ISSUE #303, APRIL 2020 Computer Arts

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COMPUTER ARTS ISSUE #303 APRIL 2020 UK £6.99 US$16.99

GAME-CHANGING MOMENTS LEADING CREATIVES ON THE KEY EVENTS THAT SHAPED THEM

creative design & illustration

INSTIL MAGIC IN A BRAND Futura gives a coffee shop an enchanting new brand identity

GO GUILL AUMIT From wacky characters to carnival concepts, this artist won’t be pigeonholed

THE CREATIVE POWER OF SLEEP ARTIST INSIGHT Inject your illustrations

HOW TO HARNESS SLUMBER AND OPTIMISE ITS IMPACT ON INSPIRATION

SHOWCASE The very best in

with a sense of emotion and vitality with the use

design and illustration, including Mother

of bold colours

Design’s new branding

WELCOME

Different strokes There’s no editorial theme to this issue, but going through the pages a loose subject presents itself: how different we all are in our approach to projects, clients and careers, even when we’re (pretty much) all united in trying to achieve excellence, success and the respect of our contemporaries. You can see it over on our Discuss article (page 28) where we asked readers, ‘How many ideas should you present to a client?’. The responses were all considered and all varied. One fed back from experience, another aimed to confound the client’s expectations. One approach was strictly templated, while another was fluid, taking the lead from the client. Reading the feature on game-changing moments (page 44) for some of our favourite creatives, it comes up again. It’s a fascinating article where six professionals evaluate their breakthrough moments, and they vary from deciding to be more

BEREN NEALE With over 12 years’ editorial experience in art, design and photography titles, Beren is fascinated by all forms of creativity. If you want to share your passion project or piece of mind, get in touch now. [email protected]

ambitious, to going solo after years of sharing studio leadership. All their definitions of breakthrough differ, as do their idea of success – all of which I find very inspiring. If ever you wanted an antidote to the dulling effect of seeing ‘perfect’ projects on Behance and Instagram then this feature – filled with its honest insight – is it. Elsewhere, we’re opening up entries for this year’s Brand bia Impact Awards – so whether you’re part of a big studio or a oneperson outfit, get ready to enter. Next issue, we’ll share our annual Illustrator Hotlist, and give you the ultimate guide to the creative events of 2020, but for now I hope you’re as inspired with this issue as I am.

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BEHIND THE COVER MARK WYNNE PEEKS BEHIND THE GUIDES… Emily Gosling’s fascinating article on the relationship between sleep and creativity gave us plenty of scope for a very different kind of cover treatment this month. Yet as is so often the way, plenty of false trails were followed before we found an execution that we all liked. In fact, it’s fair to say that the art department found themselves entangled in a nightmare of sub-Jungian psychobabble, ricochetting between REM flow patterns, narcoleptic-inducing ‘sleep’ metaphors and downright baffling tarrot-card symbolism before arriving at the decidedly meditative cover you hold in your hands. The key that turned in the lock? A fond recollection of Studio Mut’s branding for the city of Trieste’s summer festival, covered back in issue 290’s Studio Profile. The radical minimalism of these posters encouraged us to try something more graphic and less literal. After all, sleep and dreams are so incredibly unique to each of us that no single illustration could be expected to elicit the same response from all our readers, so an ambient mood treatment gently arrived… After rejecting a couple of potential illustrations and settling on a more abstract cover, it was the abandonment of a literal black for night (above) in favour of a more evocative palette that radically altered the tone of our cover, inspired in no small part by Studio Mut’s wonderful work for Trieste Estate (right).

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MARK WYNNE Mark has worked in editorial design for over 20 years, launching and redesigning many titles, including the seminal video game magazine Edge. He’s also lectured for The Guardian masterclass series on his award-winning digital design. [email protected]

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ISSUE 303

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showc a se

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The hottest new design, illustration and typography projects recently released

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cultur e Events: OFFF Barcelona 26 Discuss: How many ideas should you present to a client? 28 Creative space: Run For The Hills 30

in- dep th Report: Top creatives recall the game-changing moments that helped shaped their careers 44 In conversation: The multitalented Guillaumit talks music videos, carnivals and more 58 Report: How can you access the creative power of sleep? 64 74 NEXT MONTH’S ISSUE 72

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in the s tudio

Opinion: Siân Cook on how designers must talk to a broader spectrum of audiences 34 Rebrand: Vonage 36

Project: Futura’s identity work for coffee brand Elixir 74 Artist insight: Hazel P Mason on creating impact with colours 80

Radar: Key events 38 Fresh eyes: Fruzsina Fölföldi 40

Studio profile: We meet the founder of Kati Forner Design 86

Must-read: Vaughan Oliver: Archive 42

Project: Agency isobel’s campaign for Healthspan 92 Design crush: Margaret Nolan’s admiration of Fabien Baron 98

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C O M P U T E R

A R T S

A P R I L

2 0 2 0

showcase THE HOTTEST NEW DESIGN, ILLUSTRATION AND MOTION WORK

12 Pendo

15 R a g ge d E d ge

16 C o l l in s

18 Marçal Prats

19 Jonathan Calugi

20 Mother Design

22 Nour Shourbag y & Nada Kassem

23 C a s t Ir o n D e s i g n Branding and packaging for Heights by Ragged Edge, page 15

SEE MORE INSPIRING WORK AT COMPUTERARTS.CREATIVEBLOQ.COM

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SHOWCASE

BRANDING WORK FOR THOMAS HAAS PENDO pendo.ca

“In a time when chocolate has been interpreted in all sorts of unusual ways, our client’s objective was to return to simple and pure ingredients with a focus on the art and craft of chocolate-making,” says Peter Ladd, creative director and co-founder of studio Pendo of its work with the dark chocolate range Thomas Haas Blak. The agency was brought in to design the identity and packaging for the brand, which focuses on using simple ingredients and bold flavours through its “super premium line” of bars, truffles and cakes. “To align the brand with the product vision, the same convictions were applied,” says Peter. The designs use the geometric sans-serif font Euclid by foundry Swiss Typefaces, which is printed in gold foiling on black soft-touch stock for the packaging. “To express a luxury aesthetic, we focused on a restrained colour palette,” says Peter. “A key consideration for the packaging design was for it to billboard on-shelf and create visual impact within a retail setting.” - 13 -

A geometric sans-serif font in gold foil printed on black soft-touch card stock enabled Pendo to convey the “super premium” nature of Thomas Haas dark chocolate range Blak.

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SHOWCASE

The Heights logotype playfully visualises the brand’s invitation to stretch your brain.

BRANDING AND PACKAGING FOR HEIGHTS RAGGED EDGE raggededge.com

Brain health supplement Heights was given a holistic brand identity by Ragged Edge, with designs that aim to be both straight-talking and aspirational. The studio first carried out market analysis, examining the monthly subscription service product’s potential audience, as well as broader cultural trends. The name’s intention is to “invite the audience to go beyond what they thought possible, while the tone of voice aims to challenge the reader to reconsider their preconceptions,” says Ragged Edge co-founder Max Ottignon. Copy uses “playful” headlines and occasional brainteasers to avoid preachiness, while the logotype is designed to expand into a flexible, scalable object to reflect the brain’s adaptability. The visuals take a calm, premium approach that looks to contrast the “high-energy, quick fixes” approach of competitor brands. The blue and green colour palette hints at healthcare ranges, alongside photographic imagery by Kuba Wieczorek. This “combines a refined, high-end aesthetic with compositions that play on the idea of taking your brain to new heights,” says Max.

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SHOWCASE

BRANDING WORK FOR SELF, MADE COLLINS wearecollins.com

US agency Collins created the campaign for San Francisco’s Exploratorium museum’s exhibition Self, Made. The show explored the idea of identity and Collins, which has worked in an ongoing capacity with the Exploratorium, created a campaign inspired by “the complex confluence of unseen forces [such as experiences, emotions, environments, DNA, teachers, music] that combine to create the self,” says the agency. It developed a collaged series of portraits: “A visual metaphor for the idea that identity is never fixed, but an ever-changing mash-up of overlapping influences, constantly in flux,” says the agency. Various persona images were created by combining portraiture with elements from different cultures, the natural world and more abstract elements. “We wanted to tackle this complicated subject in a way that was representational without being stereotypical; universal without being cliché,” says Collins. The work was used across a three-month outdoor and online campaign, as well as on museum wayfinding, merchandising, giveaways and posters. - 16 -

Collins took a collage approach in its branding work for Self, Made, an exhibition on the ever-changing identity of the human condition.

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SHOWCASE

Dot magazine’s celebration of the Bauhaus centenary featured a bespoke font created by graphic designer Marçal Prats.

TYPOGRAPHY FOR DOT MAGAZINE MARÇAL PRATS behance.net/gallery/88158537/Dot-Magazine

Marçal Prats created bespoke minimalist font DD Dot for art magazine Dot, inspired by Bauhaus designer Herbert Bayer’s 1925 Universal Type proposals. The issue celebrated the 2019 Bauhaus centenary, and Marçal was brought in by London studio Double Decker to create the design and layout. “Like an actor playing his favourite character, I decided to put myself in the shoes of Herbert Bayer,” says Marçal. Herbert’s work initially informed the issue logo, and from the letters d and t Marçal developed the entire DD Dot character set, including light, bold and black variants. His self-imposed rules were to use only straight lines, perfect circle sections and constant thicknesses to create “the minimum expression that a typeface can be.” Marçal used Adobe extension Fontself Maker “for its simplicity and immediacy,’’ adding that just as brands use a bespoke font as part of a distinct communication tool, ‘’the identity of Dot magazine lives in its DD Dot font.”

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ILLUSTRATION FOR WE RISE, LA JONATHAN CALUGI happyloverstown.eu

Italian illustrator Jonathan Calugi has created a poster for a LA-based mental health project We Rise. Jonathan was commissioned by project director Yosi Sergant, and was briefed to create an image that represented how the idea of community can help people’s personalities shine through and create solid connections with one another, while also underscoring the overarching themes of mental health awareness. “The problem with reflecting this type of problem is that it doesn’t have a face,” says Jonathan. “Anyone could lose themselves inside their head.” As such, his image takes the form of a full profile of a person’s head, but made up of a number of different figures carefully balanced to create a whole. “The people inside this head are a sort of community – an equilibrium of energy, soul and love – that could help us look at the world in a different way,” says Jonathan, who adds that the use of various shapes and colours aim to provide a sense of energy “to put some colour back into your life.” - 19 -

Tapping into Bodily’s mission statement to educate people about women’s bodies, Mother Design used a variety of shapes and colours to help develop the brand.

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SHOWCASE

BRANDING WORK FOR BODILY MOTHER DESIGN motherdesign.com

Agency Mother Design was tasked with creating the branding for direct-to-consumer educational resource and product platform Bodily. The company that aims to reshape approaches to women’s health, bodies and the physical changes they experience initially focused on birth and pregnancy recovery and later, the ability to take on other transitional moments in a woman’s body. The name was chosen to be confident, proud and “unapologetic”, while the logotype is inspired by the curves of women’s bodies using letters that aim to convey warmth and trust through variations in thicknesses. The visual language mostly eschews photography for graphics using rich colours and a shape system built around a custom grid. “Like real life, our shapes are sometimes round and sometimes rough around the edges,” says Mother. “The shapes also help to communicate medically complex topics in a digestible way, as well as forming the basis of a modular packaging system.” - 21 -

GUIDE-BOOK DESIGN FOR HIJAB NOUR SHOURBAGY & NADA KASSEM instagram.com/nourswork

Cairo-based Nour Shourbagy and Nada Kassem created a mini-guidebook for local Hijabi shopping area Ain Shams, aimed at making hijab shopping more accessible to visiting women. The idea is that the booklet aids those who are both familiar and unfamiliar with the area, and is inspired by the street art style of Cairo. “The randomness of the layout, illustration and collage style is in a way reflecting [local area] Ain Sham’s visual language; what you actually get to see in Cairo’s streets,” says Nour. The booklet is divided into three sections. The first uses two maps: one that assists users in bus transportation, parking or finding a toktok; the other which guides them from the El Arab bus stop to the main shopping area. The second section details the stories in the area (covering price, product, fitting room conditions, payments accepted, opening hours and so on); while the third and final section showcases illustrations offering tips on scarves (Hijab) materials, styles and outfits. - 22 -

GRAPHIC DESIGN/BOOK DESIGN FOR THE AVETT BROTHERS CAST IRON DESIGN castirondesign.com

Duality was the theme of Cast Iron Design’s work on The Avett Brothers’ latest album, one example being the album’s two-colour exterior and colourful fold-out interior.

Cast Iron Design worked with folk/rock act The Avett Brothers on their new album Closer Than Together – with just a two-day deadline for the first round of designs. Inspired by cover artwork by the band’s Scott Avett, the design embodies the idea of “duality,” says studio principal Jonny Black, through “the division of light and dark backgrounds, the juxtaposition of serif and sans serif typefaces” and contrasting a black and off-white exterior with a colourful interior. The sleeve’s collage images use photos by band photographer Crackerfarm and were inspired by artists such as Hannah Höch and John Baldessari. The sustainability-focused production saw the LP jacket use 100 per cent recycled fibre card, a six-panel, tri-fold jacket design with a custom die-cut, three spot colours and two different coloured records. The studio later designed artwork for the single Bang Bang, referencing lyrics about on-screen violence by drawing from vintage film posters. - 23 -

C O M P U T E R

A R T S

A P R I L

2 0 2 0

culture OUR SELECTION OF NEWS, VIEWS & EVENTS

26 events

28 discuss

30 creative space

34 opinion

36 rebrand

38 radar

40 fresh eyes

42 m u s t- r e a d

Image: Fruzsina Fölföldi, page 40

SEE MORE INSPIRING WORK AT COMPUTERARTS.CREATIVEBLOQ.COM

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CULTURE

events OFFF BARCELONA’S ENDURING APPEAL LIES IN ITS NETWORKING OPPORTUNITIES AS MUCH AS ITS WORLD-CLASS SPEAKERS

ometimes attending a design conference can feel a bit like your average day at college: you turn up for the day, listen to some lectures and then go home. OFFF Barcelona, though, prides itself on being a little different. “Ever since it was founded back in 2000 by Hector Ayuso, OFFF has always had a special vibe, because it’s not your typical conference,” explains Nathalie Koutia, OFFF Festival’s communications director. “Not only do you get to watch your idols in front of you speaking about their work, but you’re also able to hang out with them. OFFF has never had a VIP area, or even a backstage; the attendee is as important as the speaker. You get to learn so much, and return home feeling energised. And this humble atmosphere has been there since the start.” It’s this opportunity to mingle and converse with fellow creatives – both on stage and in the audience – that drives attendance from across the world, year on year. “OFFF has been the meeting point for all creatives from all around the world for the past 20 years,” says Nathalie. “Attendees, former speakers and newcomers plan their trips in advance to make sure they attend OFFF every single year because it provides such an important networking opportunity.” And it’s not all small talk, either. “Some huge collaborations have happened thanks to people meeting at OFFF,” Nathalie points out. “Attendees have met for the first time and ended up creating main titles for a Marvel movie; teamed up to create a very famous studio; brought new brands together; changed each other’s lives…” And the organisers actively push for this kind of meaningful networking, reveals Nathalie. “We always encourage our attendees to talk to each other, meet, get to know the person next to you,” she says. “It’s been truly overwhelming to hear so many big speakers telling us that OFFF has changed their life,

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KEY INFO • Founded: 2000 • Date: 23-25 April • Location: Museu Del Disseny de Barcelona • Confirmed speakers: Joshua Davies, Vallée Duhamel, State, Omelet, Calvin Sprague, Beeple, Gavin Strange, James White aka Signalnoise. offf.barcelona

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and that if they hadn’t met this certain person here, they wouldn’t be where they are right now.” All the more reason to head to the Catalonian capital this spring, and find out what all the fuss is about for yourself. But if you’re unable to attend the conference, then be aware there’s more to OFFF than just one festival. “We’re blooming and we have so many projects to reveal,” enthuses Nathalie. “Our new postgraduate program is around the corner under our new educational system OFFF Academy in collaboration with Acid House, a new project by the almighty Folch studio. We’ll also be going for the second round of the OFFF Mentorship powered by Adobe, an opportunity for all youngsters to learn with professional mentors.” On top of all this, the coming year will see OFFF on Tour events at cities across the globe, from Tel Aviv to Vienna. Keep an eye on the website for further announcements.

