Paul Peter Piech at the People’s History Museum
An extensive exhibition on the art of printmaker Paul Peter Piech is set to open at the People’s History Museum in Manchester on October 1.
Everything is Architecture: Bau magazine at the ICA
There is a treat for design fans coming up at the end of this month at the ICA in London, as the gallery hosts an exhibition celebrating the 1960s Austrian architectural magazine Bau: Magazine for Architecture and Urban Planning.
Rebranding Oxford’s oldest church
Creating an identity for an 800-year-old church that will attract a new audience, without alienating its existing one, is a challenging task. But since launching early this year, Spy Studio’s branding for Oxford’s University Church has had a positive response from both newcomers and loyal visitors. We spoke to associate priest Alan Ramsey, a former designer, and Spy director Ben Duckett about the thinking behind the church’s new look.
Record sleeves of the month
Our latest pick of great album art includes an animated record sleeve for Jaga Jazzist, acid bright folk art for Nozinja, a beautiful deluxe box set for Of Monsters and Men and some psychedelic designs for Tame Impala. First up, though, is Andrew Archer’s illustrated cover art for Everything Everything’s Get to Heaven.
The design of Spare Rib
As the British Library makes the entire archive of women’s magazine Spare Rib available online, we republish co-founder Marsha Rowe’s article on how the original design of the publication came about – from its tissue paper logo to the ground-breaking image used on the first issue’s front cover
Are older women finally in fashion?
Fashion ads are filled with cool older women at the moment, from Joan Didion for Céline and Joni Mitchell for Saint Laurent, to Helen Mirren for L’Oreal and Charlotte Rampling for Nars. Does this mean that brands are finally waking up to the style – and the buying power – of the older generations?
Our picks from Pick Me Up 2015
Graphic arts festival Pick Me Up opened at London’s Somerset House last night, with talks, workshops, screenings and exhibitions taking place until May 4. Here’s a look at some of our favourite work on show and what’s on over the next few days…
RightsInfo: the online guide to human rights
RightsInfo is a new website which aims to provide a concise and engaging online guide to human rights. Inspired by news sites such as Buzzfeed and the BBC, it uses infographics and custom illustrations to summarise key human rights developments and cases in a bitesize, shareable format…
Re-branding Ukip
A successful brand that enjoys controversy, has a passionate, growing customer-base and is in need of an update – could could re-branding Ukip be the perfect brief? asks creative director Simon Moore
Adam Curtis. Journalist
He’s not an artist, and he definitely doesn’t want to talk about type. Though rightly celebrated as a leading auteur of the documentary, Adam Curtis says that he is, at heart, a hack, with some big stories to tell. Following the iPlayer release of his longest film to date, Bitter Lake, Rick Poynor meets the filmmaker at his base at the BBC
New designs: Bloomberg, Julia, Brand & Deliver & more
Our latest pick of new designs includes a book on identity design for start-ups from Gestalten, graphics for PJ Harvey’s Recording in Progress experience at Somerset House and branding inspired by the golden ratio for financial services technology company Davidsohn.
Invention is the art of working with what we have
A year ago Leila Johnston launched Hack Circus, an independent creative collective about ‘fantasy technology and everyday magic’ that publishes a quarterly print magazine and stages a reality-bending live show mixing art, science and philosophy. Hack Circus is about experiencing things in the real world but, as she explains here, this has proved to be a surprisingly controversial stance
Greg Williams on the art of the candid shot
The photographer discusses his journey from documenting war zones to capturing candid moments of some of the biggest celebs on the planet, plus why the best images often aren’t technically perfect
Unrecognised and unloved: Patrick Burgoyne on the state of creative education
Education is vital to the UK’s phenomenally successful creative industries. Yet its value to the country appears to be going unrecognised in the government’s plans
The colourful world of Autumn de Wilde
The photographer and director has injected striking palettes into fashion photos, celebrity portraits, vibrant ads and her feature-length debut, Emma. She talks to us about navigating these different arenas and building worlds through music and colour
Ryan Reynolds creates a Father’s Day cocktail: The Vasectomy
Reynolds brings his irreverent advertising approach to Father’s Day with a new cocktail for dads, featuring a good slug of Aviation Gin, natch
Why the time has come for game title sequences to shine
Territory Studio’s Andrew Popplestone discusses the evolution of games credits and title sequences, and how they’re moving ever closer to the world of film
Why it pays for brands to go local
In an age of turbulence, brands are seeing the benefits of a localised approach over a global one. Here, Ben Sillence, strategy director at Lewis Moberly, explores what this may mean for designers and creatives
Can we design a more sustainable internet?
