Sunday, 30 May 2010

Sydney Australia










































A great business trip to Sydney. Always good to see the North Shore ferries coming into Circular Quay, yachts passing the Opera House, the Parakeets and Sulphur crested Cockatoos flying through the palm trees. Some really nice typographic illustrations of Sydney on the Vodaphone poster campaign.

Dubai Airport














Dubai international terminal and OLED's in glass curtain wall.

Burj Dubai & Dubai airport












Whilst in Dubai on my trip to Sydney I saw the Burj Dubai tower: 200 floors. Dubai airport is also very impressive in terms of architecture, design and signage. The use of OLED's in glass walls creating a mosaic grid of lights in glass is most impressive.

Saturday, 15 May 2010

Packaging Design Conference

Here is my Packaging Design Conference talk presented at the Ecole de Design Nantes Atlantique and Parsons Paris.
View more presentations from Paul Vickers.

Thursday, 13 May 2010

“Daddy, What’s a Brand?” and 9 More Awkward Questions for Uncertain Times

Stimulating reading from Graham Button in Fast Company here
and a great piece of typographic poetry by Ronnie Bruce to sum up with:

Typography from Ronnie Bruce on Vimeo.

Tuesday, 27 April 2010

Japan - The Strange Country

Japan - The Strange Country (Japanese ver.) . Excellent info graphic animation by Japanese designer Kenichi.

Do you matter? How great design will make people love your company

Highly recommended reading for CEO's, marketing and communications directors and just about anybody interested in the benefits of design. http://www.doyoumatter.com/
A review in French at http://www.larevuedudesign.com/2010/04/21/design-maters-robert-brunner-stewart-emery/

Monday, 26 April 2010

New Flag for Europe







Our design proposals for the new flag for Europe are amongst designs on exhibition at the European Commission at The Hague and on The Hague Design & Government web site. http://www.designdenhaag.eu/en/node/3123

Friday, 23 April 2010

New web site under construction









We are currently building a new vision 360° web site to compliment the des!gn think!ng blog.
This is the design proposal for the home page. The site will be a more institutional and portfolio credentials site, and content will be built up under Projects, Bio and Press navigation tabs.

Thursday, 22 April 2010

Found Alphabet






















I am running an assignment with students at l'Ecole Bleue about looking and discovering letterforms and images in the world around us. The final outcome is the creation of a found alphabet. This alphabet was found in a seaport by Thomas Pujol.

Tuesday, 20 April 2010

Oliver Grant Spring Summer Collection

Oliver Grant, with branding and graphics that we created, have launch their Spring Summer 2010 Collection.

I Love Dust letterpress posters

Nice letterpress type treatment for VH1 Classic by UK agency I Love Dust.

Slim Chips 0 Calories


Seen at Milan 2010 Design Week, Slim Chips guarantee you wont gain weight. Containing 0 calories they are made of edible paper and organic flavouring...

Tuesday, 13 April 2010

Monday, 5 April 2010

Paul on Packaging at Parsons

March 31 at Parsons Paris - my lecture on Packaging Design in the 2010 Communication Design Lecture Series.

Monday, 29 March 2010

www.thehaitiposterproject.com

Several of the posters, designed by my students at l'Ecole Bleue, for the Haiti Poster Project are now on-line in the virtual galley at www.thehaitiposterproject.com

Friday, 26 March 2010

France - in search of a brand identity

A subject about which I have spoken and written on several occasions in the past: France's lack of, and quest for, a genuine nation and destination brand. See elsewhere on this blog.
Marque france w&cie
This study by W&Cie is a great initiative and a concrete step
forward in the process of creating a powerful and conceptual
brand that moves beyond the cliché passéiste symbols and
Eiffel Tower images that are so prevalent today. Bravo.

Thursday, 25 March 2010

International business experience

I recently had to list my international design experience for a credentials presentation. Well here it is:
London, Paris, New York, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul, Taipei, Beijing, Shanghai, Singapore, Seattle, Philadelphia, Calgary, Copenhagen, Lisbon, Bordeaux, Budapest, Edinburgh, Jeddah, Riyadh. And the next project?

Tuesday, 23 March 2010

The Haiti Poster Project submissions

Several poster for the Haiti Poster Project created by 4th Year students at the Ecole Bleue, Paris in my Visual Communications course. These and thirty more from the school will auctioned to raise funds for Doctor's Without Borders and will feature in the exhibition that will visit New York, London, Paris etc.

