Strike a pose

Via the dieline… “Kokeshi Match started as a product of pure creativity. In 1994, as a part of a group exhibition, Kumi Hirasaka drew faces of KOKESHI (traditional Japanese wooden dolls) on each match by hand. In 2000, Kokeshi Matches are mass produced and later expanded into various designs such as chicks, piggies, cats and cranes.” Kokeshi website here.

Make your own kids fancy dress ideas from the wonderful Wee Society

I stumbled across this blog post with 4 downloadable make your own fancy dress guides for Halloween. I’m a big fan of all things Wee Society and this is no exception. A lovely idea, well executed and totally free for parents to download and make with their little ones.

Take a look at the Wee Society blog and website here.

Happy Birthday to the Barcode - 40 this year

Interesting article in Design Week on the history of the barcode: http://tinyurl.com/bpn99ld

“The first barcode was invented by N.Joseph Woodland after he dropped out of engineering grad school in the late 1940s. Sitting in a deckchair in Miami beach, inspired by Morse code, which he had learned in Boy Scouts, he drew four lines in a circle in the sand. Patented in 1952 Woodland’s barcode was circular so that a checkout clerk could scan it from any direction, however, it depended on vast scanning equipment which was too expensive to be manufactured at the time. Woodland and his business partner Bernard Silver eventually sold their patent for $15 000 (£10 000 - all that they were paid for the invention), though Woodland moved to IBM and worked with George R Laurer on its UPC model, the striped barcode used today.”

New Branding for the British Safety Council

Inspired by hazard stripes, and reminiscent of the hacienda/factory branding but in blue and red rather than yellow and black.

I like it and I love the clean vector illustration style used in their comms.

https://www.britsafe.org/

Designed by these chaps: http://www.gilmarwendt.com/

New Heinz Beans Packaging

To accompany the launch of their new beans flavours, Heinz have worked with Bompas & Parr to create limited edition launch packaging.

For £57 you get a handmade bowl and a musical spoon that you listen to through your mouth, playing tunes that relate to the recipe you choose.

The cheesey beans spoon plays a melody inspired by Elgar (played with a cheese wire), and with garlic & herb you get a soundtrack made from the sound of rustling garlic skins and tin cans knocking against each other.

If your mouth is in need of some music - get down to Fortnum and Mason for a tin.

GF Smith

GF Smith papers have released a new sample book and interactive website: colorplan.co.uk

It’s easy to get drawn in and spend too much time playing about with colour combinations on the website - regardless of whether you need their papers or not, it’s a useful tool for picking/exploring colours - check it out.

Mark Wallinger Labyrinth Artworks

Commissioned to celebrate London Underground’s 150th anniversary, these artworks will be installed in every tube station. I’m a big fan - I like the styling of some more than others - looking forward to seeing one for real soon.

“Wallinger has created 270 individual artworks, one for each station on the network, each one bearing its own unique circular labyrinth, but with a graphic language common to all. Rendered in bold black, white and red graphics, the artworks are produced in vitreous enamel, a material used for signs throughout London Underground, including the Tube’s roundel logo, whose circular nature the labyrinth design also echoes. Positioned at the entrance of each labyrinth is a red X. This simple mark, drawing on the language of maps, is a cue to enter the pathway. The tactile quality of the artwork’s surface invites the viewer to trace the route with a finger, and to understand the labyrinth as a single meandering path into the centre and back out again – a route reminiscent of the Tube traveller’s journey.” (Quoted from the art on the underground website).