With the internet now accounting for roughly the same amount of carbon emissions as global air travel, we look at what designers can do to help tackle our digital waste problem
Early 2000s nightlife in all its chaotic, shiny glory
Matthew Smith’s new book brings together his photographs taken across the flourishing British nightlife scene at the turn of the millennium
Tony Barry on why advertising should move people
The director and former Wieden + Kennedy creative director looks back on the lessons he’s learned about peeling back the ‘veneer’ of advertising to make people laugh, cry, and truly believe in what they’re watching
Cephas Williams project features letters from Black boys to their future selves
The letters are addressed by the children to their older selves, and detail the world that they’d like to see in the future. The project, which will appear on billboards in the UK, is created to mark the one-year anniversary of George Floyd’s murder
The ups and downs of being a hybrid creative
In today’s complex media landscape, creatives are often expected to work across multiple mediums. CR speaks to those who’ve broadened their practice to understand the benefits and challenges of the multi-disciplinary life
Behind the punchy covers of SZ Magazin
The weekly German newspaper supplement has a track record of publishing abstract and playful images. We talk to Thomas Kartsolis and Birthe Steinbeck from the art direction team about risk, deadlines and the joy of analogue tricks
Ask Anna: How do I find a creative partner?
Our resident creative industry agony aunt tackles an age-old question from a reader: how to find a good work partner? Here she offers a range of solutions, including polyamory
K-Y’s sex-positive campaign champions female masturbation
To celebrate National Masturbation Month in the US, Elephant has created a series of billboards for K-Y to remove the stigma attached to female pleasure
The unstoppable rise of sneaker culture
A new show at the Design Museum is tracing the journey of the sneaker from sportswear staple to cultural icon. We explore how the marketing strategies of the biggest brands in the game have evolved hand-in-hand with the $80 billion industry
Has the ad industry improved for women directors?
Women filmmakers have racked up long overdue accolades in recent film and TV awards. But what is the state of play in the commercial world?
John Hegarty on advertising’s automated future
We speak to the adland legend about his new gig as chairman of AI recruitment company Genie, plus how he thinks the industry will need to adapt post-Covid
New Nike ad celebrates being rubbish at sport
Nike’s new ad is part of a campaign titled Play New, which emphasises the joy of taking part in sport, even if you’re a bit crap at it
How Xbox is getting accessibility right
From releasing its adaptive controller to tackling loneliness in older people, Xbox has proved how much creative scope there is for brands that commit to accessibility
Inside the UK’s biggest content house
Envisioned as Big Brother for the TikTok generation, content houses have become a mecca for influencer marketing in the US. So is the UK ready to follow suit?
The Annual 2021: Trends and observations
Last year was dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic, but we also saw a number of other trends and developments emerge in the commercial creative industries. Here, we examine what they might suggest for the future
A new film wants to make people angry about period poverty
Hey Girls has released a chaotic campaign film directed by Margot Bowman, which aims to rile up viewers as a way of driving action
A golden era for poster advertising?
Often seen as old-fashioned, print and poster advertising is enjoying something of a renaissance. Our ad correspondent Ben Kay examines what might be driving the change
How Aldi became Britain’s funniest supermarket
Social media sensation #FreeCuthbert is the latest example of how Aldi has used wit to appeal to customers and break through in a very crowded market. We speak to its long-time creative agency McCann UK about how the brand nails its relatable sense of humour
Tanu Muino on making music videos bigger, better and weirder
Tanu Muino is the filmmaker on every artist’s wishlist, following a string of hits for Lil Nas X, Cardi B and Rosalía. CR spoke with her about making blockbuster music vids, her love of Hieronymus Bosch, and why artists need to embrace the bizarre
Carlota Guerrero’s subversive take on the female form
The Spanish imagemaker discusses the making of her debut monograph, her collaborations with everyone from Solange to Rupi Kaur, and the evolution of her mission to challenge the male gaze
