Design Week articles from January 2009

Design Week archives from January 2009

Established & Sons star Mark Holmes launches solo venture.(Brief article)
January 8, 2009... Former Established & Sons design director Mark Holmes is set to launch his first solo venture since leaving the high-end furniture brand last year. Minimalux, a collection of 'small-scale, highly desirable, precious, practical objects',...

Tal Rosner creates opening title for Skins.(Motion graphics artist Tal Rosner has created the opening title sequence for the third series of Channel 4)(Brief article)
January 8, 2009... Motion graphics artist Tal Rosner has created the opening title sequence for the third series of Channel 4's teen show Skins. Rosner won a Bafta award for best title sequence for his work on the first series. For the first time, Rosner has...

300million creates new WKS identity.(branding consultancy 300million has created a new identity for accountant Willott Kingston Smith)(Brief article)
January 8, 2009... Branding consultancy 300million has created a new identity for accountant Willott Kingston Smith, in its latest project as brand guardian for parent company Kingston Smith LLP. WKS becomes Kingston Smith W1, as of 15 January. Appointed...

Design industry will bounce back in 2010, experts concur.
January 8, 2009... Financial experts are forecasting that, although business will get tougher for design consultancies in the first half of this year, the third and fourth quarters could see an upturn. Ian Cochrane, managing director of management consultancy...

Sedley Place to create interiors for Atum Cove resort in Egypt.
January 8, 2009... Sedley Place is designing a range of interiors for Atum Cove, a recreational development in Egypt, set in a newly landscaped 120ha space. Appointed by Cypriot developer Trustwise in September after two rounds of competitive pitching,...

The next exhibition by Gallery Libby Sellers open on 5 March.(Brief article)
January 8, 2009... The next exhibition by Gallery Libby Sellers opens in London on 5 March. Drawn From Clay - Noordoostpolder will focus on Dutch design studio Atelier NL, which spent several months exploring agricultural peculiarities in the Noordoostpolder...

Red Bee Media creates identity for TV channel Eden.
January 8, 2009... Red Bee Media has created the identity for TV channel Eden, which was previously known as UKTV Documentary. The Eden rebrand follows Red Bee Media's relaunch of UKTV G2 as Dave in 2007. Eden will launch on 26 January, and will be followed by...

Consultancies are raising charge-out rates, says DBA.
January 8, 2009... Consultancies appear to be increasing the rates they charge clients for design work for the first time in over five years, according to a report by the Design Business Association. The DBA's Charge Out Rates and Salary Levels 2008 survey,...

Block Architecture and Abake create Chalayan exhibition.(Brief article)
January 8, 2009... A sneak preview of the design for Hussein Chalayan's upcoming show at the Design Museum reveals that its look is inspired by airports and books. Block Architecture and graphics group Abake are redesigning the exhibition and accompanying...

Michael Holden unfolds 'flat-pack theatre' concept.
January 8, 2009... Theatre designer Michael Holden is creating what is thought to be the first-ever flat-pack theatre, boasting a 'speed of build and economic efficiency' that could make it appealing to schools. Constructed from laminated softwood timber,...

Marcus White launches Aqua Table dining set.(Brief article)
January 8, 2009... Furniture designer Marcus White has launched the limited-edition Aqua Table dining set. White claims the furniture is inspired by the construction of traditional wooden ships. The table and chairs come in eight- and ten-person sets, priced...

IN BRIEF: Identity and website for GUA Africa.(Brief article)
January 8, 2009... Cheltenham branding group Sperm Creative has produced an identity and website for US charity GUA Africa, which helps communities overcome the effects of war and poverty. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

IN BRIEF: 30-second animation for Quorn mince.(Brief article)
January 8, 2009... Hibbert Ralph Animation and McCann Erickson London have worked together to produce a 30-second hand-drawn animation for Premier Foods' Quorn mince. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

IN BRIEF: Chanel cancels London, Paris and Moscow legs of tour.(Brief article)
January 8, 2009... Chanel has cancelled the London, Paris and Moscow legs of its touring pavilion, designed by Zaha Hadid, blaming the current economic crisis. The pavilion has already visited New York, Hong Kong and Tokyo. Copyright: Centaur Communications...

