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STUDIO PROJECT
STUDIO PROJEC T EACH ISSUE, A LEADING DESIGN STUDIO REVEALS THE FULL CREATIVE PROCESS BEHIND A PROJECT CREATED EXCLUSIVELY FOR US Part three: guest-edited by Vault49
The brief DESIGN A LIMITED EDITION DOUBLE-SIDED POSTER
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Stage one IDEAS GENERATION
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Stage two SOURCING STOCK ASSETS
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Stage three CREATING THE ILLUSTRATIONS
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Stage four CHOOSING THE FINAL COLOUR PALETTE
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Debrief A FITTING CELEBRATION
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Exclusive video IN-DEPTH VIDEO DIARIES
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Studio profile VAULT49
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Directory HAND-PICKED RESOURCES
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In association with:
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DESIGN A LIMITED E DITION DOUBLESIDED P O S TER
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THE BRIEF
ThIS ISSue’S STudIo ProjeCT brIef WAS PArTICuLArLy PoIgNANT for our gueST-edITorS VAuLT49: CreATe A fuLLy-ILLuSTrATed doubLe-SIded PoSTer To MArK The STudIo’S TeNTh ANNIVerSAry
John Glasgow Co-founder, design director and all round creative visionary glasgow directs and critiques everything the studio produces, and has worked on numerous awardwinning projects for the likes of Vh1, Pepsi, and MTV.
Luke Choice equally comfortable with CgI or pen and paper, senior designer Choice loves to break the mould. how many other designers used to work in demolition, or spent a year in Cambodia to develop their 3d skills?
Elliott Grubb Senior designer grubb brings order to the ornate across apparel, type and graphics. he may look like brains from Thunderbirds, but he’s a digital design and screenprinting double-threat.
Duncan Sham Sham has been with Vault49 since the early days. Whether he’s doing backflips off the office wall or creating apparel for Samuel L. jackson, jay-Z and dr dre, this senior designer is unstoppable.
This is CERTAiNLY A big YEAR foR ouR sTudio. Ten years ago, in May 2002, Vault49 was founded in a London student bedroom. It’s a fulfilling and hardearned milestone, as well as a great time for us to take stock of everything we’ve achieved while also indulging in a bit of target practice for the next ten years. We’ve had a long and happy relationship with Computer Arts over the years, and we share a lot of the same values when it comes to inspiring creativity and evolving our work. We’ve felt privileged to adorn the pages of the magazine on many occasions. So when CA Collection editor Nick Carson found out that we were turning ten this year, he felt it was the perfect excuse to present us with every designer’s dream: being given free reign to take over a large chunk of a well-respected publication, as well as creating some stellar illustration. We were initially briefed to design an A1 double-sided poster especially for this issue’s readers, using any two PMS colours. In addition to this flexibility, we also had iStockphoto on board as a sponsor for the project, which would make a lot of useful assets available during the design process. While this was in many ways the perfect brief, it didn’t take long for us to start scratching our heads once we realised the magnitude of the task. This project wasn’t just a fun collaboration with people we like, or a promo opportunity for our studio. It was also important that we designed something that represented a decade of Vault49 without being overly-nostalgic, and that was forward-looking while still feeling like a continuation of our studio. The one thing we were all agreed on was that this project needed to be something really special, and that the finished work should showcase the variety of creative talent in our studio that has come to characterise our work in recent years That said, the poster illustrations couldn’t just be two bits of great eye candy – it was important to us that the work had a clear concept and message behind it, especially
as we would be documenting the design process throughout this 48-page section. We realised that looking back over Vault49’s history could really help anchor such a loose and open brief, and this allowed us to build some parameters so that we could establish whether the finished solution was truly successful. With the addition of endless iStock credits, we soon had a great starting point to get the project moving quickly from the outset. An early design decision was to amend the brief, in particular how the budget was apportioned to the printing process. After some discussions with CA Collection, we agreed to change the poster from a twocolour double-sided A1 poster to a more visually-rich four PMS colour double-sided A2, including a special fluoro or metallic on each side, which we all felt was a better use of the printing budget. We were keen to use special inks that would otherwise have pushed the budget through the roof. Thanks to the combination of all these budget, briefing and production variables the project had quickly become a large creative brief, equal to many a commercial brief in terms of its demands and project management requirements. While being faced with a blank poster to design was initially daunting we quickly felt we were on familiar ground, and there was a genuine sense of excitement and anticipation about how our brainstorming would develop into a fixed concept and visuals. over the next 48 pages we will do our very best to walk you step-by-step through how we designed and produced the doublesided poster that is bound into your issue this month, celebrating 10 years of Vault49 and our ongoing collaborative relationship with Computer Arts Collection. We’re just four members of Vault49 – see page 118 for an in-depth profile of the studio and how it’s developed over the last decade. JOHN GL ASGOW, LUKE CHOICE , ELLIOT T GRUBB AND DUNCAN SHAM VA u LT4 9 ’ s s T u d i o P R o J E C T T E A M w w w.c omputerar ts.c o.uk
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The ďŹ nal A2 poster (bound into the magazine at page 114) is printed on 120gsm matt art stock with three Pantone spot colours (Pantone blue 540C, Metallic gold 871C and Metallic Silver 877C).
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supporting video: For a six-part video diary introducing some of the personalities at Vault49 – including a fly-on-the-wall view of the studio’s initial brainstorming session – see page 115
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Vault49 senior designers Luke Choice and Duncan Sham discuss some early conceptual research for the two sides of the poster
Before starting on any sketching or computer work, the whole studio sat down to discuss and Brainstorm the idea. This is exactly what we do would for any job of this scale, as it’s always helpful to get everyone’s opinions and ideas flowing so that we can figure out the best concept. This initial brainstorming session conjured up a variety of ideas centred around the celebration of Vault49’s tenth birthday, as well as the best way to communicate the studio’s skill-set. These ideas included a story-telling comic book concept stretched over the two sides of the poster; giant Roman numerals created out of illustrative elements; and creating two completely different styles, such as 3D and flat illustration, to represent the diversity of the studio.
All these ideas were discussed at length, but one after another they were dismissed for a variety of reasons, both creative and practical. For instance, we were worried the Roman numerals concept might look like an advert for X-Men, and the comic book idea just didn’t make conceptual use of what a double-sided poster could offer us. However, the one thing that became apparent from all sides of the table through this process was the desire to represent a story or narrative through the two sides of the poster – a simple, tight idea that could easily form the basis of the main concept. And even though we were not initially sold on creating a comic book-style poster to tell Vault’s history, we agreed that the core idea had the potential to be developed further. With this in mind we delved back into the studio’s history to try and isolate the key w w w.c omputerar ts.c o.uk
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Design director and co-founder John Glasgow explains some of his Japanese influences for the UK side to designer Salvatore DellAquila.
