Design Week
Private View
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Finding your voice
30 June 2011
When creating an identity, designers play a crucial role in driving audience interaction, and their choices can make or break the brand experience, says Simon Dixon
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Willing believers
23 June 2011
Sometimes, all it takes is the whiff of a new perfume or, in this case, its name to set a train of thought in motion. Paul Smith’s Optimistic does it for David Bernstein
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Private View - A cut above
16 June 2011
As with the world of tailoring, off-the-peg designs and templates for digital and print publishing will always have an element of compromise about them, says Jim Davies
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Power towers
9 June 2011
Many consider pylons to be eyesores, but they are set for a makeover via a competition to rethink their design. However, Hugh Pearman says bettering their form will be an uphill task
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After the wild party
2 June 2011
Diversity in the shops is all very well, but an overabundance of choice is just likely to be counterproductive, rendering us frazzled and indecisive. Adrian Shaughnessy urges restraint
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Plumbing the depth
26 May 2011
Though the advances in techniques and tools for the marketing industry have been profound, David Bernstein believes that the fundamentals have remained the same
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Virtual unreality
19 May 2011
While Twitter has opened up insular design debates to a wider audience, to some devotees it’s a perpetual distraction from what’s going on in the physical world, argues Jim Davies
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Jamie's Midas touch
12 May 2011
Love him or hate him, evidence of Jamie Oliver’s success is everywhere. Hugh Pearman says his down-to-earth style clearly works, and asks which market will he crack next?
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Casts of the past
5 May 2011
Put aside digital typography for a moment, and consider the beauty of traditional type generation. Adrian Shaughnessy rummages around in a glorious archive of typographic history
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Enlightened thinking
28 April 2011
The Royal Society of Arts is clearly looking to connect its proud past with the future using the new strapline ’21st century enlightenment’. David Bernstein says it is no empty promise
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Lost in translation
21 April 2011
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See the signs
14 April 2011
Hugh Pearman laments the state of public transport’s slow, inflexible and all-too-often inaccurate information systems, and wonders why we don’t take a leaf out of our motorways
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Stay on the fringe
7 April 2011
Of course we have to understand our clients’ businesses, but it’s vital to maintain an outsider status to give our talent for ’design thinking’ free rein, argues Adrian Shaughnessy
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Digital democracy
31 March 2011
Designers should stop viewing the past through rose-tinted spectacles and embrace the convenience of the digital age, rather than react against it, argues Mike Dempsey
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Deputy dawgs
24 March 2011
They are the boss’ right-hand men and often, crucially, a go-between to the creative team. David Bernstein considers the challenging and complex role of the assistant manager
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Setting the tone
17 March 2011
One humdrum story from the 1940s told in more than 90 different ways offers an exercise in writing styles and tone of voice. Jim Davies finds plenty of inspiration for his briefs in it
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Totalitarian tactics
10 March 2011
Dictators tend to be dab hands at branding - of themselves in particular. Hugh Pearman on how rulers from Benito Mussolini to Turkmenbashi have become the trademarks of their nations
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Where is the verve?
