What I loved by Siri Hustvedt - Book cover

When I saw this cover, my thoughts immediately went to a sex in the city style novel, but from the reviews I have read this is not exactly how it is. Geraldine Bedell writing in the Observer said "Her characters inhabit a rarefied world of SoHo art galleries and universities and are so preoccupied with interpreting their lives that you wonder how they manage to live them." This is not what I would instantly link with the cover art, however I can see that it does have a certain reflective element about it. I do like the style and way that the title has been incorporated into the artwork, however, from what I have found out it doesn't lead you into the story as well as some of the other covers I have mentioned.

Then we came to the end, Joshua Ferris, book cover

This very familiar imagery automatically makes you think of an office environment. From finding out what I can about this novel, I can't think of a much more appropriate way to communicate the story's plot. The book's centre is a Chicago ad agency at a time when the industry was undergoing massive change into the digital era and job losses were following as a result. One book review picked up that it was created in a similar style to the office, it drew you into the lives of fictional characters, but ones that you could actually see alot of people you knew reflected within. Although the post it note style has been used a lot in the past, I have not seen it so frequently on book covers. On top of this from what I have read it is a very suitable way to set the tone of the book which is ultimately what the cover sets out to do.

Another Orange advert

I can't as of yet find a video to include of this Orange advert, but from the image above you can see the gist of how it is created. This is another way of achieving animation, often one that people have been aware of since they were children and therefore can be overlooked. I like the simplicity that this advert shows, its the one that orange is famous for. I am not sure if the main animation has actually been created by a flick book way, but the idea and concept behind it is the bit I like. It creates a personal feeling to the advert, whilst I have to say I am not over keen on the actual content of the advert, I thought it was worth mentioning purely for a technique purpose.

Their eyes were watching god,

I saw this on my housemates course book shelf and instantly I wanted to know what the book had to say. The cover graphics, whilst not shocking or overly innovative work well and look good with the typography that is also on the front. My first thoughts were that it had a very balanced and reflective quality about it, like you sere seeing an image of how the main character felt not looked, I think it was this that made me curious in the first place. From what I have been told and found out from skim reading the first chapter or so, the plot is about the main character Janie who is recounting the events from the last twenty of her life; This obviously is where the very reflective character pose came from. The one thing that did confuse me slightly was that very peaceful images had been shown in colors which are normally associated with danger. This is also something that is a theme within the book.

This cover uses a different technique to simply showing a scene or character from the book, in my opinion it shows a feeling and a theme. The fact that this can be communicated to the author before they even open the book is something I find really interesting, its something that has a large amount of potential for future work.

Lloyds TSB Advert

I like this advert and concept. Its something that doesn't necessarily relate to the bank until you see the end. I like this technique, in a similar way to the Alfa advert someone commented on in their blog last week, it allows you to be pulled into the visuals and music. By the time you get to the end you are actually quite curious about what it is promoting. The animator Marc Craste has created a really stylized scene and characters. It flows well and doesn't over complicate things. Its an interesting direction for a bank to go in but one I think that is quite successful.

Targeted TV Adverts

I saw this advert for the first time last night on TV. Aside from the fact that its a good example of Chanel successfully creating a glossy luxurious advert that will not look out of place either now or at christmas, I also noticed something else. There were two guys and three females in the room at the time, both the lads after commenting on how good looking she was weren't that interested. All of the females however were more captivated by the advert and the product they were selling. I actually asked the people I was sitting with after what they thought of it, both guys said it was boring and not remotely appealing, where as the rest of us were really attracted to it. I know this in itself is not conclusive, but it was interesting to see how we all reacted to an advert none of us had seen before, when we weren't deliberately trying to form an opinion (as you do in a focus group for example). I think this is a case where they know so clearly who their target audience is they are able to design an advert that appeals directly to them. Whilst its something we all try to do, seeing this made me realize how much impact it can have if done successfully. I guess its a good example of the fact you don't have to be worried about alienating some people, in order to reach your desired customers.

Orange TV Adverts

I have really mixed feelings about these Orange adverts. There are some things that I admire such as the fact that it has an amateur and slightly theatrical feel. I also like the fact that they have taken this through to the accompanying music so that it all fits in with the concept. On the other hand there is just something that doesn’t seam as dramatic as you would expect. The only thing I can put this down to is fact that, it doesn’t have as much impact as much as Orange’s preceding adverts. I know that this is an unusual standard to judge it from, but I can’t help but do so given the company’s track record. It is in a similar way to the Sony Bravia adverts, since the success of the first the second has so much more to live up to. The same is true here, I have included two of my favourite past Orange adverts bellow. It may just be me who thinks this but whilst the current campaign is good, it is not in the same class as the other two campaigns.

