Retro cooking

I was clearing through some of my Gran's things and found a whole heap of old cooking and housekeeping books, largely from around the time of World War 2. I love the styling, now it looks so dated but at the time it was modern and fashionable. The colours seem so rich, and generally only the front cover is in colour. The typography seems random like whoever created it just chose their favourite fonts and ran with them.

3D I heart NY

Oded Ezer is a typographic artist who has produced a 3D version of Milton Glaser's I ♥ NY logo. He felt that "it will be still recognizable even if I will make it more complicated", I think this is true and although it now looks quite different to the original logo it is still clear what it is based on. Much of Ezer's work is in Hebrew and although i can't understand any of it I think it is beautiful. The shapes created within his work are so interesting, original work like this inspires me to learn more about typography.

Fiesta competition

I saw an advert for a competition being run by Ford, to enter you have to create a piece of art that represents the essence of 'now'. The winner will have their artwork featured in the new Fiesta advertisements and receive £2000 of vouchers to the Eyestorm art gallery. As well as being quite a good competition that will no doubt receive plenty of entries, it helps to raise the profile of Ford and specifically the Fiesta. If you visit the website to enter the competition you are offered a test drive and a brochure. This helps to increase the number of people that Ford are reaching through their advertising, a thoughtful competition that is also a clever marketing ploy.

Yurts

On a recent trip to Cornwall I considered doing something a little bit different and staying in one of the yurt villages that seem to be springing up around the country. Using designs very similar to Mongolian yurts the UK versions are being marketed as holiday properties. Many of these are spread out within forests or around lakes, providing an upmarket, comfortable camping holiday. Sadly in the end i didn't manage a stay in a yurt but some friends of mine did and absolutely loved it. I think it's taken a long time for anyone in the UK to realise that borrowing this type of design provides an interesting change for holiday accommodation. I like the idea of taking something from another culture and adapting it to work elsewhere.

Typeface buttons

Unconfessable ideas sell these cute little badges in two versions, serif and sans-serif, a little geeky maybe but i was quite excited to see letter forms being used as decoration for accessories. As the website puts it 'Typography isn't only typefaces'.

Batiste dry shampoo

Batiste dry shampoo stands out amongst the hundreds of other hair products fighting for your attention in Boots and Superdrug. The styling of the packaging is retro, all block colours and very simple, it looks like it hasn't been altered since it was first made. This must have been a conscious decision from the company, maybe to give the impression that this product has been around for a long time and is so good it does not need shiny redesigned packaging and advertising.

Ladbrokes

Ladbrokes bingo have created a new TV advert that shows massive, inflatable bingo balls rampaging through the street of Liverpool. It can't have been an easy thing to coordinate but i think it was worth it, the advert tries to give the impression that bingo is exciting. The advert
struck me as well totally different to all the other gambling adverts i have seen and that will no doubt help it to get noticed. Ladbrokes appear to be trying to change the perception of bingo and appeal to a wider audience.

Natural Confectionery Company

This advert is so simple yet works really well, humorous and memorable. Sometimes the most straight forward ideas that take virtually no money to produce are the best.

Chill Factore

I work as a ski instructor at Castleford Xscape which is possibly one of the numbest buildings i have ever seen, it literally looks like a big pile of concrete has been constructed into a shape. However Manchester's new equivalent ski slope, Chill Factore is a much more interesting design. The top of the slope is elevated into the sky and the whole thing is lit up like a Christmas tree, if you're driving down the M62 you actually can't miss it! I think the design of the slope is much more interesting than Xscape and much more likely to be noticed. I don't think they'll be winning any awards for being environmentally friendly but then i imagine indoor ski slopes rarely do!

Si Scott

Si Scott is a designer and illustrator originally from Leeds, his work has an inspirational 'swishy', organic feel to it. He is very talented at bringing copy to life and grabbing attention even if the copy is not interesting! His illustrations are beautiful and the detail within them is unbelievable, he must be an incredibly patient man! His website is clean and clear and shows off his work perfectly, a series of dots link you to his work, when you click each dot it changes colour so you know which work you've already seen. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for his work in the future.

Olicana

Olicana was designed by Nick Cooke, i think that there is an incredible warmth that radiates from the font. It looks quite natural and actually like handwriting without becoming illegible. The font comes with optional swishes and ink blots so you can adjust your copy to get it exactly as you want it. I find looking at different fonts fascinating and can see how this would be a great font to use in many different situations.

Colour matching

I stumbled across the Wear Palettes blog, photographs and colour palettes are taken from a fashion inspiration blog. Some of the photographs are beautiful and it is interesting to see the colours picked out of them, i am not very good at selecting compatible colours so this kind of rescource is useful for me.