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events that have taken place since it first started up back in 2002. The single biggest event since Vault49’s founding was its relocation to New York in 2004, after two years spent building the studio, portfolio and client list in London. This gave us the perfect material we needed to push the storytelling idea forwards – instead of a comic book we would focus on the geographical locations of the studio over the last ten years. One side would be for the UK, and the reverse for the US. With the idea almost finalised we took a step back and did some further research into the best way to visualise the UK and NYC sides of the poster, while still keeping in mind the limited palette of four PMS colours. After flicking through a few design books we sat down again to figure out the finer details for the content. We had
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OPeN TO aLL Vault49 encourages ideas from everyone Since the beginning, Vault49 has always kept the same fundamental rules when it comes to the ideas generation process, no matter how big or small the project. We’re not interested in egos or primadonnas: a maxim of our studio is that the best idea always wins. It doesn’t matter who you are – the boss, an intern, senior designer or the Thai food delivery guy – if your idea is right, the whole studio will stand behind you to support it. There are always going to be some rejected ideas during this initial stage, and if you’re not able to stand up and fight for your suggestion then it’s not long before it’s taken off the wall. The strong connection between everyone in the studio helps make this process relatively painless, as it enables everyone – no matter their level or skill-set – to comfortably air their views. A broad range of people make up the team, including CGI designers, set builders, screen printers, illustrators, graphic designers and typographic superheroes. It’s this diversity that always makes the ideas generation process so interesting and exciting, as the variety of ideas brought to the table is always so different from one person to the next. Even though Vault49 has been recognised as an innovator of particular creative styles, we are not married to any one approach. Each brief is an opportunity to create a new genre for the studio’s portfolio, so no matter what the project is, we are always striving to take any approved idea to its fullest possible potential. Once an idea has been agreed on, then the structure of the studio kicks back in – with the relevant people responsible for the project working together to progress the agreed idea further. Normally this would be a senior and a middleweight designer (depending on the job), with project managers on hand to make sure that we don’t overrun on time or budget. All in all, a smooth ideas generation process at Vault49 involves the faith and understanding of each person’s approach, personality, strengths and weaknesses. It is those key elements that enable us to quickly sort the good ideas from the bad, and to never stand still for long.
Senior designer Luke Choice (right) shares a joke with fellow Australian designer – and Vault49’s newest recruit – Karan Singh.
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For the New York side, Vault49 gathered various visual references of illustrated city scenes, including pieces by artists Peach Beach (left) and Lotta Nieminen (below).
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For the UK side, the team drew plenty of inspiration from traditional Japanese styles, such as these ornate patterns from the book Celestial Gallery, to add a twist to the very ‘British’ emblem of a lion.
We’re not precious about where our ideas come from. We encourage our team to collaborate and use each other’s strengths. j O N aT h a N k e N yO N - m a n a g in g c r e at i v e d ir ec t o r
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would help speed up the design process as it meant we could use a larger percentage of the studio’s capacity, and would also highlight our diversity. So from this point forward the production side of this project would be divided in half: Duncan and Elliott would handle the New York side, based on the idea of a detailed city map with as many hidden stories as possible. Then John and Luke would handle the UK side, creating a much bolder, hard-hitting style featuring one central key element, such as a lion or typography, surrounding elements relating to the studio. As is the case with every project that passes through our studio, the whole team would gather regularly throughout the days and weeks to review and critique the work.
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to consider how best to integrate iStock into both our designs to make the best use of their enormous library, but also to ensure that our usage of stock was accurate in relation to our studio, and not crowbarred in for the sake of it. Our research and discussions convinced us that focusing on the UK and US flags would be a conceptually tight and pragmatic approach to both the double-sided format and the colour scheme, since the two flags both use the same colours. Taking this as a starting point we could then get very abstract, building content relevant to Vault49’s heritage in each country. Settling on a strong, simple concept meant that we could create very different styles for each side of the poster. This
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VAULT49 SEARCHES THE iSTOCK LIBRARY TO FIND SUITABLE ELEMENTS FOR EARLY COMPOSITIONS Supporting video: Watch parts three and four of Vault49’s extended video diary for further insights on how the team built up these early comps using stock vectors – see page 115 for full details
once We HaD tHe iDeaS organiSeD anD roUgHeD oUt, it WaS time to Begin tHe ProceSS oF PoPULating tHe DeSign WitH content. From this, we needed to create a rough composition to work from throughout the illustration stage of the design. The New York side of the poster would consist of a fictional city of elements relating to both NYC and the studio. There are key areas where the studio and screenprint workshop have been over the years since establishing ourselves here in 2004, and we wanted to bring these to the design.
Searching iStock The first thing we did to help decide on the included elements was to quickly search iStock for illustrations relating to New York. This generated all the usual items that you would expect such as big apples, Empire State Buildings, ‘I love NY’ logos, American flags and so on.
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when working with stock imagery we have to make sure the style is consistent with what we’re doing so that it works cohesively.
Avoiding clichés These results just showed us all the things we didn’t want to include much of – the clichéd, tourist side of the city. So we did a bit of deeper digging around and found some interesting elements that we felt could be mixed into the style of design we were thinking of very well, such as buildings, people, food and subway cars.
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Mocking-up a city Now that we had a rough idea of the elements we liked, we went about creating a fictional mock-up city using Google Earth’s 3D overhead satellite view. This focused on the key areas that relate to the studio, with a few points of interest included to help convey New York.
establishing structure Once this was finalised we overlaid a very crude American flag shape sourced from iStock in black and white to help give the structure we were aiming for. Once this was completed and the iStock content had been decided, we were ready to get started on roughing out the UK side.
You can build rough mockups from endless different types of resources.Using more unconventional options helps create a more unique artwork. elliot t grUbb S eni o r D e S i g ner
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Designers should soak up knowledge and inspiration wherever they go. it’s hard to think laterally without a head full of reference. J o N At h A N K e N Yo N - m a n a g in g c r e at i v e D ir ec t o r
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gathering details The basis of the idea was to create a bold central element on the flag with smaller details relating to the studio surrounding it. Initially we thought about using typography, but after taking a quick look through iStock we sparked off a different idea.
Chancing upon a lion While our initial search for UK-related material showed up a lot of the obvious citybased elements, such as Big Ben, we were surprised to also find a lot of lions, and really liked that idea. A lion image would enable us to create something much more interesting than simply trying to incorporate typography into the abstract shape of a flag.
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Sourcing a Union Jack To help get things moving we started off by finding a vector version of the UK flag on iStock in order to help structure the rough composition that needed to be built for the illustration stage.
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Mock-ups are only there as a rough guide for the main features of a composition. over-reliance on them can make a final artwork less interesting.
