17 / 06 / 2011 - Pointe Blank - Coppélia
For those of you who have been following me on Twitter may have seen me plug a new project I’ve been curating with Rob from Birmingham Royal Ballet. Pointe Blank is an exhibition of original images inspired by the story of Coppélia. In a first-of-its-kind project for Birmingham Royal Ballet, a selection of artists and designers have been invited to produce a single piece of artwork which envisages the plot of the classical masterpiece as told in a manner of their choosing.
The collection opened on Monday 13th June at a live launch event at Birmingham Hippodrome. We invited the artists, local creatives and industry professionals. Follow our Tumblr for updates and give us a cheeky like on Facebook too if you like what we’re doing ;)
Full project info and artist list can be found on www.pointeblank.co.uk
01 / 06 / 2011 - Interview with me on Bright Knowledge
I've recently spoken with Bright Knowledge and appeared on their 'My Job Explained' feature. As part of the essential guide to education, careers and student life.
06 / 05 / 2011 - Ammo Magazine Issue 6
I was delighted when invited to be interviewed for the recent issue of Ammo Magazine. It has an incredible reputation in the illustration world so it's an honour to be involved. You can pick up issue 6 online, snap it up!
15 / 03 / 2011 - The Publishers Club zine
My submission for the Totummy zine got in :) yay. I couldn't make the event in Manchester but there's some awesome photos over at Ammo Magazine's flickr from the event joined with InkyGoodness for the final leg of the Character Totem Live Draw. The covers were live screen printed and the theme of the zine was Totummy to coincide with the InkyGoodness tour, my Baked Alaska illustration got chosen and sits right next to the very talented Alison Richards.
10 / 03 / 2011 - B-Hive - Graphic Design panel
I'll be on the panel for the graphic design panel at this years B-Hive. B-Hive brings together Birmingham's leading creative agencies giving the chance for students and graduates to get their work shown. Our panel is on Tuesday and i'll be choosing one lucky student ;) to come join me at Substrakt for a months paid placement. I've been told to think Dragon's Den, although I don't think I'm that scary!
04 / 03 / 2011 - Cover Wars @ Yarnfest
It was great to take part in Cover Wars as part of Yarnfest at Queen of Hoxton a couple of Mondays ago. I battled it out in creating a cover for Hanif Kureishi’s Buddha of Suburbia against four talented individuals! Representing Ammo magazine I was in the first round against Jamie Littler, representing Soupa. It was the fastest 20 minutes of our life. Pens vs paint. Hanif read out sections of the book in the first half too, then it was judged by the Hanif, Jon Gray and Miriam Rosenbloom (designer from Faber). Next up were Lauren and Phil from Hidden Dingbat against Robyn Boyden. The winner from each round (jamie and hidden dingbat) entered a grand finale of pin the tale on the donkey! Muchas fun all round and congratulations to Hidden Dingbats who won the show :)
Was a great night and lovely to meet my fellow illustrators, Jo from Soupa, Hanif Kureshi and the judges :) top stuff! Check out the project page for more pics
14 / 02 / 2011 - Yarnfest 2011
I’ll be illustrating live at Yarnfest next Monday as part of: Cover Wars – The Buddha of Suburbia / £5 / Monday 21st Feb – 7.30pm – 10pm / The Queen of Hoxton 1-5 Curtain Road
Four illustrators representing illustration networks across London will pit their pens, pencils, brushes and glue against each other in a battle to create the best book cover for Hanif Kureishi’s ‘Buddha of Suburbia’ live on the night. Hanif Kureishi will read excerpts on the night as well join Jon Gray of Gray318 on the judging panel. In partnership with Faber and Faber.
30 / 01 / 2011 - Brightspace Creative Careers Festival
Creative Careers Festival organised by Bright Space is a two day event for 13-18 year olds. Substrakt were approached to design the identity for the event. The creative and cultural sectors offer a multitude of opportunities for interesting careers, although there is a lack of information and guidance out there. The festival highlights these directions offering workshops, demonstrations and seminars with organisations including MADE, Rare (Microsoft), 4Talent, The Rep and Substrakt (me!)