OFFF offers you a chance to hang out with your creative idols, says the festival’s communications director Nathalie Koutia.

EVENTS

TOP TALKS Five things that you’ll learn at OFFF Barcelona 2020 HOW TO CONQUER YOUR FEARS Do you secretly wish that you could leave your job and strike out on your own? Calvin Sprague, an American graphic designer and illustrator living in The Netherlands, who’s known for his colourful, retro and playful styles, wants to help you make that leap. In his talk, Do What Terrifies You, he’ll inspire you to conquer your fears and go freelance. HOW TO BE A ‘GENERAL SPECIALIST’ Based in California, Charles Bergquist works in a variety of visual media, ranging from directing and shooting vivid music video and commercial campaigns, to working on award-winning documentaries. In his talk, he’ll showcase his path to being a ‘general specialist’ and explain how documentary filmmaking crosses into print design, as well as commercial film-making work spaces.

PHOTO © TIM NAVIS

HOW TO DESIGN YOUR OWN CAREER Minneapolis designer Meg Lewis wants to make the world a happier place. And in her fun and unconventional talk, she’ll discuss the benefits of treating your career like a design project; leveraging your differences to position yourself as a unique individual. She’ll explain how you can capitalise on what makes you unique, to grow your business, create a fulfilling life and make more money.

“It’s been truly overwhelming to hear so many big speakers telling us that OFFF has changed their life”

HOW TO COLLABORATE WITH OTHERS Musketon is a visual artist based in Belgium who, two years ago, met and befriended three other artists. He quickly noticed that if you surround yourself with people who share the same goal, mindset and character, you evolve into a better artist and can take on bigger projects. In his talk Teamwork For Dummies, he tells their story.

Visual artist Muskerton will speak about working with other artists at the event.

HOW TO TELL STORIES WITH MOTION Nando Costa, a Brazilian designer who’s based in Seattle, has spent 20 years working with motion graphics, and the past six as a design leader at Microsoft. In his talk he’ll share how motion graphics has become a pivotal tool for shaping perspective internally and telling powerful stories externally.

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CULTURE

discuss HOW MANY IDEAS SHOULD YOU PRESENT TO A CLIENT?

Stephan Hammes Creative director and designer

Amy Kilner Creative lead, Hotshot Agency

Lee Davies Creative director, Peter & Paul

stephanhammes.com

hotshot.agency

peterandpaul.co.uk

“‘Three ideas’ is what I used to do in agencyland with eager account people, to show that the client was getting their money’s worth. Annoyingly, clients often thought they could mix-and-match, so I’ve changed my approach as an independent. The body of my presentations still has three parts, but they’re differently structured: only one concept in response to the brief, but two ideas for the execution – a clear recommendation and a strong alternative. One should be able to agree on the solution first and give the client then a binary choice of the implementation. If you can’t agree on the concept you either misunderstood the brief or the client didn’t mean what they briefed. So you don’t need to discuss the execution. I find it helpful to separate substance and style. To test if I have a robust concept I’ll ask myself if I could get it across over the phone. Ideally, the realisation of it is then a logical step, but sometimes this can be matters of taste, which are hard to discuss.”

“When I receive a brief, I always offer at least three ideas to clients – each with different approaches so that all angles are covered. The first will hit the brief as closely as possible, which is what the client would want and expect to see. With the second option I like to add a sprinkle of my own design style and offer my opinion on how I think it could work a little better; either to stand out against competitors or just evolve into more than just the initial design. This could be something as simple as translating a concept through animation if the main outcome is static, for example. The final option (and usually the most fun to work on) is what I call the wild card. This is something that’s different to the client’s expectations, but still has the potential to reach the project objective. As creative professionals, thinking the opposite of what’s expected is sometimes the risk we need to take, and this is what makes the industry we’re in so exciting.”

“Our studio works primarily in the creation of brand identities, but we’ve learned that no two briefs are the same, so the answer to this question is dependent upon the size of the job. Sometimes clients come to us with a clear idea of what they’re offering. Our job is to create a visual identity. There’s more than one way to skin a cat, so providing the team have had some strong ideas, we may put forward two or three of those. (It’s important to say that we only do this if there are good ideas to present. We don’t do the safe/weird/favourite option thing.) Other times our briefs are far more open. Occasionally, clients come to us with a broad business idea and our job is to do deeper strategy work to define who they are and who they’re talking to, for example. We’re creating a brand and as such, we present some thinking before we get into design. Therefore, doing design options seems irrelevant. We present one option – the one that best delivers on the strategy.”

CYNTHIA WILLIAMS One. And then if the client has other ideas, maybe you can run the back-up designs if any. Or keep them on file for future jobs, or your portfolio if it’s folio-ready. - 28 -

STEVE THOMPSON Swans come in ones and twos, vultures come in packs of six-plus. Nuff said.

@SHREXIS Three options. One to be refused, second to impress and the third to be approved.

@ABELL_DESIGN Why spread your effort over three designs when you can channel it all into one showstopper? Also prevents the disaster of the client selecting the wrong design.

@LEIGHWOOSEY Four: safe option; risky option; somewhere between risky and safe option; and a curveball.

CULTURE

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creative space STUDIO FOUNDER CHRIS TROTMAN REVEALS WHY RUN FOR THE HILLS IS FULL OF CURIOS… Run For The Hills is an award-winning creative design house that specialises in branding, interiors and original art. Its assignments range in scale – everything from boutique cinemas to restaurants, bars, cafés, pop-ups and multi-use spaces. runforthehills.com

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“Over the years we’ve built up a studio-curated collection of original art and vintage finds”

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un For The Hills can be found in Notting Hill’s Great Western Studios. This is an industrial-chic space in west London designed specifically for the creative industries; we’re one of over 100 studios that are based in the building. We’ve been here for about five years. When we outgrew our initial studio space we knocked through the wall and took over the space next door. We have a light-filled, glass-roof atrium that’s perfect for client meetings, or for just breaking out of the studio and working on laptops. The building has a café and, crucially, a reception that can take delivery of the numerous parcels of art tubes and antiques that arrive for us. Over the years we’ve built up a studio-curated collection of original art and vintage finds.

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1 OUR LIBRARY This is full of graphic novels, typographic and logo compendiums, cartography books,

and interiors, fashion and film guides. It’s a great reference source for design inspiration when starting a new project. 2 A GIANT POLYSTYRENE HEAD This looks like the Statue of Liberty’s head or a TV prop from a series on ancient Greece. Everyone thinks it’s made of concrete, so it’s fun to pretend to get squashed by it! Our studio is filled with stuff we’ve picked up from antique shops on Golborne Road or Kempton Market. Some things are waiting to find a home in one of our projects, others go into our online shop (artefacteria.com). We can get attached to certain items and there’s a sense of sadness when one leaves us for a new home. 3 LITERARY LONDON MAP Our studio walls are covered with art prints that we’ve created for projects. The largest of all is a giant print of our Literary London Map. This was from an exhibition that

launched our first Limited Edition Print Collection back in 2012. It was our first bestseller, and the first of many typographic maps that Run For The Hills has designed. It’s a map of the capital featuring characters from the pages of novels based in London. The artwork was a labour of love that was six months in the making. 4 ANIMAL SKULL This antelope skull – possibly an impala – wearing an eye-patch was the inspiration for our logo. We have lots of customised taxidermy (all humanely sourced), including a swan called Graham, Colin the badger and a family of deer heads. 5 CHINA BATMAN Our Caped Crusader presides over staff tea breaks. We use him as a prop: he’s sneaked himself into most Run For The Hills photoshoots. As an added bonus, his head comes off and he’s always full of biscuits.

WANT TO HAVE YOUR WORK SPACE FEATURED HERE? EMAIL [email protected]

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CULTURE

opinion SIÂN COOK ARGUES THAT THE DESIGN INDUSTRY MUST BETTER UNDERSTAND A BROADER SPECTRUM OF AUDIENCES

barriers for disabled people reduces the potential audience size and impact we can make through design. Companies are beginning to understand that making it harder for disabled people to buy products or use websites has a negative impact on engagement, sales and potentially reputation. And we all believe that ensuring disabled people can access our designs is simply the right thing to do for a more fair and equal society. It’s true that some designers have a tendency to focus on aesthetic value and the impact that their work will have within the design industry before considering factors like legibility or usability – particularly for disabled users. However, the issue ultimately lies with a lack of understanding, a lack of training, and a lack of diverse perspectives in our industry.

Siân Cook is a senior lecturer in graphic and media design at London College of Communication arts.ac.uk/lcc

wenty-one per cent of the UK population reported a disability in 2017/18. That’s more than 13 million people. To cater for disabled people, shops on the high-street provide entrances with level access to ensure wheelchair users can enter their buildings. Train stations give announcements both through visual and audio updates on screens and through tannoy systems. Television programmes are broadcast with the option of subtitles and audio descriptions. And yet, whether consciously or not, many websites, print publications, illustrations, blog posts, posters, email campaigns, adverts – even entire typefaces – have been designed in a way that makes them inaccessible to potentially millions of disabled users. I don’t believe that those of us who work in the design industry simply don’t care about disabled people. We all know that placing

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WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP? It’s important to understand that, as the social model of disability states, disability is caused by the way society is constructed, rather than by a person’s ‘impairment’ or ‘difference’. Therefore, it’s not just that inaccessible design doesn’t cater well to disabled people, but that people are actively disabled by inaccessible design. It’s not a person with a visual impairment’s fault that they’re unable to read very small text, it’s the fault of the designer for making the text too small. The question designers should ask themselves is: how can I create work that’s not disabling for others? Usefully, there are plenty of quick wins: When using coloured text or layering text on a coloured background, designers should be aware of the need for sufficient contrast between the colours used. Certain serif fonts, or italicising or underlining text, can be difficult for some people to read, as can using all upper-case text for body copy, or long paragraphs of text with few line-breaks. Text that’s justified, rather than aligned left, can cause certain dyslexic users to be drawn to the ‘river effect’ caused by the inconsistent spacing between words.

NEWS, VIEWS & EVENTS

“Disability is caused by the way society is constructed, rather than by a person’s ‘impairment’ or ‘difference’”

Bolo won a D&AD White Pencil in 2018 for its app that helped illiterate adults in India use their voice to manage internet banking on their smartphones.

In digital and content design, it’s important for those designing email campaigns or web pages to know that bright flashing Gifs can cause serious problems for people with certain types of epilepsy, or that videos auto-playing on web pages can cause confusion and difficulty for people to access content. Photographs on websites should contain accompanying alt text to describe an image to a user with a visual impairment. Web pages should contain heading tags, and hyperlinks should avoid generic phrases like ‘Click here’, so that those navigating with screen readers can effectively the site. There are lots of resources where designers can improve their knowledge. The government website gov.uk has a basic ‘Dos and don’ts on designing for accessibility’ page, giving tips on creating for a broad spectrum of audiences. Products like Stark provide tools to ensure accessible is integrated, such as colour contrast tools. Campaigns such as Help Me Spend My Money, which highlights that UK businesses could be missing out on as much as £420 million a week in lost sales, call for more retail and hospitality businesses to become disability confident so they can offer the same level of service to all customers. And training providers such as the Digital Accessibility Centre offer training sessions as well as useful resources and insightful demonstrations of its disabled staff using assistive technology and talking about their experiences. HOW TO REFORM THE DESIGN INDUSTRY It’s down to more than just individuals improving their knowledge, skills and perspectives. There are fundamental changes our industry needs to make, to better provide for disabled users – and the first is our workforce. It’s well reported that design isn’t

the most diverse industry in terms of gender and ethnicity, but we also need to do far better in terms of representation of disabled people. It’s an obvious but key point that an agency which employs disabled designers is going to have a better understanding of the nuances of accessible design than an agency made up of only non-disabled people. Ensuring recruitment practices are inclusive and ensuring staff have access to the relevant training is essential. For a diverse and more knowledgeable workforce, we also need a diverse and more knowledgeable pipeline of talent. Design courses, such as those within universities, need to ensure that they’re recruiting disabled students, that they’re catering to their needs when they arrive, and that they’re broadening the perspectives of their non-disabled students to the needs of diverse audiences. And design needs to better recognise and reward designers, agencies and campaigns for their work in accessibility and inclusivity. We’ve seen inspiring improvements in rewarding efforts in sustainability and environmental impact. For example, D&AD introduced its White Pencil in 2013 to acknowledge creative work that makes a difference in these areas. So let’s also reward a less-understood, undercelebrated but socially and morally vital element of excellent design: accessibility. None of us mean to discriminate against disabled people with our designs. We work in a pressured and creative environment with demanding briefs and tight deadlines. But we must face the reality that sometimes we could be better. Designers, and the design industry, must ensure we learn from our mistakes, listen to feedback and broaden our perspectives. And it’s also worth remembering that accessible design is better for everyone.

