Table of contents for November 2016 in Computer Arts

NICK CARSON EDITOR After Nick’s first year presenting the Brand Impact Awards (BIAs), he consumed a lot of Chinese food and then almost immediately jetted off to Croatia – staying in seven Airbnbs over eight days. JO GULLIVER ART EDITOR Jo didn’t drink for three whole weeks this month. And then the BIAs happened. She also went to OFFF By Night in Antwerp with Nick, where she survived on a strict diet of bread and beer. ROSIE HILDER OPERATIONS EDITOR Just for the record, it definitely wasn’t Rosie’s idea to order £150 of Chinese food at 2.30am after the BIAs. In other news, Rosie made a clay milk jug at a hen do (not a euphemism) and went to a wedding in a barn.…

Branding in all its forms was celebrated in style at CA’s thirdannual Brand Impact Awards, which took over Soho’s Ham Yard Hotel on 8 September. Judged by an elite panel from top agencies including Turner Duckworth, GBH and Wolff Olins, as well as clientside judges that have helped shaped brands such as Coca-Cola, Virgin and Monotype, the projects in this year’s shortlist represented the very best of the world’s branding. From over 160 entries, 47 outstanding projects from 33 different agencies made the shortlist. As ever, standards were uncompromising, with a winner awarded in just 11 of the market-sector categories, plus an additional 15 highly commended trophies, and special awards for collaboration and social impact. The Partners, johnson banks, North and Purpose all took home multiple trophies, with Best of…

STEPHEN GILMORE PARTNER, NORTH www.northdesign.co.uk As partner at North, the top agency in this year’s UK Studio Rankings, Stephen was behind the Brand Impact Award-winning Co-op rebrand. BEN NEWMAN ILLUSTRATOR www.bennewman.co.uk Ben is a freelance illustrator, who also lectures on illustration at conferences and universities across Europe. He illustrates the series Professor Astro Cat. DESIGN MATTERS: Designers muse on collaborative vs. competitive design – page 22 PLUS: Universal Studios Hollywood’s rebrand is critiqued from three perspectives – page 24 Illustrations: Louise Pomeroy www.louisezpomeroy.com…

The freelance creative economy is continuing to grow. Poor employee pay, a lack of graduate jobs, and the continued effects of the recession mean that one in seven UK workers is now self-employed, and the Royal Society of Arts predicts that the ranks of the self-employed could soon outgrow the public sector workforce. This growth in the freelance economy isn’t just due to circumstances; many creative freelancers feel their employment status is a lifestyle choice. Being able to solely focus on a single project, manage your own time and efforts, and reap the significant pay advantages of being both ‘in demand’ and your own boss make going freelance hugely appealing for illustrators, designers, motion graphics artists and video editors. These groups get to lend out their creative skill sets to…

ALEX ROWSE A-Side Studio, Falmouth www.a-sidestudio.co.uk DUAN EVANS AKQA, London www.akqa.com BOB YOUNG Alphabetical, London www.alphabeticalstudio.com LEE BRADLEY B&W Studio, Leeds www.bandwstudio.co.uk DAVID WOODS Bag Of Bees, Belfast www.bagofbees.co.uk LOUISE SLOPER AND TEAM BMB, London www.bmbagency.com TIM BURLEY Believe In, Exeter www.believein.net TIM BEARD Bibliotheque, London www.bibliothequedesign.com DAVID JONES Buddy Creative, Exeter www.buddycreative.com MICHAEL C PLACE Build, Leeds www.wearebuild.com JAMES LITTLEWOOD Design Project, Leeds www.designproject.co.uk ROBERT SOAR Dragon Rouge, London www.dragonrouge.com ASHLEIGH ARMITAGE Dust, Sheffield www.du.st BEN STEERS Fiasco, Bristol www.fiascodesign.co.uk KATE FRANKLIN FranklinTill, London www.franklintill.com DANIEL FREYTAG Freytag Anderson, Glasgow www.freytaganderson.com ANDREW JONES FutureDeluxe, Brighton www.futuredeluxe.co.uk PETER HALE GBH, London www.gbh.london GILMAR WENDT Gilmar Wendt & Co www.gilmarwendt.com DANIEL IBBOTSON Graphical House, Glasgow www.graphicalhouse.co.uk KYLE WILKINSON Hacksaw, Barnsley www.hacksawstudio.com MARK PATON Here Design, London www.heredesign.co.uk TOM HINGSTON Hingston Studio,…