3 March 2011
Is it possible to combine design flair with technical nous? asks Adrian Shaughnessy. Even the media-savvy Swedes struggle to pull it off, he finds, on a visit to Stockholm’s Hyper Island
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One big mess
24 February 2011
The coalition Government says that it is trying to balancethe books, but ransacking our priceless brand heritage may not be the best way to do it, argues David Bernstein
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Comforting clutter
17 February 2011
Digital books and music might be the ultimate convenience, placing our entire heritage at our fingertips - but we risk losing the very ephemera that makes us who we are, says Jim Davies
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Our own radio star
10 February 2011
There aren’t many designers who come across well in spoken media, but Neville Brody’s recent appearance on Radio 4 was a surprise hit. Hugh Pearman tunes in to a perceptive session
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Type cast
3 February 2011
Once the preserve of experts, typography has gone mainstream with everyone getting in on the act. Yet there is still a place for design professionals to do it better, says Adrian Shaughnessy
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Creativity pays off
27 January 2011
Ads lauded for creative flair have historically had to contend with the idea they don’t cultivate sales, but David Bernstein is encouraged by new research showing creativity drives results
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Rearward glance
20 January 2011
As we plunge into a new year, Jim Davies sounds a note of caution about the urge to break with what’s gone before - severing links with the past can be a self-defeating exercise
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Dear simplicity
13 January 2011
Why pay more for ’less’, when buying furniture or cars? Given the cost of aiming beyond disposability, Hugh Pearman fears that minimalist design will remain the domain of the wealthy
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Seditious stirrings
6 January 2011
At this time of cuts and upheaval, design needs to be at the forefront of emerging radical thinking. Adrian Shaughnessy is encouraged by the social focus he finds among students
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A merry makeover
16 December 2010
The ermine’s seen better days, and the reindeer could do with a retread. Jim Davies channels the spirit of Santa Claus to run through a brand repositioning brief for consultancy hopefuls
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Bohemian comfort
9th December 2010
We’re all prone to a bit of transport nostalgia, especially for the Routemaster. But for Hugh Pearman it’s the original Victoria Line trains that do it - just don’t mention the new carriages
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Sham parade
2nd December 2010
Why are we saddled with such God-awful and implausible TV shows as The Apprentice, and why has advertising lost its wit and verve? Adrian Shaughnessy has had enough
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Mad Men-tality
25 November 2010
Honestly addressing negative consumer perceptions is often the simplest solution to the trickiest creative brief, as a noted ad guru from the 1960s discovered. David Bernstein agrees
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Purest kind of fear
18 November 2010
You can’t hide behind slick layouts and zany typefaces when you’re addressing an audience - content is all. There’s nothing like it for making you clarify your ideas, says Jim Davies
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Private View Believe in the bibelot
11 November 2010
We’ve all been guilty of buying tasteless frills, causing house guests to grimace at some hideous ornament on our walls. But why do we insist on keeping such oddities? asks Hugh Pearman
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Making connections
4 November 2010
Good design usually stems from a collaborative approach, so why does our education system continue to fetishise the idea of personal authorship? asks Adrian Shaughnessy
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A risky business
27 October 2010
The young David Bernstein was much influenced as a creative director by the management style of Diaghilev, who knew much about the value of surprise, talent, experimentation… and risk
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It's a male thing
20 October 2010
Design is still largely a male preserve, with females relegated to support roles. Is sexism to blame, or do women just lack the trainspotter traits essential for any creative? asks Jim Davies
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Festival fatigue
14 October 2010
Festivals aimed at boosting the public image of any profession make much of their cultural significance, but Hugh Pearman thinks they’re little more than self-congratulatory trade shows
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From page to screen
7 October 2010
Hardened bibliophile Adrian Shaughnessy has succumbed to the delights of reading on an iPad. He still sees a future for well-produced books, but thinks magazines could soon go apps-only
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Surreal set-ups
30 September 2010
Why do some feel the urge to adopt pompous job titles like ’Creative Director of the World’? David Bernstein calls for a bit of simplicity when it comes to defining what we do for a living
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Too close for comfort
23 September 2010
Brands frequently adopt a chummy, over-familiar tone in their marketing, but forced bonhomie can never lead to meaningful relationships. Jim Davies says they should show more respect
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In tune with reality
16 September 2010
The ability to sex things up is an essential part of a designer’s repertoire, says Adrian Shaughnessy, but there are dangers in straying too far from the truth - just look at the world of PR
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Drawing conclusions
9 September 2010
Painfully aware of his artistic limitations, Hugh Pearman took part in a sketching event only to rediscover the obvious - he can’t draw. It did, however, make him look at things differently
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Crowd dynamics
2 September 2010
Finding work is difficult, but graduates should still be wary of crowdsourcing, says Caroline Roberts. What sort of client would commission design services using this phenomenon?
