MAGMA BOOKSTORE // Earlham St.

Not being local to Londinium I researched the bookstore online. The one which caught my eye was one titled ART DIRECTION EXPLAINED AT LAST.

Written by two of the world's leading experts on the matter, Steven Heller and Veronique  Vienne, and published by my favourite London based publisher LAURENCE KING, the book claims to provide 'students with insights into the world of art direction and professionals with a bible to the profession.' 

"It also provides an insight into what makes a successful art director, what an art director actually does all day, what makes things go right, and what makes things go wrong." - Something which appeals to me, being that it could me a career path for myself..

Pages from the book - beautiful layout, balancing words to image to dilute the number of pages strictly text based. Definitely one to add to my shopping list.

TED Talks // Why Google Glasses?

My first encounter with Google glasses was in Union Square, New York. I was sitting with a friend when he started yelling 'GOOGLE, YEAH YOU, CREEP! GOOGLE'. He pointed out a man, maybe in his late twenties, in a shirt and a pair of some weird clear sports glasses. He told me about these new glasses and how they record what you see. It sounded, in all honesty, creepy. I then saw the same man again a few day later in a cafe, sitting in the corner. Just the thought of him recording his visual memories and always wearing these new-age glasses was a weird concept to get my head around.

So when I visited the TED Talks website and saw a talk on the subject, I went for it.

I have to say that after hearing Sergey Brin talk about the origin of inspiration and seeing examples of the footage made from the glasses, it altered my perspective. 'Brin calls for a new way of seeing our relationship with our mobile computers -- not hunched over a screen but meeting the world heads-up.' 

Hearing Brin talk about trying to look busy on his phone in public is something which everyone does, no doubt, and so I liked the fact that Brin is providing a solution to a problem in that sense. Keeping your hands free and being more aware of your environment, but advancing technology at the same time, not simply removing the problem - which is now impossible in the lifestyle of our generation.

Codenamed 'Glass', you can ask the lenses to take a photo, video, ask directions, search the internet, video call and send photos. It does all of these but on demand, not continuously - which was the 'creep' factor for me, and in all honesty, looked really cool.

  

DESiGN DISCOVERY // 2

The Bearpit Improvement Group (BIG) consists of a team of volunteers with various skills (including architecture, urban design, horticulture, planning, financial management, arts and play) who have formed a community interest company to transform the “Bearpit” (the sunken area at St James Barton roundabout, Bristol) into a space that is welcoming, safe, diverse and inclusive. The BIG is working towards these aims in collaboration with Bristol City Council, which has designated the site a “Community Action Zone”.

  

In the ditch that is St James Barton roundabout, Bristol, lies a creative community built from nothing. Having a reputation for the place to pick up drugs and get in to punch ups, the local neighbourhood took it upon themselves to turn it around. My dad showed me this gem, undetectable from the road above.

Today, The Bear Pit has installed numerous positive themes through the help of BIG;

Communications // free WiFi is available at the Bear Pit

Greenery // Hundreds of bulbs have been planted. The BIG arranged for local organizations and companies (including the Soil Association, Oxfam and the Avon Organics Group) to “adopt” hexagonal planters on the site. Flowers, fruit and vegetables are now being grown in these planters.

Play // A permanent outdoor table tennis table has been installed.

Trading // The BIG has arranged for selected independent traders to operate on the site. Currently there is a daily fruit stall, coffee cart and gourmet sausage grill. On Saturdays this expands into a market with additional food outlets and craft stalls.

During my visit to the Bearpit there were a number of buskers, fruit and veg stalls and visitors enjoying the Bearpit Social café and grill. Aswell as large, bright pieces of graffiti artwork, adding vibrancy to an otherwise concrete, stagnant roundabout. Creative community at it’s best. 

GALLERY VISIT // Saatchi

'PAPER' Exhibition 18 June - 3 November

This was my favourite piece at the Saathci exhibition, 'Floating City' by Han Feng. An entire city landscape made of laser printed tracing paper and hung with fishing tackle. This photo was taken on a disposable camera, and so makes the piece look much darker, when in reality these huddled frames float (surprisingly) most delicately, rippling with any hint of a breeze. Really rather beautiful up close and at a distance.

"Neither sculpture nor drawing, Feng’s piece is composed of hundreds of tracing paper buildings of various sizes, their laser- printed details deriving from images of city architecture, which are grouped in dense clusters and hung from the ceiling with transparent fish tackle thread. Hovering a couple of inches off the gallery floor, Floating City has an ethereal, almost spectral quality; it shivers and sways with the movement of visitors."

Can Design Touch Someone's Heart?

Reaction video for Stefan Sagmeister's class Can Design Touch Someone's Heart 

"My approach was to touch the hearts of metro musicians by making posters for three of them, that I randomly picked on the L Train. Aim of the project is to touch a community's heart by usign the elements of design." - Ali Emre Doğramacı Shot by Sabri Akin & Qian Gao.

Music by CAN - Nineteenth Century Man

YES! I am obviously biased, but believe that design can touch someone's heart. What I like about this project is that the people the designer reached out to were performers at subway stations along the L train, New York City. People he probably saw on a regular basis and decided to not overlook them anymore. I love the work he makes, how it relates to each individual performer, and how it makes that individual feel. Not one is accepted without a smile. Point proven. 

WATCH IT HERE

EVENTS // MoMA PS1

MoMA PS1 // LONG ISLAND CITY 

This wasn’t an exhibition so to speak, but the courtyard outside of the gallery, on a Friday night, turned into a venue for experimental DJ’s to perform. I went twice with it being available to 19 year olds, difficult to find in NY. 

It was a rectangular courtyard with concrete walls and steps at the far end, with the decks and speakers at the top. Huge wooden instalments decorated the otherwise bleak venue, with giant balloons filled with water, which showered on party-goers throughout the set. These installations really were amazing, having to withstand 100’s of people, all weather conditions and still be visually appealing, made from the cut outs scraps from skateboards.

GALLERY VISIT // COOPER UNION NY

TYPE EXHIBITION // Cooper Union // New York City 

This has to be my favourite exhibition of the summer. As lame as it sounds, I love everything which is typographically based. The Type Directors Club 2013 Exhibition showcased the winners of the TDC's annual communication and typeface design competitions, as well as student scholarship winners - which I loved, as it gave me an opportunity to see the best student work in the country and a level to aspire to.

My favourite piece within this exhibition was a book about the evolution of Facebook, titled Facebook was never started to be a business. It was beautifully designed, filled with infographics, photographs and statement pages. It was comprised of thick ‘handmade feel’ paper and stitched together with red thread. It turned stagnant facts and figures into a beautiful, balanced and concise tribute to graphic design. 

Page from the book, I loved the statement 'Greatness and comfort rarely coexist.'