Graphic Design& is a publishing house with some very interesting projects. They explore graphic design and how it can be used to communicate, using type in many ways. I find this particular book to be quite a clever collaboration. The image above let’s you know exactly what it is about. Page 1: Great Expectations. It is the first page of the book ‘Great Expectations’ over and over again, interpreted by 70 designers. It plays on perception and the endless manners you can read a page. The results are as interesting as surprising, from very classic solutions to complex graphic systems and mapping. If you are a fan of Charles Dickens, type or layout you can get a copy for as little as 12.50 pounds. Contributors of the project include: A Practice for Everyday Life, Luke Hayman / Pentagram, Wallpaper*, Studio Frith, Phil Baines, Sam Winston and many more.
Classic novels and experimental type, what more can you ask for?
If you happen to have a great idea for a project they are open to other collaborations, simply drop them a line on their website.
Though PLI arte & design could be approached with the same propensity for criticism we (designers) usually approach other art and design magazines since the first moment, this one really deserves a minute of previous consideration, free of judgment (and biased opinion). Not that the project couldn’t hold itself per se, but I would say this is a special magazine, and therefore worth of extra attention and care, given the context out of where it was born: PLI is probably the first true contemporary art and design magazine being published in Portugal. Of course there are few other magazines discussing art and design in the country, but I would consider this one different for at least three reasons:
To start with, this is probably the first one that takes a fresh and extremely contemporary approach at these subjects, considering both the current national and international discussions and critique. From what I can recall, it is also one of the few examples of such a project in which the graphic approach is so considerate of its own time, content and circumstances of production. To finish with, published by ESAD/Escola Superior de Artes e Design de Matosinhos (Matosinhos Institute of Art and Design), it is, sadly, one of the very few publications coming out of an art and design portuguese school/institution. And if those don’t seem reasons enough, in the current context of economical crisis, the latest issue of the magazine – a double issue (2/3) –, is dedicated to the theme ‘Enthusiasm’.
Saturday, May 19th, at 16h a conversation between José Bártolo (editor PLI arte & design), Pedro Marques (designer and editor) and Sandra Vieira Jürgens (director and editor at ARTE CAPITAL) will take place at Fabrico Infinito/Babel, in the context of the launch of the new issue.
Fabrico Infinito / Babel
Rua D.Pedro V, Nº74
Príncipe Real
Lisboa
We all have our own very personal techniques to unlock creativity, something that sometimes can be terribly hard to tame. Some of us will go for a walk in the park, others prefer to have a beer with a friend or sketch extremely complex mind maps. Bertjan Pot likes to sit at his sewing machine and create new crazy masks by simply stitching some colorful rope. This series, in which he has already been working for a while, came out as an accident, while trying out and experimenting with some stitched rope to find out if he could produce a carpet. When the stitched parts started to become curvy and he was about to give the experiment as failed, his friend suggested he attached the parts together and shape them into a mask.
Pot is a product designer who is known by his particular approach to working methods. Instead of starting from a main concept or idea, Bertjan Pot prefers to play around with materials and techniques, searching for a system, or what he calls ‘the DNA’ with which he is able to build something bigger. Intuition is, of course, a big ingredient to this formula, as one can sense in nearly all his works.
We all love balloons. Last year, the product designers and members of the design collective Object Design League showed how these can be easily manufactured in a small scale at the Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago. With handmade moulds and other manipulations of the process, these balloons came out ‘extra-ordinary’ and while some could have a defective strange feel to it, it only made the whole thing even more beautiful and unique. It was called Balloon Factory and next weekend they will be present at the Noho Design District, a four day design festival bringing together emerging creative talents in New York.
The expression ‘What is Mine is Yours’ often employed by couples takes a whole new meaning in this photographic project. This series of images by Canadian photographer Hana Pesut really puts gender and how clothes change what you look like in focus. This photographer’s work revolves around exploring the little things, recording moments, details that you might otherwise have missed and regret not registering. This particular project is composed of two parts: a first image with a couple and a second image in which the couple exchanged their outfits. The result is quite often hilarious and unexpected, even though you realize what is happening, you still get surprised every time. It is quite interesting to see how some of the two individuals in the couples actually resemble each other and how harmonious the combinations can be. It is actually true that the more time people spend together, the more similar they become. It is also interesting to take a moment to think how much changing one’s garments can change our perception of ourselves and how others perceive us. Personally I really recommend you check her website and maybe who knows be part of this experiment.
sincerelyhana.com/projects/switcheroo
Anthony Zinonos is a freelance illustrator based in norwich, u.k. and through his collages and an exquisite understanding of texture and materials, he creates beautiful illustrations. By the act of eloquent juxtaposition he produces graphic minimalistic trails for deeper concepts and unknown stories. One can easily fall into one of his works and while being immerse in it get caught by its strong ability for making us want to fill the blanks that it so consciously leaves.