IN BRIEF: Catholic Children's Society relaunch.(Brief article)
January 8, 2009... BMT Business has worked up an identity for The Catholic Children's Society's relaunch this week as Cabrini Children's Society. The new look intends to reflect a wider range of services that the charity offers. Copyright: Centaur...

IN BRIEF: WPP dismisses claims that it is to cut its workforce.(Brief article)
January 8, 2009... WPP has dismissed claims that it is to cut its workforce by 10 per cent, in a bid to make savings where staff costs exceed 60 per cent of revenue. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

COMMENT: A global outlook will get us through this downturn.
January 8, 2009... There are good reasons to be cheerful about Priestman Goode's latest train project for Chinese engineering group Sifang Locomotive Company (see News, page 3). Not only is it great news for the London consultancy, which has netted a major win...

COMMENT: Congratulations to Gill Hicks.
January 8, 2009... Sincere congratulations go to Gill Hicks, the former Design Council head of curating who lost both legs in the London bombings of 7 July 2005. She was made an MBE in the New Year Honours list for her subsequent work for charity. Copyright:...

Lord's takes the Circle line on diversification strategy.
January 8, 2009... Lord's Cricket Ground in London is working with Circle Design on a project to help it define its brand strategy, ahead of plans to open up alternative revenue streams. Circle Design, which created the current Lord's identity for...

Magpie consolidates promotional messages for Knight Frank.(Magpie Studio contracts with Knight Frank)(Brief article)
January 8, 2009... Magpie Studio has created a suite of promotional print items to support estate agent Knight Frank's activities. The materials, launching this week, include key values and seasonal messages to be used locally by Knight Frank's network of...

Bangalore heralded as a 'design city' of the future.
January 8, 2009... Asked to imagine the design city of the future, you might have visions of glittering, iconic towers, sleek hover bikes and elegantly minimal white uniforms. You probably wouldn't think of the busy flower market in Bangalore, India. Yet...

NEWS IN PICTURES: Katie Scott creates illustrations for comedians.
January 8, 2009... Katie Scott has created the illustrations for the new CD by comedians John Lloyd and Bill Bailey, The Museum of Curiosity, which is being released today. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

NEWS IN PICTURES: Pop Art exhibition at Belgravia Gallery.
January 8, 2009... Works by Damien Hirst, David Hockney, Robert Indiana (whose image Love is pictured) and Andy Warhol will be brought together for a new selling exhibition, Pop Art, at London's Belgravia Gallery. The show will feature original drawings,...

NEWS IN PICTURES: Richard Caldicott exhibition.
January 8, 2009... An exhibition of new work by artist Richard Caldicott opens later this month at Hamiltons Gallery, London W11. The show, appropriately entitled New Work, features a series of large-format photographs of plastic cups, and runs from 21 January...

ANALYSIS: What now for Russian gold rush?
January 8, 2009... The Russian market has been lucrative for UK consultancies, but is work drying up as the economy crumbles? asks Angus Montgomery One of the key questions consultancies will be asking themselves at the beginning of 2009 is: where is all...

PRIVATE VIEW: New year, new reality.(Viewpoint essay)
January 8, 2009... Christmas is but a distant memory, and the harsh facts of life in the downturn are about to hit home. Adrian Shaughnessy tells designers what they can expect Here are ten things that designers are going to have to get used to in...

INSPIRED: Ben Marshall.(Viewpoint essay)(Brief article)
January 8, 2009... Ben Marshall Landor Associates Towards the end of my school career, I was sent by a craft, design and technology teacher to a screen-printing studio, based in an old Rochdale schoolbuilding, called Peopleprint. Perhaps as an outlet for my...