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A question of style
26 August 2010
The art of crafting a letter is in decline as digital transmission of the written word becomes faster and easier. David Bernstein bemoans the concomitant loss of wit and grammatical skills
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New age of the train
19 August 2010
Britain’s rail network is a relic of a bygone era and lags behind its European counterparts, argues Jim Davies - we need to stop making do and instead let design take the strain
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Matters of the art
12 August 2010
Artists should be wary of trying to create functional objects, while designers do best when they bear fitness for purpose in mind and stay clear of design art, argues Hugh Pearman
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Shiny new addiction
5 August 2010
As an experiment reveals that frequent Internet use literally changes the structure of our brains, Adrian Shaughnessy considers his life as a specimen of Humanus Internetus
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Live dangerously
29 July 2010
A recession is no time to just batten down the hatches and sit it out, argues Simon Waterfall. It’s far better to embrace failure and rediscover the creative possibilities of time spent at play
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Out of touch
22 July 2010
Successful corporate image management means delivering on a credible strategy via actions as well as communications, says David Bernstein. How come BP has failed so miserably?
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Transatlantic treats
15 July 2010
A British aesthetic may be all the rage right now, but certain things are still better the American way. Jim Davies looks back to the time when US goods had an offbeat charm to them
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The biggest gamble
8 July 2010
Who needs high-concept advertising stunts and sophisticated viral marketing when there are good old sheet metal ads? Hugh Pearman moots a return to more permanent methods
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A harsh lesson
1 July 2010
Today’s design students are inured to the economic pressures of professional life, but Adrian Shaughnessy wonders why our education system fails to prepare them for its creative realities.
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Hats off to history
24 June 2010
As adland teeters on the brink of neglecting its heritage in pursuit of the new, David Bernstein wonders how the History of Advertising Trust’s archive can become an active resource
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Romantic Greenery
17 June 2010
It’s quite possible to combine a touch of glitz and glamour with an environmental conscience, argues Jim Davies, so nothing should stop us from embracing an eco agenda
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Flimsy little bits
10 June 2010
There’s much to be gained from appliances designed to last - for everyone but the manufacturer. So what can we do to combat built-in obsolescence? asks Hugh Pearman
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The ultimate result
3 June 2010
Redesigning a mere country? We must go further and design nature itself, if we are to avoid environmental disaster, argues Bruce Mau. Adrian Shaughnessy is spellbound by the master
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Hostages to fortune
27 May 2010
Many have found to their cost that identifying your brand with a benchmark, be it concept or celebrity, is a risky business. As David Bernstein reminds us, comparisons are often odorous
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Branching out
20 May 2010
Like old rock bands, big consultancies have long-established family trees. Designers aspiring to be anything more than a twig should up roots and start a splinter group now, says Jim Davies
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Not so Smartie
13 May 2010
The trend towards super-sizing products fulfils no basic human need, and surely denotes more than a hint of fat-headedness on the part of the designers involved, says Hugh Pearman
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For FCSD's sake...
6 May 2010
The Chartered Society of Designers’ push for an accreditation scheme is rather anachronistic, suggests Adrian Shaughnessy. Surely there are more relevant issues it should be looking into?
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Bazaar tactics
29 April 2010
Now that prices can be checked online in a tick, how can stores avoid ending up as mere showrooms for Internet sales? Matthew Valentine rejoices in the return of haggling
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Yesteryear's ads
22 April 2010
Somehow, defying the elements and the passage of time, a few fading wall signs of long-gone eras are still with us. David Bernstein ponders the paradoxes they present
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Join the blogosphere
15 April 2010
While global media magnates agonise about paywalls and how to make money from the Web, more savvy publishers are using it to promote cult titles to great effect. Jim Davies rejoices
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Not the foggiest
08 April 2010
Design, anyone? We all practise it, but what exactly is it? Hugh Pearman is none the wiser after thumbing his way through the statistics in the Design Council’s latest report
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A painterly touch
01 April 2010
We should have moved beyond the can-design-be-art debate - for without the creative impulse there is no design. So why is it rearing its head again? asks Adrian Shaughnessy
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Graphic bedrock
25 March 2010
Designing a poster is an excellent way of creating focus and fine-tuning your ideas - never more vital than in election times. David Bernstein is looking forward to the campaigns ahead
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Making do
18 March 2010
Could the success of the Keep Calm and Carry On poster represent a hankering for the wartime values of stoicism and simplicity - in graphics, as well as in life? Jim Davies thinks so
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From DS to BS
11 March 2010
The latest Citroën represents a depressing trend in car design - homogeneity masquerading behind double-speak branding. Hugh Pearman laments the leveraging of a once-great brand
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Let's all tweet on
04 March 2010
Facebook? Wouldn’t go near it. But Twitter is another matter, says Adrian Shaughnessy, who has fallen for its effectiveness and is now merrily passing on weblinks to his followers
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A friendly affair
25 February 2010
An interview is potentially the beginning of a long-term relationship with an employee, so it pays to get things right. David Bernstein offers employers some tips
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A democratic gesture?
