Best ideas this year...

Just thought before I went out celebrating with the gang from back home I would say a Happy New Year to all of you.  Lets hope 2010 brings some great opportunities for us all. 


I also thought id share with you two links, the previous post and this one. 

This is one of the best idea's I have seen this year, so simple and yet elegant design work and you just cant believe this product hasn't been developed before!! I fully expect Apple to do something similar this year - They are meant to be at the forefront of cool things right!? Take a peek at the icon magazine review and also at Min-Kyu Choi's own website. 

Great resource...

Hilman Curtis is a guy who goes around and interviews designers. On his website you have a range of videos from Carson to Sagmeister, from Pentagram to Glaser and also a few illustrators too. They are a fantastic resource to see these people talking about their work and their approach to design - think of it as an extension to the society. Check it out.  

Our own creative talent...

I thought it was about time i stopped talking about others we admire and look closer at our own creative talent. For the lecture just gone two third year illustrators designed packaging for our Plymouth Gin presents. Certainly got the designers excited and what a fantastic way to get students work up and out there and on show in a studio in london!


The photo shows the two illustrators Xander Lee (left) and Kate Mowbray (right) standing with Joanna Pierce (middle left) and Mark Lloyd (middle right) who both work for Webb Scarlett deVlam.

Happy Christmas!

Just thought I would wish you all a fantastic Christmas break.

Thank you for all your support this year in helping us get off the ground. I know from speaking to a few of you how much this has helped and I hope we can continue year after year!

Hope you get all the presents that you want and even though Christmas is fast becoming a load of commercial rubbish (except spending Christmas day with my 3yr old niece does make christmas again!), its a fantastic excuse to spend time with family and friends so enjoy :-)

See you in the new year,

All of us on the DS Committee x x

Snowflake Competition!

You all remember how to make paper snowflakes right? Well theres a competition online at the moment to do just that, take a photo before the end of Jan and submit that online and then you could win a load of goodies! sounds easy doesn't it! check out the competition and who your up against here. Its a vote system too so just get all your mateys to vote - or comment and say which one is yours and you can have over 100 members voting on your design! how cool is that!!!

Rules of work...

Something I stole from the graphic exchange website...

When you feel really inspired, drop everything and work! a good idea is often gone the next morning. Make inspiration a priority. this means that if you have a favorite band, a favorite magazine or a favorite blog you make time for it, guilt free! small breaks for inspiration are always worth it when followed by a good creative workday! Surround yourself with positive people. find the people in your life who love you AND your work and make you feel really good about what you are doing. avoid negative people during busy work times! Make friends with other artists you admire. this is a must! friends in your industry will keep your inspired and challenged. Find a new obsession as often as you need to. Find little things that you can fancy that make your day and cause you to think in a new direction.

Dolls.

DAHRA (Designers Against Human Rights Abuse) had an auction earlier this month as part of their christmas party of 30 unique, signed Munny dolls customised by some of the most prominent graphic and product designers in the industry, as well as some limited edition goodies.

One of these extra goodies came from our very own second year illustrator Claire Latcham!

See the different doll designs here. 

Harry Pearce book!

This will be on sale when Harry Pearce comes down for a lecture on 19th Jan so I thought id give you prior warning! Follow the link, take a good look and doesn't it look interesting... any graphic designers wet dream!!!


Here's a bit more about the book...

“Sometimes the more cornered you are the more fun you have.”

Designed by Harry Pearce, Conundrums is a new collection of elegant typographic puzzles constrained by three simple rules: one box, two colours, a single typeface.

In the introduction to the book Harry writes: “I grew up in an age and a home where the words of Spike Milligan, Edward Lear, Peter Cook and Monty Python, among many others, filled the air. Nonsense that made sense; irreverence that became pure pleasure. Words became images, images words, and where was the line between the two? It didn’t matter as long as they gave you a smile of recognition. So, visual games with words have stayed with me. And, strangely, these little games seem to have a life of their own. I started them years ago, a love affair between typography and phrase, and they’ve been one step ahead of me ever since."

How to get commissioned by Creative Review...

