The Disciples Of Design » EXHIBITIONS

DALE CHIHULY AT THE HALCYON GALLERY

Mike Potts — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:47:21 +0000

Jennie Spiller and I made it down to the Halcyon Gallery on New Bond Street at the weekend to have a look at Dale Chihuly’s glass blowing exhibition.

Chihuly is widely regarded as the most exciting and spectacular artist working in contemporary glass, credited with elevating the medium from the realm of craft to groundbreaking fine art. A prodigiously prolific artist, whose work balances content with thorough investigations in to the properties of glass, Chihuly began working with the material at a time when reverence for glass-making and technique was paramount.

It’s one of the most impressive fine art exhibitions I’ve been to in a long time and the setting reflects this. Well worth a visit and on until the end of March if you are in London at any point.

HAND WRITTEN LETTER PROJECT 2ND EDITION

Billy — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 19:29:14 +0000

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.

MUSEUM OF THE IMAGE – PART 3

Mark Arrowsmith — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 09:57:39 +0000

DESIGN IT YOURSELF

The last part of the museum allowed visitors to create their own designs including T-shirts, Stop Motion Videos, Pictograms etc. (it was probably meant for children).

We had a go at creating the magazine cover where we had a time limit of 3 minutes in which we had to place large type / imagery on the floor, which after the 3 minutes would then be shot from above. Which once shot would be uploaded to their website. You can view all uploads on their site… http://www.design-it-yourself.nl/en

We also had a go a creating a stop motion video where a photograph would be taken every 10 seconds(ish) during (what we were told) was a 3 minute period. With careful planning we worked out what would be moved at each point, however when we started the clock, the time had changed to 5 minutes, so the carfeul planning pretty much went out the window. Again this was then uploaded to the website.

The long day ended with well deserved drinks and food in Amsterdam… great trip.

A DETAIL(ED) CONCLUSION

Paul Miller

“For someone who didn’t study the history of graphic design at university, it was fascinating to see things like the current trend for simple info-graphics was being applied just as effectively in the 30’s”

Ted Howell

“Though in the midst of a misguided name change (driven by the desire to acquire a MOMA-style acronym), and with one of the three main exhibitions closed, MOTI still managed to amaze. We made the trip with the expectations of visiting a well-curated space, displaying examples past and present of the very best of Dutch design. As mentioned in Part One of this series, when the automatic doors opened and formed the work ‘welkom’ we knew we may be in for something special, and from that point on it simply got better and better. The most important thing to note, for me, was that the museum is not that, not a museum. Not in a traditional sense. It is not simply a collection of pieces as expected, but the museum and its exhibitions have had thought, deep thought applied to them. The SupermArt exhibition would have stood up on its own just with the sheer breadth and quality of packaging (both iconic and below the radar) chosen. But to take it several levels above and lay it out in a spectrum of colour simply took our breath away. And this became a theme of the rest of MOTI, interactive items were not a massive letdown as they always seem to be; on the contrary they were interesting, were engaging and perhaps most importantly, were fun. Everything had thought behind it, and for that the experience was vastly enriched.

But having been taken aback, recharged and invigorated by MOTI, I couldn’t help but leave with a tinge of sadness. Not because I will never see MOTI again (we will be back when the next exhibitions are in place) but because of how we are so sorely lacking a venue of its calibre in the UK. It’s accessible, it has no elitist pretensions, it’s engaging. Speaking to the curator we were informed 80% of the visitors were under-16 school groups. Imagine if the UK had that opportunity for school aged children. How many of us took a weaving path until we finally realised through trial and error that design is what we were made for. I know if I was exposed to MOTI at the age of 13 I would have gone down considerably less blind alleys until I eventually turned up in design school. It’s clear that in the Netherlands design is woven into the culture, understood and respected from an early age – MOTI serves to enhance that further. It may be a distance, but if I was in education I would seriously consider a trip to Breda over the regulation French exchange.”

Mark Arrowsmith

“The trip was great and I really recommend any student/professional/Joe Bloggs to get themselves over there. For the same price of a Saturday night out in Preston (flight tickets), I think it would be very beneficial to anybody to get over there. The building itself was incredible with every small bit of detail around the exhibitions all having a thought process behind the designs, and why wouldn’t they. What I feel will strike most with designers is the level of consistency the Dutch have when it comes to layout and attention to detail, which really shone through in the 100 Year’s of Dutch Graphic Design Exhibition. Some of the work throughout the exhibition could really stand up against work to day, so I can’t imagine how outlandish it must have been back in the 1920′s/30′s. Excellent Xmas party.”

Mike Kirkpatrick

“As a design student, MOTI was my dream museum. I could pick out any of a number of projects that caught my imagination, but the one that has stayed in my mind the most was the interactive case study on the Dutch Police project by Studio Dumbar. The insight into the way the studio worked from research through to completion was fascinating, as you don’t normally get to see this part of design projects, you normally just see the finished, polished piece of work. And the brand looked sweet on a motorbike.”

Above. The Christmas ‘decorations’ at our hotel, someone clearly missed the opportunity to give this reindeer a red nose. Merry Xmas All!

