The Get Out Clause played their song in front of 80 security cameras around England and then requested the tapes as part of the Data Protection Act. They put them all together to make their video. Music is a bit beige but the idea clever…

Link via Crunch Gear.

at the start of class on Monday.

I am worried that some of you have missed the email sent around about this. Please check your BB email. I can’t make it to the appointments on Monday and Tuesday I am sorry. Please email me if you want me to check your publications.

AND: Please pass this onto your class mates. Thank you.

Calling all emerging or established designers, illustrators, photographers and artists.

Head Case, an exhibition taking place at the Sofitel Hotel in Melbourne, September 1st to 3rd, will exhibit work from talented creatives about people living with brains that are not as they once were. Whether impaired by mystery illness, accident, drugs or any other number of reasons, Australians suffering brain injuries are as varied as you can imagine. We think its about time their stories were explored creatively and visually.

More details >

Hi All. My apologies, but I will be unable to make it in next Monday and Tuesday as promised to see you individually. I will have to view all of your work by email.

Please make sure you do a B/W copy of your publication before sending it to print so that you can be absolutely certain that it is all working BEFORE you send it to the colour printer. This is really important.

Again, I am very sorry.

The Mohawk Paper Show is on next Thursday and I suggest you all go. It showcases a large range of design work, all printed on Mohawk paper. There is always fabulous work there and you can touch and feel all the examples.

“I love paper. I love paper because it ‘s sensual and tactile and the internet really isn’t. Paper has surface, weight and texture. Sometimes it makes noise - it rustles or snaps. Usually it smells good. It bends, wrinkles, folds and drapes. It’s opaque and translucent. It’s sleek, shiny, matte or textured. It has soul. But best of all, it is a time-honoured repository for artwork.”
Paula Scher (Pentagram) - Mohawk Show 8 Judge

Venue: Reds, The Argyle Centre, 18 Argyle Street, The Rocks
Time: Thursday 8th May, 9.00 am to 5.00 pm.
For further information please call Raleigh Paper Ph. 8746 8600

Please refer to the last page in the Publication Design book that you were given in the first class for a few tips on how to improve the design in your publication. This book also has many other great tips, so I hope you are using it.

So I do not have to repeat myself again, please make sure that you have included some form of introduction to your publication so that the reader knows what they are reading. Put yourself in the shoes of someone who has not read your publication. Ask yourself:

• Would they know what it was about?
• Would they be interested in the content?
• What can I do with my design to make the content more appealing

Design for the other 90% was an exhibition held at the Cooper Hewitt Museum in New York and explored the design innovations targetting the 90% of the world’s population who do not have access to most of the products and services we take for granted.

The curator of the exhibition is in Australia and is giving a free lecture at COFA next week, May 7.

In this lecture she will discuss the efforts of passionate, like-minded designers, engineers, students, professors, architects, and social entrepreneurs from all over the globe who are turning their attention to the disenfranchised majority; the 90% of the world’s population who don’t even have regular access to food, clean water, or shelter, let alone the sleek and seductive designer luxury items we take for granted.

When: Wednesday May 7, 6:30pm
Where: COFA Lecture Theatre EG02
More Information

These slightly disturbing, but oh-so-clever, portraits are by an artist Bert Simons. He maps faces and uses various pieces of software to craft a detailed paper cutout of the face. Have a look at his process on his website. Why does this remind me of the movie Total Recall? Link via Design Verb.

Music and design have a strong relationship, perhaps because of the strong emotional responses that each evoke in people. Think of your favourite album and you’ll most likely think immediately of the record sleeve design – something which is unfortunately becoming more and more obsolete as MP3 downloads take over.

It is therefore most refreshing to see that some musicians, and even their publishing companies, taking design, and the importance of the package, seriously. Most notably of course is the manner in which Radiohead packaged their recent release In Rainbows. Yes, it was a self-publishing venture, but they showed yet again, how much importance they place in design. Third, the latest from Portishead has been packaged in a similar manner, with buyers of the double vinyl also getting all the songs on a specially designed USB stick, a limited (and sold out) 12 inch release of their song Machine Gun, and, a limited edition print.

On CR Blog there is an interview with Jason Pierce from the band Spiritualized and his designer, Mark Farrow. In the interview they speak of the respect they have for one another, and the importance they see in designing an appropriate and beautiful package for the music they release. Because, as Adrian Shaughnessy says on the Design Observer Blog: “an audio file with a thumbnail JPEG of the album cover will never have the resonance — not to mention the commercial value — of a well-made piece of packaging.” Here here.

Detail from Spiritualized’s latest album, Songs in A&E.

Ladies and gentlemen we are floating in space (Dedicated, 1997)