WANT TO SHARE YOUR PASSIONATE OPINION? EMAIL [email protected]

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CULTURE

rebrand VONAGE HAS A NEW LOGO AND IDENTITY COURTESY OF WOLFF OLINS. THREE CREATIVES HAVE THEIR SAY…

Jan Eumann Creative director, Wolff Olins

Paul Levy Designer, Grady Britton

Scott Jones Managing director, Illustrate Digital

wolffolins.com

gradybritton.com

illustrate.digital

“Years ago, Vonage disrupted the telco industry with its cost-effective and highquality voice-over-IP solutions. Recently, it’s created a unified business communications and API offer that goes beyond residential consumers. The new brand had to reclaim Vonage’s disruptive reputation in the B2B sector, unify all of its acquired businesses, and speak to business customers as well as the developers creating and using their APIs. We worked closely with a crossdisciplinary team to propel the organisation into this next chapter, elevating the design to feel bold and sophisticated while retaining some of its quirks in illustration and tone of voice. In an industry that overwhelms users with features and functions, we created a brand around Vonage’s secret superpower: there when you need it, and hidden when you don’t. Colourful extrusions suggest that the brand is literally surfacing information to the user, starting with the logo itself. By collaborating with the product design team we were able to design a system that’s not just impactful in marketing applications, but also informs the look and feel of applications on a product level.”

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“I’m not opposed to clarity and efficiency in design. I wonder, though, about the overall cost to the discipline when so many brands are electing to use (at least by appearance) offthe-shelf fonts to represent their brands. It’s a legacy that will almost certainly not age well, especially when compared to the iconic brand marks of the last century or so. Vonage has elected to go down the neogrotesque route, with a few bespoke details, specifically the rounded V and A. Vonage isn’t a brand with a deep heritage, but it does have some brand equity worth leveraging. The monogram itself is a simple extrusion of the V, though that wasn’t obvious until I saw the mark animated. Deleting the circle that’s inside the V in the original logo removes any reference to humanity in the new mark. Where I think the brand is more effective is in the integrated campaign; the illustrative elements and palette are more effective. The icons and illustration are distinctive and fun, although how long a shelf life they have is debatable.”

“The new branding looks clean and sleek and is a great move for Vonage, as its old branding was certainly outdated. Instagram made multicolour gradients cool in 2016 but I’m not sure that, three years on, it’s much of a future move from Wolff Olins as this may look dated in just a couple of years’ time. A bigger risk might have paid off more, but from a digital perspective it can be applied well across different applications, both physically and digitally. I’m also unsure about the illustrated characters. They look a bit too chunky and although it’s obvious that they’re trying to match the arms and legs to the size of the lines in the brand mark, they just look oddly disproportionate. Another thing I’ve noticed is language. This is an area in which Vonage currently assumes people know who it is, rather than communicating its unique proposition and purpose clearly. Ultimately though, for me, it’s a shame to see this new brand launched on its .com site with slow performance and with the .co.uk site still awaiting a refresh.”

Vonage’s updated branding has been designed to appear in a range of digital and physical environments.

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radar WHAT WE’VE ENJOYED THIS MONTH, AND WHAT TO WATCH OUT FOR IN THE COMING WEEKS

BUSHFIRE BRANDALISM CAMPAIGN In February, 41 artists joined forces to create Australia’s largest-ever unsanctioned art campaign. #BushfireBrandalism is an outdoor exhibition spurred on by the climate change crisis – and specifically the bushfires that have been devastating the country. The streets of Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane formed a giant exhibition space for the protesters, with 78 advertising posters being replaced by Bushfire Brandalism’s own designs (left, Georgia Hill).   “As a collective group of Australian artists, we have been driven to reclaim public advertising space with posters speaking to the Australian government’s inaction on climate change and the devastating bushfires,” says the group. “We do not accept that this situation is ‘ business as usual’. We are making these issues visible in our public spaces and in our media.” brandalism.ch

CHAPEL OF LOVE AT FORTNUM & MASON Throughout February, upmarket London department store Fortnum & Mason featured the city’s first-ever immersive, in-store wedding installation. The 14-metre tall Chapel of Love offered the ideal backdrop for shoppers to get married, engaged, celebrate an anniversary or renew their vows. The three-storey installation included a neon sign stained-glass windows and even a working bell – all with a design twist. “We really wanted the design to be striking yet playful, a special moment to both capture people’s imaginations as well as exciting our customers as they journey throughout the store,” says customer experience manager Zia Zareem-Slade. fortnumandmason.com

WORKING NOT WORKING Every year for the past six years, Working Not Working asks the creative community: What are your dream companies to work for or collaborate with? This year’s results are in, with Google headlining a list of over 4,000 businesses. Not only did the search giant garner the highest number of votes overall, two offshoot companies also made their way into the top 50 (Google Creative Lab at #8, Google Brand Studio at #29). Nike, Apple, W+K and Netflix made up the rest of the top five. Among this year’s new entries were Condé Nast and Vogue – proof, perhaps, that print is on the up when it comes to creative opportunities. http://bit.ly/ca-wnw

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NEWS, VIEWS & EVENTS

MONOTYPE ACQUIRES FONTSMITH Previously independent, boutique type foundry Fontsmith has been bought by type giant Monotype. “Fontsmith and Monotype joining forces means that we’ll be bringing together some of the world’s most respected minds in type design,” comments Monotype’s Brett Zucker. “Our collective of customers will now have access to an even deeper bench of the world’s most accomplished experts in type design and direction, font production, font engineering, scripts and quality assurance.” monotype.com

BRAND IMPACT AWARDS 2020 OPEN FOR ENTRIES Brought to you by Computer Arts, the Brand Impact Awards is the only awards scheme focused specifically on branding. Now in its seventh year, the BIAs celebrate the most creative and consistent work from all over the globe. Entries for the 2020 show are now open, and there are three new categories to explore, dedicated to typography, illustration and copywriting within branding. If you think your project deserves a place in the Brand Impact Awards hall of fame, make sure you submit your work before Friday 29 May.  brandimpactawards.com

bia

brand impact awards 2020

LOGOARCHIVE EXTRAISSUE: PAST & PRESENT LogoArchive is a zine dedicated to mid-century logo design, and the brain-child of Richard Baird at BP&O. For the third special ExtraIssue, the design reins have been handed over to Swedish studio BankerWessel. It explores the relationship between the logos of the past and the branding scene of the present – represented by BankerWessel’s design work, featured in two booklet inserts. “By punctuating the archival section with the work of the present, it served as a good reminder of how designers still build on the work of the past, even when branding has become multi-sensory,” explains Richard. “It’s a reminder that there’s still a power and appeal inherent to a strong symbol.” counter-print.co.uk

WANT TO SHARE YOUR EVENT WITH FELLOW CREATIVES? EMAIL [email protected]

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fresh eyes FRUZSINA FÖLFÖLDI ON BUILDING A WHOLE UNIVERSE… riginally from Budapest and now based in Glasgow, freelance illustrator and graphic designer Fruzsina Fölföldi reveals why she studied design. “I always found it fascinating to be able to build a whole universe. I believe graphic design and illustration are two fields of art where this is possible.” Alongside her commercial work, Fruzsina spends time on personal projects, which give her “the freedom to experiment as much as I want. Tale Trail was one of these personal projects. It was especially important to me because it was the starting point of my narrative illustrator and writer career.”

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Indeed, Tale Trail – a multi-element package intended to help tourists explore the historic Hungarian city of Esztergom – won Fruzsina an AOI World Illustration Award in the New Talent category last year. But the artist isn’t content to coast on her success. “I’m working on chocolate package designs and on a cookery magazine as a graphic designer, and on some whisky label illustrations with Thirst Craft as an illustrator. We also have exciting commissions with our Classmate Studio,” she says. “And my next task will be to finish my picture book, so everyone can read the story of the Whatwhatwhat creature!”

Glasgow-based Fruzsina has worked on branding, package and editorial design, and illustration projects. instagram.com/ folfoldi.with.dots

GOT A FRESH PERSPECTIVE IN ILLUSTRATION OR DESIGN? GET IN TOUCH: [email protected]

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FRESH EYES

Clockwise from far left: branding and package design with Classmate Studio for Adamo Hammock; Tale Trail, an illustrated kit for tourists; book design with Classmate Studio for the candidate city Debrecen 2023 European Capital of Culture; and artwork for an ABC booklet for children.

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CULTURE

must-read PHOTOGRAPH © LUCA GIORIETTO

VAUGHAN OLIVER: ARCHIVE RETRACES THE CREATIVE STEPS OF ONE OF ALBUM DESIGN’S TRUE LEGENDS

or those born near or after the millennium, it might be hard to imagine, but in the 1980s and 1990s the excitement of buying music was often as much about the artwork as the songs themselves. And album covers of the era still evoke a strong emotional response in many older fans. Some of the most beloved record art of that time was produced by British designer Vaughan Oliver, who worked for the cult label 4AD across two decades, crafting a distinctive visual aesthetic for bands like The Pixies, Cocteau Twins, The Breeders and This Mortal Coil. His work was inspired, among other things, by the surrealism of Salvador Dali, punk’s cut-and-paste approach, and religious and sexual iconography. Deliberately chaotic and confusing, these collage-based creations summoned an air of mystique that added to the audience’s experience. Beautifully designed by SPIN and expertly written by Adrian Shaughnessy, this collection of Vaughan’s work contains not just finished pieces – which alone makes it a must-buy – but a treasure trove of work-in-progress material, too. Here was a designer who simply never threw anything away, and the inclusion of proofs, running sheets, unpublished artwork and weird ephemera that inspired him offers a fascinating glimpse into his process. First published in 2018 as the first of two volumes, this 434-page archive has now been reissued as a limited edition following Vaughan’s death in December. A percentage of the sales will go to St George’s Hospital’s Neuro Intensive Care Unit in London.

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Vaughan Oliver: Archive celebrates the work of the iconic British graphic designer who sadly passed away in December. He’s best known for his work with record label 4AD,

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Vaughan Oliver: Archive, written by Adrian Shaughnessy, design by SPIN, £59, published by Unit Editions. uniteditions.com

C O M P U T E R

A R T S

A P R I L

2 0 2 0

in-depth THE BIGGER PICTURE ON INDUSTRY ISSUES

44 r e p o r t: g a m e changing moments L e a r n h o w ke y e v e n t s s h ap e d t h e c ar e e r s o f to p c r e at i v e s

58 in conversation with Guillaumit Meet the ar tist w h o s t r a d d le s a range of design dis c ip lin e s

64 r e p o r t: the creative power of sleep How to h ar n e s s s lumb e r t o b o o s t y o ur c r e at i v i t y

SEE MORE INSPIRING WORK AT COMPUTERARTS.CREATIVEBLOQ.COM

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WRIT TEN BY LISA HASSELL

CHANGING

MOME

LEADING CREATIVES SHARE THEIR CAREER STORIES AND THE KEY MOMENTS THAT SHAPED THEM

GAME

NTS Success means different things to different people. Doing work that we love. Making a difference. Financial security. Balancing a career with family. Fame and fortune. All of the above. For many of us, it’s about what career success can bring into our lives that becomes the driving force. Freedom to choose how to live and work, and finding career fulfilment, are arguably key goals for today’s creatives. Yet navigating the path to success isn’t easy. We often don’t appreciate how far we’ve come, let alone understand how we got there. Rising to the challenge of a tricky client brief, pushing your creativity to new heights, taking the freelance leap, starting a business… these are the moments in our career that can make or break us. Throughout life we may also experience serendipitous encounters that lead us down a different path: a chance conversation that results in a new job, or an opportunity to test our skills in ways we didn’t think possible. We may not grasp the significance of these moments until much later, when we have that elusive ‘ah-ha!’ moment and we realise that everything has finally fallen into place. Of course, for many of us that moment has yet to materialise. Take comfort that the struggle is part of the journey. Success doesn’t happen without it. Over the following pages, a selection of leading creatives share the pivotal moments in their careers, and how these standout experiences have shaped their own definition of career success – and hopefully will fuel the inspiration of all readers wanting to make the most of a career in the creative industries.

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REPORT

SYNDROME

I DEFEATED

IMPOSTER

CRAIG BLACK INDEPENDENT DESIGNER, LETTERING ARTIST AND TYPOGRAPHER - 46 -

GAME-CHANGING MOMENTS

“It made me realise the importance of bringing people together and the impact that can have” ast April I had the opportunity to speak on stage at OFFF Festival in Barcelona, which was a bit of a career dream for me. I remember being on the flight out to Barcelona when imposter syndrome kicked in big time. I was looking at the final line-up of speakers and realised that all these people are headliners in the creative industry. They all had bags of experience, had worked on big and incredible projects and I’m nowhere near that level… who the hell is going to come and listen to me! Fortunately, I managed to fight the imposter syndrome quite quickly and just thought, “Fuck it, just be yourself and enjoy every moment of it.” I was speaking on the first day at the event and shortly before I was due to go on stage, one of the OFFF volunteers came and got me and took me to behind the stage to get mic’d up and ready to go. At this moment, I hadn’t seen any of the crowd and the stage organiser turned round to me and said, “You must be good at what you do, have you seen the crowd?” To my bemusement, she let me peek through the curtain to see a full house and opened a back door to show a queue of people waiting to get in the venue. Within seconds, panic set in automatically and

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I started to question myself. Before you know it, I’m on stage at OFFF speaking to over 1,500 people. All I remember from that talk was the warm welcome from the audience, moments of joy on people’s face and connecting with them on an emotional level. I felt that my talk resonated with a lot of people and this enabled me to connect with them on a whole new level. As part of being a speaker at OFFF, I collaborated with OFFF and Moritz (the Barcelona-based beer brand) with a brand-activation project by creating a live lettering installation, customising the iconic SEAT 600 car model showcasing

Moritz’s values and modern senses mixed with OFFF’s endless creative vibes. This was an incredible project to work on. It opened up more dialogue and engagement with the audience while they came to see me bring this lettering installation on the car to life. It received such wide engagement across social media that the car became a landmark for tourists in Barcelona to get pictures and selfies next to it, which was just amazing to be a part of. My experience at OFFF Festival made me realise that my story can help inspire others on their own journey. From that talk, I spent the latter half of 2019 travelling across the globe from New York to Sydney, sharing my story with new audiences. The most special thing that came from the festival was that it made me realise the importance of bringing people together and the impact that can have.

Left: Lettering installation in progress at OFFF Barcelona festival. Above: Customised SEAT 600 car on public display in central Barcelona.

