MAN-KER-CHIEF
THE HAIR
AD HE
Y BO
SPORTS CAPTAIN EVERY YEAR
BU
TEACHER RAPPORT GRADES SPORTINESS
SUPER-EGO
REPORT CARD
MATHEMATICS
A+
SCIENCE
A
ENGLISH
A
ECONOMICS
A+
PHYSICS
A+
SOCIAL STUDIES
A
EXTRACURRICULAR
A+
EADED HIGH THR
HALLWAY MONITOR ROUTE RESPONSIBILITIES PEOPLE PLEASING SKILLS
10:00AM
EMPATHY
UMP INTO GIRL IN HALLWAY
EGO
DAILY DUTIES
FLAG DUTY
Contents
Editorial 8―9 Pigeon-hole 10―11 Design Agenda 12―13 Mapping the Production 14―20 Galleria 22―23 Podium Lead-in 24―31 studio FM milano 32―39 DDMMYY 40―47 Christoph Mueller 48―55 Index 56―63 Mark Gowing 4―7
4―7
THE PSYCHE, THE SEELE OF Editorial
THREADED ISSUE SEVENTEEN
IN THE RIGHT CORNER, THE SUPER-EGO:
Seemingly mild mannered, calculating and cautious, and in tune with the pressures of conformity: he’s so adorable in that bow tie and those hipster jeans, and whatever else he thinks will make him popular and accepted by his peers. But don’t underestimate him just because he’s a middleweight. In his own unconventionally, conventional way, The Super-Ego rules.
AND PRESIDING OVER THE ACTION, OUR REFEREE, THE EGO:
Now this guy really has his work cut out for him. He must somehow serve the needs and drives of The Id, who – let’s face it – is a grubby, hungry, thirsty, horny, greedy sort of customer. At the same time, The Ego can’t just ignore The Super-Ego. That bundle of nerves, well, he has ideas of his own. These ideas consist of doing exactly what he thinks society wants of him. (Society, in this case, means GIRLS!) In any case, The Id and The Super-Ego are diametrically opposed but would be so much stronger than the sum of their parts if they could find a way to work together.
IN THE LEFT CORNER, THE ID:
All our instincts, our primordial desires, wrapped up into one deadly fighting machine: just look at the sweat glistening on that muscled torso, the veins popping on his forehead. Pure muscular force, this pubescent heavyweight would like nothing more than to twist your arm up around your back and say: “What are you gonna do about it, huh? HUH?”
But if, by way of explanation, the whole Id/ Super-Ego/Ego thing doesn’t work for you, then perhaps the Ancient Greek concept of seele – or psyche – will.
studio FM milano
Aristotle, when off the bottle, expounded the theory that every living soul was host to three distinct energies: Vegetal, Animal and Rational. To put it in prosaic terms, the Vegetal part of us would like to stay on the sofa and watch some more daytime TV. The Animal part would like to hump the TV. The Rational, well, he knows that’s just not practical, as well as being undignified.
DDMMYY
Out of the red corner, all the way from Italy, hails studio FM milano weighing in as European Design Leaders specialising in (led by Barbara Forni, Sergio Menichelli and Cristiano Bottino).
Introducing DDMMYY, a progressive design studio. To date, they’ve worked on commissioned design, research and shaped a platform for publishing. Formed by Kelvin Soh and now a four-person team, recent projects including ‘Stolen Rum’ and the skincare brand ‘Triumph & Disaster’ it’s hard to believe their studio is only is four years old.
Christoph Mueller In the sienna corner, we have a designer from another time, an American/European hybrid: Christoph Mueller ever present ever drawing.
Whichever way you slice it, Threaded magazine is now 17 editions old, which, in magazine years, makes us, like, totally mature y’know? So no more fumbling for love bites in the bike stands for us. This publication is now a MANNISH BOY!