When I first saw this post it really made me laugh. This blog link documents how Johanna Basford sent her work into Creative Review's editor. You obviously need an innovative and fresh approach, such as this, as it worked and now shes working for them!

Check out her portfolio of work too. Although it all follows the same style its some fantastic work. Must have taken a very long time considering its all been done by hand with a pen!!

CV Advice...

Patrick Baglee from Navyblue has been in touch with one of the members to give advice on their CV which we thought to pass on...


"I asked for advice about my website and he came back with some really useful ideas about improving it, one particular suggestion which may be helpful twas about my 'inspiration' section:


make your inspiration about things I might never have seen. I know Alan Fletcher IS inspiring - but I'd like to hear about things that are really different and very personal to you - or - about which page in Fletcher's book inspires you most - not just the book itself. Everyone is inspired by him... but what makes it resonate with you in particular?" 

Wow. 21 days without posting anything! It wasn't that creativity dries up... just work prevails!


Here is something I found two years ago. Its an experimental project by japanese artist Kentaro Nagai which is really interesting. He took a vector image of the world map and manipulated the positioning of the countries to form animal shapes. Whilst some aren't that great there are a few which are fantastic such as this cow. The intro page is really cool where you get to see a flash animation of the animals merging into one another and its the point between chaos and the shape forming thats really interesting.

something to do with an apple mouse...

something to do with an apple mouse...

Hello Monday have a really cool flash website for their portfolio of work. including these...

Pure adoration...

I realised there were too many videos in a row so thought I could break it up with this. This was an illustrator who I fell in love with as soon as I visited the site. My jaw dropped and I stopped what I was doing just to open up my InDesign file to write them a letter inviting them down to talk. Fantastic mix of illustration and typography. Check Si Scott out now!

Our ultimate aim in design...

Ok so it's another t-mobile ad but it just symbolise everything we should be doing with anything we produce, be it a design, an illustration, a photograph. We need to engage the audience and get people to work together. We need to inspire and make people happy. Remember this and you will always succeed.

Life's for sharing...

The Epica 2009 results were announced Friday 27th with the Epica d'Or in the film category going to Saatchi & Saatchi London's T-Mobile Dance ad which was the first ad to feature a flash mob. It shows a large team of dancers in Liverpool Street Station going crazy to a selection of tunes. Here is a link for the 'making of'. If only we could be there to watch it...


Wouldn't it be great to start one off for the society...

new generation of laptops...

going to be expensive... but so cool! Lets hope apple catch on :-)

Democracy...

Over the summer there was a competition to produce a poster based on the theme 'Democracy'. I mentioned it back in October in a post. Luckily one of our members, Evan Lelliot was voted for a place in the book that was produced! If you are lucky and nice enough he has recently screen printed a few here at uni and may sell you one for a tiny price...

It really does pay to enter D&AD competitions...

Marie is an ex-graduate from the university with some really nice interactive work. This was a project for D&AD she did where she won an award for it too! Shows that it is worth entering as you really can stand a chance of winning! She also did a lot of the work up on the walls in the Letterpress studio, for any who has been in to use and see it. She is currently working at Taxi Studios in Exeter.

24 hour comic drawing challenge...

Our Camera man, Jake Rowlinson (also a third year illustrator) recently took part in a 24 hour comic drawing challenge at Falmouth. Here is some of his work from the day. Check out more work from the day here.

The 100 Experiment

Check out our social officer, Mario's latest project and get involved :-)

Beautiful use of meat...

Although stolen from the Creative Review blog I just had to put this up. Fantastic. Or gruesome. However you want to look at it but still a great idea taking the famous Lord Kitchener poster to the next stage. It was designed by Karmarama and took over 18 hours to make and used over 16 different types of meat!

Ice Ice baby!

Some really fancy photography with ice, smoke and even solder! They can make some beautiful patterns and Jason Tozer has captured them through photography perfectly!

Letterpress God...

If you are ever looking for some funky inspiration for your letterpress project or even for any typographic project, take a look at Alan Kitchings work. He has been doing it for more years than any of us could ever remember and the mixture of colour and type works really well. Thanks Hannah for pointing him out!