LETTER: Better investment in design would benefit all of us.(Letter to the editor)
January 8, 2009... As a contributor to the Cox Review, I'm a big believer that public investment in design will earn a big return for the UK taxpayer, and I'd be delighted to make the case for our value to anyone at any time. But surely the best thing we...

VOXPOP: What do you hope 2009 will bring?
January 8, 2009... There's a great line by Woody Allen that goes, 'I've got my principles and if you don't like them there are plenty more where they came from.' This coming year will need self-belief and an absolute focus on which opportunities are the right...

LETTER: Let's make it easier for public-sector clients.(Letter to the editor)
January 8, 2009... Lynda Relph-Knight's Comment regarding public-sector design issues (DW 11 December) is very timely, and raises the right questions for the design community. About 40 per cent of the work we do at Dogstar Design is for the public sector,...

LETTER: Do we really need account handlers to do our deals?(Letter to the editor)
January 8, 2009... In his Private View (DW 27 November), David Bernstein proposes that account handlers (the good ones) can provide true meaning and, above all, insight in a relationship between client and designer. My experience, in and out of the workplace,...

PROFILE: Folkform.(overview of design studio)(Company overview)
January 8, 2009... Swedish duo Folkform avoids Scandinavian cliche, taking mass-produced materials to create handmade furniture with a twist. Trish Lorenz talks to one of the studio's co-founders as it is about to launch its latest collection Swedish...

BICYCLES: Flower power.(Brief article)
January 8, 2009... American textile designer Alexander Girard was a favourite of Herman Miller in the 1950s - as well as a noted retail innovator. Some of his bright, folk-themed ideas have been picked up by an American bicycle company and they colourfully...

TYPOGRAPHY: Reverting to type.
January 8, 2009... After decades of sans serif ubiquity, the serifed font is making a spirited return. It's a good example of how typographic trends shift with other elements of visual culture, finds Scott Billings IN 2007's Helvetica, a feature film...

CARDBOARD: Folding stuff.
January 8, 2009... Cardboard is alive with possibilities. A new wave of enthusiasts is using it as room dividers, event decor and exhibition vitrines. Its eco- friendliness and low cost give it enduring appeal, says Sarah Frater IT'S NOTHING new, of course....

BUSINESS INSIGHT: Don't let up on idea generation.
January 8, 2009... The recession will see radical shifts in social behaviour, so make sure your innovation and brand strategies are up to speed, says Dorothy Mackenzie There is now a well-accepted mantra in marketing circles that it is a mistake to cut...

REVIEW: Unearthly inspiration.
January 8, 2009... By Sarah Frater Anyone expecting insights into Voodoo's roots in West Africa, or its synthesis with Christianity by the African diaspora, will probably be disappointed. Riflemaker's Voodoo show hints at its monotheistic spirituality,...

Land Securities constructs its first-ever formal retail roster.
January 15, 2009... Developer Land Securities has put together its first-ever formal roster for its retail portfolio, Design Week can reveal. Those appointed to the retail roster include London group Next Big Thing (which has also been awarded the status of...

Smith & Milton picks strategy chief.
January 15, 2009... Branding consultancy Smith & Milton has appointed former managing director David Haseler as its strategy director. Haseler, who rejoined Smith & Milton this month, was managing director between 1998 and 2003, and worked for SAS and G2 in...

Royal Mint tender for 2012 coins after mixed reaction to public prize.
January 15, 2009... The Royal Mint is expected to launch a series of tenders in the build- up to 2012 to find designs for the backs of coins celebrating the Olympic Games. The news may quell some negative reactions that have risen from the design community...

Nude Brand Consulting creates radical look for Chivas single malt.
January 15, 2009... Pernod Ricard's whisky arm Chivas Brothers is relaunching Scapa, one of its premium single malt brands, under a radical new look created by Nude Brand Consulting. The 14-year-old Scapa single malt will be replaced by a more premium 16-...

