In last year’s Candlelight Competition, lighting company Mathmos, in collaboration with 100% East and Metropolitan Works, invited designers to create ideas for a Mathmos product on the theme of candlelight. Winner Richard Lawson’s idea has now gone into production as the 9 Volts Lamp.
The relationship between printer and designer is a key, if fractious, one. We talk to GP’s Paul Hewitt about managing it
New York-based photographer Timothy Saccenti made his name documenting the Downtown music scene
Above is the cover of Kala, M.I.A.’s new album on XL Recordings. And isn’t it perfectly SuperSupersuited to the times? Brash use of colours: check. Seeming disregard for any classical design tenets: check… The artwork is a mix of M.I.A.’s own input along with graphics by Carri Mundane and Steve Loveridge. Photography by Janette Beckman, Liz Johnson-Artur, Michael Kamber and M.I.A. herself
We’ve seen lots of great sleeves in the last few weeks. Bright colours and illustrated forms seem to be flavour of the month…
“People said ‘what the f**k is that? It looks like a clown’s been sick’.” Not necessarily the response you might hope for when launching a new style magazine, but it didn’t worry Steve Slocombe. As creative director of the fiercely trendy Super Super, Slocombe is used to being, shall we say, “challenged” about his work…
Understanding (detail) by Samantha Briggs, Camberwell College of Art
Following on from my post on some of the best photography we’d seen at the recent graduate degree shows, we’ve now picked some of our favourite pieces of work shown by illustrators. As you’ll see, there were a huge range of techniques and styles on show, not to mention big differences in scale: from Sawa Tanaka’s delicate rice paper prints, to Samantha Briggs’ enormous drawn installation at Camberwell College of Arts. Shown above is a detail from Briggs’ piece, Understanding, an axonometric drawing examining the atmosphere and familiarity of structured space (a supermarket), which took up an entire wall at the college.
“What the hell are you doing?” asked my editor when he spotted me, clearly on MySpace and watching an embedded movie of a girl writhing around on her bed wearing next to nothing. “Oh, this?,” I stuttered. “Erm, it’s a new campaign for Elle Macpherson’s Intimates range of lingerie,” I responded. “Honest.”
You remember the Coca Cola ad where the guy puts his coin in a vending machine, inside of which a combination of bizarre creatures and whirling machinery comspire to happily bottle the fizzy brown stuff and make sure it’s icy cold before it’s delivered out the chute? Well, Wieden + Kennedy, Amsterdam have created a follow up er, film (it’s three and a half minutes long) called Happiness Factory – The Movie…
An ad promoting the joys of not being subjected to advertising might seem a contrary notion, but this is the premise behind the new Sky Movies Billboards spot, which emphasises the lack of advertising breaks on Sky’s film channels.
The spot was filmed in São Paulo, which, as CR reported in our June issue, is currently enjoying a hiatus from billboard advertising after a “Clean City” directive from the city’s mayor, Gilberto Kassab, which banned all outdoor advertising, including shopfronts. As a result São Paulo was left with numerous empty billboard structures, which without their signage appear ghostly and oddly beautiful.
Recent graduate of Cumbria University, Rick Banks, has created a set of Top Trumps style cards where classic typefaces are the subject matter – hence the name, Type Trumps…
Hornbill by Martin McMillan (Salisbury College)
In the September issue of CR (out next week) we devote six pages to the best work from the recent college degree shows. But we’re also going to feature some of the great work we saw here on the blog. We have a large selection of graphic design, typography and illustration work to come but – first up – photography.
T-shirt graphics come to life in this fun video for Justice track D.A.N.C.E. directed by Jonas and Francois of French production company 75
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
The Autumn 2024 issue of Creative Review looks at the brands and individuals who are pushing creativity forward on their way to the top
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
As the &Walsh founder launches her agency’s new offshoot Type of Feeling, she discusses why typography’s ability to evoke emotions makes it one of the most powerful tools at a brand’s disposal
Kinda Studios is tapping into the emerging field of neuroaesthetics to help creatives and brands make more impactful work that benefits people’s wellbeing