Toyo Ito

I am relatively late in discovering the wonders of Toyo Ito the Japanese Architect and Designer, but simply looking at his work you can’t deny his creativity. I found out about this architect when I was investigating the architect behind the VivoCity building in Tokyo (below). This is one of Toyo Ito’s most famous designs.












The more I investigate this building the more that it intrigues me. According to their website “ The name ‘VivoCity’ is derived from the word ‘Vivacity’, evoking a lifestyle experience that is modern stimulating and accessible to everyone”. When you think about this as a type of mission statement for the building, I don’t think they could have selected a better design for the Singapore Construction. From what I can discover without having visited it myself, this building has everything. The 1.5m square foot area that it covers it contains event spaces, promenades, cinemas, shopping and food courts, gyms, a spa, living space etc, the list appears to be endless. The intertwining lines that are both an internal and external design feature make you feel that this is a fun place to live, work and relax, the whole thing screams confidence and playfulness.

This isn’t by any means the first of Ito’s constructions to reach the headlines. The design that drew him into the limelight was Sendai Mediathique. This is another multifunction building but this is done in a different almost more spiritual way. The large open spaces were created to allow a variety of exhibits and events and allow the Mediathique to continually evolve.

Another building I want to mention is his famous ‘Tower of Winds’ which was built in 1986. It’s primary function was to disguise a ventilation tower for an underground shopping centre in Yokohama, Tokyo. Toyo Ito transformed the solely functional construction into a design feature with his innovative ideas. In the day it appears to be an opaque tower (with mirrored plates and aluminium shielding the lights within).


At night this building comes to life, a computer programme controls the ring of neon lights surrounding the tower and allows it to respond to noises and movement from the city above. Technically I am not certain how they accomplished this, but the result is so peculiar and interesting I became less interested in finding out everything about its construction and more interested in finding images of it.


Then there was the Serpentine Pavilion in London, which was constructed in 2002. This is constructed within the grounds of The Serpentine Gallery, the idea of this pavilion was to create a space to be used for anything from film screenings and special programs to a café. It may not be the largest scale of his designs, but I love the lines and spaces that it creates, its hardly what you would call your standard café!

The final design that I want to mention is his design proposal for the Taichung Metropolitan Opera House. Toyo Ito himself said that ““Architecture has to follow the diversity of society, and has to reflect that a simple square or cube can’t contain that diversity.” The building is scheduled for completion in 2009, if the final result comes close to these proposal images, I think it could be a really fascinating place to visit.



I have spent a long time investigating and exploring the work of Toyo Ito. The buildings that I have mentioned are simply some of my favorites, there are many more equally impressive ones around. More than anything I love the creativity that this work shows, you can tell that each design grows from it’s surroundings and is designed to best suit the purpose. I can now understand why this Japanese Artist/Architect is considered “one of the world’s most innovative and influential Architects” (Designboom/Wikipedia)

FunkyLittleDarlings.co.uk

I first heard about this design service in the Sunday Times Style magazine. It was founded by Mandy Colliss and David Quinton (former toy and Graphic Designers). The company evolved after the couple discovered the surprising lack of uncheesy wallpapers available for kids. “The idea is that parents send ideas and photos of their children and we create a bespoke picture”. This is often personalized even further when they add characters or imaged based on the child into the design for them to discover.

I think it’s a fantastic idea, I remember when I was younger wanting something bright and dramatic on my walls and my mum begging me to change my mind into something that I would like for longer that a week. Whilst these dramatic designs don’t totally eliminate this possibility, the fact that they are designed specifically to suit both the child and the adults commissioning it does reduce this chance. Its like having a large (but more permanent) picture painted for your wall, it is something that will always remain unique to you.

Tilt-Shift Photography (making reality into a toy town)

I read an article earlier from today’s Telegraph Magazine called “Postcards from Toytown”. The subject of this was the 29 year old Tokio artist Naoki Honjo and the way that he uses the technique ‘Tilt-Shift photography’ to create almost fake looking images from everyday scenes. The article quotes the artist as saying “It’s nothing special in terms of technique, its just a way of controlling the focus” I had never heard of this term before but I have since looked it up on the internet and found that it is not an uncommon or new thing. From what I can gather it requires the image sensor to be moved from the normal right angle with the lens, this alters the perspective and focus of the image, hence creating a toytown effect out of everyday life.

The effect is really unusual, you find yourself studying the images really closely to try and work out if the seemingly lego world your seeing could actually be real. Here are a few scans out of the article, I find this fascinating, I don’t think I have ever fully appreciated the number of different things that can be achieved with a camera and without photoshop.