Technical Ecstasy: Hipgnosis Portraits

Famed for its surrealist sleeve design, Hipgnosis also took rock portraiture into altered states. In our recent May issue, Adrian Shaughnessy reviews a recently published book exploring the enduring influence of Hipgnosis imagery.

Ads of the Week

This week’s ad round-up is full of weird and wonderful campaigns, from a cinematic epic for mustard brand Maille to a clever digital campaign for Battersea Dogs & Cats Home, which sees a dog follow would-be owners around the billboards of East London’s Westfield Centre. First up though, a witty sticker campaign for Snickers, which highlighted ‘fail moments’ around New York City…

The Secret Life of the Pencil

In our digital world, the humble pencil still holds a certain allure, as demonstrated in a new photographic series by Alex Hammond and Mike Tinney. The duo has shot close-up images of the pencils used by a variety of artists, writers, and designers (including Sir Paul Smith, above left, and Stephen Fry, right), with the individual quirks of the tools revealing much about the personalities of their owners…

New type: Face37, Stefan Kjartansson, Leicester Print Workshop, Colophon & more

Our latest pick of new typography includes a digital version of Milton Glaser’s stencil typeface by Rick Banks, a project to document Leicester Print Workshop’s letterpress collection, new releases from Robert Holmkvist and Stefan Kjartansson and a new online type foundry selling work by students at Lausanne’s University of Art and Design.

Music Videos of the Month

There were so many great videos this past month that it’s been hard to whittle them down to a decent-sized list. But here, for your pleasure, are our 11 favourite promos from April… Give them all a go, I promise it will be worth it.Watch them all, I promise it will be worth it.

New Honda ad mixes science and emotion

Honda has been producing some technical beauties in its advertising of late. First we had mcGarrybowen London and Chris Palmer’s neverending ad for the CR-V, and now Wieden + Kennedy London has teamed up with director Johnny Hardstaff to create a spot for the Civic which aims to emphasise how the brand’s precision engineering can add up to an emotional ride…

Designing Alice’s Adventures Underground

We talk to Alice’s Adventures Underground director Oliver Lansley and designer Samuel Wyer, of theatre company Les Enfants Terribles, who have brought an ambitious new immersive show to the cavernous Vaults under London’s Waterloo station.

Walking the walk: how The New York Times Magazine’s recent ‘walking issue’ cover was made

For The New York Times Magazine’s recent Walking New York issue, the design and photography team created its most ambitious cover to date in a collaboration with artist JR. An image of 20 year-old Elmar Aliyev was printed across 62 strips of paper, pasted onto the street in the early hours of a morning and photographed from a helicopter. Here, design director Gail Bichler tells us how it all came together

So you want to be a freelance illustrator?

In his new book Champagne and Wax Crayons, illustrator and art director Ben Tallon offers some wise advice for students, graduates, and creatives interested in freelancing. Below are a series of extracts from the book, offering some helpful tips on charging for work, choosing an agent, building your network and finding your style.

Ads of the Week

Opening this week’s new ad round up is a powerful film from TBWA London for the charity Ataxia UK, which uses a striking visual effect to demonstrate the struggles that sufferers face…