Kazutoshi Amano

Whilst researching for a current brief on packaging designs, I came across a Japanese designer named Kazutoshi Amano who designed a seat/chair made from moulded recycled paper pulp.

The thing I admire about this work is its eco friendly quality and its simplicity. I think it's important as the up and coming generation of designers to take onboard the issues of maintaining a healthy environment. Recycling is the new black, so to say. Not to be so wasteful, and to ultimately reduce our carbon footprints should be a priority ofr every design brief!.... perhaps.

http://www.designboom.com/snapshots/london_02/shinichi.html

Just a thought...

You remember how the polaroid or traditional b&w photography is now an appreciated medium of traditional photography?

Well I predict that horrible camera phone images will be the next on that list. On the grounds that history repeats itself as well as camera phones having that particular quality to their image taking which is instantly relevant to this era. Just like how you see an old VHS clip, you can see the undefined bluring of lines, the tracking going on and off, the horrible quality of sound. Just how Garth Merrenghi's darkplace DVD/TV series utilised this to its effect. As technology moves on, as mobile phone camera's get better, the old stuff will be appreciated more int he world of art & design, people will use it more creatively, recognizing the potential from what you COULDN'T do with it.

Anyhoo, rant over.

Subliminal Advertising

I've been looking into the works of subliminal advertising.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f29kF1vZ62o


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNcYdlyE6mg

Its odd how easily we can be manipulated into false needs. It seems to be a great weakness of man, "greed" and letting go of your subconcious and allowing it to direct you in life. Subliminal advertising is only relevent to contemporary society, and I guess, only effective right now as our way of life now surrounds our needs more than ever. There is evidence of this from financial figures showing how much debt the average british person is drowning in. It's just like how Brad Pitt's character Tyler Durden quotes in Fight Club. "The things you own, end up owning you".

Spot the duo-Swiss

http://www.flickr.com/photos/20745656@N00/sets/72157594296535170/

Check out this collection of Swiss Graphic design, integral tot he history of design.

Max Miedinger & Joseph Müller Brockman amongst others!!! Brilliant duotone/ spot color work, really quite inspiring.

Letterpressing

Had an introduction into letterpress printing last week. Found it very interesting, especially as it took me as an individual around 2 hours to process a sentence, whereas around a century ago people were publishing newspapers daily using this method. Thank god for the keyboard I guess!

However the results from this method gives a very warm, unique and personal feeling. There was something about the quality of print which you cannot get from ordinary printers. A sense of effort, and achievement perhaps?

Here are some of the photo's I took using my phone.