GF Smith Mail Shot

These are some photos of mail shot sent out by the paper company GF Smith that I was shown by Mick Pearson, a Senior Partner at the design and advertising agency Forman Design. I think this still stands as one of the most interesting mail shots I have seen. The pack was designed to promote the huge range of papers that GF Smith produce. In side the green box (image 1) which you receive through the post is a cardboard box printed to look like a wooden box, the type you keep old photos or memories in, with the word ‘Strathmore’ in silver on the top (image2). Inside the box you do indeed find what look like someone’s memories (images 3 and 4) – there is everything from old photos, new photos, cigarette cards, invitations, postcards, menus, business cards, letters and certificates. It is impossible not to sit and flick though the contents of the box and look at each item. The idea of the pack is that each item is printed on a different paper or card from GF Smith’s range (it tells you which one in small on the back of each item) and it allows you as a designer to see how each paper can be used and to get a real feel for the possible applications of each paper. This shows how the papers will work in the real world much better than the usual paper sample book s that are sent out but it also acts as a constant reminder of the company – Mick didn’t want to throw his out.

The cost however of producing and posting a mail shot like this out will have been very high, so it will only work on fairly short print runs and for sending out to very specific clients.

Café Direct Shoulder Bag

This is piece of work designed by Andrew Cheung to promote ‘5065’, a range of fair trade coffee’s form Café Direct specifically aimed at students. The idea it’s self of a shoulder bag that looks like it is made out of a coffee sack is itself a nice idea, but it’s the ‘wake up’ typography / logo that really caught my eye, I love the way the word ‘up’ looks like a steaming cup of coffee.

Antiques Roadshow Logo

We all have our guilty pleasures in life – mine for some bizarre reason is watching the Antiques Roadshow. Before you ask, no I’m not exactly the Roadshow’s key target audience, I’ve no grey hair, the nearest I’ve been to a real auction is eBay and the closest thing to an antique in my house is my VCR – the thing that appeals to me is the whole ‘one mans meat is another mans poison’ aspect of the show. I love the way that people bring on items that I, and often they, consider to be worthless tat that they’ve found in the attic but that someone out there is willing to pay thousands of pounds for it.

Anyway, the reason I’ve mentioned the Roadshow in this blog is its logo. Shown here in black it looks average, but on TV with a gold metallic effect it really comes to life – it looks a gold antique broach that you would find on the show. I love the fluid feel and the way that the ‘A’ flows into the ‘R’.

Felling good is a walk in the park

It’s a couple of years old is this piece by Ziggi Baker which aims to get busy, stressed out city folk to use their public parks more often. I like the contrast between the stress and frustration on one side and how the park can help relive this on the other.

Tic Tac Adverts

These are a series of press adverts for the mints ‘Tic Tacs’ designed to emphasise there minty freshness by two advertising students Laurence Collings and Tom Green from the University College Falmouth. It is the simplicity of these ads that I really admire. Being a student myself I understand that budgets can sometimes be a factor when we are creating designs however instead of being constrained by it they have been liberated and created something really unique. Had this project been given to a large and busy design agency with a bug budget there may have been a temptation to create a rather generic mint advert involving ice crystals, fresh water and people kissing. Instead of this the pair have gone back to basics and created some simple adverts (a Tic Tac on a tooth brush, a Tic Tac as a speech bubble) that project the Tic Tac brand and message brilliantly. Students the world over (myself included) should take note.

Caution! Pickpockets

This is fun advert by Navigator Response Advertising designed to warn users of the London Underground that there are pickpockets operating in the area. As I-pods where one of the main things being stolen the ad was designed to mimic the iconic I-pod adverts. I don’t know whether Apple where happy or not about having their designs copied but the posters are certainly amusing so you take notice and for that reason much more effective than the usual “Caution! Pickpockets” signs. This is a simple but clever idea.

Rise Recordings Logo / Album Artwork

This is the logo for Paris based electro label ‘Rise Recording’ – its nice and I can see what the designer has done but it always bugs me as I cant decide if it looks like it is rising out of the page, shrinking into it or accelerating forward. I had a look on their website (http://www.myspace.com/riserecordingz) thinking that maybe it wasn’t designed for print but to be a animated on the web but have found no indication of this.

Whilst on the site I found this piece of artwork though for one of their new recordings which really caught my eye – its one of those pictures that never gets boring to look at.