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exploring lion faces Following this change in direction we downloaded a variety of photographic lion faces in order to find the ideal expression and angle. The final chosen image would then be used in the rough mock-up and as a starting point within Illustrator.
bringing in elements Once the lion face was incorporated into the flag we added a few extra elements from our iStock search, such as a crown and some ink swirls. These extra objects would help us get the structure of the design roughed out, ready for the next design stage.
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As a studio Vault49 does not really use a large amount of stock imagery in final designs, unless specifically requested or supplied by the client. However, that’s not to say stock imagery isn’t useful, as it does play a very helpful role in our design process from time to time. The main function a stock imagery site serves for a studio like us is in supplying photography to clients with a limited budget. We are not always able to use our affiliated photography agency, GoldTeeth & Co, to provide content or location shoots, but we’re adept at finding ways to deliver on our creative vision. As an alternative, we would send the client a selection of stock images for approval from a variety of sites, giving the client a wider choice of content at a much smaller cost. Ultimately, this allows us to focus the larger portion of the budget towards the illustration side of things instead. Another useful feature of stock imagery is textures, which are always helpful for any designer or studio. We are always interested in exploring this, as a good texture-pack can help make a good design look even better. Normally we would create our own, but from time to time it’s always handy to see what else is out there in case it proves useful on future projects. With this project you will also see how stock imagery can serve a purpose behind the scenes when creating an illustration. One of the most overlooked parts of a design project is getting an idea approved by the client in the first place, and moving quickly to visualise our ideas can make all the difference between winning a project or getting a budget approved. For instance, when we need to mock up more real life elements – such as the lion we’ve used here – stock imagery sites become extremely helpful. We can select a variety of elements from many different photographs and sources, helping build an overall rough image that can then be used as the structure for an illustration. Our finished illustrations are rarely a direct reference to sourced imagery. Instead, stock imagery serves as a tool to help us ensure that all aspects of the art are kept in proportion and true to the subject matter, while helping us to keep a brief moving along quickly.
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A VAlUAble bUilDiNg bloCK How Vault49 uses stock imagery in its projects
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VAULT49 PERFECTS ThE TWO POSTER DESIGNS USING ILLUSTRATOR, PhOTOShOP AND A BIT OF CINEMA 4D Supporting video: Elliott Grubb and Luke Choice provide in-depth video walkthroughs on colouring, shading and recycling vectors to save time: page 115
With the groundWork complete for both designs, We could concentrate on making the illustration top-class. Using our rough compositions as a starting guide, we began to populate our design with high quality content. CA Collection was quickly on board with the design directions, including our ideas about how to make the most of the exciting Pantone solid and metallic colour palette. We officially had the green light to get things started. The illustrations were developed primarily in Illustrator, with Cinema 4D used sparingly in order to create elements to trace at the right perspective. This is useful as it dramatically speeds up the vector process. Most of the designers used Wacom tablets to help get through most of the vector work, as the NYC side featured a large quantity of unique elements and detail created mostly from scratch. The UK side was more straightforward in terms of content, but equally laborious because, well, lions aren’t easy to draw. We also gave a lot more attention to the vector shapes and the shading of the lion in order to make it really ‘jump’ from the page. Despite the freedom we had to develop our own colour palette, it was still a challenge to ensure that we kept working within the parameters that we had set ourselves.
Prepping the document Setting up the document correctly was the first thing that needed to be done for both designs. Each file featured three layers: the base layer consisted of the rough composition put together in the previous stage, the second was where the artwork would be created, and the third retained an un-stylised version of the respective flags to keep on hand for reference. w w w.c omputerar ts.c o.uk
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Initial line work We drew a first round of simple line work for both artworks using the rough compositions. To help speed up the process, each person involved drew the line work in sections. Once it was all complete, both designs were pieced back together to give us a clear idea of how they would look. Adjusting first keylines The keyline work helped us understand what was and what wasn’t working in the design. Looking at this progress, we adjusted the detail in both images to help finalise a balanced composition.
Establishing a ruler system We used a variety of rulers to keep all elements lined up correctly. The lion featured a central ruler as the design was symmetrical, while the American flag had a variety of horizontal guides to help show the stripes and structure of the flag. w w w.c omputerar ts .c o.uk
Building structure Small tweaks to the composition were made based on the exploration of a more detailed section of the image. We decided to introduce vertical roads throughout the NYC design to help build up the structure of the American flag even further. The UK side of the poster was developing fine.
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Adding first details Now that the basic structure had been created, we selected an area to make slightly more detailed in order to reveal how the design would look. This allowed us to adjust the layout accordingly before working on the full illustration.
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SIX PRO TIPS Vault49 shares some useful time-savers When creating the shading for the UK poster we used a lot of vector Smart Objects within Photoshop. As the vector work was constantly updating, we created an empty shape around the outside of the file. This way, no matter what happened in the vector file, everything would remain in place when re-imported into Photoshop. Without this empty shape the artwork would shift around on each import. 01
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It’s very easy to stray away from your original concept once you start the illustration process and the artwork begins to develop. To help keep things on track we always use one or two layers with reference material to compare throughout the design process, avoiding any dramatic changes for the client from mock-up to final design. 02
To help fill out the lion we repurposed various sections throughout the whole design, adjusting and resizing them so that they didn’t look repeated. A quick way of doing this in Photoshop is by selecting an area using the Marquee tool, then pressing Cmd/Ctrl+J. This will automatically copy and paste your selection onto a new layer. 03
We made sure to keep all the same colour shading on one layer while shading the lion artwork. This was done by constantly updating the colour’s Layer Mask to ensure that no shading overlapped anywhere. As a result, we were able to make colour updates very quickly across the whole image. 04
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The knowledge of multiple software programs enables a greater collaboration between everyone in the studio.
One of the features we love using in CS5 is the Width tool in Illustrator. As we were using a lot of swirls on the British side of the poster it came in very handy for creating a large amount of varied widths within each stoke, as opposed to creating everything manually. 05
Creating elements Rather than searching for the perfect stock photographs of additional elements to vector trace for the NYC side, we opted to make our own in Cinema 4D. Simple objects such as subway stations and fire escapes were modelled in 3D and then traced at the exact angle needed in Illustrator. Establishing a library Elliott and Duncan began the process of creating a huge library of elements to be used within the NYC design before working on the actual layout. They made sure to filter the library of chosen iStock objects so that everything sat together well on the page.
As the NYC side of the poster was so complex, we found a way to save time when designing the lion’s face. The artwork was created so that it would flip perfectly across 50 per cent of the page, which meant that we only had to design half the amount of the poster and reflect the design for it to become complete. 06
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Exploring the lion’s face While the NYC structures were being created, Luke and John focused on the main area of the lion’s face, creating a variety of solutions for its expression and exploring the best way for it to be incorporated into the flag design. Adding some flourishes With the lion developing well, Luke began to explore if stock elements could add to and improve the design. It was a lot simpler than the NYC side, so harder to integrate the elements without them taking the focus away from the main design, but we found some great flourishes that would work well.
