Looking at libraries: defining space through content

This book label design by Valerie Madill made me look. Interesting concept for vast personal or big public libraries.

Umbrella Covers?!

With all this rain we've been having (what happened to the scorching summer we were promised?!), it got me to thinking; what is the point in the cover that fold up umbrellas come with?! When its been pouring with rain, and I come to fold up my umbrella, the last thing I would do is try to squeeze my soaking umbrella into that! why isnt the velcro fastener/stud clip good enough to secure the umbrella? And its not as if its waterproof so I can put in back into my handbag! A major design flaw if you ask me, and a complete waste of material. I don't think I've ever replaced the cover after the first time I use a new umbrella, and I don't know anyone who does!

Its a similar situation with sleeping bags. I realise the bag into which you have to squeeze your poorly rolled up sleepimg bag, is designed to keep the sleeping bag dry, and compact, but why is it such a mission to fit it back into the bag?!

Arrhh....glad I got that off my chest.

The Cake Sale

"The Cake Sale" is an album of original songs by a collective of musicians and songwriters with all profits going to Oxfam. For the artwork Aad Art & Design, based in Dublin, wanted to cement the feeling of the different talents bringing something to the table. They drew direct inspiration from the name, creating it out of a variety of decorated sponges. For the promo materials they used behind the scenes shots of the cakes being made and decorated.


These giant cake chairs were made as part of Oxfam's summer festival campaign.

O Book

Oliver Munday self promotional book. 11X17 staple stitched. Black on newsprint.

I'm lookingt at a lot of book covers right now in preparation for the dissertation. This one I quite like!

I love my life the way it is

'I love my life the way it is' a collection of unscratched lottery tickets by Ali Alvarez.

"I had an ex that used to play lottery scratch cards every week. Most weeks she lost. Some weeks she won a few bucks. It got me thinking about the whole lottery thing - getting your hopes high, dreaming, escaping, and then usually being let down.

This happens to me on a daily basis WITHOUT the lottery's help, so I find the whole thing funny. I didn't need the lottery messing with my life. So as an experiment, I started buying scratch cards and not scratching them. It made my ex a little crazy. And when I show other people, it makes them a little crazy. I think I'm onto something here.

So, I started a project. Simply titled: I LOVE MY LIFE THE WAY IT IS.... a mass collection of unscratched lottery tickets... a small statement that says a lot of things to different people."

http://ilovemylifethewayitis.com/

Instant Origami

Perfect if you have absolutely nothing better to do. Slighthly tongue-in-cheek, a great website!

http://www.instant-origami.com/

Meet The Fun-O-Meter

By Jake Bronstein. Fifty cents gets you:

-1 fun idea

-A map, in case fun idea requires travel.

-1 toy. Standard vending machine stuff.

-And 1 quarter back...Jake says "I kind of got ripped off on the toys, and only wanted to charge 25 cents anyway, but the machine is configured for 50 cents, so I put a quarter in each egg. Free money. That’s fun!"

-Plus a lucky penny, which you can leave heads up for someone else to find.

This is a really fun idea, and a very original take on the vending machine. Although I think that the 'standard' toy lets it down. It's not really necessary as the 'fun idea' is accompanied by the map, and anything that doesn't aid the fun seems pointless!

Container Offices

I know this phenomenen isn't that new anymore, but I just love it! Turning an old lorry container into habitable space is ingenius, and ofcourse very resourceful. Looks uber cool too. This photo was taken in Berlin.

All Messed Up

This afternoon, I've been having a nosey at this great book which was lying around the office. The book explores the important role that mistakes and accidents play in the creative process.In striving for perfection, we often make mistakes. In aiming for flawless work, things often go wrong. Sometimes these mistakes and accidents end up working to the designer's advantage. To realize this is to override long-standing preconceptions that define such occurrences as fundamentally wrong. All Messed Up creates a space for work in which mistakes, accidents and the unpredictable are celebrated. It's on my amazon wish list already!

MoMA store browsing...

I spied these dipping bowls (by Akimasa Yamada) whilst searching the MoMA store. The design is sold exclusively from MoMA, so if anyone is wondering what to get me for xmas!!