CraigBlackisanindependentdesigner﹐letteringartistandtypographerbasedinGourock﹐Scotland﹒Knownforhis bespokeandinnovativelettering﹐visualidentities﹐packaging﹐murals﹐installationsandeverythinginbetween﹐hismain strengthliesinhisabilitytocrossdisciplineswithouttherestrictionofafixedpersonalstyle﹒ craigblackdesign﹒com

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REPORT

A CREATIVE

I MADE 20

YEARS AS

SERGIO DEL PUERTO FOUNDER AND CREATIVE DIRECTOR, SERIAL CUT™ - 48 -

GAME-CHANGING MOMENTS

“I can’t deny my excitement, the feeling of creating something so significant to celebrate 20 years” here’s no more pivotal moment in my career than reaching a 20-year milestone in this industry. It all happened so fast. Seriously. Twenty years isn’t that long, considering that you’ve been doing, in some capacity, the same thing your entire life. How everything fell into place over the years was truly natural, from starting out with a weird name called “Serial Cut™” – which came about almost by accident– to asking for help and miraculously getting my first intern. I never really planned my career. The only thing I remember is that I wanted to have my own studio by age 30 (and this came to fruition well before this self-imposed deadline). However, I always wanted an eye-catching portfolio from day one, and I still do. I always want to refresh it, to push it further. Back in 2017 I started to think about what to do for the 20th anniversary of the studio, which would be in a couple of years’ time. In these days of virtual creativity I was keen to offer the design community something tangible. I’m the first one to admit that I rarely buy design books as often as I once did. But to experience the imagery in another medium, away from the screen, is an irreplaceable sensation. We had published our first book ExtraBold® in 2012. The thrill of

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creating another book wasn’t quite the same second time around, so my ambition took me on the path of making something we’ve never done. That’s the authentic Serial Cut™ way of celebrating 20 years to do something new! We’d done some commercials in the past, but never a film about the studio. The process was tedious at some points, but I can’t deny my excitement on the days of shooting, the feeling of creating something so significant to celebrate 20 years. What I knew from the moment I started the SC99 project was that the three releases – Book, Film and Talk – needed to be strongly connected. Therefore, the nine rooms of the film reflect the nine

chapters of the book. And these together form the 99 logotype where all nine characters can be seen in action, because each one has a cover for the book. It was exciting to create the nine rooms, and particularly creating the characters from scratch, from concepting their appearance, to coming up with their names, to writing their profiles. They really came to life when they had a story behind them. Each character has some personal elements of myself that I had fun recalling and writing about as I developed their narratives. It’s been a hectic year where my team has surpassed all my expectations. We’ve all given our best because we believe in the power of our aesthetics and how it can inspire others to create and advance in their own dreams. It doesn’t matter how many years it takes – 10, 15, 20 years or longer – if you enjoy what you do then it’ll go fast, believe me. Just go for it.

Left: A still from the film Purely Iconic - 20 Years of SerialCut™. Above: Character line-up from the film.

SergiodelPuertoisthefounderandcreativedirectorofSerialCut™﹐aMadrid-basedstudiofocusedonartdirection foradvertising﹒Lastyearthestudiohaditsthanniversary﹐continuingitswell-knownstylethatembracespop cultureandsurrealism﹒Today﹐Sergio’sclientlistincludesprestigiousbrandssuchasNike﹐Google﹐Diesel﹐Adobe﹐ Toyota﹐Fenty﹐Spotify﹐MTVandmore﹒ serialcut﹒com - 49 -

REPORT

IS MY BEST

EVERY NEW

PROJECT

TINA TOULI ART DIRECTOR - 50 -

GAME-CHANGING MOMENTS

“Stagnation is my greatest fear. What keeps me going is the excitement of something new” hat defines me the most is persistency. I like to continuously challenge myself, by experimenting and setting up goals and never giving up on them. But when it comes to jobs, I never lasted more than a few months on any of them. I quit my first job after just 10 months. On my second one, after around seven months. On my last job I handed in my notice just a couple of days after the end of my probation period. Don’t get me wrong – I enjoyed working at all those studios. I had some awesome colleagues and I loved the projects that I worked on. It was that the routine was killing me and my creativity. Stagnation is my greatest fear. What keeps me going is the excitement of something new. Something that comes out of the blue motivates me a lot. I didn’t have a plan on what to do next, I just knew that I wanted to get out of the nine to five ‘prison’. The only thing I had was a project with a £2,500 budget that seemed perfect for me. I could survive for two months paying my rent and bills in London, commute by cycling, eating pasta and frozen pizza every day and drinking soda on my night out. That was enough for me! It might sound miserable, but I was the happiest I’d ever been. I was able to spend every hour of my day doing something that I love,

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something that I would do if money didn’t matter (which didn’t seem to with this budget). But there were all these thoughts in the back of my mind. What if I fail? What if I left this job and became unemployed? It was scary knowing that no one could pay my rent and there was no family in London to help me if things went wrong. I guess that was the challenge. Always pursue your dreams and try to make every project the best one you’ve ever worked on. Do this and you won’t fail – there’ll always be a plan B. Just a month or two after I started, a well-known design magazine approached me for an interview. But there was a small

problem… They asked me for a picture of my studio. I was barely surviving, let alone enjoying a studio space. I only had a little desk on the corner of my bedroom. But remember, there’s always a way to make things work. Start with what you have and you’ll figure things out. So I moved the TV, some furniture and some objects from the living room, placed my laptop on the dining table, Photoshopped a frame with my artwork on the wall to create a nice office setting and suddenly I had an amazing studio. Now, just a couple of years later, I am 24 hours per day, 365 days per year, in my own perfect ‘prison’. I have a studio space, travel by Tube but still eat pizza. The most important thing is to be able to enjoy, appreciate and get satisfaction from every little thing that you do. Sooner or later, things will work out.

Left: Poster to celebrate 30 years of Adobe Illustrator. Above: Branding for US restaurant chain &pizza.

TinaTouliisacreativedirectorandgraphiccommunicationdesignerlivingandworkinginsouth-eastLondon﹒She’s workedindifferentstudios﹐suchasPearlfisher﹐BlastDesignandNallaDesign﹒ShecurrentlyrunsTinaTouliDesign﹐ herownmultidisciplinarystudio﹐andsheteachesatCentralSaintMartins﹐UniversityoftheArtsLondon﹒Tinaworks inavarietyofdesignfieldsincludingbranding﹐typography﹐editorialdesignandanimation﹒ tinatouli﹒com - 51 -

REPORT

MORE I BECAME

AMBITIOUS ANTHONY BURRILL GRAPHIC ARTIST, PRINT-MAKER AND DESIGNER

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GAME-CHANGING MOMENTS

“I needed to make a leap and push myself to make more creative work” ack in 2009 the advertising agency Mother offered to host an exhibition of my work in the reception space of its London office. I’d organised exhibitions of my work in ad agencies previously – usually small displays for the creative departments – but this one was much larger in scale. The entrance space was huge: a double-height ceiling and a large open area that felt more like an industrial warehouse than an ad-agency office. I went to look at the space and realised I needed help to put on a good exhibition. It was a great opportunity and I wanted to make a big impression. I spoke to my friend Michael Marriott about collaborating on a custom-made display system to show some of my printed work. At first I envisaged a simple structure: something quite modest in scale and affordable to produce. In the end we built a four-metretall wooden tower on wheels. It was constructed using different types of veneer panels that were laser-cut with type and graphic devices. It featured phrases such as “WE MUST HAVE THE TRUTH”, “RIGHT & WRONG” – all alluding to the show’s theme of honesty and truth. I was feeling playful about putting such messages in the heart of an ad agency, being gently provocative and poking fun at the

projects that I felt strongly about. I wanted to feel like I was making a useful contribution with my work. The exhibition was a chance for me to show what I was capable of. I’d begun to feel that I was stuck in a bit of a rut – the work I was doing in advertising wasn’t fulfilling me. I needed to make a leap and push myself to make more creative work. The exhibition went well, and lots of people in the industry came to the opening. It was a big night. It felt like I’d moved on and could start to be more ambitious with my work.

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advertising industry (not always known for its truth and honesty). I’d had a few negative experiences while working in advertising, so I felt that this was my chance to make a comment. I’d always had good experiences with Mother, though. It wasn’t my target, it was the general perception of the advertising industry as not always being totally truthful that I was commenting on. The Mother exhibition happened at around the same time that I decided to do less commercial work and concentrate on personal projects and cultural commissions. I’d done enough client-based work and was looking for the next chapter in my career. I was keen to work on

Left: Laser-cut type messaging at The Right Kind of Wrong exhibition. Above: Exhibition invitation for The Right Kind of Wrong.

Graphicartist﹐print-makeranddesignerAnthonyBurrillisknownforhispersuasive﹐up-beatstyleofcommunication﹒ HisworkisheldinthepermanentcollectionsoftheVictoriaandAlbertMuseuminLondon﹐theCooper-Hewitt NationalDesignMuseum﹐NewYorkandhasbeenexhibitedingalleriesaroundtheworldincludingtheBarbicanArt Gallery﹐theWalkerArtCenterandtheDesignMuseum﹐London﹒ anthonyburrill﹒com - 53 -

REPORT

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IN ART

I PURSUED A

CAREER

EUGENE SEREBRENNIKOV CO-FOUNDER, BURN & BROAD

GAME-CHANGING MOMENTS

“The light bulb went off and I realised that I could actually have a career as a creative” here have been two pivotal moments in my career. I had the first in my freshman year of college when my roommate showed me Photoshop and Illustrator for the first time. Up until that point, I had zero clue on what my future career would be. Creativity was always a part of me, but I didn’t think it was possible to make a career out of it. As a firstgeneration immigrant, my parents painted a picture for me that made it seem like I only had two career choices available in life: become either a doctor or lawyer. Both sounded like terrible choices that didn’t fit my personality. I started learning the Adobe programs through experimentation and tutorials, and slowly built up my skills. When I felt like I’d got the hang of the basics I started branching out and making T-shirt designs, mostly for my close friends. Everyone seemed to be responding positively to the artwork, so I decided to pitch the designs to boutique shops in NYC and before long my designs were sold all over the city and then to larger chains, including Urban Outfitters. During college, my girlfriend at the time got us backstage passes to an Allman Brothers Band concert. I handed the lead singer of the

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support band, Moe, one of the T-shirt graphics that I had designed, expecting him to trash it. To my surprise, I received a phone call from moe’s manager a few months later saying, “Al loves your shirt, wears it all the time. We have an album coming out – do you want to design it?” That was the first time that the light bulb went off, and I realised that I could actually have a career as a creative. The second moment was when I was hired by Nike. It was a wild seven years, a transformative experience in my life in which my personal creativity accelerated incredibly. I worked as an art

director responsible for Lebron James, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant’s apparel business, and became a sponge as I learnt and collaborated with talented designers and athletes. My experience at Nike gave me the confidence to convince myself and my pregnant wife that I was ready to throw away my cushy corporate paycheck, job security and vacation benefits to pursue a career in art. Building something out of nothing is never easy. When I left Nike and the safety net of the corporate world, I hit the learning curve of operating not only as a designer, but also an entrepreneurial business owner. The experience has been both extremely educational and a creatively fulfilling adventure. In our studio, each day and each project is always so different. From designing Coachella stage visuals to Nike campaigns, music videos to art installations and everything in between. We embrace the fact that our artistic aesthetic is always morphing. It’s the diverse, constantly evolving nature of our work that keeps us excited for what’s next.

Left: One of a series of art rugs designed and curated by Burn & Broad, in collaboration with a multinational crew of friends and artists.

EugeneSerebrennikovistheco-founderandcreativedirectorofNYC-baseddesignstudio﹐Burn&Broad﹒Theformer Nikeartdirectorjoinedforceswithaward-winningSpanishillustratorVicenteGarciaMorilloin!"﹒Theystarted thestudionotonlylivinganoceanapart﹐butalsobeforeevermeetingeachotherinperson﹒Today﹐theirstudiocreates strikingvisualsacrossmusic﹐sportandyouthculture﹐workingwithsomeoftheworld’smostexcitingbrandsand artistsincludingNike﹐CardiBandAtlanticRecords﹒ burnandbroad﹒com

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REPORT

AGENCY

I STARTED

MY OWN

JESSICA WALSH FOUNDER AND CREATIVE DIRECTOR, &WALSH - 56 -

GAME-CHANGING MOMENTS

“Very few women make it to creative leadership positions; even fewer found their own agencies” he most pivotal moment of my career so far was launching my new creative agency &Walsh. On the launch day I was overwhelmed with emotion: elation that it was finally happening after a lifetime of dreaming of my own studio, exhaustion from the non-stop work that brought me to that point, and an anxiety about what would come next. I was also overwhelmed with gratitude for the privileged position I found myself in. Very few women make it to creative leadership positions and even fewer found their own creative agencies. The lack of representation in leadership and the pay gap for women and non-binary people has been a focus of mine through our non-profit initiative Ladies, Wine & Design. It was born out of my experience I had with sexism in our industry – not only from men, but from other women. The numbers say it all: many design schools are about 70 per cent women, but only five to 11 per cent of creative director positions are held by women. Only 0.1 per cent of creative agencies are womenowned! How can this be, when women drive about 80 per cent of consumer purchasing? Diversity in leadership at agencies drives profit. While we’ve made strides towards equality in the past few decades, we still have a long way to go. I want

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to use &Walsh to expand on these social initiatives such as Ladies, Wine & Design, and to implement these principles within our studio. I’m excited to build an agency that provides mentorship and equal opportunity for all to grow creatively and climb the ranks towards leadership, if that’s their desire. Despite having prominence in the design industry, I was still so fearful of what could happen with the new agency. Self-doubt and imposter syndrome is something that never goes away; I know many successful creatives who go through it. My list of worries was long. Would my new agency be as successful as the last? Would we bring in enough clients to support

our large creative team in NYC? Would I be able to make my dreams for the new agency become a reality? It’s only been a year, but I’m happy to say that so far my worst fears have not come true, and the studio and team is thriving! If you have a dream, keep moving towards it. There will always be obstacles, haters and those who don’t believe in you along the way, including yourself. The path might not be as simple as you thought, but you have to keep pushing through. Don’t be deterred if it takes longer than you think: age and years are meaningless. And don’t be disillusioned that once you achieve a certain award, title or pay raise, your life will be happier or more complete. I’ve found the real joy is not in any accomplishment, but in the creative pursuits, discoveries, personal growth and people you meet along the way. And if you’re unsure about making a big change that you know deep down is right, trust your gut. Take the leap.

Left: &Walsh agency launch assets. Above: &Walsh team photograph to celebrate the agency launch.

