Andy and I make up 49th Floor Design and Artworking. yeah, yeah this is great, but more importantly; I own the Mysterious Cities of Gold and Quincy DVD box sets.
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Last week my late night erm motions were interrupted by the sound of all Hell breaking loose outside in the garden. Thinking we were being burgled, I immediately grabbed the trusty spade I keep next to the bed for situations such as these and went to dispense some justice (cower, waving spade furiously in random directions). Turns out that we have a family of foxes living under the decking and the 4 fox cubs were going mEnTaL over a pack of ready-cooked chicken from the nearby Sainsburys. They are dead cute - please see below:
I'm still trying to figure out if Pinterest is going to take over from Facebook and Twitter as my primary waste of time or if it's going to end up being a damp squib like Google+ in the end. Time will tell, but it's got a good hit rate so far, this week introducing me to the inspirational site: goodfuckingdesignadvice.com
I love it's minimalistic styling and the clarity of the messages is just brilliant and clever. I might even order the mug and poster, but I will definitely be taking the GFDA Pledge.
Most evenings there's a constant struggle in my house between the socially, artistically and culturally worthy broadcasts that TV was made for and the entertainment vacuum that my beloved wife choses her evening viewing from (Hollyoaks, I'm looking in your direction here). The only reprieve is by means of a secret rite, that can be performed once a century when the Moon is in the eighth house of Aquarius OR when my wife has found a new book series featuring the exploits of a bunch of teenage, single parent, vegetarian vampires. I'd scoff some more, but seeing as the latest book allowed me to engage with 'The Art of Seeing' featuring David Hockney (clearly there was no football on that night) I was grateful to the maudlin, cretinous nonsense that was corrupting the brain of the lady to my left.
We have discussed before about how many designers start off as artists who are then forced into searching for a practical application of their talents. I have no problem with the choices that I made here, but the sad fact is that somewhere along the line, the pursuit of art history and artists in general takes a back seat whilst you fight to understand the latest layout software, retouching tools and code structures. I used to love visiting galleries, reading art books, learning about the social context of art movements and getting my head around the implications of what art has influenced. Well, when I say 'love' I really mean 'forced to love through necessity by my college at the time' but that doesn't really have the same ring to it. In my college days the internet solely consisted of Joe Cartoon and AOL chat and so I really did need to visit these galleries and read these books - you couldn't log in and wing it. Today it's a different story however and only a few short moments into The Art of Seeing I was lazing my way through the Wikipedia post on Hockney to extend my knowledge beyond 'wasn't he that bloke what painted them swimming pools in the 60s'. The Wikipedia entry for Hockney stated that Hockney is one of the most influential British artists of the 20th Century which I suppose is irrefutable, but the thing that really interested me about him was the following (which I assume is true): "Hockney was born with synesthesia; he sees synesthetic colours to musical stimuli."
For some God knows why reason this web site is getting tons of traffic for the search term 'Comic Sans Batman'. It links through to the article Andy wrote last year and whilst we are always grateful for a little exposure, I did wonder why this term in particular seems to yield results at the moment. I Googled it myself and whilst the answer to this puzzle is still a mystery to me, I did spy a link to an article highlighting DC comics have launched a new logo. I have never really been interested in comic books, but I do like Batman since he's teamed up with Michael Caine and so I thought I'd take a look in customary 49th Floor, low-fi style.
DC's existing Star, swooshy, shieldy thing was designed by Brainchild Studio's Josh Beatman in 2005, which wasn't that long ago and frankly hasn't aged that well in my opinion. In brief, I think it's impeccably put together and has obviously taken cues from the company heritage - but I think the conceptual post-modern approach suggests a company coming to terms with the end of the nineties rather than one marching proudly into modernity. I presume that this is why DC felt they wanted to revisit their logo, with a fundamental rethink and shift in creative objective. It could just be they didn't like blue or something, but you'd have to ask them.
I haven't read Creative Review or any logo blogs yet and therefore I don't really know whether I'm sUpPoSeD to like it or not yet, but I can tell you that I really do like the new logo. I don't think anyone could argue that it's not well drawn, but upon first glance the new DC logo is kinda grey and it does look VERY corporate when viewed out of situ. When DC title-specific colourways and characters are applied to the logo in situ, for me it really comes to life. The concept of peeling back the cover to find what's underneath isn't really new - but I think it's perfected here and the way in which it unifies DCs vast array of characters and stories whilst not compromising their own identities is really clever and refreshing.
