Leo Burnett

I found the link for this website whilst looking at Holly's blog. It is a very interesting website and worth taking a look at if you have time. I particularly like the McDonalds work such as the sundial and also the spanish christmas eve advert - both simple yet effective ideas.
It is a fun site to look around. It consantly changes and makes use of motion and sound and has a fun element to it with the pencil.
Leo Burnett

Blackle

www.blackle.com

I found this link on the creative review blog. I think it is a great example of ecological design. At a time when climate change is a topical issue, this website is very relevant. It is a Google search engine but in black.
'If Google swapped their white background for black, it's claimed, 750 mega watts/hour per year could be saved.'

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

I know that the whole Harry Potter phenomenon does not appeal to everyone, but having read the books I thought I would really enjoy the fillm. However, when I came out I was quite dissappointed. Personally I felt that many of the aspects of the book had been left out. I realise that it is hard to make a book that is over 500 pages long into a 2 hour film but I felt that the producers had made some wrong decisions on which parts to include and which to ommit. I went to see it with people who had all read the book. However, I would be interested to know whether anyone who has not read the book, but seen the film, actually understood everything in the film, as so much of the book was left out. On the other hand, the special effects in this film have quite obviously progressed from previous films and were actually quite life-like and impressive. I remember some of the effects from the first film looking like a computer game and therefore unrealistic.

London Guitar Town

I walked past this outdoor exhibition whilst in London yesterday. It was attracting a lot of attention from visitors because of the size, colour and number of these guitars that were dotted around and being in a key tourist area.
I have since been on the internet and found out it is a charity inspired campaign bringing together the power of music with art to raise money for three chosen charities. All the guitars will be auctioned off at an event in September with all the proceeds being split equally between the three associated charities. I found it really interesting because whilst they were fun objects that many people were standing next to, having photos taken with, they were also exposing many different styles of art to the genral public.
The guitars were signed by famous musicians including Rod Stewart, Noel Gallagher, Brian May, Gorillaz, The Kooks, The Magic Numbers, KT Tunstall, Razorlight and Hard-Fi. The last image below shows the guitar signed by Ozzy Osbourne - the illustration is very appropraite!

Ipod + Itunes advert

I admire the way Apple manage to bring out these adverts using the same format as previous adverts but still managing to create a new, fresh and fashionable advert. These adverts have become so iconic to the ipod brand that the text 'ipod+itunes' and the apple logo at the end is bearly necessary.

Willard Wigan

I came across this sculptor in an article in the Telegraph. However, he is not your average sculptor. He is the creator of the world's smallest sculptures. According to Wigan, 'I need to work between heartbeats, or else the pulse in my finger will cause a mistake.'


The Statue of Liberty

Wigan carves his microscopic figures out of rice, and fragments of grains of sand and sugar, which are then mounted on pinheads or placed in the eye of a needle. To bring his works of art to life he paints them using a hair plucked from the head of a housefly.


Henry VIII with his six wives

An excerpt from the article reads:
'I was sculpting the whole cast of Alice in Wonderland and I was really looking forward to finishing it because it was that good,it would probably of been my best piece so far. But just as I was about to put Alice in place alongside the other characters I inhaled her. I breathed in at the wrong moment, and she was gone. In my panic I accidentally wiped out some of the characters too.'
I think this shows just how dleicate and micrscopic his work is. I find it fascinating and would love to see how he works.


The Lloyd's Building

LSC Skills advert

This is a government advert I have just seen on the television. I think it is amazing and very original. Unfortunately I cannot find out who made this advert. It stands out from many other government adverts and I think it will really make people stop and listen to it's message.



These are a couple of images from the website linked to the advert. These two images could be works of art in themselves. I think the swan is stunning.

50 Years Of Helvetica

Whilst visiting the Museum of Modern Art, they had an exhibition celebrating the typeface Helvetica. Helvetica is one of the most popular typefaces and can be seen everywhere. It is used for New York Subway signs, logos for Lufthansa, Fendi, Saab and Agfa to name but a few. However, it is hardly noticed as it is so familiar. Many examples of it's use shown in the exhibition made me realise only then that they were actually Helvetica. This example of it's use on a poster really appealed to me. It is very simple yet effective.


This example reminded me of a project we did in first year, about how 3D typography can be more expressive.


Helvetica is widely used due to it's crisp, clear forms, adaptability and legibilty. 'The simple, well-proportined letterforms convey an aesthetic clarity that is at once universal, neutral, and undeniably modern.'

Solomon R Guggenheim Musuem, New York

This is a stunning piece of architecture by Frank Lloyd Wright. Much of his work was organic and based on nature. In the case of the Guggenheim Museum, the organic, curved shape is a sharp contrast to the Manhatten buildings around it. This makes the building stand out and shows off it's unique design.


The spiral look of the outside continues on the inside. There has been some criticism that the building overshadows the artworks displayed in the museum. I do not really agree with this as I think the building is a piece of art in it's own right. Also, even though it is an impressive building, it is still quite simple and white, enabling the colourful pieces of art stand out against the plain walls.


Another criticism the museum has had is that even though there is a large skylight, the walls where the paintings hang are cast into shadow due to the design of the building. This means the paintings are lit artificially. I do not think this is a bad thing. It means that the artwork can be lit in a way that best show off the work.

MoMA, New York

MoMA is regarded as the leading museum of modern art in the world. I visited it on my recent trip to New York. It has a very impressive collection including 'The Starry Night' by Van Gogh, 'Les Demoiselles d'Avignon' by Picasso, 'Campbell's Soup Cans' by Andy Warhol, and other work by Kandinsky, Mondrian and Magritte amongst many others. It is interesting to see how much more of an impact these famous paintings have in real life.


One painting which really stood out for me was 'Water Lillies' by Monet. I was surprised at how large it was. The size really had an effect on the viewer. It made it a more powerful and dramatic painting than when I had seen it as an image in a book.


Another artist's work which really impressed me was that of Jackson Pollock. The Museum held a number of his pieces. Previously I had been quite sceptical of his work, not believing it to show much skill. However, since seeing them in real life and being able to look at them up close, it was intriguing to see the surface of the work. The paintings became more interesting this way than when they are viewed two dimensionally in a book.

New York Skyscrapers

I have just got back from a visit to New York. It is an amazing city and something which really stood out for me is how tall the city is! It is well known for it's high rise buildings. The view from Governors Island is very impressive. It shows the true extent of how many skyscrapers there are in New York.


Many of the skyscrapers have very different designs making the city eclectic and exciting to explore.



What New York has been able to achieve is starting to have an effect on the areas around. As you look across Manhatten to New Jersey you can see that a number of skyscrapers are starting to appear there too. Skyscrapers make the most of the space in the city. However, one downside I noticed was that in areas of dense high rise buildings, the streets were cast into permanent shadow.