New NY & Tokyo subway map designs

Thanks to Kim Ji-Hwan and Jin Sol at Zero per Zero in Seoul Korea for these interpretations of the classic New York and Tokyo city subway maps.

Christmas and New Year Greetings 2009

Branding Design 2

Branding Design 2, published by Graphic-Sha Japan, has recently landed on my desk.
It contains a couple of the projects I led for Desgrippes Gobé whilst in Tokyo and is a great reference resource for recent creative work from Japan.

Launch of Polka dot

Polka dot decoration and interior design launch their new shop and brand in Paris - a unique, original and eclectic style.

Cool sophisticated gray is contrasted with flamboyant fuchsia to communicate humour, originality and the unexpected.

The design programme has included developing naming, branding and shop signage.

PomPom electrically assisted bicycles

Naming, branding and bicycle graphics for PomPom environmentally friendly, electrically assisted bicycles.

Pompom has been launched in Paris, following the huge success of the cities self service Velib’ bicycle mobility campaign.

The brand communicates the healthy and environmentally positive benefits of cycling as well as the fun and easy advantages of electrically assisted bicycles.

Brand design developed with Nouvel Oeuvre.

VM Consultants - a new perspective

VM Consultants bring a new perspective to marketing solutions.

Brand, business stationary and marketing presentation tools designed in conjunction with the agency Nouvel Oeuvre.

Fazillac Noix brand and packaging

The Fazillac Noix brand and packaging, initially launched in the Paris region, is now available in leading supermarkets throughout France.
The first authentic producers walnut brand in the market, Fazillac Noix is also an ambassador for the Sud-ouest region of France.
Agency: Vision 360°, Creative Director: Paul Vickers, Illustrator: Maxance Degouy.

Barack Obama - President of the United States

Barack Obama has inspired the design profession in a way that George W Bush never could. And he has inspied the United States of America as confirmed by his landslide win of the US Presidential elections.

Candidate campaign posters and political party design and communications are generally a moribund subject with the inevitable clichéd imagery, bland smiles, empty promises and worn out slogans.

The 50 posters created by designers for Barak Obama are an interesting and inspiring exception to this rule.
For the full collection visit: 50 posters de designers créés pour Barack Obama.

me-we brand: The Alliance for Climate Protection

The complete article by Steven Heller from the New York Times.

1° and me - we brands

The 'me - we' brand by New York designer Brian Collins for
Al Gore's Alliance for Climate Protection campaign and the
1° Australian Climate Change brand by Landor for Rupert Murdoch's News Corps campaign.
Two brands that brilliantly communicate their critical global messages.

me - we is a clever visual pun and calculus, a powerfully simple and universally impactful icon.
1° communicates the idea of a one degree reduction in global temperatures by every individual, hence the 1 that looks like a human figure. If everyone changes behavior, we can change the planet.
Congratulations on their minimal simplicity, understatement and creative intelligence.

Table of branding element terms

Follow the link and roll over the brand element table to discover the definition of the branding evolution terms.
Built by Kolbrener, a lead generation agency

Philippe Starck's 'Why Design?' TED conference

Philippe Starck in his element at the TED conference.
A must view design video...!

Rebranding the European Union

Rem Koolhaas's design proposal for the rebranding of the European Union.
The 45 vertical coloured stripes are taken from the flags of every member of the Union. Together they express the ideas of diversity and unity.

Edible packaging

We are working on several ecological and sustainable development projects around the theme of packaging reduction, recycling and reuse.

This edible packaging designed by Nobuhiko Arika is an exciting opportunity to rethink conventional food packaging materials.

The plates and cutlery are made of flour, salt and water. They have a reasonable long shelf life and the unique advantage of being edible at the end of the meal. So zero waste.

Likewise Potatopak in New Zealand are developing potato starch based food packaging and containers.

Goods of Desire

Yaumati iconic Hong Kong image from Goods of Desire.
One of my favourite addresses in Hong Kong, G.O.D's products are quintessential HK style and this image reminds me of the view from the plane when flying into the old Kai Tak airport. Remember that? Now I am writing in my Yaumati notebook and working on ideas for my book about design in Asia.

Beijing Olympics launch of our new Coca-Cola China brand and packaging

The Coca-Cola China brand, new bottle shape and graphics that I developed with the d/g Asia-Pacific creative teams in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Tokyo were launched shortly before the kick-off of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
The worlds biggest beverage brand in the worlds biggest market. One billion consumers, that's a lot of Coke!

Guerrilla sticker advertising

Guerrilla sticker ads for 24/7 emergency door opening services cover doors and entrances in Seville. It appears that the cities residents are allways loosing their keys.

Seville Granada Andalusia street signage

Some samples of cast iron and ceramic enamelled signs from Andalusia.
The ceramic advertising panels for Pirelli are real works of art and are still in adorning the facade of a 50's era garage.
The Plaza Santa Maria street signing is a Scrabble type system with one letter per ceramic tile.

Hong Kong street graphics and scenes

Sights and signs in Central Hong Kong: a cocktail of traditional calligraphy and contemporary graphics, the scent of orchids, incense and exhaust fumes. Cantonese liberally sprinkled with English words. Illuminated waterfront towers in Central & Sheung Wan and crowded tenament blocks.

Unbranded delicacy packaging

Traditional vernacular packaging seen in a downtown Hong Kong butchers shop.
Wrapped in a banana leaf and bound with natural twine, no label or brand is necessary to vouch the quality of this delicacy - it is a given.
Of course, for someone not brought up in this culture there is no indication of what is hidden inside the package - you just have to try it to find out. It is delicious!

Ecological washing powder brand and packaging design: Strate College Designers

Presentation of creative work by 4th year students at Strate College Designers on completion of their branding and packaging assignment: Creation and positioning of an alternative ecological washing powder for a leading detergent brand.

The project included identification of an alternative washing ingredient (soapnuts, Eucalyptus etc), naming, eco-conception, co-branding, packaging shape/volume, branding and pack graphics.

All work was discussed and presented in English to help develop a professional English design vocabulary. The students benefit from the Erasmus exchange programme from which they have just returned. Destinations included UK, USA, Mexico and Italy.

The ultimate brand pattern

Seen in Hong Kong last week, this facade for the Coach store in Central takes the repeatbrand pattern idea to its ultimate limit and wraps the entire building.
The facade is a combination of white on white die cut panels, backlit C motifs and glass curtain wall.
Looks brilliant at dusk as the lights come on.

Creative interiors seen by Ikea

Some clever, intelligent graphics for Ikea by designer Jung von Matt.

Architectural firms business card project

For an architectural firm we are exploring ideas about combining two and three dimensions, volume and space in their business cards and stationary to communicate the creative process of two dimensional ideas that become three dimensional buildings.

In this pop-up card the buildings rise from flat plans to standing buildings as you open the folded card. Cut out windows and doors allow light to shine through the facade and project changing shadows in the same way as real buildings do.

Morgan hydrogen cell car

Morgan LifeCar, a zero pollution hydrogen cell powered sports car to be unveiled at the Geneva Car Show. A joint venture by Morgan Motor Company, Oscar Automative, QuinetiQ, Linde AG, Oxford and Cranfield Universities.

Deforestation by WWF

Another creative visual for the WWF China concerning deforestation, paper consumption and recycling.
The 'log' cover replaces the existing wc paper dispenser cover.

WWF Asia visual

A powerful visual for the WWF from China on the theme of environmental ecology.

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.