Chris West- Graphic Design Blog

The street views Google wasn't expecting you to see

2012-02-25T11:43:00.001Z

Funny collection of Google Street View images published by The Guardian this week:

Good Deeds & Good Design

2012-02-21T13:53:00.000Z

There is new work up on our website, so go check it out!

Dan Petty

2012-02-11T08:00:00.002Z

Some cracking website designs by Dan Petty, they say web design is 90% typography, but Dan makes great use of some stunning photographs and other visuals to create text-light looks that have great impact.

The Scale of the Universe

2012-02-09T20:42:00.001Z

The Scale of the Universe

A very nicely assembly infographic, comparing the sizes of things in our universe, from the microscopic to the colossal. Check it out.

Upside Down, Left to Right

2012-02-07T08:00:00.001Z

Another inviting short film about letterpress by Danny Cooke, featuring Paul Collier, technician at the letterpress workshop of Plymouth University.

Nacho Diaz / Naolito

2012-02-05T08:00:00.002Z

Some great illustrations from Nacho Diaz (aka Naolito), which combine a fresh and distinct illustration style with humourously imagined scenes and mature visual puns.

The Ideal Candidate

2012-02-03T18:59:00.000Z

The Ideal Candidate by Represent is a series of interviews with some of the industry’s leading studios on what they look for in a prospective employee. Essential reading for anyone looking for a creative job.

Jason Perez

2012-01-30T22:33:00.000Z

Today I've had the pleasure of having a look through the work of Jason Perez, on his cracking website, which includes some great design pieces, covering POS, advertising and interactive. Particularly impressive are:

Treasury Wine Estates Upcycled Wine Displays
Some great ideas for recycled/sustainable material displays. They make use of a lovely colour palette and some great retro type treatments, two elementss that will always catch my eye.

Crispin Porter + Bogusky
Undergraduates, pay attention: A superb piece of self-promotion which landed Jason his position at CPB.
Two weeks before the application deadline for CPB's summer internship, he began sending anonymous postcards to members of the agency. Eight different postcards were delivered to ten important employees, each of which played a key role in hiring future employees. The map point represented on each card detaches to reveal a statistic relating to the distance between himself and the agency. Once all the cards had been received and were placed side-by-side, they created a physical map between Denton, Texas and Boulder, Colorado. The last phase of his self-promotion involved an 864-mile road trip. On the morning the internship was due, he delivered a 4'x6' map point to the front steps of the agency, with his resume and website attached, hoping to grab the attention of employees, and the rest, as they say, is history. Rumour has it that the map point still sits in a conference room.

Hype for Type

2012-01-29T16:55:00.000Z

Hype for Type 's website is looking absolutely fantastic, and is packed with beautifully crafted exclusive typefaces.They have also just teamed up with Graphic Designer Ryan Atkinson to produce their first magazine – Typographic Revolt.

The Restart Page

2012-01-10T18:57:00.002Z

A bit of nostalgia we'd all rather forget: re-live the rebooting experience from vintage operating systems courtesy of The Restart Page.

The World from Above

2012-01-08T12:49:00.000Z

An awe inspiring collection of aerial views by Bernhard Lang. They really make you pause for thought, as the everyday is seen from a totally different perspective.

Guy Laramee

2012-01-06T22:15:00.000Z

Some amazingly intricate sculptures which are cut out of books. This series of works are entitled The Great Wall.

Adios 2011

2011-12-31T16:57:00.001Z

I'm just writing to wish you all a very happy new year.

It has been a significant year: we said goodbye to Muammar Gadaffi, Osama Bin Laden, Kim Jong Il, Vaclav Havel, Steve Jobs, Joe Frazier, Dan Wheldon, Amy Winehouse and Gary Speed; Europe was plunged into economic chaos; Riots erupted in England; Colonal Gadaffi, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and Hosni Murabak were all ousted; lunatic gunman Anders Breivik went on a killing spree in Norway, Terrorist attacks caused countless deaths in Russia, Nigeria, Somalia and Iraq; Japan and Turkey were rocked by Earthquakes; Osama Bin Laden was (allegedly) shot dead by US soldiers; Bahrain and Syria saw widespread civil unrest; Ratko Mladić, wanted for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, was arrested in Serbia; Famine was declared in Somalia; Space Shuttle Atlantis landed successfully at Kennedy Space Center, concluding NASA's space shuttle program; Thailand was affected by severe flooding; and the USA formally declared an end to the Iraq War.

