Table of contents for October 2018 in Computer Arts

Our BIA cover is always a big deal for us. An epic, cinematic atmosphere was our ambition this year, so we went straight to one of the best motion design directors in the business, to execute a cover render with an extra wow factor. Eager for a stripped back look (to complement this year’s predominantly minimal, pared back winning entries) we customised our signature font – Simplo – to make a high contrast bastard that Matt could develop in 3D. “The challenge with this piece was creating a smooth, concave extrusion into the surface that I could freely manipulate,” he explained. “I created a detailed displacement map using Photoshop and Illustrator, then used Cinema 4D and Octane to texture, light and render the layout.” To accentuate the key word –…

BEREN NEALE EDITOR This month Beren ramped up his rock climbing, and ‘flashed’ his first outdoor 7a sports route. Now, that might not mean much to you, but trust him when he says, “it’s kind of a really big deal.” MARK WYNNE ART EDITOR We’d like to say that the frenzy of creating endless BIA - branded event materials and campaign assets caused no permanent damage to art editor Mark. We’d like to. But we can’t. AARON POTTER PRODUCTION EDITOR With his sketched face finally revealed this issue, Aaron was left disappointed that his future prospects as the next Banksy are no more. He’ll get over it, though, mainly because he’s never held a spray can in his life.…

An award-winning illustrator living in Zurich, Stephan Schmitz’s work has been described as “a plain, offbeat style that’s indifferent to detail,” by design website It's Nice That and “clever, intriguing… a visual play with meaning and expectation," by London-based illustrator Philip Dennis. A student of the Lucerne School of Art and Design, he identifies himself as a storyteller first and foremost. “I like to play with viewing habits, confuse a bit, or surprise the viewer. My best work is where I give the viewer that ‘aha’ effect," he says. Instagram has proved a useful platform for Schmitz to share his thought-provoking images. “I got signed to my London agency Folio using it. It means art directors get a regular update of new work and projects come in through Instagram sometimes.…

The more studios I worked in and the more time I spent with our industry’s best, the more I learned that design is about presentation as much as it’s about the work itself. What you say, and how, impacts the client’s personal interpretation of it, and whether or not they believe it’s solving their problem. Practicing improves your presentation, and it also improves the quality of what you are presenting. The pacing and the storytelling around the big moments are worth careful thought. Rather than pore over a presentation that goes too far into the specifics, it’s best to pay any attention to your client’s cues rather than divert their attention away from the solution to the details that won’t have much final impact. The more I listened to seasoned…

As summer turns to autumn, we begin to leave behind the hot, heady months packed with not only sun-laden Instagram humble brags, and newspaper features dedicated to attractive women enjoying heat waves, but something a lot more serious: design awards. There’s no denying that the likes of D&AD pencils, the V&A Illustration Awards, Brand Impact Awards, and AOI’s World Illustration Awards mark important and potentially career-leveraging points in a creative’s career. But how do illustrators get to the point where they’re not just confident enough to enter such awards, but ‘good’ enough to win them? And are these competitions helpful for their careers? Andreea Dobrin Dinu, who won the AOI New Talent award for commissioned advertising, found that the accolade was a great confidence boost as someone relatively new to…

Dinu’s advice for those considering entering awards is to “concentrate on doing work that you enjoy, and do that as much as possible.” Butler adds: “Don’t enter a competition unless you think this work is as good as you can do. There’s no point rushing something the night before just to enter. Treat it as the equivalent of imagining you have the opportunity to meet a person you really want to commission you – you’re showing them ‘this is what I can come up with, this is really exciting.’ Don’t just put something in and see what happens; that’s pointless as you’re not showing people your best work. “These [judges] are very experienced professionals who are used to seeing great work, so you have to believe in it and go…

NICK CARSON Nick has chaired the Brand Impact Awards judging panel since its launch in 2014. Previously editor of Computer Arts – where he also developed the UK Studio Rankings peer reputation survey – he now works with a range of design and branding agencies as an content strategist and copywriter. CHLOE TEMPLEMAN Chloe’s career began at Brand Union London, where she worked as a designer for three years before joining Design Bridge in 2009. With a passion for collaborating with illustrators, Chloe has worked her way up to become a Creative Director, and counts Fortnum & Mason, Diageo and Unilever amongst her clients. DAN RADLEY Dan heads up brand strategy at NB. Previously creative director at Start, he’s led brand identity programmes for Adidas, BBC, Bentley, Lego, and more.…