Identities that integrate with brands and campaigns as a whole rather than concentrating on wowsers logos, gradient-meshed to the rafters sitting in arrogant defiance like it's the most important thing on the page are the way forward for me. I wonder what everyone else is saying about it?
This weekend I decided to turn off the TV, power down the Mac and just sit and listen to some music. This doesn't sound too ground-breaking does it, but listening to music for pure pleasure rather than to break creepy office silence, drown out your pounding heart as you run around the block or to act as the soundtrack to alcohol fuelled nonsense is a novel concept whilst other more modern pursuits vie for your attention.
If you take the time to really listen to an album, from start to finish - even if it's one that you are familiar with I am sure that you'll find it a rewarding experience as I did. I found that when I was done, my creative spirit had been enriched and I set about doing some sketching - which is something I always mean to do more of.
These examples won't win us any clients I suspect, but I thought I'd share them with you anyway just because. Click on each one to get a larger version.
This week I decided to treat the mrs by ditching my usual value basics bright white bumper pack of toilet paper from our weekly shop. Instead I opted for the spectacularly pretty bright and bold series from the Andrex limited collection range which is printed on a material that honestly feels nicer than my actual duvet.
I rushed home, quivering with excitement at the prospect of my wife's rapturous, beaming smile as she opened the day-glow orange Sainsburys bag and the joy she would undoubtably display for the next few days as she got a taste of the high life. I felt a little bit like a lion in the Serengeti who had taken down a gazelle for the family and was plodding back to the den dribbling over the fresh meat. Hunter gatherer personified; "woman, here be ye patterned paper for defecation perfection" -Swooooooooon. Why God himself couldn't have wished for a more pleasant wiping experience than this I am sure.
Later on I took my place at the throne to deposit the children to the pool and I swiftly became less thrilled by the experience. The fact was, I found myself being a tad disgusted at what can only be described as a major design-flaw. The problem is two-ply (see what I did):
1. Its quilted sheets feel so soft and velvety - almost like a duvet. Do I want to wipe my back-side with a duvet? No, I do not. This idea is sick.
2. Unravelling the roll a bit reveals a bright, colourful, abstract art masterpiece. Do I want to wipe my arse with a work of art? No, this is morally corrupt.
I acknowledge that often the average NHS-white toilet environment could possibly be a little bland and in need of cheering up - but is toilet paper really the best application? Isn't this what those toilet seats that look like little aquariums are for? If I want to smear my faecal matter over anything or anyone it certainly wouldn't be Pete the pink flamingo and pals (2 Flamingos, one Butterfly.com - yuk) but it would be someone or something that I utterly despise.
By accident I think I have stumbled upon THE concept of the year so far. I am proud to introduce to you all: 'Spite Paper' a range of toilet papers that you will almost certainly WANT to wipe your bum on.
Have you ever been in a situation where an individual has either deliberately or inadvertently knocked the wind out of your sails? You have put hours of time into a project and in this period you have invested a little piece of yourself as well, just for someone to come along and nuke all your hard-earned positivity with a single statement?
Thanks to @joey_coops I now know that this has a name of its very own; 'Mood Hoover'. I've not heard it before, but I thought it was such an evocative term that I wanted to immortalise it forever via the medium of sarky poster, which is now available to you all for free by clicking on the image above.
The mood hoover represents a tact-void who exists only to swallow up 100% of the hope and joy in any given environment and store it in the misery vacuum for it's own blank amusement. It's Monday morning - I'm sure the Mood Hoovers are out in force today, stay strong out there people.
Geek alert.
This is possibly the geekiest thing you've ever read/seen/done/enjoyed, so if all things bespectacled, pale and pathetic irritate your sensibilities then look away now.
To the uninitiated, Lorem ipsum is placeholder text commonly used to fill the gaps in a design until the final approved copy has become available. It was specifically created to have no meaning and its passing resemblance to Latin was not intentional. It's also known as greeking deriving from the phrase 'it's all Greek to me'.
It's also boooooorrrrrriiiinnnnnng if you use it often enough - even more so if you opt for the 'Placeholder text' from InDesign which doesn't even have familiarity to boost it's profile. So what's the solution to acute Lorem Syndrome leading to boring layouts?
Courtesy of Ed from The Pilates Pod I would like to introduce you all to http://baconipsum.com which offers a meatier taste of Lorem which I'm sure you will agree is far easier to digest (albeit dirty and carcinogenic). Couple your layout with placeholder images featuring Hams and bacon and you might just win that pitch this time (or at least score the sandwich van an extra BLT).
