Take a final, Bowie

Get Loose! Get Loose! It's that time again to but on your dancing shoes but this time we are dancing the Blues, with a David Bowie special. Not musically but poster wise. The collage by my goodself and the text by the buddy of mine Wincent Valden. The poster was a quick turn around because we were kind of late in producing it giving it enough time to promote it. Oops!

We stuck with the idea of a Bowie special because his death effected most of this nation and worldwide. It seems really odd how one person can have such an effect on so many people. But it does happen. Of of Vincent's favourite albums is Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars and one of my favourite musicians of all time is David Bowie. So many good songs.

If you are in Carlisle Tonight, make it down and dance with me/everyone else there to remember Our Starman!

New Look is the NME Part 1

NME, New Musical express, the magazine responsible for my late 00's music obsession. I lived breathed the word of it because it was gospel. I am sure that is blasphemy and as of writing this is a Sunday so oops. Anyway it was all good and the the 10's came along and the awesomeness dropped a little bit although it did have a good start with a beautiful redesign and one of my favourite photos.

The next redesign was nice but was not what I was used to so felt to different to get attached and the content felt so watered down to you could take a bath in it. and now it looks mega modern (rather attractive) but instead of just watered down journalism and opinion it is filled with adverts. Worse than that it has "celebrities" in it's pages. Alt journalism meant you had an obscure indie band on the front. (see above or just google NME and you will see what I mean.) I understand some decisions had to be made to make the free version viable but this...

...is not NME. Just because it says it is doesn't mean it is. The spirit is dead. The ideals are long gone. "Indie" is dead, long live independent music.

Get Loose, Get Loose

On the contrary, to the great song by FFS, Collaborations Do Work. Me and by buddy Vincent of Progression through Inspiration "fame" gone and done a poster for the Brickyard's indie night. It is only second time we have collaborated on a client based project, The first was the first Loose Poster. (I got a thanks on the second, despite not raising a finger on design apart from helping on the ideas).

The collage of indie stars from past and present, in the main is mine. The colours were nicked from my website, because wincent liked it I suppose. handwritting his thing and giant paint splodge is also his doing. A team effort me thinks.

 I have never attended one of these nights despite looking for one to attend ever since my teenage years and I still won't be able to make this one. This is my aim to get to the next one we design Vincent, That is a promise Vincent if you are out there reading this.

If you are in Carlisle and haven't been lease go and tell me what it's like. Plus if you go, it means more business for a place I love to go to.

All the Underground hits, All the Modern Lovers Tracks

I like to think that I am still in the process of developing my edge. It's not very easy to keep it. Trends move so much these days, once you get known for something boom, it's not stylish anymore.

Anyway, I chose to do something in a timeless style to represent one of the most important era's in music. It is the most inventive time in music. I think... I have been wanting to do magazine cover for a while. So I bet you can guess what you are going to see.

Swiss design, a monospaced typeface and some classic images of bands; pre-punk/punk/Post-Punk is that what you were thinking of

Losing My Edge, the LCD Soundsystem track is what I am referencing throughout this post and this piece of design...if you are not so musically inclined to GOOD MUSIC. I have recently collaborated on a cover of the track with my brother. Stay tuned for the audio.

Rock the Kasabian

Rock the casbah, rock the casbah. Hang on...wrong band. I love Kasabian, new album not so much. but yeah their first album and third and fourth albums are all masterpieces of modern indie guitar music. Not quite that band are Kazabian, a tribute to them. They are playing at my local gig venue and I was given the poster. They are an excellent tribute to a band that are in such high demand in festivals. I am definitely going to this.

I chose to use the silhouette photo of the fake Tom Meighan because it is mysterious and also alludes that it could be the real man himself as it even had the promoter at the venue got confused. I am trying my best to avoid helvetica on these posters mainly because it is used by everyone ever. It is a beautiful typeface but over used so I am using Univers as a good replacement.

Where's Your Head at?

Me and my Buddy have been given the job by the brickyard to redesign their regular indie night poster because it has not changed in over two years. So since the brief was given we have both tried different layouts and approaches. None of which have been confirmed so far. but we will get there eventually.

so  I have been Trying out new designs and layouts for this indie poster because no one is sure what they want for the end product. I have applied my current favourite type positioning to the idea of people losing there head over the music that they love. Collage has to be some where according to the brief that we have been given

Life Will Be the Death of Me

One of the most important songs in my life. the song that got me on the right path, out with the band pop music of yesteryear and in with the post punk revival speared headed by the Kaiser Chiefs, Killers, Bloc Party, Cribs, libertines and this band the Ordinary Boys. Not the biggest and by no means the best but this is my favourite tune. They are more well known for "boys will be boys".

Picking up a simple knowledge of typography from my tutors, I experimented with how things are read, I am using the past tense on this because it is quite an old piece of typography which I have only just found on my laptop. I tested it out on my mother. If you ever need to test typography, try your mother.

3/4, 3/4, 3/4, 3/4, 3/4, 3/4, 3/4, 3/4, 3/4, 3/4, 3/4, 3/4, 3/4, 3/4, 3/4, 3/4, 3/4, 3/4, 3/4, 3/4, 3/4, 3/4, 3/4

Scottish psychedelic indie rock band, sound great and indeed it is. So I asked the staff at the brickyard if I could so the poster and they were more than happy to let me. psychedelia requires a bit of warp and movement to it hence the image repetition. The bands logo, I actually think words really well for the band despite being an unusual typeface choice. The colours and the colours of the band them selves. Its almost very pro union, (if they did have an opinion in the referendum) but this also works for them. They sound a lot like temples and they are really big right now I have no idea why these guys aren't. This is one gig I will be attending. If indeed I can.