Warburtons

When i was at the Tall Ships Regatta in Falmouth, i found the shapes made by the rigging and sails interesting. This could provide provide inspiration for a painting or a pattern. The amount of ropes on the bigger ships is unbelievable, watching the crew sailing the ship is a piece of art in its own right.
However the thing that really caught my attention in the habour was a cunning piece of advertising from Warburtons. The habour was busy and there were several school groups there with stressed out teachers trying to keep the children together. One school group had florescent jackets on, this made them instantly easy to spot. The jackets were clearly sponsered by Warburtons, and on the back sported the Warburtons logo and the copy 'Use your loaf'! I thought this was a great was of getting the company name out there and the witty copy that accompanies it provided everyone aroung me with a little chuckle. An intelligent move by Warburtons, cheap advertising that will be seen over and over again as well as being giving the impression that they are helping the community.

Lurpak

I love this new Lurpak advert, after demanding respect and love for the potato the advert then encourages you to do this by giving it some Lurpak. Butter is commonplace in every fridge in the UK and i think quite a tricky thing to advertise, this advert really caught my attention as it appeared to be promoting something totally different. Lurpak realised that butter isn't eaten on its own and by putting it in context people are more likely to pay attention to it.

Tsang Kin-Wah

Tsang Kin-Wah is a Chinese artist who has created some stunning work by making pictures out of type. The images created are beautiful even though they are often made up of unpleasant words. From a distance it is not clear that the illustrations are made out of type but on a closer inspection it becomes obvious that they are made out of statements in English and Chinese type. I am really interested in the ways people use typography in different ways to what we are used to seeing.

Homemade posters...

I saw this poster on the back of a toilet door and found myself strangely drawn to it... yes there are so many things wrong with it, too many different fonts, horrible word art, nasty clip art, grammatical errors, the list goes on but it has a certain honesty about it that i think can be lost when design becomes too polished. Not that i am suggesting anyone should copy this poster! Clearly a night set up by some friends for hardcore dance kids, i guess the night does exactly as it says on the tin. Sometimes it's worth looking at terrible design to realise what good design is. This poster definitely catches your attention if nothing else!

Ninja skirt = vending machine

The BBC's 'Have I got news for you' drew my attention to this interesting design from Aya Tsukioka that aims to make the wearer blend into the background as a vending machine. Usually worn as a skirt, it can be opened up and used as a 'cunning' disguise. I have often questioned the thousands of useless designs out there and this is another one that i just cannot see taking off, surely there are better ways of staying safe on the streets than pretending to be a coke machine. Other products in the designer's range include a manhole bag which unfolds to look like a sewer cover and a backpack which looks like a fire hydrant and can 'hide' a child. Design for the sake of design?

My Photo Album Activity Book

This amusing little book encourages you to illustrate over and around photographs, it contains lots of different things for you to do and helps you to be creative. Although i think it is designed for children i know plenty of adults that would love it! I used a similar idea for a brief to try and get people thinking creatively by giving them half completed doodles in the hope they would use their imagination to finish them. My personal favourite is where you are invited to help the fish think...

Matthew Williamson

Matthew Williamson is also having his work exhibited at URBIS in Manchester. The show is to celebrate 10 years of the fashion designer's work, i found the handicraft displayed inspiring, the level of attention paid to every stitch is phenomenal. The patterns on show that Williamson designed for use in his work are beautiful, vibrant and intricate.

Each season Williamson creates a moodboard to help 'define the new collection'. As part of the exhibit Williamson created a moodboard to represent the moodboards that have inspired him over the last 10 years. It was intriguing to see where his ideas and thoughts have come from and how he has developed them in conjunction with other ideas.

Manga exhibition

URBIS in Manchester has recently shown an exhibition titled 'How Manga took over the World'. Explaining and examining the roots of Manga and the influence it has on advertising, fashion, music and culture today. I am absolutely fascinated by the style of Manga and can see how it is easy applied to advertising and corporate communication.

Although i was aware of this style i had never considered the effect it has on things like music videos, for example Britney Spears' 'Break the Ice' video a great way to market the new single whilst trying to gloss over Britney's recent image and behavioural problems. I think the characters used in Manga are fantastic at communicating values to consumers, a Sheffield based company called TADO, their work is all within a broad style but has been used for enormous companies like Honda, Sony and Microsoft. At the exhibition there is a section on creating your own Manga creatures, seeing young children doodling away made me want to know more about Manga and experiment with it. The influence Manga has had on advertising is something i would like to research, and could possibly be used as a future project.

Mud houses

My brother lives in Turkey and we recently got chatting about traditional mud houses that were constructed without wood, in Harran. Only in the 1980s did people stop living in them, by this point the design had been around for about 3000 years! I think this just goes to show that good design can last!

Wall and Piece, Banksy

Bansky's book 'Wall and Piece' has been floating around for a while but i have only recently acquired it. Arguing his point that it is madness to outlaw graffiti when advertising is taking over the world, whilst i have been aware and interested in his work for some time it is the first time i have sat and really considered it. I found his work thought-provoking and amusing, and agree that his style is becoming increasing influential. This book has made me consider graffiti and conceptual art in a different way, Banksy gets his messages across clearly without his identity even being known.

Little Factory type scarves

Little Factory have designed some funky scarves made from uppercase letters, they're laser cut to ensure precise shapes. The scarf is also available in lowercase letters and number, another example of people creating new products using typefaces. I'm not sure how practical this scarf is but it would certainly get the people talking.

