And now in honour of moaning on about blinkered retro tragic DJs, we have developed a forum for moaners, groaners, complainers, or possibly the quizical in design land with the big ideas, questions and answers.

Ask, comment, quiz… Toward is waiting with bated breath for those comments from people with clever email addresses…

In response to Betty Paige’s comment re: AGDA Vic 08 Xmas Party — Greenhouse 03.12.08 post:

Are the “FREE tunes” going to be provided by the “Blinkered retro-tragic DJ” that bombed in Adelaide? Because as far as I’m concerned that won’t make the event CRISIS free.

Ho ho ho.

Dear Betty, or should I say Elizabeth,

Who is detailing your latest design project while one is googling themselves, finding clever sound bites/ a well art directed image of a dance floor and making up a clever email address?

The Christmas party will have tunes by Tamas Jones, the other half of Hey Convict. After Adelaide Andrew is leaving the tune spinning to DJs willing to wear crash helmets, mittens and ear plugs. No wonder the Revolver has a bull bar strapped at the front of its decks.

Make sure you bring your bubble bath this time around. Till the next cryptic comment.

Ho ho ho back.

T.H.

With all the belt tightening and cost cutting in a TIME OF FINANCIAL CRISIS, this is probably the only FREE to enter with a gift (Royal Children’s Hospital NICUnit), FREE drinks, FREE food, FREE (Tamas Jones, the other half of Hey Convict) tunes, FREE fun christmas gig for 2008.

Joost the Greenhouse’s creator will also be conducting a walk through for all green thinking graphic designers, at 6pm sharp!

Mark the date in your diary, get there early, RSVP essential vic (at) agda (dot) com (dot) au. See you there.

Visit AGDA here, visit the Greenhouse here

Within hours of Obama’s US election win this paste-up appeared opposite The Wall café in East St Kilda.

Michael Worthington the English graphic designer based in California, parted with a wonderful quote that shadows one’s journey in making graphic work – one is only original as one’s sources are obscure. It’s an idea that completely dispells the myth that creative people are this independent font of fresh and original thinking.

One Afternoon in June 1999 Andrew discovered the obscure monograph of Swedish based graphic designer – John Melin. It was an exciting discovery. Every page revealed new posters, book jackets, installations of artful imagemaking and design with lightest yet highly compelling touch.

In an age awash with information available of every variation graphic work and their authors, it is suprising that the work of John Melin has been allowed to pass with little comment or exploration.

The following images are from John Melin’s only monograph – John Melin till Exempel

The Narrows in Melbourne has had the fortune to secure a collection of works, in prestine condition, of John Melin to November 29, 2008. Make every effort to experience this special exhibition.

John Melin
Swedish, 1921–1992
Graphic Designer

Oct. 31–Nov. 29
2008

The Narrows
2/141 Flinders Lane, Melbourne Australia
Telephone + 61 (0)3 9654 1534
Visit the Narrows here

Gallery hours
Wed–Fri 12–6pm,
Saturday 12–5pm
or by appointment

The Moons are rock upstarts with a name on loan from the storming wild man, Keith Moon, taking musical nods from The Beatles, The Who, and Supergrass. This new Melbourne act approached the studio to develop a unique wordmark which has been adapted for CD packaging, merchandise and promotional print work.

The custom lettering was designed to be copied and doodled by fans. The lettering was devised with strong accentuated vertical shapes and lines to make the word mark memorable for would-be-graphic-designers to scribe on bags, exercise books and flat prominent surface.

Tommy Elliott, the band’s songwriter and bassist provided a very simple brief – I love the graphic on Keith Moon’s Lilly drum kit, can it look like this?

Visit The Moons here

The studio was commissioned to develop music packaging for SBS’s seminal travel show Global Village.

The series has an ongoing theme that explores exotic creatures that populate all corners of the earth. We submitted a range of creatures and a beetle was selected for it jewel like qualities. The illustration of the exotic beetle was developed by our image maker in residence Sarah Pickering. A quirky botanic rendering of the beetle was selected and the final rendering was completed in watercolour and pencil.

