Japan's 2020 Olympics Kimonos

Ever since reading Memoirs of a Geisha when I was 16, I have always loved Kimonos. They are a beautiful art pieces as well as unique elements of Japan's culture and history. So what better way to celebrate and welcome all the countries taking part in the 2020 Olympics in Japan than to design each country a Kimono. The Japanese international outreach association Imagine Oneworld started Project Kimono in 2017 and the result is a stunning online exhibition. 

One of the things I really like about this project is that the makers looked for the beauty in each country. No matter if that country was going through war or international dispute each is represented in its best light in these Kimonos - with their beautiful flowers and landscapes, seas and peaceful dunes, impressive buildings and so on. These Kimonos are a real celebration of the variety and difference of cultures. This is at heart in harmony with what the Olympic games is all about - understanding, tolerance, acceptance, inclusiveness. 

There is also great democracy here. No country appears more important to the designer than another - small and poorer nations have equally beautiful kimonos. 

Here are a few of my favourites below:

The United Kingdom

I was pleased to see our iconic flag represented but also as a nation of flowers and style.

Ireland. 

This one is gorgeous with green and clovers and orange but also famous names and faces. 

Poland 

One of the most stunning in my mind. Who knew Poland was a country with such natural beauty.

Phillippines 

I love the overlapping fronds of this Kimono suggesting peaceful sunny scenes and rippling water. 

Norway 

The country of the Vikings, snow, water and Christmas jumpers. Are these bubbles pouring down from a waterfall or baubles on a Christmas scene?

New Zealand. 

The country of the All Blacks, with green green mountains and unspoilt nature. 

Afghanistan

This is a beautiful Kimono that reminds us what Afghanistan should be. Where Islam is a gentle peaceful religion where women and men have equal roles. I do hope in my life time this will be the Afghanistan we will find again. 

Chile 

I love this one. To me it looks like a landscape of passion - tumultuous seas, volcanic mountains and dramatic weather systems. Am I right? I know very little about Chile. 

To see the complete project with all the Kimonos visit Kimono Project. 

Good artists copy; great artists steal.

Steve Jobs once said "good artists copy, great artists steal", a phrase he stole from Picasso, or perhaps TS Eliot who said: 

"Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal; bad poets deface what they take, and good poets make it into something better, or at least something different".

Apparently TS Eliot may have stolen this idea from another writer. The point is that even the greatest artists steal. 

In order to be creative you must collect influences from everywhere. If you try to work in a vacuum - try to create something that's never been done before in every single way then you are bound to spend a lot of time with writer's block, or staring at a white canvas. 

This is the message of Austin Kleon's TED talk which you can watch here:

I learnt this lesson on my first placement in an advertising agency. The Creative Director handed me a bunch of DVDs (this was 13 years ago after all) with the words "steal something from these". They were director reels from production houses. What he meant was not that we would copy them. Stealing is far more sophisticated a process (as any successful cat burglar will tell you). Instead you use the material as a jumping block to create something different.

This is what this blog is actually made for. Its a way for me to remember all the great ideas I find. By writing about them I add them to my brain's catalogue. When I need them they pop up in my head and I know where to find them. 

Of course there is no honour in literally ripping someone off and it could land you in legal problems. So when you discover someone else's idea/ visual style/ phrase that can perfectly sum up you brand's message, you've only won half the battle. Now you must make sure that what you do adds value and new meaning. 

Copying is actually not really my problem in this business. It's actually the fact that I often come up with what I think is a completely new thought only to discover that it has already been done brilliantly by another brand. The other day I was working on a sports brand when I said to my boss, "what if we had grown adults running around playing children's games, like catch or kiss chase?" My boss replied, "That was done by Nike but well done you just came up with a Cannes winning idea". Damn it. 

Like remakes of films, some of the of the best ads are stolen from the work of designers, musicians and artists.

But if you want to see some examples of blatant "copying" here's a whole blog about it:  

https://www.joelapompe.net/

Creative Makeup

I have figured out what I love so much about Halloween. It's not the parties, or the trick or treat kids or the spookiness.
No.
It's transforming myself into someone else.
And for me the most exciting bit of the whole costume, is the makeup.

Doing makeup for a Halloween event is basically like creating a painting on your face. Watching yourself transform as you apply colours and lines to your face is hugely satisfying.

But stage makeup is a real art form. I am but a mere amateur when you look at those who have studied it.

Here is the amazing Mirjana Kika Milosevic's spring in a box toy makeup.




And another - because she is so good - The Copse Bride.



And here's some of the Prosethetic work by Amazing School Jur.

But makeup isn't just for Halloween or movies. It's also got more serious applications, helping to support governments and protecting us from terrorism. 