Fluid type...

Alex is a freelance graphic designer from Barcelona. His work is a mixture of illustration and yet still typographic based. He has worked with a huge range of clients from Nike to British Airways. Worth a look!

Logo's for companies...

This is a website where you can sign up for free, where you are then sent briefs for logo designs (live briefs!!). If your design is selected then you will be paid for your design. It might be a nice little earner for anyone who is interested and the logos are for actual companies. Thought it would be good for you guys to know about it and will look good on the cv and good for the portfolio.

Magpie Studio

Great work on their website. This in particular took my eye. We so often work with macs that it is so refreshing to see something that is a fresh approach and done almost purely by hand.

the carrot rabbit was for "Gavin Martin Associates, a printing firm in London who wanted to promote their conversion to eco-friendly vegetable inks, whilst maintaining their commitment to the highest quality print. this approach offering their customers 'Unrivalled reproduction', and something to smile about in the process. the giant rabbit - painstakingly created in carrots - not only formed a memorable image, but kept the local city farm in fodder for a week."

3d Type...

Yulia Brodskaya is only three years out of university but has already made a HUGE name for herself working for The Guardian, Cadburys, and even Orange! She has a really unique style, you may have seen some of her work around and there is such precision and fine detail to the work! fantastic!

Underground Fan...

Think we all needed this London Underground Fan in London!!

Liv

We should think more.

Design is activism / Design is not activism
Design is pollution / Design is not pollution
Design should aid social mobility / Design should not aid social mobility
Design should be playful / Design should not be playful
Design is a problem solving activity / Design is not a problem solving activity
Design should serve industry / Design should not serve industry
Design should be made for the art gallery market / Design should not be made for the art gallery market
Design is a survival instinct / Design is not a survival instinct
Design is context driven / Design is not context driven
Design is white collar / Design is blue collar
Design is for the future / Design is for the present

Discuss.

What we see around us...

Inspiration does not only come from outside the uni but inside too. Have you seen something around you or in the studio that you fall in love with? Is there someone's work that you really admire? Send an image or website link to the Designers Society and we will post them up on the blog. Let people get the recognition they deserve and share them with the world. Here are two things I have seen around... whoever did them - if you are reading this - we would love a copy!

( I have since found Catkin Pritchard did the one on the left)

Chris Jordan

Chris Jordan has done some really unusual work. From photographing the inside of dead birds (honest, nothing has been added or removed) to the destruction of Hurricane Katrina. Really emotive stuff!

Happiness this way

Although the competition is now over you can see all of the entrants over at the web page. There is some really beautiful (and funny) stuff. Happiness This Way is a collaborative study into what really makes us happy. Today’s mainstream media is on a mission to turn the general population into image conscious, body obsessed celebrity stalkers, I question does this really make anyone happy? This project aims to uncover what really makes you tick and to see if we can discover new trends.

Pearls of Wisdom from Wunderman...

Something I picked up from the Shellsuit Zombie blog,

"Laura and Mark, a graduate creative team from Brum, were asked by ad agency Wunderman to do something during their 2 week placement that would get them known in the company. Wunderman liked it so much the team are still there and we get to enjoy some pearls of wisdom from the team!"

Fantastic video which is pretty much what we are trying to achieve from this society. Guidance and advice for you guys for the future.

sometimes i do graphics...

As his 'about me' section says, sometimes he does graphics. It is amazing when you have something else enter your life, like a daughter or a niece or whatever how design seems to come second place and how priorities reorganise themselves. HOWEVER, when he does work, he does some beautiful and amazing illustrations in a very distinct personal style using a very mathmatical shapes and way of drawing. Paul Lee has done some great work for companies such as Sony, Adobe, Lexus and Google. Take a look and enjoy :-)

Bring it to life...

The new Guinness advert. Fantastic visual effects and a really nice idea going in a different direction to what has been shown before. There are very few amazing adverts. There is the sony bravia adverts, the smirnoff sea ad, and now this. beautiful. Here is the 'Making of' video too.