MUSEUM OF THE IMAGE – PART 2

Mark Arrowsmith — Fri, 16 Dec 2011 09:12:28 +0000

SUPERMART

The second exhibition consisted of a colour coded shopping aisle of highly rated packaging design. From Campbell’s Soup to Coke and Milk to Heineken, the shelves were stacked.

The layout looked beautiful and as a group we felt that general supermarkets should be laid out this way, even if it would take twice as long to find anything… or would it?

A table ran down the middle of the exhibition displaying different brands that have limited editions, or numerous ways to package the same product, or in some cases rip off an existing piece of packaging (Lemon Juice).

What was also interesting was the ‘history’ plinths of the Supermart that showed different product packaging that had developed over the years. Quite similar to the presentation of the Packaging Museum in London which I also recommend if you’re down and around there, you should visit.

MUSEUM OF THE IMAGE – PART 1

Mark Arrowsmith — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 13:31:09 +0000

Last week was Detail‘s Xmas party where we hopped on a quick flight to Holland to visit the Museum of the Image (MOTI). Located in Breda (an hour out from Amsterdam) meant an early morning and a long way from Manchester, however MOTI was well worth the trip.

As soon as we arrived at the building we were greeted with one of the most simplistic yet lovliest entrances I have seen in a long while, the automatic sliding doors, combined with the wall behind revealed the word ‘welkom’ on one side and a face on the other. The perfect way to excite 4 designers after a long journey.

100 YEARS OF DUTCH GRAPHIC DESIGN

The first exhibition we went to see was the core exhibition which is permanantly on show. The 100 years of graphic design takes up 3 large rooms in the basement of the museum, showing some of the greatest Dutch design in chronological order.

What struck us all straight away was just how contemporary the designs were as far back as the early 1920’s. Many of which could quite easily be seen on It’s Nice That or FormfiftyFive and no one would question the works age.

The second room moved slightly ahead in time, but to be honest you could only tell because of the information cards. This room showed identities and their full brandiung through out, from business cards to envelopes, with touchscreen tables where you were able to read up on each brand.

The final room shows half a dozen pieces of work and explains it all in great detail. The touch screen tables have interviews with each designer, allowing them to fully describe the highs and lows of the design process from the research to the inspiration to the reaction.

One bit of branding that seemed to strike up most discussion was the branding for the Holland Police Force which you can view more of here.

Look out for a few more posts about the other exhibitions.

OUTPOST: COCKATOO ISLAND

AlexC — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 11:09:48 +0000

Yesterday I visited Cockatoo Island. For those of you who don’t know Cockatoo Island was amongst others a prison, a shipyard and a school. It has since shut down its industrial activity and is now a world heritage site. The island is largely complete and in many cases houses the machinery and utilities that were around a hundred years ago. In itself it is fascinating, but for the past month or so a street art exhibition has taken over the island called ‘Outpost’

“Visitors to Cockatoo Island will experience the world’s freshest art movement later this year when leading local and international street artists transform the gritty, industrial spaces into an urban art festival called Outpost Project.”

Anyway long story short it was amazing, I got to see some more conventional graffiti to collage, to stencil work and sculpture. I am not a massive fan of everyday graffiti but for the most the work on show here was amazing. And much like Sculptures by the sea the backdrop helped.

BONDI SEA SCULPTURES

AlexC — Sun, 06 Nov 2011 07:41:57 +0000

Today I visited “Sculpture by the Sea” a series of pieces that line the coast of Sydney from Bondi beach to Bronte. It was my first visit to the beach so the sculptures were surprising. I walked the stretch to Bronte where there were a series of installments on the beach itself. Even without the works it is a beautiful walk especially in the sunshine but they added to it. Some of them are not to my taste but a few I found interesting, especially when put against the picturesque back drop of the sea.

Below are a selection of the sculptures some with the names some without and if you happen to be in Sydney I recommend taking a look.

Bondi Beach

The Yearning by Margerita Sampson

Domestic Bliss by Peter Tilley

The Nail by Juan Pablo Pinto & Clary Akon

Bronte Beach

NOMA BAR DIE CUTTER

Jennie Spiller — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 15:35:17 +0000

Next week, as part of the London Design Festival‘s programme of events, Outline Editions will host an unusual exhibition by illustrator Noma Bar. As well as showcasing a series of exclusive screenprints by the artist, visitors will be able to create their own Noma Bar artwork using a beautifully styled die-cutting machine.

The exhibition, entitled Cut It Out, runs from September 17-30 at Outline Editions gallery space at 94 Berwick Street, London W1F 0QF. Worth a look if your in London!

And for those students out there that don’t know who Noma Bar is, check out some of his beautiful negative space work below.

THE HAND. WRITTEN. LETTER. PROJECT

Billy — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 17:08:02 +0000

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.

2011 LONDON SHOW INVITES

Mark Arrowsmith — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 09:56:31 +0000

After weeks of work, the invites for our London Show are in the post. Here is a quick peak to what you lucky people will be receiving in the post in the next few days, giving you enough time to read up on the team that will be heading down to Engine Group on the 7th of July.

The show will be kicking off at 6pm and complimentary refreshments will obviously be available to all who come.