New Seminar, New Banner!

A new pop up exhibition banner designed for The Journey’s brand new seminar – Stop the Food Fight!

Wedding Invites by UGD

Billy and Kelly asked UGD to design and print a clean simple invite for their wedding. Mission accomplished!

Green Friday

Christmas comes but once a year and to celebrate we’re having a party, and guess what reader, you’re invited! We’d love it if you’d come hang out with us on our very own ‘Green Friday‘

But, to get you in that Christmasy mood, we’ve created a list (yep, yet another one) of the Christmas design we love the best.

1. To kick this off, we have to have our first Christmas tree.

This fabulous design comes from the guys at Buro North. We think their plywood Christmas tree is both innovative and displaying use of responsible design – their tree is incredibly Eco friendly and just absolutely gorgeous.

And, look at that, when Christmas is over how easy would it be to pack this away? No hoovering up the fallen pine-needles, no broken glass from last years baubles…Actually I should really get one of these.

Even the packaging is beautiful…

2. Something beautifully simple from CreAds.

The only thing we have to say about this is that we wish we’d come up with the idea! I really love it when designers use something so simple to communicate so much, happy days!

3. Who knew that a leaky pen could be so Christmasy?

4. I’m dreaming of a wineeee christmasss…

Every Christmas, Duffy & Partners design a set of beautiful wine bottles to send to clients and friends. This time they use lovely 1930′s style typography to evoke that glow we all know and love so well!

5. And we’ll finish on our favourate This lovely piece of work by graphic design studio Paprika

This gorgeous “Ice Tree” sculpture is made from 300 recycled water bottles suspended in the air. designed by Paprika studio, this provocative installation is hanging in Montreal’s furniture store Domison throughout Christmas.

We love how the inspired sculpture casts and reflects beams of light, creating an eye-catching display that raises awareness of the possibilities of recycling. Just lovely.

Thank you to all of our clients and supporters, we hope to see you tomorrow for our Green Friday, but if we don’t have a very Merry christmas and a happy New Year!

Follow Lauren on Twitter.

BCBC Economic Development Unit Banners

3 Exhibition Roll Up banners designed and printed for Bridgend County Borough Council’s Economic Development Unit. The banners will be used at different BCBC events and have been specifically designed to work individually and/or as a set of 2 or 3 depending on the event.

Meet a design student day: LaurenLikes

Ok, so you don’t particularly need to meet me as such, I’ve been blogging here for a few months now. But I haven’t really spoken about who I am, what I do and how I consider myself as a designer.

So lets start at the very beginning. My name as you know is Lauren, as of writing this I’m 21, Welsh, currently studying in south west London (Third year and terrified) and I’m obviously female.

I’ve lived in London for almost three years now, and had the incredible luck to work with some fairly well known companies (I’m currently working on a brief set by design studio G.H.B. which is both terrifying and amazing.) But personally I find that larger design companies lack the relationship that smaller ones have with their clients, it’s sometimes difficult to understand the clients needs when you’re not directly working with them, but rather with a company liaison. United Design is to date the friendliest company I’ve had the pleasure of working with, and would love it if they gave me a job. Hint.

As a designer I’m very process led, I’m happiest when up to my elbows in sludge trying to work out ‘What happens if I do this?’

(For the record, never mix P.V.A. and washing powder, it creates something I like to call Dino-snot.)

I enjoy working with materials, not just necessarily computers. and I find sometimes that designers often forget that the computer is only a tool, a medium, and not always the most useful device. Good ideas create interesting design, good software doesn’t necessarily generate good ideas.

So, I guess I should show you some of my university work?

For this project I worked with artist Owen Thackeray and blacksmith Gavin Fraser

This project was a collaboration between designers Anette Valle (model) ,Kasia Sniegocka, Pegah Redjai Sani and myself.

And my personal work?

My personal work revolves mostly around gift giving, I enjoy making things that other people love, I do this for weddings mainly. But I also make beautiful things on commission…

Paper wedding cake wreath made as gift for bride.

Paper Wreath made for commission.

I like to keep myself busy, tending to work on several projects at once As well as working for university, various competitions and submitting to galleries I also write for this blog, keep up with twitter, have my own Tumblr and I am writing a thesis on ethics in Graphic Design (titled ‘With Great Design comes Great Responsibility’. Thank you Spiderman.)

Phew, no wonder I haven’t had time to bake recently…

Presents from London

Bet you didn’t know presents from Japan was a two-parter!

After promising UGD that I’d post their kitkats to them I decided that I had to do more! I couldn’t just send them a boring little package with a few kitkats in it!… So I sent a few other knicknacks. I’m so glad I did because the photo’s (in particular the reaction shots) are PRICELESS!

Obviously some of the Japanese sweets weren’t quite to Ant and Petes’ taste…

To quote Ant:

Those sweets were dead fish coated in pot pouri, they were beyond foul, I gagged. what they were exactly were slugs rolled in wet grass tasted like, they caused illness.

I think that they’re rice based? I’m so glad I gave them to you…Although I have more here. I may have to eat one and update you on my findings.

Follow Lauren on Twitter