Design Week articles from July 2009

Design Week archives from July 2009

Unilever plans 'inspiring' guide ahead of roster review.
July 2, 2009... Unilever is assembling a book of 'inspiring design', ahead of an expected roster review at the end of the year, according to sources close to the manufacturer. 'Unilever is writing a book about design that will be distributed around its...

Former Landor designers move on with Family and Friends.
July 2, 2009... Ex-Landor creative director Derek Johnston has set up a new consultancy, Family and Friends, with Alex Durbridge, and has contracts in place with several blue-chip companies. The pair set up the new group following Johnston's redundancy...

Muji and Thonet collaborate to launch furniture range.
July 2, 2009... Muji and Thonet have collaborated to launch a furniture range based on two historic Thonet styles. James Irvine has created the Bentwood collection, inspired by the 214 chair, while Konstantin Grcic has designed the Tubular Steel collection,...

Number 10 hosts Design Council talks.
July 2, 2009... The Design Council is set to hold an extraordinary meeting at Number 10 Downing Street tomorrow. The meeting will be attended by council members and ministers and officials from a number of Government departments, including Transport...

Thomas Matthews flags up signage task for 2014 Commonwealth Games.
July 2, 2009... Thomas Matthews has been appointed to work on the signage, wayfinding and interpretation for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games athletes village. The consultancy is part of the City Legacy team, which also includes developer Davis...

Bond & Coyne create brand for Arts University College.
July 2, 2009... Winchester-based consultancy Bond & Coyne has created the brand for the Arts University College at Bournemouth, formerly the Arts Institute at Bournemouth. The rebrand comes after the institute was awarded the title of university college....

Kingston PCT calls in Think Public for health inequality project.
July 2, 2009... An ambitious project is under way to tackle health inequalities on the Cambridge Road estate in Kingston, Surrey, through research-based design. Public-sector design specialist Think Public was appointed directly in May by Kingston...

Design Research Studio.
July 2, 2009... Tom Dixon's Design Research Studio has been commissioned by Veuve Clicquot to create the Comet - a series of identical installations forming gazebo-like shelters - for the final of the champagne brand's Gold Cup Polo Tournament at Cowdray...

London Design Embassy founder hands reins to LDF.
July 2, 2009... The London Design Festival's organisers will run the London Design Embassy from this year onwards, taking over from the event's founder Christine Losecaat. Losecaat has handed the business matchmaking venture over to the LDF so that she...

Mather & Co takes up the recycling education challenge.
July 2, 2009... Mather & Co has designed a recycling education centre for children that will be housed within an active recycling plant in Wrexham, Wales. The consultancy was appointed last summer by Wrexham Borough Council and Waste Recycling Group...

Yin & Yang slaps on new look for Cosmetics a la carte.
July 2, 2009... Packaging group Yin & Yang is creating a new brand strategy, packaging, marketing materials and visual merchandising concepts for bespoke make- up brand Cosmetics a la carte. The London- and Birmingham-based consultancy was appointed about...

Kate Copeland creates suite of marketing materials.(Brief article)
July 2, 2009... Graphic designer, illustrator and animator Kate Copeland has created a suite of marketing materials for annual music event Army of You, which takes place next month. Flyers are being distributed this week and up until the event on 15 July....

IN BRIEF: David Gentleman: Design.(Brief article)
July 2, 2009... Designer Brian Webb and art consultant Peyton Skipworth have written David Gentleman: Design, the latest title in the Antique Collector's Club's Design series. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

IN BRIEF: Identity for Milson Apartments.(Brief article)
July 2, 2009... Mytton Williams has created the identity for the Milson Apartments development on the site of the former Bath Postal Museum, for developer Osborne Property Group. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

IN BRIEF: Exhibition of contemporary regional French design.(Brief article)
July 2, 2009... La Maison de la Region Languedoc-Roussillon is holding an exhibition of contemporary regional French design at its London showroom from 19-27 September during the London Design Festival. Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and...

IN BRIEF: Winners of Futureproof competition.(Brief article)
July 2, 2009... David Blackmore from Somerset College and Lindsey Whittle from Northumbria University are the winners of consultancy Bulletproof's student competition Futureproof. The pair have won cash prizes and work placements. Copyright: Centaur...