Superbowl references We had already created one element referencing the New York Giants NFL team in the artwork, but while we were working on the project they happened to win the Superbowl and we decided it was only fair to increase the coverage a bit more. Go Giants! w w w.c omputerar ts .c o.uk
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Reviewing the NYC design With a lot of the New York elements now created Duncan and Elliott reviewed what they had so far, making sure we had not overlooked any obvious elements. We could now focus on creating hidden stories within stories, adding a third layer of detail.
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Hidden messages With 85 per cent of the elements now created, Duncan and Elliott divided the design into quarters and set about laying everything out. During this process we tried to create a lot of hidden messages and narratives in order to keep our studio and the viewer entertained.
Sectioning the design While the NYC side was taking shape, Luke and John also split the UK design up into sections. Luke focused on creating all the shading in Photoshop using smart objects, while John fed him elements to enhance the design.
Reviewing the artwork During this stage, artworks were combined and reviewed every couple of hours not only by the designers working on the art, but also by the whole studio. This ensured that the styles were being kept on track and the overall feel of each side of the poster felt cohesive, despite the number of designers working on them.
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S TA G E T H R E E – C R E AT I N G T H E I L L U S T R AT I O N S Changing the lion After a studio review of the UK side, we found there were still some issues relating to the lion’s expression. It wasn’t aggressive enough, and we felt that the crown Luke had introduced looked too feminine in its current position. So John went back to the drawing board in order to solve the issues.
All of my good intentions to keep my working files tidy seem to go by the wayside when the creativity is flowing. L U k E C H O I C E - s eni o r d e s i g ner
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Combining iStock images The introduction of iStock into the New York side of the poster was working very well. The simple style of illustration meant that the basic elements we had selected were blending into the design seamlessly, just as we had hoped.
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Creating a logo The NYC side was now taking great shape, so we stepped away from the layout while we created a logo lockup to be featured on a billboard within the design. The sign would show the year Vault49 had started and feature the phrase ‘10 years strong’.
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Perfecting the lion The extra work spent on fixing the lion’s face had paid off and the design was now in its final stages, flowing very well into the abstract flag that had been created. To solve the iStock crown issues we raised it up higher above the lion’s head and reduced the size, helping to balance everything out well. Final NYC adjustments The NYC design was also in its last stages, but once the final four sections were pieced back together there was one area in the top left of the flag that needed adjusting. This was the very first area that had been designed, so it made sense that it wasn’t quite right compared to everything else. Taking charge With the last few tweaks still needing to be made to the UK lion poster, Luke took over the design. Up until this point there had always been two people working on the layout, but in order to tie everything together seamlessly we let one person take the lead on the final changes, ensuring that the layout balance was correct.
We can spend a disproportionate amount of time crafting every bezier curve trying to perfect a line, but we wouldn’t have it any other way. j O N AT H A N k E N YO N - m a n a g in g c r e at i v e d ir ec t o r
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SIX PRO TIPS Vault49 shares a few more gems of advice When mocking up any design it’s always hard to get the perspective just right. In order to help this process, a great tip is to use a 3D program such as Cinema 4D to create the rough structure of your illustration – this will enable you to move the camera around to find the perfect angle to use as a rough guide. 01
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As there was so much detail contained within the New York side of the poster, creating every single element soon became very time consuming. With this in mind we created a variety of pattern brushes to help populate the artwork with content, rather than drawing each individual piece. 02
As we had a limited colour palette we used a lot of patterns to fill in areas of the artwork, helping to add variety. Rather than using the basic fills available, it’s always good to experiment by creating your own options. 03
To help try and keep things organised in complex artworks, we always try our best to group objects according to colour, content or layer. In the NYC artwork this meant we had each area of the city grouped so that it could be easily moved around. 04
The Shape Building tool in CS5 came in very handy for the NYC artwork. The tool enables you to create, edit and fill shapes intuitively straight on the artwork, rather than having to go to the Pathfinder tool all the time. 05
When you’re working with spot colours such as Pantones in Illustrator, overprint settings can dramatically affect the output results. For this reason, it’s best to periodically turn on Overprint Preview ( View>Output Preview>Overprint Preview) in order to weed out any undesired overprint settings that might have crept into the document.
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We believe in collaboration but when a design enters its final stages it can feel like ‘too many cooks’,so we assign the job of finalising to one designer.
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Blocking colour areas Throughout the design process we had only been focusing on one colour for the New York design. So once the artwork was in its final stage we began blocking in the areas of colour that would be chosen throughout the next design stage. w w w.c omputerar ts .c o.uk
One final tidy Once both designs were finished, an extensive sweep was conducted over all the line work to tidy up any messy lines, shapes, and spot any errors or overlapping. This was a lot easier for the lion side than the city design. After a few sweeps we eventually managed to get everything fixed and the designs were finally finished.
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Tweaking the NYC design In the same way that Luke took over the last parts of the UK design, Elliott took over the final amends for the NYC side. All the concerns regarding the top left section had now been solved and it was just a matter of tweaking everything into place, while keeping an eye out for errors in the line work.
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The name iSTockphoTo belieS an imporTanT aSpecT of a Service ThaT, in addiTion To The millionS of beauTiful and unique phoToS for which iT iS beST known, alSo hoSTS an impreSSive collecTion of vecTor-baSed imagery. With nearly 700,000 illustrations, plus 10,000 new ones added each month, iStockphoto can boast one of the world’s largest and most popular illustration libraries. Among the many collections on offer is the highly imaginative CSA Images ‘Pop-Culture’ Collection, which comprises over 5,000 vector-based illustrations by American designer Charles S. Anderson. A thoroughly modern design resource, CSA is widely recognised for capturing and digitally preserving the detail of hand-drawn illustrations, and included in the Collection you’ll find everything from borders, picture frames and simple black-and-white drawings to complex and colourful narratives. As with its high-end photography and video offerings, iStock also curates its own set of quality illustrations under the Vetta moniker. Since it launched just over a year ago, the Vetta Illustrations Collection now holds more than 7,000 illustrations – each of which has been handpicked by iStock editors who are determined to highlight a range of exquisite art direction, creativity, originality and style. This month’s Computer Arts Collection studio project by Vault49 demonstrates brilliantly just how useful stock vector graphics can be for very complex, intricate illustration work. Vectors are a valuable reference point, and can be integrated into the design to save time laboriously drawing multiple elements. In the hands of talented designers, very simple vectors
can be imaginatively transformed into beautiful artwork. In creating the New york side of the Studio Project poster, the Vault49 team selected a series of simple vector graphics from the iStock library, as demonstrated
Stock vector images are the epitome of flexibility, and allow the maximum freedom in how that image is used in different contexts. on the facing page. Then they manipulated, coloured, re-sized, and combined them with their own illustrated elements in various different ways – without any loss of quality – in order to create something entirely new and fresh. In short, stock vector images are the absolute epitome of flexibility for a designer or illustrator. of course, once the final design is completed, vector illustrations also allow the maximum freedom in how that image is used in different contexts. because they are resolution independent, vector images are ideal for printing – whether they’re added to a business card, a brochure, a billboard or a bus. The image will retain its sharp, crisp quality no matter what the size. And when Vault49’s poster brief changed from A1 to A2 midway through the process to accommodate more spot colours, the artwork was resized to fit in an instant. Pretty as a poster.
