Hideki Inaba

I came across the work of Hideki Inaba when looking at this DOTMOV 2009 film festival logo. Inaba lives and works in Tokyo as a designer and graphic artist. I really like this stuff - the use of colour is really bold, and there are some fluid works which are really cool as it's a great mix of that boldness, with softer textures. Nice illustrative compositions seen in the second image.

I like the DOTMOV logo because it's simple but really stimulating and abstracted. There are so many crap brand/service/event identities out there that are so dated and boring - so I get very excited when I see things like this.

Callum Nash.

Hi. I don't want to do my dissertation anymore. This masters will be over in just over 2 weeks - and then I may start to feel like a normal human again.

Anyway - on a lighter note - this is the site design of a guy I know called Callum Nash. He does graphic design and also designs a lot of furniture and the types of cool things that go on Dragons Den (in my opinion..) Despite his efforts of invention and other impressive things - I am blogging about his type on his website. So yes - I guess he'd be rather PO'd but I don't care, as I personally think its cool and worth blogging about. SO. I think its really cool how the type is constructed of these little squares - its typography's answer to Lego. Really interesting and clever concept - like the design of the about me, portfolio buttons - and I think it's important to have things that compel at this primal level of the site interaction - as it makes people want to continue and explore! Lovely.

Design Museum. Take Two.

It's disturbing me that it was a whole week ago that I visited the Design Museum.. how the time flies when you're doing your d.i.s.s.e.r.t.a.t.i.o.n.o.f.h.e.l.l. So - tonight I sit here, writing articles, using the soothing tones of D'Angelo as prozac and thinking - I want to go back to London where I can see cool things like the first ever issues of some of the coolest magazines around. Namely i-D and Dazed & Confused. I was so excited to see the exhibition of design through the decades - it was SO interesting. I'm going to write some of my memo pad listings down now - about these cool typographic magazines I saw. P.S. sorry for the ridiculous quality of these photos - the lighting was catching, I was using my Blackberry and I was doing it in super spy mode cos I could feel the people who worked there looking at me - so I thought I was doing something illegal... I later realised that I could have had a whopping 6ft SLR and tripod as long as it didn't have a flash.I'm such a div.

Typographica: The founder of this cool publication was Herbert Spencer. From what I could gather - this journal took typography from every day surroundings and mixed it with really cool layouts and concepts to just be incredible.. this was a quote on the board: "one of the most distinctive visual arts publications of the post war period." It's still the same now . Lush.

Octavo (8v0): another international journal of typography. Founded in 1984 by Mark Holt, Simon Johnson and Hamish Muir. I'm tired, so if you want to know more - read this article by legendary eye magazine.

"For a graphic artist, letters are like bricks for a builder. When I write, I don't write, I draw."

Design Museum.

On Friday I went to the Design Museum - which I've been excited about for ages! This time the first exhibition was design through the decades - which I will blog about later, because I want to do some research on some really cool typography publications I've never heard of - which is EXCITING.

This exhibition was named 'Drawing Life' by Spanish artist Javier Mariscal. Mariscal got creative in his twenties - in the 1970s - when he moved to Barcelona, and started his career as an underground comic artist. From this, he experiemented in every realm of creativity, designing everything from furniture and interiors, to clothing and accessories. He's still crossing every confine and producing art through film, ceramics, performance and print in his large studio which reaches out to clients worldwide.

This exhibition was really something else. I love the Design Museum for the way the work is presented in such an elaborate and experiential format. This particular exhibition consists of 13 installations based on how Mariscal views the world. As you enter - you brush through a curtain of wires. The first passage is an explosion of hanging illustrations, mainly faces. I'm quite glad I went alone actually, because there was so much to see, I'm pretty sure I was walking round with my mouth wide open. There were merging of film and illustrated board installations, projections on walls, furniture and textured typographic presentations. It literally makes your brain buzz. My favourite section of the exhibition was Mariscal's animated film played to a Pretender's tune. It was played on small screens under board constructs, and I sat for ages watching it over and over whilst flicking through his sketch book. It was really quirky and witty and really full of life.

Prim. Aug/Sep.

prim. Magazine just keeps getting better and better - and I am so lucky to be able to write for them. This issue seriously excels itself - the layouts alone are out of this world. The shoots are so artistically driven and so compelling to look at - it helps you to think of fashion in different realms. There are some really brilliant features this issue. I wrote about Ventury's new couture furniture line, named Divine. It was so interesting to write. If you don't read prim. -- then start. It's brilliant.

Yvonne Niewerth.

German graphic designer, Yvonne Niewerth was the topic of my most recent article for Chic Today. She's come up with the compelling concept of designing 30 different pudding packages for "every kind of pudding buyer" - - as you can see in the image directly above. As you will know if you read my article, this was done on the premise that we purchase in line with our identity, so by giving consumers a range of possible packaging designs, people are more able to express their image. Really interesting stuff, but I'm still unsure whether I think it would ever work - although it's obvious that I think package design is extremely important and more influential on purchases than we're ever conscious of.

Putting these psychological constructs aside, I did some research into Niewerth's design work, and I really love her stuff. On her portfolio, there's a lot of work on books - really nice type and design within books -- I mean I don't know what these books are about, because my German isn't great (embarrassing memory flooding back, from when I said "ich heisse Tiddles" in German class...incorrect translation obv). I love this layering that can be seen in the web page of the top image. I'm starting to see this more and more - a kind of creative way of showing various examples of work than can be manipulated around the page. I love it. I love her feminine style, with the layering (again), the watercolour-esque tones and blotched textures, and the lovely fine type. I'd say lady-like yet edgy. A style I really am drawn to - - and irrespective of whether I think that having copious amounts of choice in pudding pack aesthetics is a good idea, the designs themselves are brilliant. I've been giving it a great deal of thought.. and I THINK I'd pick the black and white on the second row... or the colourful block type situation next door (even though I'm slightly over that type, it looks SO cool) - - so I wonder what that says about me..