COMMENT: Summer high for design bodes well for the future.(Viewpoint essay)
July 2, 2009... We enter high summer on a positive note for the future of design. Graduate shows at schools like the Royal College of Art and collective events such as D&AD's New Blood and New Designers highlight the best of the new generation. Meanwhile,...

Small Back Room brands new anti-fraud organisation.
July 2, 2009... Small Back Room has created the name, branding and identity for Financial Fraud Action UK, which is set to launch as banking industry anti-fraud group APACS is disbanded. The new organisation will co-ordinate the UK banking industry's non-...

GP Studio/Design House team bag Aftershock revamp work.
July 2, 2009... GP Studio and Design House, which recently announced a collaboration (DW 4 June), have been appointed to their first contract together, to work on store environments and branding for women's fashion retailer Aftershock. Branding...

Local design stars in Cultural Olympiad event Create 09.
July 2, 2009... Create 09, the first major Cultural Olympiad initiative, is under way with design firmly on the agenda. Billed as The Five Borough Festival, Create 09 is an annual cultural festival held across the five London boroughs hosting Olympic...

NEWS IN PICTURES: Anna & The Witch's Bottle.
July 2, 2009... La Boca has designed the book and CD versions of Anna & The Witch's Bottle by Geoff Cox, which features illustrations by Rohan Daniel Easton. The limited-edition title will be published by Black Maps Press in September. Copyright:...

NEWS IN PICTURES: Lost Colours and Alibis book.
July 2, 2009... Remi/Rough is poised to release a book, Lost Colours and Alibis, featuring work from his 25-year career as an urban artist. The book is designed by Remi/Rough and Philippe Soulie of Annex Studios, and is published by Agents of Change, priced...

ANALYSIS: Celebrity challenge.
July 2, 2009... How do you go about branding individuals, without offending their pride? Angus Montgomery looks at what it takes to capture a personality By the time you read this article, former football wunderkind Michael Owen, who has scored 40 goals...

LETTER: We should adopt a professional stance on digital creativity.(Letter to the editor)
July 2, 2009... With regard to Lord Carter's long-awaited Digital Britain report (Voxpop, DW 25 June), I'd suggest education should be at the heart of any policy changes needed to encourage digital creativity in the UK. The digital revolution is...

LETTER: Cradle-to-cradle is the way forward for design.(Letter to the editor)
July 2, 2009... It was great to see more high-profile coverage of sustainable design in your recent issue (Sustainable Design supplement, DW 18 June). If only we could get away from this word 'sustainable'. You rightly include Professor Michael...

LETTER: Give us progressive regulation and lots of cash, please.(Letter to the editor)
July 2, 2009... You recently posed the question, 'What one issue would you put at the top of Lord Mandelson's agenda as he takes charge of the new Department for Business, Innovation and Skills?' (Voxpop, DW 18 June). My view is that design is a vital...

VOXPOP: Stephen Bayley's latest book.
July 2, 2009... Stephen Bayley's latest book Woman as Design attempts to answer the hypothetical question, 'If woman had been designed, what was the brief?' If men had been designed, what do you think the brief would have been? God's brief to himself - I...

LETTER: A bit of interest in communications wouldn't go amiss.(Letter to the editor)
July 2, 2009... We recently wrote to a few organisations talking about design. This morning we hada phone call from a woman at one of these organisations, demanding that we remove her name from our list. Apparently, because they are a Government agency...

DESIGN ART: Tall tales.
July 2, 2009... Why shouldn't design tell stories and encourage imaginative interaction, just like art? Liz Farrelly considers the narrative potential of some ambitious works of design art, ahead of an upcoming exhibition at the Victoria & Albert Museum ...

PRODUCT DESIGN: Making an impact.
July 2, 2009... The design industry espouses sustainability, but eco-awareness has largely been driven by legislation and materials development. Designers must change the parameters of their practice if they want to make a difference, says Clive Grinyer ...

BUSINESS INSIGHT: A brief guide to success.
July 2, 2009... Taking the time to define a solid brief is in the best interests of client and consultancy alike, argues John Mathers The brief's the thing. It is not the sexiest aspect of the business and nothing like as much fun as actually designing,...