Design Week articles from December 2008

Design Week archives from December 2008

Media City UK overhauls website and brand guidelines.(Website overview)
December 4, 2008... The Media City UK development in Salford, which will become home to 1150 businesses including the BBC, is turning to design again as it prepares to overhaul its guidelines and launch a new website. The original guidelines and identity were...

Music has designed the One Year, Ten Stories report.
December 4, 2008... Manchester-based consultancy Music has designed the One Year, Ten Stories report to mark the first anniversary of the Equality and Human Rights Commission. The publication features writing by Guardian journalist Tanya Gold and images by...

M Worldwide wins retail brief for Roman baths complex in Bath.
December 4, 2008... M Worldwide has won a #12 000 contract to redesign the retail outlet at the Roman baths complex in Bath, which is currently undergoing a #5m redevelopment by Event Communications. Bath & North East Somerset Council appointed M Worldwide...

Rude creates set of Christmas Credit Crunch.
December 4, 2008... London-based consultancy Rude has created a set of 'Christmas Credit Crunch' cards, featuring designs printed in black on white card. The cards will be available from the Rude online shop at www.thisisrude.com, and from the consultancy's...

Lighthouse refinancing plan sparks job cuts and gallery rejig.
December 4, 2008... The Lighthouse, Scotland's centre for architecture, design and the city, is reshaping its gallery space and has made six redundancies as part of a new business plan which aims to secure its financial future. The Glasgow arts centre had...

Bath tenders for #1.5m street furniture and wayfinding briefs.
December 4, 2008... Consultancies are currently being brought on to two shortlists, for projects worth a total of #1.5m, to create a wayfinding system and street furniture in Bath. One of the tenders, worth #1m, is seeking a consultancy to provide a...

Hemisphere creates Imperial War Museum North show.
December 4, 2008... Imperial War Museum North has appointed Hemisphere to create its major 2009 exhibition, Prisoners of War. The Manchester-based consultancy won an unpaid creative pitch against three other groups in October. It has since been briefed to...

IN BRIEF: Start Creative has devised Kin.(Brief article)
December 4, 2008... Start Creative has devised Kin, a temporary Christmas retail/gallery space bringing together its associated illustration and creative outfits Scrawl, Judge Gill and Engage. Kin will open on 5 December at Kingly Court, London W1. ...

IN BRIEF: La Luminata creates interior for Fair.(Brief article)
December 4, 2008... Brighton-based sustainable design consultancy La Luminata has created the interior for Fair, a new fair trade shop opening on the city's Queens Road. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

IN BRIEF: Studiospaceone designs concept for Red Tape.(Brief article)
December 4, 2008... Plymouth-based consultancy Studiospaceone has designed the concept and identity of Red Tape, an online gallery with 1414 'positions', which is looking to exhibitors from the creative industries to pay for spaces at a rate that increases...

IN BRIEF: Magnetic North has launched biscuit-tin.com.(Brief article)
December 4, 2008... Manchester-based design group Magnetic North has launched a new Flickr- style photographic website, www.biscuit-tin.com, the group's second online product in a year. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

COMMENT: Accountability is key for the industry in a tougher climate.
December 4, 2008... Whoever said 'It's not about the winning but about the taking part' wasn't thinking about design. Winning is a key motivator in the industry, be it a pitch or an award. Success is, after all, a ticket to doing what designers enjoy most -...

Love backs experimental illustration collective Toy.
December 4, 2008... Manchester consultancy Love is backing experimental illustration collective Toy, with the aim of ensuring creative outlets for emerging talent. The consultancy has commissioned Toy illustrator Jiro Bevis for Sony Playstation's PSP 3000...

Dalziel & Pow bags revamp brief for Magasin du Nord stores.
December 4, 2008... Dalziel & Pow is working on a programme of interior design and graphics for Danish department store Magasin du Nord, which the consultancy hopes will roll out across the chain. David Wright, associate director at Dalziel & Pow, says the...

Hat-Trick repeats Best of Show act in DW Benchmarks.
December 4, 2008... Hat-Trick Design celebrated its second Best of Show win at the fourth annual Design Week Benchmarks awards last night. The London design consultancy, which scooped Best of Show in 2005 for its comprehensive rebrand of the Natural History...

NEWS IN PICTURES: Desk exhibition.
December 4, 2008... Desks by Jean Prouve, Charlotte Perriand, Pierre Jeanneret and Jean Royere will be featured in an exhibition, 8 Desks, which takes place at the Sebastian & Barquet Gallery, London W1, from 15 January to 14 March. Copyright: Centaur...

