London Galleries

For those of you planning to go to London in the next couple of weeks I've listed a bunch of websites for various galleries that have got some pretty cool stuff going on... You'll have loads of time in the day to check out more than Rothko!


http://www.barbican.org.uk


http://www.ica.org.uk/Homepage+1.twl


http://www.npg.org.uk/live/index.asp


http://www.serpentinegallery.org/index.html


http://www.tate.org.uk


http://www.haywardgallery.org.uk


http://www.photonet.org.uk/index.php?pid=18


http://www.saatchi-gallery.co.uk


http://www.whitecube.com

Abnormal Behaviour

Via Jennie on second year HND Graphics - weird example of matching animation to music http://www.abnormalbehaviorchild.com from graffiti artist, Niko Stumpo.

Towards Relational Design

Is there an overarching philosophy that can connect projects from such diverse fields as architecture, graphic and product design? Or are we beyond such pronouncements? Should we even expect such grand narratives anymore?

Read the rest of the article here - www.designobserver.com/archives/entry.html?id=38845#more

Richard.

Excellent website via Tammy, showcasing advertising through the years.

www.adclassix.com

Wednesday morning lectures

To let people know I will have recording's of wednesday's lectures and if you let me know i can bring in a copy on pen drive and transfer it for you if you have your own.

Alix

MTV Laptop Design

www.mtvengineroom.com

Here is a live project that i will be initiating in Visual Studies with the Fda 1st years and the 2nd year HND on Monday 17th November

John Farmer

Masters of Poster Design

Book recommendation from Mondi - available in the library.

Fonts - Maniackers

www2.wind.ne.jp/maniackers/designfont.html

Ping Mag

http://pingmag.jp

Dwayne.

Chip kidd

It may sound silly but Chip Kidd has started a band called Artbreak, check out asymmetrical girl on you tube.

http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=xtH_VlrF1O0

Retro to Go

All kinds of product design over at the site below to help inspire 'Rear View Mirror'. www.retrotogo.com

Alison Carmichael

Unavoidable - Alison's work is some of the most elegant, hand generated typography you will come across.

www.alisoncarmichael.com

Rear View Mirror

Any questions to do with the current project - discuss here.

An exhaustive online resource - www.ilovetypography.com

Typography on Posters

Some interesting analysis on the use of typography on movie posters below.

www.fontshop.com/features

Hand drawn movie posters.

http://abduzeedo.com/hand-drawn-movie-posters

Jen Starck

www.jenstark.com

Some more examples of paper engineering, amazing!
John Farmer

Si Scott

www.coshuk.com/html/gallery.php
Some Si Scott and some other interesting
contemporary art illustration. The Si Scott
web page is a pain in the butt.
Alix

Yuko Nishimura

www.photocabi.net/yukonishimura/works-02

Alix.

Peter Callesen

www.petercallesen.com

Another artist's link from John - absolutely mindblowing.

Richard Sweeney Slice Form

Early work by Richard Sweeney (slice form).
John Farmer

Andrew Goldsworthy

www.goldsworthy.cc.gla.ac.uk

Just thought that this landscape artist and in particular this image would be a great starting point for the serial planes project and for the Coffee Republic banner design (representing a form of seasonal change).

John Farmer

Richard Sweeney

www.richardsweeney.co.uk

Mondi has pointed us all to www.litracon.hu Litracon is a material that transmits light, yet is still applicable as building material. Worth looking at for related interior designs.

www.nationalmediamuseum.org.uk/baf/2008/index.asp

Thursday, 13th November (price TBC - 30-£40)

All those interested add your name in the comments below or on the notice board in the studio.

You Plus Us

Plus International Design Festival is a unique design-led festival showcasing all that is innovative, pioneering, and novel in the world of international graphic design for print, web, interactive media and animation. Visit the website for more details.
www.youplusus.net

Richard Seymour on Design Practice

'Design is the removal of the irrelevant and the amplification of the relevant, both in emotional terms and technical terms.'

