A timely release from Steidl brings together John Duncan’s photographs of bonfires built by Protestant communities in Belfast, Northern Ireland to be lit the evening before the annual July 12 celebrations. Each is depicted as an unlit, imposing structure piled together from wooden pallets and tyres. While post-ceasefire political progress has been lauded in the past decade, these images reveal the divisions that remain within parts of Belfast…
Faber Finds is a recently launched service offered by publisher Faber and Faber that utilises digital print technology and affordability to make out-of-print books available once more. Basically, a book is only printed when someone orders it – and, thanks to some clever generative programming by Universal Everything collaborator Karsten Schmidt (undertaken through his own studio, postspectacular.com), each cover printed promises to be totally unique. Various decorative elements designed by Marian Bantjes are arranged by the programme into a decorative border around the book’s title and author. The latter appear in a bespoke font, b-hmmnd, designed by Build’s Michael Place…
“Glory to the great October!” A Russian poster commemorating the 1917 Revolution,
from Steven Heller’s new book, Iron Fists: Branding the 20th-Century Totalitarian State
In Iron Fists, an illustrated survey of totalitarian visual propaganda, Steven Heller offers an insight into the visual representations of Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Communist USSR and China writes Katya Kan. Heller’s argument centres around the idea that totalitarian imagery is based on the potential of brand devotion. “Like any corporate identity campaign,” he writes, “the totalitarian regime demands the brand loyalty of its subjects.”
In his new book, Heller discusses how posters, magazines and advertisements were used within the visual systems of these dictatorships, alongside more formalistic elements such as typefaces and colour palettes…
The UK Music Video Awards is a new awards scheme celebrating, um, the UK music video scene. The event takes the place of the recent CADS awards, and will include a gala awards night held at the Odeon West End in London’s glittering Leicester Square on October 14.
The deadline for entering the awards is August 12, and videos eligible for entry are for singles released in the UK after May 1 2007 and before July 31 2008. For a list of categories and further info, visit ukmva.com (where you can also see the awards’ rather fine logo in animated form).
A poster for Barack Obama’s speech in Berlin yesterday. But was
there substance beneath this well-honed visual styling?
Standing amidst a crowd of 200,000 Berliners yesterday, writes CR contributor Daniel West, Barack Obama was Jean Baudrillard’s messiah. As his sermon boomed over the Tiergarten, our presence was explained: this was a pilgrimage to postmodernism, not politics. We came to snatch a tiptoe glimpse of the man who has dominated our inboxes, TVs and newspapers. A man whose logos and slogans and soundbites have so comprehensively flooded our collective consciousness. We came to witness reality. But Obama’s performance was not a speech, it was a simulacrum…
If you’re unfamilar with David Rees’ hilarious comic strip, Get Your War On, then check out his vast archive of biting Clip Art satires that lay into, among other things, the War on Drugs, the War on Terror, Dubbya, McCain, Obamania et al. Now there’s an animated version – set to appear on 236.com each week. If this taster is anything to go by, the trademark simplicity and tone of Rees’ ilustrations has been maintained while the dialogue is as razor sharp as in his original three-frame strips. Thanks to Coudal’s blog for the link.
With animation from Jamie Hewlett and music by Damon Albarn, BBC Sport’s new campaign for their Olympics coverage is based upon the traditional Chinese folklore tale, Journey to the West by Wu Cheng’en – probably more familiar to UK viewers through its TV incarnation, Monkey Magic!, itself an English language version of the 1970s Japanese show, Saiyūki. In the BBC’s trailer, Monkey and the inimatable Pigsy make their way on a Journey to the East, ultimately to the bird’s nest-like National Stadium in Beijing.
