hoop design

Elderflower Fields Festival 2012

2012-02-07T21:34:00.008Z

Elderflower Fields is a new festival being organised in Sussex by some friends. I was asked to design the poster which was a fun project. If you fancy a weekend of music, sport, Sussex countryside, camping and dancing, sign up to their earlybird ticket line at www.elderflowerfields.co.uk. See you there!

Cards and colours for friends

2012-01-17T21:48:00.014Z

Five of my friends celebrated their birthdays in January and another two in December. It seemed the perfect opportunity to rustle up a simple card design. I enjoyed thinking of a different colour theme for each friend. As I thought of each person a colour palette came to mind. Here they are.

Happy Christmas 2011

2011-12-21T17:47:00.007Z

Have a warm and cosy Christmas readers!

Tree illustration

2011-09-23T21:01:00.004+01:00

About eight years ago I planted a beautiful silver birch tree in the garden. When I look out of the kitchen window it is 'reverse silhouetted' against the dark green yew hedge beyond. It inspired this illustration.

Dreaming of Springtime

2011-09-17T22:58:00.003+01:00

Often, when I am dozing off to sleep, my mind skips through the day and all its visual feasts and, all on its own, comes up with a fresh new image. I keep a sketch book and pencil by my bed, quietly switch on the light and jot down the brand new image, delivered to my subconscious visual 'inbox' by an unknown and most welcome sender.

Minnows

2011-09-17T22:47:00.006+01:00

We had a week at the end of August in Teesdale, Co. Durham. The children spent hours paddling and swimming (yes, really, despite the glacial temperature) in the river Tees and catching minnows. Here was one day's catch.

Fresh, summery newsletter design

2011-09-17T22:35:00.011+01:00

Here is a recent job for Wakefields the Jewellers in Horsham. A summer newsletter, a printed version and an online page turning pdf version for their facebook page.
Take a look here.

Felt love

2011-09-17T22:12:00.006+01:00

It has been a while...

I have been researching online for a design project. I love felt as a material. Not the colourful handspun, homemade variety but the solid thick, warm, insulating, industrial, crisp cut type of felt.

This image is courtesy of architectural practice i29

White Christmas

2010-12-29T21:52:00.012Z

Happy Christmas. (Yes, sorry it is a little late).
In the run up to Christmas this year everything seemed as if blasted by a cold, fresh, polar wind visiting early straight from the Arctic. On some days opening the back door felt like opening a door to a coldstore, the air often colder than that in my freezer. This year my christmas card has a polar theme, inspired both by the cool of winter and an image that has stuck in my mind of a polar bear drifting on the melting ice floe. Like a polar bear, none of us know what is ahead in the coming year. I hope that whatever leads you, be it a star, the wind or the daily tide of life, I hope that you will find a happy and warm place. A very happy new year to you all!

Stitched type

2010-08-25T11:37:00.006+01:00

This proper old fashioned 'Champion Cokoernut Throwing Saloon' took my eye while visiting the Beamish Open Air Museum in County Durham last week. I love the hand stitched decorative type, the graphic border, the bunting and the faded colour as well as the words themselves. I asked the stall holder if it was an original as everything at Beamish is authentic (or nearabouts) to 1913. He said it was old and probably American due to the spelling of 'Cokernut'. He had a proper twinkle in his eye and rather kindly gave a little boy every chance to knock down a coconut by giving him many more than 3 shots for £1, and, a step closer each time he missed. Eventually, of course, the boy won his coconut. The sun shone (yes, really, even oop north) and the boy went off with a grin from ear to ear.

Little Red Riding Hood

2010-07-22T16:21:00.006+01:00

Back in the winter when all was white and snowy, I drew this illustration inspired by my friends little daughter who always wore a little red coat with blond hair peeping out from the hood and cheeks made rosy pink by the freezing air. I was reminded of it yesterday when my friend was telling me about a new production at Glyndebourne of Hansel and Gretel. Her son is off to see it soon, and, as he is just 8, she had been explaining to him how traditional nursery stories often have a sinister edge to them. She was preparing him for some of the scenes as she did not want him to be shocked or terrified. Modern editions of nursery stories are often adapted and generally nowhere near as sinister as the original editions could be. These days our children need not be bothered by wolves prowling our neighbourhoods and eating their Granny alive - but we need to be mindful of our innocent little children being led off by a little mouse that clicks and leads them to another (and sometimes sinister) world called the internet...

