New Architecture in South Tyrol 2012—2018 by Studio Mut
Posted: October 29, 2018 Filed under: Architecture and The Built Environment, Graphic Design Reviews | Tags: Book & Magazine Cover Design, Book & Magazine Design, Book Review, Custom Typography, Design Blog, Design For Print, Design Reviews: Editorial Design, Editorial Design, Graphic Design, Graphic Design Blog, Italian Design, Magazine Design, Magazine Spreads, Studio Mut, The Best Graphic Design Work of 2018, The Very Best of 2018 Comments Off on New Architecture in South Tyrol 2012—2018 by Studio MutOpinion by Richard Baird
New Architecture in South Tyrol—a travelling exhibition and catalogue—brings to light the unique architectural boom happening in Alto Adige, also known as South Tyrol, the predominantly German-speaking northern-most province of Italy.
Selected by an international jury, the catalogue focuses on fifty-nine buildings from the region, realised between 2012–2018, and have gained local contemporary architects international recognition. These buildings are marked by their keen sense of locality and materialisation. This is documented throughout the exhibition catalogue by way of images and plans. Texts in English, German and Italian augment these, providing a comprehensive survey of recent architectural trends and developments in the region with the intention of facilitating international comparison.
Felt Coffee by Studio fnt
Posted: October 24, 2018 Filed under: Food and Drink, Graphic Design Reviews, Packaging Reviews | Tags: Bag Design, Brand Identity Reviews, Branding & Packaging of 2018, Branding Blog, Branding Reviews, British Design, Coffee Logos and Packaging Design, Coffee Shop Branding, Creative Packaging, Design Blog, Design For Print, Design Opinion, Design Reviews, Designed by Studio fnt, Graphic Design, Graphic Design Blog, Korean Design, Logo Design & Branding Blog, Logos, The Best Business Cards of 2018, The Best Graphic Design Work of 2018, The Very Best of BP&O, The Very Best Packaging of 2018 Comments Off on Felt Coffee by Studio fntOpinion by Richard Baird
Felt is a coffee shop in Seoul with their own brand of speciality coffee which has been sourced by way of direct trade and roasted in Gyeonggi-do, a populous (relevant later) province of South Korea. They opened their first store in September 2015 and a second in October 2018. The team at Felt see every part of the coffee experience; its growing, harvesting, sourcing, roasting, preparing, branding, packaging and spatial experience as part of a total project, visiting coffee-producing regions to handpick raw beans, engage the quality control of professional green bean buyers, cuppers, roasters and baristas, in the creation of thoughtful space and in the commissioning of Studio fnt to develop visual identity.
Drawing on the experience of drinking the same coffee in the same space, a shared feeling but peripheral connection, Studio fnt worked with Felt to develop a visual identity and packaging for its coffee ranges. This is characterised by the simple and textural, and the precise and immediate, unified by a thoughtful and subtle concept, the use of intersecting lines and the demarcation and crossing of space.
Hands On: MacGuffin Magazine. No.6
Posted: October 16, 2018 Filed under: Art and Design, Graphic Design Reviews, Hands On | Tags: Book & Magazine Cover Design, Book & Magazine Design, Dutch Design, Magazine Design, Magazine Review, Magazine Spreads Comments Off on Hands On: MacGuffin Magazine. No.6Opinion by Richard Baird
MacGuffin is a biannual design, art and crafts magazine that commissions stories on, around or jumping off from ordinary things, uncovering personal and curious relationships with the objects that surround us. Issues 1 to 5 explored The Bed, The Window, The Robe, The Sink and The Cabinet. The Ball, MacGuffin Magazine No.6 Autumn/Winter 2018, the one BP&O has its hands-on, takes a look those related to the spherical; from the ballpoint pen to the disco ball, Harvey Ball (the designer of the smiley face), to the Biosphere and the sphere as the building block in which to shape a Japanese future.
The magazine mixes writing styles and lengths with documentary and cinematic stills, still life and artworks, the diagrammatic, illustrative and iconographic. Featured writers include Danish artist Nicolai Howalt, graphic designer Paul Gangloff and Real Review’s Jack Self who reflects on Bisosphere 2, an eco-futurist experiment.
MacGuffin, in its content, manages to draw beauty from the banal, the hidden and the utilitarian, elevating the every using a plethora of interesting and revealing philosophical, historical and socio-cultural insights. These moves from the micro, macro and abstract, viewed through an architectural or art and design lens. There is, occasionally, a form of meta-criticism at play which is a nice observation on the spherical type element of the Selectric Typewriter, nicknamed the golf ball, doing the hitting, rather than being hit. However, the publication largely leans towards the simple joy of revealing the idiosyncrasies and legacies of the commonplace or the overlooked. The spirit of this is expressed graphically, typographically and materially by editors Kirsten Algera and Ernst van der Hoeven working with Dutch Designer Sandra Kassenaar. MacGuffin Magazine No.6 is 210 x 218mm, 232 pages and features five Pantone inks. It is supported by adverts, these come in the form of a fold-out cover, back page and the first five pages. It costs 14GBP / 16EUR / 20USD, and is also available as a yearly subscription.