Thanks again to Universal Music.

There is commercial naming projects and there are the naming projects that have soul –  the names of our community precincts – St John’s Wood, Seven Dials, Mrs Macquarie’s Chair, Five Ways, Crouch End, Land’s End.

The Unnamed Precinct project is an initiative of residents, businesses and institutions in the area of Sydney bound by the part of Oxford Street from Taylor Square to Greens Road, including the neighbouring cross streets and surrounds. The five-way intersection of Oxford Street, South Dowling Street, Victoria Street and Barcom Avenue marks the centre of the precinct. The project team work and live in a place that they feel needs to have a name, they are seeking ideas and feedback from the community to clarify this idea.

Having lived and work there, we put aside some time and submitted the following naming options:

In light of the rich local history of artists and artisans one may suggest some of the area’s most prolific artists under the theme – celebrating local creative people

Brett Whiteley AO (7 April 1939 – 15 June 1992) was an Australian artist. One of the best-known Australian painters of the 20th century, he is collected in most Australian galleries. He had many shows in his career, and travelled extensively around the world.

Whiteley suggestions:

• Whiteley
• Whiteley’s Corner
• Brett’s Way
• Endlessism

John Coburn (1925 - 7 November 2006) was an Australian painter. He is also known for his tapestries.
He won the Blake Prize for Religious Art twice.
All the major galleries in Australia have displayed his works. Two of his tapestries hang in the Sydney Opera House and seven hang in the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington D.C. His works are also displayed in the Vatican Museum, Rome.

John Coburn also was a lecturer at the nearby, National Art School, Sydney which was at Coburn’s time in the Old Darlinghurst Gaol which was converted to the East Sydney Technical College.

Coburn suggestions:

• Coburn
• John’s Corner
• John’s Way

Thanks to Simeon King from Anagram for sending this project our way

Have a go all you naming people.

Visit The Unnamed Precinct here

The long awaited and much loved Bugle has hit the streets, sadly for last time it seems, in Melbourne. The Monkey-Taunt issue gives the Minke Whale rights, a voice to the countless IKEA devotees, there are peeping toms, randy koalas, and 104.1’s Amish & Blandy.

The brain child of Sydney born, St Kilda breed satirist, absurdist, plain English writer and editor and radio announcer Andrew Pegler; The Bugle is an alternative idea space for politics, the news worthy, the media in mass and our beloved celebrity. Look out for your copy in cafés and bars everywhere, it’s a free and spirited labor of love.

Visit everything Bugle here

Designer and image maker Kat Macleod, from Ortolan, has put together her first show at Lamington Drive, which runs from November 7 to 29.

Kat has worked with the studio on a few projects over the years, notably the revered So Frenchy So Chic image making campaign, and as a collaborating image maker for the first Stephen paper campaign.

We wish Kat well in all her work and travels. Kat is a thoughtful, hardworking and inspired collaborator.

Get down and get yourself some, while we are lucky enough to have her in Melbourne.

Visit Kat’s studio here, visit Lamington Drive and the Jacky Winter Group here

Martel is the upholster’s upholster. Their busy, modest factory floor is testament to the quality work carried out there – from a much loved chesterman lounge, Featherstone chairs, a classic B&B sofa and upholstered wall panels for the much revered back bar at Melbourne’s Cookie bar and restaurant can be found waiting for work.

Martel’s identity was determined from it’s most basic form and then realised in complex variations. At its most stripped back form – we determined that Martel was an upper and lowercase identity. We then developed a customised and streamlined san serif typeface.

The project’s work continued with an exploration of a range of techiques and hand finishes used in upholsters’ stitching, pipings and detailing. The new font was then expressed in a wide range of these upholstery techiques. These new lettering expressions were used as single brands or wordmark expressions. We also developed illustrated graphic type based compositions that can be found on Martel’s postcards, business cards, the web, signing and even door handles.

Visit Martel here