Table of contents for August 2017 in Computer Arts

Our annual new talent cover design competition triggered a wealth of ambitious entries. Camelia Pham’s cover caught our attention immediately, and maintained a leading position all the way through the selection process. Apart from Pham’s standout beautiful etched style and dramatic colouring, this entry also addressed another essential component of editorial cover design: typography – the cover line is an integral part of the design, not an after-thought. Pham also showed she had carefully considered the brief by integrating that all-important killer Mirri finish. We loved the idea of using the reflective cover treatment for binoculars and a lighthouse. “The lighthouse symbolises you guys, the talent seekers, shining down to find and shed a path to us, the art community,” explains Pham. “We send you our best work with a…

REVOLVE BY TALIA MUKMEL Combining the attributes of contemporary and traditional craft techniques, Mukmel forms bioplastic bottles from corn and sugarcane, creating the outer lattice of honeycomb patterns by hand. PER METER BY CHARLOTTE POMMET AND ELLIOT KENDALL Per Meter redefines the decorative structural potential of wood veneer. The open framework is formed by laminating layers of veneer together in a topology of bends and curves that embellish the outer rims of these new building materials. FUNCTIONAL 3D PRINTED CERAMICS BY OLIVIER VAN HERPT Industrial designer Olivier van Herpt communicates form and function with machine-led experimentation. His functional 3D-printed artefacts combine technology with craftsmanship by using patterns of industrial structures that retain the look and feel of artisanal ceramics. AESOP DOWNTOWN LA, BY BROOKS + SCARPA Aesop collaborated with Californian…

Alex Center is a design director for The Coca-Cola Company. His work ranges from design for beverage brands like Vitaminwater, Smartwater and Powerade to packaging, experiences and visual identity systems. Center has always loved taking photos. During his first photography class at secondary school, he fell in love with the art of storytelling through the composition of a perfectly taken photo. Today, he still loves the “never ending chase” of trying to achieve that perfectly composed photo, something he modestly admits he’s “still working on”. “With Instagram,” he says, “I can now share my best attempts with the world.” Center mostly uses his feed as a personal diary, documenting and sharing moments of his life and the stories that surround those moments. “My feed is full of the people that…

www.beau.designbureau.ca Electric neons and minimal illustrations feature heavily in Montreal-based Studio Beau’s playful identity for Asian restaurant Maneki. The logotype gives a nod to the fortune cat figurine, maneki-neko, while the vibrant colour palette makes a statement. “We had to create an identity and convivial atmosphere that would stand out from the numerous other Asian restaurants in the neighbourhood, with a very restricted budget,” says Studio Beau co-founder and designer Nikolaos Lerakis. “We joined forces with Rainville-Sangaré – space and object designers – to co-design everything from the ground. We wanted to give a funny twist to certain stereotypes, while also keeping their original meaning.” One poster, ‘HOMA GAWD’ featuring Jackie Chan, refers to HoMa, the restaurant’s neighbourhood, while ’Wok wok wok wok wok’ refers to Rihanna’s song, Work.…

1. FOLLOW UP “Be super keen – like, ‘creepy guy on Tinder’ keen,” advises Sarah Gray, project manager at Dublin agency All Out Design. “The best advice I had was to call up a company one day after I sent my application to see if they received it. They loved that,” she grins. 2. BUILD RELATIONSHIPS “Get yourself a mentor,” recommends Stewart Ainslie, an independent brand designer who got his first job by showing up uninvited at FortyTwo Studio. “Write to people you admire and tell them what you like about their work. CEOs and creative directors are people too, so talk to them like human beings. Don’t just come out and ask for a job, but ask them questions, ask them for advice, and build a relationship.” 3. ATTEND…

1. SHOW YOUR PERSONALITY “The candidates who stand out are the ones who’ve done their homework by researching our work and our approach – a little goes a long way – and those who can show us a little more of their personalities,” says Asa Cook, creative director at Design Bridge. “A_er all, your work has got you to interview, from then on, a lot of it becomes about finding the right personality fit for the team.” 2. BE HONEST “Don’t say you can do something in an interview if you can’t,” warns Sarah Gray of All Out Design. “Because if you’re talking shite and they find you out, you look even more under-experienced. The best thing is to be honest and say you don’t know, but you’d love to…