NEXT MONTH ILLUSTRATE FOR FASHION Miss Led gives advice in the first of an exclusive two-part series WORKSHOP INFO DETAILS: Illustrator and GIF-creator Rebecca Mock showed attendees how to create GIFs using Photoshop, including tips on looping and creating flickering. LOCATION: Hilton Austin, 500 East 4th Street, Austin, Texas DURATION: One hour 20 minutes NUMBER OF ATTENDEES: 120 IC .N9 THE ILLUSTRATION CONTERENCE THE PERFECT LOOP Sara Barnes GIFs work in seamless cycles, which Rebecca Mock describes as ‘the perfect loop’. This loop should ideally erase the first and last frame, so that any frame could be the first. When crafting your own GIF, make looping a priority – it causes less distraction to the viewer and adds mesmerising, visual interest. Mock also suggests adding an extra frame: “Let the…

ISTD MASTERCLASS You’ve just finished reading the final instalment in our ISTD typography masterclass. Part one focused on fundamental typography considerations, while part two took us through type size, weight, style and hierarchy, and part three covered leading, tracking and kerning. See back issues on page 74 to catch up on anything you missed... Jonathan Doney FISTD Award-winning typographer, book designer and educator Jonathan was ISTD Education Officer from 1995 to 2002. He served as ISTD Chair from 2004 to 2009, and took up the role again in 2016. Jonathan is hugely passionate about typography, and it shows in this series. Peter Dawson FISTD Peter has over 20 years’ design industry experience, and co-founded his own studio, Grade, in 2000. He is a Fellow, former Chair and board member of…

Peer reputation is a tricky thing to quantify, but one thing’s for sure – the top 30 in CA’s third-annual UK Studio Rankings are doing something right. Other such lists judge the calibre of agencies based on factors such as awards won, ignoring talented outfits that don’t enter them, as well as all manner of other factors that make a studio an inspiration to the rest of the industry. As well as some dramatic risers and fallers, it’s rather encouraging to see a fresh bunch of new entries this year, including small, recently-established outfits that are clearly already punching above their weight. Topping 2016’s list is North, also a double trophy winner at our Brand Impact Awards this year – and to tie the two together, partner Stephen Gilmore shares…

PETER GRAY VIDEO PRODUCER Pete was also present at Nick’s late-night dinner after the BIAs. His analysis is that there was way too much food, but both the company and the crispy aromatic duck pancakes were fantastic. KAI WOOD FREELANCE ART EDITOR This month, Kai fulfilled his uncle duties by taking his niece and nephew to see Kubo and the Two Strings, and broke out some classic drum and bass when DJing for a friend’s birthday. Production notes PRINTERS TEXT AND COVER CMYK, PLUS PANTONE 811 FLUORO ORANGE William Gibbons SPOT-UV AND SCRATCH-OFF SILVER LATEX VARNISH BY celloglas PAPER COVER Precision Special Gloss FSC 250gsm P3–74: Ultra Mag Plus Gloss 90gsm P75–98: GraphoInvent 70gsm TYPEFACES Trump Gothic West, Akkurat, Simplo, Kondola and Calluna…

Having worked as a freelance creative director for Google’s creative think tank, Google Zoo, and as design director for ad agency BBH, Kenzo Mayama Kramarz is certainly not lacking in experience. His own studio, KMK Studio, was officially set up two years ago, but Mayama Kramarz was so busy with Google that it remained a side project until this summer. He tells us about how his Hackney-based studio is influenced by his past work, and how it works in practice. Why did you decide to set up your own studio, and why did now feel like the right time to properly give it a go? Setting up my own studio came from a desire to create a space where I felt more in control of my own time and creative…

When doing a rebrand, it’s vital to put your ego to one side and not dismiss designs created by others. Ensure that you’re considering evolution as well as revolution My partners and I once met with a client who blew us away with a succinct and powerful articulation of their design philosophy: ‘There is only one period which is authentic, and that is now – everything else is just pastiche’. The clarity of this position gave us everything we needed, a one-sentence-brief, but it also caused us to shift a little uncomfortably in our chairs. We were in the middle of a separate project and process of reinstating Co-op’s identity from 1968 and the word ‘pastiche’ stung us into thinking hard. Were we doing the right thing? And what does…

