Rikke Elverdam

I think this piece is absolutely fantastic.  It's filled with humour, familiarity and fresh deliciousness, as you can almost smell the fresh doughy bread.  The set up of this 3D type is very clever.  The background of an armchair is easily recognisable as an old person chair or living room, minus the standard hideous carpet and wallpaper.  'They call me grandma' - This has been made from baked bread with the grandma part slightly overdone, and I'm not sure if that was accidental or planned; but it works!  I feel like I can relate easily to this piece as when you think of grandparents, the thought of food swiftly follows.  Speaking from experience, every time I visit my grandma she tries to stuff me full of toast, oranges and toffee sweets.  It's just something that Grandparents seem to do as they fear you'll be wasting away otherwise.  Bread also symbolises warmth, comfort and familiarity.  In all, this piece works wonderfully as a 3D typography installation and a real life grandparent is not needed to communicate the brilliance behind the idea. 

Danielle Evans

I absolutely love these pieces create by Danielle Evans.  She create 3D typography using foods which represent the words she is producing.  'This is my Jam' was created out real raspberry jam and sprinkles as part of a project by the name of Food Type.  This piece almost reminds me of something I would do as child, messing around with the jam on a saturday afternoon waiting for my cupcakes to cool so that I can decorate them.  I feel like her project is to evoke memories and good feelings when viewed.  Does it make me feel happy?  Yes, it brings back many fond childhood memories and also makes me slightly hungry.  Her aim is to create as many words as possible using food products.   - http://foodtypography.com 

I especially love this piece as I can only imagine how time consuming it must have been.  It is remarkable how she managed to push each crumble of the cookie in an exact location in order to create a crisp and easily readable quote.  I like how she included the half eaten biscuit at the bottom of the image as if to make it obvious what the words were made from - otherwise it may have been hard to know it was biscuits that she used, thus destroying the point.  It may have created an interesting contrast if she had used different types of biscuits, for example digestives and bourbons as the two contrast greatly in colour.

Lucy Norris - Dreamscape Typography

Lucy Norris is currently studying Graphic Design at University and I recently came across her design blog.  She was set a new project where she had to create a new typeface made completely from wire.

'I had to pick a quotation use my new typeface and present it in a visual way. My typeface is called Dreamscape. I chose to twist the wire to create a fantasy effect.'  

 -http://www.behance.net/gallery/Creative-Typography/1686914

"Imagination is more important than knowledge".  I can see why Lucy chose to wind the wire round several times to create loops as it makes the typography look a lot dreamier and magical.  It reminds me of something that you would see at the start of a fairytale story, almost grand in a way.  The tiny loops also remind me of little flies or bumblebees, maybe connecting the idea back to nature?  Even though that may seem ironic as metal is considered quite industrial; the opposite of natural.  

The typeface is successful in communicating her 'Dreamscape' idea, as it is called, however I do find it slightly difficult to read as she put so many loops in there.  The darkness of the wire also makes it seem quite eerie in a sense, so there could be improvement when considering the colour.  As a 3 dimensional typeface, it works wonderfully as it able to stand alone and you get the lovely shadowy effect when light is shone sideways on it.  In all, the typeface has been beautifully constructed and suits the quote perfectly.  It seems as though she might also be questioning if your imagination is suppressed and bound up as such by the tight wire so of society.  Does society appreciate the wealth of knowledge more than the wealth of imagination?

Leeds Love Wall

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This was a strange yet inspiring installation set up in a local shopping centre.  The designer of this wall remains anonymous but we can only assume it was set up by the managers of 'The Light' in Leeds.  

The wall was set up during the week prior to valentines day, in the middle of the centre.  Beside the wall were a pile of red papers hearts, some sharpies and blu tac.  The objective was to write a message to your loved and be entered in a competition to win a romantic getaway for two.  It was strange who the wall attracted; young, old, manly men, children and one woman even found her marriage proposal attached to it! 