Here's to 2012

by Alan Ariail

A Creative Christmas

2011-12-23T22:51:00.002Z

Merry Christmas folks, the big day is only two days away and I hope you've made all your seasonal purchases by now, I, for one, certainly will not be venturing into the insanity of the city centre tomorrow, and my heart goes out to anyone working in retail at this time of year. Christmas is of course a time to kick back and relax, take some time off work and forget about our troubles. This is true of creatives too, however it hasn't stopped the festive season inspiring a range of design delights. Here's a couple of this year's Christmas creations.

V&A Christmas Tree

Designed by Studio Roso, the 'tree' is made up of 3.3 miles of elastic cord and stands over 4 metres tall. Within the cords are a number of geometric shapes, which reference both traditional Christmas ornaments and the crystalline structure of snowflakes and icicles.

It is certainly an impressive structure, and the geometric detailing is an intriguing touch, although to call it a tree is stretching the concept of abstraction quite a bit. Would you recognise it to be a tree if it wasn't labelled so?

Jack Daniel's Christmas Tree

A lovely advert in which people make a Christmas 'tree' out of Jack Daniel's barrels. A little bit more tree-like than the V&A one, and the advert has a warm, festive feel about it, perhaps due to the sense of community spirit involved. Drinking the stuff will give you a warm feeling of a different kind.

Walk of Shame

2011-12-06T21:58:00.002Z

Funny ad from Harvey Nicks:

Winter

2011-12-03T15:53:00.000Z

So it's finally December, and my face is a lot smoother for it. Although it's not really felt wintery yet, I did have to bust out the de-icer for the first time yesterday morning, so it's definately on it's way. Although winter is in many ways depressing and restrictive (bar the delights of Christmas), I always revel in the chance to take some nice wintery photographs, especially when it snows. Here are some of my best shots from the last couple of winters, and you can see more on my Flickr. Hopefully I'll be out taking some more soon!

End of Movember

2011-11-30T21:27:00.000Z

Congrats to everyone doing Movember at The History Press, we've raised an amazing £1300 and counting, it's not too late so keep donating:

http://uk.movember.com/mospace/2388852/

Day 30 - The End

Making Future Magic

2011-11-20T19:26:00.002Z

You have to see this unbelievable stop-motion/light-painting technique by Dentsu London and BERG.

Omar Aqil

2011-11-19T18:11:00.000Z

Some lovely custom typography work by Omar Aqil:

Movember - Halfway

2011-11-16T20:58:00.000Z

Day 15 - Steady Progress

Please sponsor me to grow a stupid moustache for Movemeber, to support the Prostate Cancer Charity. Just follow this link and click donate. Thanks.

http://mobro.co/chriswest1989

Great Causes

2011-11-07T21:27:00.002Z

Evening all. I'd like to share this really lovely animation, which is for a great cause:

On the theme of great causes, here's another update on my Movember effort:

Day 5 - Primive growth

Sponsor me!

Moustache Season

2011-11-06T12:22:00.001Z

I have been roped into taking part in 'Movember' with my male colleagues at The History Press. This means growing a moustache for the entire month of November in aid of several different charities including the The Prostate Cancer Charity and the Institute of Cancer Research.

Please sponsor me if you can. Click on my face and then click donate. Thanks.

Day 3 - Stubbly

Letterpress

2011-11-03T19:16:00.000Z

Some short videos on the art of the moveable printing press:

Trick or Treat

2011-10-29T16:45:00.000+01:00

Happy Halloween folks, whatever the hell it's supposed to be a celebration of who really knows, but nonetheless I thought it would be rather seasonal to show off my horror movie parody posters that I put together earlier this year once again, so here they are:

And whilst we're on the theme of all things Halloween, horror and gore etc., here are some of my personal favourite horror-themed design pieces. I did think about doing a post on 'Horrors of Design', but after my recent 'Ghosts of Internet Past' post, I thought it might be better to be a bit more positive and share some good design work instead!

As well as being one of my favourite wobbly house DJ duos, Jack Beats possess a logo which I have admired since I first saw it three or four years ago:

The gooey type treatment is reminiscent of expressive applications on old movie posters such as The Curse of Frankenstein, and of television series The Addams Family and The Munsters.

It may have become somewhat of a cliché when it comes to horror-themed titling, particularly for films, however I think it looks wonderful as a carefully assembled logotype for a group that really has no connections with the theme.

Another favourite is the work of Orlando based designer Joshua M. Smith a.k.a. Hydro74. His highly intricate illustrations and type treatments often have an element of macabre about them, frequently involving skulls and aggressive looking creatures.

I am also a fan of the work of One Horse Town, an illustration studio based in Cape Town, South Africa, whose custom type and illustrative style are both bold and refreshingly free.

PS: I've been trying to grow some veg this year in the garden, here is the rather pathetic result of my autumn harvest! Anyone got any tips?