Patterns

I recently bought this book by Drusilla Cole, the book contains sections on abstract, geometric, organic, conversational and retro patterns. I was drawn to the book because it is literally packed full of interesting and varied patterns, the book isn't just pretty but can be used as a point of inspiration. It provides good examples of colour matching and could encourage you to consider using patterns in designs that otherwise you wouldn't even think of.

Spring Shrouds

Spring Shrouds was an ambient project by artist and designer Jai Redman. One hundred covers were made with an illustrated tree and the copy, "Trees breathe adverts suck" printed onto both sides. These covers were then placed over all of the free-standing advertising boards in Manchester city centre with the aim of giving consumers a break from the constant harrassment of advertising and provide 'a few precious moments of peace and beauty'. For the thousands of commuters going into Manchester every day i am sure many of them will have been forced into thinking about this statement. It's amazing how much advertising we see everyday and this campaign makes me think about how effected i am by this advertising and what my life would be like without it. The project is thought provoking and hopefully made people consider their consumerist livestyles.

The Pansy Project

"Artist Paul Harfleet revisits locations where homophobia has been experienced and plants pansies. These self seeding pansies act as a living memorial to this abuse and operate as an antidote to it; some pansies wither whilst others thrive in car park borders and windswept road verges. Each Pansy's location is named after the abuse received."
I saw Harfleet's work at The Best of Manchester Awards 08, three of his photographs were on display. They are carefully composed and shot, i was especially impressed with the images with police officers and passers by in the background. The colours of the pansies really stand out in their urban environments. I think it's an interesting idea and hopefully will make the public more aware of homophobia and the abuse that some people receive because of it.
www.thepansyproject.com

David Shrigley

I was given this book, 'Ants have sex in your beer', by the illustrator David Shrigley. His style reminds me of a cross between Tim Burton and Edward Monkton, there are some slightly sinister undertones to some of his random work but will definitely guarantee a giggle. His illustrations have a very scribbly, spontaneous feel about them, i can learn from this as i am often too precious about my drawings.

Moto U9 website

When i upgraded my phone i fell for the aesthetics of the shiny purple Motorola U9, i promptly exchanged the phone for a different model as it was awful. Whilst looking at what phone i would like to exchange it for i had a look at the U9 website. The website takes a long time to load and i then found it difficult to navigate to the information i wanted. It insists on you chosing what colour phone you would like, pink or purple before you can get to the rest of the site. There is some quite attractive animation on the site but that slows it down further and just irritated me by the time i left the site! Maybe i am just not the target market for this phone!

DandAD

I entered the photography brief in the DandAD student award, the challenge was to create a series of photographs expressing 'The fight against dementia'. The brief was particularly interesting as no copy was allowed and because of the sensitive nature of the subject. I have been looking at the work of the winners, Vanessa Norwood and Pat Butler, the ideas they used are the same or very similar to some of the ideas i had when working on the brief. The concept for each image is simple and clear, yet helps to describe dementia perfectly. It is easy to see why the work received first prize as the execution of the photographs is beautiful.

The Brand Nursery

I applied to The Brand Nursery for work experience some time ago, i didn't hear anything back and would be surprised if i did now but felt that their brand deserved a mention. As the name suggests the company specialises in creating, sustaining and developing brand properties. I think that the idea of brands growing and being nurtured is a little cliched but it does work well. The website is clear and informative, everything is within a tone of green and is decorated with illustrations of garden equipment. They display a wide range of effective work and the website gives a very professional image. The copy on the website is carefully worded and builds up a trust in the company. I think The Brand Nursery is a great example of a design company that has been well branded, you are much more likely to pay someone to design something for you if they have put time and effort into ensuring their own website and company literature is well thought out.

Emma Smart

Stumbled across the work of Visual Communication graduate Emma Smart, i am inspired by the hand rendered, crafty feel of her work. So much design work is done purely on computers these days that it is refreshing to see work done by hand that looks like it has been literally scribbled down. I like her scrabble piece cushions, they are amusing and novel. I can't think of a time when i've ever seen typography applied to cushions in a similar way and because of this they really caught my attention. Smart also makes little creatures, it's such a simple idea but could make cute presents and companions, think i might make some little monsters for my friends.

Zermatlantis

I recently visited the Matterhorn Museum in Zermatt, known as 'Zermatlantis'. The underground museum, which was previously a casino, tells the story of the first climbers to reach the summit of the Matterhorn and their tragic descent along with sections about mountain wildlife, inhabitants and the history of Zermatt. As someone that spends as much of my time as possible up and in the mountains I found the tale of the climbers fascinating, the equipment used on the climb is on display including the notorious broken rope.
I was really impressed with the design of the museum, it is set as an archaeological excavation site, an old village being uncovered by historians. There is an audio tour the takes you round the different buildings and houses within the village and holds your attention. I was with some children who sighed instantly as they heard the word, museum, however the unique design of Zermatlantis kept them interested and they all really enjoyed the museum. I have never been to a museum with information displayed in such a novel and effective way and it just shows what a difference good design can make.