I find this idea quite enchanting as hand writing a love letter is a very personal and intimate action, even though it would be posted on a public wall.  Isn't that what we do on Facebook anyway?  Nonetheless it was an opportunity for people to express their love even if the person it was meant for would never see it, it was out there for the world to see.  I enjoy this type of art as it allows the audience to physically engage and become involved in the Artist's vision.

The Handwritten Letter Project

'DEAR READER.

The HAND.WRITTEN.LETTER.PROJECT was after a conversation about how personal a letter can be:
a fact that is currently drowning in a tide of depersonalisation, with junk mail and automated correspondence.

There is always something nice about receiving a letter, especially these days when email, text, status updates, and tweets, dominate our communication, leaving many to lose sight of the things that have been around for a while (like
ink and paper). However, it is important that they do not.'

http://www.handwrittenletterproject.com/about/

This is probably one of the most inspiring artists I have discovered.  Leading influences and designers around the world have written to Craig in order to have their voice published in a book.  Is this form of communication feasible?  I can only imagine how many letters Craig would've had to open and how many paper cuts he acquired along the way.  Surely some of the letters must have a been misplaced, or got lost in the mail; Something which wouldn't happen if send via digital email.

The books itself is very inspiring as it visually shows how art and design has been evolving in this modern world.  Also it includes many ideas of individuals aspiring to make the world an even better and brighter place.  Since some of the responses were received in 2007, it is interesting to see if dreams have become reality and if not, why not?  Our culture and the way we live is continuously evolving, even as I am typing this.  

Why did he turn the letter he received into a book and not an online blog?  I suppose that would probably defeat the purpose of the project, but it would be interesting to see the responses nonetheless.  In all I think the project is a success as looking through it there are a lot of very interesting ideas accompanied with some of the best handwriting I have ever seen.  You can tell a lot about a person from the way they dot the 'i's and cross the 't's.

'Let's make a dent in the Universe' - How inspiring! but can you dent it enough to cause change?

The Happy Mail Project

The Happy Mail Project is a run by blogger Merissa Cherie.  People who follow the blog can send in hand written letter using paper and envelopes which they have hand made and personally designed.  When Merissa receives the letter, she returns a reply on paper which she has created or picked from a paper shop.

I especially like the one she has picked to send back to Anna Fatovich in Greece.  I think you can tell so much about the nature of a letter according to its packaging and typeface used to state the address. Anna seems like young girl who possibly loves the colour orange and find solace in butterflies.  

I think the idea behind this 'mailing service' as such, is wonderful.  It almost works like a pen pal service, one of the most personal forms of communication to someone who you probably have never met.  Each card is a unique design, never to be replicated and meant for one person only.  I think there is something beautiful in that.  Are hand written letters still considered as an important form of communication?  I think so.  There's no better feeling than ripping open a letter to find what lies inside.

Before I Die..

This 'Before I Die Wall' was created by Candy Chang after she lost someone close to her.  The aim was to help her deal with the extreme grief she was experiencing.

'Anyone walking by could pick up a piece of chalk, reflect on their lives, and share their personal aspirations in public space.  It was all an experiment and she didn’t know what to expect. By the next day, the wall was completely filled out and it kept growing: Before I die I want to… sing for millions, plant a tree, hold her one more time, straddle the International Date Line, see my daughter graduate, eat more everything, abandon all insecurities, be completely myself… '

The concept behind this 'wall' is very inspirational.   It brings communities together and allows them to physically engage with each other.  It is quite like social media where you post things on a wall for people to see, however I feel that this one is a lot more personal.  'Before I die' is quite an intimate question to ask yourself.  Are you living life to the fullest? or have you given up on your dreams.  It restores perspective, something which is so easily lost in this modern world.

'Over 450 Before I Die walls have been created in 30 languages and over 65 countries, including Kazakhstan, Portugal, Japan, Denmark, Iraq, Argentina, and South Africa.' - This statement is truly inspirational and gives me hope that people are still kind, sharing and most of all human.  

