Friend of TDOD Mr Craig Oldham has been in touch regarding the second edition of his “Hand Written Letter Project”.

“Due to demand the Hand.Written.Letter.Project has been re-published and updated to represent the ongoing project in its rightful analogue form.

This new edition features an expanded collection of new correspondence from the HWLP, including more additions from the Design worlds leading figures alongside heart- felt correspondence from people who just had something they wished to say.”

Get your copy here for £19.99 +PP – it is also now available from Selfridges & Co. stores in the UK.

There is a collectable casing limited to a 50 pressing available on a first come first served basis for £39.99 +PP (book included).

A percentage of proceeds from this book will be donated to the National Literacy Trust.

In 2003 he wrote his first book ‘It’s Not How Good You Are, It’s How Good You Want To Be’, followed in 2006 by ‘Whatever You Think, Think The Opposite’ describing the creative processes of good design as a metaphor for business practice.

‘It’s Not How Good You Are…’ is a concise guide to making the most of yourself – a pocket ‘bible’ for the talented and timid to make the unthinkable thinkable and the impossible possible. After decades at the top of one of the world’s most competitive industries, Paul Arden offers insights into such diverse subjects as the value of being fired and why it’s often better to be wrong than to be right.

He gives original and logical answers to everyday questions. Much of it appears obvious when you read it, but aren’t all questions easy when you know the answers? Whether you are a school-leaver, self-employed or a managing director, this book is invaluable for everyone who aspires to succeed.

I’ve included a few excerpts below;

A vital book for any designer and at 120 odd pages can be read in a few short journeys over and over again. Available from most good book stores and some rubbish ones too.

When two giants of the New York dance scene came together the resulting brand had to stand out from the crowd. Strategically creating an organisation model that focussed on the cross genre collaboration of artists, we created a name that reflected this new approach -
New York Live Arts.

The resulting brand marque captured the energy and dynamism of the new organisation, and neatly illustrated the core proposition of bringing talent together. The brand goes from strength to strength and continues to be the most talked about arts organisation in the city.

New York Live Arts launched with an impactful advertising campaign rolled out across Manhattan. The concept was based around the aspirations of the people that make up the organisation, from co-founder Tony-award winning choreographer Bill T. Jones, through to the artists, staff and audience members. Commissioning acclaimed photographer Philip Habib, the result was an eclectic and engaging portraiture story that gave the new entity an inclusive and approachable voice.

David Bowie

This was Bowie at the peak of his powers, changing rock n roll forever in 72′.

Hunter S Thompson

Anti authoritarian, Inventor of Gonzo Journalism and author of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. There are a few Hunter posts on the blog, this one is a collection of his more famous quotes.

Johnny Cash

Andre the Giant. 

If you only read one article, make it this one. Describing some of the – quite frankly - INCREDIBLE drinking exploits of Andre the Giant. Here’s a snippet…

“You won’t find it in the Guinness Book of World Records, but Andre the Giant holds the world record for the largest number of beers consumed in a single sitting. These were standard 12-ounce bottles of beer, nothing fancy, but during a six-hour period Andre drank 119 of them. It was one of the few times Andre got drunk enough to pass out, which he did in a hallway at his hotel. His companions, quite drunk themselves, couldn’t move the big man. Fearing trouble with cops, they stole a piano cover from the lounge and draped it over Andre’s inert form. He slept peacefully until morning, unmolested by anyone. Perhaps the hotel people thought he was a piece of furniture.

Think about it: 119 beers in six hours. That’s a beer every three minutes, non stop. That’s beyond epic. It’s beyond the ken of mortal men. It’s god-like.”

French wrestler Andre Rene Roussimoff, best known as “Andre theGiant” during a Paris fashion exhibition. At 19, Andre reportedly stands 7 feet and 4 inches tall – 1966.

Wilt Chamberlain, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Andre the Giant, on the set of Conan.

Friend of TDOD Craig Oldham has published his HAND.WRITTEN.LETTER.PROJECT in this lovely case-bound, hard-back book.

“The HAND.WRITTEN.LETTER.PROJECT was created after a conversation about how personal a letter can be: a fact that is currently drowning in a tide of depersonalisation, with junk mail and automated correspondence.”

“The project extended an invitation to designers and creative thinkers alike to simply write and make known their thoughts posed by this situation: in handwritten form and on their stationery (both of which were seemingly expendable to some, their idea taking preference).”

Get your copy (175 printed, 85 copies ONLY available online) and full details of the project here.