Incredible Gardens - Identity Design

2010-07-22T15:47:00.004+01:00

Incredible Gardens are a new concept in garden design. They have a solid background in agriculture and garden design and have a passion for all kinds of plants that have an edible element to them. Their mission is to design sustainable gardens that are beautiful and contain only plants that can offer something edible, be it a seed, root, leaf or flower.

My role was to design a contemporary logo that emphasised the strong design ethic that they base all their gardens on and that also hinted at the edible content of the planting choices. I have an interest in gardens and garden design and already knew that, on planting schemes, garden designers use a visual system for drawing groups of the same plants involving shapes connected by lines. For aesthetic reasons, there is a preference to plant groups of the same plants in numbers of 3, 5, 7 (etc). I borrowed this system as the base of the design and simply arranged a collection of 'plants' into a shape that resembles a bunch of seeds or fruits. These were set in a rectangle that represents the boundary of a garden.

Corporate Identity Design for Beverley Ogden Solicitors

2010-07-22T15:29:00.003+01:00

I was commissioned by a local Solicitor to revamp the image of the company and create a new logo to coincide with a move to new premises. The company is based in Lewes, East Sussex which is an old, and architecturally speaking, rather traditional county town. The company has been established for 25 years and is well known in the town I therefore opted for a clean and classic logo design which was applied to all new stationery and signage. The new office is just off the main High Street on a twitten (small pedestrian lane to you and me) and therefore it needed a prominent exterior sign. I also designed the interior signage and advised on the interior office layout and colour scheme.

Collectabilia

2010-03-01T12:08:00.004Z

Further to my haberdashery post, here is an attractive image. (I wish these tapes were in my collection!) I have been following the amazing collectionaday2010.blogspot.com the blog of illustrator Lisa Congdon. It is a great inspiration and a visual feast of a diary.

Valentines day

2010-02-11T11:09:00.007Z

Birdsong is a beautiful sound that I have noticed loud and clear these last few mornings, despite the very wintry weather. The birds are heralding the arrival of Spring and it is a welcome and inspiring sound. They are calling out to potential and existing loved ones, and alerting others of their kind to food sources, predators, travels, nest sites and communal gatherings. Just the basic essentials of surviving life really.

I am sure that users of Twitter justify their involvement in it and the existence of it through believing that by contributing to it they are disseminating essential information, just the same as a bird in its song, but on a human level. I have always been of the cynical opinion that Twitter is of little long term or profound purpose. I guess that a very high number of tweets are banal, reactionary, egotistical and self publicising. However, that said, there are skills required to use Twitter - dedication, an opinion, making time to respond to others, stating your thoughts and feelings, 'following' others and finally, being yourself.

While drawing this, I imagined two people falling in love just by following each other on Twitter, entranced and captivated by the mundane nature of each others 'tweets'. This got me thinking. Maybe I could put my opinions of Twitter to one side and just for a Valentines Day moment, think of Twitter and other social networking tools differently. After all, we all know that surviving a relationship involves tolerating an awful lot of everyday boring stuff and not always with the soundtrack of beautiful birdsong. Just like reading Twitter. So, are the skills required to use and enjoy Twitter really just the ones that anyone in a relationship needs to survive beyond Valentines Day. Now, what about blogs…?

The Shack Company new logo

2010-02-04T12:45:00.006Z

The Shack company is a new business creating handmade, oak framed, timber buildings. They commissioned me to create a new brand identity to suit a product which could sit happily in a 'rustic' or an 'urban cool' environment. I chose some earthy, natural colours with a contemporary orange zing and a chunky slab font called Blackoak. Not only is this font fit for purpose but, rather pleasingly, has a name that ties in quite neatly with the product on offer.

Haberdashery

2010-01-29T16:58:00.006Z

I have to admit that I have a strange obsession with all things 'haberdashery'. Last week my mother gave me these original packs of hooks and eyes and poppers and a huge box of buttons to rummage through. She has always been able to sew anything and always saved bits and bobs in case they are needed. My excitement was out of proportion to the gift. I will not be saving these for a sewing project - they are going to be framed!

