New Passports

My friend showed me her passport today. Haven't seen the new ones before, but one of the security things is a picture of yourself made up of your surname and date of birth.

Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeeeet!

Aram Gallery

Visited the Aram Gallery on the weekend. Had an exhibition on as part of design week, which was pretty cool. 'Geenen + Hoon' featured some work by the artists Bram Geenen and Il Hoon Roh. Both artists had some very interesting work and what I really liked was that they displayed all the work from initial sketches to working models to final piece.
What I really liked though was the graphics used for the exhibition.

I like how each artist had a sheet about their work in the exhibition, but when laid out next to each other the  '+' joined, simple but sweet.

The gallery itself also had some pretty cool bits and bobs around the place as well.

Thought this was sweet. Floral wall paper with a mesh over the top and painted.

This is impractical in most homes, and its extortionately priced, however its rad and I want one. 

I did like the display showing the past, current and future exhibitions though. Again very simple, but eye catching and when looking at the whole wall i thought it was a piece of art initially.

I Want This On My House...

Making Friends

When not being blinded by the sun, we managed to take some pictures...

These Are Great!

Street Art Utopia

Facebook page with lots of street art, share what you make and see.

http://www.facebook.com/streetartutopia?sk=wall

Exhibitions...

I've had a very very busy summer this year, and between traveling, performing and tour with the band, I haven't had a huge amount of time to go to galleries and shows. But I did manage to find some interesting things, and visit an amazing show in London.

I've never been to paris and just walking round I thought it was a beautiful city. From the Arc de Triomphe to the streets of the Shanzelize. But while I was in Paris I thought it would be a trip wasted if I didn't go to the Louvre. So had a little look around, and of course saw the Mona Lisa. In such a large room with what felt like hundreds of people all cramming around, I struggled to see what was so amazing about the painting. Eventually I squeezed myself right to the front, and there it stood, the Mona Lisa. Still don't get it, don't even think its that great compared to other work.
What I did see in Paris which I liked a lot was one of Invader's (http://www.space-invaders.com/) pieces. It has suffered and is not in fantastic condition, but seeing one in his home streets was pretty cool.

Something else I saw was a small exhibition of Nathan Wyburn, you might know him as the Marmite guy from Britain's Got Talent. It only consisted of about five pieces but each were quite good, certainly made me smile.

My favourite however has to be Diva Zappa's 'Bruce' exhibition. Hidden away in Maison Bertaux on Greek Street, Soho, Diva's work hung beautifully. The mixed use of photography with wool looked beautiful. 

Probably helps that I'm a huge fan of her Dad's music...but have a look at some of the work from the exhibition here.

Ten Years Time...

I have no idea what I'll be doing in ten years. It will be something graphics related, and I will be happy doing it. But other than that, as long as I have a roof over my head, music in my ears and a pen in my hand I'll be happy.
I have no idea what sort of graphics I want to go into, I don't know if I want to work for a company or set up my own, I just don't know! I'm kinda hoping that this all becomes clear in the next few years here, That would be pretty useful!

In the mean time I'm going to carry on doing what feels right and what I enjoy, in the end if I'm not happy and enjoying it, why bother!

Where Are They Now?

My three all time favourite designers are Saul Bass, Godmachine and Alan Fletcher. Sadly two of whom are dead, however Godmachine is very much alive and churning out some amazing work.

Godmachine (http://godmachinedesigns.blogspot.com/) is a Cardiff based freelance artist who's subject matter tends to be very dark. Often based around zombies, horror and death his work is awesome! He is known mainly for his computer pieces, however i am much more keen on his screen prints and ink drawings. Recently he has been doing much more work by hand including several exhibition with 'The Dead Sea Mob' (http://thedeadseamob.com/portfolio). He is a regular designer for clothing company 'Disturbia', 'Iron Fist' an more.

This summer he has been busy designing more t-shirts such as the 'Dark Roast' shirt.

He also designed a poster and t-shirt for Sonisphere festival this summer.

However my favourite of his work this summer has to be the pen studies. 

I love Godmachine.

As for Saul Bass and Alan Fletcher, their work will remain as important and significant as it ever was. 

Paint and Skate

Just because.

Design Blogs

We Love Typography (http://welovetypography.com/)
Lots of very lovely typography, lots and lots!

Spoon Graphics (http://www.blog.spoongraphics.co.uk/)
Blog full of photoshop/illustrator tutorials as well as design articles and links to sites and free giveaways.

The Wooster Collective (http://www.woostercollective.com/)

Really cool blog of worldwide street art, always worth checking out!

Yanko Design (http://www.yankodesign.com/)

Great site with lots of fresh design concepts, some good, some astounding!

Paul Alexander Thornton (http://paulalexthornton.blogspot.com/)

His work is beautiful, never seen such intricate work with a ballpoint pen.

What Won't I Miss?