‘The best in branding’ is one hell of a claim to lead with on this issue’s cover. But then, that’s exactly what The Brand Impact Awards has been about for the last five years. The best branding projects, as selected by a panel of some of the best creatives working today – members of small boutique studios and large networked agencies; people who have a range of experience and expertise in different territories and market sectors, and also a range of both agency-side and client-side branding experts (have a look at this year’s judges on page 73). The selection process is thorough to say the least. The point is to select and celebrate excellence, and if the panel don’t all agree that there’s a project that hits the mark in…

JULIA SAGAR ECOMMERCE EDITOR, CREATIVE BLOQ This month, Julia channelled her inner Bristol and painted her house bright blue/green. She still laughs every time she sees it, but the neighbours haven’t complained so she’s chalking it up as a win. TOM MAY FREELANCE WRITER After working abroad, Tom returned to Blighty in August to edit CA’s sister magazine, Professional Photography. He also saw his favourite band Rolo Tomassi at post-rock extravaganza ArcTanGent. PRODUCTION NOTES PRINTERS TEXT AND COVER CMYK, PLUS PANTONE RED, BLUE FOIL WITH DEBOSS AND SOFT TOUCH VARNISH PRINT FINISHING PARTNER: PAPER COVER Precision Special Gloss FSC 250gsm P3–74: Ultra Mag Plus Gloss 90gsm P75–98: GraphoInvent 70gsm TYPEFACES Trump Gothic West, Akkurat, S-L, Simplo, Kondola and Calluna, Berewyne Bold.…

Curator Rizon Parein reveals the exclusive insights attendees to this year’s event will gain… 1. You'll be able to develop yourself as a creative I remember the first time I went to OFFF in Barcelona. It was here where the perception about being a graphic designer totally changed, showing me there was a path to develop yourself as an individual and to get recognition for that. It showed how rich and wild the world of graphic design can be and was a total game changer – it had a serious impact on my career. 2. You'll learn the importance of play as well as work It becomes a necessity to visit design conferences, just to recharge your batteries after a slum of revision rounds. At Us By Night, you’ll get…

Strong opinion and analysis from across the global design industry Skyhooks and stripy paint. Literally making something out of nothing. Sounds like a classic agency swindle doesn’t it? Only it’s not. It’s a very real and highly critical emerging issue that everyone in our sector needs to address, now. It may well be the future of the entire industry. What was once the stuff of Minority Report is happening in our living rooms. Amazon is close to releasing drones that will make haulage vanish from the street, with factories of invisible workers who will never need to commute, alongside the invisible drivers of autonomous vehicles. And the landscape of channels in which brands can communicate has transformed too. Traditional branding, with systems anchored in visual mediums, is over. Even supposedly…

DENNIS HUYNH Creative director, BuzzFeed News buzzfeednews.com “In collaboration with the product design team, our in-house art team were tasked with drawing a clearer distinction between the fun and amusing content of BuzzFeed Originals, and the serious journalism done by BuzzFeed News. We wanted a new identity that felt fresh, modern, with a slight nod to our newspaper/magazine roots, but still firmly rooted in the internet. After solidifying the strategy and ideas, Tal Leming of TypeSupply.com helped us develop distinctive letterforms in the wordmark. We decided on the serif Pensum Pro by Typemates.com, and Atipo’s Basier Square to give us a unified typographic voice. Highlights of this launch are a new domain, buzzfeednews.com, and a new brand on all news pages to keep things clear and understandable. An updated homepage…

“I knew it was going to be a big one,” says Thurlby, who was commissioned to create six window designs and interior decorations for John Lewis’ London flagship that captured Britain’s national treasures. Thurlby had never created designs for window displays before, and John Lewis had never commissioned illustrations for them either. It was not only big, but tricky. The illustrator was given just three weeks to complete the brief, which underwent a number of changes throughout the process. He ended up working seven days a week, from 8am until 11pm each day. “It’s not good for your health!” he says. John Lewis commissioned Thurlby for the project having seen his children’s book L for London. One of the key illustrations is a queue of different people. “I’ve realised that…

