Diesel Wall 2008

Massimo Falsaci’s wall piece, Tramonto (sunset), on display in Milan. Falsaci was one of last
year’s Diesel Wall winners
If you’ve ever dreamt of seeing your artwork displayed in the street on a giant-sized canvas, then Diesel’s Wall project could be the answer to your lofty ambitions. The project, now in it’s fifth year, aims to offer up some seriously huge display spaces in Manchester (Urbis Centre, shown below), New York, Barcelona and Zurich, in an international art contest.

Mind The Graphics

First Mike Figgis was enlisted to improve behaviour on the buses, now Transport For London has turned to graphic design in an attempt to make it easier to get on and off crowded tubes.

World Press Photo winners

World Press Photo of the Year 2007, Tim Hetherington
The winners of the 2007 World Press Photo Awards have been announced, with UK photographer Tim Hetherington taking the top award for his affecting photograph of a US soldier resting at “Restrepo” bunker (named after a soldier from his platoon who was recently killed by insurgents) in Afghanistan on September 16. The photograph was shot as part of an assignment by Hetherington for Vanity Fair.

Gondry’s Be Kind Rewind Leaves You Smiling

What better antidote to our cynical, mean-spirited world (I’m looking at you Sagmeister post commentators) than a good old fashioned life-affirming movie. Which is just what Michel Gondry’s new film, Be Kind Rewind provides…

Say I Love You With Rob Ryan

Yes, Valentine’s Day is almost upon us and we know you’re all lovers, not fighters (despite some of the comments in the Sagmeister post below), so what better to give that special someone than this rather lovely Rob Ryan print…

Things I Have Learned In My Life So Far

One of 15 covers for Stefan Sagmeister’s new book, published in March. Concept: Stefan Sagmeister. Design: Stefan Sagmeister, Matthias Ernstberger. Publisher: Abrams
Currently on show at Deitch Projects’ Grand Street gallery in New York is a new exhibition of work by Stefan Sagmeister. Entitled Things I Have Learned In My Life So Far, the show is a continuation of Sagmeister’s book of the same name, published by Abrams Books this spring.
The book is based on a list of maxims made by the graphic designer on his “experimental year” in 2000, where he took time out from working on commercial projects. While the maxims read as a mixture of wise pragmatism with philosophical reflection, they quickly became incorporated into projects for clients when Sagmeister’s office reopened, and it is 20 of these projects that form the book.

New Honda commercial

Problem Playground ad for Honda, Agency: Wieden + Kennedy London, Creatives: Sam Heath, Frank Ginger, Director: Antoine Bardou-Jacquet, Production company: Partizan
Following the huge success of Cog, Grrr, and Choir, it’s always interesting to see where Wieden + Kennedy will go next in its advertising for Honda. So it was exciting to receive their latest commercial for the brand at CR towers this morning.
Problem Playground introduces the new Honda FCX Clarity, the first zero-emission hydrogen car to go into production. The ad takes as its theme the idea of game-playing as a means of solving difficulties and is a continuation of the recent print campaign, which encouraged people online to a special website, problemplayground.com. On the TV spot, we find a bunch of boffins using retro children’s games, such as jigsaw puzzles and Rubik’s cubes, to illustrate engineering problems that have been solved by Honda, including the hybrid engine and energy efficient solar panels. They even slot in a small reference to Cog by creating a chain reaction with coffee cups and sugar cubes on a tea break.

Yugo Nakamura: The Craftsman

Nakamura’s personal site, yugop.com, works as a digital sketchbook, showcasing an extraordinary array of techniques. Shown here is OvalX3, from 2001.
In a world filled with bloated, work-a-day and downright irritating websites Yugo Nakamura creates compelling beacons of playful ingenuity and simplicity. MICHAEL FITZPATRICK caught up with Japan’s finest landscape- gardener-turned-designer for CR

Pursuit of Fiction

Studio F, 2006, 127x160cm, C-type print mounted under diasec, framed © Kathrin Kur 2008
We included one of Kathrin Kur’s images of film and television production spaces in our latest issue but thought we should share some of the other photographs from her series (currently showing at Photofusion in Brixton, London) on the blog. Kur focuses on the hidden machinery behind the creation of contemporary news, entertainment programmes and cinema. These are spaces for “mythmaking” as Kur has it and, while responsible for the creation of much of what we see on TV everyday, they are places rarely seen by viewers.

The changing man

Chris Palmer’s career has seen him go from dispatch rider to copy­writer to award-winning director.

Selfridges Signs Up

Cartlidge Levene have designed Selfridges’ new wayfinding system. Mark Sinclair spoke to them about navigating their way through such a large undertaking

Lost & Found

Erik Kessels’ compelling collections of found images are made more vital by their obsolescence.