Whoa yeah, oh yeah Everythin’ gonna be alright this mornin’ Oh yeah
Index Jonty Valentine and Amy Yalland run ‘Index’, a steadily collaborative publicationbased design studio. Their breadth of projects include the The National Grid a publication charting historic and academic facets of graphic design. Some projects explore risograph printing techniques, and their content driven curatorial books are notably impressive.
Mark Gowing
All we have to do is align the interests of the Vegetal, the Animal and the Rational. Or, depending on how you look at it: The Id, The Super-Ego and The Ego. If we can do that, the seele of the Mannish Boy will be in perfect balance. We would ask our readers to assist in this matter. Just climb up and over those rails, and get in the ring with us. Don’t worry about The Id. Yeah, he can be an animal. But The Super-Ego will keep him in check, even if The Ego can’t.
Heavyweight interdisciplinary artist Mark Gowing reigning from Sydney, Australia, is on our all-star line-up. His experimental approach to design will surely cheer up your typographic blues.
It’s a challenge, this growing up and being 17 and a whole person, but it’s worth the good fight. Oh, and speaking of birthdays, we’re happy, proud and excited to say that a baby boy has arrived within the ranks of the Threaded family. And that’s something the three of us can all agree on…
8―9
Pigeon-hole
DESIGN ASSEMBLY
True friends stab you in the front. OSCAR WILDE
become a friend of design today designassembly.org.nz
designassembly.org.nz
ARE YOU A FRIEND OF DESIGN? Design Assembly is the community for New Zealand graphic designers. It is committed to building a strong, supportive community that seeks to celebrate, grow and challenge New Zealand graphic design and designers through online discussion, live events, workshops and seminars. Over the past six years, Design Assembly has become a vibrant network of like-minded creative folk. We have come to know our own incredibly talented and passionate New Zealand graphic design community and, along the way, the community has provided insights and ideas that have contributed to many great conversations about what goes on here, how it happens and why it matters. To ensure Design Assembly can continue to develop and offer the best service to the industry, we’d like to invite you to become a Design Assembly Friend. Our special DA Friends programme will allow us to keep doing the work we do. By becoming a DA Friend, you will be recognised for your support of the New Zealand graphic design industry, receive DA Friends’ prices on events and workshops… and more!
ABOVE: D ESIGN ASSEMBLY ‘FRIEND’ BRAND, DESIGNED BY TANA MITCHELL LEFT:
DESIGN ASSEMBLY ‘FRIEND’ PROMOTIONAL POSTCARD
VERTTY TOWELS VERTTY IS CONQUERING THE WORLD Inspired by the cosmopolitan soul of the city, Vertty, a brand dreamed in Australia and born in Portugal, has reinvented the humble beach towel, turning a basic commodity into a trendy accessory. Only one year old but already exporting to more than 40 different countries from South Korea to Peru, Vertty has a strong focus on design but, also, is centered on ‘features’. The Vertty towel uses an innovative material called ‘Ketten’ (90% cotton + 10% polyester), which dries more quickly than a normal beach towel, and is 10% larger and 30% lighter than a standard one. All products are handmade in Portugal and respect the ‘Oeko-Tex Standard 100’ certificate; this means that all the materials used in their production are harmless to the enviroment and to public health. The ink used on the towels is made out of seaweed. The 11 times world champion surfer, Kelly Slater, and the Hollywood actress Kate Hudson are just two of the international personalities who like the brand and own a Vertty.
ABOVE:
SAVVY
RIGHT:
CLASSIC ORANGE
Selling online, worldwide, Vertty beach towels can be bought on the website: www.tryvertty.com tryvertty.com
8–9
LEFT :
OPAL, ASKEW ONE. PHOTO CREDIT: ARTIST’S OWN
BOTTOM LEFT: ELLIOT FRANCIS STEWART. PHOTO CREDIT: ROSS LIEW
TINY TRAVELLING GALLERY IF THESE WALLS COULD TALK If These Walls Could Talk offers an insight to the people behind some of New Zealand’s most impressive street art. Examining the artists’ creative pathways and processes, their thinking around their roles as artists in their communities and the implications of painting such large public artworks, this series shines some light on the people who paint walls.