Type-Shaping Game

2011-10-27T21:37:00.002+01:00

In follow up to the kerning game, another typography game.

Please oh please...

2011-10-18T20:38:00.001+01:00

Done to death doesn't even begin to cover it...

Kerntype - A Kerning Game

2011-10-13T19:21:00.000+01:00

For all type geeks, a game to put your kerning skills to the test:

I got a rather disappointing 89/100, can you do better?

Erik Speikermann talks about founding FontShop

2011-10-05T20:30:00.003+01:00

My Top 10 Reading Recommendations for Designers

2011-09-24T12:52:00.001+01:00

In no particular order:

The Art of Looking Sideways
Alan Fletcher
A bizarre collection of anecodotes, quotes, images and facts so sprawling and unexpected that this collection makes for a great flick through at times of creative block. My personal favourite quote: 'triumphs of imagination such as the person you love is 72.8% water'

An Essay on Typography
Eric Gill
Essential reading for a for any designer, and a great insight into the changes in technology that took place in Gill's time, which profoundly affected typesetting, design, and life as we know it now.

Things I Have Learned in My Life So Far
Stefan Sagmeister
A truely spectacular compilation of 'made type'- it just shows what can be done if you put the time and effort in. It also contains some gems of worldly advice from Sagmeister, as the title suggests.

The Ten Commandments of Typography/Type Heresy
Paul Felton
A concise and humourous analysis of conformist vs. non-conformist typography. Any book that plainly declares David Carson to be Satan is certainly worth a look at.

The Elements of Typographic Style
Robert Bringhurst
A great guide for typographers of all levels.

Graphic: Inside the Sketchbooks of the World's Great Graphic Designers
Steven Heller & Lita Talarico
A fascinating peak inside a number of professional designers' and artists' sketchbooks

Los Logos
Buro Destruct & Bourquin
A huge collection of logos grouped together by various themes. A good reference book for anyone designing logos.

How to be a Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul
Adrian Shaughnessy
The book on how to be a Graphic Designer, concerned with not so much how to design, but how to do all the other little things that make a successful designer.

Detail in Typography
Jost Hochuli
A concise, and clear guide to all the little attentions to detail a typographer should know.

A Smile in the Mind
David Stuart
An interesting look at the humourous side of design, and how to use visual wit to good effect.

The Ghosts of Internet Past

2011-09-20T21:31:00.003+01:00

Who remembers that hideous, primitive beast the '90s website? Forget for a moment all the fantastic opportunities and connections it brought about, and consider the early days of the internet from a merely aesthetic view: It consisted of an unaccommodating collection of eyesores and garish graphics. Here are some examples I managed to unearth:

(Thankfully this competition came to mario's rescue)

http://freelanceswitch.com/inspiration/25-awesome-redesigns-of-a-90s-website/

Even multinational corporate business could only do slightly better in terms of web design. They thankfully avoided the rainbow gradients and comic sans, but were still painfully underdesigned and generic. I think it would be difficult to convince any of these companies to revert back to their original websites!

Adobe

Amazon

BBC

Microsoft

Google

Yahoo

It's reassuring to realise how far web design has come in this time, and it will be interesting to see where it goes next. Interactivity is obviously going to be key, you only have to look at Facebook as a prime example of a relatively simple website evolving into a complex interactive experience in a relatively short period of time, and they seem to be adding and changing features by the week at the moment. So next time you find yourself frustrated with some element of a website, just remember how it used to be!

Modern Day Offenders:

http://www.biofeedback.net/
http://countyinfolink.com/
http://www.lingscars.com/

Further Reading:

Your Old Crap Website
IE6 Must Die

New arrivals

2011-09-15T21:43:00.000+01:00

Look what arrived in the office :)

A Catch Up

2011-08-19T21:15:00.005+01:00

So, I have survived the British riots, which even spread to my home city of Gloucester, the aftermath of which poses few answers and many questions for both the government and citizens of this country alike. BBC News put forward a very interesting list of possible reasons for the riots, sourced from various approaches. Inevitably they all played a part, and the horrifying scenes we saw cannot be blamed on any one factor.

On a personal note, I spent the weekend in sunny Bristol, checking out the Wow Gorilla Trail, be sure to check em out if you visit, you might even try to find all of them. I settled for a few snaps:

I was very interested to find out about Rankin, a revolutionary new file browser for mac, which taps into the way we use visual memory (particularly creatives such a myself!) to group and locate files. It sounds like a great idea, but at the same time, the file sorting process of using folders and file names to find everything is so deeply imbedded it would be hard to shake. I'll certainly be intrigued to give it a try. The way Raskin works is best explained by their video:

And a little on how it can be used for design and editorial work:

London's Burning

2011-08-09T22:30:00.001+01:00

As I write this, London is in chaos, widespread riots continue, and are spreading in smaller pockets to other large cities across the country. What started as a peaceful protest about the killing of Mark Duggan, has been hijacked by a handful of lawless individuals, and has rapidly escalated into the worst riots Britain has seen since the '80s thanks to the copycat behaviour of what can only be described as thugs and thieves.

