Erasmus Prize: Design for the Public Domain

Congratulations to Pierre Bernard for the award of the Erasmus Prize and his contribution to the world of Visual Communications.

Presentation speech by HRH the Prince of Orange.

"We tend to take it for granted that our society is guided by images, by photos of important events, by advertisements and strong visual stimulants that steer our activities and our perception of the world. It is hard to imagine a world without images.

Visual communication has become more powerful than oral or textual communication and in recent decades has developed into a discipline of its own.

This is a field of enquiry, where analysis of the communication process reaches far beyond the simple understanding of technical processes, or the aesthetic evaluation of pictures. Visual communication is a field of study made up of various branches of social science and humanities research.

It is the domain of the graphic designers par excellence.
We cannot deny that the quality of their work has an impact on the quality of our daily lives".

Identity for the Parcs Nationaux de France by Pierre Bernard.
A Fibonacci spiral representing all the flora and fauna in the National Parks.

Chateau Bertranon branding and wine label design

Fourth year students at the Ecole Bleue, Paris, present their Chateau Bertranon branding and wine label design proposals to the client in the final phase of the project. The selected design is being implemented across all communication supports from packaging to web site, the wine tasting space and the wine shop.

At the start of the project the students stayed in the Chateau, were introduced to the wine making process and were briefed on the marketing and design objectives.
Project tutors: Paul Vickers & Julie Chi Schofer.

A unique wrap around wine label concept was developed based on spiral forms discovered at the vineyard.
Chateau Bertranon is a sweet white Loupiac wine from the Bordeaux region.

Best wishes for 2008

2008 New Year Greetings from Venice

Design in the service of emotional branding

In Designers on Design: The Emotional Brand Experience, Paul discusses the thinking behind the project and the creative process that led to the realisation of the isotonic mineral water for Bonaqua 'BonActive' by Coca-Cola.

The concept of revitalisation and electrolyte replenishment is communicated through the dynamic arrows in the BonActive brand name and the label background design.

The can and PET bottle label are printed with metallic inks to reinforce the energy message.