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One for the Christmas stocking. A couple of days ago I received...

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 22:00:00 +0000

One for the Christmas stocking.

A couple of days ago I received a pre-release copy of David Airey’s ‘Work for Money, Design for Love’, a new book by one of the top voices in design. It’s a comprehensive yet perfectly formed read detailing every aspect of setting up a successful design business.

Using Airey’s years of experience from his early days selling advertising space in Scotland, right through to establishing his own company in Northern Ireland, the book documents the pinnacles and pitfalls of life in the industry and how to get it right.

It’s an excellent read, regularly peppered with insights from numerous contributors (including myself), archiving their collective successes and failings ensuring anyone thinking about starting a design business can take note and learn. Everything from how much to charge for a job through to firing clients is covered, not to mention Airey’s vast knowledge of creating an online presence through blogging and social media.

I’ve not yet finished the book but it’s already established itself as another must for any designer’s shelf. Up there with the excellent ‘How to keep running a successful design business’ by Marcello Minale, anyone with any interest in the design industry and a start-up twinkle in their eye should read this book.

Find out more on David Airey here.
Order the book on Amazon here.

I Herts Jazz. This weekend marked the second ever Herts Jazz...

Sun, 16 Sep 2012 18:25:00 +0100

I Herts Jazz.

This weekend marked the second ever Herts Jazz Festival, taking place in Welwyn Garden City and offering the best in contemporary jazz in the UK. Following my work on the identity at 300million earlier this year, it was a pleasure to be invited to the launch of the event and see the brand in action.

It was great to see that the logo has been used all over the city, from advertising in the shopping centre and Hawthorne Theatre to use on the official programmes and the stage banners behind performances.

A project update will follow soon.

Inspire a Generation. Over recent weeks I’ve been...

Sun, 09 Sep 2012 18:14:00 +0100

Inspire a Generation.

Over recent weeks I’ve been developing the identity for the Muscle Help Foundation’s flagship Games Inspired Muscle Dreams programme. The work follows a comprehensive rebrand of the charity which I have been working on since 2010.

For the duration of the London 2012 Paralympic Games, the charity took 75 children suffering from Muscular Dystrophy and their families to the Olympic Stadium to experience the events of the Games as well as meeting some of the athletes and celebrities that helped make the Games such a success.

On one of the days I volunteered for the charity, helping out at the Olympic Park, ensuring all the beneficiaries had a good time. It was a fantastic experience to be part of, not only witnessing the sport itself and the excitement of the children but also being able to see the identity in action.

A full project update will follow soon.

Muscle Dreams become a reality. In anticipation of a summer of...

Mon, 27 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0100

Muscle Dreams become a reality.

In anticipation of a summer of major events for the Muscle Help Foundation, I have just completed the redesign of musclehelp.com marking the end of a comprehensive re-branding I have been working on since 2010. The website, built by Cariad Marketing, features a new content management system based on template designs I created, allowing for easy site updates and a regular flow of information to campaigners, donors, beneficiaries and the press.

Visit the full Muscle Help Foundation branding project here.

In the news. I was recently asked by Design Week to take part in...

Thu, 23 Aug 2012 00:00:00 +0100

In the news.

I was recently asked by Design Week to take part in their regular Voxpop feature, which this week asked ‘Who is the most interesting collaborator you have ever worked with?’ Avoiding the obvious name-dropping of artists, illustrators and copywriters, I spoke about the people we collaborate with on a daily basis who make the job possible: Clients.

Read the full article here.

Limited Edition Sale. To celebrate the news that Alfred...

Sun, 05 Aug 2012 21:40:00 +0100

Limited Edition Sale.

To celebrate the news that Alfred Hitchcock has just topped the BFI’s Sight and Sound film critics poll for the best film of all time, my limited edition Hitchcock prints are are on sale with 50% off for a short period only.

Get you hands on one print for just £10, three for £25 or all five in the set for £40.

Visit the shop here.

Porto. There’s a few shots from a recent visit to the...

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 22:49:00 +0100

Porto.

There’s a few shots from a recent visit to the stunning Portugese city of Porto over on my Flickr page here.

Keeping it Unreal. At Unreal we’ve just unveiled a new...

