Andrei Robu.

I have blogged about graphic designer, Andrei Robu before. I really love his typography and design work - so I look on his site quite a bit. Just wanted to share this logo design. Simplistic, effective, smooth yet bold, powerful, clever and distinctive. I love it.

Thierry Blancpain.

Nice new Swiss graphic designer - Thierry Blancpain - caught my eye recently. Very edgey, nice fonts and I love his layouts. Raw and real - very 'Skins' in my eyes - I really like that urbanised visual layout format. If that makes sense. I've included the two images above because I think that it shows his diversity of style. NICE.

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.

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.

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.

Simon Bent.

Simon Bent, I like your style. I really really do love looking at this. This typography, named 'Hoax' is, and I quote, "an exploration of modern/western typeface". It's quite interesting to get the fine line of the type, with graphic additions, which add a boldness. The colours used here have a lot to do with my attraction. Really gorgeous use of colour - obviously fitting with the heart theme. As is evident, I'm driven by typography that really goes towards illustration, with intricate (a word I use a lot) detail. I love the O and the Q in the set - it's weird, but I almost feel like they are extra-circular. I find work like this very refreshing and original - I am getting really bored of blocked out type -- that in the strain of stencil etc. I did love it, but it's been used so many times, and it's really nice to see something pushing the boundaries in other directions.

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)

Ideas Factory.

Ideas Factory (London) brand creation - - a luxury travel company, called Carte Blanche. Obviously, when we're talking luxury, gold instantly comes to mind - but the reason I find this concept so attractive, is the use of fine gold against the matte brown. With the meaning of luxury changing, due to the recession, people are wanting more subtle indicators of a high-end lifestyle. They don't want the brassy luxury that once was, as it is deemed inappropriate to flash the cash when less fortunate people are struggling. So, in light of that, I think this is the perfect example of how to say luxury in a diffident way.

Alvin Chan.

Malaysian-born designer. Quite a lucrative spread of work, including branding, space design and graphics. Currently Design Director at Nike Europe in the Netherlands.

What attracted me: primarily the Nike branding and package design. Clean, sharp, powerful, bright yet muted tones. Adds good package design to a market that is normally brash, shiny and consisting of no graphical distinction. Love the blocked out typeface.

Origin of the Species poster graphics is my favourite design from Chan. Obviously - because there's a skull on there, so I'm instantly in love with it. The use of colour is very effective, with a typeface that really amalgamates with the theme. As I'm mostly interested by textures in design, I was really into this close up shot of the poster design. Here, you can really see the mottled effected on the skull, blended with whites and reds and all the shades in between. I love the ability of something 2D to look as if it's worth running your fingers across.

Altermodern.

Altermodern typeface. Amaze!!!!