A little piece of architecture to throw into the mix. Hong Kong architect Gary Chang, did not want to give up his 344 sq. ft. apartment that he has lived in since a young boy, with his parents, sisters and yes even a tenant. Hong Kong is over populated so space costs money, most apartments are small and this is acceptable. Gary Chang decided to make his apartment work for him, and through his knowledge and expertise in his craft of architecture he created a home that consists of one room, that though a mirrored ceiling, he created sliding panels and walls that ‘transform’ into 24 different rooms, and it is all green living. Gary Chang calls his masterpiece “Domestic Transformer”. It is unbelievable.

Warmth is invisible. Director Olivier Babinet alongside Lovo Films and TBWA Brussels wanted to create a film that made warmth visible. This piece is for natural gas, and through the use of wool, Babinet wanted to create a story of motion that shows the gradual heating of a house in the morning through natural gas. The scenes are created by going backwards, the scenes are covered with sheets of knitted wool which are then pulled. A beautiful, warm and innovative concept, that is such a simple technique which creates a beautiful piece of stop motion. This film took a month to prepare, 4 days and nights to shoot and had an impressive crew of 40 strong. The entire piece is created via the beautiful technique of stop motion, and it took four cameras to capture this. An incredible piece of motion design, that definitely managed to do all it set out to do.

Film maker Steven Nicolas Smith took to the streets of Philadelphia and asked people to complete one sentence, “I am…”.

Smith then made a montage from the answers of the participants, delving deeper into the stories of those who cared to share more via delicately deep poetry, accompanied by visual imagery bringing you closer to the subject. It is a heartfelt, honest piece, that explores the inner being of the human race. A beautiful piece that depicts the inner thinking of people, and proceeds to explore the depths the unsuspecting public are willing to share with a complete stranger, and in front of a camera.

(found via NY Times)

This semester we were given a live project- to rebrand a local printers to provide them with the best exposure possible. Their current brand is a mish mash of a hoarding culture of their history. Currently they have 3 different logos, each very different, each showing the progression of the company. I wanted to simplify their brand and provide the company with one simple design that would be instantly recognisable to them.

I decided to simply the entire look and feel, choosing to go with the simple ‘N&B’. I hand rendered and design a unique ampersand for Nicholson and Bass, the rights of which would be theirs. This would give them instant brand recognition from a single character in their logo. They are a printers to many facets of the design community, but mainly do print for fine art companies. I wanted the brand to marry both the print and fine art community. The ampersand was my way of doing so, I took inspiration from the Baskerville Ampersand but with my own modern twist. After doing so then intertwined it with the N and B to show the close knit relationship ethos of the company. Out of 50 people I was shortlisted by the company within the top five.

This is the proposal booklet, I hand made and handed in to the company as a summary of my brand strategy.

The first project I want to share with you is the outcome of my Research and Writing module.  It is a pre-run to the third year dissertation. For this module we had to chose the topic we are going to write about in our dissertation and we had to write a 3,000 word essay on our chosen topic, which also had to designed and handed in via hard copy.

Previously I have written two essays, one on design icon Paul Rand and the other on the effects of technology on the future of design. I wanted to delve further into the design industry with this essay, and choose a topic I knew very little about. I also wanted my subject choice to be controversial to keep my interest and draw me into its depths. After reading through many journals and crossing out many dissertation topics I happened to come across an article on the Design Observer Website by Michael Bierut called the‘The Graphic Glass Ceiling’. This article highlighted the lack of female influence within the design industry and how few female designers have not managed to get high ranking positions in firms worldwide. It delves into this dark gender gap highlighting that discussion panels world wide are male dominated. Reading it made me quite angry, and once I digested it I realised the honesty and openness within the article. When I list my favourite designers they are male, when I began to think of design icons, males lead the count.

I instantly chose this as my topic as I wanted to delve further and understand the industry I had wanted to enter for 10 years. Was there a future for me? Should I just throw in the towel now? After writing the essay I am still confused. Milton Glaser has been my design icon since I can remember and I was horrified to read his thoughts on the issue, when asked at a conference, although his thoughts are just honest and truthful. He said:

“women get pregnant, have children, go home and take care of their children. And those essential years that men are building their careers and becoming visible are basically denied to women who choose to be at home… Unless something very dramatic happens to the nature of the human experience then it’s never going to change.” About day care and nannies, he said, “None of them are good solutions.”

Once I explored this topic further I discovered that the gender gap was predominant back as far as the opening of the Bauhaus in Germany. Female students were slowly withdrawn from all arts and placed into textiles as the tutors and masters feared that if they were to succeed in the other arts such as architecture, metal work, painting that they would take jobs in the industry that they felt should be taken by males. After reading both sides of the argument, I feel that it is up to female designers as individuals to strive to be the best they can be and shed this stereotype and make the issue nothing more than a myth.

I felt that my essay was a strong argument in itself that I decided to go for an extremely simple layout, of three columns. I also chose a small format for the size; A5 landscape and I wrote it for women about women and I wanted a size that could fit comfortably into a woman’s purse. Just to assert the talents of the female I printed the entire booklet myself, binding it by hand too. I chose three different stocks matt, silk and a canvas. Let me know what you think.