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VAulT49 SAVed TIme by uSING A broAd SeleCTIoN of VeCTor elemeNTS IN THe INTrICATe mAP of NeW york
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VAULT49 THROWS OPEN THE CHOICE OF FINAL COLOURWAYS TO THE WHOLE STUDIO TO COMPLETE THE DESIGN supporting video: In part five of Vault49’s extended video diary, the team discusses the pros and cons of their favourite colourways, before reviewing the final proofs in part six – see page 115 for more info
There were STill one or Two Tiny changeS To be maDe To The DeSignS aT ThiS poinT. This was mainly because Nick from CA Collection asked if we could include a flash with the magazine logo and sponsorship message – a very common client request! Luckily the timing was perfect as we were just getting ready to make one final check for any mistakes or overlapping key lines. With all the changes and final tweaks made, we ran out both designs at actual size using the latest addition to the office – an Epson Pro 9890 large format roll printer. This meant we could see everything exactly as it would be printed, and could check to make sure everything was correct before the colouring up process. We did one last check and corrected any minor errors. Once all the options were in front of us, it was time to start editing down the selection to find the best combination for both sides. With everything double – and even triple – checked we moved both designs from Illustrator over into Photoshop. This would give us better control over colouring up the layers and avoid any elements or strokes using different colour values. All of the extra layers were removed in Illustrator, and we also outlined all strokes and expanded all objects to ensure that, when copied across, nothing was lost or altered in the design. After each layer of the design was brought into Photoshop we turned them 100 per cent black, giving us a flat solid layer of artwork. This was repeated for each colour on both sides of the artwork. Once all the layers were imported, we selected the shapes for each layer and created masked colourfills, which brought the designs back to life once layered on top of each other. This gave us confidence that all the layers of colour being provided for PMS printing were 100 per cent correct with no hidden shades or transparencies.
colour is a vital part of design. it can be the fine line between making your work stand off the shelves or blend into the background. d u n c a m s h a m - S eni o r D e S i g ner
With the last updates now complete for both sides of the poster, we were happy that everything had finally come together nicely. We were able to focus the remaining time on fine-tuning our initial thoughts on the colour process, using a palette of four PMS colours. This stage of the design was always going to be a challenge as there were so many opinions on how to use the four PMS colours throughout the two designs. We definitely didn’t want to use the standard flag colours, as the designs themselves communicated the message enough without the need for traditional supporting colour. The easiest way to approach the colour choice was to get everyone in the studio involved, for if each person came up with two colour suggestions then there would be 30 or 40 ideas on the table within the space of about 20 minutes. So we shared the Photoshop files with the whole studio. This meant that w w w.c omputerar ts.c o.uk
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In order to reach a studio consensus, Vault49 decided to put the top five colourways for each side of the poster to the vote.
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siX pro tips How to get maximum impact from colour Always look at how your peers are pushing the boundaries. It can be very easy to focus too much on design colourways without considering what other people have been doing recently. Looking at colour trends and your favourite design posters can often provide some great inspiration. 01
If you’re using a limited colour palette, then there’s always the option to spread colour further. Using lower percentages of a colour can help to give different tones within the artwork, or overlapping can create new colours via duotone. This process can produce unexpected results, so it’s always best to work closely with your printer to achieve the exact result you’re looking for. 02
Colouring up in Photoshop can be a lot faster if the design has already been approved. Some people prefer Illustrator, which is fine, but having simple masked colour fill layers enables you to make very fast changes to very complicated designs. 03
Always consider pushing the colour palette to unexpected places in your designs. Simply adding something as subtle as a UV gloss over certain areas can add a huge amount of perceived value – plus it usually looks great too.
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You can’t always work with your preferred printer on every single job, so if you’re working with someone new then always be sure to make everything as clear as possible for them. Working alongside the print studio during the press process should help achieve exactly the result you’re after. 05
Listen to your printer. If you’re suggesting something that they know from experience will look terrible, take on board any comments and suggestions they may have. They are normally correct, and it’ll help to avoid any nasty accidents. 06
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The final round of voting took place and we finally decided on a winner – the non-traditional idea, with the metallic spot colours. We felt that this option looked more celebratory, tying in with our tenth birthday, and also felt the most timeless and cool as an overall piece of artwork. Our chosen palette is actually only three PMS colours in total – Pantone Blue 540C on both sides, Metallic Gold 871C on the UK side, and Metallic Silver 877C on the US side. We then added depth by varying the transparency of the two metallic spots (30% Silver on the US side, and 40% Gold on the UK side) which helped with the shading for some of the more complex NYC buildings, as well as the detail on the lion’s mane. With everything chosen we applied all the PMS colours to their respective Photoshop layers, then double-checked everything was labelled, working and looking correct. Once all the files were ready, we received the folding template from CA Collection that our poster needed adapting to. We had to ensure that everything was lined up correctly and, in some places, adjust the bleed to accommodate where the poster was bound into the magazine. Finally, all the files were set up and sent off. Everyone was happy with the result, and as it was a Friday we all headed off down for a drink at our favourite little speakeasy – you’ve got to love NYC.
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our background in screenprinting has given us a great understanding of colour overlays, transparency and the importance of designing away from a computer screen.
everyone was able to quickly and easily create a few colourways each to give us a massive selection of options in a very short amount of time. Once all the colour suggestions had been made it was simply a task of going through and editing the ideas down to just our favourite five. This was much harder than we thought, but after a lot of shouting and a couple of small fights we eventually had our top five ideas in front of us. There was a good combination of ideas in the top five palettes. We had options using silver and gold specials; some featuring a more classic look using UV varnish; the traditional flag colours and also another with metallic inks. It was now a simple case of voting again to find the top two. Another round of shouting and fighting ensued, with people getting very passionate about why their palette was better than the next. Eventually we whittled it down to two favourites that were very different from each other – one quite traditional and the other with a more celebratory feel. The traditional palette used a mixture of oranges, navy blue, and a spot UV varnish over the elements within the designs. The only issue with this palette was that the poster used the same colours on both sides, whereas the other idea used a mixture of golds, a silver and a metallic navy blue, allowing each side to feel unique.