JessicaWalshisthefounderandcreativedirectorof&Walsh﹒Shelecturesaboutdesignatcreativeconferencesand universitiesinternationally﹐andteachesdesign&typographyatTheSchoolofVisualArtsinNYC﹒Herworkhaswon numerousawardsfrommostmajordesigncompetitionsincludingTypeDirector’sClub﹐ArtDirector’sClub﹐D&ADand Graphis﹒Jessica’sbeenawardedForbes“#under#topcreativesdesigningthefuture”andAdAge’s“Top!VisualCreatives”﹒ andwalsh﹒com - 57 -

in conversation with

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i l l a u m

i t From creating wacky characters to developing tech-savvy carnival concepts, Guillaumit refuses to be limited by his body of work

INTERVIEW BY RUTH HAMILTON

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IN CONVERSATION WITH

rench graphic designer, illustrator and motion artist Guillaume Castagné – known professionally as Guillaumit – loves a creative challenge. He’s worked on diverse projects for clients including Orange, Sony and the Pompidou Centre, and is more than happy to dive into a subject he knows nothing about, and come out the other side the master of a new medium. Guillaumit’s work can be recognised through his use of geometric shapes, vibrant block colours and humorous characters, which he uses to tell stories that walk the line between poignant and ridiculous. Here he shares insights into his career so far, from creating a new type of carnival to taking on the world as one half of music-design duo Gangpol & Mit.

If I’m okay with everything, I dive in headfirst. It was an incredible experience to create my first sculptures and drawing boards with Zébra3. Seeing all of these people using them was very satisfying.

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How would you describe your style? I usually work with simple shapes and plain colours, but I always bear in mind that there are numerous possibilities and I enjoy experimenting with different contexts and subjects. I especially care about the relationship between the posters and the external environment. Your work covers graphic design, illustration, motion and more. Which would you say is your main passion? I really couldn’t say. My illustrations will inspire my costumes, my animations will nourish my books… it’s my own recipe and I’m comfortable with this process. What’s your professional background – did you study design? My career path is unusual. I went to university to study art, but also studied video and cinema. I was digging the New Wave! As my studies were ending, I met Gangpol [musician Sylvain Quément] who asked me to produce an artwork for his record and then a music video. It went very well and I dropped out of university to film and document concerts all around the world. We did this for 10 years. Those live videos gave me the opportunity to meet many passionate and singular artists. As time went by, I received a lot of commissions for posters and illustrations. For the past five years - 60 -

“It’s a huge challenge to create a design scheme that can bring 40,000 people out into the streets” I’ve mainly worked on commissions and a lot of personal work. What’s been the biggest challenge in your career so far? There have been two key challenges. The first was when I decided to drop out of university to devote all my time to live videos with Gangpol & Mit, and the second was when I decided to move into the Fabrique Pola to achieve my personal plans and projects. It’s where I work every day. Architects, designers, plastic artists and other creators work alongside each other in one building. This place is also an amazing exhibition space, enabling us to experiment and offer alternative ideas. You have many different talents. What drives you to learn new things? My favourite stage is the start of a project. I like having a new frame of work; new circumstances. I don’t have one job that I keep repeating – I change my approach for every project. I try to understand the circumstances and what my clients expect from me. Then, depending on what we discuss, I have to come up with a world that has many creative possibilities. What’s even more exciting is when I don’t know anything about the medium.

Tell us about Zébra3… It’s a group of former fine art students who gathered together to create pieces for contemporary designers and artists. They have a workshop at Fabrique Pola, where they create many different pieces using a range of techniques. I occasionally do workshops with them. They know how to listen to artists, understand their needs and what’s at stake. What’s been your favourite project of the past year, and why? There are two projects that I’m proud of. One of them is Globozone [more on page 63] and the other is the Augmented Carnival. The carnival’s organisers placed a lot of trust in me, which enabled me to do all the crazy things I had in mind, and I still managed to bring those things to a level that I was happy with. You’ve been the art director for Bordeaux Carnival for the past three years. What does that involve? It involves managing a rather big team of artists, musicians, dancers and volunteers. My primary goal is to make people want to move forward with a project they all understand. This is why I need to be passionate about the subject, or it just won’t work. It’s a huge challenge to communicate my ideas – to create a design scheme that can bring 40,000 people out into the streets. You mentioned the Augmented Carnival earlier. Tell us about the idea behind this, and how you brought it to life. I came with one question: what does carnival mean to people in 2020? What does it involve in this time of digital tools, augmented reality, Snapchat apps, Instagram and all its many filters? I offered to work on facial recognition, street masks, hacking, coding and so on. We created an augmented reality app that makes crazy animations appear on our

THIS PAGE Guillaumit likes to keep his characters simple – a lot can be communicated through just a few simple shapes and bold colours.

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IN CONVERSATION WITH

TOP AND MIDDLE LEFT The ongoing Globozone project, presented by Gangpol & Mit. TOP AND BOTTOM RIGHT Masks created for Bordeaux Carnival. BOTTOM LEFT A drawing table design complete with integrated pencil holder. OPPOSITE PAGE Guillaumit’s portfolio features a range of disciplines, from illustration and animation to mural design.

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posters and costumes. It’s also a way to involve local schools before the carnival takes place. We can show children how an app is designed, and how maths and coding makes it possible to create very interesting things. Much of your work is focused on character design. What mood do you hope you capture with your characters? The aim is to communicate empathy with simple shapes through my characters. I’m not interested in grotesque or excessive expressions – not even seductive ones. I prefer to come up with bold and simple characters. Then, by slightly adjusting their eyelashes for example, the character becomes curious and communicates a range of emotions. They’re usually distant and surprised by the world around them. Can you reveal what inspires your character design work? I’m truly touched by [French film-maker] Jacques Tati’s universe. The body language of Monsieur Hulot is one of my favourite references. I have a lot of admiration for [French animated TV series] Les Shadoks and Téléchat from Topor as well. You’ll be speaking at Pictoplasma in Berlin later this year. What are you going to talk about? I’m going to show my latest projects and some works-in-progress. I like to explain the different steps and the process behind the artworks, leading to the final work. Are you working on anything as Gangpol & Mit at the moment?

We recently released a cartoon series on Arte.fr called Globozone. This animated series holds a special place in my heart. It’s the logical progression of all our work since we began collaborating 15 years ago. Globozone is a huge commercial and technological centre that no one ever comes out of. In a near and globalised future, two employees are bored in their respective positions. One is a lax security officer, the other a psychopathic accountant. They’re united by a common passion: to fight the monotony using the surprising power of DIY audio and musical messages. Why do you think you and Gangpol work so well together? I’d say we work perfectly as a team. We’re strict when it comes to work, and we always come to an agreement concerning our artistic choices. We also talk to each other a lot. Where do you think your interest in design comes from originally? My first memory was when I turned 11. My parents enrolled me in a summer painting class, and we were asked to paint farm animals. I pictured all the animals on an area of colours, freely and spontaneously. I didn’t notice the day go by and at the end of the class, the teacher was really enthusiastic towards my work. I believe this special painting class was important. Then again, all the things I saw as a child nourished my creative self. They could be paintings in French churches, designs on cereal boxes that I scanned with my eyes every morning during my

breakfast. And of course, Japanese anime used to fascinate me as a kid. Tell us about that interest in anime. Where did it start, and how does it influence your work today? As a child, several shows left their mark on me, such as [Japanese manga series] Cat’s Eye and [French-Japanese animated series] Les Mystérieuses Cités d’Or. Then, when I was studying art, I became passionate about the free animated work of the Paper Rad collective. This DIY approach inspired my work for the Gangpol & Mit project. I also read a lot of independent comic books. For example, Éditions Cornélius and Black Lezard editions are fascinating publishers in France. What are you working on right now? At the moment I’m developing a huge exhibition based on my most recent carnival in Bordeaux. I also have to fly to Tokyo to organise a parade and an exhibition in collaboration with Ars Electronica and the French Institute. What would you like to explore next? I’d like to work on an ambitious and cultural project that involves artistic direction and relationships with different artists. Perhaps some kind of festival that gives us the opportunity to meet people and develop innovative artistic projects.

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SLEEP – OR THE LACK OF IT – AND CREATIVE MINDS HAVE A FRACTIOUS, IF FASCINATING RELATIONSHIP. EXPERTS REVEAL HOW WE CAN HARNESS SLUMBER TO OPTIMISE ITS IMPACT ON CREATIVITY…

WRIT TEN BY EMILY GOSLING

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REPORT

hroughout history, those with artistic careers have discussed shut-eye as both an inspirational force and an inspirationsapping foe. Franz Kafka’s insomnia plays out in The Metamorphosis, as the novella’s protagonist Gregor transforms into a cockroach after a sleepless, fitful night; the writer had a habit of working from 11pm until 3am, claiming that the weird hallucinations of sleeplessness helped produce his most creative ideas. Salvador Dalī had similar convictions: he’d sit in a chair holding a key until he fell asleep, at which point he’d drop the key on to a plate placed beneath his seat. The noise would wake Dalī up and the artist would start to paint, harnessing the fleeting liminal state between waking and dreaming known as hypnagogia. Yet as most of us are all too aware, sleep is vital for brain functions including how neurons (brain cells) communicate with one another, as well as impacting the heart, lungs, metabolism, immune function, mood and disease resistance. Numerous studies have shown that a chronic lack of good-quality sleep increases the risk of disorders including high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, depression and obesity, according to The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. Sleep is vital for staying alive… and vital for staying creative, too.

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ARE CREATIVES MORE PRONE TO POOR SLEEP? While brand designer-turned-artist Shuhua Xiong acknowledges that most people will encounter insomnia at some point in their lives, she does feel that it might be more prevalent in creative types due to their tendency to “overly analyse and reflect. It’s part of our livelihood,” Shuhua says. “Life and work can be mashed up sometimes. - 66 -

Untitled artwork by Shuhua Xiong, who belives creatives suffer from insomnia more than most.

taken as they slept using Many great artists in a wrist activity monitor. history have insomnia, Those with higher levels of like Vincent Van Gogh and visual creativity were found Louis Bourgeois. So you’re to have lower-quality sleep, definitely not alone! For despite the fact that art me I find that the limbo students slept more. “It’s between asleep and awake possible that a ‘surplus’ of is my raw consciousness. It’s Neta Ram-Vlasov. visual creativity makes the liberating to wander and get individual more alert, and lost in my own mind.” this could lead to sleep disturbances,” In 2017, University of Haifa the researchers theorised. researchers compared art students Another study, this time from the and social science students, finding University of California in San Diego, that art students slept for longer, but indicated that the four or five periods that “visually creative people reported of REM sleep we experience at night disturbed sleep leading to difficulties (which typically last for 90-120 minutes in daytime functioning,” wrote one of each), enhance our creative processing the study’s authors, Neta Ram-Vlasov, more than any other sleep or waking of the Graduate School of Creative state. If we’re to believe this, it makes Art Therapies. The study’s subjects it all the more infuriating that so many took visual and verbal creativity tests creative types suffer with insomnia, (however, we’d take the view that whatever their age: Dr Dione Healey “measuring” how creative someone is of University of Otago’s Department must be an inexact science); recorded of Psychology and Mark Runco, a their sleep in a diary; and had scholar in creativity and cognitive electrophysiological sleep recordings

“When you have it, insomnia is just so all-consuming, you can’t really ignore it” GEORGE DOUGLAS psychology, published an article titled Could Creativity Be Associated With Insomnia? They found that young children deemed to be highly creative suffered more sleep disturbances and went to bed later than others their age. Many suggest that insomnia is more common in those who are more creative because their brains are highly active, and less likely to find it easy to switch off from an influx of ideas to take the time to rest. It stands to reason that the same cognitive sparks which ignite creativity keep it burning once the bedroom light goes off. Bedtime for many is becoming increasingly late. Creative agency workers in particular often feel obliged to work far beyond the hours of nine to five. That’s before we even get to the recent-ish trend that leaves many feeling they ought to have a creative ‘side-hustle’ outside of their day job, or the difficulty many freelancers face in being able to switch off and stop working in what can feel like a precarious industry. However, this once-deliberate burning of the midnight oil can often tip into involuntary sleeplessness.

DEALING WITH INSOMNIA AS A CREATIVE George Douglas, an illustrator and artist based in Glasgow who we featured in 2015’s New Talent special issue, was affected by sleep difficulties on and off for most of his adult life. However, for the past two years he’s finally been able to enjoy a good night’s rest, although it’s taken a lot of work and discipline. George has changed his diet, ensures

Glasgow illustrator George Douglas.

he exercises daily, and always wakes up at 8am, even on weekends or when he’s had a late night. His sleep patterns were also aided by a change in his part-time job working as a carer, moving from shift work to set hours. In early 2017 George staged an exhibition of Risograph works called Contents Insurance that explored his intermittent bouts of sleeplessness. “The show featured a personal symbolism to express the challenges and frustrations of sleeplessness,” George explained shortly after the show. “Figures dressed in gloves and socks represent the sensory deprivation. These figures appear to exist somewhere between lying down and standing up, living in a state that isn’t sleeping but isn’t completely awake

How sleep cycles work The two main stages of sleep are rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM (NREM), which itself has three different stages, each showing different kinds of brain activity. In a typical single night, we each cycle throug thr ough h all all the st stage agess of of REM REM and NR NREM EM sleep several times. These cycles change subtly as we age, with REM sleep time decreasing as we grow older. The first stage, NREM, is the light sleep as we move from wakefulness to sleep, and lasts a few minutes in which our heartbeat, breath bre athing ingg an and d eye eye y mov moveme ements nts sl slow ow down and the muscles relax, occasionally twitching; while the brain waves slow down from their usual “awake” pat p terns. The second NREM stage is the lighter sleep prior to deep sleep in which muscles relax further, body temperature drops and eye mo movem vement entss ceas ceasee as as brai brain n wave wave ac activ tivity ity slows further. It’s this stage we spend most time in during NREM sleep. The third and final ph p ase of NREM is the deep sleep that we all need to awake refreshed and rested, and is far longer than the other stages during the first half of a typical night’s sleep. Here, the heartbeat, brain waves and breathing are at their slowest and the muscles are at their most relaxed. The first time we enter REM sleep p is usuallyy about 90 minutes after falling asleep. It’s characterised by rapid eye movements (with (wi th the ey eyes es clo closed sed, of of cour course) se) as we well ll as brain wave frequencies that are more active than in other stages of sleep. This is why REM sleep is mostly the stage in which we dream (although some dreams can occur in NREM sleep), and as such, our arm and leg muscles become temporarily paralysed to stop us “acting out” our dreams – something that anyone who’s ever had to endure the trauma of sleep paralysis will be painfully aware of.