Mon, 16 Jul 2012 22:29:09 +0100

Keeping it Unreal.

At Unreal we’ve just unveiled a new look, visualised through a striking new flying pig marque and bold orange colour palette, aiming to reinforce our approach to producing unreal creative with real results.

There’s a new website with recent work online and I’ve written an article with background on the new look for branding forum Identity Designed which you can read here.

Keep an eye on the new website for some exciting projects going live over the summer.

Empty Kingdom Interview. I was recently interviewed by USA based...

Sat, 05 May 2012 16:52:00 +0100

Empty Kingdom Interview.

I was recently interviewed by USA based arts and media blog Empty Kingdom, discussing everything from typography, my favourite blogs, inspiration and the current state of the design industry, as well as my love for Saul Bass and Wim Crouwel.

The article is now live and you can read the full interview here.

From J to Z. There’s a new project on my site; the...

Sat, 14 Apr 2012 15:22:00 +0100

From J to Z.

There’s a new project on my site; the identity and custom typeface for Herts Jazz Festival. Completed at design agency 300million, each of the character forms pays reference to parts of jazz instruments and classic jazz lettering with an abstracted, contemporary twist. The black, gold and white palette adds a modern, rich feeling to the identity.

To see the project in full, click here.

Feature Films. My Alfred Hitchcock Collection has been featured...

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 22:50:29 +0100

Feature Films.

My Alfred Hitchcock Collection has been featured on ShortList.com, the website for the weekly UK men’s magazine. You can read the article here, see the project here and buy the prints here.

Digitally Remastered. 2012 marks the 90th anniversary of what is...

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 18:54:00 +0000

Digitally Remastered.

2012 marks the 90th anniversary of what is believed to be Alfred Hitchcock’s first directorial effort: an unfinished, now lost silent film called No. 13. To commemorate this event I have released a limited edition of 90 hand signed, hand numbered prints of ‘The Birds’, ‘The Trouble With Harry’ and ‘Saboteur’ from my minimalist Hitchcock Collection project.

Buy a single limited edition print for £20
Buy all three limited edition prints for £55

Printed on Fedrigoni Constellation Snow
Ultrabright White, Uncoated Paper, 280gsm

Visit the online shop.

Mextagram. I’ve recently been on a trip to the Yucatan...

Sat, 11 Feb 2012 19:39:00 +0000

Mextagram.

I’ve recently been on a trip to the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico and have taken a series of photos documenting the visit using Instagram on the iPhone. See the photoset over on my Flickr page here.

Supermarket Sweep. It was great to hear that the identity for...

Wed, 13 Apr 2011 22:02:00 +0100

Supermarket Sweep.

It was great to hear that the identity for The People’s Supermarket, produced at Unreal was this week awarded a Brand New Award in the category of Comprehensive Identity Programme.

It’s brilliant to see the work sitting amongst the likes of Wolff Olins’ Arab Museum of Modern Art and the Science Museum rebrand by Johnson Banks. The awards celebrate the best in brand design from 2010 and are run by UnderConsideration, the chaps behind the ever popular Brand New industry blog.

The project will shortly feature in an upcoming publication and iPad app so watch this space. A full list of winners is available here. Congratulations to everyone.

It was also announced this week that the project was also shortlisted in the Medium Sized Branding Scheme at this years prestigious D&AD Awards which is great news. The awards system was made more transparent this year, with shortlists and nominations being announced online during each day of judging. Though the project won’t feature in the annual, it’s still very rewarding especially as there were no Yellow Pencil nominations at all this year for any branding scheme, somewhat surprsising and disappointing for the branding industry as a whole. View the shortlist and results here.

In other news, the project was also recently selected as one of the Top 10 Best Rebrands of 2010 by online design publication FastCo Design!

Print Futures Awards. Launched in 2003 and funded by the BPiF,...

Fri, 04 Mar 2011 09:36:00 +0000

Print Futures Awards.

Launched in 2003 and funded by the BPiF, The Printing Charity and Unite the Union, the Print Futures Awards offer grants of up to £1,500 to help fund training and education for young people within the UK’s print, publishing and graphic arts industries.

At the end of 2010 I was approached by the Awards team to help them evaluate and develop their awards programme for 2011 and beyond in an effort to reach a higher number of young people and renew awareness of the great scheme.