The senselessness of the violence is such that people in the same situations as the rioters - poor backgrounds, no prospects - are those that they are hurting the most. I mean how exactly is this making a point to the government or the police?

It appears that the anger and violence is no longer in support of any cause, but simply bandwaggoning opportunists looting and causing damage simply for kicks. There is no excuse for this behaviour, and it's a worrying sign of the state of mind of the young people involved.

I urge people to use their phone cameras and social media to spread footage (evidence) of looters and rioters if you can (but don't put yourself at risk to do so), this will help to bring shame, and ultimately justice, to these people.

One positive is the numbers turning up to clean up the debris during the daytime, they far outnumber those causing the damage, but naturally it's much harder to clean up and rebuild than it is to destroy. Check out #riotcleanup on twitter, or simply head out with a broom, if you wan't to help.

#londonriots
Timeline and Map of Violence
Riot Damage: Before and After
About #riotcleanup
#riotcleanup
Riot Cleanup Website

more to come on this...

Move

2011-08-08T18:04:00.000+01:00

A nice little feel-good video by Rick Mereki.

The others in the collection are well worth checking out too. There was a similar advert here in Britain filmed in a similar style, flicking from place to place, but with the same guy, was a black guy with cornrows talking about education or something I think? Can anyone tell me what I'm thinking of?

Gulp!

2011-08-03T19:33:00.001+01:00

Fantastic stop-motion animation created by Sumo Science at Aardman. Shot at Pendine Beach in South Wales, every frame of this stop-motion animation was shot using a Nokia N8. The film has broken a world record for the 'largest stop-motion animation set', with the largest scene stretching over 11,000 square feet.

Mariel Clayton

2011-08-02T19:49:00.000+01:00

An interesting photography series by Mariel Clayton, portrays impressively detailed scenes, sometimes humourous, sometimes dark, through children's dolls:

Books

2011-07-30T21:29:00.001+01:00

My current reading list:

The Importance of Being Earnest - Oscar Wilde

Essays - Francis Bacon

Nineteen Eighty-Four - George Orwell

Atelier Olschinsky City Illustrations

2011-07-27T18:03:00.000+01:00

Some amazing cityscape illustrations by Austrian Studio Atelier Olschinsky. Check 'em out!

Making Paper

2011-07-25T20:19:00.000+01:00

Recently I have been trying my hand at making my own paper, using recycled newspapers, receipts, junk mail, envelopes etc. The process is fairly straightforward, but perfecting it is proving a laborious task! Using an old food blender, a home made mould and a DIY water tank (made from a cardboard box and bin bags – Blue Peter would be proud), this was the first piece I churned out:

Ok so its not the most attractive piece of paper you'll ever see, its a little thick, verging on card, and the texture is somewhat similar to the surface of the moon, but I was impressed that my first attempt worked at all! I think I've worked out a couple of small changes I can make to improve the quality and get the thickness down, so I'll let you know how the next attempt goes!

Then & Now

2011-07-21T13:46:00.003+01:00

The first batch of the Then & Now book series which I have been working on with a number of local history authors and photographers from around the country are now available to pre-order on amazon, and will be available from October, with a further twelve being released in November.

Tumbling

2011-06-06T21:19:00.002+01:00

As an aside to this blog, I've set myself up a Tumblr page just to share random images which I think are interesting but not necessaily worthy of a blog post. Check out my findings at

http://chriswestgraphicdesign.tumblr.com/

New Job

2011-06-05T13:23:00.000+01:00

Just to update you all, I've just started a new job at The History Press, a publisher based in Gloucestershire who focus mainly on history and local-history publications. I'm working on an exciting new series of 'Then & Now' books comparing photographs of various towns and cities in the UK in times gone by with modern images. The results are often very interesting and backed up with historical explanation. I have been responsible for creating page layouts, typesetting, selecting cover photographs, editing text and writing blurbs- so a really broad range of tasks makes things interesting. The first batch of books I've worked on will be released in October, so look out for them!
And I'm still running charitable design organisation Good Deeds & Good Design in my spare time, please get in touch if we can help.

Impressive Lamborghini Advert

2011-05-01T15:01:00.000+01:00

An impressive animation from Philipp und Keuntje, an Advertising Studio from Germany.