From a design perspective, the wall is a great interactive piece which can be reused and altered as many times as the creator would like.  The chalk markers are easily removed using water, meaning that anything which doesn't not bring joy or positivity to the wall can be taken down almost immediately.  There is a very positive aspect to this installation as it allows people to share their lives, hopes and dreams with each other, letting their personalities roam free with no restriction. 

Durex Earth Hour

 

Durex campaign promoting Earth Hour.

I feel that this campaign is very thought provoking as the interruption of technology is becoming an increasingly terrible problem for our generation.  It has been proven that 6% of the population would check social media sites even during sex.  What does this say about our human relationships and current social interactions with each other?  Sexual relations are very personal and intimate, but figures like this prove that they will become alien in no time.  Does the art of real conversation/intimacy still exist?  It is hard to know with so many online dating sites being promoted through social media, people have more reason than ever to be glued to it.  I feel that Durex are the right company to promote such a hard hitting problem that we all face.

By using sites such as YouTube to promote the campaign, Durex is able to target all ages and gain widespread awareness.  They have cleverly included a generational key by hash-tagging the campaign at the end of the video, making it easy to find online.  If you hashtag something online, it is sure to spread like wildfire within 2 hours of being uploaded.  #TurnOffToTurnOn, the use of an oxymoron at it's best.  With this slogan, I think that more people than ever will be joining in on Earth Hour.  I know I will be.  Will you?

Barbara Kua

Barbara Kua Calligraphy is a Toronto fine lettering studio.  They do many event pieces such a wedding invitations and business cards.  I chose this piece as the style of calligraphy writing matched with the red ink seems very elegant and suited for romance.  The intimacy would have been lost in this invitation if the red lettering had been digital printed.  I always find a certain innocence and delicacy in hand written wedding invitations.  Love is one of the most human emotions a person can feel, so why should an invite to celebrate this union come from a digital source?  The calligraphy in itself is delicate with much attention to detail.  I like the smooth variation in the thickness of lines as it gives the invitation a refined and elegant feel, like the letterer really did pay attention to detail.  I find that with mass produced invitations, they often lack effort and/or personality. Just by looking at the invite you can get a good idea about the love that these two people share.

Garbage Beauty

Vincent Box and Romain Boz are co-founders of the street art group, 'Garbage Beauty'.

“Living in a big city, walking through the streets, we’re surrounded by advertisements, posters, shop signs, but we’re so used to seeing it that it doesn’t call out to us,” says Box. “But when you see something on garbage, it’ll capture the attention of 95 per cent of people because that’s like a final frontier, the last place you would expect to see something written.” 

It is true in what they day that people do not often notice something which is normal, they are more likely to notice something which is 'abnormal' or stands out.  Below is one of my favourite pieces of their collection.  The comment that 'you look good when you smile' could relate to anyone as they look into the mirror and see themselves.  However, since it's written in calligraphy, it seems a lot more personal than impersonal.  It is also quite a good way of making people smile subconsciously, indirectly spreading joy to people through art.  That is the kind of design which inspires me to inspire the world. 

“There’s a human element to our work. It’s like calligraphy — it’s not perfect, like type on a computer screen,” he reveals. “There are sometimes spelling errors that we’ll make, or the joke isn’t that great, or it doesn’t really fit on the object, but that reflects life. It’s human.” 

 - http://cultmontreal.com/2013/03/garbage-beauty-montreal-street-art-graffiti-fresh-paint-beaux-degats/

I was attracted to this Street art group as they make use of materials which are essentially rubbish and turn them into something of interest and beauty.  They believe that something being imperfect is more beautiful than something unnaturally perfect.  The problem with many adverts or posters either online or in the street is that they have next to nothing when it comes to personality.  For example, when someone writes something on Facebook, the typeface used is exactly the same as everyone else's.  No mistakes and over curled 'C's as all mistakes can be edited or removed.  There is a sense of security in all the post looking the same, however I prefer street art as it is daring and beautifully different.  This kind of free hand work reflects our 'human' nature as everyone's hand writing is interesting and different.  No two pieces of work produced by Garbage Beauty are the same as all their work is painted first hand, not printed.  Although this may be time consuming, the overall outcome is far better than if each quote were to be digitally reproduced on stickers.  