Following this evaluation, I was then invited to develop a new brand for the awards. The new look has a vibrant and contemporary feel, stemming from a new identity made from the outline of a tree created through flowing ink. The logo comes in three colourways – cyan, magenta and yellow and the ink effect in featured throughout brand communications.

In addition to the new identity, I designed a dedicated microsite for the first time in the awards history and a new branded Twitter account to keep followers up to date with the awards process. Furthermore, an increased presence on blogs and social networking sites all aim to build a successful campaign for 2011.

So, If you’re aged between 16 and 30, are a UK resident and want to develop cracking print and design skills, visit www.printfuturesawards.com to download the application form. the closing date for entries is April 12th. Good luck!

ABChairs These fantastic alphabet chairs are from conceptual...

Fri, 07 Jan 2011 11:26:00 +0000

ABChairs

These fantastic alphabet chairs are from conceptual designer Roeland Otten based in Rotterdam. He’s produced all 26 letters as seats made from laquered MDF and they’re available to be built upon request.

Currently each chair has to be designed individually but there are plans in future to manufacture them for the mass market in the likely form of the rotationally moulded LDPE plastic.

Watch this space and get your orders in now!

Chilean Winers. ‘Tis the season and at Unreal we’ve...

Mon, 20 Dec 2010 16:48:00 +0000

Chilean Winers.

‘Tis the season and at Unreal we’ve just launched our Christmas promotion. To celebrate the rescue of the 33 Chilean Miners earlier this year, we’ve re-packaged 33 individual, bottles of Chilean Wine. We’re dishing them out to clients and key contacts in place of the usual Christmas cards and bottles of Champagne, as a celebration of the good news story of an otherwise somber year.

People all over the world watched the Miners rescue and as we researched the project, we found that Chilean wine sales in the UK alone rose 25% in the days following their release, as people came together in celebration.

Each one of the 33 bottles is named after one of the miners and numbered in order of their rescue, buried beneath a layer of rocks, and comes in a tube representing the Fénix 2 rescue capsule. As recipients retrieve their wine, they reveal a replica of the message sent up to rescuers which exclaimed “Estamos bien en el refugio los 33”, meaning “We are okay in the refuge, the 33 of us”.

There’s full details of the project over at www.chileanwiners.com.

Merry Christmas!

Quick Brown Fox. Regular followers of the blog will be familiar...

Mon, 18 Oct 2010 22:52:00 +0100

Quick Brown Fox.

Regular followers of the blog will be familiar with my slowly expanding collection of vintage signage. The number of letters I currently own stands at eight, and in an attempt to develop the obsession in to more of a ‘project’ I’ve come up with a plan…

My aim is to build a series of letters capable of spelling out the classic typesetting phrase and English pangram ‘The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog’. The current vintage lot is made up from kind donations and purchases from as far afield as California and Devon.

As you can see, I still have a fair way to go, but I’ll update my blog as and when I get more.

Magnetic Attraction. I absolutely love the new identity,...

Mon, 11 Oct 2010 11:50:06 +0100

Magnetic Attraction.

I absolutely love the new identity, typography, photography and art direction for Magnetic Man and their album & singles artwork. The designs were produced by Non-Format in collaboration with Like Syrup.

The monogram, logotype have clearly inspired the great lightweight typeface and it hangs together superbly. It’s all also been applied to billboard advertising which is up and about this week.

Power to the People. At Unreal, we’ve been working closely with...

Fri, 24 Sep 2010 13:27:00 +0100

Power to the People.

At Unreal, we’ve been working closely with a brand new co-operative supermarket; The People’s Supermarket. Set up by chef Arthur Potts-Dawson, retailer Kate Wickes-Bull and an army of others, The People’s Supermarket is a community-based shop that’s managed and owned by members and open to all. It’ll feature soon in its own Channel 4 documentary series.

The supermarket’s based just down the road from Unreal’s studio so we’ve been lucky enough to develop a brand as it continues to expand. The tag mark developed, based on Euroslot hole-punchers used in the retail industry, has just rolled out into their communications and a sub-brand for their shop-based kitchen has also been developed.

Keep you eyes peeled for the show, on Channel 4 in the new year.