UK supermarket Asda offers 3D printing

British supermarket Asda becomes the first to offer 3D printing in store. Using a hand held scanner you can produce a 20cm 3D printed figurine sculpture. Cost £40, delivery in one week.
http://www.dezeen.com/2013/10/11/asda-supermarket-launches-3d-printing-service/

Our Xmas - 2014 card published on Designspiration

Xmas / Twenty Fourteen Greeting published in Creative Review

Best Wishes for Xmas and 2014

Help for Typhoon Hayian

Designer Paul Marlier, an ex student of mine, has created this great poster to help raise aid in the wake of Typhoon Hayian. All benefit to the Red Cross.
http://www.paulmarlier.fr/help-philippines-now.html

'capio' logotype development with 3rd year Ecole Bleue

Working on a global design assignment with 3rd year students at the Ecole Bleue. After iconographic brainstorming, we have moved into design concept development and the start of the creation of the brand identity. Here 'capio' the logotype for a group of photographers, is in finalisation of typestyles, scale, relationships between positive & negative, foreground & background, layout and graphic detailing etc.

Too Polit?

This poster caught my attention this morning. Polit.fr is a new editor and furniture design brand. Their first exhibition is at Maison M Paris, 25 Rue de Bourgogne, 75007. http://www.polit.fr/blog.html

TGV signage and pictograms, time for a redesign

Signage in the 3rd generation of TGV's needs a serious redesign: two different typefaces are used, one l/c, one U/c and upper and lower mixed, two typefaces for the numerals also. The pictograms are realized in a strange 'sketchy' style, partly in elevation, partly in perspective. The wc symbols are different on the signs and on the doors... '2nde classe' in a calligraphic font is an unusual choice for a high speed train. Oh, and that mobile phone...

Not quite 'Straight on' but a bit to the left...

Spotted this great directional arrow in Paris 11ème this week.

New Paris bicycle lane signage... get it?

Paris has introduced new bicycle lane signage that permits cyclists to turn right, or go straight on, at a red light on a junction. The signage seems far for clear in what is a somewhat risky situation. A yellow bike and arrow on a triangular sign with a red stop sign... what should you do?
Thanks to Henri Choimet for the tip.

Malala Sakharov Prize 2013 poster

Our poster celebrating Malala's Sakharov Prize 2013 winning, for freedom of thought, awarded by the European Parliament.

Repetto, Hermès, La Coutellerie Nontronnaise - our local business's invest in design

Our local business's are committed investors in design and innovation. Repetto, in our town, €50 million t/o, 50 boutiques around the world, has extended its production plant to triple production. (+38% since 2002). 150 new staff hired and a school of leather craftsmanship opened this year.
Hermès workshops in Nontron, just up the road from here, are where the Kelly and Birkin handbags are made. Also in Nontron, CWD saddlery, No.1 in France and a world market leader, equips the French London Olympics winning team.
And La Coutellerie Nontronnaise makes its famous knives in its Philippe Starck & Luc Arsène-Henri designed workshops.
Designed in the Sud-Ouest is an overwhelming success!
All photos copyright of their owners

What is visual communications?

I am working on a keynote presentation / conference on the role of visual communications in global design. Coming soon.

BHV from a 60's joke to bland anonymity...

The BHV  f i n a l l y  gets round to a new identity and logotype.
The old cubic thing was really just a joke. So 60's, so unrelated to an upmarket department store, so 'heavy construction company'... so irrelevant! It amazed me every day I went past it. Just very disappointing to see that the new identity by Publicis Royalties is so characterless, bland and 'passe partout', it could be used for anything and it says absolutely nothing about the very unique BHV. Shame, a missed opportunity.

The Fallen 9000 Peace Day project

9 000 silhouettes etched in the sand on the Normandy beaches to commemorate the 9 000 combined casualties of D-Day 6 June 1944 and mark Peace Day 2013.
http://thefallen9000.info

Over 13 000 visits to my Slideshare presentations

Valentine logotype by Charles Loupot circa 1930's

Superb example of Charles Loupot's Valtentine logotype painted on a roof gable in the sud-ouest. The colours with todays azure sky - about perfect! Loupot is also the creator of the Saint-Raphaël barmen logo and posters.

Our latest Help Syria's Children poster

All aid to www.unhcr.org

Rio 2016 & Tokyo 2020 logotypes

Tonight Tokyo won the right to host the 2020 Olympics. The logotype design was definitely better than the competitor cities - maybe the deciding factor? Tokyo 2020 created by design student Ai Shimamine. Rio 2016 designed by Brazil agency Tatil.

Now one million child refugees and 426 children killed by chemical weapons...

Sadly we have had too update our UNHCR Syria poster. All aid to www.unhcr.org

Boden shoots at Paris mosaics that I have already discussed on this blog

British fashion brand Boden shoots their Paris fashion pages infront of the same mosaics on the old La Samaritaine store that I illustrated here a couple of months ago. They are part of the Parisian retail and design culture - to be preserved.

