It takes a puzzle to get people thinking

Derren Brown succesfuly predicted all 6 lottery numbers last night ( 09/09/09)... But how? People are getting creative when it come to explainations. My personal favorite is that Debbie McGee was wearing an invisibility cloak 

http://www.guardian.co.uk/culture/tvandradioblog/poll/2009/sep/10/derren-brown-television

IKEA

Yes, it's that time of year already, birds start to consider forgein climes, trees change subtley from green to red and orange and students visit IKEA. We do this with the vauge idea that it's cheap and we can totally transform whichever hovel we have decided to rent this year with a few "key" pieces. I feel this is especially true for us "designers". I recently made the pilgramige to my local store. But I ask you...has anyone ever managed to walk away from IKEA with only what they went in for? The layout tricks you walking around seemingly lost in a maze of MDF I am always convinced I need something more. The book shelf, those cushions which will match nothing else in my room. I am now totally convinced of the IKEA nesting instinct mentioned in Fight Club.

Twilight...

The Twilight Saga by Stephenie Mayer has swept America, the series consists of four books, Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse and Breaking Dawn. The first has already been released as a film with New Moon due to be released in cinemas later this year. I decided to see what all the fuss about what as far as I could see was simply the same story reproduced in a new way, could this really take over from Harry Potter, the book which got the nation reading again? I read the first book, I watched the film. And then I was hooked, I devoured the other three books, easily caught up in the narrative. Though perhaps it was such an easy read because subconsciously I had heard the story, the saga follows the plot of a basic love story, with a few vampirey twists. I also found interesting the way in which the authors religious beliefs (Meyer is a Mormon) filtered into the book, where perhaps they weren’t necessary in the development in the story. I am, sorry to say, a Twilight convert and now looking forward to the next film.

From a design point of view however, I think the covers are stunning and really capture the essence of the books, the dark and the delicate, the hope against the balckness and the fragility of life. They have been reporduced in a hundered diffeent ways from rubixs cubes to posters, however my favorite is the special addition books with red tipped pages, very poinant.

Inglourios Basterds

I recently went to see Quentin Tarantino’s lastest addition to his collection, Inglourios Basterds ( UK released Aug 21st 2009). The film is set in World War Two, in Nazi occupied France and takes the form of a comic revenge fantasy. Though yes, Tarantino is a world class director renowned for such films as Reservoir Dogs and Pulp Fiction. His films are not exactly to my taste, that is to say I wouldn’t choose to watch them on a rainy Sunday afternoon…I’m much more a Bridget Jones Diary kind of girl. Tarantino however does truly interest me in the way he combines design and cinematography. One of the first directors to really consider the sound track as adding to the film rather than being simply background music.

What really interested me in Inglourious Basterds was the typography, the opening sequence is really clever, using different typography to represent the actors in Brad Pitts “Basterds”, typography reminiscent of the American deep south, where Pitt’s character is from and those who were playing Germans, are given a far more Germanic type face. Another effective use of typography in the film is a shot scanning a room full of famous erman Soldiers ( Hitler, Goering etc. Type appears beneath them in a scratchy handwritten type giving the audience a clear idea of who important is in this room. The typography doesn’t seem to fit with the rest of the film and would seem more suited to a film such a Juno. This however is another way the Tarantino instils comedy into this film, by undermining characters with out of place typography, a very subtle and clever trick.

Coat Hanger Dinosaurs

The current window display at Harvey Nichols in Leeds really distracts fro the rest of the windows in the city centre, making the efforts of the likes of Topshop and Debenhams look dim by comparison. I love the way that the traditional wooden coat hanger has been used to create the enormous and complex displays. I feel that this these displays sum up the store well, with the traditional department store being represented by the standard wooden hanger while the modern and intriguing designs created hint at the chic layout and luxurious products inside. Harvey Nichols often use interesting and unusual concepts for their displays, far more interesting than the standard clothes on manikins that other stores offer. It shows that displaying everything in store may not be the best way to sell. Instead they hint seductively at products which are surrounded by intriguing design. I am really looking forward to seeing what they produce for the Christmas season.

The Book Thief

The Book Thief by Marcus Zusak, which you read and somehow feel enlightened and though it is fictional, more knowledgeable about the world as you read the closing pages. The book, first published in 2005 is set in the midst of Nazi Germany and focuses on a young girl named Lisel, who is sent to live with foster parents by her mother. Lisel learns to cope with her new terrifying environment through the comfort of books and escapes into the written word. As expected form a WW2 book there is tradgedy is a main theme, and the story of Lisel is aptly told by death.

Death is sent to pick up the souls destroyed by the war, and interestingly describes each soul as being assosiated with a  certain colour of the sky. Death is compassionate and a new understanding is given to life when told through the eyes of the grim reaper. What most struck me in this story however was the book a Jewish man makes.

Hiding for months in Lisel's basement Max Vandenburg occupies his time by painting over the pages of Mein Kampf to tell his own story. The images of these pages are featured in the book and are striking. It is perhaps these images more than the words which fill the rest of the book which best tell the story of  the loss and love which the book thief has to come to terms with. The emotion that is evoked by Mein Kampf being painted over by a Jew to tell his story is incredibly emotive. These images are strikingly powerful. Graphically I feel that is the emotion behind a piece of work which gives it power. Though these are simple rough sketches on paper which words can still be seen, there is a clear message. I urge you to read this book.

Shoulder pads...Should we have left them in the 80's?

Recently shoulder pads have been sauntering up and down catwalks around the world, and are tipped to be a must have in every girls autumn/winter collection. But is this just societies cry for vintage...are we looking past the fashion mistakes of the 1980's? Why do designers bring back trends which, lets face it, unless you have the body of Kate Moss, look pretty horrendous and often stupid on us mere mortal women? Just because something has been done sucesfully before does not mean we need to recreate it, or that it will work with a modern twist.

I am all for vintage, the luxurious feel, the glamour. But these things are evokes by the 1920's classic cuts, the makeup of the 1940's. Personally I don't feel that the 1980's has that glamourous edge. Should designers have left the 80's well enough alone? It could be argued that leggings have made an unbeliveable comeback, and who saw that coming? And it is true that celebrities such as Lady GaGa have become the embodiment of the 80's. Though, yes, she often looks crazy and I would be shocked if anybody walked into a lecture looking like that. Vaintage chic? yes. Re-embodied fashion disasters? No. I certainly will be missing out on this particular must have.

However if I do get shoulder envy I could always did my mothers out of the attic...