John Eckart

Recently, I met John Eckart, a photographer based in Leeds. His studio is based in an amazing old chapel which from the outside looks derelict. Inside, its a treasure trove of props and, best of all, a kitchen on each of the four floors where the in-house chef prepares meals to be photographed for food packaging. John also does fashion shoots, interiors and furnishings, but anyone who knows me will know I was most interested by the food!! The shot above was for a 50's family inspired fashion shoot, although I think the fairy cakes steal the limelight!

Tableware by Kathryn Hinton

Designer Kathryn Hinton displayed her tableware at the Royal College of Art Show One in London in early June.

Pieces include lettering on the prongs of forks that correspond with words imprinted in bowls and the Exhausted range (below), where cutlery follows the shape of objects it appears to collapse onto. Above: Non-sharing bowl

"I am creating diverse collections of flatware which translate the different aspects of my concept. The pieces have an individual aesthetic and change into new forms when they playfully interact with each other. The pieces come together through the lettering shown on the tines of the fork and where it has been, leaving a mark."

Stuart White

Stuart White has transformed the functional use of the IKEA pencil into a creative tool by using it to make mass-produced prints, mimicking an assembly line. Such an original idea, I'd like to give it a go myself...best buy some strong adhesive.

Still Stripping After 25 Years!

I came across this book on another blog whilst doing some research for my dissertation. I can't find who is responsible for this apalling book cover, so if anyone knows.....!!! Love the ambiguity though.

50 Designers' Current Favourite Typefaces

Create/Reject asked 50 leading designers about their current favourite typefaces, and the proceeds from the sale of each book goes to Unicef. Great book idea, too bad it's sold out already!!

Time Lapse 383

This is the 383 project office and myself hard at work!

Album Art

"Yourcodenameismilo", album art cover, by David Bailey. I quite like the front and reverse cover, but I'm unsure about the inner cover; not sure if it fits very well.

Banksy "Indoor"

I love this! Made me laugh.

Renewable Clothing by Fernando Brizio

By placing coloured felt tip pens in the pockets of the dress its appearence changes over time. Within an hour the coloured ink bleeds into the fabric and creates a one off design for each occasion. The owner can then clean the dress and colour it in a different way for each time they wear it.

Martin O'Neill

This is a really nice website, and the Martin's work is really original and unique.

http://www.cutitout.co.uk/

Linzie Hunter

"experiments with hand lettering...a series based on spam subject lines in my mailbox" by Linzie Hunter.

The project that helps social communication.

If you ask most people, they’ll say that advertising, and the communications industry as a whole, sells people things they don’t need and can’t afford. It might be occasionally entertaining, but by and large it’s fundamentally wrong and unnecessary.

The aim of Good 50×70 is to use these skills to highlight more important things than beer and trainers. It’s a competition to raise awareness amongst the creative community of the power we have to be a force for good.

7 briefs from 7 charities on 7 issues that affect thousands of people
around the world. 210 posters (30 from each brief) selected by a jury of leading designers and exhibited around the world and published in a catalogue,but more importantly, presented to the charities for their use as a potential campaign.

Below are a few examples of the ones I like best.....

Got Water?; Andrea Lo Vetere; Spain

Human Rights: Impression; Gilda Borgnini; Switzerland

Global Warming: The Fastest Way; Maria Eugenia Mosqueda Garza; Mexico

Jim Denevan Sand Art

Jim Denevan's amazing 3 mile long piece of sand art in the Nevada Desert. Jim Denevan was walking on a Californian beach one day when he picked up a stick and drew a 12ft long fish. The fish became the first of what is now over 600 drawings that he has created mainly on beaches but Jim has also created a huge 3 mile long image in the Nevada desert which took him over 100 miles of walking to complete.

Mail Big File

A really useful website if you need to email big files! And the best part is it free up to 100MB.

www.mailbigfile.com

Ink Calendar

Series of “self-printed” calendar and plant posters made by controlling the ink bleeding on the paper. Designed by Oscar Diaz.

Lots more great calendars at http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2008/06/23/creative-calendar-designs/