Although I think maybe the last few seconds are unnecessary- Maybe if the ad cut to black when the car drove into the black clouds- in time with a dramatic final beat to the music it would be a more atmospheric ending. Although the advert is very exciting to watch regardless!

Good Deeds & Good Design Update

2011-04-28T12:36:00.001+01:00

Just to let you know, you can now see some the first charitable design projects we've completed at Good Deeds & Good Design on the website http://www.gooddeedsandgooddesign.co.uk/. Including this logo design for Gloucester Asian Elders:

The War on Bad Fonts

2011-04-13T15:57:00.002+01:00

Typesetting was once the craft on an expert individual, look back to the first half of the twentieth century, and there isn't a naff font or typographic faux-pa in sight, typesetting and printing were not a task the average man could indulge in without the help of a professional. Look further back to Victorian or even Medieveal times, before the advent of the moveable type letterpress, and beautiful calligraphy and hand lettering were commonplace. Take a look around today and what do you see?

Bad fonts and bad use of fonts have been on an exponential rise since the birth of the word processor and the personal computer. Don't get me wrong, the availability of word processing software to practically everyone is a great advance in the capability of your average joe, and brings great freedoms to many, but with it come great problems. Let me break down the adverse effects for you:

1. Widespread use of the word processor has lead to widespread use of badly designed and/or inappropriately used fonts.
2. It has also lead to a disappointing decline in hand-lettering arts such as calligraphy, chalk art and hand-rendered posters/signage.

So who is to blame? No one person can be identified as the culprit, but a collection of underlying problems have lead us to this point:

1. Microsoft's Lack Of Foresight
Microsoft Word is the most widely use word processor today, and many people allow it to guide their design decisions when creating a document, rather than using it as a tool to implement their own decisions. It would be harsh to criticize Microsoft for this, they could hardly have predicted the near monopolisation Microsoft Word would achieve, but because of this, some small shortcomings in the program have been amplified into global problems.
- Default point size 12 is what you get when you create a new Word document, generally slightly too large a point size for most purposes, but most people stick with it regardless.
- Inclusion of dreadful fonts such as Comic Sans, Papyrus and Curlz MT. Now infamous, these should never have been included. Probably thought of as harmless fun at the time, they are now used willy nilly for the most innapropriate purposes.

2. Human Laziness
You can blame Microsoft until you're blue in the face, but the problem essentially boils down to plain human laziness. People use point size 12 because it's less work than selecting something different. People choose Comic Sans because it's high up the list of fonts that come with Windows, and you don't have to scroll far to select it. People choose word processing because it's easier than writing and sketching.

3. Lack of Education
School children are taught nothing more than the basic fundamentals of grammar and punctuation when it comes to typesetting. Something is wrong when you need a qualification in graphic design to be taught how to make a neat and easily readable page of text.

So you see, the average typist is both totally ignorant to the fundamentals of typography (through no fault of their own), and a bit lazy, so when they open up Microsoft Word and oversized Comic Sans is just a click away - bad things happen.

But even if these issues never change, use a bit of common sense...

Further Reading & Watching:
Ban Comic Sans
Vincent Connare Defends Comic Sans
When Good People Pick Bad Fonts
23 Really Bad Font Choices

Everything is Better When the Sun Shines

2011-03-23T14:20:00.001Z

Spring is here! This seasonal shift directly correlates to my current mood- one of optimism and that feeling that things are starting to look up. Leaving the house without freezing one's bollocks off certainly helps enhance the collective mood.

8 Reasons Why I Love Spring:

1. It is warmer.
2. I have been able to plant some fruit and veg in the garden.
3. Daffodils.
4. Baby lambs.
5. Putting that massive winter coat away.
6. Opening windows- fresh air.
7. Much better light for photography.
8. I can play basketball in my back garden without getting covered in mud.

Expect some more spring photography from myself soon!

Good Deeds & Good Design Launch!

2011-03-07T14:35:00.000Z

I can finally unveil my new initiative! Good Deeds & Good Design launched today, and offer professional quality graphic design work completely free of charge to any charity registered in England or Wales.

If you run a charity in need of some design work, or know anybody that does, please get in touch!

You can also find us on facebook, just search for Good Deeds & Good Design.

1984

2011-03-05T20:20:00.000Z

A poster illustration I put together the other day, on the theme of our surveilance society.

Copycatostrophic

2011-02-27T12:26:00.000Z

Good afternoon. Firstly I bring you an interesting blog on the theme of design rip-offs. You Thought We Wouldn't Notice highlights a range of design rip-offs, from the subtle to the outrageously blatent. It is a collaborative project and anyone can submit something they've found, so if your designs have been the victim of copycats or you've noticed someone who has been, then get involved!

