Design Week
26 March 2009
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A lost world
26 March 2009
Young designers accustomed to quiet, obstacle-free offices don’t know how lucky they are. Michael Peters recalls life before the Mac, when the senses were under constant assault and studios were full of snotballs and multicoloured sneezes
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At last, someone sees light at the end of the tunnel
26 March 2009
I read Sir Martin Sorrell's comments on recession and the design industry (News, DW 12 March) with interest. Undoubtedly, this year is going to be a challenging one for the design sector, but I hope it won't be all doom and gloom. In my opinion, the design industry is at its most creative when we have our backs to the wall. At our consultancy, we are beginning to see flashes of light, especially when it comes to new business. Without a doubt, now is not the time ...
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Banking on trust
26 March 2009
Naming and shaming in the banking sector. Has the first led to the second? Has naming, or, more specifically, renaming contributed to the shaming?I've been with the same bank for half a century. Mind you, it doesn't feel the same as the one I signed up with. And the name has changed - and changed. The branch of Westminster Bank occupied a majestic stone building which reflected the name's solidity and heritage, an image of probity and trust. I felt privileged to be a client.Those ...
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Brandopus rebrews festival edition Brothers Cider
26 March 2009
Favourite festival tipple Brothers Cider this week relaunches its festival edition, designed by Brandopus, ahead of a redesign of its main range later this year.The overhaul will see new label graphics and outer packaging for Brothers Cider festival edition, a more potent version of the cider. The redesign will also inform a TV ad campaign launching in June, says co-founder of Brothers Cider Matthew Showering.Brandopus was appointed six months ago, following a competitive ...
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Bruce Munro
26 March 2009
Bruce Munro is creating the Anemone chandelier for the W New York: Downtown Hotel & Residences tower in Manhattan.
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Design in the mix in Manchester International Festival
26 March 2009
A walk-through haunted house, an intimate chamber-music hall and a pyramid structure made of light have been unveiled as part of the line-up for this year's £10m Manchester International Festival.Although this year's programme features design stars including architect Zaha Hadid and lighting specialist Paul Normandale - and the festival has the creative support of graphic design legend Peter Saville and curator Hans Ulrich Obrist - design has not been a conscious part of the programme ...
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Droog has no formal links with Design Academy Eindhoven
26 March 2009
Droog Design didn't quite emerge from Design Academy Eindhoven, as Hugh Pearman writes in his article (Private View, DW 12 March). Actually, in the early days of Droog Design, many Droog designers, including Marcel Wanders, were graduates of the Academy of Applied Arts of Arnhem (now called ArtEZ Institute of the Arts). Although there are strong links between Droog Design and Design Academy Eindhoven - Gijs Bakker, a Droog Design founder, has taught there since 1987, and ...
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Fashion designer Margaret Howell
26 March 2009
Fashion designer Margaret Howell opens a new store in Paris today, designed by Pentagram architecture partner William Russell. This follows on from the refurbishment of Howell's Tokyo store, which has provided a blueprint for the 66-strong retail network in Japan. The store features furniture and objects handpicked by Howell for sale alongside her clothes, including Ercol tables and chairs.
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Form and Burrill collaborate on Roundhouse festival brand
26 March 2009
Form and graphic designer Anthony Burrill have collaborated on branding for nascent electronic music festival Short Circuit.Roundhouse, the Camden, London NW1 music venue, appointed Form as account handler about six months ago. Form came to the job through Burrill, after the event's co-organiser Pocket Rocket Music
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Frayling's campaign is a bit of diagonal thinking
26 March 2009
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Good design should be both usable and socially relevant
26 March 2009
I totally agree with Lynda Relph-Knight (Comment, DW 12 March), regarding the importance of usability and social relevance when judging design. Having been involved in the practice of people-centred design for more than 25 years now, I am still really amazed at the debates that sometimes kick off in design projects. There are always those who will attempt to refute, or possibly just ignore, even the most conclusive of evidence from rigorous user-research if the implications ...
