Jack Daniels 06 post cards

Having finished university, last week I had a clear out of my student house. Over the years I have had an obsession with collecting fliers and random adverts from magazines that drew my attention. Whilst clearing my room the other day I decided that I had to get rid of some of my collection and whilst filtering my collection I came across this collection of promotional Jack Daniels Christmas cards from 2006. I remember finding these when I went to Las Vegas on holiday back in 06. What particularly took my interest in these post cards was how Jack Daniels have managed to bring their lifestyle into the brand through these post cards. I really like the retro feel of the design and the cards also feel very old. I will certainly be keeping these.

Inspiration in the sun

With my graduation show at the horizon and the sun shinning outside today it was hard to keep myself occupied and a way from the pub. Whilst having a break I had a quick search through flickr for some inspiration and Found this photograph on photographer Maikondrums. I love the composition of this photograph, with the focus on the butterfly running onto the road in the distance. Having baught a camera not to long ago I haven't really had the opportunity to go and experiment with my photography. This opportunity will hopefully come arround following my final hand in this week. Whatch this space but once again what a great little shot.

Blood Sweat Vector

Found this web site this morning featuring some amazing vector illustrations.
BloodSweatVector, founded by Brad Mahaffey and Jared Nickerson, is a artist collective and showcase of the most talented vector artists in the world.

This style of work may not resemble my way of working but I certainly feel a connection with these drawings. I remember finding my first interest in vector art from the graphics on the bottom of skateboards when I used to skate in my younger days. I was fascinated to find out how the drawings were so crisp and enjoyed looking at how contrasting colours created an interesting composition within an image. This fascination may have influenced me to become a designer today in some way.

www.bloodsweatvector.com

Alan Clarke

Alan Clarke is a member of then International Society of Typographic Design. Here's a personal statement about his work from his site.
"I have come to believe in clear, considered, communication solutions, simplicity and great ideas."

There are a variety of work on show at his site but I particularly like the proposal that he produced for the 2012 Olympics. As Alan Clarke explains "my thinking behind these posters was
to convey the movement and energy of the games, in a simple abstract way."




I really like Alan Clarke's proposal and believe that they look like a modernized version of Munich Olympiad back in 1972. The choice of colours with simple design suggests that Clarke must have had infleuenece designed by Olt Aicher at the time.

As much as I like Alan Clarke's work I sill believe that nothing will ever compare to the design work that Olt Aicher and his team produced for the 1972 Munich Olympics. Olt Aichers contribution to the Munich Olympics was exhibited last year. I will certainly be going to visit this exhibition if it's ever on display in the UK in future. For more examples of the Munich Olympics exhibition please visit one of my earlier posts about a design agency called Bibliotheque.





For information on Alan Clarke visit: http://www.alanclarkegraphics.com

TYPE -ONE discipline and processes in typography

With as growing interest in typography since working on my 'Tanc' typeface I decided to borrow this book from the library(TYPE ONE discipline and progress in typography. Author - Silja Bilz). I would highly recommend this book to any typographer to have a look at the extensive variety of typefaces and how they are applied to every day use.

Young Jerks

Dan Cassaro is a Long Island native and Graduate of The School of Visual Arts. He lives, works and trips the light fantastic in Brooklyn, New York. Cassaro specializes in both print and motion disciplines. Some nice work on his site.

www.youngjerks.com

Listen 04

Having been in contact with illustrator called Listen 04 for one of my projects last year, he got in contact and invited me to his exhibition at Night & Day Cafe in Manchester. I like his work but felt that his latest additions had gone much more abstract since I last got in contact. I found it hard to relate to these paintings compared to his old illustrations. Listen 04 has also recently been involved in art directing photo shoots and magazine design.

http://www.listen04.co.uk


Old work:
New work:

Bibliothèque

Bibliothèque brand consultancy produce some great work. It's inspiring to find agencies today who are still heavily influenced by the modernist movement of the Bauhaus. I love the simplicity of their design, using structural shapes and the use of only one or two colours to create effective work. The client list that this agency has also proves that these older methods still work effectively in practice today. I would like to develop a similar style within my work in future.

