websites, typography and the end of term!

Been busy with my web design module this week, helping my friend Gus build a website. It's currently online, but yet to have all the content added. Check it out here. I'm going to be spending some time with him over the xmas period polishing it off.

While helping gus design his site it has got me thinking about this one a bit, and I've decided I want to change it. I think its a bit ugly, and detracts from the images.

this is my new design idea, a lot simpler and cleaner but still with a strong sense of identity.

Also finished my type module this week, and I'm really pleased with the outcome. It's a pamphlet guiding the reader through the nitty gritty side of type design which folds out into an A2 poster. Unfortunately I've had to hand it in for marking before taking any pictures, but I will stick some up when I get it back after xmas.

Finally, today is the last day of term!

Its been pretty stressful this year, and despite having a few projects to work on over christmas I'm looking forward to turning down the stress-o-meter a notch or two!

It's book O'clock!

Hello!
Just a quick overview of some of the books I've been looking at recently as research for various projects.
First up is the 'Buro Destruct" book.

Contemporary, clean swiss graphic design with an emphasis on typography. Despite being only a small studio of five or six people, they have built up an international reputation and work for a whole variety of clients.

Next up is 'Poster Design',

Showcasing the best of modern poster design, it features work in a wide variety of styles, and has some great typography in it.

Then we have the Josef Muller-Brockmann book 'Pioneer of Swiss Graphic Design'

Muller-Brockmann was one of the leading designers of the 'swiss style' during the 1950s &1960s. This book features all his best and most experimental work. I really like the simplicity and cleanness of the swiss style, and it still looks contemporary to this day.

Finally, we have 'hand job', and I actually bought this one!
It's by New York based artist Mike Perry, and is a catalog of hand rendered type styles. Needless to say I love it, and I'm glad I forked out some money for once! I really enjoy hand drawn type, in the day and age of computers it is such a rarity that people can be bothered to make the effort! I'm going to try and do more of this in the future!

Oh and finally, I've started work with illustrator Gus Farnes on his portfolio website. We've registered a domain, and I've put a mini disco there while we construct the site. Everything going well it should be online in about two weeks.
www.lookatmelookatme.co.uk

Ta-raa x

Recent Activity!

I've been working hard and fast on our typography project at college, I'm making a pamphlet that gives a basic guide to typesetting. It folds out, and on the reverse side their is a poster. This is my first draft for it.

Some minor fettling and that should be ok. I'll post some pictures of the whole printed thing when it's finished.

Found these this week,

illustrations by Linzie Hunter, the inspirations comes from spam emails she receives. It's nice to see somebody turn something so annoying and invasive into something fun and pleasant! I'm getting really into hand drawn type recently, it's so fun and lively, a visual rarity.
Have a look at her website here.
See more of the spam illustrations here.

On the subject of hand drawn type, this was left unused from my recent batch of work for Dig Magazine. Thought it would be nice to show it on here.

Still needs a bit more work to be honest, but I like it.

Been really into to these guys recently, discover upnorth.

Great selection of original type styles. And an interesting mix of clients. It's good to see small commercially successful type design agency's like this, I want to get into doing more stuff like this!

Finally... Here is a Xmas card I've been designing to send out to a few friends and family members who feel similar to the way I do about Xmas! I love spending more time with my friends and family, I'm into eating lots of food and drinking sherry, but... I'm really not a fan of everybody buying each other useless presents because they feel they "have to". So for the last few years I have boycotted Santa Claus, and told everybody I know not to buy me anything. Instead I try and do a "monthly special act of thoughtfulness & generosity", where I treat my friends or family because the opportunity is right, not because "it's the done thing". So anyway, here is my fictional characters birthday card (aka Christmas). (I much prefer the pagan idea of celebrating the summer and winter solstice, at least it's tangible!)

Oh yeah, and Santa Clause used to be green before coca-cola turned him red. Oh and coca-cola created the Fanta brand for the nazis (true story). In other Christmas trivia, a few centuries ago, Christian fundamentalists tried to ban Christmas! They asserted (quite correctly by their own lights) that the 25 December had no biblical connection with the birth of their messiah and that the Christmas festival was therefore essentially pagan.

Win some, lose some.
xx