Design Debate

These are the photographs of director and film maker Pirmin Juffinger and photographer Mia Felinè of Austrian studio Golden Fox. This series of pictures captures a serene South America, their shots are well composed and peaceful. The landscape reminds me of travelling through the Atlas Mountains in Morocco, where for miles you just see nothingness, greys and browns. The closer you look though the texture and scale is so impressive. A simple road will cut through your composition to dramatic effect. Juffinger and Felinè are also brilliant at capturing animals, the detail, their environment and character - all beautifully preserved in a photograph. I always feel at home in natural landscape, I am renewed by just being in nature, but sometimes the beauty is overwhelming - there can be just too much detail to take in. That is where I think landscape photography takes its place. Through the photographer's lens the beauty is tamed, framed. Colours are broug...

Katy Ann Gilmore creates mesmerising art from  tiny  hand-drawn triangles. LA-based Katy studied both mathematics and the visual arts and you can see how she combines these two fields in her artworks. From giant murals to little canvases, the geometric nature of her work tricks they eye to see her flat plains as three dimensional. She uses negative space like a pro, armed with just a pen and working in monochrome she represents nature in an ordered and measured way. I love the impact her large pieces have, when you look close you see the amazing amount of patience she must have! Found at My Modern Met .  

As this week draws to a close I thought I would show you the illustrations I have been doing over at Pickle. The challenge to illustrate a British flower a day has proven tricky, only because picking just so few is really restricting! I could draw flowers all day long, but at the moment client work also needs my attention. Currently I am promoting Cornish cottages, laying out vehicle livery, designing pretty websites, and putting together a children's book!  But back to British flowers... The foxglove at the moment is peering over garden walls and lining our hedgerows so the clear first choice for me to capture. Next I drew a rose, an English rose, with all the classic softness and delicate aroma (trust me it would if you could smell it!) we associate with English gardens. The bluebell was Thursday's choice, found all over our fair isles but notably the rich blue hues flood the Scottish countryside. Finally I picked a Welsh poppy. The English red poppy is so...

So it is British Flowers Week and I have decided to illustrate a flower each day to celebrate! I just love flowers, they so characterise the British countryside and bring so much joy. I'll do a round up at the end of the week, check our Instagram , Facebook or Pinterest if you want to see which flowers I pick.

The Juicy Salif, Eclisse Lamp, Chanel No.5 Perfume, The London Underground Tube Map, The Anglepoise Lamp, The Valentine Typewriter, Jaguar E-Type, Penguin Books, The British Post Office 300 Series Telephone, Converse All Star Hi Tops, The Mini Cooper, Bialetti's Moko Pot, Lego, The Chesterfield, Ray-Ban Wayfarer Sunglasses, Citroen DS.  Over at Pickle Design , the graphic design studio I work at, we have been illustrating our pick of design classics. What makes a design classic? Longevity - a design classic needs to have lasted, stood the test of time. But more than that a piece of iconic design needs to have aesthetic appeal. A piece of furniture, kitchen equipment, transport system, cover design - needs to be as loved today as when it was created. They are often quite revolutionary but simple in design. Design reduced to its essence coupled with a desirability. In our monthly newsletter at Pickle we have been illustrating a few of our favourites - some more famous than...

Love love love this brand identity, nothing staid and old about this. Shakespeare may well have died 400 years ago this year but his work is alive and well.  Designers  MultiAdaptor  created a complex looking brand which is actually very flexible. The idea being that on this anniversary all of the bard's work would have a coherency internationally as well as in Britain.  By adding the 'in' the brand has more relevance and urgency. I love the garish bright colours that jar with each other, and the phrases from Shakespeare's work that are wonderfully relevant.   What people always say about the playwright's work is that it transcends cultures and class remaining impactive and on point today. The brand also needed that vibe.  The festival fun feel adds to the celebration aspect of this anniversary and the blocky text means that the message can be communicated on posters quickly - as you slide by on the tube for instanc...