ABOUT US Back in August, Telecom became Spark and its brand positioning became about enabling positive change. At the same time, to highlight the new company values, it launched ‘Spark My Potential’ a crowdfunding site set up to help aspirational New Zealanders realise their dreams. One of the opening line-up was for a small arts project with some big ideas. Tiny Travelling Gallery created by Scott Savage and Colleen Pugh is a suitcase-sized exhibition space showcasing work by over 30 New Zealand lowbrow artists. New Zealand has a large number of talented creatives working in this field but the term ‘lowbrow art’ is not widely known. Most people, however, own items that fall within this category: comic books, art toys, illustrations on T-shirts and skateboards. The Tiny Travelling Gallery features small original works from many of the lowbrow subcultures including: documentary photography, street art, tattooing, pop surrealism and pop culture. It will be showing at two major overseas art events in LA and London this November and is set to tour New Zealand in 2015. tinygallerynz.com
This project is, in part, a response to the lack of information available about the artists working in this area. With increasing global acceptance and understanding of the art form and its role in the cultivation of active, enlivened and participatory public spaces, it’s important that we recognise the activity taking place in our own backyard. One of the things we see throughout the series is a strong, determined vernacular addressing issues of identity relevant to our position as part of the Asia-Pacific community. Another notable element is the engagement of more universal themes about the trials and tribulations faced by creative practitioners as they navigate the enduring equation of artistic fulfilment versus sustainability. The artists themselves come from varied backgrounds and have different thoughts about the issues they face. What they have in common, however, is a compulsion driving them to put paint on walls. ifthesewallscouldtalk.co.nz
TOP LEFT
TANE WILLIAMS
NEXT LEFT:
BECK WHEELER
NEXT LEFT:
CAPILLI TUPOU
NEXT LEFT:
HARRY CULY
ABOVE:
MICA STILL
10―11
n sig De da en Ag
Design Miami, Florida 3–7 December 2014 Art Basel, Florida 4–7 December 2014 Passagen, Germany 19–25 January 2015 London Art Fair, London 21–25 January 2015 Art Stage Singapore 22–25 January 2015 Interior Design Show, Canada 22–25 January 2015 Stockholm Design Week, Sweden 2–8 February 2015
Auckland Fringe, New Zealand 11 February –01 March 2015
International Design Awards, California Deadline: 20 December 2014
Dubai Lynx Creativity Festival, UAE 8–10 March 2015
3rd Zebra Photography Awards, Global Deadline: 31 December 2014
Biennale International Design Saint-Étienne, France 12 March–12 April 2015
Sony World Photography Awards (Open), London Deadline: 5 January 2015
Art Basel, Hong Kong 15–17 March 2015
Sony World Photography Awards (Youth), London Deadline: 5 January 2015
Boston Design Week, Massachusetts 19–29 March 2015
Sony World Photography Awards (Pro), London Deadline: 8 January 2015
PAD Los Angeles, California 23–26 April 2015
CA Illustration Competition, California Deadline: 9 January 2015
One Show’s Creative Week, New York 4–8 May 2015
Graphis Poster Annual, New York Deadline: 17 February 2015
Designex, Australia 13–15 May 2015
D&AD Awards, London Deadline: 18 February 2015
International Contemporary Furniture Fair, New York 16–19 May 2015
CA Photography Competition, California Deadline: 13 March 2015 Good Design Awards, Australia Deadline: 20 March 2015 D&AD New Blood Awards, London Deadline: 31 March 2015 Graphis Design Annual, New York Deadline: 2 April 2015 Graphis Annual Reports, New York Deadline: 21 May 2015 CA Design and Advertising Competitions, California Deadline: 1 May 2015
Index Exhibition, UAE 18–21 May 2015
FESTIVALS
AWARDS
Pause Fest, Australia 9–15 February 2015