Very designs newsletter.
January 15, 2009... London graphic design studio Very has designed a newsletter for The Fostering Network, as part of its Leading Our Lives project. Revo will be distributed to 27 000 homes this month, inviting young people in foster care to contribute pictures...

Etihad embarks on new passenger experience project.
January 15, 2009... Etihad Airways, the United Arab Emirates' national carrier, is to embark on a long-term design programme that will define its future cabin experience, Design Week can reveal. The project will be undertaken by a consortium comprising product...

Sheppard Day designs medical research brochure.
January 15, 2009... Sheppard Day has designed a brochure for medical research organisation the Rosetrees Trust featuring photography by Rankin. The 12-page brochure, featuring black-and-white imagery by Rankin, will be sent out to potential donors. Peter...

CORRECTION: Uniform Communications.(Correction notice)
January 15, 2009... Uniform Communications, not Uniform Connections, has been selected to sit on the Natural History Museum design framework, as stated in DW 18 December 2008. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

IN BRIEF: AME Design works with Kingfisher.(Brief article)
January 15, 2009... AME Design has worked with home improvement retail group Kingfisher on the design and development of its Performance Power range of power tools. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

IN BRIEF: Coley Porter Bell wins three awards.(Brief article)
January 15, 2009... Design consultancy Coley Porter Bell has won three awards at the Mobius Advertising Awards, including wins for branding for the Museum of London and Dylon. The consultancy has also appointed Christian Barnett as planning director. ...

IN BRIEF: Photoshoot for Ministry of Sound.(Brief article)
January 15, 2009... Studio Output has carried out a photoshoot for flyers for club Ministry of Sound, influenced by Francis Bacon's picture Study After Velazquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

IN BRIEF: Docklands Light Railway Woolwich Arsenal artwork.(Brief article)
January 15, 2009... Artist Michael Craig-Martin has designed a public artwork on the staircase of the new Docklands Light Railway Woolwich Arsenal station extension. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

IN BRIEF: Pearlfisher appointment.(Brief article)
January 15, 2009... Natalie Chung has been appointed creative director of Pearlfisher, with previous creative director Shaun Bowen leaving to start up new consultancy B&B. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

COMMENT: Promising start to the year is marred by Royal Mint contest.
January 15, 2009... It's been an interesting start to what is being billed as a difficult year. A raft of impressive job wins - this week, for example, a clutch of UK consultancies is celebrating the Etihad Airways project (see News, page 5) - is balanced by...

Capital idea for Hat-Trick's reworking of arts uni identity.
January 15, 2009... Hat-Trick Design has created a new identity for Norwich University College of the Arts. Prompted by a name change in January last year - from Norwich School of Art and Design to Norwich University College of the Arts - the university...

Logo is first fruit of Bow Wow's rebranding of Working Title.
January 15, 2009... London- and Tokyo-based design consultancy Bow Wow International has redesigned the logo for Working Title Films. The film production company appointed Bow Wow in February last year to redesign its brand identity to coincide with the...

Landor predicts era of austerity and comfort branding.
January 15, 2009... US consumer tastes are turning on a dime as the recession takes hold, according to Landor Associates' latest trends outlook report. On this side of the pond, UK branding groups agree that branding is rediscovering a 'wartime ethic'. The...

NEWS IN PICTURES: Sagemeister: Made You Look.
January 15, 2009... Abrams is publishing Sagmeister: Made You Look, by graphic designer Stefan Sagmeister and Peter Hall. The book was first published in 2001, but is being redesigned for publication in April. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and...

NEWS IN PICTURES: Microsoft develops touch-screen operating system.
January 15, 2009... Microsoft has developed a touch-screen operating system that could signal the end of the computer mouse. The new technology is a feature of Windows 7, and is being launched in the UK this week. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and...

