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REBRANDING CHANNEL 4
Exclusive insights from the dream team behind C4’s first major rebrand in over a decade
ILLUSTRATE A CHILDREN’S BOOK Behind the scenes with Penguin’s Coralie Bickford-Smith on her latest project
WEL CO M E
december 2015
editor’s letter However experienced you are, it can be all-too-easy to fall into bad habits as a designer. Whether you’re starting your first job with it all to learn, or a working designer who sometimes lets things slip, you’ll find plenty of value in our back to basics feature. Meanwhile, our cover feature puts a fresh twist on the topic of typography, comparing 24 quality typefaces based on weights, widths, styles and of course cost – all presented as a series of Type Trumps cards, designed by Rick Banks. Elsewhere, we explore a couple of milestone UK projects in depth. The first, completed exactly half a century ago, is Jock Kinneir and Margaret Calvert’s celebrated design for British road signs, recently celebrated by an ensemble cast of creatives at London’s Design Museum; the second is the first rebrand of much-loved broadcaster Channel 4 in a decade. Plus, our UK Studio Rankings chart-topper Made Thought opens its doors for an all-new video series, packed with practical insight and advice for designers at all levels of a studio, from founder to junior. Watch this space for plenty more like it. Next month is our January issue – where did the year go? – and we’ll be looking forward to 2016 with an essential guide to the colour trends to watch out for, as well plenty of advice on how to upgrade your skills as a designer. Don’t miss it.
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Nick Carson Editor
nick.carson@futurenet.com
featuring
Rick Banks
Rick Banks is a Londonbased designer, art director and typographer, working under the moniker Face37, and focusing in the fields of branding, typography and graphic design. Rick designed this month’s cover and also illustrated our Type Top Trumps feature, which begins over on page 60. www.face37.com
rob alderson
Former editor-in-chief of design blog It’s Nice That, Rob is a freelance art and design writer and editor. This month he painstakingly researched and gathered font lists and statistics for our exclusive Type Top Trumps special report, which you can start reading over on page 60. www.robalderson.com
Margaret Calvert
Margaret worked with the late Jock Kinneir from 1957 to 1967, and revolutionised the UK’s road signage in one of the most ambitious design projects ever undertaken. The 50th anniversary of their legacy was recently celebrated at the Design Museum: more on page 54. britishroadsignproject.co.uk
Paul austin
Paul founded UK Studio Rankings chart-topper Made Thought with Ben Parker in 2000, and the studio has since developed an impressive list of highprofile clients such as G . F Smith, Stella McCartney, Tom Dixon and Design Miami. They chat to our video team on page 76. www.madethought.com
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coralie bickford-smith
In-house Penguin designer Coralie set out to create a children’s book that would also resonate with adults using a clever combination of her own words and original pictures. Follow her creative process as she designs The Fox and The Star for Random House, over on page 89. www.cb-smith.com
M EET T H E T E AM
december 2015
Meet the team Future Publishing Ltd, QUAY HOUSE, THE AMBURY, BATH BA1 1UA Phone 01225 442 244 Fax 01225 732 275 Email hello@computerarts.co.uk Web computerarts.creativebloq.com
Nick Carson
Editorial
Production & DISTRIBUTION
editor This month Nick successfully completed the first ever Bristol-to-Bath marathon in 4 hours 9 minutes, tackling some horrific hills and raising lots of cash for charity in the process. Congratulations, Nick!
Jo Gulliver Art editor jo.gulliver@futurenet.com
Printing: William Gibbons & Sons Ltd Finishing partner: Celloglas Distribution: Seymour Distribution, 2 East Poultry Avenue, London EC1A 9PT, Tel: 0207 429 4000 Overseas distribution: Seymour International
jo gulliver
tim hardwick freelance sub-editor tim.hardwick@futurenet.com
Circulation
JAMIE schildhauer and KAI WOOD freelance DESIGNERS
SUBSCRIPTIONS
Nick Carson Editor nick.carson@futurenet.com
Julia Sagar COMMISSIONING editor julia.sagar@futurenet.com SAMMY MAINE DEPUTY COMMISSIONING editor sammy.maine.@futurenet.com DOMINIC CARTER and alice patillo STAFF WRITERs dominic.carter@futurenet.com alice.pattillo@futurenet.com
Contributors
Animade, Rob Alderson, Rick Banks, Tom Dennis, Ian Evenden, FranklinTill, Ross Imms, Michael Lester, Tom May, Gordon Reid, Adrian Shaughnessy, Laura Snoad, Ben Tallon, Gonçalo Viana, Anne Wollenberg, Craig Ward, Tom Woolley
Advertising
SASHA MCGREGOR Ad manager sasha.mcgregor@futurenet.com SUZANNE SMITH, CHRIS MITCHELL AND MATT BAILEY Account directors suzanne.smith@futurenet.com chris.mitchell@futurenet.com matt.bailey@futurenet.com
VivIENNE CALVERT Production controller Mark Constance Production manager
Art editor Jo had a month-long battle with her Mac while making this issue. She’s also been working on ending her habit of overusing the word ‘actually’ by twanging her wrist with a rubber band when said banned word occurs.
JULIETTE WINYARD Trade marketing manager: 07551 150 984
charlotte lloyd-williams Direct marketing executive charlotte.lloyd-williams@futurenet.com
Tim HarDwick
freelance sub-editor Tim made an encore appearance this issue as the mag went through a transitional stage, prior to handing over subbing duties to operations editor-in-waiting, Cat Ellis. Congrats on landing the CA role, Cat!
