery and silver - originally designed for British embassies - is to be unveiled at 100% Design, at London's Earls Court, SW5, from 18-21 September. The collection - Embassy - won a Design Council award...

D&AD in no rush to recruit chief exec.(Brief article)
August 21, 2008... As it prepares to launch its 2008 annual, designed by Neville Brody, educational charity D&AD confirms it is still no closer to appointing a chief executive. A spokeswoman for D&AD says the organisation is in no rush to fill the vacant...

Silk Pearce appointed as lead consultancy by Maggie's.
August 21, 2008... Cancer support organisation Maggie's Centres has named Silk Pearce as its lead creative consultancy, as the Scotland-based charity prepares to build five new centres in England and Wales. The charity has strong links with design - its...

Absolute designs branding and packing for Simply Cornish biscuits.
August 21, 2008... Absolute has designed branding and packaging for a new luxury biscuit brand called Simply Cornish. Owned by Cornish bakery chain Warrens, the biscuits contain local ingredients including clotted cream and honey mead wine. The packaging...