Oak challenge
Faced with a 15cm long branch from a dead oak tree, not everyone has the imagination or skills to turn it into a piece of art or a functional design masterpiece.
Help! i’m not sure what design means
Every design practitioner seems to have their own idea of how to define the discipline. Nick Sunderland is on a mission to pin it down
Independent touch
As big, high street brands and smaller retailers alike are embracing more unconventional store design, cultivating that ’one-off’, local look for their latest outlets, Anna Richardson takes the measure of the creative vision of a range of innovative shops
In the dark
While traditional video games rely heavily on visuals to create exciting worlds, a few brave pioneers are foregrounding sound as the key – and sometimes only – element. Scott Billings finds his way through some thrilling, three-dimensional soundscapes – and discovers more practical audio developments too
Profile: Judith Schalansky
Designing her own books has allowed Judith Schalansky to explore theories about matching form and content, and build on a childhood fascination with atlases. The German-born author and graphics specialist talks to Anna Richardson
Voxpop
What do you think can be done to raise the standard of design education in the UK?
Don’t let the grass grow under the feet of this idea
Bin 2 Bin – what a fantastic collaboration (The Art of Plastic, www.designweek. co.uk, 25 August). Love the Nature Step (pictured).Perhaps this should kick off a series of mash-up exercises that bring together ideators from various corners to create new, sustainable ideas. Any suggestions? John Root Stone, Leading the Brand, by e-mail
We’re creatives, we’re a team – why bother with titles?
In 21 years of working in this industry I have never officially been given a job title (Voxpop, DW 26 August). When I worked at my previous consultancy there were 14 designers and one boss. We just got on with the job without the hierarchy of a title structure. Crush is six people and we […]
UK plc needs train designs as sexy as this
I was interested to read Jim Davies’ lament about the state of rail in the UK (Private View, DW 19 August). I agree that there are some much better rail experiences to be found elsewhere in the world, but with the coalition Government’s commitment to High Speed 2, we are at an exciting point in […]
Inspired: Jesse Boyce – Lethal
Not everyone loves a rubber stamp, but I’m hooked – there’s no better way to set foot on new soil than with a freshly inked passport. It sets the scene for what’s to come and sparks the inspiration. It all starts at passport control. Homing in on the stamp-happiest attendant, I join their queue and […]
Best of the Web
http///verynearlyalmost.com/blog/?p=2901Very Nearly Almost is a blog that documents street art and graffiti. A recent post displays WWF’s latest campaign, which has been created by Ogilvy Paris. It features Photoshopped images of wild animals covered in graffiti, intended as a metaphor for vandalism and the destruction of the planet. http://tiny.cc/i4fh9London Design Guide has teamed up with […]
Crowd dynamics
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?
Latest articles
London Design Biennale 2018 to explore design’s impact on emotional wellbeing
“We want to bring together countries to look at design’s important role in the big emotive issues of our time,” says festival director.
5 important things that happened in design this week
From a rebrand for the Southbank Centre to a visit to Dundee, the UK’s latest cultural hotspot, we round-up the news from the last seven days.
Exhibition exploring fictional world of Downton Abbey opens
Mather & Co has designed the exhibition, which is set to take a world tour, and incorporated holographic and audio visual technology to create an interactive visitor experience.
Southbank Centre reveals first rebrand in 10 years, inspired by Brutalism
The London-based culture and art hub, which is composed of four venues, has been given a new visual identity by studio North, dropping the Wolff Olins branding designed in 2007.
Inspiration
Iford Opera Festival material, by So Design and Charles Emerson
So Design Consultants has teamed up with fine art photographer Charles Emerson to create a selection of images for this year’s Ilford Opera Festival. As the event is set in the Peto Garden at Ilford Manor, the focus of every image is flowers. Each chosen to symbolise the musical performance they represent, the flowers were […]
Philographics, by Genis Carreras
Solipsism is the philosophical idea that only the direct mental experience is certain, as things external to one’s own mind cannot be known. In other words: you are the only thing that definitely exists and everything else in the world, from family to forests, might just be your hallucinations. Four years ago, London-based designer Genis […]
Penguin Random House Student Design Award winners, by various
For the last 11 years, Penguin Random House UK has put on the Student Design Award, an opportunity for young designers to take an imaginative pop at some of the most timeless book covers ever published. This year, the gauntlet was set across three categories: Adult Fiction Cover Award was To Kill a Mockingbird by […]
Rightmove advert, by Trunk Animation, Layla Atkinson and Anna Kövecses
Director Layla Atkinson has worked with illustrator Anna Kövecses and animation studio Trunk to create a new advert for home renting and buying company Rightmove. The advert is aimed at renters, and follows the story of a young couple as they go house-hunting, and chancing upon many properties before finding the “perfect” one, says Trunk. […]
The Great British Postcard Competition, by various illustrators
Print company Saxoprint is holding a postcard competition that asks creatives to summarise their view of Britain in 2017 through design and illustration. The competition is being judged by a panel led by ex-Sex Pistols frontman John Lydon, and shortlisted entries and winners will be revealed in an exhibition on 23 September. The venue is yet […]
Anthology, by The Cass School of Art
Visual Communication students at The Cass School of Art, Architecture and Design have designed a new book of critical and creative writing. Anthology features the writing of the university’s English Literature and Creative Writing students, alongside illustrations and design by Visual Communication students. It aims to be a collection of the school’s “best fiction, poetry, […]
Tokyo ice cream and chocolate shop, by Nendo
Japanese design consultancy Nendo has created the interiors for a new shop aimed at those with a sweet tooth. A Tes Souhaits! Glace et Chocolat is based in Tokyo, and is the sister shop to patisserie A Tes Souhaits!. The shop features a curved wall made out of various soils, which mimic the effect of […]
Sorry Not Sorry for Being Me campaign, by BBC Creative and Mother Design
Mother Design has completed its first project since joining the BBC’s roster, the branding and campaign for a new BBC Three show. Sorry Not Sorry For Being Me aims to explore the personal identities and “uniqueness” of young people, and enable young viewers to feel comfortable in themselves. The campaign includes print advertising, social media […]