Me & My Pen

Me&MyPen is Daren Newman.

A typographer, illustrator & designer.

'Bio: Male, smaller than average, good/bad SOH, beard wearing,
right-handed, Rotring loving Mancunian.' 

http://meandmypen.com/about.php

What I love about this typeface is how it has been elegantly joined together by the first and last letters of each word.  I have deep respect for handwritten typography as it is very technical and time consuming.  The typeface itself its quite bold yet I feel the elegantly placed curls of the letters make it endearing and personal.  This would work in any colour against a white background, although black and white sticks particularly well with the handwritten feel to this piece.  

I could image this on a card, or beauty product or even on the cover of a book.  The strong, clear lettering means that this typeface could be very versatile and used for many purposes.  Darren works in a clear, linear style which reflects in many of his typographical designs.  Personally I feel that three dimensional type can sometimes be a bit of an effort to read/decode so for something as simple as 'All about you', the linear style works wonderfully.  This kind of design is completely different than something you would find on a webpage or a social media website.  It may be considered as 'too fussy' and not clean cut enough for be easily accessible.  I have realised that within my own research, online media sites tend to keep their typeface simple and clear so as people can look at it for a long time without much effort or strain.  I have noticed that the contrasts between hand drawn and digital typeface are enormous.  Therefore, the personal feel to this work has inspired me to create my own experiments and include hand drawn designs like this in my final project.

Yani Arebena and Guille Vizzari

Yani Arebena and Guille Vizzari are a team of Argentinian type designers who do lovely treatments of their typefaces.

I love this typographical design because I have recently become interested in calligraphy.  I think this typeface works well with subject of marriage as calligraphy is one of the most romantic typefaces there is.  

The pastel colours of pink and blue symbolise the joining of of marriage and also the shared relationship of a man and woman.  The white of 'the' and '27/04/2013" works well as contrasting figure between the two main words 'save' and 'date'.  However, the background is strange as not many wedding invites would have a dark background, although is does work well as a contrasting element.  I think that a cream background would have worked well if they changed the colour of the white lettering to a darker colour.  The calligraphy used here is very simple, pretty and delicate, like a wedding should be.  In all, I feel the whole design is beautiful and it would encourage me to 'save the date' and be a part of whatever occasion I had been invited to.

Jessica Hische

Jessica Hische;

"Bing put together a really fun campaign this year that I was pumped to be a part of—each day they had a letterer create a search term, something you would do in the summer. For a week, my lettering was posted one day at a time, but it was really fun to see what some of the other letterers did for the project!"

I enjoy how Jessica is able to transform and image by layering different typefaces across the front of them.  For instance, this picture of a coffee cup could mean anything; a coffee date, 9am coffee before work or coffee on a sunday.  She has transformed this image into a dreamy haze as the image is left slightly out of focus with the romantic typeface becoming centre stage.  The typeface itself seems very solid but with a romantic flick here and there.  The thing that really sets it off are the swirls and lines all around the writing, I feel give the impression of relaxation and love.  I like that she has used white for the writing against the slightly darker background to give that fresh, crisp morning feeling, even if breakfast in bed is about being lazy.

This image is interesting as the typeface selected reminds me of the 60's and summer time.  The flowing nature of the type is reminiscent of waves and the seaside, like I can almost taste the salt in the air and feel the sun on my skin.  Again, Jessica has used white for the writing as it reflects freshness and freedom, the most important aspect of a road trip.  People who go 'road tripping' are more than likely young adults so I would say that white is an attractive colour to them as it also symbolises youth.  Other than that, the white contrast really well with the red and brown bags and also the clear blue sky.  The image combined with the type makes me want to take a trip to the beach and eat ice cream.  It is very idyllic.  I think Jessica has been successful in creating that holiday feel for her brief and the images she creates are very persuasive. 

