Creative Review articles from July 2008

Creative Review archives from July 2008

AGENDA: Design is.
July 3, 2008... "To design is to create images which communicate specific ideas in purely visual terms and utter statements whose form graphically embodies or enhances the essential nature of the notions to be communicated." This definition of graphic...

WHAT'S ON: Graphics Museum.
July 3, 2008... The world's first museum devoted solely to graphic design has opened in Breda in The Netherlands It's finally happened: a museum dedicated specifically to graphic design. The Graphic Design Museum was opened last month (by Queen...

WHAT'S ON: What Are You Looking At?(exhibition)(Brief article)
July 3, 2008... This slightly aggressive title to Tsang Kin-Wah's exhibition at the Chinese Arts Centre in Manchester refers to the subtle layers contained in his work. On first view, it might look like the gallery is simply papered with a pretty floral...

WHAT'S ON: PhotoEspana.(annual photography festival)(Brief article)
July 3, 2008... The tenth edition of the annual photography festival, PhotoEspana, is currently underway in art venues across Madrid. This year's festival is based on the theme of Place, and include shows by major contemporary artists such as Thomas Demand...

WHAT'S ON: Richard Prince at Serpentine.(Serpentine Gallery)(Brief article)
July 3, 2008... US artist Richard Prince's solo show at the Serpentine Gallery in London will see new art-works shown alongside pieces chosen from his 30- year career. Prince draws his inspiration from popular culture, often including images from adverts and...

BOOKS: Master and Margarita.
July 3, 2008... Andrzej Klimowski and Danusia Schejbal have illustrated a graphic novel reworking of Bulgakov's satirical 1930s classic Mikhail Bulgakov's classic satire of the Russian literary establishment, The Master and Margarita, has been adapted as...

BOOKS: Faber & Faber website.
July 3, 2008... It's always amazed us that so many mainstream publishing houses have sub-standard websites (OK, we should get out more). Either they're infuriatingly difficult to search, display the book covers at a rather less than desirable size or are...

BOOKS: Fully Booked.(Book design)(Brief article)
July 3, 2008... Far from heralding the end of printed matter, the advent of digital media has instead made the book all the more special: these days, particularly in publishing, print is often the home of much experimentation. From editions designed for the...

WEBISITES: Shooting blanks.(art director Marcus Piper's online magazine)(Interview)
July 3, 2008... Marcus Piper contributes to Pol Oxygen magazine (where he's also the art director) and Australiainfront.com.au, but here he tells us about Blank, his personal online magazine Marcus Piper, art director of Pol Oxygen magazine, set up his...

WEBISITES: 1000 Words.(Electronic periodicals)(Brief article)
July 3, 2008... 1000 Words is a new online magazine "dedicated to highlighting the best work being produced internationally in photography today". The first issue, online now, shows great promise with features on the work of Chinese artist Li Wei, Candida...

WEBISITES: Format.(Brief article)
July 3, 2008... Each week a new issue of Format magazine appears online with the latest news relating to "the urban aesthetic". It's definitely one for the cool kids as the features and content focus on news of the hottest sneakers, the latest streetwear...

GRAPHIC DESIGN: Food For Animals music video - Martin Sulzer.
July 3, 2008... Somewhat surprisingly, this anatomical wonder is the protagonist in a music video for a hip hop band, US-based Food For Animals. The promo is for track 'Tween My Lips from the band's new album, Belly. Director Martin Sulzer was keen to...

ADVERTISING: Mercedes Benz ads - Jung von Matt, Hamburg.
July 3, 2008... Jung von Matt in Germany has devised an inventive way to emphasise the Mercedes-Benz G Class' ability to perform perfectly in every terrain. Instead of the usual macho fare that is often used to illustrate such features, the agency has...

PHOTOGRAPHY/BOOK DESIGN: Circus book - Anderson & Low.
July 3, 2008... Circus is a new book of work from photographers Anderson & Low. Shot in 2006 it features the circus performers of Blackpool Pleasure Beach shot both at work and off duty in the surroundings of the theme park. The book was designed by...

PHOTOGRAPHY: Bubbles - Jason Tozer.
July 3, 2008... Sony approached Creative Review looking for a way in which to demonstrate the capabilities of its new Alpha 350 d-slr camera. Having seen his wonderful images in last month's Monograph, we suggested commissioning photographer Jason Tozer to...

GRAPHICS/BOOK DESIGN: Brno Echo posters - Abbott Miller.
July 3, 2008... Pentagram's Abbott Miller has curated a multimedia design exhibition, Brno Echo: Ornament and Crime from Adolf Loos to Now, currently on show at the Moravian Gallery in Brno, Czech Republic as part of the city's Biennial of Graphic Design....