Monday, 22 March 2010

State Library New South Wales typeface

















Magnificent and unique typeface created by Frost for the State Library of New South Wales, Australia. Realising the public knew very little about its collection fragments of visuals in the collection were composed as letters, creating a new everyday language.

Wednesday, 17 March 2010

Packaging Design lecture 31 March 2010

On Wednesday March 31 I will be presenting a lecture: Packaging Design - what is packaging design? what is the role of the packaging designer? at Parsons School of Design New York's, Paris Campus. The talk is part of the 2010 Branding and Identity Lecture Series. 19.30h Parsons Paris 14 Rue Letellier 75015.

Monday, 15 March 2010

Ikea installation in the Metro



































Seen on the Metro in Paris on Friday, Ikea's furniture installation. All the Metro furniture removed and replaced with Ikea sofas, armchairs and standard lamps. A great happening and moment of détente for stressed Parisians. This is in the same spirit as the Kobe Japan event, which I saw, where the subway trains were refurnished with Ikea furniture. Last picture.

The humble Butchers shop comes of age

















Whilst on the subject of branding and merchandising, which I am teaching to 4th Year and Masters students at Strate College Designers, this butchers shop design and merchandising from Victor Churchill Butchers in Sydney is a very impressive example. In the shop window a slowly turning conveyor belt displays racks of special cuts, like conveyor belt Sushi. The product is highlighted by a back-lit Himalayan rock salt brick wall backdrop. The whole design raises the butchers shop to the level of haute cuisine and luxury brands. Remarkable!
www.victorchurchill.com by Dreamtime Australia design

Paul is on www.dexigner.com


I have a listing in the International Design Directory at www.dexigner.com
http://www.dexigner.com/directory/cat/Graphic-Design/Designers.html

Saturday, 13 March 2010

The Haiti Poster Project

The Haiti Poster Project aims to raise $1 000 000 for Doctors Without Borders through the creation and sales of designers posters for Haiti. I am running this project with students at the Ecole Bleue Paris. 34 designs are being submitted. This poster series is by Anaïs Cresp. An exhibition of selected posters will tour the world.

Branding - Packaging at Strate College Designers













I am lecturing a Branding, Packaging, Merchandising course at Strate College Designers in their new purpose built campus at Sèvres this year. The course is for 4th Year and Master's students and is focused on an Active Sport product, using design to bridge the gap between the product and the consumer. We are exploring emotional branding, ecological & sustainable packaging design and how to create the retail experience.

Friday, 5 March 2010

Les Mousquetaires - En Garde, Bad Logos! Reviewed by Paul Vickers

Les Mousquetaires and Intermarché Supermarkets have just launched their new brand identity created by Carré Noir.
Read my complete review (pretty damning) of the branding design work at Brand New here:
http://www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/en_garde_bad_logos.php

Wednesday, 3 March 2010

Lucibel - Product of the Year Award 2010

Lucibel, with packaging I developed with Nouvel Oeuvre, has been awarded Product of the Year 2010 in the Grand Prix Marketing Innovation category.
Lucibel were highly praised for their 'radical innovation' both in terms of the low energy CFL light bulb technology and the ecological 100% recyclable, easy-open packaging.
http://www.produitsdelannee.com

Sunday, 28 February 2010

Paris Metropole - branding Paris for the 21st Century









































Branding for Paris Metropole, part of the Grand Paris urbanisation initiative. The brand is based on the superimposition at an equal scale of the different departments making up the metropolis.
Paris, the world's No.1 tourist destination, has suffered in terms of building a genuine contemporary identity, due to its all too well known landmark - the Eiffel Tower, whose image is so synonymous with the city as to handicap any attempt to create and deploy a powerful destination brand. This design does manage to make a break with cliché imagery and successfully communicate the dynamism, diversity and vitality of a 21st Century metropolis.

Batman will not be outdone

And now the first Batman for more than $1 million...

Tuesday, 23 February 2010

Working Late Alphabet















Another interpretation of the Found Alphabet assignment undertaken with 3rd year students at the Ecole Bleue. Working Late alphabet by Justine Sainte-Faust.

$1 million Superman comic

The first Superman comic sells at auction for $1 million. Published in June 1938, issue No.1 had a cover price of 10 cents.

