Big Ideas (don’t get any) from James Houston on Vimeo.

On guitar, Mr Sinclair Spectrum. On drums, Epson Printer. And let’s not forget the legendary HP Scanjet on bass. We interview student James Houston, whose brilliant Radiohead video has been causing quite a stir…

Detail from last year’s Central Saint Martins graphic design show catalogue (by Oscar & Ewan). Degree shows offer a great opportunity for graduates to direct attention to themselves and their work. You’d never guess…

It’s that time of year again: the student degree shows are about to kick off and, potentially, launch the career of many a future creative star. Here at CR we do our best to see as many shows as we can and have compiled a list of some of the main ones to see this year, from all over the UK. For those of you who like to see as much work as possible in one place, we’ve also got details on the group shows from D&AD, Free Range and New Designers that showcase the work of hundreds of colleges. And if you want to add details of any other shows we haven’t included here, then please leave all the relevant info as a comment…

Students: good hair, nice togs, the future of the creative industries. All photography: Thomas Ball

For CR’s Graduate Guide, 15 students set to graduate from LCC this year shared their ambitions, frustrations and opinions with lecturer Sarah Temple. Jonathan Ellery of design studio Browns (in green T-shirt) was also on hand to offer advice.

Giving advice to design graduates used to be fairly straightforward (writes LCC’s Sarah Temple): remember you’re a person and not a portfolio. Mingle at design events. Just call up your favourite creative director. Avoid portfolios with zips. But these days, graduation is considerably more confusing and challenging for students. For this reason, LCC invited 15 design students to have a conversation about their hopes, ambitions and concerns as they graduate this summer. [The following article appears in our Graduate Guide, free with the current issue of CR]…

Still from the Ode To Ford ad written by Ogilvy London and directed
by Noam Murro. Now the victim of a rather funny YouTube-hosted spoof

In this day and age, it’s never been easier to doctor audio or visual material with tools on our computers. When we posted up the latest Cadbury’s ad from Fallon (that features a host of airport vehicles racing each other to the soundtrack of Queen’s Don’t Stop Me Now) a few weeks ago - almost immediately people responded by posting links to spoof films or versions with soundtracks tweaked for maximum hilarity. On one hand spoofs are made to poke fun at an original piece of work – but on the other, they acknowledge the original as a valid cultural reference point. So you could say, you know you’ve made it when your work is spoofed or parodied…

Isles of Scilly film part 1 for adidas ‘Dream Big’ campaign by 180 Amsterdam

As UEFA Euro 2008 rapidly approaches, the footie-related advertising cometh. This latest football fare comes from 180 Amsterdam for adidas, and consists of a series of films shown online based around the theme ‘Dream Big’. The films’ twist is that rather than concentrating on the big teams that are vying to win Euro 2008, they look instead at some of the world’s smallest teams, and stresses that they too can dream big, no matter how tiny they might be.

Happiness video, Goldfrapp, directed by Dougal Wilson, production company: Colonel Blimp

For your Friday pleasure, here is a selection of great new videos we’ve spotted recently. First up is another gem from Dougal Wilson, his second in a row for Goldfrapp. This one’s for new track, Happiness, and, appropriately enough, is pretty much guaranteed to make you smile. Unless you’re a commentator on Antville, where the video has caused rather a storm of debate. A quicktime of the video can be viewed here.