Snow Branding in London

With most of Europe covered with a seasonal layer of snow, here is Snow Branding.
Imagined by the UK agency Curb for the Extreme Sports Channel, over 2 000 logotypes were stamped across London. Great viability and buzz, zero environmental impact.

Best wishes for Christmas and the New Year

Co2penhagen - here and now

Our Co2penhagen poster campaign in anticipation of the arrival of the worlds heads of state for the final session of the UN climate summit in Denmark.

Packaging Design lecture at l'Ecole de Design Nantes Atlantique

On Wednesday 16 December I will be giving a lecture on Packaging Design - What is packaging design? what is the role of the packaging designer? at the Ecole de Design Nantes Atlantique.
Amongst the diverse issues covered will be eco-conception, sustainability and the social, environmental and political role of packaging.

co2penhagen climate change posters

Our UN Copenhagen Climate Change Conference poster designs.

11 November stamp design winner

Remembrance Day 'Poppy' stamp by Hat-Trick Design, London.
A design award winner. Hat-Trick also designed the Evolution stamps in the next post below.

Postage stamp design, graphics and national identity

Postage stamp design is a pertinent macro measurement of a nations commitment to graphic design and to the image is presents to the outside world. British Royal Mail Post Office stamps have always communicated important national issues with intelligent concepts, powerful graphics and they are a vehicle for the promotion of Britain's designers.
A few recent collections include the interlocking 'Evolution' stamps, the brilliant 'Fruit & Veg' designs complete with stickers to personalise the faces of your stamps and create your own Fruit & Veg characters and the beautifully illustrated 'Beijing - London Olympics', the contemporary architectural and Rock and Roll collections.
Having once been commissioned to design a set of 'Landscapes at Risk' stamps, I know how demanding and exigent the Post Office is in its design selection process. Hence the outstanding designs that find themselves on the UK mail.

Postage stamp design in France

The contrast with the attention paid to postage stamp design in France is startling. These stamps may appear to date from the 50's but are all current stamps from the 2009 collection on the La Poste web site.
Not only is there a total lack of concept, design and national identity but the quality of illustration is alarming.
As one of France's leading independent designers, Alain Le Quernac, says, 'To get an idea about what is going on in graphics in France, just go into any post office and check out the stamps. No graphic or intellectual line, just a jumble of formats and techniques that betrays a policy of one-offs and compromise'.

Vingt ans - ça se fête!

My vingt logotype to celebrate 20 years in France. Santé!

mariaduffinteriordesign.com graphics and web

Launch of the 3rd generation web site for mariaduffinteriordesign.com with our new monochrome design palette and identity.

Great British Rock - Great British Stamps

Hard to beat British Post Office stamps when it come to design and creativity. The Rolling Stones and David Bowie record covers will be launched in 2010 commemorating great British rock.
LP's designed by Robert Brownjohn and Main Artery. Stamps by Studio Dempsey. Note the die-cutting.
The stacks of Beatles LP's, die-cut around the superimposed piles, are from 2007.

Fazillac Noix walnut oil launched

Our Fazillac Noix branding and packaging has now been rolled out to a collection of 100% cold pressed virgin walnut oils.
Tall glass 75cl and 1l bottles emphasise the rich colour and reinforce the impact of the brand and labelling.

Leland & Marian's Santa Barbara house

Our friends Leland and Marian, neighbours of ours in the Sud Ouest, have just completed a contemporary house in Santa Barbara, California. Commisioned by them and designed by Steven Ehrlich Architecture, it is a stunning study in light and space, with magnificent Pacific Ocean views.

Gold Award in the 2009 Pentawards

Lucibel's recyclable ecological CFL light bulb packaging wins a gold award in the 2009 Pentawards.

Paul Vickers - Creative Director
Cédric François - Strategy Director
Marco Savary Marie Laporte - Designers

1+1=3 Design Thinking lecture ACAD Calagry

At ACAD Calgary in Canada I gave a talk on Design Thinking - a vision of a professional design school.
The talk outlined design education practice and the role of design schools in equipping future generations of designers for their part in creative problem solving and as a force for good in the world.
Design Thinking - more than the some of its parts: 1+1=3

Mick Jaggers design brief for Andy Warhol

The best design brief ever. Why don't more of our clients brief us the way Mick Jagger briefed Andy Warhol for the Stones 'Sticky Fingers' LP album cover?
"and please write back saying how much money you would like". That was the 60's, just love it!
The result was the famous jeans close-up with real working fly zipper.

g2 eco-tourism assignment

I am teaching a 3rd year class in Visual Communications at l'Ecole Bleue this year. The first assignment explores branding and promotional communications in the eco-tourism market. An interesting sector of the travel and tourism industry, eco-tourism is the only growing market. 10-15% growth pa.
Interesting concepts include Airships, Natural Disaster aid-travel, Tree-top canopy trips, Knowledge exchange...

2016 Olympics brands

By tonight we will know which city and which continent has been selected by the International Olympics Committee to host the 2016 Olympics. Chicago has the odds on winning by a small margin.
Madrid's brand by Argentine designer, Joaquin Malle, who lives in Spain, is the most original and interesting design, combining the human hand, bold use of Olympic colours, a strong dynamic force and the M of Madrid.

Design for Life Episode 1

Design for Life Episode 1 from Robert Meredith on Vimeo.

Philippe Starck does the 'Temptation Island' of the reality TV design world with British design students for the BBC.