18 February 2010
Why not enlist the public to do your slogans for you? ’Crowdsourcing’ may amount to a free pitch, but it can make your audience feel involved, says Jim Davies
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Watching the others
11 February 2010
Companies express outrage at counterfeiters brazenly exploiting their hard-won brand equity, but surely it’s a mutually dependent relationship? says Hugh Pearman
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Community service
04 February 2010
Whether it’s to promote themselves or simply ogle graphic porn, blogging is part of most designers’ lives. Adrian Shaughnessy celebrates the phenomenon
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A position of influence
28 January 2010
Creatives deserve a much bigger say in the boardroom, but David Bernstein thinks making them directors might debase their most useful quality - detachment
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A slow news day
21 January 2010
Newspaper publishers should forget the freebies, says Jim Davies. Playing to the strengths of their products - quality, portability and design - will bring readers back
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Take a Martian view
14 January 2010
Why do cars and planes look like they do? It’s just habit, says Hugh Pearman - we’re too stuck in our ways to be able to create genuinely new objects
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Solutions aren't enough
07 January 2010
As we enter a new decade, Adrian Shaughnessy thinks clients should give designers more creative freedom - for without it we’d never have had the iPod
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Counting the days
17 December 2009
From wall planner to tasteful graphic art and tacky soft porn, the calendar fulfils many functions. Jim Davies deconstructs the genre in search of the perfect example
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Cutting-edge steel
10 December 2009
Don’t be tempted by throwaway goods, when hand-finished pieces are within your reach. Hugh Pearman marvels at David Mellor’s perfectly balanced cutlery
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A Frank appreciation
03 December 2009
An exhibition of work by a legendary US photographer reminds Adrian Shaughnessy just why New York, despite its fading charm, will always be his favourite city
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Gilded promises
26 November 2009
‘Corporate dissonance’ or ‘second-item syndrome’, anyone? David Bernstein presents some nifty terms as he explores the use of ‘linguistic added value’
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Spellcheck charlies
19 November 2009
Embarrassing spelling and grammatical mistakes can catch out many a professional, and designers are not immune. Jim Davies wonders if it really matters
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A source of illumination
12 November 2009
At a loss when it comes to street lamp history? Unsure about where to turn for the best in inventive design? Try lunching with Zeev Aram, says Hugh Pearman
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A real-life tele-visionary
05 November 2009
Philippe Starck’s recent TV show has been the subject of derision in the design world, but there was wisdom among the buffoonery, says Adrian Shaughnessy
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It's critical to success
29 October 2009
Like any art form, design needs good critical writing. However, Rick Poynor is concerned that during the era of the blog we are in danger of losing the skill
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A word to the wise
22 October 2009
The wisdom of Samuel Johnson reverberates down the centuries. David Bernstein pays homage to his ideas and explores their relevance to communications
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A real craving
15 October 2009
Increasingly suspicious of anything overly slick or seductively shiny, Jim Davies goes on a quest for ‘real’ in all its guises, hoping it’ll be more than a fad
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The Starck reality?