Thinking about home, I can't really think of anything I'm not going to miss...
I love my room, I love my bed, I love all my music, I love all my guitars, I love my drums, I love my friends and family and I love Cardiff. So while sitting in my house writing this I look around and try to think of something I wont miss...

Mum "Dave, turn that shit down, I've got a splitting headache!"

...okay, won't miss that. After all, as Garth says in Wayne's World 2, 'Moms are genetically programmed to hate music played at the appropriate level', also, it's not shit, it's Sabbath!

Bye bye home, see you soon x

Zoltron

Just some of Zoltrons amazing work.

http://zzz.zoltron.com/

Primus 'Green Naugahyde'

My copy of the new Primus album came yesterday, as well as it being an incredible album by a band of mind blowing musicians, the booklet is beautiful!

Designed by artist 'Zoltron' (http://zzz.zoltron.com/), the toy on the cover is used throughout the booklet with the lyrics over the top. The colour scheme is kept simple and very minimalist throughout the booklet simply using shades and transparencies of greens and reds.

I also love the image on the centrefold, I can't quite place what it is about it that I like, however it does have a nostalgic feel to it as I used to make my toys fly through the air when I was little...and it looks really cool.

You should also listen to Primus, they are insanely good!

'Is It Luck?' from the album Sailing The Seas Of Cheese

Where is my mind?

I've been thinking about where I have had ideas and cant think of one specific place, but I know that I always think of things in bed, just before I'm going to sleep, so I normally have a little pad of paper near me so I can scribble it down (if I'm not to tired). But other than that, it tends to be while I'm on the computer and will see something, or think I've seen something, then the idea comes and quickly jot it down, or go searching on the internet for something.

Apparently Dali used to have a little nap, with a metal pan on the floor and a spoon in his hand. He would dose off begin the vivid dream then drop the spoon waking himself up and paint the dreams. Maybe this is something worth trying...


...nah.

Lasse Hoile

I have been a big fan of Lasse Hoile's work for a long time now. I guess it has a lot to do with my music taste (he has worked with several bands I like, creating art work, music videos and visuals for live shows), but I also think his work has a real sense of atmosphere to it.

This is one of my favourite pieces of his.  I was used as the album cover for "Stupid Dream" by Porcupine Tree, and I instantly loved it. The figure in white overalls holding a CD over his face just has a mystery to it which I find enchanting, almost hiding behind the music or having an identity based on music, which I guess relates to me.

I am very much orientated around music, the way I dress, the places I go and how I have my hair is all down to music. Something which makes this extra awesome is that I own a limited 1/1 print of this piece signed by Lasse Hoile.

Check out Lasse Hoile's other work here...
http://www.lassehoile.com/

Magma

I didn't manage to go to Magma, due to not having money to get to London at relatively short notice. However, I did spend about 40 minutes looking at book after book after book on their website, loving almost every single one.
I found a book called 'Symbol', which is a collection of over 1300 symbols, organized into groups and sub-groups according to their visual characteristics. It furthermore explains where these such symbols are appropriate, who there were designed for and designed by.
Another book I found was 'Handmade Graphics'. It talks about ways to re-think graphic design and get away from computers and living by the 'standard'. A hands on approach with 'low-tech materials and old school tools' this is exactly my sort of graphics!
However, the book I have subsequently bought is 'The Book Of Skulls'. It talks about the way in which a specific symbol has come to mean so much in so many different cultures.


'The skull is one of the most recognizable symbols of todays contemporary visual culture. Since its 1970s renaissance in the iconic album designs of bands such as the Grateful Dead, the skull has found its way into the visual vocabulary of urban life, adorning T-Shirts, badges and rock memorabilia as the ultimate symbol of anarchy and rebellion. Repurposed and recast by artists, illustrators and designers, it has become one of the most iconic cultural symbols of our time. In response to this cultural phenomenon, The Book of Skulls presents a cool visual guide to the skull, charting its rebirth through music and street fashion to become todays ultimate anti-establishment icon. From Black Sabbath to Cypress Hill, skater punk graffiti to Gothic tattoos, from high-couture to Hello Kitty and Dali to Damien Hirst, this book is the ultimate collection of cool and iconic skull motifs. Drawing together artwork from music, fashion, street art and graphic design The Book of Skulls is a celebration of one of todays most iconic cultural symbols.'

Tell me you don't want to read this book!?

My Idea

Think this is a pretty god idea myself!

Typography

This is a piece by Yulia Brodskaya. Made with coloured paper folded and cut to the shape.
Very much my sort of work, more hands on and physical.

This is one of Wes Wilsons many gig posters. I love this style with practically every inch of space taken up with free-flowing lines, vibrant colours and lettering designed to fit tightly into the available spaces. 

Good Fucking Design Advice.

This is an amazing website with lots of good fucking design advice...

www.goodfuckingdesignadvice.com

Type and Image in Water

This is pretty cool.