Thursday 23 June 2011

Postage stamp design: a reflection of national design culture
















The Royal Mail have released these stamps to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Royal Shakespeare Company. An audacious contemporary design by Hat-Trick.
Meanwhile La Poste has produced another kitsch design, amateur watercolors of tourists Paris.
A sad statement about commitment to design and future vision.

Typography Insight iPad app


Typography Insight - excellent typography iPad app by Dong Yoon Park.
Sent from my iPad

Saturday 18 June 2011

From $35 to $1 million, the Swoosh story


The Nike swoosh created by designer Carolyn Davidson for Phil Knight and his fledgling Nike brand cost $35 in 1971. When first presented, Phil's comment was 'Well, I don't love it, but maybe it will grow on me'...
Today the Nike brand is worth $10.7 billion (Interbrand), the most valuable sports brand in the world. Knight is not only a outstanding entrepreneur, he is also a world class philanthropist. He has donated $230 million to the University of Oregon, $100 million to its Athletics Fund, $105 million to Stanford Graduate School and $100 million to the Oregon University Cancer Institute.
In 1983 he organized a party for Carolyn, gave her a diamond and gold Swoosh ring and an envelope containing 500 Nike shares, which today are worth... nearly $1 million. Just share it!

Tuesday 14 June 2011

Canadian Olympic Brand launched






















Branding for the Canadian Olympic Team by Ben Hulse and the Canadian Olympic Committee. Interesting play on the iconic Maple Leaf.

Friday 10 June 2011

f3 design workshop 'form follows function'



Some of the work realized during my f3 packaging design workshop class with 4th year design students at the Ecole Bleue Paris.
SoupE by Monica turns the stratification of soup ingredients into a design feature that communicates ingredients and flavour.
Live(s) by Loic is a biodegradable 'last package' funeral urn that enables reincarnation in the form of a tree.

Simon at 51 logotype

Our logotype for Simon@51

Block Drugs - Classic East Village NY signage

Classic image and signage by leborkin from www.fab.com design auction site.

Wednesday 8 June 2011

Origine vs Hexagonale...











Latest on the Origine France logotype: turns out there already exists a Made in France logo in the form of La Fabrique Hexagonale. Of course this does not mean anything to anyone outside France or any non French speakers (perhaps a weak point for a logo promoting French manufacturing?) but at least it is visually quite strong.
Oh, and still no reply from OFG concerning the designer. Seems they are as strong in communication and PR as in branding design...!

des!gn think!ng for iPad

Now follow des!gn think!ng on iPad
Sent from my iPad

London Underground typeface

Everything is type and type is everything. Tim Fishlock's amazing typeface is created using details of Harry Beck's seminal London Underground map.

Monday 6 June 2011

Sugamo Shinkin Bank by Emmanuelle Moureaux

Love the very graphic treatment of Sugamo Shinkin Bank by Tokyo based Emmanuelle Moureaux architects. The luminous glow of reflected colour on the projecting white horizontal strata of the buildings volume is magical. Graphics and space in symbiosis.

Origine France Garantie logotype

19 May saw the official unveiling at the Assemblée Nationale of the new Origine France logotype. The stated objectives being the promotion of French industrial and artisanal 'savoire-faire' and a standard to identify French origin for domestic and export markets.

Disappointing to discover the outcome of 18 months reflection on the subject in this indistinctive and dated looking design. The message and national identity is a lot clearer in the origin logotypes of France's principal market competitors. No mention of the designer or agency is made in the press announcement. I am awaiting a reply to this from Origine France.
And what is that chisel tip 'marker' style typeface?