Opposite

Opposite exists as a cafe situated just outside the university of Leeds, selling deicious food and coffee's. It also promotes local artists, musicians and designers and holds exhibitions on certain occasions too.

I have spend a great deal of time in this place during my time at Leeds University. I love coming here at any time of the day, whether it be to grab my morning coffee, to meet a friend for lunch or to do some work. I feel at home here with it's friendly atmosphere buzzing with students at lunch time and the art dotted all over the place. I find it a great place to work too to get my creative juices flowing!

The Body photography

'The body' is a book which celebrates the human form through photography. It promotes some of the worlds most renowned photographers and their different perceptions of the human body.



Pierre Radisic is featured within the book which reveals his abstract, fragmented style of photography creating a kind of fantasy within his imagery. He concentrates on the smooth and curvaceous aspects of the body but also the creases and folds of the skin. In addition he manages to use the subject of his imagery to represent something more than just the body. In one case, he forms constellations out of the black marks that appear on the skin from the negatives, naming them 'heavenly bodies,' in order to convey their beauty and dream like qualities.

I find it fascinating to see how the human body can be portrayed in so many different ways through photography. The book stands out amongst the endless idealistic images of the 'perfect' body that we are bombarded with in fashion magazines and advertisements. It is far more diverse to the same old skinny models we see every day.

William Blake - Sgt. Pepper's

I have always been a fan of William Blake's style. He famously designed the album cover to Sgt. Peppers lonely hearts club band by combining photos with personal heroes of the Beatles. It took months and the help of Jan Haworth to put it together before the photograph could be taken.  

There have been many parodies to this design, including the Simpson's version using all the characters from Springfield. 

Paul Smith for Evian

I came across this post on my new found favorite website. Paul Smith has designed a bottle for Evian. I personally think that spending a lot of money on a bottle of water is getting a bit ridiculous, but Paul Smith has managed to create a bottle design that I would most certainly buy not only because of it's fun and flirty design but also because I would keep it and put it to good use after I have finished with the water. 

More gorgeous packaging design

I was introduced to this website by my manager at work this summer. It is a packaging design website in which the 'The Kitchen', (shown previously in my blog) features it's own designs. The purpose to this blog based website is to promote some of the world's best packaging design and is open for anyone to comment on the designs if they so wish.

I love the simplicity to this website and it's friendly, welcoming typeface used for it's name. I could spend hours scrolling through and admiring all of the beautiful designs and unlike any books on packaging design, there is influx of new designs that get put up on the blog each day.

Go to: http://www.thedieline.com/

Logo Failure

The design for the 2012 London Olympics has undergone some serious criticism within the press and from the general public. I remember hearing about the terrible state of the logo design before I even got a chance to see it for the first time. I find this very disappointing! If you type ' 2012 London Olympic logo Design,' into google, a list of negative articles spring up onto the page. The general consensus within the public is that it comes across as too patronizing and have failed to get a correct understanding of their target audience. In a Guardian article, the logo had been 'likened to cartoon character lisa Simpson giving a blow job to london.' which i thought was extremely funny and sadly quite true! http://www.guardian.co.uk/artanddesign/artblog/2007/jun/05/howlisasimpsontooktheolym

The message in which the brand is trying to communicate is as follows:

We need a powerful brand to help us achieve our ambition. A brand that combines the power of the Olympic rings and the city of London together.

The number 2012 is our brand. It is universal and understandable worldwide

Our emblem is simple, distinct, bold and buzzing with energy. Its form is inclusive yet consistent and has incredible flexibility to encourage access and participation. It can communicate with anyone from commercial organisations to kids playing sport.

It feels young in spirit. Full of confidence, certainty and opportunity. Not afraid to shake things up, to challenge the accepted. To change things.

Clearly they have started off on the wrong foot, and set themselves a challenge that was out of their reach. It seems to me as if they have made too many assumptions and of what was needed which is why it has caused such a commotion.

Eat Me

This is a book that showcases some of the brilliant food and drink packaging designs from a broad range of agencies and designer's. It touches on all the different aspects to packaging design that makes it such a success. From the witty copy writing in the Ben and Jerry's ice cream tubs, to the rise of own- label packaging of selfriges that stand as a threat to the the actual brands.





The message of desirability runs throughout the book with cropped images of a women seductively interacting with the food. Her bright red lipstick and nail varnish also conveys this idea of desire within food packaging. It has a simple and effective layout, with the type positioned, at times, diagonally across the page creating an interactive experience. Moreover the imagery exists as the largest, most dominating feature to the page, enabling you to leaf through the book and appreciate the beautiful designs. Finally there are case studies that are included at the end of the book, giving you an insight into the process that goes into how a product can achieve added value through its packaging design.