Product Designer, Richard Seymour of Seymour/Powell talks the talk.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=IxAp5_Qil9c

The Paul Rand Interviews

‘The fact that someone is a good designer has certain limits, if you don’t read.’

The Godfather of Graphic Design. Frank, honest - whatever Rand said was the truth, if you agreed with him or not.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=cfeWA0795Cw&feature=related

All six are worth a watch.

Icon01 Series

Milton Glaser
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ca3SxrD9hW0&feature=related
Scott McCloud
www.youtube.com/watch?v=EeP5_65D4IQ
Stefan Sagmesiter
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_41pNUSQLkk
Joshua Davis
www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYdQEk7BNGY

What is Design?

Joe Bloggs on the streets of Australia are asked 'What is Graphic Design?'
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oeRwFkjQe6s

An episode of the Gadget Show sets the challenge for the presenters to design a product.
PT I www.youtube.com/watch?v=-0EvsecMxbc&feature=related
PT II www.youtube.com/watch?v=hfkvaJVlUkk&feature=related

Stunning motorbike design.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=jipktSz15fo&feature=related

Some are a bit Tarrant on TV, but still worth checking out for ideas.
www.adsoftheworld.com

Aleks Sennwald

www.senvald.com

Superb resource of innovative designs.
www.itsnicethat.com

DesignSitesUp

www.designsitesup.com

Checkland Kindleysides

Beautiful interiour and graphic design work, plus an innovative use of website design - check it out and explore those wonderful pop-ups. www.checklandkindleysides.com

Yankodesign.com

Check out the wonderful, innovative design and news over at www.yankodesign.com Features include:

The Age of Aquarius… in Sprinkling
While automatic lawn and crop sprinklers have existed for some time, the Aquarius takes automatic watering to a new level.

You Don’t Need Wolverine’s Power
There’s a new generation of bandages coming that accelerates healing using electric fields. One of those concepts is called HealFast which is specifically design for diabetic patients.

Landmark Building of Szervita Square by Zaha Hadid

“Our goal is to give the inner city an injection of contemporary elegance. A state of the art building with high quality work spaces would strengthen the multifunctional character and urban vitality of Budapest’s city centre.

Everything I know About Design I learned from The Sapranos

Hi everyone,

I'm Graham Burton and I am the programme manager here at ncn, but possibly more importantly to you, I'm the course leader for the all things design. That said, you will probably see a lot more of the other staff as I am constantly being called away to meetings etc. Lucky me!

Anyway, here is a taste of what you might expect from me when I do take a class. It is never my intention to offend or upset anyone, and the work that I do is intended to foster debate.

The work that we [the course team]do is intended to challenge you, not only at a practical level, but also on an academic level. On that note, I look forward to meeting you all so that we can engage in a lively debate.

Everything I know about design I learned from the Sopranos

On client relationships: "When you’re bleeding a guy, you don’t squeeze him dry right away. Contrarily, you let him do his bidding, suavely. So you can bleed him next week and the week after, at minimum.”

We’re not guilty of bleeding our students dry, but I think we’re guilty of squeezing them. (stay with me here) Our projects, tutorial system, open office door policy, offers the students a chance to build on and improve their skills, and us as staff will keep offering greater challenges as they progress. You need to squeeze for 64 weeks minimum.

READ THE REST www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=1259320554758551224&postID=369875612803092507&page=1

Industrial Design Challenges Discussed

www.designweek.co.uk/Articles/139481/Industrial+design+challenges+discussed.html

A Layperson's Guide to Graphic Design

'I’m a graphic designer, and I used to dread telling people what I did for a living. It was rare to find anyone who understood what graphic design was, and my faltering descriptions always seemed to confuse rather than clarify.’

Visit www.designobserver.com/archives/entry.html?id=38800#more to read the rest of Adrian Shaughnessy's article.

Misprinted Type

www.misprintedtype.com/v4

Some typographical inspiration for you all.

Who can tell us about...