Of course design is always the result of a collection of influences and ideas. There will always be new ideas, but it is inevitable that designers are influenced by the work of others as well as seemingly unconnected influences such as films or even conversations. There is however a clear difference between drawing influence through research and knowledge of trends and just blatently copying someone else's hard work. Something which continually perplexed me during my time at university was that I was often criticised for not showing enough ‘reference to contemporary design’ in some of my work- fair enough perhaps- but this was never because I wasn't aware of what was happening in the world of contemporary design, simply because I didn't see any benefit or merit in being a copycat designer, churning out work frighteningly similar to whatever was popular at the time. Maybe this was a mistake- other students rode the trend wave religiously and got higher marks than I did as a result, but personally I feel that at the end of it all my portfolio shows a lot more initiative and creativity to make my own choices, and I can sleep easy knowing that I never ripped anyone off.

More on the subject:
Ripped off by Paperchase
Copycat Design
Superdry issues writs to 'copycat' designers

The Art of Hermann Zapf

2011-02-08T19:56:00.000Z

Interesting video in which legend of typographic design Hermann Zapf shows off some calligraphic techniques and shares some tips for producing quality hand-lettering. Well worth a watch for any budding calligrapher, designer or artist.

Sign Painters

2011-02-07T21:27:00.000Z

A nice little film about a sign painter in the USA.

Out & About

2011-02-06T13:24:00.000Z

So the last few days I've been out and about a bit despite the stormy weather. On friday I went to visit the lovely people at Qwertyop who very kindly took the time out to have a chat with me. They also showed me some letterpress printing techniques which were very interesting.

Earlier in the week I was out taking photographs in Stroud, wasn't the most fruitful day, but I do like this unusual image which I captured from the roof of a multi-storey car park.

What you probably didn't know is I'm also a bit of an amateur DJ, don't worry I won't be promoting any of that on this website, but just this once, you can hear some of my mixes here.

Bye for now!

Mean Ghouls

2011-01-30T15:40:00.000Z

My latest offering from the Horror Poster Parody series I've been working on. Let me know what you think.

Starbucks Rebrand

2011-01-26T16:07:00.000Z

2010 was without doubt the year of the needless rebrand, with Waterstones, and most noteably GAP, both deciding to rebrand their extremely well established names and images. In the case of GAP there was such a huge public backlash that they retracted their decision to change, and stuck with the old logo and stylings. Now Starbucks have become the latest multinational to make the decision to rebrand, stripping the words from its logo, leaving just the image. This is only the second time they have changed its branding in it's forty year existence.

My initial reaction is one of disappointment, the old logo is both iconic and somehow just feels right for a coffee shop, the reduced version is lacking in warmth and character in my opinion. However history suggests that when a company as widely known as Starbucks simplifies it's logo down to a single visual icon, it's power seems to grow- it worked for Pepsi, McDonalds and Apple. As Andrew Collins, director of brand agency 1HQ points out:

‘Logic goes that if you decouple your company name from the visual icon, it suggests a brand that's extremely well-known and sure of itself. That's a token of confidence. Iconic branding is also useful if expanding into different geographies: you don't have to worry about language or translation. Starbucks might also be looking to create digital applications and mobile apps and the like. The simpler you can make your branding for this kind of process, the better.’

So although my initial personal reaction is that of disappointment, unlike the aforementioned rebrands of 2010, I cannot deny that this rebrand will prove successful for Starbucks.

History of Pepsi rebranding.

Some Fine Links

2011-01-12T19:20:00.000Z

My computer finally fixed, so I'm here to dump some of the finest links the internet has to offer on you today.
So without further chit-chat, enjoy:

Patrick the Incurable Optimist- 100 Months to Live, 100 Portraits to Paint
Gift A Stranger
Junior Senior- Move Your Feet Music Video (Remember this one!?)

Happy New Year!

2011-01-03T20:10:00.000Z

Happy New Year everybody, I'm still having some issues with my computer but it should be fixed by the end of the week, so expect a flood of posts next week. Until then x

Back in Action

2010-12-21T14:51:00.000Z

Hello all. I haven't posted anything for a couple of weeks because my computer has been in pieces undergoing repair! Much thanks to my father for fixing and upgrading some parts on it for me. Firstly I would like to share with you a fantastic animation from Polish studio Platige:

About my own work, I'll be dropping the next horror movie parody poster very soon, I've essentially finished it already but there's a couple of minor details bugging me, and being the perfectionist that I am, they're getting looked at first. I've also been a little set back in a major project due to my computer problems, but it will still be launched before the end of the year, so watch this space.

