Linzie Hunter

Linzie Hunter is a London based illustrator, her quirky and fun approach to illustration caught my eye! I was attracted to her work by the imaginative use of bright colours used to create a trademark signature style evident throughout all of her work!  Recently she posted scans on Flickr of a collection of her unique hand lettering displaying a unique fun approach to typography.  "I have a stupidly large felt tip pen collection in more colours, weights and nibs than I'll probably ever need!" (Hunter)

Her website

Flickr

Comic enthusiasts take note

First ever Fantastic Four cover

First ever Beano cover

An online resource that provides an archive of seemingly every comic cover ever published. Aesthetically the site doesn't look anything special, but very useful to note down for future research purposes!

coverbrowser.com

Groan inducingly seductive!

The 50 best pun shop signage list was complied recently by the Best Week Ever blog.

Cringeworthy!...it's difficult to sift through and find out how this could ever be of any practical use, but just for fun this is fully worth a look!

view the list

Word clouds

An online toy ('Wordle' a personal project by Jonathan Feinburg IBM research) that produces ' word clouds' from any given text. Be it random copy, lyrics, quotations e.t.c. You can select font, colour, layout - hours of fun for us sad word/ enthusiasts!

check it out

The Learners by Chip kidd

Kidd's second novel

Book cover design by Chip Kidd

Book cover design by Chip Kidd

"The Closest thing to a rock star in Graphic design!" 

(USA today)

Kidd has been designing striking book jackets for years, these are what first lead me to discover his novels. I found he had written 2 novels, his 2001 debut, 'The Cheese Monkeys' and a recent sequel 'The Learners' described as "a must read for the ambitious, creative or chemically unbalanecd" make these must reads!

The Learner narrative is about a fresh out of college graphic designer at a small advertising agency which raises the intriguing question as to whether it's autobiographical.

I think what makes this an ideal read for young designers is that it is full of tips on successful graphic design. 

"I wanted to include lessons on form, big and small, top to bottom, left to right' (Kidd).

Unmade China

"We believe that the creative arts will always have an active role in raising awareness and forcing an issue onto the mainstream political agenda."

The website: In light of the 2008 Beijing olympics the website housing this 90 second film asks people to remember Tibet's struggle against the undemocratic government of China.

Aim: to raise awareness when China is vulnerably in the public eye with this non profit initiative by Jonathan Barnbrook and Pedro Inoue.

The political nature of the website is communicated successfully through the design...the limited colour choice screams out the determination of the sites/films creators with the impactful geometric ident complimenting this.

With the option to support/help the cause with a call to action included within the site the message should provoke a reaction from people sharing similar political views.

visit the website

The film: A 90 sec animation supporting the campaign for Tibet's independence. Sophisticated graphics are accompanied by a non diegetic commentary consisting of a conversation exploring 2 opposing view points.

Bold symbols are juxtaposed with historical and cultural documentation of the campaign to create a fast moving slideshow effect animation.

I feel the visual campaign works so effectively due to the 'call to action' element at the end of each 'section'. The tone of voice is evident through the consistent use of colour and clever copy.

Westfield shopping centre Derby

the exterior

the interior

the ident

the initial vision

Location: Derby city centre, Westfield shopping centre 

Architecture: A very contemporary new build - the image the re design hopes to exude is evident from the architecture....a trendy, uber modern shopping experience! A vision of modern city living in glass and chrome.

The city is under a major redevelopment scheme and this is intended to be the beginning of a new 'look' and major cultural change for the whole city.

This new development represents the way forward for Derby City centre. 

Website: The website compliments the 'new' shopping experience offered to the public. With a sophisticated colour scheme and controlled use of sans serif typeface the site is clearly in keeping with the tone of voice the project as a whole strives to achieve.

The ident: However, as a student particularly interested in the traditional graphic design side of things I feel the ident contradicts the environment that has been created. The colour and choice of typeface I feel is somewhat dated and screams out "we love the 80's" the cultural shift intended as a result of the cities redevelopment I feel would benefit from a more timeless up to date ident. Looking at the signage on the front of the building, I feel the ident looks clumsy and out of place.

America Unchained by Dave Gorman

The Book

Gorman and The Torino

Taylor's soda fountain, Independence

Tree house resort, Takilma Oregon

"A free wheeling road trip in search of non corporate USA."

An insightful study of American culture focusing on branding/ chains/ corporate business.

The book follows Dave Gorman's road trip across the US in the attempt to avoid handing money over to ANY chains, be it fuel, food or lodgings! 

Question is...Did he make it?

Worth a look is you are at all interested in changing US culture, comparing US with the UK, branding or marketing. Also includes some analysis of the graphic design associated with this mission.....

"The Hollywood Downtowner's huge animated sign made me smile. It was gaudy and commercial yet somehow innocent and appealing at the same time."

Only draw back being the way the book is written. Gorman's sarcastic humour can get annoying at times however, i found it was easy to put this to one side as the content was so intriguing!

for more info check out his website