A creative Designer






Thursday 16 October 2008
Jonathan Barnbrook


JONATHAN BARNBROOK is one of the UK’s most active graphic designers. Pioneering the notion of graphic design with a social conscience, Barnbrook makes strong statements about corporate culture, consumerism, war and international politics. Working in both commercial and non-commercial spheres, Barnbrook combines originality, wit, political savvy and bitter irony in equal measures















"Tommorrows truth"















This image was part of Barnbrook's 'Tomorrow's Truth' exhibition at the Seoul Arts Centre in 2004. The Mickey Mouse hybrid is Kim Jong-il, son of Kim il-Sung who assumed dictatorial control over North Korea in 1948. Barnbrook, on the symbolic link between Disneyland and North Korea explains, "Both are 'contained realities'. Everything is thought out, controlled- your reality is changed when you're inside both. Er... they also both cost a fortune to get into."


The typography "double think" created by Jonathan Barnbrook. This typeface is so sophisticated, It seems so simple to think of this creation but yet it seem so powerful when it is used on neon signage. I like this one in particular because when the individual characters form a shape to make a letter each ends doesn't need to touch each other . i.e look at the lower case "e" looks like a worm curled up and the upper case "A" looks like the triangle instrument.




I remember him saying this when he was giving a lecture.


What do you wear to work ?


"I hate people's obsession with brands so I usually just wear anonymous clothes, which I know have not been made under sweatshop conditions. Today, for instance, I’m wearing one of my own t-shirts which says, 'only jerks wear logos"


"Stay Away from Designer"















A major recurring theme of Barnbrook's graphic design is political work and work with a social conscience. He describes as a major influence to his work 'an inner anger which is a response to all the unfairness that is in this world'. He has stated his ambition to use 'design as a weapon forocial change' As such he was a signatory to the First things First 2000 manifesto, in which graphic designers, conscious of the power that the message that they craft can have in the mass-media influenced world, pledged to put their skills to worthwhile use' and address the 'unprecedented environmental, social and cultural crises' that they saw in the world. This former sentiment is expressed in part by his 2001 artwork Designers, stay away from corporations that want you to lie for them, a quote from Tibor Kalman , which took the form of a large-format advertising billboard and was first displayed in Las Vegas during a


Monday 13 October 2008

Why does these 3 designer stand out from the rest?

John Warwicker

John Warwicker from Tomato

Brief history

John Warwicker, born in 1955 and studied a B.A in graphic design and digital media at the Camberwell in south London, after he then went onto masters degree in Electronic interactive media at the Birmingham polytechnic. John Warwicker is the co-founder of a design group called Tomato along with several other designers. Over the recent years John travelled to about 40 countries giving out lectures, seminars and holding workshop for the new breed designer. John Warwicker is also part of a band called Underworld where he was a video DJ for them and at the end of 2006 he published a book called The floating world. Before co-forming “tomato”, John was head of art and video at A&M Records and creative director at Vivid i.d.

My thoughts about John Warwicker is definitely well recognised and a high profile member of the design group tomato with over 20 years been one of the most original thinkers in the design and creative industries, experimenting with any media whatever is to his hand, either flame suite or a laser pen and a mirror. It goes to show the genius of an idea and simplicity too and how irrelevant technology in many ways.

But it also shows what can be achieved if marketing/brand managers let good designers and creative do their job and stay out of the way. There are not many that are courageous enough to do that.

When we normally see a good piece of design we sense that adrenalin inside our body. Our eyes are normally glued onto the piece of design. But however meeting our designer that we have been inspired by has a totally different feeling. We see our designers a celebrity, a person that we look up to, a person we want to be, a person that we want the same mind frame and without a doubt we want to ask so many question but yet our mind goes blank when we see the designer, or when the designer ask us simple question that we never thought about.


A selection of John Warwicker and Tomato design

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http://desaingrafisindonesia.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/the-floating-world-3.gif


John Warwickers designs seems to aimed at the future, his artwork is a "future thought" i particular like the 1st design because its a 3-d structure of a building or a movement occurring on a still image. The vibe feels like the image is temporary frozen and once it resumes to play it will move or morph into another scene or an environment. It feels like I'm in the Matrix or in a virtual world. Also the first design looks like a show from MTV cribs where they discuss how many rooms are there in the house




Stefan Sagmeister


http://www.dld-conference.com/Stefan%20Sagmeister%2050.jpg


Brief history

Stefan Sagmeister is one of the most important graphic designer to out generation. Born 1962, Austria and now migrated to New York. In his earlier days he studied Graphic design at the University of Applied arts Vienna. He later received a scholarship to study at the Pratt institute in New York. Stefan Sagmeister proceed to set up the New York based Sagmeister Inc. in 1993 and has since designed branding, graphics, and packaging for clients as diverse as the Rolling Stones, HBO, the Guggenheim Museum and Time Warner. Sagmeister Inc. has employed designers including Martin Woodtli; and Hjalti Karlsson and Jan Wilker, who later formed Karlssonwilker. In 1994 he was nominated for a Grammy award for his album cover called “h.p. zinker mountains of madness”. In 1999 he produce one of the most iconic poster for the AIGA lecture which he had the words carved into his skin to try and visualise the pain that accompanies each of his design project. Many outsiders will see this as an insane man but to the upcoming and established designers they see it as an inspirational piece of artwork. In 2001 released the book ‘made you look”
(Another self-indulgent design monograph)’. Which many of his fan was eager to read about.

Stefan Sagmesiter is known for his emotional work and a lot of his design is based about him, He uses his work to express himself in many ways. Stefan is known for his inspirational lectures, lecturing all across the globe and among many projects Stefan continues his work on “20 things in my life” I have learned so far a series of typographic pieces inspired by his grandfather.

Since last week (09.10.08) when I watched the short video of the Stefan Sagmeister edited by Hillman Curtis I notice that he gave some strong inspirational speech upon his own life. I took this into account and played the short video over and over again just to listen to some of his speeches, It shows that he is mentally and physically focused about is his own work and by building work about him shows that he has been through a lot of ups and down in his life. He seems to me a league of his own. As a designer we could recognise his innovative work thoughts and his emotion as he shows it in his lectures, semeister and his interviews and that’s why I chose this designer to be one of the greatest in the 21st century. Passion is the key for me. If u have passion and enjoy being a designer then you have no worries of sharing your thoughts, ideas and creativity in the open world.

http://www.wunderkabinett.co.uk/gallery/albums/userpics/10002/sagmeister.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2292/2460649083_1614493095.jpg?v=0

http://images.ted.com/images/ted/429_389x292.jpg

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_EHig2THnrmA/RyBwbw3cniI/AAAAAAAAGt4/vo6mS-mUNAM/3-good.jpg


The answer is
These pioneering designers think first and then have answers to every solution. Everybody has a dream, with me impossible is defiantly nothing