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How to keep women in the product design equation
26 March 2009
It's a glaringly obvious point to make, but overlooking a consumer segment that comprises around half the population is a very rash thing to do, regardless of whether or not there's a recession on.So companies that fail to take into account the needs of women are taking a needless risk and, according to Agnete Enga, New York-based senior product designer at US consultancy Smart Design, they need to do more than just paint their product pink to make amends.'You have to consider ...
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Inspired
26 March 2009
It’s when things appear to be going wrong or I’ve made a mistake that I become most aware of a visit from inspiration. Because everything now becomes ‘off plan’, your antennae are sharper and you are more awake. You need to find a new way through.The other day I was interviewing for a new au pair and misplanned the times, which resulted in two arriving at the same time.It was a mistake that made me uneasy until I realised that by witnessing the two of them engage ...
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Is Shepard Fairey a deserved Design of the Year winner?
26 March 2009
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News in pictures
26 March 2009
Chris Leishman Design has created the Ration Book, a promotional device for fashion and lifestyle retailer White Stuff which features special offers. It launches later this month.
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News in Pictures
26 March 2009
Black & Blum has created the Flower Loop vase, inspired by the Fibonacci curve. It is set to launch in the next two months.
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Pack mentality
26 March 2009
Mail art - or correspondence art - is not new. The idea of decorating a postcard, envelope or package and sending it through the post was originally made popular by the late Pop Art pioneer Ray Johnson, arguably the godfather of the movement. One recent venture, Mail Me Art, has proved particularly bountiful, with submissions winging their way to UK-based Darren Di Lieto from North and South America, continental Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand. Di Lieto, founder of the Little ...
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Profile: Media Molecule
26 March 2009
A radical approach to user-creativity andinnovative working methods have madegame developer Media Molecule a major player. Iain Simons investigates the philosophy of the team behind Little Big Planet and Sackboy
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Quirky approaches to designing exhibition catalogues
26 March 2009
How do you design collectable exhibition catalogues, which will live on long beyond the shows themselves, while doing full justice to the work? Anna Richardson looks at some quirky approaches
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Rawls appointed Yas Island retail guardian
26 March 2009
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Stay true to your values
26 March 2009
Success in business is down to many factors, but a relentless sense of commitment and a constant striving for excellence are crucial, says Ajaz Ahmed
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Together creates brand guidelines for the Gruffalo
26 March 2009
Together has created the brand style guide for children’s book character the Gruffalo, which is ten years old this year.The first Gruffalo book, The Gruffalo, written by Julia Donaldson and illustrated by German illustrator Axel Scheffler, was published in 1999, and was followed in 2004 by The Gruffalo’s Child.The book has been translated into 40 languages and also inspired a stage show.An animated Gruffalo film will premiere this Christmas, and Together ...
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Variant Perception
26 March 2009
Very has created the identity for new independent financial and economic consulting group Variant Perception. According to the consultancy, the logo represents the different angles and perspectives with which Variant Perception will view financial information and figures. The business will launch this July with a website, which has also been designed by Very.
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Voxpop
26 March 2009
With an Olympics body admitting to appointing designers at random, what can Olympics organisers do to improve their relationship with the design industry?The Olympics will enlist the services of hundreds of industries, most of which won’t be able to resist airing their gripes about perceived injustices. But when you’re running multi-billion-pound projects there’s no time for such pettiness. For our industry to gain influence on the Olympics we must ...
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We mustn't underestimate the power of the regions
26 March 2009
It is no accident that we home in on Bristol this week (see feature, page 16). Design is thriving in the West Country city, despite the economic downturn.Like their counterparts across Britain, local creative groups are suffering the rigours of recession as clients ...
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West life
26 March 2009
For whatever reason – a strong local economy, incomer graduates whocan’t bear to leave, or freedom from the stresses of life in the capital – the creative sector isthriving in Bristol. Clare Dowdy talks to some of the major players
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Wonderland WPA
26 March 2009
Wonderland WPA has created the branding and packaging for new soya, dairy-free cheese products from Pure. The consultancy created the original branding for Pure's dairy-free spreads in 2007. The products will hit the shelves in Tesco on 30 March.