Diesel Global Warming campaign

Powerful visual from 'The World's Coolest Hotspots Guide', part of the Diesel Global Warming campaign.
Here the UK map redrawn to show rising sea levels and London reduced to an island protected by a barrier wall.

Wax crayon pixel art

Christian Faur's pixel drawings using 100 000 wax crayons to create a pixelised portrait.

Typographic doctors surgery façade

Three-dimensional typography treatment on the façade of this doctors surgery and clinic in Portugal by R2 Design.

Presidential bar chart

Nice geo-politic bar chart graphic comparing the relative stature of the leading G8 Prime Minister's and President's. And how they stack up against Bonaparte.

iQ Font for Toyota - When Driving Becomes Writing

Peace One Day Coca-Cola

Peace One Day - a limited edition can Coca-Cola created to support Peace Day:

"Basically for the first time in the history of Coca-Cola, they have created a unique charity can, on behalf of Peace One Day which is a charity that Jude Law, Annie Lennox and Lenny Kravitz are the main ambassadors for.

Peace One Day is a global charity that has a fixed calendar day called Peace Day which takes place on the 21st September, a day supported by the UN that promotes global ceasefire and non-violence around the world. The idea of the day is to promote peace around the world whilst undertaking life-saving activities, it is also an opportunity for individuals - particularly young people - to become involved in the peace process. Just to give you an idea of the good work they do in 2008 they vaccinated 1.8 million children against polio in Afghanistan.

To raise awareness, 1.1 million 330ml Coca-Cola cans with the Peace One Day logo and 'what will you do' pledge on will be on sale from September encouraging people to think about what they will do on Peace Day." http://www.peaceoneday.org/en/welcome via The Dieline.com

Eco CFC light bulbs superseed Edisons 100 watt incandescents

Today, 1 September, sees the end of the 100 watt incandescent light bulb. Invented and first commercialised by Thomas Edison in 1878, it is now superseded in the EEC by ecological energy saving CFL light bulbs.
The Lucibel energy saving bulbs with branding and packaging that I created with Nouvel Oeuvre are now in store and available at Leclerc and leading stores. The physical packaging is unique - a 100% recyclable moulded carton-pulp clam shell.

Ikea switches from Futura to Verdana for 2010

After 50 years use of the iconic Futura typeface, Ikea switches to Verdana for the worlds third most printed publication, after the Bible and Harry Potter.
http://www.idsgn.org/posts/ikea-says-goodbye-to-futura/

Nike Cardboard packaging concept

Recycled flexible packaging by Zack Klauk & Emile Molin of 2x4 New York for Nike China.

Land Rover posters from the US Pinehurst Society

I am always a little nostalgic at having traded in my Land Rover Defender 110 for the modern comforts, air conditioning and family convenience of the new Renault Espace 4... so these posters from the US Pinehurst Land Rover Society struck an immediate cord. The spirit of this 4x4 motoring classic is conveyed in all its glory.

Far Foods for UK's Sainsbury's

Far Foods concept by James Reynolds for Sainsbury's Supermarkets, highlights the distances that foods travel and the resultant carbon dioxide released during the journey. Presented like a boarding pass it enables consumers to choose between local or long haul.

Melbourne's big M

The single and multi colour graphic versions of the Melbourne big M.

Melbourne's new destination brand

Melbourne Australia's new destination brand. A progressive dynamic brand that successfully captures the spirit of the contemporary city and its rich visual landscape. Created by Landor Sydney. The depth and vitality is particularly successful and is a big leap forward when compared with the static and two dimensionality of too many brands.

Bamboo bike by Brano Meres

A bamboo tube frame and carbon composite joints give the BME bamboo bike an incredible strength and flexibility to weight ratio.
Ecologically sound it has also performed well in competition and over time.
May 09 Brano brought out his 2nd generation Bamboozler bike.
www.bmeres.com

Mayors come and go, the brand remains...

The brand I developed for Excideuil Municipality in the South West of France stands the test of time.
The Mayor has changed, the brand remains in place.
It is now deployed on the Mairie web site and documentation, municipal vehicles, signage around the historic town centre and banners.

Audi Centenary Sculpture by Gerry Judah

Audi Centenary Sculpture at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, West Sussex, UK.

Designed by Gerry Judah it celebrates Audi’s achievements in motor sport with the legendary 1937 Auto Union Streamliner and the recently launched R8 V10 sports car at either end of a dramatic “swoosh” of tyre tracks, as if they are driving off into the sky.

Please do it at home...

Also from Japan but in a different style, these new Tokyo Metro posters are designed to encourage manners and correct behaviour whilst travelling on the metro. Love the style and I have seen city salary men doing just this on the metro.
My collection of Japanese graphics and signs includes several hundred images in this genre.

Post-it notes come of age

These magnificent Kudamemo fruit-shaped Post-it style notes from D-Bross in Japan come individually or in a crate of six.
The fluo yellow square has come of age!

King of Pop

Concept can by a Los Angeles designer in honour of Michael Jackson and Pepsi - two icons on Pop.
The can is meant as a tribute and art piece and not as a purely commercial operation.

www.mariaduffinteriordesign.com

Following on from the brand and business cards, I have developed the web site look and feel for www.mariaduffinteriordesign.com.
This continues the idea of 2 & 3 dimensionality with a juxtaposition of graphics and photographs.