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The colourways that Vault49 explored ranged from a traditional red, white and blue combo through to more experimental, unexpected combinations. Eventually the studio settled on gold, silver and blue.
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A F IT T ING C E L E B R AT I O N VAULT49 REFLECTS ON HOW THE FINAL POSTER mARkS ITS 10-yEAR ANNIVERSARy, ANd WHAT THE STUdIO’S GAINEd FROm THE PROCESS
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Supporting video: Watch the team review the proofs of their poster in the final part of Vault49’s extended video diary – see page 115
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Vault49’s final poster, all folded up and ready to be bound into this issue of Computer Arts Collection.
So here we are – a really enjoyable project haS reached itS climax, and our finiShed poSterS have been bound into thiS edition of Computer Arts ColleCtion. It’s really fulfilling to be able to take a step back now, and absorb everything that has happened over the past few weeks as we developed the designs, and populated 48 pages with juicy content for you – the reader. The design itself is often the easiest part of any project for us – the biggest challenge is creating a strong and concise concept while still accommodating all the requirements of a brief. Having a tight concept from the start of any project – no matter what the size – allows the creation of artwork to be much easier, far more enjoyable and always ‘on point’. This was definitely apparent within the CA Collection project – everyone involved loved working on it, and we’re proud to see the result being placed into the magazine to coincide with Vault49’s 10th Anniversary. The design aspect of the project wasn’t particularly dissimilar to jobs we usually work on here at the studio, but in this case the final design solution only made up a tiny proportion of the whole project. The documentation of the process took the most work, but now that we have the videos and photoshoots to look back on we can see it was equally fun. We were lucky enough to work with a lot of people throughout this process who helped to make the whole experience a lot easier and less stressful. Photographer Steven Brahms and his team definitely deserve a mention, and this is the perfect opportunity to say a big thank you from everyone at Vault49. We have also had a great time working with the lovely people at CA Collection
The design itself is often the easiest part of any project for us – the biggest challenge is creating a strong and concise concept while still accommodating a brief.
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the finished uK side of the poster, complete with metallic gold lion. vault49 hopes that it’ll find its way onto studio walls around the world.
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the finished nyc side of the poster, packed with references to the studio’s history in the city since its move in 2004.
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The finished Uk side of the poster up on the wall. Vault49 plans to get the two designs printed onto the entrance to its manhattan studio.
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This project has been beneficial on a number of levels – as well as the relationships that were nurtured, we have created something very special for our birthday.
2002–2012: Vault49, 10 Years Strong. This simple emblem in the bottom corner of the New york side marks the studio’s anniversary.
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– it’s definitely been a huge team effort with everyone from the magazine, and we’ve built on a longstanding relationship that will hopefully only grow stronger as time goes on. We hope that the final poster makes it on to many readers’ walls, and that the accompanying articles and video will help provide an interesting insight into the world of Vault49 and the way in which we approach a project such as this. From our perspective, this project has been beneficial on a variety of different levels. As well as the relationships that have been nurtured, we have also been able to create something very special for our 10th birthday. Hopefully this will prove to be a great tool when meeting potential clients this year, and a great talking point for future interviews and studio promotion. In terms of the final piece of work itself, well, we love it! We couldn’t have asked for anything more in terms of the print production and how everything turned out. As if the posters themselves weren’t enough, we’re also currently figuring out how to get them printed onto the entrance way of our studio, so watch this space.
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e XClusive video
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E XCLUSIVE VIDEO
IN - D E P T H V ID E O D I A R I E S DownLoAD ThE bEhInD-ThE-SCEnES vIDEo DIArIES ThAT ACCompAny vAULT49’S projECT For An InTImATE gLImpSE InTo ThE workIngS oF ThE STUDIo
NOTE: If you’ve already set up an account to watch the video diaries from issues 001 or 002, you don’t need to go through the registration process again – just log in and add issue 003.
E XCLUSIVE VIDEO
Part of VaULt49’s stUdio Project brief was to fiLm behindthe-scenes Video diaries at eVerY staGe of the Process. To access this exclusive content, first go to http://collection.computerarts.co.uk, register for an account, and activate it by clicking the link in the email you receive. Log in, and add Computer Arts Collection issue 003 to your magazines. Subscribers just need to enter your subscription number, otherwise select ‘I bought this magazine in a shop’ and then enter the code ‘DECADE’ when prompted to do so. Finally, click on the issue, and you’ll be able to watch the videos at your leisure.
CONTENT AVAILAbLE VIDEO DIARIES: Split into six parts, the 30-minute video diary introduces you to the studio’s personalities and takes you from the initial brainstorming session right through to reviewing the proofs. 01
TECHNIqUE wALkTHROUgHS: brush up on the basics with short screen capture videos outlining the key Creative Suite techniques used, including colouring the new york artwork, recycling vector elements to save time, and adding depth to the Uk side with shading. 02
SUPPORT fILES: Sketches, mock-ups and work-inprogress artwork from all the key stages of the design process, for ease of reference. 03
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OUR gUES T E D I T O R S : VAU LT4 9 FOUNDERS JONATHAN KENYON AND JOHN GLASGOW DISCUSS HOW VAULT49’S ROOTS IN COLLABORATION AND HANDCRAFT STILL SHAPE ITS WORK TODAY Words Jessica Bateman Photography Steven Brahms
Jonathan Kenyon Although his focus has now shifted from daily design work to growing the studio and managing client relationships, co-founder and managing creative director Kenyon still works closely with the creative team.
us to break our designs down into flat colours and build them layer by layer,” recalls Kenyon. “But instead of inhibiting our work, this flat colour approach was well-matched by the capabilities of vector illustration. So we were lucky enough to pioneer a different way of working with digital art. So much of our studio’s evolution has been down to happy accidents, and we still try to create an environment where accidents can flourish.” Coming together in a college environment also encouraged Glasgow and Kenyon to collaborate with their peers, leading them to develop a mixed-media style for which they would soon become well known. “We often – and still do – work with talented friends and collaborators who brought a variety of additional talent and inspiration,” continues Kenyon. “For instance, we’d collaborate with photographers, hand-drawn illustrators and installation typographers, and eventually this great big mish-mash of styles was absorbed into our work.”
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John glasgow Co-founder, design director and all round creative visionary Glasgow directs and critiques everything the studio produces, and has worked on numerous awardwinning projects for the likes of VH1, Pepsi, and MTV.
