The Numbers Game...a political drama...a creative challenge in minimalism.

The Numbers Game is a near-future political drama penned by my dad. I thought I should probably help to promote him in the best way I could, so wanted to design a cover for the novel, while at the same time challenging my creative skill-set outside my normal comfort zone.

I've always wanted to try book design because it is a creative format that sits out on its own. As the primary marketing tool for any author, an initial telling snapshot to reel the individual in, it really does carry a burden. As consumers, we are seduced impressively easily by things that draw the eye, therefore the requirement for any untested writer, any author not already a household name, or backed by the PR machine of a publishing house, is to be the stand-out personality on-shelf.

While researching for this project, I came across an interesting article about book cover design that highlighted the main principles of design to consider as:

- The design must be bold and eye-catching and conspicuously different from everyone else's, but...

- Not too much!

So with these points in mind, I set to the task of making my dad the next George Orwell.

For creative inspiration, I looked to the book blurb...

How would a Prime Minister win support for the most divisive political programme in the history of Parliament? How would he deal with the explosive consequences for his own family?

After the collapse of opposition parties at the polls with unprecedented spoiled ballots the Conservatives are forced into a coalition with the Serene Party. Their manifesto is radical: compulsory euthanasia for the old, sterilisation of the poor, punitive laws to deter obesity, legalisation of recreational drugs and capital punishment for those convicted of murder, backdated to January 1, 2000.

Prime Minister Stephen Stone wins the support of the country but divides and destroys his own family.

I believed it important to provide a piece of design with a strong, succinct message, and so focused on the core statistical theme of the book, implementing a minimalist approach for impact. A clinical typeface was utilised, functional and technical in tone, to provide an insight into book content, with wordplay in the title used to draw attention to the challenging “euthanasia” theme that runs throughout.

Enjoy!

At least they can add dance acting to their professional résumés!

Scarface.

Incredible movie. Incredible Al Pacino. Awful dance acting.

I was going to present a few variations on the art of dance acting in film, but watching this scene on repeat side-tracked me slightly. Dance like no-one is watching...it certainly looks like Michelle Pfeiffer is living by those words in this scene. Enjoy!

Cool story or what?!

Just a forewarning…potentially this could be an incredibly boring post (if you aren't wowed by the impressive approaches designers/advertisers have taken to make an incredibly mundane consumer product interesting to increase sales figures)...

It is always impressive to see how creatives go about selling the generic to the individual. In this particular case the product in question is cling film, a household necessity (until plastic is placed on the endangered species list), but one somewhat lacking in the personality department.

Unlike the more charismatic characters in a kitchen environment (slightly dry tone here); the corkscrew, the cleaver, maybe the potato masher (?!), effectively utensils with life-span and more weight on their functional shoulders, cling film is much more disposable (one of its core features). With each unravelled roll, the product faces the stern tests of value for money, quantity over quality, and brand loyalty from the consumer looking to replenish their stock.

So how would you promote this product to the consumer, build an engaging consumer relationship, bring life to a single use product with a quite sterile complexion?

Completely focused on core purpose, the following print advertisements for different brand names are incredibly similar in their approach (I suspect some notes may have been taken), but all offer up some interesting concepts, powerful imagery, and for any vegetarians unfortunate enough to read, some take it to a certain excess…

Ziploc Cling Wrap

Be fresh for a long time - Strange Idea Ad, Beijing

Glad Cling Wrap

Let it taste the way it should - DDB

But my personal favourite, through sheer need to go the extra mile to evoke a reaction, be it one of reeling in terror, or respect at the impressive candidness and seeming lack of fuss (without considering the amount of work put into visualising the idea)...

M-Wrap Cling Wrap

Chicken, Fish, Pork - Creative Juice\g1

While I have only just come across these creative gems, they arguably (and in the case above, quite controversially) highlight the importance in being true to the product you are working with. We can be convoluted in the messages we seek to convey, but in the end Sigmund Freud said it best when discussing dream analysis (a stretch from design, but the sentiment is there)...

"Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar!"

If I could print money, and enjoyed the taste of whiskey without adding lemon or sugar, I'd use these guys (if they were real).

I've decided to take a well earned break after avoiding doing so since early March, so instead of taking the opportunity to go to the rain-lashed beaches of Cornwall, or jetting off to some deeply financially and politically troubled, but incredibly tourist friendly European country to soak up the rays, completion of a few personal projects seems like the best way to use the time. That way, the endless scamping sessions onto the tables at work can subside for a bit.

So with this in mind, and throwing down a bit of self-promotion in the process...

Waltz & Tibault Fine Wine and Whiskey Connoiseurs is a self-initated project to bring a different, more refined edge to my portfolio. Jam-packed with monograms, wax seals, gold daubs, Serif typefaces, moody black & white photography, all thrown into one brand identity experiment, this brief really has taken me down a different route.

Focusing on history and heritage, the project pairs iconic German design with a traditional French approach, drawing inspiration from this interesting relationship between the two partners of the business.

For a more descriptive explanation, check the complete conceptual project out on my website.

The Midas Touch - Justin Vernon and everything. Ever.

In the small pockets of time that I have to fill my ears with noise when John Lennon and Paul McCartney are allowed to rest their voices, Justin Vernon is the strongest contender to take the slot. Volcano Choir. Bon Iver. Shouting Matches. Every project he takes a firm grip on seems faultless. I, among a rapidly growing clutter of people, am a fanboy...the man can do no wrong.