‘I don’t even understand why this is in. There’s no copywriting on it.’ (That was me, getting shirty.)

‘Of course there is. It’s a message conveyed in words. And how fantastic to have copywriting on a coin!’ (Someone else.)

‘No, it’s just captions on a diagram. It says Elizabeth II on the back as well, but that’s not copywriting.’

Further along the table, responding to some expressions of indifference, Neil Taylor (of writing consultancy The Writer) sifts some papers and holds one up. ‘Come on,’ he says. ‘This is a really good joke. Look – that’s a great joke!’

‘It’s okay. It’s not great.’ That was me again, I’m afraid. I wasn’t always so negative.

‘I wish I’d written this one.’ That’s what you listen for, of course: the ultimate creative’s compliment. That potent mixture of delight and envy – and the undercurrent of anxiety that, presented with the same brief, one wouldn’t have come up with anything like as powerful a solution. (Or perhaps that’s just me.)

I heard this sentiment maybe once or twice during the day. The pieces that truly inspire such a strong response are few and far between, and they tend to create an instant consensus. Last time I judged, the two pieces that ended up with pencils were unanimously loved from the word go: there was never a doubt they’d do well. There were a couple of pieces here that did the same thing, and that’s a huge achievement, given how uncompromising the judging was.

Baby talk.
‘It just upsets me when corporations talk to people as if they’re morons, in this patronising childish language’. Tim Rich said something along these lines two or three times during the day. And there’s definitely a strong theme in corporate writing where the desire to be informal, friendly, human and conversational (viz. The last 25 tone of voice guideline documents you read) ends up producing copy that sounds more like Toddler TV.

Some would perhaps want to pin some of the blame for that on our foreman, the inimitable bearded wonder Dan Germain, who created the voice of Innocent Drinks. But that would be wrong. Innocent’s tone is fun, but it’s not infantile. Like much that breaks new ground, its success was misunderstood by a lot of people, who decided (a) they needed to have a similar tone, and (b) thought the key to it was writing in something like baby-talk.

‘Oh,’ says Sarah McCartney in response to one of Tim’s outbursts. ‘I really liked it. I must be a moron!’ Sarah’s very much not a moron. But one of the most impressive aspects of the day’s judging was how willing people were to speak up about what they thought, even when the tide seemed against them.

Nothing ever felt personal, and the atmosphere of mutual respect and camaraderie gave us all the freedom to say exactly what we thought. It was a delight, not an ‘issue’, to be vehemently disagreed with. Partly because, likely as not, your most fervent adversary on one piece became your staunchest ally over another.

The arguments worked, too. Strong opinions, strongly held, were examined and often overturned. Tim said this was his favourite part: having his mind changed.

There’s always that temptation, once you’ve planted your flag firmly in one territory, to keep it there – even if secretly you realise you’re wrong. But once again, the friendliness of the group gave us all the liberty to change positions.

For example, I argued passionately for quite a while that a particular piece should be in the book, but found the arguments against becoming increasingly compelling. Ultimately, I had to admit defeat. But not just because I was outnumbered: because they were right.

This meant a lot of work hovered nervously for quite some time at the borders of the Annual, getting halfway under the wire before being chased out again by half the patrol on duty. Then, just as all seemed lost, the pros would convince enough of the cons to allow the work safe passage between the pages. (Or vice versa: the work would be sent packing, with two or three of the guards gazing after it with crestfallen expressions.)

We were lucky to have Dan, a gentle and thoughtful Foreman, who kept official interventions to a minimum but reined us in when required, and created pauses for thought at useful stages.

Katie and Aneeka from D&AD also deserve special mentions – not just for keeping the judges topped up with caffeine (and, latterly, the odd beer), but also for managing the shift from iPod Touch voting tools to plain old pencils and paper, when the D&AD wi-fi crumbled under the demands of what I was told were around 500 separate devices.

The judging was hard work (I know people don’t believe that, but it’s true), but entertaining, inspiring and fun. I couldn’t have asked for more generous or stimulating companions. And being around at the end of the day for the announcement of the genuinely thrilling new white pencil was the icing on the cake.

Sorry to ramble on. Hope it was vaguely interesting! I’ll be at the Awards Ceremony in June, so if anyone feels like saying hi, please do. (And if you’re coming alone, and want a friendly table to sit with, I’m cobbling together a table of waifs and strays like myself. Let me know: mike[at]reedwords.co.uk