Film- Corpse Bride

Tim Burton again, this time with a film in stop-motion animation. I like the attention to detail with the Victorian costumes and gothic architecture of the town. Like many of Burton's films, this is set in winter time and deals with another world- the world of the dead. A pretty dark theme, but dealt with in a light-hearted way that makes this film so enjoyable.

Film- Edward Scissorhands

I loved everything about this film. It is a classic Tim Burton film about an eccentric outsider, this time a man created by an inventor who died before he had chance to give him hands. Edward is sweet, quiet and completely naive about the way society works. He is taken in by a perky 1950's housewife and falls in love with her daughter.

The visual language in the film is very strong- the gothic castle of the benign professor who uses his great machines to make cookies is a direct contrast to the pastel coloured neighbourhood of the bored and bitchy housewives. Burton demonstrates the damage caused by narrow-mindedness and the sheep mentality in society and proves that outsiders can be loveable.

Film- This is England

This film is set in the north of England in the 80's and follows a young boy who becomes invloved in the National Front. The acting from a group of unknowns is amazing and really brings home the disturbing reality of skinhead culture in Thatcher's Britain. The locations used are often bleak- generic housing estates that could be anywhere and stretches of wasteland that make the film unmistakably English. On a lighter note, the wardrobe department have clearly had a lot of fun recreating the era that taste forgot!

It is interesting that although the film is rated an 18 (understandable considering the language used and graphic violence), some local councils decided to overturn this in order to reach the target audience of teenagers. Although set in the 80's, the theme of racism is very much relevant to teenagers and Im sure many won't be strangers to swearing and violence.

Ray Fenwick

http://www.coandco.ca/ray/

Some more hand rendered type! I also like Fenwick's illustrations which are often quite funny as well as featuring his quirky lettering.

Aubrey Beardsley

I was reading the blog of a deisigner (http://www.wiwimu.blogspot.com/) who mentioned Aubrey Beardsley as an inspiration. I was reminded how much I love Beardsley! Some of my favourite work of his is the illustration and typography in the book 'Le Morte D'Athur'.

Although this was published in Victiotian times, the stylistic devices used clearly reference medieval ideas. Monks used to make intricatley decorated manuscripts such as these in the middle ages, although they often used colour. Beardsley uses black and white to make his pictures dark and atmospheric, the high level of detail adding to these characteristics. I love the heavily gothic calligraphy of 'Book 1, Chapter 1' and all the details in the main body of text, such as using 'v' instead of 'u'.

This work was inspired by styles centuries before it's time, so there is no reason why it can't still be appreciated now.

tigerprint Website

Although Im not too sure about the products made by this company (they supply cards and gifts to Marks&Spencer), I do love their website. It has lots of nice moving bits and the menu is found by hovering the mouse over the spots on the various sized circles. The black and white colour scheme (with the odd bit of red) allows the childlike colours in the images to stand out, and I like the calligraphic logo. This is a high-tech but very friendly site which reflects the design of the company's products.

Credit to Cal, whose blog I found this site on!

Thou Shalt Always Kill

I heard this song by Dan le Sac vs Scroobius Pip on the radio a while ago- the lyrics are absolute genius. I think it's a fantastic satire of popular culture and I can identify with nearly every line (although if anyone understands the line about spelling the word phoenix, please explain!)

See the video on youtube at the link above, here are the lyrics:

Thou shalt not steal if there is direct victim.
Thou shalt not worship pop idols or follow lost prophets.
Thou shalt not take the names of Johnny Cash, Joe Strummer, Johnny Hartman, Desmond Decker, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix or Syd Barret in vain.
Thou shalt not think that any male over the age of 30 that plays with a child that is not their own is a peadophile… Some people are just nice.
Thou shalt not read NME.
Thall shalt not stop liking a band just because they’ve become popular.
Thou shalt not question Stephen Fry.
Thou shalt not judge a book by it’s cover.
Thou shalt not judge Lethal Weapon by Danny Glover.
Thall shalt not buy Coca-Cola products. Thou shalt not buy Nestle products.
Thou shalt not go into the woods with your boyfriend’s best friend, take drugs and cheat on him.
Thou shalt not fall in love so easily.
Thou shalt not use poetry, art or music to get into girls’ pants. Use it to get into their heads.
Thou shalt not watch Hollyoakes.
Thou shalt not attend an open mic and leave as soon as you're done just because you’ve finished your shitty little poem or song you self-righteous prick.
Thou shalt not return to the same club or bar week in, week out just ’cause you once saw a girl there that you fancied but you’re never gonna fucking talk to.

Thou shalt not put musicians and recording artists on ridiculous pedestals no matter how great they are or were.

The Beatles - Were just a band.
Led Zepplin - Just a band.
The Beach Boys - Just a band.
The Sex Pistols - Just a band.
The Clash - Just a band.
Crass - Just a band.
Minor Threat - Just a band.
The Cure - Just a band.
The Smiths - Just a band.
Nirvana - Just a band.
The Pixies - Just a band.
Oasis - Just a band.
Radiohead - Just a band.
Bloc Party - Just a band.
The Arctic Monkeys - Just a band.
The next big thing - JUST A BAND.