Label artwork, Head 6, by Tom Price
From 1st August until Christmas, bottles of Beck’s beer will be adorned with the work of four emerging artists – thanks to a new scheme called Beck’s Canvas, a collaboration between the German brewery and London’s Royal College of Art…
Set to be the Alan Sugar of the design world, Philippe Starck is seeking applicants for a new BBC Two show, School of Design. (NB: This image has nothing to do with the programme, don’t worry)
BBC Two and Philippe Starck are looking for candidates to take part in a new six-part Apprentice-style TV series, School of Design. It’s premise is to discover new British design talent and ten designers will be chosen to live and work in Paris for two months, alongside the illustrious French designer. The selection will be then whittled down to one lucky winner who will earn a contract at Starck’s studio. Those wishing to apply should fill out the online application form here and be prepared to submit two drawings by the end of August. The series is scheduled to air in January of next year.
Poster by Michael Vanderson from UCCA Maidstone’s BA illustration degree show
Walking around New Designers last week, we were really impressed with the BA illustration work on show from University College of the Creative Arts, Maidstone. Their degree show, Drawn, was also expertly put together, complete with posters, t-shirts and catalogues that supported the exhibition. Here’s a few pictures from the show…
Indecision – an interactive hyper-videoblog story by Rupert Howe
Maybe you all know this already, but YouTube has recently added some new features to the site, under the rather dry title of YouTube Annotations, which allow you to add interactive commentary to your films. Another possibility is to add hyperlinks from your film to others, as is demonstrated in this sweet videoblog by Rupert Howe – watch the film until near the end, when it comes over all choose-your-own-adventure…
Update: As Rupert has noted below, you have to watch the video on YouTube itself to get the hyperlink bits to work (ah technology, why must you always be so complex?). Click here to view the effect in action.
Stills from Digital Club’s film, Mare Street E8, which the duo created using their Creative Futures bursary
For almost 20 years, Creative Review has been encouraging the next generation of talented creatives through our annual Creative Futures scheme in which we celebrate the promise of a selection of emerging talent in visual communications.
This year’s crop of Futures were selected by the CR editorial team – our only criteria were to find individuals or teams who we feel have an extremely bright future ahead of them and who are indicative of the future direction of the industry.
Just before Christmas, each of our selected Futures gave a talk at one of three Creative Futures events. We invited everyone coming along to the talks to bring a piece of work with them – an image, some text, even a piece of music. We then asked each of our Futures to produce a new piece of work responding to the experience of being selected for the scheme, giving their talk and to the work brought along. These projects were funded by a bursary provided to each Future by CR and PlayStation. Over the next few days we will be posting up the resulting pieces of work – below is Digital Club’s animation…
One of the most respected and trusted awards for the advertising and design industries are back for 2025. Run, don’t walk to get your entries in before the Early Bird Deadline on 25 October
Growth is a dream for many businesses, but it comes with challenges. Daisy Crowder, brand and marketing director at design recruitment agency Craft, offers advice on how to navigate the change and keep staff on side
The Danish luxury fashion label has spearheaded the characterful evolution of Scandi style. Here, chief brand officer Priya Matadeen discusses its approach to collabs, the pressures of being a responsible brand, and how Ganni Girls grew from a hashtag to a badge of belonging
Brands are saying sorry at a more rapid rate than ever. CR’s advertising columnist Ben Kay delves into why sorry is no longer the hardest word and whether this is an effective strategy for winning audiences
By loosening its approach to advertising, and engaging with its audience directly, the drinks brand has transformed with the times and won a whole new set of fans
Kelly Grovier’s new book charts the artist’s persistent dialogue with classic and contemporary art
We speak to Lego’s VP of global brand development Alero Akuya about the brand’s rare ability to straddle the physical and virtual worlds with ease – whether through its immersive new art exhibition in Paris or collaborations with Epic Games and Nike
The Pentagram partner has created the titles for the acclaimed new Netflix show, which reimagines the Greek myths in a contemporary setting
A new book from Reel Art Press collates the first comprehensive history of film posters. We explore why they remain an underappreciated area of cultural design
Mark Sinclair talks to the artist and designer about his new book, Lost Ordinary Magic, and the importance of recognising the power of simplicity and the everyday wonders that surround us
We explore how the 90s, an era the UK looks favourably upon for its thriving culture, are continually inspiring a stagnated creative industry
The band’s surreal new album visuals explore a darker, more grotesque side of romance. We speak to the creative team behind the campaign about challenging the visual tropes of rock music