In other news, it's been snowing an awful lot here, and I have of course taken the oppurtunity to take lots of photos, some of which I will share with you tomorrow, once I've sifted through them and picked out my favourites.

I'll leave you with one of my favourite design projects of the last few years, enjoy.

One Million Giraffes

2010-12-07T14:56:00.000Z

One Million Giraffes is an interesting project started by Ola Helland, who describes the project like this:

‘On the 6th of June last year I made a bet with my good friend, Jørgen. He didn't believe it was possible for me to collect one million giraffes. 440 days later I proved him wrong with help of people from all around the world. 102 countries helped out showing Jørgen how amazing the internet is.’

Over a million hand-made/hand-drawn giraffes have now been sent in. This was my submission:

Which you can also see here.

If you want to submit your own giraffe, visit http://www.onemilliongiraffes.com/.

Another Poster & Some Other Good Stuff

2010-12-05T13:56:00.000Z

Here's my second Horror Film Parody Poster:

And some interesting links for you:

Logo Mash-Ups
Type Union
The Incredible Shrinking Man

Bye for now!

Horror Parodies

2010-12-04T15:34:00.000Z

Don't you love old illustrated horror film posters? I do.

Which is why I decided to do a series of four horror-style parodies of normal films. Here's my first:

And if you are interested, here's a good Flickr group of old illustrated horror film posters.

World's Smallest Stop Motion Character

2010-12-02T11:24:00.001Z

New Myspace Logo

2010-12-01T11:27:00.000Z

Ok so this is a couple of months old now, but today I saw for the first time Myspace's new logo:

...and its... silly. We all get the hilarious little joke, replacing the word 'space' with a space, but is this really suitable for a global corporate logo? I think not. After GAP's new logo unveiling and subsequent withdrawing after public backlash, it seems clear that people aren't all that open to change when it comes to well established logos. 'If it ain't broke, don't fix it' comes to mind.

Myspace's previous logo was a little bland to be fair:

Mike Macadam (MySpace VP of User Experience) explains the philosophy behind the new logo: 'MySpace is a platform for people to be whatever they want, so we’ve decided to give them the space to do it.'

Apparently the 'space' will be filled with user generated artwork when users hover over it:

Which is a neat idea, however I think they have forgotten the importance of the name of the company, granted- most people know what Myspace is these days, but no one who is stumbling across the site for the first time is going to understand what it's called! I think this could be a big mistake. Clearly Myspace is willing to gamble on it's established name giving it the scope to be creative with the logo. I personally think all it would take is the word space to appear in the 'space' and it could disappear to be replaced by the artwork when hovered over- problem solved.

Celebrity Culture

2010-10-28T12:20:00.000+01:00

Celebrity culture angers me intensely, to the point that I want to tear magazines like Closer and heat off the shelves and get a bonfire going, however I don;t think my local newsagent would approve. I just can't understand people's obsessions with minor ‘celebrities’ of little or no worth, the small fluctuations weight of pop singers and the latest ‘scandalous’ x-factor news. I propose that we introduce new rules for the definition of celebrity:

1. They must be known by their full name or stage name, none of this ‘Jon off of big bruvva’ or ‘Sarah off x-factor’ shit.

2. They must have a career of note- when asked what this person is famous for, the answer cannot be ‘She was on celebrity get me out of here innit’

3. Celebrity status is relinquished after a period of x years with no achievements of worth. Kerry Katona, why are you on magazine covers?

4. Ban life documentaries, reality TV and TV singing contests: No one with half a brain cell cares what Katy Price is up to, these programs are just numbing our brains, and TV singing contests never produce anyone of any worth, as they are pushed through a flawed system, get a number one single written for them, bought and paid for, and then suddenly find themselves totally lost because they don't know how to write a song, and haven't paid their dues or learnt their craft by working up from the bottom like real talent does. If someone is genuinely good enough and driven enough to become a famous artist, they'll make it happen themselves.

Great Britain

2010-10-21T00:01:00.000+01:00

“I'm from a little place called Great Britain, but I don't know if I love or hate Britain”

- Scroobius Pip

People love to complain about this country- it rains too much, people are rude, there's nothing to do etc I know a lot of people who aim to emigrate to get away from it all, and I usually try to tell them that this is not the answer. Sure, Britain has it's problems, but so does everywhere. I can't help but think that by swapping countries, you're just exchanging one set of problems for another. You might lose the crappy weather, the chavs outside the supermarket, the painfully slow trains and the potholed a-roads, but these would just be replaced by other issues, be it poor healthcare, lack of job opportunities, violence, racism, sexism, lack of disabled facilities, threat of terrorism etc. Not to mention all the great things you'd leave behind, not least a decent cup of tea.