Bostik Super Glue Adverts

Three fantastic copy based adverts which really get across the message very simply just using copy. I can imagine that the photo of the product was only put in at the request of Bostik themselves.

In case you can’t read the copy the blue one reads: ‘Sausage and chips twice please’ ‘How about dinner at my place instead’ ‘Pick me up at eight’ the purple one reads ‘Hello I’m David’ ‘Hi, I’m Angela’ ‘I love you, will you marry me?’ ‘I’d love to’ and the green one ‘Return to Nottingham please’ ‘Forget Nottingham, lets run away together’ ‘OK’. The tag line for them all is ‘Bonds in seconds’.

RSPCA Noose Advert

A rather grim but very powerful advert for the animal charity the RSPCA showing how sometimes you don’t need a clever strap line to make a advert work when you have an image as powerful as this.

En Garde Arts Logo

This is the logo for a non-profit street theatre group called En Garde Arts. I’m usually a bit cautious about designers using spray paint stencil effects in logos as sometimes they look a bit like they are trying too hard to be ‘down with the kids’ but this logo has pulled it off brilliantly thanks to some fantastic typography with the ‘e’ ‘g’ and ‘a’.

Curious Pictures

This is the logo for Curious Pictures, a production company that produces adverts and television programs. I really like the way the question mark has been turned around to make a ‘p’ – it’s what makes this logo really special and you can see that a designer has had a real ‘eureka’ moment when they realised it.

Remembrance Sunday Postage Stamp and the D&AD’s

Only two pieces of design received a nomination and none won a highly sort after ‘Black Pencil’ this years D&AD awards which was abit of a shock to the graphic design industry. This stamp to commemorate Remembrance Sunday was one (see my article below for my thoughts on the other) and I personally fell that the judges may have been a little harsh. Even in a year where, allegedly, the quality of entries was so low that only two where deemed good enough to gain a nomination I still feel this graphic was good enough to take home a pencil. It is a simple idea beautifully executed – everything pencil winning design should be. Or at least that’s my opinion anyway – does anybody else have any thoughts?

Vincon Carrier Bags

These bags where one of the two pieces of work to get a nomination in the Graphic Design category for a Black Pencil at this years D&AD’s (see article above). I can see why they didn’t win – it’s not exactly the most original idea to have the handles working as part of the design, but they are really nice pieces and they do have that all important ‘damm, it’s so simple why didn’t I think of that first’ factor.

Jo’s Jewellery Logo

This is a really nice simple logo designed by Pentagram for an independent jewellery designer called Jo Calver. It’s a really nice simple make that both uses the letters of Jo’s name but also the idea of jewellery in an interesting way (the ‘o’ looks like a ring or necklace hanging on the ‘j’).

National Express – Miniature Prices Adverts

This one of a series of new adverts for the National Express promoting the idea miniature prices to destinations such as London and Scotland by using miniature toys. I really these adverts, the use of the stop-fame animation with the miniature characters is brilliant (reminiscent of the Cravendale Milk adverts – I wonder if the when done by the same guys…) and the scripts and fun (again, like the Cravendale adverts…).

Fine Line Features Logo

This is the logo for New York based film production company Fine Line Features. Simple and effective – I love the use of the top of the ‘F’ being made to look like a movie clapperboard.

The V&A Museum of Childhood – More fantastic design from the V&A

After success of their promotional design work for their ‘Uncomfortable truths’ exhibition (the exhibition that explored the links between art and the slave trade – the logo was the coloured ink smudge that resemble an African head in profile) the V&A have again commissioned some fantastic illustration based adverts to promote their museum of childhood. The 70’s colours, fun illustrations and superb copywriting (headlines include ‘get there by train, by bus or by the power of greyskull’ and ‘vintage Barbie dolls, love like a sister, decapitated by a brother’) combine to make some really good posters.

I’ve also heard that they produced a sticker set as a mailer that allows you to create a spaceship from a old bottle – I haven’t seen one of these yet but it’s a brilliant idea for a piece of ambient media.

American Institute of Architects Logo

A very simple but clever mark.

Skittles Advert

This is a nice ad for Skittles which aims to explain where skittles some from – a take on the idea of the Midas touch.

Art and Architecture Logo

This is the logo for the British society Art and Architecture which aims to promote collaboration between artists and architects – a very nice, simple logo, the large black sans-serif ‘A’ representing the architects and the inner white handwritten or serif ‘A’ the artists – both working together to make the design.