Christmas greetings

2009-12-20T23:03:00.003Z

Happy Christmas everyone and best wishes for 2010.

New corporate identity and website design

2009-10-07T12:34:00.008+01:00

Amanda Grant is a food writer who is passionate about teaching children and encouraging their parents to get them involved in everyday family food and cooking. She writes for Delicious magazine and for Tesco.
Amanda wanted a website design that would reflect her personality and act as a tool for her to promote her writing and her diverse range of work. She wanted it to look friendly and anything but corporate, appealing to parents, children and be accessible to other food professionals such as magazine editors, chefs and publishers. I hinted at a relaxed scrapbook (or recipe collection) style of ephemera in the design and used a selection of fonts to create an eclectic feel. The illustrations are fun and simple and give a hint of food to the pages. Cooking with children is a messy and fun experience so the odd splodge here and there keeps it real.
This site was lauched at the Children's Food Festival, and was developed by Sunset Design.
The logo has been adapted from the font 'American typewriter' selected as the typewriter style links nicely to Amanda's writing.

Illustration

2009-10-07T12:24:00.004+01:00

Here is a simple illustration for a housing assocation. It demonstrates in a graphic form the ways that a customer can influence decision making in the organisation and the path of that influence.

Can't live with them, can't live without them

2009-10-07T11:48:00.005+01:00

This is funny - be warned though, it should have an X rating for the language:
http://www.youtube.com/user/mentaldesigner#play/all/uploads-all/0/VfprIxNfCj

Greek Holiday

2009-09-28T21:08:00.003+01:00

A fellow blogger has pointed out that I have been away from my blog for too long. (see comment below) So, let me explain… summer, sun, sea, holidays, camera, fun. That's it, and here is a souvenir postcard from my holiday.

Or is it…?

Actually, and you may have already guessed, I have not been away, just busy either working or having fun with my children while they have been off school for the summer. These pics were taken somewhere in England on Friday last week. A beautiful September afternoon borrowed from the summer. Everything looked Greek even the olives on the tree! Anyone know where it is?

Man v Mother Nature

2009-06-01T23:49:00.005+01:00

I always carry my little mobile phone camera while out walking. The quality is not great by any means but I snap away, especially when I see an odd something or some good light. These two shots were taken on different days near my home. I have done nothing but click the shutter. Each image suggests a story about man trying to overcome nature. I like the fact that nature looks like it is in control and could have actually grown these items.

Valentines

2009-02-12T22:50:00.003Z

He'll never guess...

Cool, cool, stuff

2009-01-30T16:10:00.004Z

Last Sunday afternoon (whilst I was nursing a Burns Night head), my kids were playing lego and had built a mad structure, a kind of cantilevered house over a river with drawbridges and rooftop rooms. There was a garden and animal enclosures. For more inspiration, I showed them all the architecture pages on The Coolhunter site. All they could say was 'Wow!' and 'Is that really a house?'. At the end, one of them said 'It does make you think that our house is really, actually, like, quite boring.'

Burns Night

2009-01-25T16:24:00.004Z

Today the Scots celebrate Burns Night which we celebrated with friends last night. The traditional meal of Haggis, neeps and tatties was served and whiskey was drunk. This got me thinking about tartan... I Googled tartan and this fun site came up. Have a play on it. See my version above.

Spring Tulips

2009-01-23T10:05:00.006Z

I seem to be getting a lot of inspiration from nature at the moment, despite the wet, rainy weather. The boys and I walked through the garden the other day and saw snowdrop shoots poking above the ground. We were trying to remember the order that the bulbs come up in the garden. First snowdrops, then crocuses (or should that be croci??) daffodils, tulips and then in May, bluebells in the woods.

Moleskine

2009-01-22T09:01:00.007Z

As it is January, I have been thinking about diaries and stationery lately. Actually, if I am honest, I think I think about stationery quite often, I am slightly obsessed. The most famous range of planners, notebooks and diaries has to be the cult Moleskine range. I have recently discovered that their website proves that I am not the only one obsessed... People use their moleskines for the most amazing range of projects. The blog Moleskinnerie is where they all hang out. There are even customised Moleskines on show at Etsy.