NEWS IN PICTURES: Very Good & Proper design for Canteen.
January 15, 2009... Product design group Very Good & Proper has designed a range of branded products for Canteen restaurant in London, W1. The Canteen table is now on sale, while Hook & Knob will be released in the summer. Copyright: Centaur Communications...

NEWS IN PICTURES: Faber & Faber celebrate 80th anniversary.
January 15, 2009... Faber & Faber will celebrate its 80th anniversary by redesigning the book covers of some of its most celebrated writers. The Faber Firsts include novels by Orhan Pamuk, Paul Auster and William Golding, and will be published in May. ...

ANALYSIS: Mutual respect.
January 15, 2009... As Land Securities builds its first retail roster, Gina Lovett examines the property group's principled relationships with design consultancies This year's first roster announcement - and, yes, unsurprisingly there are more to come - is...

LETTER: Using the Web to keep kids hooked, seven days a week.(Letter to the editor)
January 15, 2009... Regarding Emily Pacey's News Analysis (DW 4 December 2008), comic publishers should realise the Web is a prime opportunity to keep engaging with fans between issues. Children are impatient and have trouble waiting a week for the next issue....

VOXPOP: How will you justify raising your rates to clients in 2009?
January 15, 2009... In 2008, consultancies bucked the trend and raised their charge-out rates in line with salaries, according to a report by the Design Business Association. How will you justify raising your rates to clients in 2009? Implied in your question...

LETTER: We need definitions of our evolving profession.(Letter to the editor)
January 15, 2009... I am taking you up on your challenge about increasing design value awareness in the public sector (Comment, DW 11 December 2008). I believe the design community must know itself before it can outwardly increase design value awareness in...

LETTER: Mandy isn't the standard bearer for design we deserve.(Letter to the editor)
January 15, 2009... Peter Mandelson's London Design Festival opening speech (www.designweek.co.uk, 16 September 2008) was cited in your review of 2008 (DW 18 December) as an indicator of a possible role for design in creating a knowledge economy. Well, don't...

PROFILE: Christian Lindholm.
January 15, 2009... With little formal training, Christian Lindholm has designed groundbreaking user interfaces for leading mobile phone brands. Sarah Frater catches up with a master of 'design by reduction' and a mean yachtsman Designing something that an...

FURNITURE: Icons revisited.
January 15, 2009... Despite the financial crisis and an anticipated drop in exhibitors at this year's IMM Cologne, the fair is still expecting some high-profile launches. Anna Richardson is enamoured with the reissued classics THE STURDY workhorse to...

FURNITURE: IMM and beyond hitlist.
January 15, 2009... IMM Cologne runs from 19-25 January As well as the main IMM at Cologne's fairground, the city also hosts the Passagen interior design week. Twenty years old this year, it includes 190 studios, retailers and installations at venues across the...

BANKS: Goodwill hunting.
January 15, 2009... After the financial turmoil of 2008, retail banks have a lot to do to counter accusations of corporate greed and cynical marketing. How can design help them to rebuild consumer trust? asks brand expert Ruth Mortimer BANK BRANDS have...

BUSINESS INSIGHT: Courting the public arena.
January 15, 2009... Designers must show that they can thrive in the public sector - and learn to handle the procurement process better, argues Gerry Postlethwaite Things are changing in public-sector design buying - and not always for the good as far as...

REVIEW: Get in line.
January 15, 2009... By Anna Richardson Uniforms have enrobed humans for millennia, endowing a feeling of belonging and conjuring the power of the collective. Historians trace the rise of the uniform to 210 BC, the first emperor of China and his tomb of...

Public procurement put under the spotlight by MPs and DBA.
January 22, 2009... A high-level bid to raise awareness in Government about procurement practice has been launched with the aim of improving design buying in the Civil Service. Organised by the all-party Associate Parliamentary Group for Design and...