Clerkenwell Design Week, London 19–21 May 2015 NXNE, Canada 17–21 June 2015 Design Miami, Basel 17–22 June 2015 Art Basel, Switzerland 18–21 June 2015 New Designers (Part 1), London 24–27 June 2015 New Designers (Part 2), London 1–4 July 2015
10–11
CONFERENCES
SIGGRAPH Asia, China 3–6 December 2014 Webstock, New Zealand 16–20 February 2015 Design Indaba Conference, South Africa 25–27 February 2015 Research through Design, UK 25–27 March 2015 European Academy of Design Conference, France 22–24 April 2015
Type Camp, Japan May 2015 Offf Barcelona, Spain 28–30 May 2015 AIGA Design Conference, Louisiana 8–10 October 2015
PRODUCTS
Type Camp, India February 2016
The Micro goo.gl/ubSz3H US$350+ Funded by Kickstarter in May, The Micro is the first truly consumer 3D printer. Cintiq 13HD Creative Pen Display goo.gl/ZdEkO1 US$999+ Experience the creative power of working naturally, directly on the HD screen of this slim, compact Cintiq. Lumi lumi.co US$30+ A revolutionary photographic print process for DIY textile printing. Multipaper Book goo.gl/r8PU4d £19.50+ Notebook consisting of neon yellow and orange isometric grids, grey, peach, lined, checked and plain pages. 6 Pack Frame Cinch goo.gl/42JSw2 NZ$55+ A bike attachment that holds your six-pack of cold ones!
PODCASTS
99U Conference, New York 30 April–1 May 2015 Studio Audience goo.gl/Okb2KW A weekly podcast run by It’s Nice That offering audio insight into news and views surrounding the creative industries. Design Matters goo.gl/vRKlLi Award-winning podcast featuring designers, artists and cultural leaders who are champions in their fields. Nick Onken’s SHOPTALKradio goo.gl/ylJ2gR A surprisingly insightful podcast about ‘The Synergy of Art, Commerce and Inspiration of the Creative Entrepreneur Lifestyle.’ Type Radio typeradio.org The radio channel on type and design. ‘Type is speech on paper. Typeradio is speech on type.’ 99% Invisible 99percentinvisible.org A tiny radio show about design and architecture with Roman Mars. Greyscalegorilla goo.gl/a3qpLi General design discussion and Cinema 4D tutorials and tools for motion graphic designers.
14―20
Galleria
Actually, we’re chuffed. Threaded magazine is 17 editions old, which, in magazine years, makes us, like, totally mature y’know? We can look back over our shoulders down the highway now and remember our first, faltering steps, our first puppy love affair. Ah, were we ever so young? Young and hungry like those featured in our Galleria profiles! We need the good stuff from you! Send hi-res images and a statement to submissions@threaded.co.nz
alainvonck.com
CALEB THAL ► Caleb Thal is an editorial photographer based in Phoenix, Arizona. When he was young, he wanted to be a shark scientist. But, because he lives in the desert, he gave that up for photography. He is a storyteller and loves the fact that photography gives him the opportunity to tell stories through visual means. Thal finds simple things interesting and pictures give him a way to share and create stories from the every day. As a wanderer, he records and captures the people and places with which he interacts. His favourite things include Jesus, coffee and nature. See his work and blog at his website.
SOLÈNE CONSTANT ▼ Born in France, Solène Constant arrived in New Zealand in 2013 to work as a graphic designer. Her first experience in New Zealand was with Brogen Averill. Under his direction in his studio, she helped design the ‘Love and Object’ brand and their online store (loveandobject.com), a stunning collection of luxury vintage jewellery and accessories of world-famous designers such as Givenchy, Dior, YSL and more.
— CALEBTHALVISUAL.COM — ABOVE:
STEADFAST
The brand reflects the clients’ love and passion for vintage fashion objects, using diamond shapes and gold foil over a retrostyle paper. Simple geometric forms are employed as framing devices to promote and highlight the objects.
