PUMA Hardchorus

Bring on the World Cup!
http://www.pumahardchorus.com/

OXO not cube

This is one of the stingiest pieces of "design" I have ever seen. I'm not sure how long oxo "cubes" have looked like this, but it is such a blatant attempt at cost cutting. I know we're in a bit of a financial black hole at the moment, but seriously, shaving off what cannot be anymore than half a gram of dust is just crap.
Whoever said "...I know, lets make the cube into an 'X' cos there is an X in our name and it saves us 8 quid a year!"...fucking genius. They probably had to change all there equipment in oxo land so they can make these grooves, money well spent when there isn't much about...i think not. Change for change sake. No doubt the suits think it's 'a bit of fun', not sure i've ever been that bothered about having a laugh when making gravy? maybe some people have.
If they're going to be that pedantic about things, then they should change the brand name to EX-O and find out what a 3D 'X' is actually called so you can bung that on the end of the title.

Flutes des Monts Mandara

African Music Packaging - Flutes des Monts Mandara
October 2009
Joint project with: Ed Baigrie

Brief:
A project from Andersen M Studio. Design and create the album cover for an LP of the album Flutes des Monts Mandara, a compilation of traditional music from Cameroon in Africa.
The design must make the music appeal to a young, artistic and open minded audience in the UK/Western world. The essence of the music must be depicted in an authentic West African way, but with a modern artistic approach.

Description:
We looked at how the music was recorded, all the songs were played outside and directly recorded with microphones, very low tech and uncomplicated. This recording is essentially a one-off copy of the music, that could never be repeated exactly, there is little or no production and it’s raw.
To access the music the outer sealed layer must be ripped off, the inside of this layer is a three colour screen printed poster, so depending on how you’ve opened the packet, will determine what your poster looks like. The ink on the centre of the vinyl is made to come off when rubbed (like a scratch card). This way every time you open the case to play the music, the disc itself becomes marked, changing the appearance; further enhancing the one off concept.

Words of Numbers

Self Initiated
November 2009

Description:
I was looking at the relationship certain words have with a number, more specifically 0 to 9, as these are the fundamental digits for every number.
This specific 0 to 9 are things that should be understood by everyone over the age of sixteen, and if not then you might learn something as it will give the viewer provocation to understand why a certain word is used.
It still needs some work as some are perhaps not as clear as they should be and I don't think 'A' sized paper is the best format. Eventually I want to collate ten 0 to 9's in a book, each set based on a specific subject.

If you have any suggestions for words you think could be associated with a number feel free to leave a comment....and be the firs person ever to do so at the same time. x

Kseniya Simonova - Sand Animation

Loss in London - Monument

4 of 4

The Monument to The Great Fire of London, erected to commemorate the fire of 1666 and the people who lost their lives to it, is also the site of where six people committed suicide between 1788 and 1842. This is apparently very close to the "official" number of deaths The Great Fire itself caused; as peasants were not considered important enough to record at the time though, its not even close to the actual unknown figure.

Loss in London - Kennington Park

3 of 4

The South field of Kennington Park was used as a public air-raid shelter during the second world war.
On October 15th the trenches suffered a direct hit killing 104 people. It was the largest single loss of life at a bomb incident in Lambeth. 48 of the bodies were recovered, but rescue efforts were hampered and the remaining 56 victims were covered with lime and the trenches filled in, effectively making the park a mass grave.

Loss in London - Marchioness

2 of 4

This small stretch of the Thames between Southwark Bridge and Cannon Street Railway Bridge is where on 20 August 1989, 51 of 130 guests attending a birthday party on the Marchioness drowned after it was run down by the dredger Bowbelle.
The 1,880 ton Bowbelle caused the Marchioness to founder within 30 seconds of the collision, as the meager 46 ton vessel was pushed under water "like a toy boat".

Loss in London - Tyburn Gallows

Photography - Loss in London

Brief:
Produce a piece of narrative photography
October 2009

Description:
1 photo from a series of 4
This central reservation road crossing, next to Marble Arch, was the site of the Tyburn Gallows, the place where up to, or maybe more than, 50 000 people met their maker.
It was one of the first public gallows to not only erect stands for the viewing public, but to charge them to watch the proceedings. Now next to the site ironically sits a cinema where people still go and pay for their entertainment.

Piano Stairs

Great idea, genuinely fun "exercise"...wish i'd thought of that

Random Snooze

Chris Jordan

Just came across this tonight. Really great photos that are very thought provoking and interesting. Such as strong body of work...why have I not heard of this guy before!

http://www.chrisjordan.com/

Kasabian Football Hero

Conservative Sun

Is this what "The Sun" will look like when the election rolls around?

Student Radicalism

Lawrence Zeegen is our new "Head of School of Communication Design Kingston University", after a 12 year stint at Brighton, doing i think, the same job. We haven't had much contact with him as yet, other than a brief introduction from himself on the first day.
He seems like a nice guy, and after such a long time at what I believe to be another great university for Graphic Design and Illustration, definitely has the experience to make Kingston better still.
Today during my daily scan of "It's Nice That" I spot his name on an article he's written for their weekly discussion...so I read it with a healthy sense of interest. (I'll post a link to it at the end of my ramblings).
To summarise; he's talking about how he feels; "tomorrow’s mavericks and misfits are commencing three years of study knuckling down to the proposition of rowing boats rather then rocking boats". He isn't exactly saying that we are all boring, as being boring and not radical are definitely different; but breaking down boundaries it seems we might not be doing.
Questioning why us students haven't rebelled like in the "civil rights Berkeley student rebellion of 1964, the Parisian student revolt of 1968, the Soweto uprising of 1976, even the poll tax riots of 1990" ; is valid, as I have thought similar things on several occasions, and there is a lot to protest about at the moment. But, in my view these acts were radical and influential at the time, and the same demonstrations now, would provoke a far smaller reaction than was achieved then. Art is about progression and doing new things, rebelling in this manner now is not new and we'd probably all be arrested under the "Counter Terrorism Act" or some bullshit very quickly.
Of course there are new things us students could do, but "in recession-hit UK" no-one is going to care about students who get a six grand a year loan, interest free, when everyone else is scraping round for pennies in the sofa. It would basically cause more harm than good I think. There is plenty of fantastic new work out there, but we are in a saturated design student world with thousands more graduating every year with an art/design related degree than did 20 years ago, making it much more difficult to be spotted. Sieving through the sheep takes longer now than ever and more perseverance is required...I have faith that there is good stuff out there.
I must say at this point I haven't spoken to Lawrence about this in person yet, so I'm trying not to be bitchy and slag off his opinion behind his back.
I just feel that the YBA's he referred to later in his article are also not doing anything radical themselves at the moment. Some of their work came out after the countries finances' were in a similar state to what they are now. There is perhaps something to be said for students working in their comfort zone, I don't know, Mr. Zeegen is in a far better vantage point to see that; but this "world crisis" might prove to be the catalyst needed to kick start some more radical student output. Hopefully when my year graduates we can give him some hope that the new generation of students is still radical at heart.