NEWS IN PICTURES: Pocket-sized prospectus.
December 4, 2008... North Yorkshire consultancy Face has created branding and a pocket- sized prospectus for Harrow College's art and design department, using bold colourways, clear foil blocking and embossing, as well as photography by Roy Mehta. Copyright:...

NEWS IN PICTURES: GP Studio designs retail space in Harrods.
December 4, 2008... GP Studio has designed a retail space in London department store Harrods for luxury holiday company Abercrombie & Kent. It is set to open in January. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

ANLAYSIS: Comic renaissance.
December 4, 2008... Thought comics belonged to a bygone era? Think again. The kids' magazine market is booming like seldom before, says Emily Pacey Ka-boom! Children's comics are exploding on to the magazine racks. A new report from Mintel has found that...

PRIVATE VIEW: Armageddon revisited.
December 4, 2008... Was the Cold War all about kitchens? And do we need the threat of disaster to produce daring work? A visit to the V&A gets Adrian Shaughnessy thinking Prior to the global economy being chucked into the deep fat fryer, it was commonplace...

INSPIRED: Bruce Dunlop.
December 4, 2008... Bruce Dunlop BDA Michelangelo believed David was in the piece of stone that stood before him - all he had to do was get it out. Three years of his life were devoted to the job of creating the work that left me standing rooted to the...

LETTER: It's a shame London Mayor can't support design across the UK.(Letter to the editor)
December 4, 2008... It's good to see London Mayor Boris Johnson taking the lead to support the creative sector, although it's a pity that his remit stops in London (www.designweek.co.uk, 24 November). My guess is that he is in all probability referring to...

VOXPOP: What is most successful strategy you have used?
December 4, 2008... NS Design will 'play Santa' by offering its services for free on 19 December, in the hope of meeting potential clients. What is the most successful strategy for attracting new business you have used? The telephone. Introductory calling to...

LETTER: If the V&A can do it, why can't the Conran Shop?(Letter to the editor)
December 4, 2008... On a recent shopping trip to the Conran Shop in Fulham Road, London SW3, with a friend who is a wheelchair user, we only got as far as the entrance off Sloane Avenue. There was no disabled access. An apologetic manager said he'd been told...

LETTER: Showing goodwill isn't sinister - it'll boost business.(Letter to the editor)
December 4, 2008... Regarding Emily Pacey's online story 'DBA slams consultancy's free design day' (www.designweek.co.uk, 27 November) - come on. What are we all so scared of here? Giving advice for free? NS Design's initiative is clearly a promotional...

LETTER: The DBA was wrong to rush to criticise the group.(Letter to the editor)
December 4, 2008... I think NS Design's proposed free design day is a great idea (www.designweek.co.uk, 27 November). For the consultancy, it will perhaps draw more clients in, and for those that haven't used a design consultancy before, it might just get...

PROFILE: Stefan Diez.
December 4, 2008... Furniture wizard Stefan Diez has little time for show-off design, preferring the challenges of creating for manufacture. Trish Lorenz tracks down the young Bavarian who values commitment from potential clients At a time when many...

VIDEO GAME ART: Character appeal.
December 4, 2008... A new book describes how video game characters start life on the easels of illustrators and travel to the game console via a small army of models and texturisers. It's a fascinating journey, says Sarah Frater Having been non-existent,...

PRODUCT DESIGN: Killer drillers.
December 4, 2008... Power tools are typically designed to reflect their ruggedness and flag up their functionality to professional users. But there's also the DIY audience, and the drills, sanders and screwdrivers aimed at this market look very different, finds...

TABLEWARE: Water works.
December 4, 2008... Drinking tap water has never been so stylish - that's the message Thames Water's London on Tap campaign aims to send. Anna Richardson hails the winning carafe, which will entice London's foodies to ditch the bottled water come spring ...

REVIEW: Colour junky.
December 4, 2008... By Sarah Frater Given a CV that includes heroine dealing, homicide and frequent criminal proceedings, not to mention stints in 1950s Mexico and Tangier when they were even more wild and windy than they are now, the note files of William S...

Co-founder Lovett departs in ongoing Vibrandt restructure.
December 11, 2008... One of Vibrandt's founding members, Tom Lovett, is leaving the consultancy, Design Week can reveal. Lovett's imminent exit, expected at the end of this year, is the latest in a series of departures from the Windsor-based packaging and...

Use Both Sides campaign launched.
December 11, 2008... Staff at advertising agency JWT have launched the Use Both Sides campaign to encourage people to use both sides of a piece of paper. It began with posters, designed by art director Christiano Neves, put up around JWT's office, and now has a...

