Creative Review articles from June 2008

Creative Review archives from June 2008

On design and D&AD.
June 2, 2008... There are no D&AD awards in graphic design this year. Not one. Not a single yellow pencil was awarded in any of the graphics categories. It's been coming for some time. Despite the efforts of D&AD itself, successive graphics juries over...

Kozyndan in Amsterdam.
June 2, 2008... LA-based duo Kozyndan are currently exhibiting a selection of their digital paintings at new gallery space Maxalot in Amsterdam. Kozyndan caused controversy in the advertising world last year, after pointing out the supposed similarity between...

The Newton Machine.
June 2, 2008... For two weeks in June, Topshop on Oxford Street in London will be offering shoppers a unique opportunity for self- exposure, thanks to Helmut Newton's amazing machine Topshop's flagship store on Oxford Street in London is offering...

Portavilion in London's parks.(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... This summer sees a group of renowned international artists take part in Portavilion, a new public art project that will take place in a number of central London's parks. Each artist was asked to create a temporary 'pavilion' specially for...

EXHIBITIONS: Poster Museum.
June 2, 2008... The 21st edition of the International Poster Biennale, held at the Poster Museum in Wilanow, Warsaw, takes place from June 7-September 7. postermuseum.pl Copyright: Centaur Communications Ltd. and licensors

EXHIBITIONS: Tate Modern.
June 2, 2008... Street & Studio: An Urban History of Photography is the latest blockbuster exhibition at Tate Modern, and includes work by Diane Arbus, Irving Penn, Cindy Sherman and Wolfgang Tillmans. Until August 31. tate.org.uk/modern Copyright:...

EXHIBITIONS: Tate Liverpool.
June 2, 2008... Up in Tate Liverpool, Gustav Klimt: Painting, Design & Modern Life in Vienna 1900 is the first major exhibition of work by the artist to ever be staged in the UK. Long overdue we say. From May 28-August 31. tate.org.uk/liverpool ...

EXHIBITIONS: Barbican Art Gallery.
June 2, 2008... The crazy-but-brilliant fashion designs of Viktor & Rolf are the focus of a major exhibition at the Barbican art gallery this summer, where designs stretching back to 1992 will be on show. June 18-September 21. barbican.org.uk/artgallery...

A Series of Disappointments.(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... Photographer Stephen Gill's latest book is a rather unusual collection of portraits taken in and around Hackney in London. In reaction to the amount of betting shops that have set up in the area (there are over 70 - the average in other...

The Production Manual.
June 2, 2008... From printing on bright yellow dusting cloths to the idiosyncracies of kerning, The Production Manual: A Graphic Design Handbook, is full of useful advice for eager student and seasoned design professional alike. Unlike many design manuals,...

Robert Frank Project.(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... The Americans is one of photographer Robert Frank's most important books. Fifty years on, Steidl is reprinting it German book publisher Steidl continues its Robert Frank Project with the publication of the Swiss-born, US-based...

Graphics' own DJ.
June 2, 2008... Adrian Shaughnessy has secured a second series of his Graphic Design on the Radio show on Resonance FM Adrian Shaughnessy has just launched a second series of his Graphic Design On The Radio show, which can be listened to every Friday...

Space Collective blog.
June 2, 2008... Space Collective is a blog that claims to gather information about the "future of everything" - a place where ideas and information "about the state of the species, their planet and the universe" can be exchanged. Questions such as "Will the...

Rock Band Logos blog.
June 2, 2008... Californian blogger David Cotner's site is devoted to showcasing logos, icons and emblems cooked up specially for musicians or bands. Cotner also reveals the history of each design and gives credit to the designers and, in some cases, the...

LINKS: apostropheatrophy.com.(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... Double quotation marks or single? Apostrophe or prime? This site offers no explanation of what's right to use in what circumstance. Instead it ridicules the mistakes of others by posting up photographs of packaging, posters and signage that...

LINKS: fontstruct.fontshop.com.(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... FontShop has just unleashed FontStruct, a free font-building tool that allows users easily to create fonts constructed of geometrical shapes which can then be arranged in a grid. The application can generate high quality TrueType fonts from...

Design sight test.(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... Type designer and typographer Alan Dempsey created this striking poster for homewares firm Habitat to test buyers' furniture design knowledge. "The design is based on an eye chart style," says Dempsey, "and features monograms [using the...

Type to impress.(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... Matthew Halnan, a recent graduate of the London College of Communication, began his Blu Tack project whilst still a student. Noticing objects that seemed to take typographic forms, Halnan took wads of Blu Tack out onto the streets of Borough in...

Hairy face.(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... Designer and illustrator Craig Ward was commissioned by Fontlab to create some new typefaces to aid the promotion of its Photofont software. Hirsutura is "a juxtaposition of the basics of Futura Bold and hair from the floor of my local...

ONE TO WATCH: Richard Skinner.
June 2, 2008... After commissioning some of the best music videos of the past decade, Fallon's new recruit is bringing his skills to ads Richard Skinner may seem an unusual choice for our One to Watch page, as for many his name is already very familiar....

GRAPHIC DESIGN: James Bond covers.
June 2, 2008... From Penguin 007 It seems like barely a week goes by without a publisher re-issuing something from its back catalogue in spanky new packaging. Penguin has been more active than most in this arena so it may come as no surprise to learn...

ADVERTISING: The Economist Print ad campaign.
June 2, 2008... "We have moved the campaign on from where it was last autumn. Though still rooted in the same colour palette we were less concerned about everything having to be out of a black page," says AMV.BBDO art director Paul Cohen of the second...