This year it is the 5th anniversary of Moleskinnerie and a competition has been launched to design a limited edition cover design to commemorate the event.

Winter colour inspiration

2009-01-19T12:29:00.007Z

I love working with colour and start any project thinking about the colours that could theme it or that would be appropriate to the task. At the end of last week, I was working on a job and it was at the stage of checking the cmyk print colours before final print. Everything that I was looking at was on screen (rgb) and proofs were on inkjet (rgb). I was being pestered by the dogs to go out and as I looked out it way grey, cold, windy and very January gloomy outside. No colour inspiration at all. However, as I walked and being already tuned in to colour, I saw it everywhere, grabbed a few pics and have sampled a surprising winter rainbow. The colours that are missing are pale yellows and strong reds (although I saw 3 dried up holly berries looking like a tired, past-its-sell-by-date christmas decoration). I love seeing a palette of colours pulled out of an image and use this as a way to colour type against images in brochure design. This is why I am addicted to Kris's color stripes blog.

New look newsletter masthead

2009-01-15T13:23:00.006Z

I have just received this sample (not the best photo) of a newsletter that I designed whilst freelancing for an Agency. The client had an existing advert which used some vector graphics combined to make a funky collage. I selected a couple of these vector images and incorporated them around the new publication title 'Plugged'. I chose a chunky font and removed the letterspacing to give a solid feel against the free graphics. The format is an unusual 4 page narrow A3 size that folds to A4 (ish). I established a 2 column grid for the text with 2 wide cols and an assymetric margin to give some space and interest to the layout.

Brick House Farm

2009-01-14T13:32:00.007Z

Here is the first glimpse of a new brand I have designed for a smallholding offering accommodation, produce and home produced meat.

Corporate Identity Design

2009-01-09T22:27:00.005Z

This is identity for an Chambers and Company, an accountancy firm in Brighton. I have applied it to a range of stationery items and am currently in the process of designing a new website.

New corporate identity and website design

2009-01-09T21:51:00.013Z

I have recently completed this corporate identity design and website for a business consultant. It looks as though I am just designing in blue at the moment but you can see more identity designs in other colours at earlier posts here and here.

New Website Designs

2009-01-09T21:23:00.010Z

Mark Griffiths is a woodworker and talented craftsman who makes beautiful things in wood.
He asked me to design a website for him as a showcase for his work and skills. The holding page is live, the remaining pages are currently being worked on. See it so far here.

Chalky Downs

2008-12-28T17:56:00.008Z

During that time in between Christmas and New Year (as it is now), I get a craving to get out of the house, see a big sky and inhale fresh air. It is a reaction to being indoors, over indulging in good food and drinking plenty of red wine. One of the places I love to go is up on the South Downs. The sky gets bigger as you climb and the view further. The day before yesterday I set off with my husband our two boys and two dogs from the base of the 'northern face'. Due to illness and cold, however, our ascent was cut short but today, I set off again in -1˚C of frost and a keen northerly wind. Just me and the dogs aiming for the sun at the top. Whenever I walk the Downs, I always notice tiny animal paths worn on the grass, sheep trails, mountain bike tyre tracks and, on this path, the way that the chalk is worn away by heavy rainstorms leaving gulleys in the chalky, soft path. I wish I had had a pen and paper or a good camera with me. This picture is a sketch of how I saw the path quickly jotted down in Illustrator. Not right but a good reminder of my frosty, chalky walk. I would like to do some more 'sketches'. Ideally even a painting or two adding some better observed details.

Christmas 08

2008-12-08T11:18:00.002Z

There was something not quite cute enough about the previous bird illustration, so I have adapted it. Now, I just need to sort out how to make it into an e-card....

New paisley pattern

2008-11-26T22:33:00.003Z

Just doodling...

Christmas is coming...

2008-11-26T15:00:00.005Z

Here's the first of a few bird ideas that I am working on at the moment.

MADE 08

2008-11-21T22:49:00.014Z

Today I went to the Made 08 craft fair in Brighton. Lots of beautiful handmade stuff to see and be inspired by.