http://www.bibliothequedesign.com

Peter Saville

Peter Saville 20.05.09

Yesterday we had a guest lecture by non other than Manchester's own Peter Saville.
With his latest work getting more art orientated rather than design Saville explained his transition from design. He explained how he felt that he had never been a designer in the first place and that his style of work had developed from what he thought was contemporary art. Whilst at university Saville enjoyed the opportunity to experiment and discovered inspiration form the likes of Jan Tschichold and the Bauhaus. When it came to the point of leaving the school of art Saville explained how he found it difficult to work within the design industry and how he found his way to Factory records. Whilst working as a designer at Factory Saville produced record sleeve art work for the likes of Joy Division and New Order. Saville is famously known worldwide for his art work for the music industry which also include the posters for the Factory at the Hacienda. Whilst working for the Factory Saville explained how he never received a brief towards any of his design, which gave him the opportunity to work freely in the same environment whilst at university. Saville then mentioned how contemporary art was never accepted in Britain in the 70's and that he felt that he introduced contemporary art through the pop record sleeves that he produced at the time. Having worked as a designer within the music industry for thirty years Saville decided it was time for a change but realized that there was so much that he had never learned from working within a designer environment. Everyone within the design industry acknowledged him as a record designer and never really gave him the opportunity to try other methods of design. Twenty years on Saville has yet to design a record sleave and feels that there are more important methods in which he can assemble his work.
This lecture was very inspiring. I have always enjoyed looking at the work that Peter Saville had produced whilst at the Factory. It was also very strange to find someone who has managed to do so well within the design industry, who felt that he had never really been a designer. It was also privlege to have meet him whilst in my final year at university in Manchester.

8vo On the outside

I borrowed this book from the library to support my contextual essay August last year. With the essay taking priority I never really got the opportunity to look at this book properly.
I went to the library to day and decided to have a closer look. There are some great examples of work in this book and I particularly enjoy looking at the development of the Hacienda poster which are shown in stages in the book.

2009 Gullwing-America 300 SL Panamericana

I wouldn't normally post any information on cars on here but rumors have it that Mercedes are bringing out the 2009 Gullwing-America 300 SL Panamericana.
This will be a remake of a classic American Mercedes originally in production 300 years ago. Here are some concepts of this car. I really like the way that they have combined the old with the new whilst styling the car. Let's just hope it gets to production.

Good bye M&S!

For the last three years I have been working at Marks and Spencers as a sales assistant to support the funding of my degree. With my degree coming to an end it's time to leave Manchester. I decided to invite everyone at work to go for a drink before I leave. Here is a quick poster that I designed for the event.

Adidas Party

Adidas Original posted images (on facebook group) of a party that they held in Singapore to celibrate 60 Years of Soles and Stripes. This looks amazing and I particularly like the concept of the DJ both being inside a shoe box. Adidas host a variety of quirky events to promote their clothing range and I would love to work with this brand in future.

Ruizcompany

Great work by Ruiz + Company based in Barcelona Spain. Here is a great example of branding for an event. I really like how they have Kept the design simple yet it still manages to catch the eye. I also like how they have got the dates going over the events on the programme to save space.
For more examples of their work please visit: http://www.ruizcompany.com

Caroline Fabes

Caroline Febes is a multi discipline designer based in Paris. Febes has a great portfolio covering various medium of design. My favorite piece from her collection are these series of posters to promote different typefaces used behind some of the larges brand identities. What I find inspiring about Caroline Febese's work is the craftsmanship that has gone into the layout of these poster design. I feel that she has managed to capture the character of the typefaces well within these poster designs and the support of captions support her thoughts on these varied typefaces.

View more examples of her work at: http://www.carolinefabes.com

DISCO logo design

Here is a logo design by Shaun Velka that I found on www.logopond.com
I really like the simplicity of this design by cutting up sections of a record to create letter forms. The retro look of this logo design also creates a sense of fun within the design which interoperates the word successfully.

Jamie Delaney

Here are some nice examples of work by Irish freelance designer Jamie Delaney. I particularly like the way that this b boy glyph set that he has made folds out from a book to create a poster. There is a load more of nice examples of his work at his sight: http://www.jamiedelaney.com