RACHAEL BATLEY DICTIONARY OF OBSCURE EMOTION • University of Leeds • BA Graphic and Communication Design http://behance.net/rachaelbatley An A-Z of the obscure sorrows of graphic designer and writer John Koenig, this project sought to communicate the realisation that “someone you know is living a life as curious as your own.” With wonderfully evocative illustrations and stunning typography, Batley’s art book was a definite show standout. ALICIA MUNDY GAZA IN CRISIS AND EVERYTHING EVERYTHING • Norwich University of the Arts • BA Design for Publishing www.cargocollective.com/aliciamundy Alicia Mundy’s Gaza In Crisis book (above) uses the words of Noam Chomsky and Ilan Pappé to detail the horror of the Israel/Palestine conflict to vivid effect. Everything Everything – Get To Heaven (right) is a hypothetical album reissue design, featuring startling typography. ANDREW FISH…

HUMANS OVER COMPANIES The company you work for is just a building full of people. So think hard about your interactions. Are you nice to people because you worry about upsetting them? Do you know them so well that your honesty can mutate into rudeness? Do you trust each other enough to be unselfconscious and have genuinely novel ideas? FUN OVER MONEY Treat fun as a valid source of measurement, alongside all the other metrics you use to judge the success of your company’s culture. Make sure you give yourself the time and space to be playful. LAID-BACK OVER FORMAL It doesn’t matter if you’re a junior designer or an ECD – you should treat everyone the same. Marketing jargon needs to go. Layers of sign-off on every piece of…

1. Ask your colleagues for input “It’s handy to turn around and ask, ‘Does this look okay?’” says Yee Poon. “So earlier I picked up some beer cans that I’ve not worked on yet, but Yee has,” is Max Harding’s example. “It’s pretty easy to say, ‘What have you done there?’” “What have I done?!” grins Poon, and Harding picks up the joke: “Yeah, ‘Why have you done this wrong?’ Nah, it’s not like that.” 2. Take all criticism on board... “I’m so new. Like, fresh out of uni new. So I’m going to listen to every kind of criticism and learn from it,” insists Poon. “Although sometimes you spent ages designing a logo or something, and they don’t like it, and you’re like, ‘Oh.’ Inside you’re crying.” Harding adds…

I’m writing this on press day, in the middle of the bustling hub of creative energy that is D&AD New Blood – the culmination of another year’s graduate show season. It’s always one of the most exciting times of the year for the team, as we discover the next crop of talent who will define the future of our industry. If you’re looking for designers to inject new life into your studio, on the hunt for your next creative collaborator, or just hungry for new sources of inspiration, grab a coffee and enjoy our expansive 28-page special report, for which we’ve hand-picked 30 incredible graduates to watch. Meanwhile, if you’re graduating yourself this year, our second feature on page 34 is packed with everything you need to land your first…

The SMSW Media team describe themselves as “explorers of the extraordinary, embracers of the unexpected and avoiders of average.” And according to director Simon Wellstead, their workspace matches that perfectly. “Our office is just like our team,” he explains. “Plenty of character, lots of potential, unconventional (mostly in a good way), and an intriguing mix of the old and the new.” The office lies in the centre of Farnham, Surrey, which Wellstead describes as “a historic market town with a creative heritage and also the world’s most complicated oneway system. Watching people drive up it in the wrong direction has become a favourite pastime for everyone with a window desk.” Believing in first impressions, SMSW Media has a fully stocked bar [1] at the top of the entrance staircase. “There’s…

E arlier this year, I chaired the Black Pencil jury for the D&AD New Blood Awards. The various jury presidents present the work that has been awarded Yellow or White pencils to the other jury presidents and me. We talk about the work, and decide what, if anything, is going to win a Black Pencil. You can find out the results on page 69 of this issue. But it seemed to me that there were two kinds of work on the table this year at New Blood – maybe because some of the briefs called for a structured approach and some for an open one. There was work that was well thought-through, and looked professional – as if it could have been entered for the professional awards. And there was…

www.peterandpaul.co.uk Factory has created sound work for some of the most high-profile advertising of the last two decades. To celebrate its 20th year, design studio Peter and Paul was briefed to redesign the Factory website and create a timeline documenting the company’s history. “The initial brief was very open. What we hit on was the idea that sound should drive the visual aesthetic,” explains Lee Davies, creative director at Peter and Paul. The studio worked with code artist Brendan Dawes to bring each year of the Factory’s sounds to life, using 3D generative shapes that expand in sync with each sound. “When we first saw the filmic versions of the timeline graphics, I was blown away,” says Davies. “Small peaks in the track had an immediate visual result, whether that…

There’s good news if you’re looking for your first job as a designer. Right now, there are a lot of opportunities out there. “It feels like, in 2017, it’s incredibly healthy in design,” enthuses Miles Marshall, design director at Turner Duckworth. “Employment is rising. We’ve taken on more juniors in the last two years than we probably did in the previous five. We’re looking to recruit another three juniors this year, which for a workforce of only about 40, is pretty high,” he explains. It’s the same story we’re hearing across the industry right now. But before you get too excited, here’s the bad news: there’s still a heck of a lot of competition out there. “We get applications every single day,” says Marshall. “And unless they’re from people we’ve…