Design Council in mentor plan.
December 11, 2008... The Design Council plans to pair designers with university technology transfer officersto help bring scientific innovations to market. It will launch a competition early next year to find appropriate projects, as part of the...

#150m Birmingham City Uni plan gets the green light.
December 11, 2008... Designs are under way to transform Birmingham City University under a #150m development plan, which got the go-ahead from Birmingham City Council last month. Associated Architects was appointed last week as lead designer on the project,...

Acrobat designs for Denby Pottery.
December 11, 2008... Acrobat has designed an identity for next year's bicentenary of Derbyshire's Denby Pottery, celebrating the company's history with a tessellating pattern of silhouetted products. The identity features a logo and packaging design for nine...

Portland masterplans retail space in 1000m-tall Dubai tower.
December 11, 2008... Portland Design is masterplanning the 70 000m2 retail area in Dubai's proposed 1km-tall Nakheel Tower. Property developer Nakheel, which is also responsible for Dubai's Palm Islands project, appointed the consultancy in July, six months...

Tandem creates logo for Ulster Hall.
December 11, 2008... Tandem has created a logo for Belfast's Ulster Hall for its reopening in March, recreating its facade in slanting lines to represent the venue's organ. Tandem will also refit the hall for events celebrating its history. Copyright:...

Event leads #11m Belfast Titanic visitor attraction.
December 11, 2008... Event Communications is creating an #11m Titanic-themed visitor attraction in Belfast, where the ill-fated ship was built. The exhibition design consultancy will soon be assembling a team of audio- visual, lighting and interactive designers to...

Lambie-Nairn creates idents for official Qatari TV channel.
December 11, 2008... Branding consultancy Lambie-Nairn has been working for the Qatari government on the identity of a new TV channel, set to launch today. Taking its name from the capital Al Doha, the channel launches in advance of Qatar's national day, held...

The Lightbox gallery launches Woking pavilion prize.
December 11, 2008... The Lightbox gallery has launched a competition, in association with Tent London and The Architecture Foundation, to design a summer pavilion for its Woking site. The project offers a 'glimmer of hope' in an arid climate for new...

FLB produces festive packaging for Brace.
December 11, 2008... FLB has produced festive packaging for Welsh bakery brand Brace's white bread. The wrappers, which will appear in stores this week, feature snow-covered tops, falling snowflakes and a debossed snow-print logo. Copyright: Centaur...

IN BRIEF: NuDrive wheelchair.(Brief article)
December 11, 2008... The NuDrive wheelchair propulsion accessory, developed by Robert Orford with London Associates, has won top prize in the Independent Living Design Awards. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

IN BRIEF: Added Value appointment.(Brief article)
December 11, 2008... Marketing consultancy Added Value has appointed its first creative directors - Nina Jenkins, formerly creative director of The Partners, and Izzy Pugh, promoted internally. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

COMMENT: Get involved in championing design in the public sector.
December 11, 2008... There's a debate going on in high places that demands input from the design community at large. It is the thorny issue of public procurement of design. There is a real will in organisations as diverse as the Design Council and...

Creative Direction points the way for Lusty Pirate crisps.
December 11, 2008... Cornish consultancy Creative Direction has created the identity, packaging and website for a new crisp brand, Lusty Pirate, which will appear in Tesco next year. Chef and hotelier Sharon Parker approached Creative Direction in July, based...

GBH badges Puma for 60th birthday push.
December 11, 2008... GBH has created a global campaign for Puma, which celebrates its 60th anniversary this week. The west London design group, which has worked with Puma for six years as a 'preferred supplier', took the project on board in April, under a...

Royal fellowship could take Magic Light to market.
December 11, 2008... 'I'm completely guilty of coming up with a solution without an application,' says Royal College of Art graduate Adrian Westaway. Westaway has created the Magic Light, an invention that allows people to interact and move light by 'touching'...

NEWS IN PICTURES: Interactive Wishing Well.
December 11, 2008... Communications agency Freestate has designed the interactive Wishing Well installation for voice-to-text company SpinVox. Visitors will be able to speak their wishes into a mobile phone and then see them projected on to the installation,...

NEWS IN PICTURES: Christmas idents for Sky and BBC.
December 11, 2008... Sky and the BBC have unveiled their new Christmas idents. Designed by Sky Creative, the Sky 1, 2 and 3 idents launched on Sunday, based around a theme of three states of matter: solid, liquid and particulate. The Knifedge-designed BBC ident,...

