Posts by Peter Newman
-
’93, 4AD & Me
I was flicking through my record boxes recently, which doesn’t happen very often these days, and found an old favourite from 1993 – the Isabel Bishop EP by Unrest (I also found a questionable amount of Acid Jazz records that we’ll speak no further of). I thought I’d share this on our blog, if only because the artist Isabel Bishop, who inspired this record, is worth reading about.
It’s a record that’s very nostalgic for me, both because of the music and the sleeve design. In ’93 I’d been studying graphic design for about a year, and my interest in music was also escalating, and so my delight in discovering the record label 4AD was two-fold – aural stimulus provided by artists such as Belly, The Breeders, Pale Saints and Unrest, and the visual stimulus of their sleeves designed by heroes of the day Vaughan Oliver, V23 and Chris Bigg.
I still enjoy the music on these records, and although I’m not as enamoured with the sleeves as I once was, at the time they gave me great pleasure and inspiration – I remember spending a significant amount of time, to no avail, trying to make photographs like Jason Love’s for The Breeders’ Cannonball cover shown above.
Unfortunately my little trip down memory lane was cut short as my 2yr old daughter has managed to detach and hide the stylus for my turntable, however, through the modern miracle that is Spotify I can share the title track with you here.
-
The Times Ryder Cup scoreboard
Here’s another one! The Times asked us to create an interactive Ryder Cup graphic for their iPad edition and thetimes.co.uk. The graphic features live scores for the three day competition (maybe four if it keeps raining), a course guide with video flyovers, player profiles, and a Twitter feed comprised of golf experts and enthusiasts.
Anyone who knows me will be surprised to learn that I’ve played the role of Applied Works golf expert for this project – yes, there is a sport that I know something about!
-
The Times Pope timeline
To coincide with this week’s Pope visit to the UK, today’s Times iPad Edition and thetimes.co.uk feature a timeline of key events in the history of the Catholic Church. Designed and built by Applied Works, 15 key dates from 1517 to the present day are illustrated with accompanying text, audio and newspaper clippings.
-
TfL: video & social networking
Our video for Transport for London’s careers department has just gone public, and can now be found on TfL Careers’ Linkedin page.
From the Linkedin page you can also access some social networking tools we’ve developed, including a Facebook app and Twitter page. These tools allow potential candidates to follow the latest job vacancies, which are automatically updated via their preferred social network.
You can read more about our work on TfL Careers’ communications strategy, including the video, on our TfL project page.
-
Rework
I have a pretty long commute to and from the studio each day, with an hours uninterrupted train journey each way, and when I’m not asleep I usually pass the time by reading something (so expect a few more book related posts to appear here). My last two train rides have been filled by a book called ‘Rework – Change the way you work forever’, not the kind of title that would normally feature high up my list of future reads. However, two things attracted me to this book – the conflicting reviews I’d read, and the authors – they’re the key people behind 37signals, the development company responsible for project management software called Basecamp – an integral part of our working day at Applied Works.
There is much I like about the book, and having worked with a few start-ups over the years, I think many would benefit from adding this to their bookshelf. In broad terms the message throughout is to reject as the only option, some commonly held notions of what it is to be professional or successful in business – or put another way, have the confidence to do it your way. I also like the over-arching theme of making things more simple – the book itself has been edited down to a two hour read (and I’m not a quick reader), which is a great example in itself of the effectiveness of being concise.
As with any ‘advice’ themed book the only sensible approach is to try out those aspects which are well suited to your particular situation – it’s not a blueprint for conducting business. And there are many aspects of business tackled in the book, all with catchy titles and illustrated statements, eg. ‘Meetings are toxic’ and ‘Resumés are ridiculous’. But if I had to pick out passages that I particularly identify with, they’d have to be ‘ASAP is poison’ and ‘Go to sleep’.
-
Dealerward invitation
We were asked by our client, Dealerward, to design an invitation for FIT-AV 2010, an event they’ve organised in collaboration with Reflex and AMX UK. We asked Downey & Co to handle the print, and as always they’ve done an excellent job! Print spec: Duplex 350gsm Dark Grey Colorplan and Ice White Colorplan (combined weight 700gsm) with True Blue metallic foil-block both sides.
-
Ilya Repin
Saw a thing on the idiot box last night about a late 19th century Russian painter called Ilya Repin. I think it’s amazing stuff.
-
Miguel Mera identity
This identity along with a website were created for Miguel Mera, recognized as one of the UK’s most versatile and distinctive composers of music for film and television. Structured around Miguel’s initials ‘MM’, the sparse but playful arrangement of typography compliments some of the stunning imagery taken from projects Miguel has worked on.
-
Talent Scout wins 2nd award
Our work for AstraZeneca’s internal employee referral programme, Talent Scout, has won a second award, this time in the Effectiveness category at the CIPD Recruitment Marketing Awards.
-
Giles Revell website phase 2
Photographer Giles Revell is launching the second phase of his website. The site has been created by Applied Works in association with Studio8 Design, with the aim of showcasing both Giles’ commercial and artistically-driven work.
Page 1 of 2Older »