The sound washes over you, sucks you in, then spits you out that little bit more serene. Noise echoing a Steve Reich influence. Endless layers building to a perfect cadence of sound, supported throughout by a warm, soulful voice that hits both ends of the scale when expected with the changing mood of each track.

It took me a long time to realise that at the heart of my music obsession is harmony; sound over content. Dylan's poetry doesn't seem to do it for me. I'm more McCartney than Lennon. And the midas touch of Justin Vernon only seems to intensify this obsession.

Some essential advice for designing the perfect logo...world take note!

An impressive eyebrow raiser from Milton Glaser? Some profound words from Paul Rand on brand? A Saul Bass creative class? An inspiring lecture from Alan Fletcher? Or maybe something corporate and showy from the mouth of Raymond Loewy?

No...

A masterclass in "What Makes A Great Logo" from some chap called William. I'll let you make your own mind up. I know I have.

Note: no iconic designers were hurt in the construction of the unimpressive opening rap (?)

Sub-genralise this!

I'm a huge fan of Radio 6. The great thing about it as a digital platform station is it doesn't need to follow the repetitive patterns and procedures of other radio broadcasters. Instead of plugging the latest commercial track of some random diamond-spattered "kooky" artist who auto-tuned it, so much, you'll know them personally by the day's end, the DJs sift through archives and archives of music history and pluck out the gems that shaped much of contemporary music, and the reputable current tracks spawned from such classics.

My foible isn't with Radio 6, it's with the shape of the music industry now. Steve Lamacq, Radio 6 DJ, casually throwing out the genre folktronica in association with Beth Orton, frustrated me slightly. Not because she isn't a folktronica artist (apparently she is), but because I couldn't successfully establish the difference between folktronica and electrofolk, or understand how I would describe to an acquaintance at a party what to expect when listening to either genre without sounding in the least bit pretentious, and immediately finding myself in a must-find-someone-else-to-alienate scenario.

Do we need sub-sub-sub-genres to categorise the music we enjoy? Surely music genres exist to enable us to easily locate the sort of sounds we could progress onto from our current life soundtracks, or to share simply with other people of a similar harmonic disposition.

And so, my new challenge is to see how sub-genralisation might work...introducing the folktronica typeface first. Classic western folk meets electronica fluorescent tubing!

That Infamous Shower Scene!

Visiting London recently, I was heavily considering working my way through the train journey, until I realised how incredibly uninviting that idea was. So, dipping into an unnamed music store with its inviting piles of DVDs and CDs strewn everywhere (the modern shopping experience, how charming), I came across Psycho at a steal - I still can't get over the fact it was censored as a 15 (taking into consideration the numerous heart palpitation episodes that come as a standard with every viewing)?!

Hitchcock's 1960 effort is to me, and probably many many others, one of the finest movies ever made. The director, the Herrmann score, the leading lady (Leigh), the Bass opening credits, the defining role of Perkins. Not simply one element has ensured this film has gone down in history as an all time great.

From a design perspective, with Saul Bass' iconic opening credits setting the tense, sharp tone for a watching experience that never lets you settle, what more could a creative ask for. So incredibly understated, and yet encompassing the film's mood without fuss. From then, the violins and dialogue take over, and Perkins' stuttering, shy, shockingly psychotic Bates arrives from behind the motelier's desk to carry the viewer through to the closing credits.

As a perfect example of the changing values in society, the film itself stands up and argues its cause; the candid camera documentation of real life, extramarital relationships particularly, ensures Hitchcock casually breaks a few conservative taboos, along with the untrodden path of human psychoanalysis, the exploration of that monster inside of us.

That infamous shower scene, the worst plot spoiler in cinematic history? Better the devil you know, that way you can prepare those fingers to view cringingly through!

WARNING: listen with headphones on!

The Art Of Getting By. A tongue-firmly-in-cheeky project.

Probably the best place to start would be with the project that spawned the blog...

Since stepping onto the first professional rung and feeling the pain of daily 6.30am alarm clocks that the university lecturers definitely didn't warn about, my personal creative development has been sandwiched in amongst the important tasks of trying not to develop sedentary-occupation glutes, trying not to look like a social introvert, and trying not to screw up with my retailer portfolio responsibilities.

Having slowly engineered a clutter of personal projects to be proud of to set me off towards the next rung, it was important to finally showcase these. In order to promote both the technical skill-set I have developed in my time as a professional, managing the artworking process through to manufacturing for hundreds of clients both small and large, and the creative approach I have nurtured in my design work since I first set my heart on this path at the age of nine after receiving possibly the world's most violent looking Super Soaker off my cool advertising uncle, I decided the best way to do this was to challenge my copywriting skills to combine the two, and hopefully show off my personality in the process.

The result...

A book describing the essential tools for every Artworker to make their lives that little bit easier when faced with troublesome files...but obviously the tools described don't exist, otherwise where's the fun. The book was created using a minimalist approach to avoid drawing away from the tongue-in-cheek content, with the print layout marks on display throughout enforcing the "seriousness" of the book as an Artworker's essential. Just to get the right point across, I threw a few of my favourite personal projects in there too.

To further emphasise the project's focus, the book's title, The Art Of Getting By, offers a witty play on all three core elements involved; the profession, design, and copywriting.

The projects I wanted to showcase were the result of a full-time corporate design role forcing me to evaluate the sort of design that makes me tick, so the promotional product needed to shout this...which I believe I accomplished...playfully.