GRAPHICS/BOOK DESIGN: Love Travel Guides - Fiona Caulfield.
July 3, 2008... The Love Travel Guides are a series of upmarket yet practical, guidebooks to Indian cities for the "luxury vagabond", written by ex- advertising executive Fiona Caulfield. Each comes in a silk bag and is printed on handmade paper. Although the...

ADVERTISING/BRANDING: McDonald's spot - Leo Burnett.
July 3, 2008... Home Disco, the latest spot from Leo Burnett's London office for the McDonald's 99p-tastic saver menu, is genuinely funny, thanks to great casting and the direction of Neil Gorringe of Moxie Pictures. A group of young student lads 'go...

ADVERTISING/BRANDING: Tap - Provokateur.
July 3, 2008... Tap is an eco-initiative from design agency Provokateur which is aiming to promote the UK's excellent tap water as a sustainable alternative to bottled varieties. Over 2.7m tonnes of plastic is used to bottle water each year, while a quarter...

EXHIBITION DESIGN: Zaragoza Expo 2008 - Program Collective.(Water For Life)
July 3, 2008... The Zaragoza Expo 2008, based on the theme Water and Sustainable Development, is taking place from June 14 until September in Spain. Forming part of the Expo is the exhibition Water For Life, on show in Zaragoza's tallest building, which stands...

SPONSORSHIP IDENTS: Sony idents - Fallon London.
July 3, 2008... Fallon in London is behind this impressive set of idents, currently airing during the itv coverage of the Formula 1 season. Directed by Johnny Hardstaff, the idents are based on the simple premise of "testing high definition to the limit"....

MOTION GRAPHICS: Terminal 5 Films - Nokia.
July 3, 2008... As we have reported on before in cr, Nokia has been commissioning an imaginative array of motion graphics work for display in its stores around the world. That project has now been extended to Heathrow Airport's Terminal 5 where the phone...

MOBILE: Nike PHOTOiD - AKQA.
July 3, 2008... AKQA is behind the latest mobile marketing initiative from Nike. PHOTOID allows fans of customised footwear to seek out interesting colourways from their own environment and see what they would look like when transferred onto a pair of Nike...

EDITORIAL DESIGN: Book of Jam - Underworld.
July 3, 2008... The Book of Jam is a down-loadable monthly pdf magazine of photography, writing and illustrations produced by Karl Hyde, Rick Smith and John Warwicker that is available to members of underworldlive.com. As the editorial in the latest issue...

IDENTITY: Self-promotional postcards - Studio Dempsey.(Brief article)
July 3, 2008... After finally stepping down from CDT last year, the design studio that he co-founded, Mike Dempsey set up his own, far smaller operation to concentrate on projects of personal interest. Studio Dempsey's identity plays on the notion of the...

Art Direction.
July 3, 2008... In the April issue of cr, art director Paul Cohen lamented the state of art direction within advertising. According to Cohen, the profession is in decline, under-appreciated by clients as well as agencies, with a basic understanding of art...

The emergence of Korean design.
July 3, 2008... I t was only a trip from her flat to Seven Eleven but art student Lee Danbi was wearing a cocktail dress, Cleopatra earrings and full warpaint. "Style is everything in Seoul especially in Hongdae," says the 23-year-old, referring to the area...

Sulki & Min.
July 3, 2008... Asked which South Korean design studios he thought were producing interesting work, Ahn Sang-soo recommended Sulki & Min Sulki Choi and Min Choi are based in Seoul and have worked together since meeting on Yale University's mfa graphic...

PROFILE: Wilfred Wood.
July 3, 2008... Wilfrid Wood has almost run out of room: there's barely a patch of wallspace left in his house, the majority of it taken up by sketches, drawings, paintings and sculptures. Some are by friends and relatives but the majority are by the...

Ten years to become an expert.
July 3, 2008... In January 1998 I started my first permanent job in design. I was an art director at a pharmaceutical advertising agency. Everyone's got to start somewhere. So, ten years into a design career, what does it look like? You hear lots from...

CRIT: King Charisma.
July 3, 2008... The power of imagery to distort, distract and seduce emerged as the pervasive theme of Typo Berlin 08, says Daniel West "Style, persuasiveness and a sense of humour can have a bigger impact than competence alone." The second sentence...

CREATIVE SOCIAL: Digital disciples.
July 3, 2008... Does the new religion of digital advertising have all the answers? Patrick Burgoyne reports from Creative Social If it's April, it must be Florence. Creative Social, the peripatetic gathering of creative directors from digital ad agencies...