On the Friday I was sat on the Young Creative Panel alongside Emily Jones (Town Hall Symphony Hall), Annabel Clark (Blogger / Flatpack Festival), Courtney Salmon (Music video producer) and Matt Windle (Poet). We were asked questions about our experience, routes and aspirations for the future. Between us we shared answers and discussed opinions based on our individual experiences. Tips and advice, that as professionals we can often take for granted. With all different backgrounds it was a great insight to hear about all the amazing stuff happening in Birmingham too :)
25 / 01 / 2011 - Viridian Nutrition illustration
I've been working on some illustrations for nutrition company Viridian. They will appear on the website and across the packaging range.
22 / 01 / 2011 - Not In Collection poster
The Not In collection is a wonderful idea that created space for creatives who haven't appeared in the big design publications like Creative Review. The site showcases all types of creatives from designers, illustrators to photographers. I was lucky enough to be featured alongside many talented individuals including my friends over at Tiptoe Collective. The poster has been designed including all creatives featured since the launch in September and is colour coded to their speciality in a wonderful info graphic. You can purchase on Counter-Objects.
22 / 11 / 2010 - Illustrated Christmas cards!!!
Currently designing a series of three hand illustrated Christmas cards available early December! I'll be selling online and in the We Are Birmingham store. Here's a sneak peek of the inky love so far...
07 / 11 / 2010 - Industry Guest for University of Worcester
I've been approached to contribute as an industry guest for the blog for Publication Design students at the University of Worcester. Here I will post inspirational stuff, advice and answer any questions from the students.
15 / 11 / 2010 - Liverpool Biennial & more...
Last weekend I hopped on the train and went up north to Liverpool. I'd never properly explored the city and with it being named European Capital of Culture last year and hosting Liverpool Biennial, (a contemporary visual art event) my adventure begun...
"....Alongside its imaginative interiors, the laid back art cafe vibes, tasty cakes and the slick branding no wonder its became a worthy hang out to Liverpool creatives embracing the amazingness of tea, cake, and music! I'd say it's right up there with the likes of London, Berlin and New Yorks cultural hubs..." Read my full blog post here
04 / 11 / 2010 - Happy Birthday you old swarve... Hand illustrated birthday card that left messages to the surprise present of a weekend away ;)
26 / 05 / 2010 - World Cup Chart!
I've designed and printed some World Cup 2010 wallcharts, A3 that fold down to a handy pocket sized format. Drop me an email if you'd like one and I'll pop one in the post. Go England!!
(you can see a teeny clip of me working on this as I appear in the Marketing Birmingham video by Fullrange - skip to 1m 34s. Im famous!)
13 / 05 / 2010 - Glug Digital BBQ 20th May
I don't usually post about where I'm off to but i'll be heading down to London town on the 20th for Glug with my good friends Ashley & Ian. I'm a Glug virgin until now so if anybody's about drop me an email :) I'll be down all day checking out Brit Insurance Designs of the year at the Design Museum and Zero per Zero: Station at the Kemistry Gallery. Hoping to check out Wahaca for eats too.
07 / 05 / 2010 - 'Not my Type' exhibition launch!!
An Out of Character experiment is a typographical exploration of 26 letters by 26 different Birmingham based illustrators, designers and artists, all displayed as one alphabet. Featuring Jon Burgerman, Fluid, Smile, Jonathon Cherry, Sam Pierpoint, Daisy Whitehouse and more!! (inc me) The exhibition launched on May 6th and was a great success! With over 200 people coming between 6 - 8pm! We had some cool music and drinks too. Better still, my frame print sold!! It runs until June 1st so go check it out in the Created in Birmingham store in the Bullring. Here's my entry!
20 / 04 / 2010 - Platform Launch party
Platform is a bar / restaurant in London Bridge that sources organically produced food from their farm in Devon. At Substrakt I created an identity for the restaurant and produced all branded material including signage, menus and brochure. More info.
17 / 12 / 2009 - Computer Arts January 2010 exposure
My work is featured in this months Exposure section within Computer Arts on page 104!
