I don’t usually drool over cars and am far from a Top Gear fanatic but must admit to being rather impressed when I caught sight of these two concept beauties on display in Paris recently (although the Peugeot would definitely suit Guernsey’s weather rather more than Hyundai’s futuristic open air version!). Wonder when either will (ever) make it off the production line.
No CommentsTags: Design · Environmental · Science & Technology
Way back in 2000 Sodaplay was let free to roam the internet. I remember seeing and being amazed by all Java the creations that people had made; wire-frame, mechanical/organic constructs that ‘walked’ by way of perpetual motion. Anyone could create their own creature, adding limbs, movement and changing the psychics, it was fun and playful as well as educational.
However as the years past I forgot all about Sodaplay until I saw the Kinetic Sculptures called “Strandbeests” (Beach Creatures) by Dutch artist, Theo Jansen. They are Sodaplay creations in the wild, large skeletal works powered by the wind. Beautifully engineered their wings flap and legs scuttle, as they walk across sandy beaches, traversing both the wet sand near the shore and the softer dry sand higher up.
No CommentsTags: Art · Science & Technology · Web
Hot chip go further than most with the artwork for their albums. Their latest cover for ‘Made in the Dark’ has a lovely and elusive looking finish with an embossed, cracked effect for the centre circle, printed with bronze ink on top.
The previous album, The Warning, had a number of different variations of its artwork. The range of artwork for this was well connected using the same element of a block with a plank through it. There are apparently no less than 23 pieces centered around this element. I think it’s a great use of a simple element applied well to different concepts, producing a great collection of artwork.
This may be a couple of years old now but it’s still a great piece of animation. It was created by Alan Becker in 2006 and has now been updated with smoother graphics.
Click on the image, or the following link to view the animation, then click play and sit back and enjoy a piece of creative brilliance.
Alan has created version 2 of the animation which can be seen on his DeviantArt website: alanbecker.deviantart.com
1 CommentTags: Art · Illustration
If you’re at all interested in cutting edge design and technology, and how it’s being combined take a good look at the TED website. It has a wealth of interesting videos for your viewing pleasure.
TED stands for Technology, Entertainment, Design. It started out (in 1984) as a conference bringing together people from those three worlds. Since then its scope has become ever broader.
The annual conference now brings together the world’s most fascinating thinkers and doers, who are challenged to give the talk of their lives (in 18 minutes).
No CommentsTags: Design · Science & Technology · Web
We worked closely with the Guernsey Dairy to produce new branding and packaging for their existing product range, as well as new product launches.
We updated the brand with more modern, sophisticated image; products such as the Dairy’s ice cream were given a contemporary feel helping them sit comfortably on the shelve alongside international brands. A new website, range of print adverts and TV advert were designed to maximise consumer awareness of what is regarded as some of the finest milk in the world.
View our work for the Guernsey Dairy.
No CommentsTags: Branding · Clients · Design · Guernsey Dairy · Illustration · Packaging
Microsoft recently released a beta version of Silverlight 2 — their Flash player rival — and they’ve incorporated some features from Live Labs very cool Photosynth. Deep Zoom allows users to to view and explore very high-resolution imagery, ‘from a 2 or 3 megapixel shot from a digital camera to gigapixel scans of museum pieces’, in a smooth, fast and slick interface. As it’s a beta release it’s worth regularly checking for updates that might fix any bugs, or improve performance.
Wanting to have a little play I set about making my own Deep Zoom image using a photograph of our beautiful office (left). If you have Silverlight installed you can use it to zoom in close the the photograph below.
6 CommentsTags: Science & Technology · Web
Whilst at the Bristol Artists Book Event in 2007 at the Arnolfini I stumbled (not literally) across a very nice lady and her very nice typewriter. This was the illustrator Nadine Faye James, She was creating these amazing typed portraits. No photo was required, I sat for a couple of minutes and my letter-head was created.
I am incredibly happy with my portrait and its surprisingly cheap cost, a fantastic £1. It came in a little brown envelope which, also included a card with the text ‘Available for Weddings and Bar Mitzvahs’. So if you would like to add a bit of illustration and fun to your big day get in contact with Nadine Faye James.
Nadine is working as an illustrator and her clients include Random House, Bloomsbury and The Guardian. I recently saw a write up on her in Januarys Grafik magazine which was the review of the year issue, so I’m sure she is doing all the right things.
No CommentsTags: Art · Illustration · Typography