FYI there's also a vegetarian version if you are that way inclined: veggieipsum.com or if you don't want to have filler text made from anything that has a face then go for: veganipsum.com
So, Christmas is done and the New year hangover has faded and all we are left with is the unending bleakness of the UK January skyline and the irritating inevitability of having to deconstruct the plastic tree and assemble the component parts into the cupboard Tetris-style. Holiday seems a long way away (or non-existent if you are me or Andy) and now the wind has started howling through the empty pockets and wallets throughout the land it really must be about the right time for something to cheer us up.
We've posted about logo fails before and how not seeing the wood for the trees can lead to unfortunate results. As it never fails to put a smile back on my face, it's a pretty decent place to start and this year we have been fortunate enough to be blessed with a real high profile howler from Stumble.
49th Floor Design and Artworking have a can-do attitude which minimises the involvement of third parties throughout the creative process. This concept helps keep overheads at an absolute minimum and this cost-saving is passed on to each of our clients without impacting any area of delivery.
We realise that things don't always go to plan and sometimes things are needed in a hurry, but without a compromise on quality. We are dedicated to always being available to our clients and making ourselves flexible enough to accomodate the most demanding deadlines.
It's important to use the right software solution to achieve your goal and our clients can rest assured that whatever project comes our way, the 49th will utilise the most modern applications and techniques to guarantee a high quality level of finish.
Most evenings there's a constant struggle in my house between the socially, artistically and culturally worthy broadcasts that TV was made for and the entertainment vacuum that my beloved wife choses her evening viewing from (Hollyoaks, I'm looking in your direction here). The only reprieve is by means of a secret rite, that can be performed once a century when the Moon is in the eighth house of Aquarius OR when my wife has found a new book series featuring the exploits of a bunch of teenage, single parent, vegetarian vampires. I'd scoff some more, but seeing as the latest...
Print is dead and so is everyone else according to John Cusack... The John Cusack prophecy/future-documentary ‘2012’ promises us some kind of natural disaster related death this year. I haven’t managed to find three hours of my life I am happy to consign to the joy vacuum that ‘2012’ no doubt represents so unfortunately I am unable to furnish you with anyspecifics on the impending fate of the UK and what form that will take although you can glean some clues from the following sentence which I havehelpfully snatched from Wikipedia as part of your apocalypse early warning... ”President Wilson is later...
This week I decided to treat the mrs by ditching my usual value basics bright white bumper pack of toilet paper from our weekly shop. Instead I opted for the spectacularly pretty bright and bold series from the Andrex limited collection range which is printed on a material that honestly feels nicer than my actual duvet. I rushed home, quivering with excitement at the prospect of my wife's rapturous, beaming smile as she opened the day-glow orange Sainsburys bag and the joy she would undoubtably display for the next few days as she got a taste of the high life. I...
Geek alert. This is possibly the geekiest thing you've ever read/seen/done/enjoyed, so if all things bespectacled, pale and pathetic irritate your sensibilities then look away now.
To the uninitiated, Lorem ipsum is placeholder text commonly used to fill the gaps in a design until the final approved copy has become available. It was specifically created to have no meaning and its passing resemblance to Latin was not intentional. It's also known as greeking deriving from the phrase 'it's all Greek to me'. It's also boooooorrrrrriiiinnnnnng if you use it often enough - even more so if you opt for the 'Placeholder text' from InDesign which doesn't even have familiarity to boost it's profile. So what's the solution to acute Lorem Syndrome leading to boring layouts? Courtesy of Ed...
Due to some negatively reported stories of genocide, I had felt that my brand was generally in need of some refreshment before moving on to phase 3 of my Cake business "I'll be Bake". 49th Floor held my hand through the process and offered real value for money. I was so pleased I gave them my clothes, my boots and my motorcycle to say thank you - highly recommended.
I've created worlds but it's really not as impressive as it sounds and what really was impressive was the speed and quality of the on-line promotions 49th Floor did for my wardrobe business. Great work lads.
My son had been dabbling with design for years using MS Word - but the Emperor and I felt that his destiny lay elsewhere and to really get the Dark Side out there to the rest of the Empire in a modern and professional way, we needed to source a supplier with some real force. We called 49th Floor and just a short time later we were overjoyed with some impressive, most impressive new advertising.
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