New branding

I've been playing about with the Bowerbird branding, it's all very work in progress, but here's how it looks over on my main blog. As you can see, I've applied the same design to this blog too. Be sure to keep up to date with my island adventures at Bowerbirdwords.blogspot.com

This blog (Bowerbird-illustration) will remain inactive while I'm abroad.

Sketchbook: Grand Cayman

Here's a sketch that I did earlier today, then I played about with the colour after in Photoshop which is sketchy to say the least, but it's definitely better with something more on top.

So, I've not posted to here for a little while and that's because I've been a little busy leaving the country! For this coming year, I'm seeing what the Cayman Islands have to offer, well that's the plan at least. Expect island illustrations and observations, and for more Caribbean goings on, check out my other blog:

www.bowerbirdwords.blogspot.com

Runaway success of animation

If there's one thing that people love it's stop-frame animation, it's an all round winner, as is slow-motion footage, actually that's two things. But it shows that in this crazy go-go-go society we live in, there is still admiration for the slow and the crafted.

'Going West' is a paper caper stop-motion film animated by Andersen M Studio, for the New Zealand Book Council, the very last scene 'where books come to life' is the stand out part for me. Enjoy!




Via Designboom

London Shop Fronts

Does exactly what it says on the tin. Now celebrates its first anniversary, a lovely collection of photographs by Emily Webber. Just goes to show, that personal obsessions and observations can lead into a surprisingly beautiful collection/project.

London Shop Fronts
Emily Webber's Flickr

Colour film of 1927 London

Free typography

owerbird returns with salutations and fond wishes to you and yours. I bid you good day and apologise for the archaic tone. There's something about this embellished Drop Cap which professes to steer me towards the flouncier language in my lexicon.
This typographic treasure is delivered daily from typographical extraordinaire Jessica Hische. You yourselves may pilfer her designs at her behest, and recreate this experience within the confines of ye own fair Blogge Poste. Good day to you gentle folk of the world's web.

Mind boggling projections on buildings

Projection on Buildings from NuFormer Digital Media on Vimeo.

A truly astonishing display of 3D video mapping. It really does blur all dimensions and realities. I imagine it's breathtaking in person. It looks like the days of of words spelt out in fireworks are soon to be over.

How to promote a brand to perfection

Bouncing on a Tom Dixon rubber band chair in the magical light of dusk, sipping on Bombay Sapphire cocktails in good company. There are worse things I could do on a Monday night.

We, (a collection of London bloggers and Twitterers) gathered at the Dusk bar at Somerset House overlooking the Thames to learn all about the 10 botanicals which make Bombay Sapphire a "mixologist's" choice.

The evening was held inside a perspex wonder designed by Tom Dixon with falling evening light, at one point the dusky sky was a truly gorgeous Bombay Sapphire blue, clever those marketing people huh?

Under the tutelage of Sam Carter, buoyed along with delicious cocktails and nibbles, we constructed Martinis and Berry Spice cocktails. All the while learning about the brand's heritage and the world of gin at large. Information that would be very useful when we given a gin quiz later on in the evening.

I tried to be gracious in victory, but all I can say is that the gin revealed my true competitive colours and my lust for academia was rewarded with a bottle of the blue stuff.

We parted ways quite a while after dusk and as we walked off in search of a bus stop, clutching our spoils (a Gintelligensia goody bag including ANOTHER bottle of the blue stuff, cocktail shaker and gorgeous branded tools of the trade) I was very grateful to impulse, a new London friend/partner in crime and the amazing nights that can occur when you say 'yes'.

My thanks to Miss Robinson, fellow bloggers and the delightful Bombay Sapphire team. Visit them while you can and indulge in an expert drink at the bar until October 18th. Dusk will become your favourite time of day too.

More pictures to follow.

Lexical loveliness

Typophile Film Festival 5 Opening Titles from Brent Barson on Vimeo.

Sit back, enjoy and start wishing you were an animator.

The importance of punctuation

Commas are wonderful little creatures, allowing us to take a pause, a breath and most importantly not to have this happen to us:

What is the New Energy Future?

Digit have been busy working on the latest installment of Shell.com with four great animations which are part of the work to illustrate the New Energy Future. Have a look, more to come.

**UPDATE, here are all four animations, click on the four icons in the bottom right to navigate to the site. Or visit the new energy future to find out more.

Clicking cursor oven mitt

What's on the menu? I hear you say. A cursory glance around the kitchen will have you pointedly picking up the Clicking 2.0 oven mitt to handle your wares. (Sorry they were the best puns I could muster)

If these were on sale, I'd buy one, but then I am a cake-baking geek, so I'm their target audience.

Via Bazar Design.

Weesay hello!

WEESAY ABC from Digit on Vimeo.

Welcome to the latest iPhone app from Digit, the video will explain everything. Joss Brook gives a professional and unbelievably cute voice over too, enjoy!

AppShopper review here.

Food air miles are hard to swallow

Here's a piece of hard hitting and crisply designed messaging from Kingston graduate James Reynolds. I'd previously admired James' boarded up work but in the same week that the inaugural M&S Plan A newsletter is launched. This is a message close to my heart.

Speaking of which, be sure to sign up to receive more Digit designed (and Bowerbird written) Plan A goodness in your inbox.

A perfect wedding video

I stumbled upon this video on a cinematographer/photographer's blog and I was spell-bound.

The perfect choice of song, fluid filming, I kid you not I shed a tear at my desk. I had to share this. I don't know the couple, but I hope they're bowled over by this incredible memory of their wedding day.

Josh Goleman, I know nothing about you, but you may have just ear-marked yourself as my future photographer of choice.

It is 12:34:56 7/8/9

Happens once every 100 years

Thanks for this fact Joe. I'm suitably impressed.

Bowerbird featured in Anorak magazine

I have a full page illustration in this season's Anorak magazine. If you don't know it, it's simply the most fabulous children's magazine, touted as 'The happy mag for kids', it really is so jolly happy, it's a quarterly and cheap as chips at £3.50 because it's packed full of stories, games and fun.

If you know a little person 4-7, you and they are missing out if you've not discovered Anorak.

Follow them on Twitter, it will make you happy too.

What Britain eats: 30 years of food habits

What Britain eats: three decades of grocery shopping Times Labs Blog
Follow the link to interact with the chart and see the trends in our eating habits.

Shared via AddThis

Building projection, dreams meet reality.

555 KUBIK | facade projection | from urbanscreen on Vimeo.

Unbelievable projection onto a geometric building, it bends all reality, it must have been breathtaking to experience in real life. This is the stuff dreams are made of!

"How it would be, if a building were dreaming"

More info here.

Toyota IQ font is wheely good!

iQ font - When driving becomes writing / Full making of from wireless on Vimeo.

What happens when typographers and a pro racing driver get together? A free downloadable font from Toyota IQ which is pretty cool, with a great video to boot.

Via Happiness.

credits:
Client: Toyota Belgium
Pleaseletmedesign : Typographers
Stef Van Campenhoudt: Race pilot
Zach Lieberman: Interactive artist
Happiness-Brussels: Advertising agency