— SOLENECONSTANT.COM — PROJECT:
LOVE AND OBJECT
HUGO DE BRETT ◄ Hugo De Brett likes to experiment with a variety of illustrative media to create dynamic and playful images. With an emphasis on creating strong and bold compositions, his unfussed and intuitive approach to drawing gives vitality to images that evoke narratives which are both emotional and imaginative. His carefully considered and fearless use of colour enhances the graphic attitude that leads the work he constructs.
JAMES MAUGER ▼ James Mauger is a New-Zealand born photographer currently based in Melbourne, Australia.
— HDBILLUSTRATION.COM/BLOG —
— JAMESMAUGER.COM —
His work draws heavily on the aesthetic of 18th and 19th-century high art, using digital post-production extensively to achieve elaborate, moving image portraiture. Images are captured both in the studio and on location, before many hours of editing and manipulation. This results in a large-scale, still image, as well as time-based editions solely for web content. A long-standing interest in history and society at large informs much of the work, with particular reference to ancestry and our relationship with the landscape.
ABOVE:
THE KINGDOM
Podium Lead-in
22―23
It’s a challenge, this growing up and being 17 and a whole person, but it’s worth the good fight. But for now ~ to the business at hand. The designers and studios whose talents fill this edition of Threaded can all look back to when they, too, were on the cusp of maturity and, if you’re wondering what they might like to write to their 17-yearold selves, well, perhaps it’s all within the pages of this issue or perhaps it’s a three-way wrestling match for their very souls.
40―47
LOST IN TIME AN INTERVIEW WITH ARTIST CHRISTOPH MUELLER BY LANA GENTRY
LEFT.
MOVIEBETA MAGAZINE COVER, 2014
ABOVE.
SELF-PROMOTIONAL LETTERING, 2013
Those of us who dwell by choice, in the halls of antique stores, museums and such, take careful note of the changes that have taken place over time with regard to craftsmanship. We find ourselves fawning over and handling objects and pieces of art that seem almost magical because of their potent detail. Among us on this journey is artist Christoph Mueller who, upon closer examination, appears to be fortunately lost in time. His finely tuned drawings are often filled with brilliant cross-hatching, hand-lettering and folk stories, the likes of which we have not noticed since the explosion of work from his much-admired forefather Robert Crumb. Weaving through past and present, this European/American hybrid’s creations take flight into varied worlds where his illustrations and personal drawings always seem to fit perfectly. Christoph Mueller is a man who is ever present but seemingly lost in time.
ABOVE.
HAND-DRAWN ALPHABET, 2011
LANA GENTRY: The kind of detail expressed in your drawings indeed seems like a lost art but you are still here, making your way into so many published projects including: CD covers, magazines, books, comics, T-shirts, logos and so much more. In a world where simplistic design is thrown out in an instant, how difficult is it to continually reintroduce the world to this kind of fine craftsmanship? CHRISTOPH MUELLER: As far as my visual sensibilities are concerned, I feel like I was born about 100 years too late and I am sure I am considered a curiosity by some. Not everyone understands why you would invest the extra time and effort to carefully construct letters on paper when you could just use one of the countless fonts available today. But to me it is important to do everything by hand; I believe it adds a level of sincerity and warmth that a lot of contemporary design lacks. Crafting letters and ornamentation by hand also leads to a much deeper understanding of design and results in forms and shapes that would not have been discovered on a computer screen.
ABOVE.
LEFT.
FORGE PUBLICK HOUSE COASTER DESIGN, 2013
THE DIAGRAM OF UNIVERSAL INSIGNIFICANCE, 2011
LG: While I would usually veer away from putting too much emphasis on mediums and instruments, your nostalgic style has me wondering about your choices. I would assume you use a lot of well-made commercial tools but do you ever experiment with quills or antique pens and, if so, what are the advantages or disadvantages of doing so?