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ThERE ARE mAny wEIRD AnD wOnDERfUL ObJECTS yOU mIghT ExPECT TO COmE ACROSS In A CREATIVE STUDIO, bUT TAxIDERmy PRObAbLy ISn’T OnE Of ThEm. In Vault49’s New York screenprinting studio, however, stuffed animals are everywhere – from a large collection of birds to a full-blown bear. “We’ve always been fans of weird creatures,” laughs co-founder John Glasgow. “We used to buy insects trapped in amber, scan them and sneak them into designs without clients noticing. And then when we moved to New York the collection just escalated.” But this fascination with taxidermy isn’t just due to a love of funny critters. For Vault49, taxidermy is symbolic of the studio’s passion for craft and skill – an approach that influences every project it undertakes. From Glasgow and founding partner Jonathan Kenyon’s background in screenprinting, which underpinned much of their early design and illustration work, to their handcrafted set-building for clients such as Yahoo!, craft is always central to how the studio approaches a brief. “Everyone at the company knows the computer stuff, but they also have a skillset that goes beyond that,” explains Glasgow. “That’s very important to us.” Vault49 was formed exactly ten years ago in May 2002, after Kenyon and Glasgow met while both studying Graphic Design at the London College of Communication. “We were next to each other in the screenprinting studio – I remember Jonathan was working on quite an experimental project at the time, playing around with different inks, and it was quite conceptual,” recalls Glasgow. “We got chatting and it just seemed natural to start working together. He was from the illustration side of the course and I was more focused on typography, so we were interested to see how the different teachings would come together.” The duo’s early digital illustration work was largely influenced by screenprinting. “The manual production process required
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A Is For Acid (right) and Iso-Sneak (far right) are two of Vault49’s ‘isometric experiments.’ “We sometimes just shut the studio down and experiment with new work to develop our style,” explains John Glasgow.
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After a couple of years working out of the UK capital, Kenyon and Glasgow made the dramatic decision to up sticks and move the studio to New York, where they are still based today. “It was a lifestyle decision rather than a professional one – we were getting bored of London,” recalls Glasgow. “A client had asked us to come and attend an event in the city, and we fell in love with the place. When we got back to the UK we decided to try and relocate the studio.” So in 2004, after a fair amount of Visa hassle, the pair finally moved into a new Manhattan workspace. As well as contacting all their existing US clients, they both made a conscious decision to contact publications such as The New York Times and offer their services for free. “People then saw our work in the paper on a daily basis and we
So much of our studio’s evolution has been down to happy accidents, so we like to encourage them.
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For this Computer Arts cover, Vault49 tasked themselves with using a regular isometric grid to create something completely surprising.
But in addition to developing a unique, eye-catching style, some rather savvy self-promotion was key to getting the pair’s work seen by the world. Around the time of their graduation, Glasgow and Kenyon created screenprinted posters of their work and took to flyposting them around Clerkenwell, hoping to grab the attention of local studios. One building they adorned just happened to be the offices of Dazed and Confused magazine: “Without realising, we had flyposted all over the front of their office and across the front door – they had to cut through the posters in order to get in the next day,” laughs Glasgow. “But it worked, because they got in contact and commissioned us.” From there more and more commissions, mostly for illustration-based work, landed in their hands, and Vault49 were soon counting the likes of Levi’s and MTV amongst their clients. They also opened a screenprinting studio in London to share with other creatives, which kept the collaborative aspect of their work alive, and meant they could draw upon a wide pool of creative talent, depending on the brief.
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Vault49 was commissioned by Yahoo! to build a set for an annual event. “We had one theme – the word ‘internet’ – and had to create some art based on just that,” John Glasgow reveals.
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BIOmEgA Vault49 explains how its background in illustration influenced its approach to a full service project inspirational research, and we met up a couple of hours later to see what everyone was thinking, and started pinning different pictures and elements next to each other to see what works, and get everyone’s opinions.” In order to create an edgy, tactile, textured look, the studio put its designs together on screen and then took them through the whole screenprinting process: “We exposed the screenprints, printed some in different colours, did a dry run, or put two colours on screen and then put them through,” Glasgow goes on. “Then we photographed them, put them back onto the computer and laid them on to see what reactions we got.” Vault49 ended up providing the full service to this client, including packaging, website and all the design elements across their communications material.
“One thing that appealed was the ‘devil in the detail’, and how we could keep their heritage,” says Glasgow of Vault49’s Biomega packaging.
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However, after a few years Stateside, Vault49 found that the illustrative work it had made its name with was no longer pushing its creative buttons in quite the same way. “We felt we were being pigeonholed a bit, and it was becoming frustrating – we were really struggling to promote the graphic design and typographic elements of our portfolio,” admits Glasgow. “So when we got illustration commissions we decided to offer our type and design skills for free as well.” Another major factor in repositioning the studio as more than an illustration outfit was Vault49’s decision in 2007 to begin expanding in order to offer a full service. “We wanted to re-create that college environment by introducing people into the company with different core skills – every time we hired someone it was important
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got lots of new commissions as a direct result of this,” explains Glasgow. He also points out that there are some big differences in the American market that only became apparent once they had made the move: “Clients are a bit more experimental – they are more confident that, if they like your portfolio, you can create something amazing,” Glasgow continues. “Back in Europe you need more evidence – you have to have something in your portfolio that they want you to recreate.” He also believes that NYC’s creative scene, while often perceived as lagging behind its European counterparts, is gaining pace: “The design community here is really developing and pushing out some exciting stuff. We’re perceived as a European studio based in New York, so I guess we get the best of both worlds.”
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Vault49 applied its screenprinting and illustration skills to this branding and visual identity project for upmarket haircare brand Biomega. “The client had seen a gap in the high-end market where they could be a bit more creative with their visual look, and they wanted their stylists to be more crafted in the hair they were creating,” explains Glasgow. “We were keen to keep some of their heritage as a high-end company, but introduce it at an exciting, creative level – making it not so classic.” After a brainstorming session involving the whole studio, the team decided to take the textile designer William Morris as a starting point. “We looked at how we could give this ornate style that has been done to death a new, fresh look, mixing it up with a more edgy approach,” he continues. “Everyone went off and did little bits of
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Left to right – senior designer Duncan Sham, senior designer Elliott Grubb, design director John Glasgow, senior designer Luke Choice and managing creative director Jonathan Kenyon.
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For this poster campaign for Transport For London, Vault49 collaborated with external photographers and stylists to supplement the studio’s in-house skills.