Sketchbook with some recent and ongoing projects

The Boycott Sochi 2014 Olympics poster

Red is the colour of Saint Tropez

007 in the Great Britain tourism campaign

James Bond does his bit for Queen & country in the Great Britain tourism campaign, with a little help from Aston Martin.
Talking tourism, France is the worlds No.1 destination in terms of visitor numbers at 33m, but tourism income is half that spent each day in the UK and a third of that spent in the USA. And Paris (12.92m visitors) has now slipped to the world's 3rd most popular city after 2nd London (15.96m) and 1st Bangkok (15.98m).

Pinterest Paul Vickers Design - latest

Sunflowers and Van Gogh branding

The brilliant and evocative Van Gogh Museum branding by Koeweiden Postma. The distinctive 'brush strokes' pattern works really well with the Rietveld inspired cubist shape. Sunflower colors are also used in the museography very well.

Rijksmuseum branding by Irma Boom Office

The Rijksmuseum logotype, branding, typefaces and color palette, which is based on the colours found in the collections masterpieces, are exhibited and explained in the museum. Nice detail.

Amsterdam loves bikes logo

Logo on floating bike park and free bike repair workshop, Amsterdam.

My Mon'op brand review

My Mon'op banding review on the new look Brand New site.

France & UK stamp design - a different philosophy...

A new version of the Marianne stamp has been unveiled by François Holland, creating polemic, of course. Interesting to compare the different national design philosophies. France has Inna Shevchenko, the founder of Femen. The UK has the Arnold Machin bas-relief of Elizabeth II originally created in 1966 and updated.
Inna Shevchenko on Twitter says:
"Femen sur les timbres français. Maintenant, tous les homophobes, extrémistes et fascistes devront me lécher le cul avant d'envoyer une lettre !"
The design, illustration, layout and typography quality is seriously lacking in this retro-kitsch Ciappa and Kawena version of Marianne.

The semiotics of 'no entry' signs

The 'no entry' branding for Société Générale always amazes me.
A white horizontal bar on a red ground is a universal symbol for no entry. Société Générale have even gone to the extreme in not writing their name on the brand lock-up. To me it is unwelcoming and says walk on...

Sardine tin typeface

Tin Type is one of the excellent creations produced during the typeface design course I run at the Ecole Bleue. Design Margaux M.
For further examples visit the school website. Portfolio 3.

En Vie / Alive aux frontières du design

With the news dominated by 3D digital printing, this example of biotechnology and nature in design is  intriguing: vases, packaging 'printed' by bees...
En Vie is at the Fondation edf.

Facades of La Samaritaine, Paris

Two views of La Samaritaine facades: the Sanaa Rivoli proposal and mosaic tiled typography on Rue de l'Arbre Sec. Hopefully the mosaics will be preserved and restored as part of the €500 million renovation by Japanese Sanaa. Opening 2016

Designed by Nantes branding/packaging workshop

Work produced during my Designed by Nantes branding & packaging workshop 2013 at the Ecole de Design Nantes Atlantique.

Angelia Jolie and Paul Vickers Design

Conduct a Google image search for Help Syria's children, it leads to Angelia Jolie and Paul Vickers Design.

The Great Food branding debate and logotype design - continued

Its getting hot in the kitchen in France with continued debate about labels to protect fine cuisine. A quick search of the different brands used to promote French gastronomy reveals some desperately poor ideas and executions. The Culinary College of France's logo, too similar to GBC's, a smiling plate and the very kitsch brass sign... British Food branding certainly takes the biscuit.

Tear-off in case of riot. Taksim Square Raki packaging

The brilliant poster and packaging by   Manuel Urbanke and Maximilian Hoch on the Turkish Taksim Square situation. Tear off the label to transform the bottle of Raki into a Molotov cocktail.

Is French gastronomy inspired by British gastronomy?!

A new label and logotype has been launched in France  by some of the best chefs in the country: Paul Bocuse, Alain Ducasse, Joel Robuchon etc. to promote real restaurant prepared fine food, and to differentiate from those who just microwave industrial prepared sachets.
But the logotype looks distinctly like, totally inspired by? the Great British Chefs logo, launched in July 2011 and created by award winning Hat Trick Design.
The French version seems a very pale, retro copy of the clever British one. No agency is credited for the design. Imitation may be the highest from of flattery but it seems inappropriate that French gastronomy should be so freely inspired by British gastronomy!
http://www.college-culinaire-de-france.fr
http://www.greatbritishchefs.com

Design in English / English in Design

I am animating a continuing professional education seminar for design industry participants on the theme 'Design in English / English in Design' - a tool to develop design industry specific english vocabulary and communication skills.
Via Réservoir Créatif.

Designer's Days Paris, Roche Bobois interactive table

Interactive light and infra-red installation by Elizabeth Leriche on the surface of a Roche Bobois table.

Designer's Days events Paris

Designer's Days in Paris with 'Et demain... la légèreté' by the Ecole Bleue and an interactive furniture installation by Elizabeth Leriche at Roche Bobois.

Conceptual 2D/3D Typeface Design project

Typeface design at the Ecole Bleue. Students were briefed to create a conceptual and original two or three dimensional typeface. Proposals include 3D fonts, animated dynamic type, pop-ups and designs playing with light, shadow and movement.
Top to bottom: Valentine G, Thomas L, Céline B, Haifa C, Marine C, Antoine B-J, Marie C & Pauline B.