(issue 170 / January 2010)
22 / 11 / 2009 - Chitterlings supper at The Vaults
Last Thursday I was privileged enough to attend the Chitterlings dinner at The Vaults in Birmingham organised by Type. With a small number of just 16 of us it was a great opportunity to meet with like minded individuals who share my passion for design.
The venue was great, we met in the bar where I discussed Typographic Horizons with Nathan from Smile and then we continued through to the Soprano room where our place names were beautifully made by calligrapher Paul Antonio and the menus typographically designed by Katie and James from Supercool. It was all rather impressive! Our guest speaker was typographer, designer and author John D Berry, President of ATypl (Association Typographique Internationale) who has won numerous awards for his book designs. He spoke about his experience over the years, his love and understanding of the past and future of typography, as well as the pathways throughout his career.
It was a lovely evening fuelled by fine wine, fabulous food and most importantly the opportunity to meet really interesting people! I will look forward to the next event…
09 / 11 / 2009 - British Design 2010 Publication!
Our work at substrakt has been published in the British Design 2010 publication! We were approached back in April to include our work in both the Branding & Graphic Design and the New Media Design categories. Jim and I were lucky enough to attend the launch party at the Design Museum last wednesday to pick up our copy!
28 / 08 / 2009 - Speakerdog Series 6
I contributed to the Speakerdog Series 6 Paper Toy collection curated by Ben The Illustrator.
My little dude was called Nort. You can download and make your own *here* Have fun!
14 / 04 / 2009 - Substrakt housewarming party
After moving from the Custard Factory to our new studio in Fazeley Studios we thought we'd celebrate in style with a housewarming party - complete with band, dj, food from Sabai Sabai and photography exhibition by Kate Beatty. I designed the e-invites and organised the wine from Barefoot and we invited friends, family, clients and local companies. The night was great, I de-stressed after a couple of drinks and I got to meet some great people too.
01 / 12 / 2008 - Creative City Awards
Substrakt were shortlisted in the Creative City Awards for The Birmingham Outstanding Business Development Award. We all went to the award ceremony at the ICC suited and booted but unfortunately lost out to The Electric Cinema (but we love them so it's okay!) Well done guys :)
For those of you who have been following me on Twitter may have seen me plug a new project I’ve been curating with Rob from Birmingham Royal Ballet. Pointe Blank is an exhibition of original images inspired by the story of Coppélia. In a first-of-its-kind project for Birmingham Royal Ballet, a selection of artists and designers have been invited to produce a single piece of artwork which envisages the plot of the classical masterpiece as told in a manner of their choosing.
The collection opened on Monday 13th June at a live launch event at Birmingham Hippodrome. We invited the artists, local creatives and industry professionals. Follow our Tumblr for updates and give us a cheeky like on Facebook too if you like what we’re doing ;)
Full project info and artist list can be found on www.pointeblank.co.uk
01 / 06 / 2011 - Interview with me on Bright Knowledge
I've recently spoken with Bright Knowledge and appeared on their 'My Job Explained' feature. As part of the essential guide to education, careers and student life.
06 / 05 / 2011 - Ammo Magazine Issue 6
I was delighted when invited to be interviewed for the recent issue of Ammo Magazine. It has an incredible reputation in the illustration world so it's an honour to be involved. You can pick up issue 6 online, snap it up!
15 / 03 / 2011 - The Publishers Club zine
My submission for the Totummy zine got in :) yay. I couldn't make the event in Manchester but there's some awesome photos over at Ammo Magazine's flickr from the event joined with InkyGoodness for the final leg of the Character Totem Live Draw. The covers were live screen printed and the theme of the zine was Totummy to coincide with the InkyGoodness tour, my Baked Alaska illustration got chosen and sits right next to the very talented Alison Richards.
10 / 03 / 2011 - B-Hive - Graphic Design panel
I'll be on the panel for the graphic design panel at this years B-Hive. B-Hive brings together Birmingham's leading creative agencies giving the chance for students and graduates to get their work shown. Our panel is on Tuesday and i'll be choosing one lucky student ;) to come join me at Substrakt for a months paid placement. I've been told to think Dragon's Den, although I don't think I'm that scary!