A Post on Photography

2010-10-12T16:22:00.000+01:00

I've been spending a good chunk of my spare time taking photographs lately, some for projects, others just for fun. There has also recently been an informative series on techniques for those looking to get into photography as a hobby, or enthusiasts that want to take their work to the next level, it's called 'How to Take Stunning Pictures'.

So on that theme, I thought I'd share some impressive photographers (and 'photo-illustrators', not that I like the phrase) that I've stumbled upon in recent years.

(Photo Manipulation)

(Who I had the pleasure of working with on W&W Magazine)

Benoit Paille

And you can check out my own photography on Flickr, bye for now!

Stop Motion

2010-09-23T16:21:00.000+01:00

Thought I'd share some wicked stop motion animations with you today, some of which have been around for a while, but for those who haven't seen 'em, here are some of the best:

Please feel free to send me any brilliant stop motion videos that you feel I've wrongly not included!

News

2010-09-17T16:13:00.000+01:00

Hello. I had a nice arrival in the post today:

A nice little book of retro fonts, with a CD of 222 of them to use. Most of them are really useful, although there are a few crap ones in there. Well worth the £22 from Amazon though, even if it did take a month to get to me! The only annoying thing is that you have to install each font individually, which is very time consuming, however it does allow you to have a good look at each one before installing, so you can pick the ones which will be useful to you.

I've been working on a few projects lately, can't really give too much away at the moment, but I've been working on the identity for a new company which I will reveal soon. Also working on an interesting collaborative project with my good friend Tom Bell - that's all I can really say for now!

I'm back!

2010-09-11T13:11:00.000+01:00

Hello everybody! You might have noticed its been a little while since I updated, and I do apologise- I've been rather busy lately doing things like this:

That's right, I am now officially a graduate of the University of Lincoln!

No more dodgy student accomodation, mountains of unclaimed health-hazard washing up or cheaper cinema tickets for me. The graduation ceremony was lovely- graduating from the magnificent Lincoln cathedral, one of the most beautiful buildings in Europe. I would like to congratulate all my fellow graduates and wish you all the best for the future.

More coming shortly about what I've been up to, bye for now.

Good Evening

2010-08-12T23:47:00.000+01:00

Hi everybody. I'm heading northwards tomorrow to visit my girlfriend in the exotic town of Doncaster for the weekend, and then heading to Lincoln for a few days after that, so I guess I probably won't be updating for about a week, so here's some wonderful stuff to enjoy whilst I'm gone:

Why America is Fucked (Graphically at Least)

2010-08-09T12:34:00.000+01:00

This is a little old now, but still as appropriate as ever.

America Is F*cked.......(Graphically at least) from Jess Gibson on Vimeo.

Stunning Video

2010-08-08T14:36:00.000+01:00

A stunning super slo-mo video, mainly of things being destroyed, well worth a watch, enjoy!

New Stuff

2010-08-04T12:51:00.000+01:00

Hello to you all on this miserable rainy Wednesday afternoon. A quick update to what I've been up to. I just entered DesignContest's illustration competition 'What does a virus look like'. Here's my entry:

You can enter yourself at http://www.designcontest.net/

I am also working on several logo design projects, and a collaboration is also in the pipeline, will keep you updated!

I have also updated my Flickr with some new photos, so do check 'em out.

Take care x

So Where Have I Been?

2010-07-14T17:58:00.000+01:00

So it's been a while since I posted anything, as I've been on a lovely holiday in Western Spain, visiting Barcelona, Salou and Cambrils.

Check out all my holiday photos on Flickr.

Now I'm back home and job hunting which is proving frustrating!

Today I entered this month's Camera Club assignment competition at http://www.theguardian.co.uk/

The theme is 'texture' and this is my entry:

Enter here and you might win a brand new Nikon D5000.

Stuff!

2010-06-23T12:46:00.000+01:00

Hi guys, thought I'd share with you some stuff which I've looked at today.

Firstly the sad news that the printed version of Grafik magazine is no more.

Presumably the online presence will continue.

http://www.grafikmag.com/

On a brighter note: some wicked type, logo and illustration work from Pino Lamanna:

Hello

2010-06-08T15:33:00.000+01:00

Hello and welcome to my blog! A little about myself, my name is Chris West, and I am a Graphic Designer originating from Gloucester (UK) having studied at the University of Lincoln. You can see some of my design work at my main website: www.chris-west.co.uk

I will use this blog to share not only cool pieces of design which I wish to share with you all, but also my own work and photographs, as well as general musings and ramblings from my everyday life.

So, sit back and relax, I hope you enjoy reading!

Chris