Five great sleep apps Sleep Cycle Power Nap (iOS only), around £1.50 Uses your iPhone’s accelerometer to work out when you fall asleep, and sets a timer for a 20 or 90 minute nap. The app also has variou var iouss soun sounds ds tha thatt aim aim to aid re relax laxati ation on to help you fall asleep. Pzizz (iOS or Android), free, premium version around £4/month Userrs can n sett a ti tim merr forr th their ir desir ired d sleep session length, and the app plays a soothing “dreamscape” (a combination of music, binaural beats, voiceovers and sound effects) while you snooze, before waki king you up with ith an alarm l . Th The app uses an algorithm to generate a slightly different version of these dreamscapes with each eac h use, use, al altho though ugh th thee soun sounds ds are si simil milar ar enough to engender associations between sleep and the sounds to aid relaxation. The premium version offers a choice of different sounds and other advanced features. Slumber (iOS only), free for 10 episodes; around £30/year for full access Slumber combines various techniqu q es looking to help users fall asleep, such as guided meditations and bedtime stories. Users can select background noises such as rai rain n or or sea sea sou sounds nds th that at pla playy for for up to 10 hours after the main track has finished. Awoken (Android only), free Awoken looks to help users achieve lucid dreaming (in which you’re aware you’re dreaming, but aren’t fully awake, with h dreamers d offten abl ble to guide d their h narrative, setting and characters) through a journalling tool and practice exercises to enhance h users’’ awareness off th heir i dreams and ultimately turn them into lucid ones. Sleep Cycle Alarm Clock (iOS or Android), free This alarm clock records your sleep patterns by noting your movements and calculates your sleep cycles accordingly. Users set a time window, and the app’s algorithms then ensure it wakes you during a light sleep phase, to start the day feeling optimally refreshed.

&Walsh, the New York City studio that either.” Many of the images and texts she founded last year. for the show were written late at night Indeed, those affected by longerwhen George couldn’t sleep, “but a lot term sleep trouble often seem to find of it was also composed in the studio in a sort of acceptance in it. Illustrator the clear light of day, which was a really and animator Steve May, who’s worked healthy process – an exorcism of sorts for the likes of The Beano, – making my sleeplessness Harper Collins, Faber & less of a lonely battle, and Faber, The Guardian and less agonisingly private.” The Economist, has had Speaking to us in 2020, trouble sleeping for as long he says that since both as he can remember, with changing his practice (he’s varying levels of severity. His now studying his fine art usual night’s sleep is broken MA) and having drastically into chunks of no more than improved his sleep, he Illustrator Steve May. two hours before he wakes would be very unlikely again; Steve manages about to make such personal six hours in total of sleep broken into work again. “Back then, I ended up those smaller chunks. making so much work throughout the This might explain the odd, often night. But I think that now, if I had a rather hilarious dreams he has – physiological problem I wouldn’t tackle since it would make sense with these it by making art. Three years ago, patterns that most of his sleep occurs I would intellectualise the problem or during the REM or dreaming phase. try and express or understand it better Recent highlights include attempting creatively. The work I make now is less to scan salami slices (for illustration personal: I can step out of myself and texture, although they were too greasy be confused about the world around and his attempts were thwarted), an me, rather than expressing what I’m argument with David Bowie involving confused about within me. But when a sandwich, and one dream featuring a you have it, insomnia is just so alllot of people with “ridiculous Baroque consuming, you can’t really ignore it.” eyebrows’”. As well as being excellent

DON’T FIGHT INSOMNIA, JUST “ROLL WITH IT” In a work diary piece published on The New York Times site in January this year, Jessica Walsh admitted to bouts of insomnia, although from what she writes this seems to be mostly attributed to her having drunk 10 cups of tea in a day that weren’t caffeinefree, as she’d thought, on top of four cups of coffee that morning. She wrote that while she “used to get stressed about insomnia”, she’s now found it best just to “roll with it”, and uses the time she spends awake at night “looking at real estate listings for our new studio space” and scrolling Instagram for news, keeping up to date on artists and activists she follows and sometimes looking for new talent for

Graphic designer and art director Jessica Walsh.

POWER OF SLEEP

“You can double your creative thinking or creative output by realising you think while you sleep!” DR ERIC MAISEL stories, these dream images have often appeared in Steve’s work: that facial hair imagery found its way on to some background characters in a children’s book that he recently illustrated. However, as anyone who’s dealt with insomnia will understand, it’s not all fun and Bowie. When Steve has especially bad nights with little to no sleep, it naturally affects his creative work – particularly when he’s “having to come up with new things, or creating the initial roughs or thumbnails for a new book, or getting started on a project,” he says. “If I’m really tired, even just drawing can be difficult from a technical standpoint: things that should be easy aren’t, or you just don’t like what you’ve done because you can’t concentrate.” Shuhua agrees, and describes insomnia as “both physically and mentally draining, if you don’t deal with it right. I also think there’s always a root to insomnia. It’s a signal from your body.” A few years back, she went through a “very bad” phase of insomnia. She tried everything from melatonin, to lavender tea, a no-phonebefore-bed rule, yoga and meditation. “Nothing helped,” she says. “I would get anxious even going to bed, worried that I wouldn’t be able to sleep. I would force myself to clear my head and shut my eyes, but your mind is never clear when you deliberately ask it to be. I would check the time every time I gave up and opened my eyes – time goes both slowly and fast. I saw the sunrise many times during those few months, and it upset me knowing that the next day was ruined. Like Jessica, after a while Shuhua gave up and ended up putting those

Author and life coach Dr Eric Maisel.

every day – could lead to depression and social problems. How much sleep we need and our sleep patterns also vary throughout our lives. School-age children and teens need an average of about 9.5 hours and adults between seven and nine hours each night, while those over 60 tend to have shorter, lighter, more interrupted sleep. Dr Eric Maisel focuses much of his work on the nature of creativity. “It’s a cliché, but sleep is really important, especially for creative people who are often in a semi-manic state,” Eric says. “If we start to obsess about our work we can get racing thoughts and veer on the manic side, and the best home remedy for mania is getting enough sleep.”

sleepless nights to use. “I would get up and walk outside when I was living alone. It’s very nice out at around 3 or 4am,” she says. That stressful insomnia period also proved to be a turning point in her career. “That’s when I picked up drawing again. I painted a horizon with a flat black foreground one night at dawn. Around then I was given an old iPad that had SLEEP CYCLES AND the Procreate painting app installed CREATIVE THOUGHT on it. I started drawing digitally under Many people report that their most my blanket.” productive hours – when they come Sleep experts agree that the up with the best ideas – are those amount of sleep people need is different first thing in the morning. This for everyone, but Penny Lewis, a makes sense on a practical level: professor in the School of Psychology you’re less likely to be distracted by a at Cardiff University, says rapidly filling inbox, clockthat a simple measure is watching, or getting into that if you don’t feel tired, a panic about encroaching you’re getting enough deadlines. But it also makes sleep – whether that’s eight sense from a sleep science hours, 10 hours, or for a perspective. REM sleep small minority, as little as cycles – the phase where we five or six. The key aspect is dream; the brain forms new sleep regularity: make sure associations, memories and Prof. Penny Lewis. you go to bed and wake up connections; and the eyes at the same time every day. and body still have some “Some people may be ‘night owls’ movement – are longer in the second and there’s nothing wrong with that,” half of the night than the first. Penny says, but warns that particular University of San Diego researchers unusual hours – say, going to bed at found that comparing three groups – 5am and waking at 1pm, even if that’s one which rested but didn’t sleep, one - 69 -

REPORT

“Sleep doesn’t just impact how memories are formed, but how we form links between those memories” DR SARA MEDNICK which slept but was awoken before reaching the REM cycle and one which continued into REM sleep – saw the final group far outperform the others in creative tasks. The study indicated that the four or five periods of REM sleep we experience at night (which typically last for between 90 and 120 minutes each), enhance our creative processing more than any other sleep or waking state. REM sleep appears to help achieve creative solutions by stimulating associative networks, “allowing the brain to make new and useful associations between unrelated ideas,” wrote Dr Sara Mednick, assistant professor of psychiatry, who conducted the study. Penny’s work primarily focuses on off-line learning during sleep and Untitled artworks by Shuhua Xiong who says, “It’s liberating to wander and get lost in my own mind.” wakefulness. Much of her research investigates brain plasticity and the reactivated during sleep, so there’s is all about forming new links out of changes occurring while a memory work taking place that’s trying to sets of information, and pulling out is not being encoded, practised or understand how this relates to brain or integrating things in novel ways. recalled when we’re both asleep and oscillations and if we can actually There’s a lot of work investigating how awake. This includes investigating control or trigger those reactivations.” those are formed during sleep.” what happens when we sleep to those The studies used to things we’ve learned measure such things usually during the day. SOLVING A CREATIVE involve tests that see subjects “Things like fingerPROBLEM WHILE ASLEEP carry out tasks such as tapping tapping tasks, such as What’s interesting about Eric’s ideas out a sequence of word pairs; playing the piano, are around sleep is that it isn’t the dreamand using electrodes applied strengthened across state so often associated with creative to people’s scalps to measure sleep by about 20 per cent thought that’s the most powerful, but neural oscillations during the and even more so across the brain’s ability to actually think various stages of REM and other nights,” she says, through creative problems while we Dr Sara Mednick. non-REM sleep to predict the adding that the same sleep. He says that it’s easily possible to memory benefits of each type applies to “memories that “double or triple your creative thinking of sleep and its duration. The main don’t involve muscles at all,” such as or creative output by realising you hypothesis of Penny’s current work remembering a list of words. think while you sleep”. is that “key memories are neurally For creatives, these findings should Eric advises going to bed with a reinstated in sleep states, so the brain be particularly piquant. “Sleep doesn’t specific problem in mind, such as how is actively replaying patterns that we just impact how memories are formed, two characters in a narrative might experience when we’re awake,” she but how we form links between those next interact. The brain, he says, takes explains. “These are spontaneously memories,” Penny says. “Creativity this prompt and mulls it over as you - 70 -

DREAM BELIEVERS

10 tips for a good night’s sleep 1. Ensure you’re not losing out on sleep due to a medical problem such as sleep apnea, or that any medication you take isn’t interfering with sleep.

sleep, meaning you can simply “take dictation” of the solution on waking. This means it’s crucial to turn to the work in hand first thing: “If you don’t do that then the mind just organises itself around the new day,” he says. “It’s a simple idea, but a very potent one. If you go right to your work first thing you get three huge benefits: the ability to use your sleep thinking; you get a lot of work done by virtue of just showing up; and finally there’s the existential benefit of having achieved the creative work early, you get more meaning from the rest of the day.” For those who struggle to get to sleep, this might seem like a daunting – if not daft – prospect. Surely you’re even less likely to drop off if you’re lying in bed problem-solving? The key is to reframe whatever creative block you’re having. “If you go to bed with a ‘wonder’ rather than a ‘worry’ about some creative problem, your brain will run with that. It won’t keep you up all night saying, ‘Hey, sleeping mind, go to work!’” says Eric. “People don’t understand that they’re missing the opportunity to work on creative projects while they sleep. We’ve spent so much time looking into dreaming, we’ve ignored our power to think while we sleep, and all it takes is going to bed in a certain way.”

PRIORITISE SLEEP FOR HEALTH AND CREATIVITY The increasingly prevalent ‘always-on’ culture is dangerous, and it’s fair to say many agencies push this culture in their demanding working hours. For freelancers, the fact that we can now check emails, deal with clients and make revisions outside of working hours, or traditional dedicated working spaces, isn’t exactly conducive

to nourishing sleep, when we can do all those things whenever and wherever, and across different time zones. It’s important to have a routine, and one that prioritises rest and sleep, as well as being firm with clients that are prone to making unreasonable demands: not expecting responses at the end of the work day, or in the middle of night, for instance, and being mindful when working with someone in a different time zone. If you can afford one, an agent can be a great mediator when client demands become too much. The same goes for demands on yourself. Treat yourself as you would your friends, and make sure your health, and sleep health, come first – before work, design school, ‘side hustles’ and so on. Technology is obviously a wonderful thing that’s transformed the way creatives work, but it’s also made us restless, and less likely to give in to the very things that make people creative, like daydreaming or just looking at the world around us. Ideas don’t switch off when the lights do, but it’s vital to get shut-eye, and to prioritise it. As the experts we’ve spoken to have proven, sleep is not only essential to remain healthy, but to remain creative. If you don’t have mental energy and clarity, it won’t just be hard to get the work done – it’ll be nigh-on impossible to play, experiment, think in new ways and deal with stress.

2. Consider using apps as described on page 68, or those that use calming music or sound (such as natural sounds, guided meditations, hypnotic techniques or whit hite noiise). ) 3. Try as far as possible to stick to a schedule of going to bed and waking up at the same time each day – even at weekends. 4. Even 20-30 minutes of exercise a day makes a big difference, but avoid doing this in the three hours or so before bed. 5. Steer clear of stimulants such as caffeine or nicotine later in the day. 6. While it makes you sleepy, alcohol has a disr disrupt uptive ive eff effect ect on th thee qual quality ity an and d duration of sleep. Best avoided before bed. 7. A huge influence on sleep-wake needs is the expos p ure to light g . Spec p ific cells in our retinas process light to send messages to the brain about whether it should prepare itself for day or night. This means that light exposure makes it hard to fall asleep in the first place, and if you’re awakened. 8. Try out different pre-bed relaxation routines to find what works for yo y u. These might include a bath, reading and, perhaps most importantly, removing screens (including phones, unless of course you’re using usi ng sle sleep ep app apps) s) fro from m the the bed bedroo room m. 9. If these don’t work, consider hypnosis, either from a professional or usingg selfhypnosis such as apps like Relax & Sleep Well Hypnosis. 10. If you’re lying awake in bed becoming increasingly frustrated, it’s better to get up and do something else for a bit. Try reading, listening to music, sketching, pla l ying i an iinstrument or maki king lliists, until you feel tired.

NEXT ISSUE

on sale 27 March 2020

I L L U S T R AT O R HOTLIST 2020 We scour the world for our pick of the best illustrators to commission and collaborate with

PLUS THE ST YLISH WORK OF SEACHANGE STUDIO USE COMIC SKILLS IN D I G I TA L I L L U S T R AT I O N H AV E A N O SE R O UND JKR’S LONDON STUDIO T H E U LT I M AT E G U I D E TO DESIGN EVENTS

Pictured: Issue 304 will feature the work of Seachange Studio

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C O M P U T E R

A R T S

A P R I L

2 0 2 0

in the

studio GROUNDBREAKING CREATIVES AND THEIR PROJECTS

74 p r oj e c t: Futura for c of fe e brand Elixir

80 a r t i s t in s i g h t: Ha ze l P Mas o n o n c o lo ur u s a g e

86 s t u d i o p r o f i l e: T h e t r iump h s an d c h alle nge s f a c in g K at i F o r n e r D e sig n

92 p r oj e c t: is o b e l f o r H e alt h s p an

Image: Kati Forner Design, page 86

SEE MORE INSPIRING WORK AT COMPUTERARTS.CREATIVEBLOQ.COM

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project

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Elixir by Futura How the Mexican studio Futura gave a Saudi Arabian coffee shop a magical new brand identity byfutura.com

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PROJECT

DANIEL MARTINEZ LARSEN Partner and art director, Futura Daniel started as a junior designer at Futura in 2013 while completing his studies at Universidad de Monterrey. Four years later, he moved to Mexico City where he was made partner and art director with the studio. He continues to lead the visual side of each Futura project.