My Dad would take my family on long drives when I was little. Sat in the back, onwards towards our destination, I‘d stare out the window at the rolling scenery, stuck in a deep daydream of endlessly fantastical ideas. As a child, I was never really interested in completing anything, and I think that’s why it felt so easy to come with up ideas. In my early twenties, I was always focused on the end destination and not the journey. I wanted to draw for a living but lacked the finances and resources, and I didn’t start my career as an illustrator until years after university. In order to keep a roof over my head, I worked full-time in a bookshop for about seven years. The whole time I was…

BEN NEWMAN Ben is a freelance illustrator, who also lectures on illustration at conferences and universities across Europe. On page 26, he argues that sometimes taking ‘wrong directions’ on your career path can contribute more than you think. www.bennewman.co.uk GAVIN AMBROSE Gavin is a member of the ISTD and a senior lecturer on the BA Graphic Design program at the University of Brighton. On page 90, he explores how grids can enhance your designs, and why breaking the rules is sometimes for the best. www.studio245.co.uk STEPHEN GILMORE As partner at North, the top agency in this year’s UK Studio Rankings, Stephen was behind the Brand Impact Awardwinning Co-op rebrand. His essay on page 20 discusses why a brand’s heritage is often as important as its future. www.northdesign.co.uk DAN CAPSTICK Dan’s…

O versaturation of information in our daily lives has called for a much needed change in the way we perceive product information. In recent years, we have seen an evolution in simplified product packaging being adopted by the healthcare industry. Stark black and white, serious sans serifs and graphic lines and boxes give products a truthful, scientific feel. This matter-of-fact packaging references official-style nutritional information, and high-tech food supplements opt for a super stripped-back aesthetic. By removing superfluous features, the design appears more striking, and more appealing to the modern and informed consumer. Sleek and super minimal packaging designed by OkFocus for Soylent (featured here) signals extreme minimalism, denoting its fuss-free nutritional food and drink products. White bottles and boxes feature the company’s logo, product name and calorie count as…

 Chicago-based designer and photographer, Chuck Anderson, also known as NoPattern, runs his own studio, works as the design director of Havas Worldwide Chicago and is well known for his use of surreal imagery, vibrant colour and light. He uses Instagram to infuse a sense of design and experimentation into his photos, with the idea being that when someone is quickly scrolling through their feed and comes across one of his pictures, they have to stop and look twice to process what they’re looking at. “My feed is experimental, surreal photography meets graphic design,” Anderson explains. “It’s simultaneously very dark and very colourful.” Anderson’s feed has some structure to it, as many of the images it contains are related to ongoing series such as #NP_UnrealArchitecture, #NP_FutureSculptures and #NoPatternSkies. “But more often…

CARRIE STAY Partner, Clockwork Moggy www.clockworkmoggy.com “I would go for collaboration all the way. I love working with like-minded people and collaborating – it keeps me on my toes and encourages me not to let the side down and make a good impression. I also love supporting others, and I’ve often given advice to other designers or companies. I guess the trick is not to feel threatened by other designers, but be inspired by them. You should believe that what you do is good, but bear in mind that there’s always room for improvement. This gives you the right frame of mind for having confidence in your work, and means that you are open-minded and willing to try new things.” MARK LEARY Illustrator, designer and photographer www.asylumseventy7.co.uk “Competitive design can…

PART 4 In the final part of our series on the art of typography, we’ll be looking at how best to use grids as a device for aiding and enhancing typography. Gavin Ambrose, Member of the International Society of Typographic Designers (ISTD) and senior lecturer at the University of Brighton, explores what grids have to offer. Gavin Ambrose MISTD Gavin is a senior lecturer on the BA Graphic Design program at the University of Brighton. He actively develops workshop-led activities and currently works on cultural projects through collaborative design practice Studio245. He is most noted for his ongoing series of design books for Bloomsbury Press. www.studio245.co.uk As a student of design, I didn’t have much time for grids. I perceived them as being restrictive and counter to the aspirations of…

I feel that I am always chasing a deeper meaning and feeling behind my work. The most fascinating aspect of my craft at the moment is my own personal journey of using CGI to create the abstract worlds that live in my mind. Even with just a still image, I am constantly striving to infuse as much personal backstory into these pieces as possible, so that they live on for longer than a mere glance from my audience. I believe that the master artists we still adore today figured out the formula to achieve this result within their work, and that is what makes them still relevant so many years later. All timeless work creates a personal impact and unspoken bond that keeps us connected to it. Early in my…