Designers and craftsmen sought for Robert Burns museum.
January 22, 2009... The National Trust for Scotland is seeking graphic designers, model- makers and metal craftworkers as part of the #21m Robert Burns Birthplace Museum project. The museum, which is expected to complete in 2010, 251 years after the Scottish...

Ancient Egyptian gallery opens.
January 22, 2009... The new Ancient Egyptian gallery opens at the British Museum in London WC1 today. The principal designer at the museum, Geoff Pickup, art- directed the project, with 3D design by At Large and graphics by Lucy Or Robert. Both of these groups...

Seymour Powell in Loewy rejig.(Seymour Powell has merged with Loewy Group )(Brief article)
January 22, 2009... Seymour Powell has merged with Loewy Group stablemate Loewy Brands & Packaging. The move follows last week's merger between The Team and Loewy Branding Communications (DW 15 January) and will see Seymour Powell extend its offering into...

Top names restore Design Council to full strength.
January 22, 2009... Sebastian Conran, Virgin Atlantic Airways head of design Joe Ferry, and Royal College of Art Helen Hamlyn Centre director Professor Jeremy Myerson are among seven new recruits to the Design Council. Design Council chairman Sir Michael...

Mair Perkins wins competition.(Derby University student Mair Perkins won the first international Design Against Fur animation competition)(Brief article)
January 22, 2009... Derby University student Mair Perkins has won the first international Design Against Fur animation competition. The award runs alongside the Design Against Fur poster competition which started in 2001 and attracts around 7000 entries each...

Reform takes dance out of the ballroom for Visit Blackpool.
January 22, 2009... Manchester-based consultancy Reform Creative has designed the branding for Visit Blackpool's Out to Dance event, which will take place during the city's annual dance festival in May. Reform Creative was appointed to the job last October,...

Triflow Concepts commissions Zaha Hadid.(Brief article)
January 22, 2009... Triflow Concepts, formerly Avilion, has commissioned architect Zaha Hadid to design a bathroom tap for the company's relaunch on 28 January. The tap will use the existing filter system designed and patented by Avilion in 1992. Triflow and Hadid...

Wallace & Gromit front Science Museum show.
January 22, 2009... SGA Productions has put together a team of six interactive, sound and lighting designers for a new #2m Science Museum exhibition, Wallace & Gromit Present a World of Cracking Ideas. Due to open at the end of March, the show will feature a...

Cravens creates children's zoo identity for London Zoo.
January 22, 2009... London Zoo is set to launch a new identity, designed by Cravens, for its Children's Zoo, which it is renaming Animal Adventure. Cravens' branding will feature 'a very simple logo in a playful, childish font that will sit well with our...

Lambie-Nairn set to brand Renault promo TV channel.
January 22, 2009... Car manufacturer Renault has appointed Lambie-Nairn to design the branding and idents for its new promotional TV channel, Design Week can reveal. Branding and broadcast graphics group Lambie-Nairn won the contract about three weeks ago,...

A selection of classic fiction paperbacks.(Gateshead's Shipley Art Gallery)(Brief article)
January 22, 2009... A selection of classic orange fiction paperbacks, together with original drawings of the Penguin logo, are among the exhibits on display at Gateshead's Shipley Art Gallery, as part of a show marking seven decades of Penguin book design. The...

IN BRIEF: NB Studio.(Brief article)
January 22, 2009... NB Studio did not design the logo for The Fostering Network newsletter Revo (DW 15 January). NB Studio, together with people from The Fostering Network, created a logo for the Leading Our Lives project. Copyright: Centaur Communications...

IN BRIEF: Flying car.(Brief article)
January 22, 2009... Design consultancy Kipper has helped design the branding for the team of British adventurers setting off from London to Timbuktu by 'flying car'. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

IN BRIEF: Ammunition appointment.(Brief article)
January 22, 2009... Former Peter Saville Associates partner Brett Wickens and Matt Rolandson, formerly of Meta Design, have joined San Francisco consultancy Ammunition as partners. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors