Pantone Smoothies
It’s almost the weekend… Surely it’s time to create a smoothie in an exact Pantone shade?
Fe2O3 – making glyphs with ferrofluid and magnetic fields
Typographer Craig Ward has once again collaborated with biochemist and photographer Linden Gledhill on the development of Fe2O3 Glyphs, an ornamental typeface produced by subjecting ferrofluid to magnetic fields. The resulting glyphs are set to feature on a series of unique letterpress prints
D&AD New Blood 2015: the winners
D&AD has announced the winners of its New Blood student awards, with three black, four white and 20 yellow pencils going to projects for Nationwide, Airbnb, WeTransfer, WWF, Pantone, BBC, Vice and more.
Further thoughts on a flag for the ‘former’ United Kingdom
Last September, Scotland decided to remain part of the United Kingdom, but with the SNP’s significant presence in Westminster, Scottish independence is still firmly on the political agenda. Quentin Newark follows up his previous post on what the UK flag might look like should Scotland eventually become a separate nation and, in light of what other nations have done, looks at some more design ideas
Marsala: Pantone’s Colour of the year 2015
Farewell Radiant Orchid, we hardly knew you (or noticed you being used very much). Hello Marsala, Pantone’s Colour of the Year for 2015
Front to back: The Book of Strange New Things
The new novel from Michel Faber, The Book of Strange New Things, features a cover designed and art directed by Canongate’s Rafaela Romaya and illustrated by Yehrin Tong. In the latest instalment of our Front to Back series, the pair talk through the process behind creating a unifying symbol and pattern design for the book
The Trends issue: Klein’s Blue
Suddenly, Yves Klein’s favourite colour is everywhere in graphic design. But why did International Klein Blue get so popular?
Record sleeves of the month
This month’s round-up of intriguing, unusual or beautiful album art includes work for The Horrors, Fink, Sohn and Oneohtrix Point Never. First up, though, is Melbourne studio Tin&Ed’s work for Australian musician Chet Faker’s album, Built on Glass…
Sagmeister & Walsh rebrand New York’s Jewish Museum
Sagmeister & Walsh has designed a new visual identity for New York’s Jewish Museum based on the same ancient geometry as the Star of David.
The painful task of updating a design portfolio
How hard can it be to convey the kind of work we do in ten small pictures, without completely losing the plot?
The return of Father Brown
This month sees another fine set of reissues from Penguin – GK Chesterton’s Father Brown series, designed in-house by Matthew Young with a nod to the influential work of Romek Marber
Pantone’s Colour of the Year
2013 is coming to an end, which means its time to bid farewell to Emerald and welcome Radiant Orchid – Pantone’s colour of the year for 2014.
Creatives on the books that shaped them
We speak to figures from the worlds of design, advertising, and more about the books they’ve learned the most from over the course of their careers
Who will win the online education arms race?
E-learning, bootcamps and workshops are all booming, but what does it take to survive long term in the world of learning? Mastered’s Perri Lewis and SuperHi’s Rik Lomas discuss the big questions education providers face
One Hundred Years tells the story of Hackney through the ages
Published by Hoxton Mini Press, Jenny Lewis’ new photo book features 100 portraits of 100 Hackney locals – from a newborn through to a centenarian
How I Got Here: Hillary Coe, AKQA
Designer, drag racer and analogue astronaut Hillary Coe has joined AKQA as principal of experience, following a position as director of design at SpaceX. She talks to us about creating roles for herself that didn’t exist and embedding adventure into her life and work
The Fandangoe Kid on creativity as catharsis
Artist Annie Nicholson, aka The Fandangoe Kid, shares how grief has shaped her practice, and discusses the complexities of using creativity to work through trauma
Polly Irungu on creating Black Women Photographers
The platform Black Women Photographers was set up in 2020 to create a community that empowers Black women and non-binary photographers. Here Irungu discusses her motivations and the journey she’s been on
Penguin’s Len Deighton covers are a twist on classic 60s book jackets
A new Modern Classics collection of the British writer’s spy novels reinterprets the chevron graphics of Raymond Hawkey’s original Penguin paperback covers
Inside the VFX boom
The VFX artists behind Disney’s award-winning film The One and Only Ivan talk about tapping into their secret inner thespian and why VFX is in the midst of a golden period
Making sense of the NFT gold rush
NFTs have been all over the news, spreading a mix of confusion and excitement in equal measure. Here, James Britton, group managing director at Stink Studios, explores what opportunities they might open up for artists and designers
Donald Graham Burt on making a career in production design
The Oscar-winning production designer discusses his journey from night janitor to one of David Fincher’s most trusted collaborators, plus his work on the director’s latest film Mank
How design is bringing new places to life
The past year has created a new emphasis on our surroundings, leading to an acute awareness of whether areas really serve their communities. We explore how place branding and marketing have been adjusted to reflect this
Inter Milan introduces stripped back ‘I am’ logo
Bureau Borsche is responsible for the updated visual identity, which is tailored for digital environments and, according to the club, aims to “establish itself as an icon of culture as well as sport”
Why portrait photography is all about trust
CR speaks to three portrait photographers about why they were drawn to the art form, and the importance of trust and collaboration when working with a subject
Rachel Seidu’s photography captures what she sees around her
The Lagos-based photographer is inspired by her environment and favours close crops to capture the emotions of her subjects
Kara Haupt on art directing for daily news websites
Haupt is senior art director for the websites of NBC News, Today and MSNBC. Here she talks about the importance of commissioning and the pressure of millions of viewers every day
My breakthrough moment: Simon Buckley
“I wanted to be Ultravox, but sometimes I worry I’ve ended up like Joe Dolce.” Simon Buckley’s photograph of Manchester in the rain became a viral sensation in 2019. He explains what happened next
Confessions of a former Trump designer
As the founder of social impact agency Smakk, Katie Klencheski’s mission feels a million miles away from the Trump Hotels brand that she helped establish in the early noughties. She discusses how the experience taught her the importance of practicing what you preach
Photographers finding humour in the streets
Everyday life is packed with unintentionally comical moments – if only you have the skills to spot them. Here, three photographers discuss ways of capturing humour on our streets
Documenting the drag explosion
Armed with her camera, Linda Simpson found herself at the heart of New York’s burgeoning drag scene in the 80s. Her new book gives an insight into the hedonistic heights and melancholic lows that came to define the era
Radio 2 becomes one of the family in quirky new campaign
Presenters including Sara Cox and Rylan Clark-Neal join some enjoyably awkward family photos, complete with matching outfits, disgruntled children and swathes of 80s lycra
An oral history of the Old Spice ads
First launched in 2010, Wieden + Kennedy Portland’s shirtless one-shot ads for P&G brand Old Spice turned heads and spawned a cascade of spinoffs. We retrace how the ads were made with the creatives as well as The Man himself, Isaiah Mustafa
Alex Merto on his less is more approach to book cover design
Having designed book covers for around ten years, Merto says his process is driven fully by the book rather than his own personal style
Tackling graphic design’s relationship with race
In new book The Design of Race, Peter Fine discusses how technology, graphic design, typography and photography have all influenced ideas of race in America
The golden age of webcomics
Dwindling attention spans and a hunger for immediate punchlines mean webcomics are flourishing – and they have plenty to teach us about what the internet finds funny. We talk to artists Alex Norris, Sarah Andersen and Reza Farazmand to find out more
