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
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
How I Got Here: Nicholas Blechman
The New Yorker creative director talks about his first job in the industry and how to avoid predictability in editorial design
Are brands the new mansplainers?
Brandsplaining is a new book tackling how women are addressed and represented in marketing. We talk to the authors about the ‘femvertising’ trend and why brands mustn’t rest on their laurels
How I Work: Nadia Lee Cohen
As she releases her first monograph, Nadia Lee Cohen discusses the inspiration behind her surreal images – which draw heavily on cinema and Americana – and the curious characters who frequent her photos
Heinz website stunt takes 57 minutes to load
Website Holdforheinz.com was designed for the more patient ketchup lovers among us, embracing a purposefully drawn out loading process to show that “good things take time”