UK readers: 0844 848 2852 Overseas readers: +44 (0)1604 251045 Online enquiries: myfavouritemagazines.co.uk computerarts@myfavouritemagazines.co.uk
Licensing
Regina Erak International director regina.erak@futurenet.com Tel: +44 (0)1225 442244 Fax: +44 (0)1225 732275
MANAGEMENT
Nial Ferguson Content & Marketing director MATT PIERCE Head of Content & Marketing, Photography, Creative & Design DAN OLIVER Group editor-in-chief, Creative & Design RODNEY DIVE Group art director, Photography, Creative & Design TOM MAY Group content editor
staff COntributors julia sagar
Next issue on sale
11 December 2015
COMMISSIONING EDITOR Julia is still re-imagining her new house but has now taken concrete steps to make her perfect vision of domesticity a reality. She’s even started a blog to chronicle her DIY dreams and nightmares...
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sammy maine
commissioning editor Sammy has been saving her pennies for an impending Nordic trip – she’s flying to Iceland to cover the Iceland Airwaves Festival, where BC Camplight and Beebee and the Bluebirds will be taking to the stage.
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typefaces
Trump Gothic West, Neutraface Text & Display, Calluna
december 2015
ISSUE 247 December 20 15
10
Culture
Trends: A flowering installation by TeamLab, plus a twilight-inspired homewear collection by Kith & Kin
14
P eople: Laura Hudson talks about her artisan gift site, plus a visit to Reemko Heemskerk’s design studio
16
laces: Founder of creative agency A-Side, Ross P Imms shows you around Falmouth’s creative hotspots
18
vents: Tom May finds a heady mix of software E lessons and inspiration at Adobe Max in Los Angeles
Insight
22 there’s no such thing as originality: Adrian Shaughnessy asks what creativity really means, and looks at how to keep the creative juices flowing 26
Showcase
digital licensing for zombies: Ben Tallon argues for clearer guidelines to guard against an impending intellectual property apocalypse
Our selection of the world’s best new graphic design, illustration and motion graphics work 30
28 everything looks the same: Craig Ward considers the silver lining of a design world that’s silently converging on a single, samey aesthetic
d iary 2 v id e o ins ig h t
made thought
diary 1
Project diaries
Refreshing the Channel 4 brand, writing and illustrating children’s book The Fox and the Star for Random House, and animating a giant 3D zoetrope for an Airbnb ad 75
d iary 3
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A brand new video series revealing the inner workings of the Top 30 agencies in our UK Studio Rankings 2015 kicks off with the number-one agency 76
C O N TE N TS
dec ember 2015
s pe c ial re po rt
type trumps
How do you select the right font for the job from a market offering over 100,000 of them? We compare 24 of the best examples in four different price brackets 60
SUBSCRIBE AND SAVE UP TO 57% Three great ways to subscribe to the world’s best design mag: Print Digital Both See page 42 Non-UK subscribers See page 73
•
i ndu str y i ssu es
nail the basics
From rights and resolutions to grid systems and style guides, here’s how to banish bad habits and nail crucial design basics 44
n e e d t o k no w
life-changing design Designers and illustrators around the world are helping to inspire activism and change lives. Here’s how you can too 70
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WE LOVE ...
DIGITISED NATURE This symbiotic installation by Team Lab helps foster a closer connection with the natural world e have an inherent human need to connect with nature, an instinct that draws us towards organic spaces from the smallest patch of green in the city to the top of a mountain. Researchers believe that spending just a short time close to nature can drastically improve our sense of wellbeing. Once seen as a barrier between us and the natural world, advanced digital technology is now being used to enable a greater connection to, and deeper understanding of, nature. Japanese collective Team Lab recently exhibited their interactive eco system installation, Flowers and People, at the Saatchi Gallery, London. The design team made up of animators, architects, programmers and mathematicians
W
developed a luminous digital world filled with vibrant and dynamic flora and fauna. Visitors could witness the artificial eco-system spontaneously evolve around them as it reacted in real time to the movements of the audience. The digital organics would bloom, wither and decompose at various degrees of acceleration dependant on the actions of the guests, demonstrating their symbiotic relationship. www.team-lab.net Each month, our Trends section is curated by experienced creative consultancy FranklinTill (www.franklintill.com).
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CULTUR E T rend s
DECEMB e r 2015
D E S I G N ED FOR LI FE
before twilight Give your studio an air of evening mystery with the Blue Hour collection by Kith & Kin thical homeware company Kith & Kin was launched by illustrator and designer Ciara Phelan with the aim of producing lifestyle products that encourage a new consumerism philosophy by advocating quality over quantity. Each Kith & Kin collection re-uses old imagery and mixes it with bold geometric shape and colour to create something new from the past and lasting for the future. The company’s new Blue Hour range of cushions and lampshades takes inspiration from twilight forests, mixing expressive paint marks and pastel shades and pairing them with earthy, metallic tones. “The manufacturing process for the Blue Hour turned out to be very different to previous collections due to the depth of colour I wanted the prints to have,” reveals Phelan. “Traditionally I have used a digital printing process that uses pigments inks, but the Blue Hour has a deep, rich colour palette reminiscent of an autumnal forest, which meant I had to use a different process called reactive printing which involves setting the dye using steam. I’m really happy with the result though.”
e
The Blue Hour range www.kithandkin.org.uk Cushions £56 Lampshades from £42
Stay one step ahead with our barometer of visual cool
m ainstream
Branding and advertising get psychedelic with the use of kaleidoscopic mirroring and fragmented colour.
STILL FRESH
Lean and minimal outlines in monochrome create to-thepoint, lightweight communication.
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emerging
Layers of block colour in organic shapes are layered in non-conforming patterns to form a camo pattern.
Illustration: Michael Lester www.michaelwilliamlester.com
T R E N D ING
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