SKAGGS

Way back in the summer of 2001, I visited my good friends Ping, Li and Mengye in Kunming, capital of China’s Yunnan Province. In July of that year I was in Beijing, where there was widespread excitement about the Olympic bid. When it was announced that Beijing had been chosen, the city erupted into parties, celebrations on the street and a palpable feeling that Beijing’s moment had arrived on the international stage.

Seven years later, there’s no doubt that the city has exceeded all expectations as Olympic host. Beijing has a new airport, an astounding Olympic stadium, and international focus has turned to emerging Chinese artists and the Chinese role in global media. The world is gearing up for the opening ceremony this Friday, with billions expected to tune in.

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Googly-eyes spotted around on my travels around New York. Guerilla art, graffiti, whatever you wish to call it, the Googly-eye cru’s campaign is inoffensive and always makes me smile.

Good Design comes in many forms. My personal favourites include the London Underground map, Macbook, Aston Martin Vanquish, Dyson ball vacuum, Olivetti Valentine typewriter, Chrysler Building and customisable doormat to name but a few.

But infact, the best pieces of Good Design are the inconspicuous things that make everyday life just that little bit better, like paperclips, biros, and folding chairs.

Today I acquired the most inspiring and useful simple object I have seen to date: a coffee cup stopper. This genius little device eliminates the on-the-move spill and scald issue familiar to surfing Subway commuters. I feel there is a market for personalised versions and marketing opportunities… something I’m planning to look into - watch this space!

This is why Starbucks is in a league of their very own.

As the original creator of the concept of NYLON (NewYorkLondon) and designer of some of the most contemporary residential and commercial spaces in New York City (including SKAGGS HQ), Jo Laurie of Jo Laurie Design is the go-to creative, when you’re in need of practical yet innovative interior design services and advice.

We sat down with Jo to find out how she outshone Terence Conran’s London Flagship store and brought a little NYC flavor to the Sloanies, the importance of a great mirror or lamp, Wigstock and why ICFF is the fashion week of the interior design community.

Jo Laurie — interior designer extraordinaire - tell us about your self!
Jo Laurie, NYC. Based in Downtown NYC since 1985… but with an ever-shrinking world, I’m so pleased that I have US and UK passports and Australian residency! [Talk about jetset! -Ed.]
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The New Zealand brand Bloomsberry & Co have really done something different with their packaging and produced a range of vibrant eye-catching graphics. They also have a rather charming website.

Established only in 2001, the brand was set-up by Giles Barker, a Graphic Designer and his wife, a trained cook; a perfect match of good design and good ingredients.

Always appreciative of pretty colours and anything with sugar, these chocolate bars have got me hooked and determined to eat my way through the whole range – purely for the sake of design, of course.

We have several “Eagle Eyes” at SKAGGS and we totally understand the importance of having work proof read, although you’ve probably noticed a few typos on the blog. I have an insanely bad habit of being liberal with the comma. Not sure why…maybe because I’ve yet to fully grasp its correct usage. Anyway, I came across illustrator David Lanham. He was commissioned to do an illustration for Weiner + Weiner, a German company that specializes in proof-reading copy for publications.

It roughly says, “A comma in the wrong place can be a dangerous thing”.

I love the comma carnage, it absolutely cracks me up. See the full piece here.

Here’s one of those real-life mysteries I had in mind during my last post — this one’s been at the back of my mind ever since I stumbled upon it a few months ago. On the case is contemporary graphic artist Ward Jenkins (of Ward-o-Matic) who’s collected a slim body of evidence about the “unknown” illustrator Lou Peters.

Here’s what we know so far: He (or she?) was active in 1958, and illustrated three cookbooks for Good Housekeeping and The New England Cookbook. Other than that, we’ve got nothing on the artist’s background or body of work. So in the interest of offering clues which might help solve the mystery, take a look and see if you recognize the artwork. Maybe someday we’ll find out about who this person is — or maybe we’ll never know…

Ever thought about making your own typeface? Well I have, but font creation software is mad-loot. FontShop has thankfully built a simple (and FREE!) online application that lets you build fonts out of simple building blocks.

Oh the wonders of the Interweb.

FontStruct lets you quickly and easily create fonts constructed out of geometrical shapes, which are arranged in a grid pattern, like tiles or bricks. Once you’re done building, FontStruct generates high-quality TrueType fonts, ready to use in any Mac or Windows application.

Now if I just had enough free time to make myself a font…

Science Machine from Chad Pugh on Vimeo.

How long does it take to create a complex illustration? Chad Pugh documented the process and put it all together in a very cool video.

The video is a condensed time lapse of screenshots over a several month period. Total physical drawing time is close to 40 hours and I’d add an equal amount of time for concept time and readying the print.

One of the best things I’ve noticed recently about drawing and cartooning blogs is the growing phenomenon of “discovering” artists and illustrators who might otherwise have slipped into anonymity.

Mystery stories! All of us have an old children’s annual, record sleeve or illustrated cookbook tucked away at the back of the shelf. Did you ever wonder who the illustrator was, and where you might find more work by them? There are some dedicated sleuths out there, and plenty of real-life mysteries waiting to be solved…
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