1. STAY CALM “Have faith in your work and be prepared to stand behind it,” says Samuel B Thorne, illustrator and designer at London-based PR and social media agency333 Seconds. “Many undergrads can feel undervalued and take jobs at much lower rates of pay out of fear. But I think it’s better to remain calm and keep looking,” he explains. 2. GET COMPETITIVE “Enter competitions,” says Asa Cook of Design Bridge. “Events like the D&AD New Blood Awards get you noticed, and show you’re willing to go the extra mile and think independently. We hold our own annual student awards; many previous winners are now members of the team.” 3. DO SIDE PROJECTS “I tell friends who are students that the work at uni is not enough,” says Kyriakos Kokkinos.…

BLACK PENCIL HANNAH MCNALLY AND MARTHA HALLIDAY NATIONAL AUTISTIC SOCIETY – MM-HMM Kingston University McNally and Halliday drew on personal experience to create their Black Pencil-winning animated film: “We know there are many joys and sorrows to autism, much like the ups and downs of life,” they say. “We didn’t want to sugar-coat the daily thoughts and concerns of the carers, and feel the hard-hitting message we are giving must be expressed more.” D&AD President Bruce Duckworth describes it as: “An emotive and intelligent campaign, produced brilliantly and with passion.” WHITE PENCIL SIAN MACFARLANE MONOTYPE – FABRIC OF THE NATION Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art & Design “This piece is timely for Britain, and it’s a very simple idea that was well executed. Kudos to Sian MacFarlane,” says Andre…

ISSUE 268 JULY 2017 Make more money as a freelancer Four key trends in character design Create standout branding with insight from The Clearing Achieve a handmade look with digital tools ISSUE 267 JUNE 2017 Illustrator Daniel Stolle shares what he's learned working with top editorial clients. Plus: we reveal what it takes to win a D&AD Award, and nail your final year show ISSUE 266 MAY 2017 Go beyond the colour wheel as we explore how colour psychology can improve your designs. Plus: how to become a better animator, design with wit and craft a brand voice. ISSUE 265 SPRING 2017 Tailor your portfolio to get your ideal job, discover the four key rules of brand strategy, get inspired by tattoo design, and master the art of storyboarding. ISSUE…

1. Play to everyone’s strengths “If you don’t have an in-house accounts team, everyone needs to have a defined role, and be clear about what they’re doing to help the client,” says Hannah Williams. “There’ll always be someone who’s better at rallying the troops and making sure everyone’s doing what they need to, and there’s always someone who’s really good with a client. Smaller agencies need to focus on their individual roles, and how they work as part of the collective.” When Williams joined Halo two years ago, there were 16 staff – now there are 28. “We’ve grown quickly, and the way we work with clients has changed dramatially, so communication is absolutely key,” she adds. 2. Encourage everyone to pitch in “Our best work is created when everybody…

This route was designed around the notion of construction and building. It was one of two final logos presented to the client and missed selection due to the strength of the chosen strategy. This was too childish, and visually too closely aligned to the day care sector for our project. We also realised early on that we wanted to avoid character clichés as much as possible. This one felt too heavy, and had less flexibility in execution. While graphically impactful, this may have proved too difficult to read for non- Europeans or non-English speakers.…

Our animation team worked to create the spot entirely in CG. We designed bespoke backgrounds with the intention of making them totally unique and unrecognisable. Working with The Perlorian Brothers, we defined key references of how our world should look, and produced multiple concepts, which helped to show the progression of how surreal our landscape would become. We wanted them to feel slightly alien and minimal so that the giraffeamingo character stood out. The surrealism was ramped up towards the end of the commercial by adding subtle touches such as floating rock islands.…

Marian Bantjes is a typographer, designer, artist and writer. She explains how her love for shiny, vile items covered in plastic is best satisfied through photography. I have a perverse interest in kitsch. I know I’m not alone in this, but for me the interest is dangerous because it creeps into my work, not always to the best effect, so I have to kind of fight it, or be careful that it doesn’t consume me. Plastic things in bright colours are a magnet for me, and this is part of the reason I’m drawn to markets, particularly where household things are sold. I love stalls selling reams of vile-patterned fabric, stalls with many hanging frilly nightgowns, stalls full of plastic buckets, dustpans, wash tubs, bowls and other things. I also love…