This is what AMV's executive creative director, Paul Brazier, had to say:

"Good Things Come To Those Who Wait was a strap line that ran for ten triumphant years. However every advertising campaign has a natural lifecycle. ‘Good Things’ was firmly rooted in the experience of drinking in a pub, yet Guinness is also increasingly popular at home and we wanted to find out how we could persuade more people to experience Guinness wherever they were.

"The answer, we believed, lay in another product truth – the fact that Guinness does not pre-exist in a container waiting to be poured. Instead it comes to life in front of your eyes. The liquid hits the bottom of the glass. There’s an explosion of energy. Clouds form - churning, swirling and surging. They defy gravity, moving downwards and then upwards, leaving behind perfect Guinness. At the same time, almost by magic, a creamy white head forms on the drink. When the process finishes something amazing has been created.

"If we could capture this thought we could start to get people to see Guinness, and therefore the Guinness occasion, in a new light - as a drink full of energy, colour and life appropriate for any lively, enriching drinking occasion. Thus the line ‘Guinness. Bring It To Life’ was born."

So a big production and a spanky new strapline... but is the ad any good? Your thoughts and comments please...

Type Tarts...

Illustrator, Photographer, Media artist, Designer. We all work with type. But does it all have to be so serious!?

Tart cards are the means by which many London prostitutes advertise their services. Step into almost any central London phone box and you can contemplate up to 80 cards inviting you to be tied, teased, spanked or massaged. This project was set for creative minded people to find the tart hiding in every typeface and create their own graphic numbers.

What is your favourite type and could you do the same?

Lets talk about creativity...

I don't know if you watched it a couple of months ago but Philippe Starck ran a competition for 12 british designers to compete to find the best. He says 'lets not talk about design, lets talk about creativity' and I found that although a program about product design, the lessons that can be learnt apply to all of us. This is a link to watch episode one and I strongly recommend it to all, regardless of creative background. If you learn something, watch the other 5 episodes. if not, then don't but at least watch this one.

Best haloween costume

Although many may disagree, and although this is a week too late, I thought I would share with you what I thought was the best, and most creative costume this haloween. A pumpkin made from two people!! Original and I bet you haven't seen this one done before!!

Illustrative type

This is some amazing and original work. Russian born Yulia Brodskaya's amazing illustrations are featured in the guardian, used by nokia, starbucks and orange. She experiments and explores ways of bringing together type, paper and hand crafted 3d objects. Beautiful.

Info Graphics...

Great inspiration for Information design. Mixing illustrative elements with design in new and unusual ways. It may all be in german but it is still a great source for inspiration... that and a book called "Data Flow"

Design Conversations...

Been a long time since we posted anything! Our apologies... damn work load!

This post is a website with a collection of thoughts from 30 of the worlds most inspirational creative professionals from a variety of professions, architecture, design, illustration etc. and they were asked two questions which they have been filmed answering.

What example of design inspires you most? and what problem should design solve next"

take a look :-)

johnsonbanks

We had a guest lecture last year from Michael Johnson. Ever since he has become a "hero" of mine. Check out his website and the thought of the week.

ISO50

I was introduced to this guys work last summer and it blows me away. Such fantastic illustrations. Scott Hansen works on everything from album covers, posters, magazines to snowboards. There is also a really cool soundtrack playing in the background to the site! Take a look and you wont be disappointed. Easily the best 5 minutes of your day.

Piano Stairs?

This is fantastic. A really innovative approach from VW trying to put

two completely different things together to make everyday boring

tasks more interesting. So what if it doesn't contain cars, it is

memorable and different. Follow the link to youtube where they have

also approached how to make people use bins more too! Would work

for me!

Behance

http://behance.net

I've been trying to think of something really inspiring to post for a while now, and it's only just occurred to me that I could actually link a whole fount of inspiration for you!

Behance has loads of categories for you to choose with some really great work... If you're looking for something to kick start that awful brief have a browse and you might find something interesting.

Once again, life made simple.

Thanks to Lawrence for pointing this out. It really does show how fantastic and innovative apple are and why they charge so much - to fund their R&D department!!! Take a look at the new mouse for your christmas list. They never cease to amaze me and make me think - why isn't that so simple- WHY hasn't it been done before!!! I could go on forever about how fantastic they are but i'm told i waffle too much :D

If you are determined enough...