Thou shalt give equal worth to tragedies that occur in non-English speaking countries as to those that occur in English speaking countries.
Thou shalt remember that guns, bitches and bling were never part of the four elements and never will be.

Thou shalt not make repetitive generic music

Thou shalt not make repetitive generic music

Thou shalt not make repetitive generic music

Thou shalt not make repetitive generic music

Thou shalt not pimp my ride.
Thou shalt not scream if you wanna go faster.
Thou shalt not move to the sound of the wickedness.
Thou shalt not make some noise for Detroit.
When I say “Hey” thou shalt not say “Ho”.
When I say “Hip” thou shalt not say “Hop”.
When I say "he say, she say, we say, make some noise" - kill me.
Thou shalt not quote me happy.
Thou shalt not shake it like a polaroid picture.
Thou shalt not wish your girlfriend was a freak like me.
Thou shalt spell the word “Pheonix” P-H-E-O-N-I-X not P-H-O-E-N-I-X, regardless of what the Oxford English Dictionary tells you.
Thou shalt not express your shock at the fact that Sharon got off with Bradley at the club last night by saying “Is it”.
Thou shalt think for yourselves.

And thou shalt always kill.

Ruth Rowland

http://www.illustrationweb.com/RuthRowland/

Red and white make for a very striking image. The colours here are very appropriate because of the make up worn by the Geishas of Japan- by using only the lips, the picture is anonymous, whilst being intantly recognisable from a distance. The way Geisha's paint their lips make them even more heart shaped than is natural, although the image still retains the rough edges of the slightly imperfectly applied line. I also love the expressive typography used, which clearly references Japanese brush painting whilst retaining the modern element of the first 3 words of the title. All these elements express perfectly the themes of the book itself, so a very successful design.

The rest of Ruth Rowland's work is similar to this image in that she often uses a few bold colours, and always uses expressive, hand rendered typography. I was very inspired by Rowland's portfolio as she has worked for some very high profile clients (such as BBC1) whilst using hand rendered techniques and not being particularly 'trendy'.

Film- American Beauty

This film is not only visually stunning, it also has an amazing, original soundtrack and subject matter that is relevant to everybody. Throughout the film, the rose is used to great effect. The colour red signifies danger, blood and passion; everything lacking from the main character's (Lester) life. Below is a perfect example of it's use in a dream sequence, where a white bath full of red rose petals covers Lester's daughter's naked best friend. She is a forbidden pleasure- somewhat like the apple in the garden of eden (a red apple?).

Roses are also linked to beauty and perfection, which is why they are shown at the beginning with Lester's wife, Carolyn. They sum her up perfectly- beautiful to look at, but high maintenance and prickly beneath the beauty. Maybe the symolism is a little too blatant, but it does make for some very striking imagery.

Hellmann's Squeezy

www.hellmannssqueezy.com

I saw this advert on TV and was intrigued by the idea of a website. Do people really use things like this? I realised that it is actually a competition, so given the incentive, there are plenty of people willing to take part and upload clips of their skills.

The two men in the TV advert (and featured in the website demonstrating different tricks) are professional flairers who have transferred their skills from cocktails to sandwiches. I found the site amusing and I like the brand identity given to this product. It appears youthful and trendy- quite a feat for a brand of mayonnaise! While the packaging isn't particularly youthful, the website uses the bright yellow and blue to full effect, adding some funkier typography (Im a big fan of 'Hellmanns Squeezy' written across the top in mayonnaise).

Overall, I think this is a successful attempt to make Hellmanns squeezy trendy. Why buy any mayonnaise when you can buy a cool mayonnaise?

Zara Clothing Label

This really stood out amongst all the boring, high street clothing labels. The informal letter shapes re-inforce the idea of being environmentally friendly, whilst the capitals make sure the message is taken seriously. The reversed out lettering draws your eye to the most important part of the text and the textured stock feels like it could be recycled, further backing up the message.

New Designers- Self Promo

These are some of the more interesting business cards (clockwise from top left)

Phil Bowell: a humourous play on his own name which works because he has followed the concept right through, using the materials, typography and imagery to back up the coffee theme.

Rob Jelly: the outside is very simple, but the typography intrigues you and invites you to look closer. He is lucky to have an interesting surname otherwise this wouldn't be nearly as effective! When you look closer, it says 'squeeze me' in very small type, the result of which can be seen in the photo below. This unusual design makes Mr Jelly more memorable, even though there are no images on the card.

Taena Uemura: this card is great because it reflects the artist's style so well. The natural string on the natural-brown coloured card is like a personal tag on a present. The typography is hand-rendered and fits well with the line drawing of the rodent. Even without the illustration, the materials and typography give a real sense of what Uemura's work is like.

