PHOTOCOPY LITHO MONOPRINT

Fab workshop. Dramatic effects. Cool background for screen printing. Very exciting as you never know what's gonna come out.

Just to remind myself and all of you out there that know what I'm going on about:

B/W image (high contrast, avoid gray)
make a fresh photocopy
prepare dry sponges, sponges soaked in water, gum arabica, veg oil, oil paint, acetate
put g.arabica on acetate, stick photocopy on it, sponge in arabica, spread all over photocopy. wait a minute or two. do another layer of arabica. wait til it dries. Roll over with ink. Only tiny amount of it. Wipe ink off with water sponge. Roll over again. Wipe it off. Put into roller. 2 thicker plates underneath, newsprint, image, paper, newsprint. Voila, the one off masterpiece!

This is what I'm talking about!

THE SCAVENGER HUNT

The scavenger hunt event was really interesting and exciting. It was so cool to explore the area and see lots of things that I usually don't cause I don't pay that much attention. Elena, Alex, Sophia and me seem to blend well together so that made it even more enjoyable. We went down to Shoreditch and used the tactic of just keeping our eyes open, no planning. Much better this way. Sometimes we'd pass by a place that didn't say what it was but we'd figure out it's a design studio cause of the way their typeface was designed. We went to about 4-5 places, most of us let us in and allowed us to take photos but designers seemed to be too busy to chat. We have finally found one willing to chip a few minutes of his precious time. It was a guy from Vice magazine, mainly photographer but also designer that gave us some info. To sum his words up, he's not doing it for the money, more for his personal enjoyment. He did an internship with them for 3 months and then they offered him a job. He is self taught. You have to work hard, really hard but it is very exciting and rewarding.
Here are a few photos of studios

STELLA ARTOIS RECYCLAGE DE LUXE

As I was looking through Cristiana Couceiro's work I was sure I've seen something similar recently. Browsed my visual memory a bit and remembered Stella Artois Recyclage de Luxe ads. They look really similar to her work! Went to investigate and realized that she was the one who designed it.
Here they are

DESIGNER: CRISTIANA COUCEIRO

It's my lucky day, I just keep discovering really cool stuff. I found some work by Portuguese designer Cristiana Couceiro which I really admire, it's got that nice vintage feel. As is the case with Jauna Gaita mags, it is hard to recognize if it's been done in the 60's or 2000. Also check her blog for some retro Portugal.

ARTIST: VINCE FRASER

Rich colours, beautiful swirls, strong energy. According to artist himself, a visual orgasm.

JAUNA GAITA

This is what I found the other day and it's amazing! It's Latvian mag named Jauna Gaita and they have just celebrated it's 53rd anniversary. Thumbs up for keeping the recognizable cool style for over half a century. One of the brilliant things is that you can see all or at least most of the mag covers on their site and observe slight changes in styles throughout the decades. Mid 50s seem quite boring with simple illustrations, late 50s become more typographic and the 60s is the time when the design explodes in its beauty. All those colours and shapes, fantastic!
The interesting thing is, since the late 60s till today there haven't been drastic changes and it is almost impossible to recognize which one belongs to the 60s era and which one to 2000 something.

SCRIPT TYPEFACE

I like good script typefaces and this is one of them

SANNA ANNUKKA

Beautiful work by an illustrator and print maker Sanna Annukka.

I D.I.Y.FREE DOWNLOADS

I D.I.Y. is full of free typefaces, vintage labels, designs and also full of good visual references.

DON'T PRINT JUST ON PAPER

Whilst browsing through Inkjet Designs blog I discovered the company that prints your photos + graphics on bags, tea towels and more. It is called The Fabric Press. What a good way to put your design out there!
Also, there is a company that makes custom fabric out of designs called Spoonflower.

Here are a few things done by Inkjet Designs, really nice colours and simple shapes but it all looks really nice.

RETRO SWEET SHOP

Just been doing some research and stumbled upon this retro beauty. Apparently it's somewhere in Covent Garden which surprises me as I've been there countless times and never seen it. This is one of the reasons why I just love London. It's always something new to discover and see and it can be hiding in a little street that you always pass but for some reason avoid. Anyways, I will be paying this place a visit, not because I like to eat sweets but because I like to look at them. There is something positive and relaxing about their shapes and colours and when you mix them up they just always look great.







I like it how they've done this promo video, all those scratches and marks on it, also the sound they make. Staying true to the old's cool!

TEA RESEARCH: PEYTON & BYRNE

Peyton & Byrne tea packaging by Farrow Design. Simple yet effective. We can see the use of colour coding for a particular flavour which is quite common when it comes to tea packaging.
It is also used a few more times on other Farrow Design projects.

TEA RESEARCH:MR SCRUFF

Alright, all you out there, hope you all heard of Mr Scruff before, not just of his "I wanna dance all night" music but also of his brilliantly funky tea brand. Thanx to his music you don't need to sit down while you drink tea anymore. Yes, yes. Forget about a pint of lager, make yourself a brew!

MAKI KAHORI

So lush!These amazing illustrations have been created by Japanese artist Maki Kahori. Check her website for more work here

SWEDISH RETRO PACKAGING LABELS

Swedish retro. More here