04 / 03 / 2011 - Cover Wars @ Yarnfest
It was great to take part in Cover Wars as part of Yarnfest at Queen of Hoxton a couple of Mondays ago. I battled it out in creating a cover for Hanif Kureishi’s Buddha of Suburbia against four talented individuals! Representing Ammo magazine I was in the first round against Jamie Littler, representing Soupa. It was the fastest 20 minutes of our life. Pens vs paint. Hanif read out sections of the book in the first half too, then it was judged by the Hanif, Jon Gray and Miriam Rosenbloom (designer from Faber). Next up were Lauren and Phil from Hidden Dingbat against Robyn Boyden. The winner from each round (jamie and hidden dingbat) entered a grand finale of pin the tale on the donkey! Muchas fun all round and congratulations to Hidden Dingbats who won the show :)
Was a great night and lovely to meet my fellow illustrators, Jo from Soupa, Hanif Kureshi and the judges :) top stuff! Check out the project page for more pics
14 / 02 / 2011 - Yarnfest 2011
I’ll be illustrating live at Yarnfest next Monday as part of: Cover Wars – The Buddha of Suburbia / £5 / Monday 21st Feb – 7.30pm – 10pm / The Queen of Hoxton 1-5 Curtain Road
Four illustrators representing illustration networks across London will pit their pens, pencils, brushes and glue against each other in a battle to create the best book cover for Hanif Kureishi’s ‘Buddha of Suburbia’ live on the night. Hanif Kureishi will read excerpts on the night as well join Jon Gray of Gray318 on the judging panel. In partnership with Faber and Faber.
30 / 01 / 2011 - Brightspace Creative Careers Festival
Creative Careers Festival organised by Bright Space is a two day event for 13-18 year olds. Substrakt were approached to design the identity for the event. The creative and cultural sectors offer a multitude of opportunities for interesting careers, although there is a lack of information and guidance out there. The festival highlights these directions offering workshops, demonstrations and seminars with organisations including MADE, Rare (Microsoft), 4Talent, The Rep and Substrakt (me!)
On the Friday I was sat on the Young Creative Panel alongside Emily Jones (Town Hall Symphony Hall), Annabel Clark (Blogger / Flatpack Festival), Courtney Salmon (Music video producer) and Matt Windle (Poet). We were asked questions about our experience, routes and aspirations for the future. Between us we shared answers and discussed opinions based on our individual experiences. Tips and advice, that as professionals we can often take for granted. With all different backgrounds it was a great insight to hear about all the amazing stuff happening in Birmingham too :)
25 / 01 / 2011 - Viridian Nutrition illustration
I've been working on some illustrations for nutrition company Viridian. They will appear on the website and across the packaging range.
22 / 01 / 2011 - Not In Collection poster
The Not In collection is a wonderful idea that created space for creatives who haven't appeared in the big design publications like Creative Review. The site showcases all types of creatives from designers, illustrators to photographers. I was lucky enough to be featured alongside many talented individuals including my friends over at Tiptoe Collective. The poster has been designed including all creatives featured since the launch in September and is colour coded to their speciality in a wonderful info graphic. You can purchase on Counter-Objects.
22 / 11 / 2010 - Illustrated Christmas cards!!!
Currently designing a series of three hand illustrated Christmas cards available early December! I'll be selling online and in the We Are Birmingham store. Here's a sneak peek of the inky love so far...
07 / 11 / 2010 - Industry Guest for University of Worcester
I've been approached to contribute as an industry guest for the blog for Publication Design students at the University of Worcester. Here I will post inspirational stuff, advice and answer any questions from the students.
15 / 11 / 2010 - Liverpool Biennial & more...
Last weekend I hopped on the train and went up north to Liverpool. I'd never properly explored the city and with it being named European Capital of Culture last year and hosting Liverpool Biennial, (a contemporary visual art event) my adventure begun...
"....Alongside its imaginative interiors, the laid back art cafe vibes, tasty cakes and the slick branding no wonder its became a worthy hang out to Liverpool creatives embracing the amazingness of tea, cake, and music! I'd say it's right up there with the likes of London, Berlin and New Yorks cultural hubs..." Read my full blog post here
04 / 11 / 2010 - Happy Birthday you old swarve... Hand illustrated birthday card that left messages to the surprise present of a weekend away ;)
26 / 05 / 2010 - World Cup Chart!