There were some cute creatures from Abigail Brown (above). Sweet, hand stitched, fabric sculptures of birds and fabric animal characters.

I was transported back to the 70's looking at the Clothkits stand. Charming prints and great colours. I was inspired by their 'sew it yourself' message so on the way back I popped into a fabric shop in the North Laines to buy a skirt pattern. I have now got a great excuse to go on a fabric hunt...

Some items really stood out in a designery kind of way. The table below was one, designed by Alison Milner and topped with bespoke Formica was one of a few that she was showing along with some beautiful graphic ceramics combing simple photography and transfers.

Finally, Selvedge magazine (The fabric of your life: textiles in fashion, fine art, interiors, travel and shopping) had a stand and it reminded me what a great magazine it is. The design, photography, Art Direction and print quality are fab. The subject matter is ALWAYS fascinating and beautifully represented. The editorial is knowledgeable and extremely diverse covering all aspects of textile art, printing and manufacture.

Lego

2008-10-09T20:29:00.006+01:00

I have a love hate relationship with Lego.
Every day I clear it up. Every day my husband clears it up. We find it on the floor, the window sills, in trouser pockets, boxes, cupboards and beds, on the table and next to the toaster in our house. I love Lego for its mathematical perfection and its precision engineering. I love it because you can make anything with Lego because as you fiddle with the pieces that somehow are perfectly sized for small hands, your imagination takes over and convinces you that small straight edged blocks in a limited colour palette can be transformed into a house, a Star Wars ship, a robot, a jungle scene, a dog… anything.
I hate Lego because it annoys the washing machine and does not come in Pantone colours. I hate it because it is impossible to file (do you do it by colour, shape, size, per kit??). I hate it because it is more interesting than homework, bathtime or going to school. I hate it because it hurts your feet.

I found this image on the wonderful blog Uppercase Journal http://uppercase.squarespace.com/ that records all sorts of things associated with type and typographic art.

Disney Illustrator Mary Blair

2008-08-17T21:57:00.005+01:00

I remember when i was a child having a big fat Disney story book. I used to love copying the illustrations over and over again. Mary Blair was an illustrator who worked for Disney in the 50's (more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Blair) and was responsible for many of the illustrations in the Disney portfolio. I love her stylised illustrations. They are colourful and vibrant and beautifully composed. Every character is delightful. You can see more of her work at http://www.animationarchive.org/2006/01/media-mary-blairs-little-verses-part.html

Honesty pattern

2008-08-12T22:01:00.003+01:00

Here is another pattern based on the beautiful seeds of the 'Honesty' plant.

Graphic Pattern

2008-08-11T12:13:00.003+01:00

I am always drawn to 50's style graphic prints and textiles and recently have been creating some of my own. Here is the latest. I can image it printed onto a linen fabric and used on a cushion or a summer skirt....

Save the Children

2008-07-14T10:59:00.004+01:00

A friend sent this observation to me…
Is it
a) merely a typographic oversight?
b) a subtle way for victims of child labour to voice their plight to the world?
c) a designer who got off to a bad start that morning with their kids?
d) a reflection of the bad grammer taught in schools today?

Books that Fly Conference

2008-07-14T10:00:00.003+01:00

Last week I attended a Conference held at the University of Brighton called 'Books that Fly'. The day was organised as a series of six speakers, each of whom demonstrate their art/skills and writing via the medium of handmade, or 'artists' books. Each speaker was there to spread the word about the medium to a broad audience and to encourage awareness and development of it. Question and answer sessions encouraged the sharing of ideas between the speakers and the delegates.

All of the speakers were passionate about, and dedicated to, their work. The speaker whose work I found the most intriguing was Sam Winston. Find out more at his website here: (http://www.samwinston.com/).

He spoke incredibly eloquently about his projects describing how he examines the connections between language, vocabulary, print, type, image, emotion and punctuation. He writes stories and analyses classic text, deconstructs it (semantically and by chopping it up!), categorizes it, reassembles it and produces beautiful images and sculptural forms which is exhibited in galleries all over the world.