08 October 2009
Anyone keen to know what a career in design is really like should steer clear of its portrayal on TV - especially if there’s a Frenchman involved, says Hugh Pearman
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Payback time
01 October 2009
Many designers treat interns as a convenient source of unpaid labour. However, Adrian Shaughnessy argues that we shouldn’t forget to give something back
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A flight of fancy
17 September
Scarred by the experience of budget airline travel, Jim Davies longs for the jet-setting romance of air travel’s heyday. Can good design restore the mystique?
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Option freedom
10 September 2009
For long an inveterate driver of a gas-guzzling eightseater, Hugh Pearman gets a whiff of true liberty at the thought of ditching his car altogether
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Creative fallout
03rd September 2009
Public disagreement within our profession is rare, but a recent spat has convinced Adrian Shaughnessy that design has much to gain from a bit of argy bargy
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Eliminating noise
27th August 2009
Presenting on the art of presentation can be a daunting prospect - and some own goals are nigh impossible to prevent. David Bernstein shares his experiences
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The past is rubbish
20th August 2009
If you’re looking for a new start in life, there’s nothing like some serious decluttering to rediscover what’s important and focus your mind, finds Jim Davies
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Divine codes
13th August 2009
I cannot be the only person who screams faintly whenever he reads one of those lazy bits of journalism including the words ‘fast-forward’ and ‘rewind’ as a way to denote passing time. These are generally written by middle-aged men who think it makes them sound faintly hip. No - it just demonstrates that they are of the VHS generation.But the symbols have endured. The little triangular arrows - one for ‘play’, two for, ahem, ‘fast-forward’ and ‘rewind’, plus the associated ...
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For the common good
06th August 2009
As big business bows to consumer expectations of ethical behaviour, Adrian Shaughnessy says the time has finally come for social design to set the pace
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A little room for error
30th July 2009
Cultural life would be poorer without a little ambiguity, argues David Bernstein, but you need absolute clarity when crossing linguistic and national borders
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Dress for success
23rd July 2009
After an experiment in naked working at a Newcastle design consultancy, Jim Davies argues it’s dressing a brand, not undressing it, that makes good design tick
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A bridge too far
16th July 2009
Getting listed by Unesco as a World Heritage Site is quite an accolade, but there can be a downside to all the attention it brings, says Hugh Pearman
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A new dawn beckons
09th July 2009
Some consultancies are witnessing signs of economic recovery, but the design landscape has changed forever. Adrian Shaughnessy looks at what the future holds
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Sample alien sounds
02 July 2009
It may be tempting to work harder during tough times, but taking time out will put things into perspective and sharpen your senses, says Jim Davies
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Lost in translation
25th June 2009
It can take years to create a successful brand, so owners should think carefully before making forays into new media territory, says David Bernstein
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Not quite human
Thu, 18 Jun 2009
As the new Terminator movie hits our cinema screens, Hugh Pearman delves into the fictional history of the robot and the challenges of getting one to work
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Olde word charm
11 June 2009
The ephemeral nature of the Web, and its focus on technology at the expense of the literary, mean online writing will never win many awards, says Jim Davies
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Missing the point
04 June 2009
Measuring effectiveness is all well and good, but an over-dependence on statistics risks missing that vital ingredient - creativity - says Adrian Shaughnessy
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Tradition's undoing
28 May 2009
Quaint customs and outmoded forms of address have had their day - they’re as passé as Parliamentary sleaze. Kasper de Graaf urges wholesale reform
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Copy right now
21 May 2009
Attention spans are shrinking rapidly, so advertising copywriters have to work harder than ever to engage consumers. David Bernstein looks at their plight
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Gone, but not forgotten
14 May 2009
British Leyland, famous for making rubbish cars, had the wit to use Alec Issigonis to design a few classics - and the Mini wasn’t the best, says Hugh Pearman
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Office politics
30 April 2009
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Goodge Street glory
23 April 2009
Designers write better than writers design. Several designers and illustrators have been masters of the pen - Ashley Havinden, Hans Schleger, Osbert Lancaster, Abram Games, Milton Glaser, Terence Conran, Alan Fletcher (I’ll no doubt think of others).
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A bit of a rumble
9 April 2009
How much space you get, and what kind of space, depends almost totally on decisions made by other people.