NEWS IN PICTURES: University of Aberdeen handbooks.
December 11, 2008... Elmwood has designed a set of handbooks, welcoming University of Aberdeen students staying in the halls of residence, for the next academic year. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

ANALYSIS: A freedom of information act?
December 11, 2008... A British Standard draft on Web design should improve online accessibility for the disabled, but not all designers are happy, says Tom Banks A new BSI draft on Web accessibility for disabled people has been produced that will change the...

ANALYSIS: MEASURES TO IMPROVE WEB ACCESS.
December 11, 2008... * The draft, BS 8878, can be viewed at www.bsi-global.com/drafts * Comments on the draft will be accepted until 31 January * The board that created the draft comprises 18 organisations including Ability Net, BBC, Lloyds TSB, IBM and...

PRIVATE VIEW: A load of symbollocks.
December 11, 2008... Large-scale public art symbolising regional identity is nothing new - novelist GK Chesterton predicted the idea more than a century ago, says Hugh Pearman I don't entirely blame Antony Gormley's Angel of the North for the rash of...

INSPIRED: Mike Exon.
December 11, 2008... Mike Exon Digit In April 1951, so the legend goes, Jack Kerouac turned up at his mother's house, parked his knapsack and sat down to write the story of his meandering road trips. Like his free-ranging, thumb-a-lift travelling he meant to...

LETTER: Bad design should get its just reward - a critical panning.(Letter to the editor)
December 11, 2008... Is there such a thing as a bad design award? I would like to nominate the manufacturer of my three loo seats which have broken due to bad design, and which can't be changed without uprooting the entire loo out of the wall, again due to...

LETTER: It's only a matter of time before the glass cracks.(Letter to the editor)
December 11, 2008... When reviewing recent placement applications at Echo, I was reminded of a past article in Design Week concerning the small number of females in the higher echelons of consultancies. This prompted a question: Where have all the male design...

LETTER: It can take a while for a work of art to be appreciated.(Letter to the editor)
December 11, 2008... I agree with Jason Bruges (Voxpop, DW 27 November). Thomas Heatherwick's B of the Bang is my favourite piece of public art, too. It's a shame that it has been the centre of so many problems, from failings in construction leading to health...

LETTER: Will those Mancunian hacks give it a chance?(Letter to the editor)
December 11, 2008... It was nice to read that two of your guest contributors chose work by the wonderful Thomas Heatherwick for their favourite pieces of public art (Voxpop, DW 27 November). Not so nice is the shoddy treatment given by the Mancunian press to...

VOXPOP: What is most dangerous project situation you have been in?
December 11, 2008... Ad agency Brothers & Sisters boarded a plane which performed a series of parabolic dives to film a National Geographic ident in zero gravity. What is the most dangerous situation you have ever been in as part of a project? If you want...

PROFILE: Lao Jianhua.
December 11, 2008... A Chinese designer with a global outlook, Lao Jianhua is keen to absorb as many influences as he can. As he begins his tenure at the V&A as HSBC Designer in Residence, he tells Anna Richardson about Chinese design At just 30 years of...

ILLUSTRATION: Tall tales.
December 11, 2008... From event dressing to beer ads and privately commissioned murals, large illustrations have mushroomed recently. Some are created small and scaled into giant copies, others are life-size one-offs. All demonstrate big ways of telling stories,...

PHOTOGRAPHY: Ideology dolly.
December 11, 2008... After the carefully crafted dignity of Barack Obama's official election graphics - and the affectionately subversive unofficial ones - your jaw drops at the brazen iconography of Ukrainian prime minister Yulia Tymoshenko The picture of...

BUSINESS INSIGHT: Keep it simple to stay strong.
December 11, 2008... The recession needn't be just about gloom and doom. Jonathan Sands believes that we may be entering one of the most exciting periods in our history Earlier this year I spoke at an Australian conference about my views on the future of...

REVIEW: Tsar quality.
December 11, 2008... By Anna Richardson In craftsmanship, the endorsement 'By appointment to the Russian Imperial Court' was a distinction without equal. The Tsars' opulence and luxury was legendary, and when it came to showing off status and statecraft,...

Dick Powell takes on group creative director role at Loewy.
December 18, 2008... Seymour Powell founder Dick Powell has been named as group creative director of his consultancy's parent company, Loewy. Powell has been appointed to the newly created role, which will not affect his position at Seymour Powell, on a rolling...

Save the Children sculpture.(Brief article)
December 18, 2008... This sculpture for Save the Children, created by architect Foster & Partners, photographer Ben Johnson and design consultancy Thomas Manss & Company to mark the support of Nobel Peace Prize winners for the charity's Rewrite the Future...