Howard was one of my old friends from college. I am not just posting him up here because he is a friend - in fact, he doesn't know he is on here, but he is living proof that if you push for things and are determined, you will get where you want to be. Although he trained as a designer, his passion lay in wildlife photography and film. Every camera crew we saw wherever we went he would go up to and ask for work experience and talk about the equipment they were using. He got himself a job doing lighting at a theatre. He manipulated his foundation degree project to a job for a film company. He devoted all his spare time to it. All this determination lead to where he is now two years down the line working for Ammonite, a wildlife film company in Bristol, where he is assistant camera operator on projects for companies such as National Geographic and the BBC (in just two years!). He has just got back from Arizona and now travels all around the world doing what he loves.

In short, if you believe in what you do and have the determination to succeed you will make it.

Ryan Thompson

Although a graphic designer based in Scotland (with some pretty amazing and inspirational work), this is the image which most caught my attention. How do we really define what we are? Should we just be labelled as creative people. Do we really come under one category? As a Graphic Designer at the University I am expected to take my own photos or do my own illustrations or make my own films. Illustrators are expected to put together their own books and lay them out. Same with Photographers. There is no commissioning yet. This could open up a whole can of worms about who we really are and defining people (could be a pretty nice brief in there somewhere) but I just thought was quite a nice image.

Shellsuit Zombie

How to describe them in one sentence? "Shellsuit Zombie is a project run by graduates that encourages interaction between graduating students and the creative industry."

They are a group of graduates from Loughborough who are trying to do exactly as we are and provide a way of getting students more knowledgeable about the world of design and into the industry. They are the next step up from our society. I met them at the D&AD new blood show and they were really friendly and helpful. They run events and host a gallery of work on their website from students. They are just trying to do as we are and make the gap between a degree and industry small and how fantastic. Hopefully they will come and talk to us some time next year.

Take a look at their website - I'm positive they can help you in some way.

And keep your eye open for their really cool poster soon to appear in the designers society studio base - level 7.

FontFabric

After showing this to several different people over the last two days I thought they deserved a mention. FontFabric are a type foundry in Bulgaria launched last year who really stand out amongst the crowd. Not only are their fonts quirky and unusual but for each one they show them in context, combining photography, illustration and design to create something that looks amazing I know I probably would never be able to achieve!! And the best part is - 9/24 of their fonts are freeeeeee!

Evian babies

Something not only for the media art students but everyone out there. What a wacky advert! Evian do seem to come up with some really random but cool things.

Democracy

Our first post! Fantastic!

I thought I would point out a website which features a few of our committees work (Luke and Evan), plus has some really nice visuals for a competition brief based on the theme of 'Democracy'. The competition went on over the summer and I think you can still vote on your favourite designs which will appear in a book and exhibition later on in the year.

http://www.createdemocracy.com/home.html

Welcome to the Designers Society Blog!

The Designers’ Society has been created to help students of the University of Plymouth become the best designers they can be. The society offers free guest lectures to its members with a wide range of speakers showcasing their work and offering advice, talking about ideas, creative thinking, getting a job in the industry, working with real clients and everything else in between.

The designers society wants to get young designers from Plymouth heard amongst the crazy world that lies ahead as a career in the creative industry. The society also aims to get students work exhibited outside the university.

Another focus of the society is a range of competitions testing our design ability. These will cover a range of topics and outcomes and often feature cash prizes and the chance to have work produced on a large scale. Members also receive a reduced entrance fee to the 4 Designers Conference held annually in London, staying with our sponsor Jurys Inn at a reduced rate where you can go and listen to the top designers of our time.

The society has a membership to D&AD. We will also have a subscription to Creative Review that again students will have access to. We intend to hold exhibitions of work throughout the year.

The designers’ society is all about getting students throughout the university together, whether you are a typographer, illustrator, photographer, 3D designer, architect or any creative student within this university.

There will be an extensive social calendar throughout this academic year to bring together all creative people for a big knees up after a long day in the studio.

For more information, feel free to email or come talk to us.