Thursday, 18 February 2010

Paul is on www.coroflot.com

I now have a profile and portfolio on Coroflot and on Behance Network, the global creative resource web sites.

Thursday, 11 February 2010

e-cycle typography

Best Buy's 'e-cycle' campaign to promote recycling of electronic equipment and gadgets has been launched with this PC typography sign in Times Square New York. Finally a good use for all that electronic junk that fills our basements and attics.

3D branding/merchandising/store design for T-Magi

We are currently working on a retail branding/merchandising concept and exploring the relationship between the brand, the retail environment and signage.
The combined brand and store design for T-Magi in Copenhagen by We Architecture is a superb solution and a brilliant illusion whereby the brand becomes the shop and the sign. It is reminiscent of the perforated exterior skin of the Chanel building in Ginza by Kumiko Inui which incorporated embedded fibre optics to light up the facade at night.

Thursday, 21 January 2010

09 Annual Design Review

Our Annual Design Review features some of the creative highlights from our work over the year.
A broad variety of projects are covered from our Gold Award in the 2009 Pentawards and Vendange Wines branding to our COP15 co2penhagen posters and conference speaking engagements.

Wednesday, 20 January 2010

Found ABC















Looking and Seeing - a typography research project with students at the Ecole Bleue. Sky Type involves raising your eyes and looking at the city from a new angle. The Reflection ABC book cleverly plays on a mirror foil page and the reflection of the image to create the complete character.
Sky Type by Céline Juppeau
Reflection by Anne-Laure Acloque

Monday, 18 January 2010

Google search and site traffic

Google - 'Paul Vickers + design' and the first six entries found are mine. In a Google image search sixty of my images are found on the first five pages.
Traffic to my des!gn think!ng site averages between fifty to one hundred hits a month.

Sorbonne University Paris brand identity review by Paul Vickers for Brand New

I have joined the editorial team at Brand New, a division of Under Consideration, as an international correspondent covering branding and identity design news from France.
My full review of the new brand for the Paris Sorbonne University can be read here: www.underconsideration.com/brandnew/archives/the_radiance_of_knowledge.php

Tuesday, 12 January 2010

200 years - Peugeot's new brand

Friday, the 200th anniversary of French car maker Peugeot, saw the unveiling of the new Peugeot brand by BETC Design as well as the launch of the SR1 concept car and an impressive promo video retracing the brands history from its humble origins as a coffee grinder maker, via steam-powered tricycles to one of the world's leading car manufacturers.
The new brand is an improvement in some ways on the rather unsophisticated and functional 1989 design but is rather a predictable solution with a few disturbing characteristics.
Most disappointing is the treatment of the lion - Peugeot's heritage symbol - who has lost all his majesty and force, his very lion-ness and now looks more like a teddy bear or a poodle. This, to judge by the comments in internet chat's, is what most concerns the design community and the general public.
The chrome treatment of the lion, the current design trend for all car makers, is poorly rendered, where Citroën's by Landor was successful. There is none of the power and dynamism of Jaguar by The Partners 2002. The typography is light and sophisticated with the same E as Citroën, perhaps to signify their belonging to the same group. One thing I have always questioned is why the lion faces left, when the name reads left to right and facing left is looking backwards. Flipping him to face the future was just too much change?

Monday, 11 January 2010

La Charcuterie business cards

And whilst on the subject of food, these business cards and packaging labels for La Charcuterie deli/restaurant by Rethink in Vancouver are absolutely brilliant.

Mary & Matt chocolates


Who needs packaging with chocolates that look this good? From Mary & Matt in New York.

Thursday, 7 January 2010

My 2010 card on www.design.fr

My NY 2010 card is also featured on www.design.fr
and on the Russian design site www.etoday.ru

Wallpaper* publishes Pentagram card I designed with Mervyn Kurlansky



Wallpaper* the design, art, lifestyle magazine has published an article on Pentagram's Christmas cards over the years, featuring the card I designed with Mervyn Kurlansky in 1982. This brought back memories of my years with Pentagram and the people who made up that unique team.
It also reminded me of the time before Mac's, when everything was done by hand, of Cow Gum, Rotring pens and scalpels...

Friday, 1 January 2010

My 2010 card selected by dezeen magazine



My 2010 New Year card is selected amongst the years best designed cards by dezeen design magazine. A great start to 2010. www.dezeen.com