5 important things that happened in design this week

The Guardian redesigned in print and online, we spoke to Pentagram partner Michael Bierut and research found young people want creative jobs – the news from the last seven days.

The Guardian redesigned in print and online

Newsstands were awash with The Guardian’s new print newspaper this week, as the national ditched the classic Berliner format for tabloid.

A new website came with it, alongside a redesigned logo – or masthead – all of which aimed to improve readability and create an image of The Guardian as a source of serious and trusted journalism, according to the newspaper.

The redesign was headed up by The Guardian’s in-house creative director Alex Breuer, alongside deputy creative director Chris Clarke and digital design director Ben Longden.

Read more here.


Research found that young people want creative jobs but don’t receive guidance to get them

This week, a survey of 500 people aged 16-25 found that half wanted a job in the creative industries, but nearly two thirds did not feel they received guidance on how to get into these careers at school.

Although the sample group is not huge, the research was conducted by OnePoll, and respondents were taken from a mix of different schools from all over the UK.

500 parents were also surveyed, and results showed that a quarter would actively prevent their child from going into a creative career, while a quarter also felt creative jobs “lacked longevity”.

The research was conducted on behalf of Escape Studios, an independent, higher education academy offering university degrees in animation, visual effects (VFX) and motion graphics.

Read more here.


We looked at a water bottle design being used to treat acid attack victims

We looked at a simple device attached to the tops of bottles this week, which is being used by the police to help acid attack victims.

Bottleshower was originally designed by Tim Jeffrey and launched in 2015 to provide water in situations where it is scarce, such as in refugee camps.

It consists of a bottle top that allows water to flow much more slowly than a normal bottle opening. There is also a “shower head”, sprinkler option, specifically for washing.

The simple design is now being used by London’s Metropolitan Police to treat those with injuries from acid attacks, and has been praised by the force as “extremely effective” as it enables water to be concentrated on an affected area rather than drenching the victim and being lost on the floor.

Read more here.


We spoke to Michael Bierut about his new book

Pentagram partner Michael Bierut is behind the likes of the 2016 Mastercard rebrand, and Hillary Clinton’s US presidential campaign logo.

Alongside having been a prolific designer for nearly 40 years, Bierut likes to write – and his latest book, Now You See It and Other Essays is a collection of short essays and pieces he has written over the last decade.

Topics are eclectic, he told us, but some of his favourites are those that centre around how the perception of graphic design has changed – namely, that no one used to “give a f*ck” about a new logo, but now social media has caused the general public to become design critics.

Read Design Week’s candid interview with Bierut here.


An exhibition opened championing unsung female designer Elizabeth Friedlander

Photo by San Moore

East Sussex’s Ditching Museum of Art + Craft opened a new exhibition this week dedicated to Elizabeth Friedlander – a female designer who has a prolific body of work and who fled Nazi rule in the 1930s.

Friedlander is behind several Penguin book covers, the typeface Elizabeth – and, perhaps most interestingly and allegedly, the design of “black propaganda” for the UK Government’s Political Intelligence Office (PIO). That is, forged documents and fake items created on behalf of the enemy to embarrass, misrepresent and disparage them. This includes forged Nazi rubber stamps and ration books.

Read more about Friedlander’s fascinating life and career here.

Next month also marks 100 years since women’s suffrage, which allowed (some) women to vote in the UK for the first time. Look out for more Design Week pieces on interesting female designers, both current and historical.


Got a design story? Get in touch sarah.dawood@centaurmedia.com.

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  • Benjamin January 19, 2018 at 11:42 am

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