Yep, I'm not kidding. It's an important part of undercover operations by the CIA.

Also how cool is the job title Former Chief of Disguise? The coolest!

Photography trickery by Stephen McMennamy

Everyone loves a bit of photographic trickery. Art Director Stephen McMennamy's combo photos combine two very different images to seamlessly blend them into surreal scenes where paintbrushes turn into noodles and headphones are seemingly made out of donuts. Check out some of his great images here and on his website and Instagram account.

They already make me think of ideas for adverts...

Advert for airline or holiday company perhaps?

Could be used to promote healthy eating?

Ad about how good listening to music on a particular radio station is? Or particular pair of headphones perhaps?

Perhaps ad about energy drinks making things that seem hard easy? Or one for how much meat is in a frozen food range?

Ad for how good eggs are for your brain? I'm making this shit up.

Ad for a summertime product? Maybe a clothes brand? 

Dark, gothic, detailed, beautiful.

I'm not sure why I always find gothic images so beautiful. The sadness, the hints of violence, sex and death, mixed with flowers and beautiful faces and skulls. Perhaps it was my rebellion against the prevailing culture of townies in Kappa and surfies in Billabong that divided Swansea when I was growing up. It seemed way cooler to be cynical and pronounce yourself a goth. Wear black and smudge your eyes in a vaguely teary sullen looking way.

I think that's why I looked through all the art on Big Active's rosters and was instantly drawn to the work of Russian born artist Vania Zouravliov.

Zouravliov was inspired by an impressive array of artistry including The Bible, Dante's Divine Comedy, Disney and North American Indians. It has even been said that his work is from the Devil.

Here are a few of the ones I find inspiring. I love the shapes of fabric, the partial over the top dress compared to naked limbs, the beautiful faces, the exoticism and the gothic OTT elements.

A little lighter but still richly detailed, imaginative and beautiful is the work of Klaus Haapaniemi. Finish born Haapaniemi was also influenced by Russia - in particular Russian animation. His work is vivid and fairytale-like often with backgrounds of black. 

I loved his store takeover for Isetan Interiors which was, I think, based on his beautiful book: 

I also love his gothic cover for Perfume, one of the most vivid and richly imagined books I've ever read.

 And this is one of his layout designs for Vogue magazine.

I love coming across the work of artists that make me want to create things myself. I feel inspired to write and illustrate a children's novel. Maybe do a big sexual gothic painting to shock people with. 

Just need to find the time!

3D gaming, holographs, facial mapping and projection fun

Last week my friends in the digital department brought in an Oculus Rift for us to play with. If you haven't had the pleasure of trying one then believe me it is an amazing experience. Once you put on the headset it's like you actually have stepped into a new world - a bit like the film Avatar. You can go on roller coasters and swings and your body reacts by turning your stomach upside down just as it would if you were really there. You can even peer right around yourself and look down at your own virtual reality body. In one game, after being thrown for a swing I realised that my head had been decapitated and I was staring at my own body on the floor in front of me. Freaky.

But there are many other ways in which technology is helping to immerse us in new realities and world. Another company are developing systems which project the game outwards from your TV into your room, mapping your furniture to allow elements to interact with them - snowflakes that seem to settle on your floor and bounce off your bookcases - in order to immerse you into the game.

Here's the system in action.



There seems to be a lot of interesting uses of 3D projections and mapping at the moment.
Here are two beautiful artistic pieces that really show off the possibilities of using facial mapping.

In a world where advertising is often seen as an intrusion and most things have been done already such new technology provides a real way of standing out and doing something new that really impresses the public. Fashion and luxury brands have been amongst the first to experiment with 3D mapping

Here's a 3D fashion show performed in Hamburg in 2011.



Jaguar used 3d mapping to make a static car look as if it's driving through Vegas and other cities, and then appear to become transparent to show off the power of the engine.



Ralph Lauren used 3d mapping to show off their new collection on the front of their Bond Street Store in London.



Porsche Macan used 3d mapping for the reveal of their new models



And of course there's the really famous example - the hugely successful HBO storytelling projection.



I think there might be opportunities for everyday brands to use this technology too. Perhaps Cadbury's could allow us to feel as if we were in a world full of joy, or Comfort could allow us to see everything around us made into soft knitted versions of themselves. You could revisit Sony Bravia's bouncy balls making them appear to fill the street or map clothes from top shop onto passers by. The possibilities are exciting.

Wangechi Mutu and her disturbing surreal collages.

The problem with any kind of artistic pursuit is that when you're feeling down you tend to block yourself creatively. Suddenly whatever artistic thing you are engaged in seems stupid and pointless because you feel stupid and pointless. Why paint pictures when other people are better artists than you? What's the point of writing a blog when there are people who are actually paid to write blogs and research their subject matter all day? 