Paul Cardwell is creative partner at Superunion, a global branding agency placing emphasis on creative optimism. He has won multiple D&AD pencils for his work and is a regular contributor and juror at various industry events. I write in praise of screens, making no apology for I feel no shame. I was educated by screens, entertained by screens and informed by screens. I say this knowing full well of the violent reaction, driven by brute prejudice, against screens today. When young folks are engrossed in a screen old people fume and tut. They are accused of ruining their eyesight, failing to develop social skills, and becoming isolated loners. They are one step away from mail order assault rifles and that last trip to school. This is sheer, blind bigotry. And it…

CHRIS MOODY Wolff Olins’ chief design officer doesn’t mince his words in this month’s highly opinionated, and insightful Essay, over on page 24. www.wolffolins.com RICK LANDERS Senior design at Fine, and partner in Landers Miller Design, Rick extols the benefits of presentation in the creative industries on page 27. www.wearefine.com EMILY GOSLING On page 42, regular Computer Arts writer Emily explores how to make your mark in illustration, as she speaks to winners of this year’s World Illustration Awards. www.emilygosling.com SIMON DIXON, APORVA BAXI Both co-founders of DixonBaxi, plus other lead creatives at the studio, tell us what it took to create the new identify for film titan DNEG. Go to page 82 for more. https://dixonbaxi.com JACQUI OAKLEY On page 88, US illustrator Jacqui Oakley takes us through the creation…

Since graduating from Tokyo’s Tama Art University in 2015, digital artist Kota Yamaji has been hard at work putting his CG skills to good use as a freelancer. Bold colours and Japanese pop culture are two elements that continue to inspire his projects, whether that's a music video, 3D illustration or something else entirely. “I studied graphic design, animation and so on at university, but I studied computer graphics in my own time,” says Yamaji. “I then combined this with the sense of colour I cultivated during my degree. It always helps my job.” Yamaji’s surreal, eye-catching 3D imagery is perhaps best seen in his 2017 collection simply titled Graphic Works [pictured right]. “I found my unique colour style while working on this project,” he reveals. “It was even featured…

GRACE ABELL Freelance designer http://abelldesign.co.uk “When I was a student, entering design competitions was a rare opportunity to work on a live brief. They offered an exciting focus beyond those that tutors set. In my case, a gig poster competition entry, pinned to the wall at college, proved to my tutors that I was serious about pursuing a creative career. The poster went on to become part of my portfolio for university applications. I acknowledge that some design competitions for professionals are ethically dubious; if someone doesn’t want to hire a pro, they shouldn’t expect the work of an experienced creative. But for me, winning led to paid work. Passionate students, wanting to work in a competitive field, will take the chance. A competition entry in their portfolio could give…

1. DON’T STAND STILL Designer Cassie Brock finds that having a sense of childlike curiosity about new techniques and programs helps inject a sense of play in her work. “I’ve found constantly experimenting keeps me on my toes and keeps work playful,” she says. 2. GET AWAY FROM YOUR DESK “Make sure you do some real play too,” advises Brock. “Get away from your desk, get inspired and bring it back to your work later. It’s really hard to keep things feeling fresh if you’re doing eight-hour days in the office.” Account manager Alice Thompson agrees: “Get out and have some fun!” 3. ALL IDEAS ARE VALUABLE “There’s definitely times I’ve strayed from the brief, but that doesn’t mean ideas have been wasted,” says Brock. “Elements can sometimes be changed…

THE BRIEF Jacqui Oakley In 2016, Reebok commissioned freelance illustrators and letterers to create a series of T-shirts for release in 2018. Dedicated to the theme of tough fitness, this line of women’s shirts was not to conform to an old-fashioned, narrow view on what ‘girly’ is, instead being bold and unapologetic. It was great to be asked to participate. I’ve always wanted to do artwork for clothing, and my favourite pair of shoes growing up were black Reebok high-tops. Also, my family is from Bolton, UK, the birthplace of Reebok, so this job was extra exciting. My amazing art director was designer and letterer Thy Doan, who wanted me to bring my own individual style and voice to this project to create an image that felt strong – while…