...Ron Arad?

Animation

Some stunning animations for you all to watch. Most second years may have seen some of these already.

Fight the Kisses by Studio Akama
www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuSBCIV1zuQ A favourite amongst Mums.

Break Ultime by Studio Akama
www.youtube.com/watch?v=uC0oOp9N3UM Stunning use of character and expression.

Space Alone by Ilias Sounas
www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Yn_kQM8UhM It will make you weep.

I lived on the Moon by Yannick Puig
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mk6j4wmpH9E Mind blowing and deeply rousing music video for the band Kwoon.

JoJo in the Stars by Studio Aka
www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEqwvtDrRWA David Lynch meets Pixar.

The Tale of How by The Black Heart Gang
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mk6j4wmpH9E Wonderfully surreal Carolesque animation.

official site – www.theblackheartgang.com

Interior Design

www.interiordesign.net is the official website of the US based magazine, showcasing many prime examples of both interior and product design. Browse the best of 2008 here www.interiordesign.net/info/CA6540693.html

Design Observer

www.designobserver.com is a must visit for all you keen design students out there. Full of interesting articles on most areas of design and a multitude of resource links - it should be visited at least once a week.

Flight

Perhaps some inspiration for you first years and your summer project. Flight is an anthology of sequential art based around the themes of...well, flight. Beautiful work - check out the publications in Page45 if you are nearby. http://www.flightcomics.com/

ilovedust

Graphics students may want to check out the slick, urban styles of ilovedust - visit there website www.ilovedust.com.

Introduce yourselves...

Come on, don't be shy...

Welcome

Welcome to the HND and FdA blogspot here at NCN. We hope that you will all use this little space on the tinterweb to post your thoughts, share ideas and more importantly get to know eachother before you start the course. This is your space, so feel free to comment amongst yourselves and keep an eye out for any updates throughout the year. Feel free to upload new links to websites, dates of exhibitions, scans and any further information you feel may be of use to your peers. Design is not a solitary discipline - help eachother, bounce ideas and discuss the areas of Art & Design that interest you the most. As tutors we will add as much information as we come across and hope to see you all from time to time develop your voice.

Why not try and all think of a cool name for the blog and we'll change it accordingly.

Richard.

Alan Moore Interview

Very inspiring interview for aspiring artists from the legend Alan Moore.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGq-9X3ho7U

He really does speak our language.

Year One Summer Project

The project is simple – Only using a black pen and the colour orange produce
10 drawings on 10 pieces paper measuring 10cm by 10cm.

Keep your eyes open - observe. You can draw anything you like from life, the limitation in format, size, colour and medium should restrict your drawings and force you to produce 10 graphical exercises. Look at weight of line as much as wit - you may play with adding quirky slogans and illustrate from them. Or, a diagramatic drawing of a house or interior.

They don't have to be works of art you have spent hours on - learn to 'symbolise and summarise.'

Why not upload your observations and chat about the project amongst yourselves before you start the course.

Year Two Summer Project

Hello all,

Over the summer period we have decided to give you a new project. We would like you to work on 50 Ideas…

…This should be as easy as Paris Hilton for second years, right? Just fill a sketchbook with as many ideas as possible – carry it around with you if you have to, you never know when an idea critter will strike. They can be as ‘off the wall’ as you like, but do have in mind that you may begin to pull from this sketchbook when developing your projects during the second year. It will be a very important foundation. All we need to see are sketches and annotations.

I would also like to remind you of the official Blogspot we have set up for you all, which has now been changed to – www.fdadesign.blogspot.com. We would like to encourage you more to use this area of the tinterweb throughout the year instead of hiding behind closed doors and being your normal, guarded selves. It is the perfect place to help each other out with research and even brainstorm ideas.

In the meantime, have a great summer and I look forward to seeing you all in September.

