September 2nd, 2010
I was recently very honoured to be able to contribute some logo design work to a fantastic new charity – “Living Beyond Diagnosis” set up by Anna Wallace. The charity’s aim is to empower people affected by cancer through the provision of information, workshops and support at survivor events. I’ll let Anna’s first press release do the talking.
Living Beyond Diagnosis
Strength in Knowledge, Support in Others.
Our Mission
Living Beyond Diagnosis is a new charity created with a specific mission: to host events for people affected by cancer. Through these events we aim to empower survivors by providing a comfortable and open environment in which they can hear directly from experts, ask questions, share experience and build a strong community of support.
Inaugural Event
Our inaugural event will be held in London in 2011 for up to 700 attendees affected by breast cancer. It is open to all breast cancer survivors and cosurvivors (spouses, caregivers, children, parents, friends, relatives etc).
Some Highlights of Our 3-day Event:
Workshops and Seminars: Sessions will be available to help educate survivors and co-survivors about a variety of issues – medical updates and clinical trials, nutrition, exercise, fertility, finances, workplace rights, rare/uncommon breast cancers, living with metastatic breast cancer, body image, sex and intimacy, how to support your partner/friend, breast cancer in men, tips on how to manage side effects of treatment, coping with fear of recurrence… and much more.
Wellness Areas: Over the course of the 3-day event, attendees will have the ability to sample different complementary therapies such as massage and reflexology, Alexander and Bowen techniques and Reiki, have a session with a beauty and hair specialist (including assistance with wigs) and explore other resources for maintaining a healthy body and mind.
Exhibitor Areas: Attendees will have the opportunity to visit exhibitor stands to learn about support services, charities, hospitals, participating in research studies, fund-raising events and other available specialised services. There will be an array of exhibitor shops to peruse and purchase, for example, scarves, underwear, wigs, sleeves etc alongside ‘pink shops’ where purchases from exhibitors and sponsors will help towards providing support services and events such as this.
Through this and subsequent events, we aim to create strong communities of support that will allow survivors and co-survivors together, not only to Live Beyond Diagnosis, but to live well.
You can find Anna and get more information on Facebook, Twitter and via email at anna.wallace@livingbeyonddiagnosis.com
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August 24th, 2010
Tags: Graphics, nature, shapes
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July 2nd, 2010
Recently I was fortunate enough to get permission to take some photographs in Manchester Cathedral. For anyone who hasn’t been it’s a really beautiful building, full of warm light, textures and detail. When the sun hits one of the many stained glass windows it sends shafts of coloured light in every direction; onto columns, floors and into every tiny nook and cranny.
I took a number of shots but quite by accident I ended up with three, that from a colour perspective, worked really nicely together.
Tags: colour, light, manchester cathedral, photography, tone
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May 1st, 2010
For anyone in the Cheshire area I’d recommend a trip out to the White Gallery in Bollington to see a new exhibition of work by local artists, Christopher Rainham and Di Metcalfe.
Chris paints beautifully realistic birds and still-lives and Di creates vibrant sea and landscapes, using North Wales as her inspiration
We were fortunate enough to get an invitation to the preview night on Saturday evening and we were mightily impressed both by the friendly ambience of the gallery and the outstanding work on display.
The owner of the White Gallery, Fiona Bailey, has created a lovely space showcasing a fantastic selection of paintings, ceramics and sculptures.
For more information on the White Gallery visit their blog. The exhibition runs until the 15th May.
Tags: Art, Bollington, Ceramics, Cheshire, Painting, Sculpture, White Gallery
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May 1st, 2010
Anyone involved in graphic design with a love of music has probably held a long-standing dream to design artwork for album sleeves. Getting work on the shelves of record shops can be the pinnacle of a young designers career.
When I was studying graphic design at Stockport College one man stood out for me above anyone else when it came to record sleeve artwork, the enigmatic Peter Saville.
After studying graphics at Manchester Polytechnic, Saville met Tony Wilson and became a partner of Factory Records producing artwork for the label. He became particularly renowned for his work for Joy Division and their later incarnation – New Order.
Saville, who was inspired by German Typographer Jan Tschichold, would quite often lift images from different genres and combine them. For the sleeve of New Order’s “Power, Corruption and Lies” he took a painting of roses by Fantin-Latour and combined it with a colour coded alphabet. It became a seminal piece of work.
However, the design I’ve chosen for this post is the sleeve of Joy Division’s debut album “Unknown Pleasures” released in 1979.
The album borrows an image from the Cambridge Encyclopaedia of Astronomy and displays pulses from a pulsar (a highly magnetised neutron star). The image was suggested by the band’s drummer Stephen Morris and credited to Joy Division, Peter Saville and Chris Mathan
The reason I love this design so much is it fits so perfectly with the band’s broodingly intense music. Anyone picking up a copy of “Unknown Pleasures” in 1979 would have been intrigued, particularly at the lack of a track listing on the reverse side.
To me, the cover of Unknown Pleasures screams out “I’m different”. It looks dark, foreboding, dangerous and edgy. It’s saying “take care with this, it might just be music but it’s going to tamper with your heart, your soul and your mind”.
The music contained within does all those things – and that’s why when it’s combined with this image, they become an absolutely perfect combination.
While some great albums are let down by poor covers, Saville’s work elevates the music to new heights. His sleeves transformed the throwaway nature of recorded music into transient works of art.
Tags: Factory Records, Joy Division, New Order, Peter Saville, Unknown Pleasures
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April 21st, 2010
If you’ve ever asked yourself “what makes a good logo?” then you could do a lot worse than take a look at the Panda insignia used by the World Wildlife Foundation.
The famous logo designed in 1961 by it’s founder chairman, the naturalist and painter Sir Peter Scott, has helped to establish the WWF as an instantly recognisable brand associated with integrity, strength and compassion.
Let’s take a look at why it’s such an iconic design and why it works.
1. Simple
Like all good logos, simplicity is the key to the WWF logos success. The simple graphic shape of a Panda, devoid of fancy gradients or drop shadows, could be reproduced just as well on a postage stamp as it could on a huge billboard.
2. Memorable
The logos simplicity, in turn, is what makes it truly memorable, I wonder how many of you could visualize it right now without even looking at an image of it? In fact think of all the big hitting organizations, profitable or not, you’ll more than likely be able to visualize their logos straight away.
3. Timeless
The WWF logo won’t date or be affected by trends or fashions. If you look at todays version and the original created way back in ‘61 it is virtually the same logo and that is surely a testimony to its underlying strength. A good logo, once established, shouldn’t need a major overhaul every six months.
4. Conveys a message
The logo is based on an immensely appealing and positive creature that is loved worldwide. Despite its simplicity it manages to convey the caring, responsible, credible and ethical nature of the WWF.
5. Versatile and efficient
From a commercial point of view having a completely black logo is a real bonus. Imagine the savings made on the printing press! In all seriousness, there are never going to be colour-matching issues across the web and print for this baby! No-one will ever get the Pantone colour reference wrong and it can easily be printed in reverse.
Find out how you can help the WWF
Tags: Design, logo design, panda, sir peter scott, world wildlife foundation, wwf
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