I've designed and printed some World Cup 2010 wallcharts, A3 that fold down to a handy pocket sized format. Drop me an email if you'd like one and I'll pop one in the post. Go England!!
(you can see a teeny clip of me working on this as I appear in the Marketing Birmingham video by Fullrange - skip to 1m 34s. Im famous!)
13 / 05 / 2010 - Glug Digital BBQ 20th May
I don't usually post about where I'm off to but i'll be heading down to London town on the 20th for Glug with my good friends Ashley & Ian. I'm a Glug virgin until now so if anybody's about drop me an email :) I'll be down all day checking out Brit Insurance Designs of the year at the Design Museum and Zero per Zero: Station at the Kemistry Gallery. Hoping to check out Wahaca for eats too.
07 / 05 / 2010 - 'Not my Type' exhibition launch!!
An Out of Character experiment is a typographical exploration of 26 letters by 26 different Birmingham based illustrators, designers and artists, all displayed as one alphabet. Featuring Jon Burgerman, Fluid, Smile, Jonathon Cherry, Sam Pierpoint, Daisy Whitehouse and more!! (inc me) The exhibition launched on May 6th and was a great success! With over 200 people coming between 6 - 8pm! We had some cool music and drinks too. Better still, my frame print sold!! It runs until June 1st so go check it out in the Created in Birmingham store in the Bullring. Here's my entry!
20 / 04 / 2010 - Platform Launch party
Platform is a bar / restaurant in London Bridge that sources organically produced food from their farm in Devon. At Substrakt I created an identity for the restaurant and produced all branded material including signage, menus and brochure. More info.
17 / 12 / 2009 - Computer Arts January 2010 exposure
My work is featured in this months Exposure section within Computer Arts on page 104!
(issue 170 / January 2010)
22 / 11 / 2009 - Chitterlings supper at The Vaults
Last Thursday I was privileged enough to attend the Chitterlings dinner at The Vaults in Birmingham organised by Type. With a small number of just 16 of us it was a great opportunity to meet with like minded individuals who share my passion for design.
The venue was great, we met in the bar where I discussed Typographic Horizons with Nathan from Smile and then we continued through to the Soprano room where our place names were beautifully made by calligrapher Paul Antonio and the menus typographically designed by Katie and James from Supercool. It was all rather impressive! Our guest speaker was typographer, designer and author John D Berry, President of ATypl (Association Typographique Internationale) who has won numerous awards for his book designs. He spoke about his experience over the years, his love and understanding of the past and future of typography, as well as the pathways throughout his career.
It was a lovely evening fuelled by fine wine, fabulous food and most importantly the opportunity to meet really interesting people! I will look forward to the next event…
09 / 11 / 2009 - British Design 2010 Publication!
Our work at substrakt has been published in the British Design 2010 publication! We were approached back in April to include our work in both the Branding & Graphic Design and the New Media Design categories. Jim and I were lucky enough to attend the launch party at the Design Museum last wednesday to pick up our copy!
28 / 08 / 2009 - Speakerdog Series 6
I contributed to the Speakerdog Series 6 Paper Toy collection curated by Ben The Illustrator.
My little dude was called Nort. You can download and make your own *here* Have fun!
14 / 04 / 2009 - Substrakt housewarming party
After moving from the Custard Factory to our new studio in Fazeley Studios we thought we'd celebrate in style with a housewarming party - complete with band, dj, food from Sabai Sabai and photography exhibition by Kate Beatty. I designed the e-invites and organised the wine from Barefoot and we invited friends, family, clients and local companies. The night was great, I de-stressed after a couple of drinks and I got to meet some great people too.
01 / 12 / 2008 - Creative City Awards
Substrakt were shortlisted in the Creative City Awards for The Birmingham Outstanding Business Development Award. We all went to the award ceremony at the ICC suited and booted but unfortunately lost out to The Electric Cinema (but we love them so it's okay!) Well done guys :)