How Exotic!?!

http://www.redonline.co.uk/beauty/beauty-news/havaianas-bourjois-collaboration

I love Havainas. I love Leopard print. I love Hot Pink!
I'm like a Magpie when it comes to hot pink things and animal print. I know there's something tacky and wrong about them but I'm just inexplicably drawn to anything that comes in that shade or pattern! Obviously embracing my inner pub landlady!!

What if Logos Told the Truth?

http://twistedsifter.com/2012/04/what-if-logos-told-the-truth/

In the interests of 'Project 5' and whilst ratching about ont tinterweb I found this fun 'take' on some iconic logos...

Carlisle Crack - A Translation for our Foreign Friends

http://www.gonmad.co.uk/cumbria/#.UTYSzxRFBMs

As a long time resident of 'The Great Border City' I felt it my duty to share with my university colleagues (who come from places as far and wide as New York, Columbia, South Africa and Cyprus) this fairly comprehensive explanation of Carlisle and Cumbrian 'slang.' Sadly, local dialects and regional vocabs are on the wane, as they are diluted by 'proper pronunciation' and ridiculed for being 'common.' I think the Cumbrian use of language and colloquialisms show, not only our idiosyncrasies, but display a real warmth and humour, and are an important part of our cultural identity and history.

Death of a Shoe - A Shoeulogy

 

 

The Brief: To illustrate the decline of the British shoe industry with the visualisation of an autopsy of a pair of shoes.

I struggled with this concept. The idea of butchering a perfectly good pair of shoes. I have quite an attachment to my shoes. I was never really a 'shoe person.' That changed. I now have a shoe collection to rival Imelda Marcos. And I find it very hard to part with them, even if I know I'll never wear them again. It's like we've been on a journey and they're old friends. 

There's nothing quite like the feeling of a new pair of shoes. The smell. The feel. The gleaming, shiny newness. One of the best sensations in the world is the feel of a brand new, blinding-white, springy pair of Nike Air Max B-Dubs. Aaaargh! Amazing! For those that would never, and will never, wear a pair of Nike Air Max Big Windows, you will never know... But believe me, they feel good. Surpassed only by the feeling of a brand new fleecy pair of Uggs. Foot Sex. No word of a lie. There is a reason why people overlook the less than sexy appearance of Ugg boots, when you have tried on a pair of those babies, you understand.

You can see, I can happily wax lyrical about footwear. You can tell a lot about a person by their shoes. The sexiest man in the world can instantly become unsexy by wearing the wrong shoes. Or a person who may appear, at first, to be unassuming can be elevated to a position of intrigue and interest by their deliberate or intentional nonchalant choice of 'sploitage.' I don't like to think I am a judgmental person, but yes, I will judge you on your footwear. Shallow maybe. But I can't help it. I hold footwear in high esteem. And it doesn't have to be designer footwear. I'm not a snob. Just horses for courses. Not to say that I wouldn't have a pair of Laboutins should the opportunity to own a pair ever present itself!! Shoes are the embodiment of the person and a comment on their personality. They can tell you what a person does, where they go, how fashion conscious they are, how practical, how sensible. how rich, how flamboyant, how stylish.
I know I am lucky to have a pair of shoes, let alone many pairs. In some impoverished countries people strap bits of rubber tyre to their feet to protect against the stony ground. In some countries they don't even have that. 

So, to me, shoes have a personality and are very important. That makes cutting them up quite difficult. I had never even worn the shoes that I was to surgically disect. No-one had. They were an impulse buy from Primark and cost a fiver. They only way I could justify destroying them was by telling myself that I wouldn't have even got a quid for them had I sold them on ebay. But it's kind of sad to me that that pair of shoes will never fulfil their destiny.  

The results of part one and two of the brief [to disect the shoes, photograph them, choose six images and manipulate image adjustments using Photoshop] can be seen in the pictures above.

RIP Purple Leopard Print Pumps...



 

IBM, Watson, Lubalin and Rand!

http://fontsinuse.com/uses/42/ibm-and-watson

Who knew typographic identity could be so interesting! ;)

Wanna be Typemates?

http://www.sledgeweb.com/2011/04/14/typemates-itc-lubalin-graph-helvetica-neue/
My search for information and uses of ITC Lubalin Graph has brought me to sledgeweb.com, very useful, thank you! :)

What Type?

http://junichirokoyama.com/blog/?p=63

The aim: to choose 2 typefaces from a given list of ten and to produce 2 A3 posters, one for each typeface, incorporating a typographic image/illustration made from the typeface itself, (but not a face!) and a full body of text using upper case and lower case letters, numerals and, if you wish, punctuation.
As always, I am finding the hardest part is making a decision and getting started! 'Just choose whichever one jumps out at you' they say. 'Well I like them all!' I cry! Which is weird, 'cause they're just a bunch of letters, they all look the same don't they? Well, no, actually. The more I look at them, the more I see their indivividual personalities and characteristics.

I like slab serif Lubalin graph, but I also like sans serifs Univers and Futura, Mrs Eaves is very nice, and the calligraphic Zapfino lends itself beautifully to a typographic illustration! Oh what to do?
I suppose that narrows it down to five.
This calls for a scientific elimination. What better way to choose a typeface than by how cool the name of the person that designed it is?
Lubalin Graph, designed by Herb Lubalin, Zapfino by Hermann Zapf, Mrs Eaves by the lovely Zuzana Licko, Futura by Paul Renner and Univers, Adrian Frutiger. In my mind that narrows it down to the former three.
Now, of those, which two are in strongest contrast to each other? Well that would have to be Lubalin Graph and Zapfino! Pow! Sorry Mrs Eaves, it's nothing personal, I just don't dig ya that way!