Hey.

Heyyyy. I'm sure Hey Design is French? I'd seen their stuff on Typographic Posters, but saw more of their work on lookslikegooddesign. I like it. I like it a lot. Lovely illustrations, connecting and telling a story. I don't know what story.. but I always think that sequences conjoined or in a big interconnected web means that there is a story being told.. does that make sense? The top image is my fav. Great use of colour and I love the symmetry. That's all my brain will permit me to say.

In other news, I'm hoping to get an article published this week for Canvas Magazine which is EXCITING. Aside from that, my life is a dissertation hell -- that i sporadically punctuate with writing, blogging and wine. AND I've started knitting. It's a slippery slope.

Non Format.

Non Format is an agency you have to give your respect to. Their work pushes every boundary in my mind, and it's obvious that they are imitated by many. Their typography is soooo progressive and innovative, I get really passionate about it. This example was for Fader Magazine. It's a "typographic interpretation of the lyrics for Where Are They Now by Nas." It attracted me not only on an aesthetic basis, but also because of the fact it was an interpretation of something auditory. It's really interesting to think that you can cross boundaries of your senses; showing something that you hear, through design.

Cam Diamond.

True fact: I had an uncle called Diamond (I've linked in proof - - of course, he was an ice cream man). I like telling this story, as people always look at me like I must belong to some kind of mafia family.

Anyway, I was feeling very monochrome today - and although Cam Diamond does a lot more than black and white - I love these pieces. There's always something so impacting and bold about just using black and white - which has reminded me to also blog about some Non Format stuff I've seen. Cam Diamond's posters are nicely abstract, with illustrative type thats just gorgeous.

Cam Diamond is a designer for Lee and Wrangler, and runs a creative studio covering all mediums. It excites me when i read the studio runs from "illustration to installation" - - - it must be a seriously cool place.

Nod Young.

I found this set of Nod Young's illustrations on Flickr. This is the caption that was under the image immediately above:

I am a follower of Buddhism and believe that creativity can be derived from its teachings. This work is a typographic interpretation of two poems quoted from the original Zen classic, The Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch, that dates back almost 1500 years ago. The poems teach us not to believe all that which exists, not even the reflection of ourselves in a mirror. The caveat is for us to teach ourselves to overcome the rules and boundaries of our existence in order to reach a state of Zen, unfettered by the perceived limitations of life.

I found this absolutely fascinating. I think it's vital to look to different countries, cultures and religions, because all have so many different things to give and different interpretations of the world and life. This year, doing my Masters, I have had the pleasure of meeting amazing people from all over the world, and it's taught me so much. I have a lot of Taiwanese friends, and it is obvious that their culture and religion is very different to mine personally. They are more relaxed and at peace, by no means submissive - but certainly more placid and serene than the Indian, Greek, British, Russian etc students. I have to say they are some of the nicest, kindest people I've ever met.

It's interesting to translate this culture into design. Nod Young states that it is hard to have complete creative freedom, because we're too concerned with aesthetics and meaning. Which really got me, because, of course, that's totally right. But I'm sat here struggling, because when I look at a piece of work, they are the two things I think about. I think that's totally natural, but this has really made me think about creativity as a more fluid concept. Maybe if I created something without thinking at all about how it looked, or why I was doing it, it could actually end up having more meaning than something calculated. I think this way of thinking can help really push the boundaries of creativity.

FutureClaw Magazine.

(Close up of above page.. GORGE textures!)

FutureClaw is a really cool mag, from Vermont - USA. What attracts me to this arts/culture/fashion publication, is it's apparent size. I know it's said that size doesn't matter - but come on - it helps. FutureClaw measures a hefty 12 x 15 inches (a normal fashion mag measures 8.5 x 11)and apparently contains pages of luscious glossy high quality paper (I wouldn't know, as I've only read the digital version). I love the concept of a broadsheet arts mag, as I feel it would very much add to the experience. As you can see by the pictures I've added, the layouts are really edgy, incorporating artistically driven shoots, with pages that are pure texture (my favourite). The content is very interesting and progressive.

Speaking of cool magazines, I am really enjoying my internship at Chic Today, I have so much to learn, but I am loving coming up with new ideas each week, and having direction on what I need to do to produce a catchy, well-written article. My second article got published this morning, which is on Le Whif - chocolate you inhale instead of eat!

Andrei Robu.

Andrei Robu. Exceptional. Designer and Partner at Acme, design office in Bucharest, Romania (copied from his Twitter account.. I'm such a crafty stalker). When I came across the work of Andrei Robu, I was booowwwlllled over. What gorgeous work. His typography is playful and inventive. There's some stunning work with translucent overlapping colours on his site, like the example above - I recommend viewing it. The examples I selected to show you were.. surprisingly.. my favourite pieces. I could look at them forever - how serene, how delicate, how BRILLIANT. Beautiful use of colour, layering, composition and detail. Andrei - blow your cig on me, I'm yours.

(All images are from the artist's website, as always)

Spike Hibberd.

Thanks again Heavy Backpack - for introducing me to the wonderment of Spike Hibberd, a Graphic Designer/Art Director who's stuff is just gorgeous. I absolutely love his typography - so many more examples on his website - really creative and forward thinking, but with the ability to add a retro, and very personal touch to things - and as is said in his bio, he adds a bit of himself to everything he does. There is use of hand written scrawls (in a good way) that make his work look really idiosyncratic. I think his illustrative talent is profound - especially with the Mr Tulk poster. All in all - brilliant work on identity, typeography and general use of colour and illustration. AMAZING.