STUDIO PROFILE
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the everyday person – that ticket inspectors are difficult to spot,” Glasgow tells us. “We did a few mock-ups and this one really stood out, with the commanding typography and punchy message.” The studio worked with external photographers and stylists for the shoot, utilising the collaborative networks that they’ve built up over the years. The values of collaboration and experimentation that have defined Vault49 so far are key to its vision for moving forward in the future. “It’s difficult to predict where we’re going to be in, say, the next five years because we’re always moving into different areas,” considers Glasgow. “Experimentation is so key to our company; we really like to explore different media, from teaming up CGI work with letterpress to marrying up vector work and 3D modelling.” And it could be anyone in the studio – from the intern to the director – that takes the company on a new path. “We always get everyone’s opinions in, and whoever comes up with the best idea will lead the project, no matter who they are,” concludes Glasgow. “It’s really not a case of Jonathan and me just dictating to everyone from the top. It’s about creating a collaborative environment.”
American clients are more experimental – if they like your portfolio they trust you to make something amazing.
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they had a different craft to bring to the studio,” explains Glasgow. “We cover pretty much most bases now – from websites to animation to set design and hand-crafted stuff.” Amongst the new recruits to Vault49 were Luke Choice, who’d previously been working in the UK for Studio Output, and was selected for his excellent CGI skills; Elliott Grubb, a UK-based freelance designer, who brought letterpress and strong typographic skills to the team; and Rutger Paulusse who brought a hand-crafted, painterly background to the studio. Expanding by a couple of heads every year, Vault49 is nowa team of 12 and takes up a studio-cum-office space, as well as a screenprinting studio in Manhattan – alongside all the stuffed animals. The expanded studio skillset has won the team some interesting projects well out of the realm of pure illustration, such as their work on the Camel Artists series. “We’ve been working for Camel for nearly two years now,” explains Glasgow. “They have this project promoting artists, so they fly us to different cities every year to explore the area and meet local artists, then we lock ourselves up in the studio with them for several days and create artwork. Last year we did Berlin and this year we’re doing New York.” They’ve also worked on projects that are far removed from any style previously associated with the studio, one example being a clean, bold typographic poster campaign for Transport for London. “We had to communicate an important message to
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HAND-PICKED RESOURCES Vault49 shares the well-thumbed pages and bookmarked sites that the studio turns to for inspiration – everything from hand-drawn type to wood-printed animals
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bOOKS Some newly-discovered favourites, plus a number of classics that we always find ourselves leafing through for inspiration.
HAND JOB: A CATALOG OF TYPE
Author: Michael Perry Publisher: Princeton Architectural Press ISbN: 978-1568986265 This book collects groundbreaking work, all drawn by hand, from 50 of today’s most talented typographers.
MATERIALS, PROCESS, PRINT: CREATIVE IDEAS FOR GRAPHIC DESIGN
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Authors: Daniel Mason, Angharad Lewis Publisher: Lawrence King ISbN: 978-1856695107 A very helpful book that offers advice and insight to designers of all levels.
ILLUSIVE PART 3: CONTEMPORARY ILLUSTRATION AND ITS CONTEXT
Authors: Robert Klanten and Hendrik Hellige Publisher: Die Gestalten Verlag ISbN: 978-3899552508 Illusive is a collection of contemporary illustration from around the world that addresses the wide variety of modern techniques and puts them into context with explanatory text.
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CELESTIAL GALLERY
Authors: Romio Shrestha and Ian A. Baker Publisher: Mandala Publishing ISbN: 978-1601090515 A huge book in every sense of the word. This oversize edition is part of a larger series that features a massive number of Oriental masks and similar drawings. These proved a really great inspiration for the UK side of the poster when we were going through the ideas generation process.
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A BOOK FULL OF IT BY PARRA
Author: Parra Publisher: AndPress An 80-page book full of Parra’s weird and wonderful drawings. Available from www.rockwellbyparra.com.
Author: Todd Selby Publisher: Harry N. Abrams ISbN: 978-0810984868 Photographer Todd Selby takes portraits of dynamic and creative people, including authors, musicians, artists, and designers.
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Author: Jim Harter Publisher: Dover Publications ISbN: 978-0486237664 An amazing selection of wood-printed animal illustrations. This book is full of the most amazing content and was extremely helpful for referencing additional expressions for the lion’s face when trying to make it look more aggressive. An essential tool in our book library.
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THE SELBY IS IN YOUR PLACE
ANIMALS
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bLOGS AND WEbSITES Some of the online destinations we like to visit regularly in order to gain inspiration and keep on top of what’s happening in the design world.
BUTDOESITFLOAT
A really well-curated blog featuring some amazing imagery. This is a favourite of everyone in the studio, so go take a look. www.butdoesitfloat.com
GREYSCALEGORILLA
If you’re a 3D designer you’ll probably know this site already. If not, then check it out – the guy is a total genius. www.greyscalegorilla.com
THEM-THANGS
An image blog run by Justin Blyth featuring no credits, just images. A great selection that’s definitely worth checking out. www.them-thangs.com
ARRESTED MOTION
A design blog with a huge roster of regular contributors, all posting a large amount of design work and event information from all over the world. www.arrestedmotion.com
BOOOOOOOM
Run by artist Jeff Hamada, Booooooom is one of the largest design blogs on the internet. An amazing mixture of content can be found here. www.booooooom.com
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A BOY IN MID AIR
Another great blog to feast your eyes on, featuring a variety of photographic, design and typographic work. www.aboyinmidair.com
BUCK.TV
One of our favourite motion graphics studios, Buck produces some really great work that’s guaranteed to inspire you. www.buck.tv
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WAKE UP MR SINGH
His hit rate for the website will – hopefully – shoot through the roof because of this, but Karan Singh from Vault49 has been drawing an illustration every day since March 2011 and chronicling them on this blog. Check it out. www.wakeupmrsingh.tumblr.com
HIGHSNOBIETY
A fashion and trend website that covers a huge range of content from the design world. Featuring great reviews and articles by regular guest editors. www.highsnobiety.com
TYPOGRAPHY SERVED
The ‘served’ series of sites has a great number of resources to explore. One of our favourites is the typography branch, which is a great source of inspiration and exploration. www.typographyserved.com
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FASHEMATICS
HIFRUCTOSE
A very entertaining blog by designer Jonathan Zawada. His portfolio is pretty amazing as well – both sites are definitely worth a look. www.fashematics.com
The online home of the quarterly art magazine founded by artists Attaboy and Annie Owens. www.hifructose.com
ILOVENEWWORK
A huge online blog and portfolio created by a group of young people working in the media. Contributors share their latest work and inspirations, and new members can sign up to share their own work too. www.ilovenewwork.com
KULER
One of our favourites. This image blog is full of amazing content that you can get lost in for hours. www.baubauhaus.com
A fantastic colour reference site that we use on a regular basis. It shows trending colour combinations and also allows you to create your own palettes based on inputting one colour’s values. This came in really helpful while trying to finalise the colour on this CA Collection project. http://kuler.adobe.com
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