Totally Loopy!

Check out these new "spill-resistant" Loopa bowls for kids! Hats off to the designer!

Have You Ever Considered - Designing for the Colourblind

Check out this really handy website.

What The?!

Check out the background for this blog.

Victorian(?) Advertising

You quite often see years-old adverts painted on the sides of buildings but this one (seen from the train leaving Leeds station is a little more freaky than most (find it on Globe Road). Victorians were very interested in psychic abilities, the paranormal and mediums. You can see the jagged outline of the building/factory that was once connected to this building that has preserved the sign.


I found a comment about the advertisement:

Keith Dorrington, on June 19, 2008, said:

Can anybody help me with what the advertising says? I know the company is W.H.Turner, Tobacco Man'f. I can see outline of 'EVENING POST' in tall thin letters. I can see 'ING MEDIUMS' and 'T BRITAIN' (which I think should read 'GREAT BRITAIN'). Thanks for your help.

When Graphic Artists Get Bored

Visual Art

Etienne De Crecy Live 2007 Transmusicales de Rennes from Clement bournat on Vimeo.

Trellick tower's been calling

Trellick Tower in North Kensington, London: a work of art or just another ugly block of flats?

This famous tower was built by brutalist architect Erno Goldfinger. The building is now a Grade 2 listed building and features in the lyrics of "Best Days" by Blur. The wikipedia page about the tower is quite amusing and includes a story about a pirate radio station who managed to install a transmitter in the tower.

Life without the internet

It has so far been a struggle, living life without the world wide web - no emails, no iPlayer, no Facebook (not that gutted about that one though...), no anything useful! But luckily I came across this postcard that will allow me to search google without the need for an internet connection.

Gay Icons - National Portrait Gallery

On Thursday I visited the Gay Icons exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery. 10 gay celebrities were asked to pick some of their personal icons, gay or straight. Among the 10 celebrities were Elton John, Ian McKellen and Sandi Toksvig (the main coordinator). Each of the iconic figures had been photographed and a few paragraphs written about them.

Iconic figures included: Lady Diana, Martin Luther King and Will Young.

I personally found the exhibition a bit dull, I'm not really sure what I was expecting. It was interesting however to find out a bit more about a way of life I didn't really know anything about.

Can I Have A Job Please?

On thursday I attended the invite-only exhibition of the Creative Review Graduates at Downstairs at Mother near Old Street in London. James & Joe's work was being exhibited there so it was not to be missed!

I was a little bit disappointed that the graduates had not show cased a bit more of their work but never mind!
I also must say that although I really like Eilin Bergum's interactive artwork, the higher up pieces became un-interactive due to their height above the floor which I think let down her display.Of course I couldn't resist the chance to photocopy my derriere using the i-Bum...

Paris Je T'aime

Paris, Je T'aime (Paris, I Love You) is a film like no other. It comprises 18 short films by directors including Joel and Ethan Coen and Gerard Depardieu. Each film is about love in the city of Paris. Story lines range from involing metro stations to grave yards to vampires. Actors include Juliette Binoche (Chocolat), Steve Buscemi (Pulp Fiction), Willem Dafoe (Spiderman), Natalie Portman (Garden State) and Elijah Wood (Lord of the Rings) amongst others.


Each of the films are situated in a different province of Paris so not only do you get to enjoy the dialogues and stories in the collection but you also get a tour of Paris.

My New Website Design www.stephburningham.com

I have just finished redesigning my website - woo! I originally had a one page layout but it wasn't working for me. I've now got a multiple page, fully validated website that I've translated into french as well. Bring on Paris!!

Film Noir, A Bout de Souffle

I watched Jean-Luc Goddard's A Bout de Souffle (Breathless) in 6th Form when I was studying french, but I didn't really get it. I watched it again the other day to see what I would make of it a second time around.

The film is very cool, american-french with a sexy jazz soundtrack. It is typical of the french nouvelle vague (new wave) and has clear ties with Film Noir.This spurred me on to watch The Rules of Film Noir (find it on BBC iPlayer until 2:24am Thursday 10th September 2009) a documentary all about this dark genre of film.

I would like to sum up the genre using some words and phrases I picked up from watching the programme:

Shadows, carved up faces, guns, paranoia, sex, leading the viewer's eyes, voice overs, hard boiled, pulp fiction, suspence, touch guy, to the point, everyone for themselves, lonely, gloomy, pessimistic, fog, cigarettes, WW2, make it any colour as long as it's black, german expressionism, dream sequences...

Cheap Labour Inside - Congrats to James & Joe

This month's Creative Review showcases some of this year's best design graduates, including fellow G&CD students James & Joe from the year above. I have to say, it's great seeing Leeds students in CR and it certainly gives you something to aim towards.



Their work is mad, their website is one of a kind and they're not afraid to smash some taboos yet I thought they seemed quite down to earth when I met them at socials... I can't get my head round how their minds work, I'd never be able to come up with some of the random stuff they come up with but it is very impressive.

The other graduates range from oil painter Mark Boardman (University College of Falmoth) to interactive designer Tomomi Sayuda (London College of Communication) with her "i-bum", a chair that takes a picture of one's derriere and prints it out for you to keep.

Tom Lovell has a very impressive portfolio of typographic work which I can see expanding vastly as his career advances. I was particularly impressed by his "Keep Us Busy" project he did with a friend, they set themselves up in a studio, desks next to the window and invited people to give them little projects to work on. They used the glass next to them to showcase the work and advertise their services.


Matt Robinson and Tom Wrigglesworth worked together to win D&AD's Best New Blood award with their promotional video of HP printers...



Eilin Bergum is a very cool Norwegian girl who studied at Ravensbourne College of Design and Communication, London. She did a particularly interesting project aimed at involving blind and partially blind people with her designs inviting the audience to interact with her work through touch and bright colours and different textures.

If you can get yourself down to design agency Mother's studio 2pm-5pm until Thursday 10th September then you can see their work showcased at "Downstairs at Mother".

Mum's the word

Advertising agency Mother's website is dead simple but pretty sweet! The website just displays a video in the centre except if you scrol over the header then it will reveal the company logo, address and phone number. The video player flicks between what I would guess is a live webcam and other strange videos including one of a rabbit and some of skateboards being let to run wild in their studio. Wierd but I like it!

"Spies" by Michael Frayn

This is a book about a 2nd World War espionage seen through the eyes of a young boy. Steven and his friend Keith's games turn into reality when the trust starts to hit home. A very captivating and exciting book. Well, if I made it to the end then it must have been good!

Museum of Brands and Packaging, Notting Hill, London

The Museum of Brands and Packaging really is a must-see for all Graphics students. It traces advertising right from the Victorian era to the present day comparing the old with the new.

1900s

1910s

1920s

1930s

1940s - War time

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

Cadbury's Roses through the ages

Guiness advertising over the last century

(The reason for the number of Guiness ads is because a friend is doing her dissertation on it!)