Fatime Szaszi: admittedly, I only chose this because I like the illustration, but it is an unusual size. She has also comitted the cardinal sin of leaving a white border round her work! I still like the illustration though...

Lucy Hill: another interactive card, there is a small folded illustration inside the brown paper sleeve (seen below). The hand is cut out of the paper, giving you an idea of the hand-rendered nature of Hill's work. I also like the typography- simple, printed caps with widely spaced letters.

Amy Lewis: uninspiring typography and a lack of anything unusual about the card itself. However, I think the artist has done a great job of cropping a piece of her work to raise interest without giving too much away. I probably only chose this one because I liked her style as well!

New Designers Exhibition- Illustrators

The exhibition was over a month ago, but I've finally got round to photographing the postcards I collected from my favourite illustrators.

Clockwise from top left:
Abi Hollman- taken from her work that is actually a textiles piece where the black lines are threads and the colour sections are pieces of material. Very striking with the bright colours and mix of textured and in a style that seams suited to the subject matter.

Cate Howes- I like her quirky collection of brightly coloured animals, which would probably be popular in a childrens book.

David Bennison- a pencil illustration of a medieval castle viewed from the ceiling. All Bennison's work is very detailed and uses unusual perspectives. I have a lot of respect for the skill involved, but I felt it was perhaps a little to similar to some of Escher's work to be truly original.

Man in a hat- I chose this for the fantastic hand rendered typography (it reads 'illustration to a different beat'). Very sixties flower-power, but given a modern twist with the black and white colour scheme.

Taena Uemura- Another illustrator of animals suited to childrens books. These are much more realistc and executed in much softer colours than those of Cate Howes. I chose this card because of the materials used- childlike watercolours and crudely scribbled colouring pencils which work because of the accurate forms.

Louise Dean- This illustration really stood out because the paler colours look amazing against the background of brown packing paper. I also like the strong middle-eastern feel carried through all elements of the illustration.

Pat Morley- I liked the black, white and grey and the simple forms of this work. Again, simple animal shapes that had been made into a children's book. Very sweet, but is there room for this number of children's illustrators who only draw animals?

AOI- Tim Ashton

I don't know how this has been created- is it a photograph or an illustration that has been combined with computer trickery? If anyone knows, please comment!
I like that at first glance, it could be a photo, but when you look closer everything is slightly surreal and looks strangely still for someone standing in front of a breaking wave. The seagulls in the skirt work well as they mirror the seagulls in the sky.

AOI- Vicky Newman

I love this advert for the ice rink at Somerset House. Without being over-sentimental, the artist has conjured up the image of Christmas with a winter wonderland scene that also incorporates the architecture of the building. Im not too sure about the stars, which look suspiciously like a simple photoshop brush, but I think they work when combined with the large blue area that looks like a ink splodge. The whole poster is very textural, but the limited colours prevent it looking too busy.

AOI- Vault 49

www.vault49.com

Im sure many people are aware of the design collective Vault 49. Even if they arn't, they have done a huge number of high profile jobs including material for McDonalds, the New York Times, GQ Magazine, Nike, E4 and loads more. Their style is quite similar to that of Sophie Toulouse where stylised photographs are combined with fantasy elements of swirls and plants. Some pieces look like Kaleidoscopes, placing products in this perfect fantasy land of flowers and butterflies. I think Vault 49 are so popular with companies because their style is modern, trendy and edgy whilst retaining a positive feel much of the time (although the two images I have chosen use quite dark colours, other work is much lighter and brighter).

AOI- Sophie Toulouse

Heavily digital, these illustrations are a little different to the usual, more hand rendered styles I tend to go for. I like the abstract flowing lines and floral forms, which don't appear too feminine because of the heavy use of black and white.

Association of Illustrators

www.theaoi.com

A great site to visit if you're interested in illustration as they have a section where you can browse through different portfolios then follow the links to the artists' own sites. The following posts are a few of my favourites.

Studio MIKMIK

I came across Studio Mikmik on somebody else blog and went to check out the website. I admire the eco-friendly aims of the designer- as pointed out on the site, improvements in technology now means that you can get a wide range of good quality recycled papers. There were a couple of different styles in the portfolio, but the simplistic flower designs were my favourite. The two posters have a definate Japanese flavour, but are very modern. I like how similar elements from the posters have been used in the identity for the 'Area' catalogue- I like to see companies using illustrative elements for their promotional material instead of simply photos of the products.

Book- No Cake, No Jam. Marian Hughes

I found this book quite shocking as it is the true story of the author as she grew up in London during World War 2. She starts in an orphanage but goes back to her mother who seems to have mental health issues that affect her ability to care for her children. There are tales of running away, abuse, shoplifting, getting arrested and being evacuated to the country. What I found unsettling was how accepting Marian is of everything that happens to her. She is incredible wilful and resourceful and never gives up her dream of 'happy families'. This book really made me realise just how easy my life is in comparison.