IVÁN GARCÍA Founding partner and creative director, Futura Iván gained recognition online as a young designer and moved to Monterrey where he took a job designing a porn website, before moving to a respected agency. In 2008, he founded Futura to focus on branding, art direction and photography, blurring the boundaries between different forms of creativity.

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DEVELOPING THE STRATEGY Daniel Martinez Larsen The Elixir identity project began after the client, which is based in Saudi Arabia, saw our work on Behance and Instagram. Although we’re in Mexico City, the Gulf states are our second-biggest market after the US and the brief was to create something visually stunning and different in the coffee sector, working around the idea of alchemy and magic. We were excited when the project came in because it’s an unusual theme for a coffee shop. It gave us the opportunity to explore a rich visual universe and bring these two worlds together by finding parallels between alchemy and the coffee-making process, without being too literal. Our aim was to create a brand that would not only stand out in the Gulf region, but globally as well. During the moodboard phase, we usually present clients with two visual routes before going into the actual design work. It gives them a chance to become involved in the creative process and explore the opportunities with us. The first route we explored was called “the contemporary alchemist”. This entailed reinterpreting ancient drawings and texts about the practice of alchemy and developing a modern take on a very traditional aesthetic. Taking this approach would involve preserving the distinctive elements of ancient alchemy while counterbalancing them with contemporary graphic resources. The second route, “the pop alchemist”, took a more fun and experimental approach. It played

with illustrations and graphical elements inspired by potions and other magic products found in traditional folk markets here in Mexico. These esoteric products are part of our culture and include lotions that will make you rich, soaps to clean away the evil eye and miracle candles. We wanted to link this imagery with alchemy in a fun and almost kitsch way. The route we chose turned out to be a mixture of both concepts.

THE DESIGN WORK Daniel Martinez Larsen Coffee brands seem to have a default aesthetic with recurring notions such as craft, coffee bean imagery, organic shapes, and colours and illustrations relating to the coffee-making process. We wanted to push the boundaries and proposed different materials that would make a subtle impact, while incorporating the concepts the client had briefed us on. The brand needed to have a fresh, young, pop feel to it, supported by a range of assets including an icon, typographic approach, layout style, illustrations, stationery, packaging and more. The identity is all about the transformation of common metals into gold, which is at the heart of the logo we designed. Although the transformation of metals into gold is the focus of alchemy, the colour silver is important in this identity. To the alchemist, silver is the most precious of the seven base metals used in the practice and we used it to make Elixir’s takeaway cups and other assets stand out. Cups act as

FUTURA

LEFT AND ABOVE Futura created a composite as well as spot illustrations to link Elixir coffee with alchemy.

ABOVE AND RIGHT The Futura team photographed the packaging in a unique way, again drawing on alchemical influences.

“ WE USED SILV ER TO MAKE THE TAKE AWAY CUP S AND OTHER AS SE TS STAND OU T ”

THE HOURGLASS ICON DANIEL MARTINEZ LARSEN TALKS ABOUT THE THINKING BEHIND ELIXIR’S VERY APT LOGO DESIGN… One of the goals in alchemy is to turn a metal into gold, so we wanted to bring that aspect into the logo by playing with a block of gold and turning it into coffee. For an icon to be unique, it has to be the synthesis of two or more clear ideas. In this case, the hourglass is a recurring symbol in alchemy, and it has a similar form to a coffee filter. This enabled us to talk about the coffee-making process and alchemy, as well as the value of the time we spend enjoying a cup of coffee on our own or with the people we care about. The icon tells the story of transformation. In their day, alchemists desperately searched for a way to turn any metal into gold. The hourglass turns coffee into precious magic. At Futura we see branding as a language with different elements: the logo, copy, illustrations, colour and so on. Each should be able to live separately and still communicate the brand at first glance, without being repetitive or needing to explain too much. We think the hourglass achieves this.

ABOVE Done in a contemporary style, Futura’s artworks were inspired by old alchemy books.

“ WE ALL BELIE V E IN MAGIC A LIT TLE BIT MORE THAN WE DID AT THE PRO JEC T ’S BEGINNING” - 78 -

walking advertisements for coffee shops and we made some of them eye-catching and memorable using silver paper material and foil printing. The silver is balanced with soft pastel colours for an unusual combination that brings a sense of freshness to the brand. We wanted to take a risk, but also keep it visually pleasing. The typography helped us to generate an aesthetic that was reminiscent of old alchemy books. Inspired by lettering used in such books, we created a logotype that alludes to the ancient practices, yet is non-traditional and doesn’t feel serious or outdated. The brand typefaces used for copy are Ogg Italic and Surt Light. Elixir’s illustration style also combines the traditional and the modern. We worked with different symbols found in alchemy, but reinterpreted them using vector graphics and blocks of flat colour. The imagery creates a playful counterbalance to the rigidity of the copy: the old and the new, the serious and the fun. All the illustrations were done in-house by our team.

THE VERDICT Iván García Our client on this project was very open and trusting, and gave us the freedom to bring its

FUTURA

vision to life. Based on the themes it gave us we were able to develop a visual universe and the eventual identity. It’s always a pleasure to work with people from different cultures and in different industries, which helps us grow as a studio and as individuals. Funnily enough, collaborating with a client on the other side of the world was easier in many ways than a lot of projects in our own country. The most challenging thing for us was reinterpreting the imagery of alchemy without falling back on something that had been done before, and bringing all the contrasting elements together in a harmonious way. We learned a lot about alchemy in the process, and by researching so many old books we all believe in magic a little bit more than we did at the project’s beginning. The end result was unexpected in many ways, but it was the result of a process in which Futura and our client took a few risks. It was an extremely fun project to work on and we enjoyed everything – from the research and development of the concept through to its execution.

TOP RIGHT Futura tested a whole range of icons before setting on the hourglass form. ABOVE AND LEFT Silver was an important metal in alchemy and this is reflected in the branded packaging Futura designed.

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artist insight Hazel P Mason on how to use colours for maximum impact How to take your illustrations from bland to bold and inject a sense of emotion and vitality through the application of strong colours

LEFT Warm-toned analogous colours create a bold and cohesive impact. RIGHT Rich yellows and blue make a harmonious colour palette.

HAZEL P MASON Freelance artist Hazel graduated from the University of Cumbria University with a degree in illustration, and was the winner of our New Talent 2019 cover competition. hazelpmason.co.uk

ARTIST INSIGHT

olour treatment in illustration is a personal affair, and no two illustrations should be treated the same. Colour, if used correctly, can pull some strong visual punches that will take an illustration from bland to bold. I’m going to talk through a few tips and tricks I use regularly and give an insight on how bold colour can be used to create maximum impact in an illustration.

C

COMPLEMENTARY COLOURS

RIGHT Unrealistic colours draw the eye and hold the viewer’s attention. BELOW Contrasting warm and cool tones helps to add depth.

These colours are the ones directly opposite each other on the colour wheel – for example, orange and blue. However, using these direct combinations can result in slightly garish and unconsidered colour treatments. To create a more sophisticated and intentional contrast, it may be worth looking to the left or right of one of the two colours. Sticking to the example of orange and blue, if you choose an orange-based yellow instead and pair it with the blue they would still sit happily as complementary colours, but have a more considered intention behind them.

ANALOGOUS COLOURS Sometimes an illustration doesn’t require a direct contrast of colours and a good way to have a harmonious yet still impactful colour treatment is to go with analogous colours. Simply put, they are the colours that are directly next to each other on the colour wheel. It’s a less visually jarring technique than complementary colours and is easier on the eye because of its natural cohesiveness. If done with confidence an illustration can be impactful if coloured this way.

BEST OF BOTH It’s possible to use both complementary and analogous colours in the same illustration. Starting with two colours, say yellow and blue again, these are the main blocks of positive space for the illustration. The details for these sections would then be rendered through analogous colours; so red, pink and orange for the yellow, and purple and teal for the blue. It might sound a little complex, but it adds details and depth without changing the colour profile and impact too drastically.

LIMITED COLOUR PALETTE These types of colour palette are highly efficient and are best executed when using only two to four colours. It forces a more critical use of colour that’s both graphic and eye-catching. When starting out with limited colour palettes it’s a good idea to take inspiration from design around you or one of the useful online generators available. After playing about with this style of colouring for a while it’ll become easier to select the colours and will result in clever and sharp illustrations with a delightfully retro visual voice.

COOL TONES Cool tone colours are generally blues, greens and purples. Because of the way the eye processes and sees colour, cool tones fall back and create depth. Using cool tones across a whole illustration is a great idea and can be effective in illustrating environment, but it can also be used to highlight temperature. Imagine an illustration of an ice-cold drink on a hot day: a cool-toned glass against a warm toned background would have the most impact simply due to the factors visually associated with the colours.

WARM TONES The opposite of cool tones, warm colours don’t fall back into an image but pop visually. They can create a dramatic illusion of depth when paired with their cooler counterparts. This a great tool to show hierarchy of information or to encourage the viewer to engage with a section of the work first.

ARTIST INSIGHT

“ADDING A C OLOUR TINT OV ER THE TRUE-TO-LIFE COLOUR CAN LIF T AN ILLUSTR ATION AND CRE ATE A STRONGER V ISUAL”

However, there’s no need to go wild, because just a subtle use of warm tones can create a bold sense of depth in an illustration.

DON’T LET REALITY DEFINE YOU The mind doesn’t need every detail to process visual information. An illustration can end up looking boring and bland if real-life colours are stuck to too closely. A character’s skin tone can be any colour whatsoever: as long as tone and form are consistent, colour choice can be adventurous! For the hesitant, just adding a colour tint over the true-to-life colour can lift an illustration and create a stronger visual.

EMOTIONS THROUGH COLOUR Looking back at warm and cool tone colours, they can also be effective in generating emotions in the viewer. Colours are great signifiers of feelings. Sadness is culturally blue, much like how anger is red [in the West, at least]. A whole illustration can hold an emotion or just a single section. One effective way of using colour for emotions

ABOVE Considered colour use introduces variety and helps to avoid visual confusion. BELOW Good use of negative space enables positive space to pop.

would be to pick out a character in a crowd: the expression could be neutral, but they could represent a whole range of feelings based simply on how they’ve been treated with colour.

WHEN MORE IS MORE Using lots of colours on a piece of work can be amazingly effective. However, to prevent it from becoming confusing to look at, it’s a good idea to think of how much to use. If you apply the same amount of each colour there’s a chance the illustration will be visually intense and hard to look at. One way to avoid this is to stick to, say, three or so colours and use the rest in smaller amounts to add details and engage the eye. The result is colourful work that isn’t difficult to digest.

SATURATION Having an illustration’s colours ramped up to maximum saturation isn’t always a sure-fire technique for creating impact. Duskier and softer colours can still have a strong and clear appearance in an illustration if used in the correct way. Keeping extra details and textures to a minimum is the key to using it effectively, as the artwork can become lost or muddied up if mixed with too much visual information. Think limited palettes and a screen print-style colour lay-down, and it’ll pop just as much as brighter colours.

NEGATIVE SPACE Negative space in an illustration is just as important as the positive. Not every image needs a background; a clever use of a block of colour can ground an illustration while creating striking visuals at the same time. It’s not easy to get right because a block colour background may change how the colours in the worked-up areas look to the eye, but just play about with it. Even a colour that’s a few degrees warmer or cooler can create the right contrast that takes an illustration from bland to eye-catching. - 84 -

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studio profile Kati Forner Design The California-based creative explains the challenges and triumphs of running her own design business

KATI FORNER Kati is an awardwinning creative director with experience in a plethora of design disciplines.

KATI FORNER DESIGN Founded in 2015, Kati Forner Design is a creative studio that specialises in branding, print collateral, packaging and interactive design. Based in Los Angeles, it believes design has the power to tell stories, deepen engagement, transform brands and grow business, and prides itself on the success of its clients. katiforner.com

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STUDIO PROFILE

ased in Los Angeles and specialising in branding, print collateral, packaging and interactive design, Kati Forner Design is known for its minimalist, thoughtfully elegant work for beauty, fashion and lifestyle brands. It was founded five years ago by Kati Forner, after she’d spent almost a decade in Chicago working with a string of innovative design agencies. Here she discusses the challenges of jumping in at the deep end, finding the right freelancers, and making her business a success.…

On the other hand, it’s a lot of work… Yes, it’s been five years since I started my own thing and I’m just starting to get the whole work-life balance thing under control. Having my first child this year has helped me prioritise. But even though it’s a lot more work, it’s more than worth it. I’m lucky enough to be at a place where I only take on the projects that really resonate with us, and that we’re passionate about. I think this reflects in the work we produce. I wake up every day excited to go to work, and it’s not lost on me how fortunate I am to be in that situation.

After 12 years working at agencies, you decided in 2015 to move from Chicago to Los Angeles and launch your own studio. How long had you been planning this, and what led you to take the plunge? Katie Forner: It was actually a pretty spontaneous decision for me. I’d play around with the idea every once in a while, but it definitely wasn’t a set plan. I was working at a small studio and the work environment and management style was pretty toxic. One day I said, “Enough is enough,” and decided it was time for me to do my own thing… with zero clients lined up. It was quite the hustle trying to bring in work the first year. I don’t think I’d recommend going this route, but I’m more than grateful that I made the decision when I did.

Can you describe how you typically approach a new project? We get a variety of projects in different industries, so our approach depends on the needs and scope of the project. I have a scalable studio model, so I’m always the lead and main creative director, and I have an arsenal of super-talented designers, copywriters, strategists, project managers and developers. Depending on the scope of the project, I then build out my dream team. That’s typically the first step once a project is signed off on. This flexible model has worked very well for us.

B

TOP Branding and packaging for Simple Goods. BELOW Branding and packaging for Wilding.

