Magnetic Calender

I came across this calender in Bruge, Belgium. It was being sold in an interior design shop. It's very clever how it can be used for every month. Obviously you can't write things down on it like you would a paper calender with separate months, but it's meant to be more of a decorative wall hanging. The calender uses a black magnetic shape that can be moved over the red design to create numbers up to 31. This is not the most practical and functional of calenders but it is simplistic and combines knowing the date with having a piece of art on your wall.

Wild Beasts Video - By Nick Scott

I first came across this video when completing the Digital Motion brief last year. I love how it uses stop motion combined with an innovative use of photography. The jerky movements and bold primary colours reflect the rawness of the track.
It was created by local Leeds graphic deigner Nick Scott (he also designed all the artwork for the band The Cribs). Simple stop motion is used in parts, however Scott also took multiple shots of the band playing then used the actual photos to create a sequence giving the effect of moving film. It's not a complex, amazing feat design but it suits the track perfectly and grabs the viewers attention throughout. The music is based on rough basic elements, so too is the video.

Pompedou Centre, Paris

Just been to Paris and whilst i was there i visited the Pompidou Centre. The Centre was designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano, the British architect couple Richard Rogers and Sue Rogers, and the British structual engineer Edmund Happold. The project was awarded to this team of relative unknowns in a design competition, whose results were announced in 1971. The Pompidou revolutionized museums and in fact how buildings were created. It turned the rules of architecture on it's head. What is normally hidden within the walls of a building is externally presented in a muddle of pipes and external elevators. The characteristic piping is colour-coded according to the contents: yellow for electricity, red for heating, blue for air, and green for water.
I wouldn't go quite so far as to say the building is aesthetically pleasing but it is a great feat of engineering and certainly eye-catching. It's had people talking since it was built and no-one seems to be able to decide on whether it's good piece of architecture or not.
The way the interior has been laid out means that this is totally different museum experience to any other. The whole building combines fine art, film and design in one and uses huge floeurescent typography to guide you through the different levels. A ride on one of the outside elevators is breathtaking as you see right over the city.
Some say it's ugly but if you're looking at it from a design perspective it's innovative and unique.

Ashkan Sahihi

Ashkan Sahihi is an Iranian photographer known for his unique photographic projects. At first glance at his pictures reveal simple portraiture photography, however it's the story behind the pictures that make them really interesting.
His photography is usually divided into different series. Amongst the series he has created, there is the scream series (volunteers screaming), the hypnotised series, the cum series (hilarious pictures of quite conservative people with semen splashed on their face) and my favourite, the drug series.
Sahihi gave illegal drugs to a number of volunteers who had not used drugs before. They had to sit in his studio until the drugs wore off. The photographs he presents in this series are the pictures he felt best summed up the experience of the volunteer. Apparently the photoshoot, at one point, turned nasty when the female volunteer who was given crack got agitated and almost violent when she was told she could not have any more!
Visit the website www.ashkansahihi.com to see his full portfolio of work.
(the woman in the picture above is on ecstasy)

Album artwork by Love Police.

I've had the album above for quite some time and if i remember correctly the reason i bought wasn't for the music but because i fell in love with the artwork on it's cover. The bright colours and psychedelic patterns are delicious! This band obviously wanted to present and package their music in a visually stimulating way. The artwork is by a design group called Love Police. They are also major band and event merchandisers and tour promoters. Formed in 1996 by a designer, a music industry worker and a psychic dog handler(?!) they wanted to bring colour and vibrancy back to the music industry in the post grunge era. Their website is pretty impressive, good use of animation and navigation through visual props makes a really fun website to look through.
www.lovepolice.com.au/

Sam Scorer

This building is near Newark, about 10 miles from where my parents live, and it has caught the attention of many drivers on the A1 i'm sure! It was built in the 1950's by the architect Sam Scorer who incidentally was one of my parents neighbours until he died a few years ago. It was originally a petrol station, but is now, horror of all horrors a Little Chef! A innovative, remarkable piece of architecture that is being wasted somewhat!