In the context of graphic design, his work crosses over and challenges the understanding that we have about words, image, comprehension and format. Listening to him explain his work was fascinating and reminded me of how graphic design is often about understanding the rules of typography, layout, sequence, perception, observation and proportion and then distorting or breaking those rules. Clarity, logic and simplicity in design are nearly always the result of good observation, careful analysis, clear comprehension of the brief and the application of rules to provide structure. Breaking these rules, to me, is styling. Designers use styling effectively once all rules have been established. Styling design personalises graphics, either as the designer's work or to fit the 'personality' of a brand.

Animal character illustrations available online

2008-07-14T09:56:00.005+01:00

Following on from the Artist's Open Houses Exhibition in Brighton, an online fine art retailer has selected my illustrations to buy as Limited Edition Giclée Prints. Have a look at the gallery of my animal character illustrations here:
http://www.fineartcompany.co.uk/SearchPrints.aspx~k~suzie+Johanson

New illustration

2008-05-11T23:03:00.005+01:00

Since drawing the animal series of illustrations I have been keen to make some simple illustrations inspired by plant forms. At this time of year with so much energy, colour and new growth in nature and a huge variety of plant forms and colour on show, it is hard to find a starting point. Here are the first couple of drawings inspired by pure white blossom on the apple tree in our garden. It is looking stunning at the moment, standing out against other limey green spring foliage and an oddly grey blue sky the other day.

Hanna Werning

2008-05-07T21:33:00.006+01:00

I have posted this link to the site of Hanna Werning as I keep coming across references to her amazing work. It is inspiring to see a designer working across so many design disciplines. Enjoy...

http://www.byhanna.com/

Artists Open House

2008-05-04T22:59:00.005+01:00

Hurrah! At last I have finished drawing the series of animal character illustrations that I started when my children wanted me to draw them something (see earlier posts). I enjoyed doing these so much I am showing them as part of the Brighton Artists Open House exhibitions, http://www.aoh.org.uk/2008/ which have now opened all over Brighton. There are hundreds of artists displaying a massive variety of work throughout May alongside the Brighton Festival. Artists open their houses as galleries with work for sale. It is a great way to showcase work to a broad audience and attracts a large following.

This year, I am exhibiting signed, limited edition giclée prints of some cute animal characters. They are available professionally framed in a contemporary limed wood frame with a circular mount or unframed. As well as the framed prints, I have had some button badges made by a great little company who delivered a fantastic service and product and were lovely people to work with. Find them at http://www.makeabadge.co.uk/ The badges are really sweet and would be a cute little gift for a child. The final illustrations are all above but if you are in the Brighton area why not pop in to check out the whole show? Map available here. I am very pleased to have made some sales already so come before it is too late!

Alongside the prints, I have been working on some decorative textile pieces with a theme of fabric as paper. This is work in progress so have just a few pieces on show. I aim to post these on this blog throught the next few months.

The house belongs to an old friend, Julia Trigg. Her beautiful and intriguing digital collages use type and printed ephemera. They are proving to be very popular already. Have a look at her site http://www.juliatrigg.co.uk/ where you can see some samples of her work and the other artists on show.

Monkey character illustration

2008-03-29T00:04:00.002Z

Having looked back at the little monkey post a while ago, I decided to redraw the monkey and try a stronger colourway.

Leopard character illustration

2008-03-28T20:09:00.004Z

My eldest son loves big cats so this new illustration is one for him.

Artist Daniel Eatock

2008-03-27T17:03:00.003Z

A friend recommended that I have a look at the work of artist Daniel Eatock. His website demonstrates a large amount of work. I chuckled at the photographic project here, the graph paper project appeals to my graphic designer side. Have a look at the project 122333444455555 if you like sequences and patterns in numbers. More number patterns here. Actually there is so much on his site that is intriguing, I must stop now and go back for more...

Lion illustration

2008-03-27T16:59:00.003Z

I am currently creating a series of illustrated characters. Here is the latest.

Little Monkey

2008-03-18T23:23:00.002Z

After drawing the owls yesterday, my little boy asked for a baby monkey picture. Here it is!

Night Night

2008-03-17T22:42:00.002Z

I drew this family of owls today while working on a logo design. Hexagon shapes for the logo were sitting together on the page but all I could see was owls! It must be time to sleep. The logo ideas can continue tomorrow with fresh eyes. It would make a nice motif for children's pyjamas or bedlinen range. Night night!