Being represented by WICCA, he has worked for clients like kate spade, chanel, mens health magazine, alfa romeo and many others.
Guy Delisle is a comic book author from Quebec. Having a Médecins Sans Frontières administrator for a wife had some interesting consequences, namely having to take the whole family to live conflict zones during certain periods of time, which I guess lead to him writing about his daily life (first in the Burma, then in Jerusalem) and that finally lead to his work being spread around the world. I first came across him on his “Burma Chronicles”, two years ago and was already fascinated with the way he would go on telling about the daily mundane events and then at the same time explain the political situation. It’S as real as it can get and he manages to clear some confusions and show us what is really happening in these places. He does this while trying to work at the same time and carry a normal life, which sometimes means trying to find a playground for his kids.
Now he spent one year in Jerusalem and his book “Jerusalem: Chronicles from the holy city” is an incredible book!
From April 26th to June 3rd Gestalten will present ‘Tokyo Art Directors Club Award: The Best of Japanese Communication Design,’ a comprehensive collection of work that demonstrates Japan’s vibrantly dynamic design scene today.
After being shown in Tokyo and Osaka as well as at Frankfurt’s Museum für Angewandte Kunst (Museum of Applied Art), Gestalten now brings this exhibition to Berlin for the first time. ‘Tokyo Art Directors Club Award’ features award-winning and nominated works that showcase the best of the year in Japanese print and broadcast advertising, interactive media, graphic design, editorial design, packaging, photography, and illustration.
Gestalten Space
Sophie-Gips-Höfe
Sophienstraße 21
10178 Berlin
It is quite unusual nowadays to find a space where you can just sit, relax and read. I’m not talking about your I-Pad, or Kindle or a place like a coffee shop, park or library. Proper reading implies leather sofas and armchairs and bookshelves all around. The Carnaby Book Exchange is a special quiet place right in the middle of what is one of the busiest areas in London. Situated in Kingly Court, just off Carnaby Street this space houses a great project initiated by a group of MA Fashion Curation students from the London College of Fashion. The intention is for you to give a little before you take a little. Take the book you are curious about and leave a book that someone else will be interested in. At the moment the selection is very fashion and art focused with a travel section on one of the sides. The idea is to expand the themes and make this 6 month experiment a permanent space. Apart from the reading and the exchange you are supposed to share, share thoughts, leave notes on books and hope to find ideas from others. When I visited the space I was also told they aimed at having invited authors coming in for readings and the occasional talk. In such a busy and stressful city where people seem to mind only their own business and run around like everyone else is invisible this is the kind of project that has the ability to make you stop, smile and think.
Ana is a robot collector, magazine devourer and confessed shopaholic. She was also the very first person I met in my first days at FBAUL, in Lisbon, where we studied together. After three years of Graphic Design, Ana naturally moved to London, following her passion, Fashion Design. After finishing a degree at Central Saint Martins she worked for fashion label PPQ, she did styling at Tank Magazine, the Observer and French Vogue, and too many other things to be listed here (including awesome Tatty Devine and Beyond the Valley).
After a short time in Paris and a temporary stay in Lisbon where she was fashion editor and art director at Parq Magazine, among other things, she decided to return to London, where she is currently working as a visual merchandiser and stylist for Farfetch.com.
If this seems too much already, hold your horses, this is the short version! Ana is the most full of energy girl I’ve met in my entire live so far. She literally never stops. Besides all these things she also works as a freelance in a range of projects as multidisciplinary as you could think: editorial, jewelry, clothing, packaging, corporate identity, photography and whatever else comes along, provided it is exciting, megalomaniac and time consuming enough.
Ana will be our contributor author for May, sharing some secrets and insights directly from London, every friday of the month.