Federico Pietrella

Federico Pietrella created these images by using date stamps against a white wall.  I find it very interesting that he was able to create tone in the image by making the stamp less dense in the lighter areas.  As a result the image looks quite pixilated which is strange as it is ultimately hand made, not of digital origin.  The black/grey/dull tone of this image works well the male character featured.  His face looks quite pensive, almost forlorn - would this differ if Pietrella had used red, blue, yellow ink?

I find the image intriguing as the male character is anonymous and there is no caption for this work explaining what it means.  Is it date '26th APR 2012' when the work was created or does it have a special meaning to the artist?  I feel this gives it a personal touch but also causes a sense of mystery for the audience.  The piece is without a doubt beautifully constructed and it has inspired me to create my own anonymous face out of hand crafted stamps.  I like the fact that if Pietrella were to try and recreate this work, it would never ever be identical as the placing of the stamps are set in time and cannot be exactly replicated.  I would think that the creation of this piece could be quite time consuming and require immense patience, yet it is executed beautifully. 

Feed SA Trolley Ad

'Feed SA, a charity dedicated to feeding disadvantaged people throughout South Africa, teamed up with TBWA\Hunt\Lascaris Johannesburg to create an effective campaign to increase contribution of food to Feed SA. Images of hungry, begging street children were effectively placed at the bottom of supermarket shopping trolleys, bearing the Feed SA website, www.feedsa.co.za, as well as the following line: ‘See how easy feeding the hungry can be’. Any food that was placed into the trolley appeared as if ‘actual food’ was being given to a street child.'  
           - http://totallymadza.wordpress.com/category/marketing-news/campaign-success/

This charity campaign works well to hit hard on the emotions of food shoppers.  The image of the begging child  is placed in the bottom of trolleys meaning that the consumer is forced to look at the image every time they put something in.  This 'guilt trip' is a typical feature of charity ad campaigns as how else would they get people to donate.  Feed SA have carefully considered their target audience.  The people who donate to their charity will more than likely be adults (over the age of 18).  Therefore, people who use big trolleys to get their weekly shopping will probably be adults and not children/teenagers who are not eligible to donate.  The food shopper would also be with their trolley for maybe an hour or so, repeatedly glancing at it, meaning the image would stick in their minds for a few hours after they have seen it.  The dark background surrounding the child gives the impression that they are alone and that their life is dark and grim.  The use of colour helps to convey how vital the donations are to the charity in being able to remove children from their horrible fate of possible starvation.

I find it interesting how Feed SA have been able to engage the consumer with a simple image.  There are no words needed for this campaign as the solution comes from human nature and what we instinctually feel is the right thing to do - donate to starving children.  This campaign proved to be a success as donations increased by an incredible 26%.  I am seeing more of a trend in the methods advertisers use to get into the minds of the consumer.  Emotional manipulation seems to be the key, but I have to ask myself, is this the only way to sway the minds of millions?

DDB and Superette

"DDB and Superette use 'Virgin Thighs' to make a real impression" 

- the line used my Erica Nardello to describe Superette's new advertising campaign.

As far as guerrilla marketing goes, Superette have certainly ticked all the boxes for being provocative, exciting and literally involving the consumer in the advertising of their sale.  It is obvious that they have thought about their target audience, young people who like to wear short shorts.  For women more than men, it is a common problem to sit down on a wicker chair in short shorts and end up leaving the chair with the imprint of it for a good hour.  It is interesting that the brand took something that makes women feel self conscious and turned it into something positive.  However, it could be argued that Superette are exploiting the insecurities of women to entice them into buying items from their sale.  

I like how Superette have managed to create a short, punchy ad with a long lasting impression, literally.  The typeface used is simple and bold, therefore easily readable by people who are walking behind them.  Since the women with the imprints are basically walking advertisements, Superette are able to spread the word about their sale a lot more efficiently than if it were to be on posters around a city.  It is a well known advertising fact that sex appeal sells, so it could be argued that the company took this into consideration when planning where to place the imprinting plates.  Why didn't they choose the arm rests of the benches?  It is clear that this ad campaign was very carefully and cleverly planned for it's target audience.