BOOK DESIGN: Superheroes - Fashion And Fantasy.(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... Superheroes: Fashion and Fantasy, currently at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, "explores the symbolic and metaphysical associations between fictional comic book characters and fashion". The show draws parallels between the garb...

ADVERTISING: Uniqlo - Polo print campaign.
June 2, 2008... MP Creative's latest project for Uniqlo focuses on the wide variety of different coloured polo shirts available at the Japanese retailer's stores. The New York studio is responsible for the global creative direction of the Uniqlo brand, as...

ADVERTISNG: Aspesi - Print and poster campaign.(Tomato LLC )(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... These two quite differently styled print and poster campaigns are both for Aspesi clothing range's spring-summer collection. "The two different approaches to this campaign reflect the qualities of the collections themselves," explains...

COMMERCIALS, MUSIC VIDOES: AEG Electrolux - Noise Awareness.
June 2, 2008... Prepare to cast those stereotypes aside: London is actually a far noisier city than Milan, despite all the cliches about Vespas and vocal locals. How do we know this nugget of information? It's because we have been to noiseawareness.co.uk ...

COMMERCIALS, MUSIC VIDOES: Justice - Music video.
June 2, 2008... French director Romain Gavras is behind this video for Justice's track, Stress, which replaces the happy aesthetic of the band's previous promos with a brooding, violent atmosphere. Rarely have the streets of Paris looked so bleak as we...

COMMERCIALS, MUSIC VIDOES: Hot Chip - Music video.
June 2, 2008... Production company Trunk Animation collaborated with artists Bevis Martin and Charlie Youle for this animated video for Hot Chip's One Pure Thought. "The band were initially filmed on green screen in France with the idea of utilising a style...

COMMERCIALS, MUSIC VIDOES: Oxfam - Viral campaign.
June 2, 2008... This charming ad for Oxfam was written and directed for the charity by Partizan Lab animation team, Frater. The viral, which aims to get us living more ethically, is notable for its lack of condescension, instead telling a story that is all...

COMMERCIAL: Schweppes - Commercial.
June 2, 2008... FFL's new commercial for Schweppes is a mixture of retro 80s styling with very contemporary technology. The spot is directed by visual artists Warren Du Preez & Nick Thornton-Jones, who adapted the photographic 'air process' technique to...

IDENTITY: Meta - Identity by Spin.(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... Design studio Spin has created the identity and promotional material for Meta, an off-shoot of established antique house Mallett that aims to combine old craft and techniques with modern design. "We wanted to do that too," explains Spin's...

MAGAZINES: Futu Issue 6 - Art directed by Matt Willey.
June 2, 2008... Polish magazine Futu called Studio8's Matt Willey "out of the blue" and asked him to guest art direct its sixth issue. "Each issue is themed, this one being 'Labels', meaning brands," explains Willey. "The cover [shown below] is made up of...

BOOK DESIGN: Crime book - Published by fuel.
June 2, 2008... Fuel Design is about to publish a new book on the seedier side of life. Crime, by author and documentary maker Alix Lambert, is billed as a series of "extraordinary interviews exposing the world of Crime - Real and Imagined". Lambert talked...

IDENTITY: Framestore - Rebrand.(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... Framestore, has returned to Javier Mariscal of Barcelona for an update of his original identity work for the London-based post-production house. The new logo is made up of a selection of hand-drawn letter forms that all differ stylistically...

IDENTITY: Channel 4 - Annual review 2007.(Brief article)
June 2, 2008... Moving away from the heavily illustrated style of previous issues of Channel 4's yearly review, NB: Studio commissioned photographer Nick Turpin to shoot portraits of some of the Channel's employees. "We wanted to give the series of...

WEBSITE: Got Milk! - Website.(Website overview)
June 2, 2008... Milk might not be the first subject matter that you feel like looking up when you go online, but this new website for Got Milk! by Goodby, Silverstein & Partners looks set to change all that. The beautifully designed site, created with...

Big spaceship.
June 2, 2008... Ad agencies wanting to work with Big Spaceship are immediately made aware of a few facts. First, explains CEO and founder Michael Lebowitz, "We're not here to make you look like you 'get' digital: we don't 'white label' our work. The client...

The glamorous life of Karlsson Wilker.
June 2, 2008... Most design monographs follow a fairly predictable formula: in their beautifully produced pages, triumph follows triumph in a career of uninterrupted glory punctuated by pauses to pick up yet another award or admiring magazine profile. Not...

This face is FS Me Bold. Designed for legibility.(Mencap)
June 2, 2008... The UK's leading charity for people with learning disabilities, Mencap, has just unveiled a new identity, created by Rare Corporate Design. The new logo for the organisation appears in a round speech bubble with an emphasis on the first two...

LOGO LOUNGE: Logo trend Report 2008.
June 2, 2008... Trend-watching, until recently, has largely been an exercise in watching connections form between direct associations. Adobe releases a new filter, and voila - an entire raft of logos take on that effect. A particular illustration style is...

Welcome to the spring experience.
June 2, 2008... Tucked away in the unassuming backstreets of London's Kentish Town lies Spring Studios, a sprawling space spread over 45,000 square feet which contains a number of photographic studios, a design studio, retouching company, bar and...

Lost: the D in D&AD.(Interview)
June 2, 2008... While an unprecedented six Golds were handed out at this year's D&AD awards, the Graphic Design section produced just two nominations and no pencils. We asked former D&AD President, Michael Johnson, and Sean Perkins of North why they think...