This year I've struggled with these doubts. But I'm happy to say that the fog has lifted. I feel happier than I have done in years. I'm starting to feel creative again. And what better way to start thinking of new and interesting things than to look at a weird and wonderful artist. 

Wangechi Mutu is an african artist who works in New York. Whilst she also does sculpture and moving image, her most famous pieces are her collages. Her images often focus on a disturbed image of the female figure - sometimes with monstrous spikes, plant-like growths, mechanical cyborg elements and animal features. The result is of women who look grotesque and disturbing but yet still beautiful. It makes me think of the nature of women in the world today - told to embrace our sexual instincts, obsessed with technology which has become an extension of ourselves and constantly trying to refigure our own images - through surgery, Facebook selfies and makeup. 

The collages are built from magazine cut outs (images of female beauty cut out of context), from sculpted and painted surfaces and found materials. The collage helps to portray Mutu's idea that: "Females carry the marks, language and nuances of their culture more than the male. Anything that is desired or despised is always placed on the female body."

Here are some of my favourite pieces of her art: 

For more on Wangechi Mutu check out this Guardian's article:

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2014/sep/25/wangechi-mutu-artist-interview-africa-snakes-mermaids

Courage Indeed.

Oh it's been so long since I last blogged that I almost forgot how to embed a video. 
Time flies when you're in LA, doing up your house, tackling problems with cats pissing on your bean bags and putting ikea furniture together. 

Anyway I wanted to take time to post this little film about courage made by Graphic Designer, Photographer & Filmmaker Miriam Abrahams. It really is a brilliant take on the word courage. I don't think I could have done it.  Watch with sound - the two little kids are so cute.

Chop Chop from Miriam Abrahams on Vimeo.

All the comments below this video are asking to see how she fixed what the kids did to her. I was so desperate to see how she had it fixed that I trawled her website. Please post an afterwards picture Miriam! 

Detroit: Beautiful and Bust

So today came the news that the city of Detroit has filed for bankruptcy. It will mean that in future the stricken state will have difficulty raising cash, presumably much needed to stimulate economic growth in the area.

I have never visited Detroit but it sounds and looks like a place with a heart and a soul. It's no shiny metropolis or picture postcard. It has seen things, and it has endured suffering. I think I am partly drawn to it because I am from Swansea in South Wales. Swansea was once an important shipping port and at the heart of tin and copper mining. In fact it earned the nicknamed "Copperopolis". Now it is a city trying to reinvent itself as a tourist town. Its people, the great majority, are not wealthy and jobs are scarce. I imagine this is the case in Detroit too, once the proud centre of the nation's automobile industries.

There was a great advert by Chrysler which really should go back on the air following this news. It is a defiant rallying cry - we are not beaten, we will fight on.



The great thing about towns and cities that have suffered is the art that comes out of them - music, poetry, paintings, photography. Perhaps this is because artists are often said to produce their best work when they are anguished or have dark subject matters. There have been some beautiful art projects focusing on empty and abandoned homes in the suburbs of Detroit. Kevin Bauman's photography project entitled 100 Abandoned Houses was his attempt to document the forgotten areas of the city - often areas which were once inhabited by the wealthy, now in sad states of disrepair. Dreams that once were.

Another interesting project focusing on abandoned houses is Ice House Detroit. Artist Gregory Holm and architect Matthew Radune sprayed an abandoned house with gallons of water so that the entire house froze. The house is meant to symbolise the contemporary state of Detroit. Read their blog about the project here. 

Bankrupcy seems to be when a person/state/country reaches rock bottom. So Detroit, the only way is up. Maybe this is an exciting time. A time of crisis and change. Certainly it should make the US government sit up and take notice.

So Detroit, good luck. I look forward to seeing what you give the world next.

Adgirl. 

Album designs for Rock Dad

My Dad is a rock dad. I grew up telling him to turn down his music, to stop playing his guitar because it's past midnight, trying to rein in his red wine drinking and listening to his latest blues riffs. Now my rock dad is nearing retirement he is putting a band together and has written an album of songs with his friend Steve. Its pretty good too. There are ones that make me cry - the one about my mother who died has wonderful words, ones with great guitar riffs and lovely ones about our hometown of Swansea. Right now he's writing one with funny rhymes about his dating exploits. My dad is loved by the ladies.

He has put a lot of hard work into his album and he has asked me to make him an album cover. His album is called The Happy Shed - rock dad is still a man and men love their sheds. But the band is yet unnamed. These are my first attempts - they aren't in the right size and format yet - I'm going to work that out when he has chosen a design. Then I'll also design the back and the spines. He might not use them but I thought it would be fun to share.