Octoblog

Feb 6th, 2012

Tied in

The John Moores Painting Prize is nearly here. Today is the closing date for entries and in a few months time, all the successful entries will be on show at Liverpool’s prestigious Walker Art Gallery for the world to see. A visit to this exhibition has been on my bi-annual agenda since I was a [...]

Jan 27th, 2012

Ooh aah… just a little bit

What’s not to like about the Eurovision Song Contest? It comes around every May and brightens our lives with eclectic sounds, visuals, performances and dance. The quality ranges from tragic to terrific and anyone willing to suppress snobbish musical opinions can usually find at least one gem amongst the 40+ international offerings. As a graphic [...]

Jan 23rd, 2012

Dutch Lawn

I have always been interested in music, I remember getting bought a tiny Casio VL-Tone when they came out and thinking I was the fifth member of Kraftwerk or John Foxx Junior. My musical career however was never meant to be, even though I wrote plenty of songs and even did a couple of gigs [...]

Jan 19th, 2012

Write here, right now

With so many fonts to choose from, one often forgets about the simplest of them all – your own. We all have our own unique font, and just like our fingerprints, it’s unique. It’s also perfect for many jobs. Before the design industry became computerised and while I was studying design in the 1980s, I [...]

Dec 24th, 2011

All is calm, all is bright

It’s Christmas time, there’s no need to be afraid… or so the song goes. I like this time of year, the miserable weather is counter-balanced by the mirth and merrymaking of festivities and we can forget it’s Winter, if only for a few weeks while we bask in the coloured lights and enjoy a much [...]

Dec 5th, 2011

Sprechen sie Geek?

I’m just back from a trip to Hamburg. I went to see a show called “Stylectrical” at the Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe. This interesting exhibition explored the complex process of industrial product design in the context of cultural studies. It focused primarily on the industrial design of products by Apple and Braun, mainly by Jonathan [...]

Dec 1st, 2011

World AIDS Day

Today is World AIDS Day, not that you would know from the TV coverage, have you seen any mention of it? World AIDS Day was observed for the first time on 1 December, 1988. So much has changed since the early days of HIV/AIDS or GRID or HTLVIII as it’s been called over the years, [...]

Nov 2nd, 2011

Getting sniffy

So, COMME des GARCONS are about to release a new fragrance on the world. I like the way this company works. I admire their approach and aesthetic. I like that they have always done their own thing, regularly working with artists and musicians to cut against the grain of fashion trends, and I like that [...]