CM: For the most part, I am rather lucky that the tools I work with are still being made at all, especially in a world that is so obsessed with the latest in digital technology. For most of my lettering work, I use rapidographs; they produce an exact and even line and the ink is of a very high quality. These pens were invented for mechanical draughtsman and architects in the 1930s. With the introduction of computers, these pens have become practically obsolete. The only people buying them nowadays must be a couple of cartoonists, a few illustrators and maybe one very old architect. I can’t imagine how they are still making money on selling these at all and I live in constant fear that they might stop production any day. Unfortunately, this has already happened to other products I use. The dip pens I am using, for instance, are antique. I love the warm and uneven line dip pens create; they give a drawing a degree of tenderness that is very hard to accomplish otherwise. But, for some reason, modern manufacturers are able to turn out only very poor-quality pens. It is a real shame; once my source runs dry, they will be gone forever. LG: You have expressed an initial disappointment about your art school experience and its consequent connection to advertising. What was most difficult for you personally about making that kind of art before you decided to pave your own way?
CM: There was a really big divide between the worlds of design and drawing when I went to art school. Since I had a great passion for both disciplines, I tried to pursue them with the same eagerness. That, however, did not meet with my teachers’ approval. I was repeatedly encouraged to choose between being a designer and an illustrator. My refusal to do so led to a certain extent of alienation from both camps. But, if anything, it strengthened my will to follow my own path – a path where design, drawing and typography are all treated with the same respect and attention to detail, in a fashion in which artists have worked for centuries. It’s something many people seem to have forgotten today. I also realised early that I would never feel at home in the artificial world of advertising. I preferred to be independent: being able to evolve my distinctive artistic character freely and blur the lines between design, illustration and fine art in the process. LG: You have a deep connection to music that inspires and drives your work. So many of your drawings can be found in the arena of music. Tell us about your connection to the American and European deep roots music scene. CM: I always envy musicians for the immediate emotional communication they achieve through making music. Of all the arts, music has to be the most rewarding. It is a wonderful
way to turn something terribly mysterious into something perfectly beautiful. Sadly, music has been industrialised to such an incredible degree today. It is another product to be consumed; we lost the social act of making music together at home completely. The new roots scene seems to go against this trend; it aims to bring the music back to the people, back to its folk music roots. It mirrors a bit what I try to do in my work – the attempt to reintroduce a sense of humanity. LG: You’ve done some beautiful female nude drawings. How much of that work is personal work as opposed to commissioned work (not that they cannot cross over)? CM: To be honest, none of them were commissioned. They all originated in my own juvenile curiosity for the female form, I am afraid. I have turned down a request or two of this nature in the past; this is mainly because I wanted to avoid any possible distress afterwards, in case my rendition were deemed unsatisfactory. Women are rather meticulous as far as the particulars of their anatomy are concerned; there is very little room for interpretation in this field! LG: You have completed a variety of works that include coloured drawings but you seem more connected to creating in black and white. Would you say that is true and, if so, why?
ABOVE.
ANNETTE KELLERMAN, SKETCHBOOK DRAWING, 2014
RIGHT.
THE MIGHTY MILLBOROUGH, 2013
BELOW.
WANDA JACKSON T-SHIRT DESIGN, 2011
CM: It is, indeed, true; the line is very important to me. There is something incredibly attractive about arranging lines in layers of cross-hatching to form tones and shapes. It is one of the few rewarding and satisfying moments in my work. Colour is something very powerful and I don‘t want the lines and colours to compete for the viewer‘s attention. So, since
the line is such a prominent element of my work, colour is applied very cautiously. LG: What projects does your pen have to offer in the near future?
publication next year in France and Germany. Apart from that, there are smaller projects coming in on a regular basis for which I always try to find time. Thanks so much for your time.
CM: I am currently working on a semiautobiographical graphic novel that’s set for
ABOVE.
LA CASTAGNE CD ARTWORK, 2014
LEFT.
THE BORING STORE LOGO, 2012
RIGHT.
QUEENSDAY FESTIVAL POSTER, 2014