BRUCE DUCKWORTH Chair of the Black Pencil jury for the D&AD New Blood Awards, Bruce shares what struck him about 2017’s entries on page 18, and argues that creative stimulation is integral to the industry. www.dandad.org LAUREN GIBBONS Lauren is lead designer at London PR and communications firm Nelson Bostock. As part of our feature on how to get your first design job (page 34), she gives advice on becoming an in-house designer. www.nelsonbostockunlimited.com HANNAH WILLIAMS Client partner at Bristol agency Halo, Hannah explains why clear job roles and a good accounts team are integral to an agency’s success as part of our Video Insight feature on page 76. www.wearehalo.co.uk MAX DELPLANQUE Max is account director at Australian agency Frost*collective. On page 82, he reveals what makes the design of…

PETE WILSON Digital designer, Diversified Communications www.designbypete.co.uk “My degree was interesting, but focused too heavily on the theoretical. It taught me vital critical thinking and processes for dealing with designer’s block, which I wouldn’t be without, but I had no idea what was about to hit me in the real world – live project timeframes and expectations were terrifying. I valued learning the underlying theory, but in my 10 years of work since, not once has a client asked for sketches, paid any attention to my lovingly crafted spiel about their logo or given me three weeks to faff about mark-making. I’d have valued more realistically timed briefs – even some ‘clients from hell’-style feedback, and some tips, or at least discussion, on the business side of things.” JACK MILBURN…

1. BE PROACTIVE Internships are usually your best route to a first job, says David Newton of BGN. “So don’t wait until you see a job advertised at your chosen agency to approach them; enquire about an internship first. Every holiday you get could (and maybe should) be an opportunity to take an internship.” 2. THINK FULL-TIME Even as an intern, you need to act and think like a full-time employee, says Stuart Radford of The Partners. “We all have tough days but if you’re working with the right people, they don’t feel it,” he says. “We want everyone in the team to get involved with the culture and the banter – including the intern.” 3. SAY YES “There are certain rules to being an intern; like never, ever turn…

1. FILL A NEED If you’re looking for work as an in-house designer, you’re pushing against an open door, says Kate Baldwin of Hotwire PR. “We’re in a digital world, we are all so visual, and people have shorter attention spans than they’ve ever had, particularly Gen Z-ers,” she says. “So good designers are highly in demand.” 2. BE HUNGRY It helps to put yourself out there, physically. “Junior designers may not see us as somewhere where they would go traditionally,” says Baldwin. “So we make sure we’re at lots of events, like Glug or It’s Nice That, and we look for people who want to learn, who are hungry, who are interested.” 3. USE JOBS BOARDS Put yourself out there digitally too. “Make sure your CV is on a…

NOAH PETRI PORTRAIT • Central Saint Martins • BA Graphic Design www.noahpetri.com Berlin-born illustrator Noah Petri begins all his work with a hand-drawn, time-intensive line image. “Often the lines in my initial drawings are so meticulous and refined, they are already mistaken for computer-generated elements,” he explains. “I then scan the image in and slowly start digitally manipulating it. A hybrid between classical handdrawn elements, digital tools and photographic components develops.” Sharing the same highly distinctive style, the resulting portraits, environments and themes hail from a dark and mysterious world. “They are aggressive and creepy, unsettling and, in essence, otherworldly,” says Petri. “I’m creating a coherent visual world for the viewer to explore.” PENNY CHAN GIRLHOOD • Plymouth College of Art • BA Fashion Media and Marketing www.bit.ly/pennychan Penny Chan…

1. Focus on the big idea “Data can drive you in certain directions, but it won’t show you if there’s a big idea,” says Tim Banks. “If you want to change something radically, it’s hard to have data to hand beforehand. Sometimes you need to do more testing afterwards, to go, ‘You’ve had this hypothesis, let’s actually test it and see if it works in a real environment.’” 2. Don’t lean too hard on research The classic quote from Henry Ford, inventor of the motor car – “If I asked people what they’d wanted, they’d have said faster horses” – applies to modern innovation too. “You’ve got to go with your gut at first – testing comes after,” insists Alex Martin. “User research can be overwhelming, and you’ll just give…

Reed design writing words. Reed Words is a brand writing agency based in London, working across the globe with clients such as Skype, Disney, and London’s National Theatre, as well as creative partners such as Mucho, FITCH and SomeOne. The work covers brand strategy, voice, campaigns, UX – you name it. Or get them to name it – Reed Words does that too. W e’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: when writers and designers understand each other’s work better, we create better things. Much like the devil, a lot of that work is in the detail. But sometimes, we send off carefully calibrated words to designers, only to get them back oh-soslightly different. Suddenly, that headline we sweated over is in title case, not sentence case. Or that…