Regards,

Richard Johnson
Graphic Design Course Leader

Welcome Year One FdA

Hello all,

I’d like to welcome you to Year One of the FdA Design course and hope you are enjoying the weather so far. We’ve decided to send you a summer project to keep you company and hopefully give you a little something to discuss during induction week.

I would also like to introduce you to the official Blogspot we have set up for you – www.fdadesign.blogspot.com. We would like to encourage you to use this area of the tinterweb throughout the year. For now, it is the perfect place to introduce yourselves and hopefully help each other out with the project. Perhaps you’ll share ideas, research, or even some of the final pieces.

In the meantime, have a great summer and I look forward to meeting you all in September.

Richard Johnson
Year One Course Leader

Artists' Trading Cards

www.art-e-zine.co.uk/atcnov03.html

Possible summer project - give it a bash!

Branding Youth in the Totalitarian State

Interesting article about Hitler's youth and the influence of power over Germany's children of the future. Both a frightening and compelling read over at Design Observer.

www.designobserver.com/archives/entry.html?id=38772#more

Oliver Jeffers

Check out Oliver Jeffers new website which delivers an eclectic showcase of his beautiful illustrations and fine art.

www.oliverjeffers.com

Spoon Graphics

Resourceful blog -

www.blog.spoongraphics.co.uk

Top 50 Graphic Design Blogs

www.davidairey.com/top-50-graphic-design-blogs

Just add water...

www.ywater.us

Portrait of the Designer as Author

www.eyemagazine.com/critique.php?cid=417

Heralded as one of the most influential and sort after book cover designers around today, Chip Kidd is as much at home writing about his musings and adventures as a designer. His debut novel The Cheese Monkeys - a semi auto-biographical tale reminiscent of The Catcher in the Rye was an honest statement on the challenges we often face as individuals, more importantly creative individuals. His follow-up The Learners is out now.

Four Feet From a Rat

Comic book veteran Liam Sharp has banded together some cream of British talent for Mother London's advertising venture Four Feet From a Rat. Liam's award winning publishing label Mam Tor was given the task of bringing together Chris Weston, Dave Kendall and Kev Crossley to produce four tales based in and around London. FFRAR will be published quarterly in Time Out then brought together as a collection at the end of the year.

The first issue released last month has already appeared in Creative Review, Computer Arts and ImagineFX - and both Mam Tor and Mother hope this will become the start of something very special.

www.mamtor.com

Dangerous Beauty: The Art of the Shiv

'A shiv is a weapon crafted from the limited resources of a prisoner's closed world. Crudely constructed from such things as spoons, shoelaces and upholstery tacks, shivs lie somewhere between the graceful and the grotesque. They're primitive, too — like outsider art, but produced deep on the inside.'

A little pointer to an old article from Design Observer. I find it fascinating how beauty can be found in anything if you look hard enough, and that it's human nature that is often responsible for using such devices in ways that are truely unforgiveable.

www.designobserver.com/archives/016492.html

The Dark Knight

The whole marketing campaign behind this summer's sure fire hit has been more than just a joke. With mock elections and www.whysoserious.com having images added everyday of jokers all around the world. The latest international poster is yet another example of quality graphic design. Batman has never been more grounded.

Visit the site above or click on the image for a full size version.

The Design Observer Playlist

'I’ve never worked in a design studio where music wasn’t played pretty much constantly. Nor can I recall visiting a studio where music wasn’t being played, or where designers weren’t wired up to headphones and bobbing rhythmically to unheard sounds. What is it with graphic designers and music? Is there a symbiotic relationship between the two? Are there studios where music is considered a hindrance? Or does music aid creative thinking and make us better designers?'

Read the rest of the articles here - www.designobserver.com/archives/035704.html#more

Illustrators Lounge

www.illustratorslounge.com

Wonderful site showcasing the collectives' talents.

Excercises in Style

I've already mentioned Matt Madden's book 99 Ways to Tell a Story: Exercises in Style - check the official website here www.exercisesinstyle.com

Many variations on what is the most mundane story you will ever read, from Monologue, Subjective and Personification to name a few.