“I’M LUCK Y ENOUGH TO BE AT A PL ACE WHERE I ONLY TAKE ON THE PRO JEC TS THAT RESONATE WITH US”

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And founding a studio isn’t the same as just working as a freelancer, right? Correct. I think a lot of clients approach us thinking I’m a one-woman shop or a freelance designer who works on a couple of projects at a time. But although I’m the only owner and do work on some of our smaller projects on my own, I have a team of freelancers involved on most of our projects. We typically work on between 20 and 30 projects at a time. I love collaborating, especially with like-minded creatives, but finding the right creatives can be tricky. I’m lucky enough to work with super-talented designers and writers, all over the world; one of my favourite designers to collaborate with is in Australia. That’s probably the most enjoyable aspect of my job.

Is there a style or aesthetic to your work that makes it recognisably yours? Well, I think all of our work is rooted in minimalism and a less-is-more approach. However, we always add a layer of the unexpected. I’d also like to think there’s a refinement to our work that makes it recognisably ours. In general, what kind of clients do you prefer to work with? Trusting clients. It always baffles me when someone hires us and micromanages every aspect of the design process. Luckily, this doesn’t happen often. It should be no surprise that the most successful projects are with clients who are the most trusting. You recently helped with the launch of Solviva, a new chain of wellness restaurants. What did that involve? We were approached by Solviva to do its branding, packaging suite as well as the

KATI FORNER DESIGN

TOP Branding and packaging for Solviva. ABOVE Fearn stationery design. ABOVE RIGHT AND RIGHT Branding and collateral for Bloom Berkeley.

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STUDIO PROFILE

TOP Branding and packaging for Solviva. CENTRE Branding and web design for Blinkbar. BOTTOM Branding and packaging designs created for Galdier.

“IT TOOK ME A GOOD T WO Y E A RS TO UNDERSTAND AND LOV E LOS ANGELES. I LOVE THE WEIRDNES S OF THIS CIT Y ”

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KATI FORNER DESIGN

HOW TO FOUND A SINGLE-PERSON STUDIO

RIGHT Branding and packaging created for Muse + Metta.

ecommerce website. It was a new CBD [cannabinol] line that wanted to launch with a unique and elevated brand in this space. We started with the branding. We always require three weeks for the initial branding phase and we present three to five concepts. For each concept we show a main logomark, a submark, colour palette, patterns, as well as examples of how these elements can translate to packaging and collateral. This particular client had no revisions and chose a direction on the first round, so we moved to the branding portion quickly. Solviva was going to launch with a tincture line as well as gel capsules. We chose a stock vessel and wanted to print directly on the glass. So we had our vessels shipped to the bottle printer. After concepting box options, the client approved a paper tube approach for the outer packaging. The production of the packaging is typically what takes a majority of the time with packaging projects. These pieces took 60 days to produce: we had to go through several rounds of sampling to get the colours perfect on the bottles. What are you working on at the moment? Lots of exciting things. Several jewellery brands, skincare, and a new CBD line that I’m super-stoked about. What’s been your proudest moment as a studio owner? I was asked to speak this year at the Brand New Conference, a two-day event organised by UnderConsideration focusing on corporate and brand identity. This was my first speaking engagement. Public speaking is my biggest fear and I’d always decline invitations because of the anxiety it would cause. Well, this invitation was something that I couldn’t pass up. My first presentation was

in front of thousands of people and with other presenters that I was honoured to be speaking with. I also moved into a beautiful new office space this year and was able to design the space exactly how I wanted it. This has always been a dream of mine and it was finally fulfilled this year. What ambitions do you have? I’d love to take on more projects with wider scopes, where we’re involved not only with the graphic design but also have a hand in interior spaces. I’m also a huge film buff and have always wanted to do movie titles and key art for the movie company A24. Just a few goals I’m putting out into the universe. How do you see packaging evolving over the next decade? I think packaging materials are definitely going to be more sustainable and we’re going to see a lot of innovation in that area, which I’m very excited about. I also see this trend of products that we have in the past considered mundane, or even taboo, looking for elevated design; from feminine products to toilet paper. I think we’re going to see more and more of that. Why did you want to be in Los Angeles rather than Chicago? The weather. No, really – that’s the main reason for my move to Los Angeles! I’m originally from Arizona so I never really got used to the Chicago winters. Quite honestly, I’m shocked that I lasted eight years. It took me a good two years to understand and love Los Angeles. I love the weirdness of this city. There are so many hidden treasures. For example, the best restaurants in the city are tucked away in unassuming strip malls. There’s not much that I dislike about this city.

GET EXPERIENCE FIRST The more experience you can get under your belt before you launch your own studio, the better, says Kati. “I’m happy I started my own studio after a decade of working at studios large and small. Working at these different studio types gave me insight into different processes and structures. I learned what works and doesn’t work for me, then took those learnings to my own studio.” BE PREPARED TO WORK Only launch your own studio if you’re prepared to work, says Kati. “Although running my own studio is more fulfilling than working at a large agency, it’s more than double the work,” she says. “I’m not sure I realised this when I made the leap.” SHOW YOUR WORK IN THE BEST LIGHT Getting your work professionally photographed is key to being taken seriously, Kati believes. “I think it’s important to show your work in a context that makes it shine the most,” she says. “It was an easy step for me because my husband is a photographer. And when we started to work together on photographing my projects, that’s when I started to notice my projects getting more exposure. It definitely did bring me to the next level.” FIND A WAY TO STAND OUT As barriers to setting up on your own have fallen, so the need to differentiate yourself has risen, notes Kati. “The design business is becoming more saturated, especially when it comes to freelance designers and small studios,” she says. “So, setting ourselves apart among other studios is something we’re always conscious of.” PLAY TO YOUR STRENGTHS Being a single person might seem like you’re at a disadvantage compared to larger studios. But Kati believes that, right now, the opposite is coming true. “Because of social media, larger brands are being exposed to smaller studios and designers,” she explains. “And they’re realising they don’t have to work with larger studios and pay huge inflated budgets to get beautiful, thoughtful design work.” - 91 -

project isobel for Healthspan How London-based agency isobel added character to Healthspan’s range of vitamins and supplements with a new advertising campaign isobel.com

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PROJECT

STEVE HASTINGS Planning partner, isobel Beginning his career at Leagas Delaney, Steve moved to Lowe Howard-Spink before becoming a planning director at BBDO. In 1991 he helped set up Banks Hoggins O’Shea, before starting afresh with isobel in 2003.

RESPONDING TO THE BRIEF ROB FLETCHER Creative partner, isobel Rob began as an art director at Gold Greenlees Trott, before going on to work at several other agencies. He co-founded isobel in 2003 and after 32 years in the industry he still enjoys every day as much as the first.

SARAH HUMPHREYS Account partner, isobel Sarah joined isobel in 2014 after relocating from Toronto. She started her career at Grey, then moved to john st. advertising. At isobel she’s managed various different business sectors, from retail to wine.

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Steve Hastings Healthspan is a company that makes a variety of vitamins, supplements, hair, skin care and nutritional products. It wanted to ramp up its marketing with a fresh new approach and contacted isobel having seen our website. We pitched against three other agencies and won. Although it had grown into a £50 million company, Healthspan had low consumer awareness. Our brief was to raise that and build appeal for the brand. We love challenges like this, so we went to Guernsey, where the company is based, and spent time with the product experts to understand exactly how Healthspan’s products differ from high street rivals. We also carried out consumer research to understand how people decide what to buy. The campaign is aimed at people over 45 who already take vitamins, minerals or supplements, but may not have heard of Healthspan. The TV ad is the lead, but the campaign spans all channels with radio support. Our approach was to humanise the brand, so we came to the idea of anthropomorphising the inanimate capsules early on. Pixar and Aardman were definitely influences. We presented this one idea to the client, had many discussions on the nature of the characters, and worked with several production companies to explore different characterisations before identifying the final route. Working with the

client, we pre-tested the advertising ideas with a third-party research expert to make sure the visuals, colour palette and central claim – “Not all supplements are created equal” – would work. It turns out this was vital news in the market, because people tend to think a pill is a pill is a pill.

CRAFTING THE ANIMATIONS Rob Fletcher The idea was to bring humanity and humour to a category that’s generally empty of any attempt to engage or entertain, while giving product information. Our aim was to elevate the brand and bring it to life using animation. First, we wrote three scripts, focusing on the provenance of the capsules. Each character fell into place quite easily to form a cast: an Omega 3 pill using ingredients from the South Pacific, so ukuleles spring to mind; a turmeric pill from India becomes a floating guru character; and a cod liver oil pill that comes from the cold seas of Greenland, so fishing and sou’westers. The story was king, and we didn’t try to be overly clever. We visualised the characters to start with, then handed them over to the animators at Job, Joris & Marieke in Amsterdam to add their thoughts to the final designs. Simple and charming was what we needed, with big eyes. We kept making the eyes bigger to make them more engaging, and cheated on how transparent the characters would be. If we’d kept them truly

ISOBEL

ABOVE Frames from the storyboard isobel created, along with three early treatments of the pill characters. RIGHT In this frame, isobel toned down the realism of the pill colours to see if it still worked. BELOW Two tests to see how different backdrops affect the pills, because of their transparency.

COLOUR CHANGES EVERYTHING ROB FLETCHER TALKS ABOUT HOW A SPLASH OF PURPLE LIFTED HEALTHSPAN’S BRAND… When we looked at the competitive landscape, we realised how many brands use clinical white backgrounds with smiling faces or people skipping along a sunny beach. We wanted a completely different feel that was friendly and approachable, as well as one that would stand out. We played with both white and purple as we developed the ads. White was very strong and was an ideal background colour for the characters: it made them stand out, and looked very cool. However, we went with the purple in the end because it was different to anything we had seen before and added consistency across all media. It proved to be a strong brand colour and worked brilliantly in consumer testing. At first it was hard to create the characters against this colour, and to get them to pop. But using trial and error we got there in the end.

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PROJECT

ABOVE isobel delivered a 30-second animation as well as a series of print posters promoting the brand.

“ WE WANTED THE PILLS AND SUPPLEMENTS TO HAV E THE AESTHE TIC OF THE RE AL THING”

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transparent things would have been a bit messy because you’d have been able to see the inside of their hats, for example. At first, we played with a matt version of the pills and it was quite lovely, but in the end we felt it was too abstract and ‘otherly’. We wanted the pills and supplements to have the aesthetic of the real thing. In the end the qualities of capsules and the way light reacts with them was a gift – it has a wonderful quality. We wanted them to be tactile too; this adds to their warmth and likeability. I’m not sure we can point to one source of inspiration for the animation style, just a lifetime of watching animation and the humour of inanimate objects having characters. It’s nice to throw them around a bit as well. Maybe even be a little bit mean to them. Create friction. Friction is always good in a story.

THE VERDICT Sarah Humphreys During this project there was lots of collaboration between all the parties involved. We had regular calls and check-ins with Job, Joris & Marieke working back and forth to perfect the style of the 3D animation. The client wasn’t involved in all of those conversations, but were brought in at key points to sign off and move things on to the next phase. Nailing the right character faces was definitely the biggest challenge. They had to look friendly

but not childish, like pills but not too real, and subtly different from character to character as though they were part of the same family. The eyes and mouths were especially tricky. Our client at Healthspan loves the work. Its entire business is so excited by the campaign and feel that we’ve really nailed the character of the company. It has even painted the office entrance in the new brand colour with the characters on the wall. We’ve had some great responses from people who’ve seen the campaign. All the key measures of trust, likeability and quality have increased dramatically, and the campaign has increased awareness across the target market such that Healthspan has moved ahead of two of its main rivals. The company has over 200 products, and we’re excited to be adding to the world of characters and telling new stories about the brand.

ISSUE 303

EDITORIAL

CIRCULATION

Beren Neale Editor [email protected]

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creativebloq.com Kerrie Hughes Editor Ruth Hamilton Deputy editor Rosie Hilder Operations editor

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contributors EMILY GOSLING Emily is a London-based freelance design and arts journalist. She works as a senior editor at Eye on Design and an editor-atlarge at Elephant. emilygosling.com

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FUTURE PUBLISHING LTD Quay House, The Ambury, Bath, BA1 1UA

Lisa is a freelance design writer, visiting

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platform for emerging illustrators. She’s

lecturer and founder of Inkygoodness, a currently developing ideas for her first book. inkygoodness.com

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HAZEL P MASON Freelance artist Hazel specialises in editorial and book illustration. Her other passions include cooking, costume and textile history, and exploring the UK countryside. hazelpmason.co.uk

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DESIGN CRUSH MARGARET NOLAN ON FABIEN BARON’S MAGAZINE WORK

IMAGE © FABIEN BARON, INTERVIEW AND CREATIVE DIRECTION, 1990. PHOTOGRAPHY © HERB RITTS/TRUNK ARCHIVE

“I began my design career in the early 80s, with no computers in the studio and no internet. To keep in touch with the fashion and design world, you read magazines. Luckily, the 80s was the heyday of great titles: The Face, i-D and Andy Warhol’s Interview magazine had, as contributors, the most exceptional talent in art direction, styling, photography and design. Names like Ray Petri, Nick Knight, Neville Brody, Herb Ritts and Bruce Weber were producing some of the most exciting editorial design, photography and styling I had ever seen. The power of these magazines is hard to imagine now when millions of images and articles are available at the tap of a button. I remember the thrill whenever a newsagent had a new issue of one of my favourite magazines, and the early editions of Interview were avidly collected. Printed on thick, uncoated paper in an extra large format, the production qualities of the magazine were exceptional. Above all, it was the amazing work of a young and talented art director that made Interview so exciting and so unique at the time: the now legendary Fabien Baron. I think his work was the thing

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that began my love affair with type. Fabien’s work in Interview embraced bold, brave, beautiful typography: he loved playing with letter forms, cropping and connecting the typography with the imagery so the whole spread worked seamlessly. These layouts weren’t just about looking fantastic, they enticed you to read the article with intriguing pull-out quotes. Everything was meticulous: the layout, the photography and the writing. This spread for Interview from 1990 is still fabulous. Madonna was at the peak of her fame and the article featured amazing photographs by Herb Ritts. Fabien’s layout, utilising a cropped M, encapsulates Madonna’s strength and boldness, but the letterform also complements the image. The sub-text is just two lines, but that’s all that is needed to get you reading more. Fabien’s work introduced me to a whole world of stunning typography and powerful visual language. It taught me not to be afraid of type; how important a great image is; the power of language and, above all, telling a story with every element you have. Thirty years after it was designed, this spread still has me wishing I’d done it.”

MARGARET NOLAN Margaret is an awardwinning creative director with nearly three decades of luxury drinks experience. Staying true to her first love, she is still a hands-on designer as well as creative lead for the Denomination teams in Sydney, London and San Francisco. denomination.com

Interview magazine spread 1990. Art direction, Fabien Baron; photography, Herb Ritts. Spread from Fabien Baron: Works 1983-2019, Phaidon, £150, phaidon.com

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