I would love to hear everyones thoughts on the subject.

I absolutely adore this advertisement. It was created back in 2009 for the Volkswagen Independent Cinema Sponsorship campaign. It was the brainchild of London advertising agency by DDB London. An MOT Slip from 1985 that shows that the DeLorean fails its MOT due to body modifications!  It hilarious, in one of the comment boxes it mentions the Flux Capacitor, which was unable to be checked as it was unknown what it was for.  It is a very well executed piece of advertising, extremely witty and light hearted, and just throws you back in time a great timepiece and a great piece of nostalgia that successfully targets its desired audience.  I delved in further into VW advertising and discovered that this wasn’t the first VW vs DeLorean advert. In the 70′s they had Roger Moore as James Bond, take on the two, quite a funny ad!

OFFSHOOT is brought to you by The Small Print, the same people who brought you 3 day event OFFSET 2009 in Dublin, at the end of last year. Introducing OFFSHOOT on the 22 April in Dublin, is part one of a special series of nights which will bring together local and international creatives, who will speak about their work.

This first event will present the talents of:

Dublin Based design studio New Graphic. (I have heard these speak before and they are hilarious)
www.newgraphic.ie

Serge Seidlitz an illustrator who currently resides in London whom has created work for MTV and Cartoon Network.
www.sergeseidlitz.com

Tomm Moore who is co-Founder and Creative Director of Cartoon Saloon. One of his features ‘The Book of Kells’ was even Oscar Nominated.
www.cartoonsaloon.ie

The event is limited to 300 tickets, and the tickets cost €8, so get in quick… BUY TICKETS

An amazing event happening the 1st April at The Sugar Club, Dublin.  Pecha Kucha is 10 speakers, 20 slides each, and 20 seconds to speak about each slide.  It is an amazing night, light hearted, quick and fun.  It appeals to creatives in all areas, and its freedom means those who do not come from a creative background, could find joy in the night.  The line up this time is amazing, I am especially looking forward to hearing Chris Judge speak, his illustration is breath taking.  So if anyone is interested feel free to go along.  Pecha Kucha 4 was an unbelievable night, so if it is anything to go by, you are missing out if you don’t attend this one.

Typeface

Where: Conor Lecture Theatre, UU York Street Campus
Date: Thursday 25th March 2010
Doors: 7pm,
Tickets: £5

I just wanted to give a shout out about this amazing screening that is taking place at the University of Ulster Belfast in the next few weeks. The above video is a trailer for the film which focuses on The Hamilton Wood Type Museum in Two Rivers, a Midwestern Museum and print shop where international artists meet retired craftsmen. The film explores traditional technique and modern design, the combination of the historical and contemporary. One weekend every month the silence of the museum is interrupted by the buzz of fellow mid west artists whom drive across country to partake in print workshops. The unfortunate truth is that this magnificent museums days are numbered.

“A film about perseverance and preservation in the heart of America.”
BUY tickets here!

This is a must see website. It is probably the best interactive website I have ever visited. It is plain, simple, to the point yet extremely fun.

The website was launched this month and was designed by Swedish interactive production company Kokokaka. It was designed to debut Wrangler’s Blue Bell Jean Spring Collection. Without giving too much away, the website is designed to allow the viewer to interact with the model using drag on your cursor. You get to see the clothes in action, try before you buy almost! Intrigued? Well go check it out, it can be enjoyed on many levels, it is for a male line but to me seems aimed at a female audience but from a design aspect it is pretty amazing, puts the power of flash websites to a whole new level! You can also download scenes, music from the site too. A site to remember! Let me know your thoughts on it! I love it!

I recently received the most exciting package in the post. I have never been so excited or nervous of receiving post in my entire life. I do not think I have ever opened a piece of mail so fast. ( I also don’t think I have seen a package sealed with so much glue.) I had tracked this parcel for four days as it traveled from one side of Europe to another via FedEX. I will upload the parcels contents once I get pictures later on this evening.

Banksy’s New Film ‘Exit Through The Gift Shop’, debuts at the Sundance Film Festival this Sunday (24th January). In the past Sundance have shown films by unknown artists but with this film Banksy is making history at Sundance as they have never shown an anonymous film. When I first saw the trailer I did not take it seriously I thought that it was just a joke, but no it is an actual documentary, you will see what I mean when you watch it.

The Sundance press release on this film is as follows:

“Los Angeles–based filmmaker Terry Guetta set out to record this secretive world in all its thrilling detail. For more than eight years, he traveled with the pack, roaming the streets of America and Europe, the stealthy witness of the world’s most infamous vandals. But after meeting the British stencil artist known only as “Banksy,” things took a bizarre turn.

Sundance has shown films by unknown artists but never an anonymous one. Banksy turns the tables on the only man who has ever filmed him, creating a remarkable documentary that is part personal journey and part an exposé of the art world with its mind-altering mix of hot air and hype.“

It is 89 minutes long and Rhys Ifans even narrates it. Definitely a film to see and it does claim to be ‘the worlds first street art disaster movie’.