Junior posts go as What If refocuses.(Brief article)
December 18, 2008... Independent innovation group What If has made 26 redundancies at its London office, due to to changing client demands. The global group, which also has offices in Manchester, Shanghai and New York, and counts Moet Hennessy and Unilever...

Seymour Powell unveils radical horse saddle redesign.
December 18, 2008... Seymour Powell has created a new horse saddle, which has been ten years in development and aims to fundamentally change saddle design for the first time in 200 years. The consultancy developed the Quantum AMS Saddle after being appointed...

Tangent creates identity for Scottish Human Rights Commission.(Website overview)
December 18, 2008... Glasgow-based consultancy Tangent has created an identity for the Scottish Human Rights Commission. The logo incorporates a silhouetted figure that represents the unseen and vulnerable people the commission seeks to protect. The identity was...

JKR relaunches crisp brand Phileas Fogg.(Jones Knowles Ritchie )(Brief article)
December 18, 2008... Jones Knowles Ritchie has turned its hand to ailing snack brand Phileas Fogg, set to relaunch in January. The consultancy, which is rostered to United Biscuits, having worked on Penguin, McVitie's and Go Ahead!, was invited to a...

Blue Marlin has rebranded.(Brief article)
December 18, 2008... Blue Marlin has rebranded and repositioned silver jeweller Hi Ho Silver as Hiho to reflect the independent retailer's expansion into gifts and home furnishings. The positioning is based around 'English, Eclectic, Eccentric', while the...

NHM reveals its international design framework line-up.(Natural History Museum)
December 18, 2008... The Natural History Museum has unveiled its international design framework, featuring 24 design and architecture groups. The new roster replaces the museum's first framework, which comprised 18 consultancies and ran for two years. A...

Bloom crafts fruit extension for Lipton.
December 18, 2008... Unilever's Lipton tea brand this week launches a fruit and herbal extension to its range, crafted by Bloom Design. The pack design for the European market, created by Paris consultancy CB'A Design about a year ago, had to be adapted...

The Brand Loom may redesign expansion-hungry Provogue.(Brief article)
December 18, 2008... Nascent consultancy The Brand Loom says it is in informal talks to rebrand Indian retailer Provogue's chain of fashion stores. This would be the group's first major assignment since Ministry of Truth founder Steve Spence formed The Brand Loom...

Elevation Multimedia creates identity for Dale, Forty and Co.(Brief article)
December 18, 2008... Elevation Multimedia has created the identity of revived piano brand Dale, Forty and Co. Working from photographs of the original logo, Naomi Turner, creative director at Elevation Multimedia, created the marque 'Dale, Forty. Cheltenham' -...

IN BRIEF: Arts Council appointment.(Brief article)
December 18, 2008... Arts Council chairman Sir Christopher Frayling will be replaced by Dame Liz Forgan when he steps down in February. The Arts Council is expected to announce details of its design roster this week. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and...

IN BRIEF: Steven Paxton wins competition.(Brief article)
December 18, 2008... Gray's School of Art product design student Steven Paxton has won NCR- sponsored competition Selfish Self-Service for a system allowing homeware-shoppers to plan packing their car boots. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors...

IN BRIEF: CDT creates on-screen ident.(Brief article)
December 18, 2008... CDT has created an on-screen ident, which combines film clips and moving illustrations, for cinema advertising group Digital Cinema Media. It will screen in cinemas this week. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

IN BRIEF: Burgopak makes it into top ten of Fast Tracek 100 table.(Brief article)
December 18, 2008... Packaging design and manufacturing group Burgopak has made it into the top ten of the Sunday Times Fast Track 100 league table, which was published last week. Sales of its patented sliding-tray packaging have surged by 148 per cent since 2005....

COMMENT: Creativity should be boosted by the economic constraints.
December 18, 2008... Christmas is seen as a turning point in the year, with all those shiny New Year's resolutions on the horizon, only to be broken before January is out. This year is likely to be different, given the universal squeeze on finance and...

Fivefootsix calls on twins to take Digit 'beyond duplicity'.
December 18, 2008... London-based graphics and branding group Fivefootsix has created the identity for start-up Digit - an encoding studio which digitises film and music - and is working on its website. Fivefootsix was appointed in October following a two-way...

The Works sets the tune for Russian National Orchestra event.
December 18, 2008... The Works is set to unveil branding and promotional visual communications for the Russian National Orchestra's first-ever music festival in Moscow next year. The Leeds consultancy is putting the finishing touches to design elements and...

Branding adds a lot to the UK economy, claims report.
December 18, 2008... What have inward investment, gross domestic product and tax returns got to do with the value of branding? These are the factors influenced by branding that will need to be explored in any potential methodology attempting to measure the...