Gut Buster

2008-03-14T16:50:00.008Z

In the last few weeks I have been researching the work of contemporary textile artists and designers. This crocheted 'Gut Buster' breakfast made me laugh out loud. It was designed and made by Kate Jenkins, an established textile designer based in Brighton. For more amusing work and some strong graphic patterns have a peek at http://www.cardigan.ltd.uk

Universal Patterns

2008-02-29T12:26:00.007Z

Today is Leap Year's Day, a once-every-four-year event and all to do with the rotation of the earth, the Gregorian calendar and all stuff planetary, so here follows a brief scientific description as to why it happens:

The rotation of the earth actually lasts about 365.2422 days (called a 'Solar Year' or a 'Tropical Year') so leap years are needed to keep our calendar in alignment with the earth's revolutions around the sun. After 100 years, a 365 days a year calendar would be more than 24 days ahead of the season. The extra day comes (nearly) every four years on February 29th and is added to correct the actual number of days in a year. This year it falls on a Friday, an occurrence that happens once every 28 years (it last happened in 1980) and will occur again in 2036.

In the Gregorian calendar, our calendar, the following three criteria determine which years will be leap years:

1. Every year that is divisible by four is a leap year;
2. of those years, if it can be divided by 100, it is NOT a leap year, unless
3. the year is divisible by 400. Then it is a leap year.

According to the above criteria, that means that years 1800, 1900, 2100, 2200, 2300 and 2500 are NOT leap years, while year 2000 and 2400 are leap years.

Not being a scientist or a mathematician, I am merely intrigued by the patterns. Pondering planets, moons, stars, the sun, patterns and outerspace reminded me of crop circles. These perfectly formed, mathematically rational patterns are, without doubt, beautiful. Their beauty entirely due to the perfection of the maths and the perfection of the execution. The idea that they are created by teams of humans, rather than alien spaceships overnight, is, of course, entirely feasible and fully justified by maths and logic.

Then again, perhaps they are some kind of once-in-an-astronomical-universal-cycle kind of phenomenom!

Artist/Typographer Tauba Auerbach

2008-02-19T08:56:00.007Z

This is the work of Tauba Auerbach from San Francisco. Have a look at
http://www.taubaauerbach.com/toc.html
for more beautiful and intriguing art with letters.
I particularly like this as it reminds me of the way a conversation can go with my children - especially when they were toddlers.

What a difference a dot makes

2008-02-15T11:08:00.003Z

Designing corporate identities is one of my favourite jobs as a designer. The smallest difference in detail can change the way an identity is perceived. The same effect is true in the design of pictograms and signage. This week, dots have been on my mind as they often appear as a graphic element and as a pattern. (More on this in later posts). I was pondering dots on a train journey yesterday, when my eye fell on this sign. If a dot were added to this sign (demonstrated here via Photoshop) the sign could mean something entirely different....!

Valentines Day

2008-02-14T18:32:00.004Z

As today is Valentines Day, I have been playing with a card design using question marks as a heart.

Faces in Places

2008-02-11T09:06:00.000Z

Have a look and a laugh at the link below. Do we subconsciously design faces into our world?

http://facesinplaces.blogspot.com

Invitation

2008-02-07T22:49:00.000Z

Just dreaming...

Woodland Typography

2008-02-07T14:43:00.001Z

Today there are letters everywhere!

Pancake day illustration

2008-02-05T21:15:00.000Z

Today I am celebrating Pancake Day with an illustration of a lemon!

Auction finds

2008-02-04T15:47:00.001Z

The auction is always a great place to see some classic graphics.

I was immediately drawn to this piece of Bristol Pottery covered in farming images and a ribbon motif with the words 'God Speed the Plough'.

Also a series of original Chatto and Windus book jackets, a pile of spotter cards from old cigarette packets and some classic Susie Cooper illustration.

Chichester Station

2008-02-01T22:31:00.001Z

I found myself at Chichester station today where I spotted these original styling details dating from 1961 when the station was rebuilt. Shame about the addition of the CCTV camera.

Still Life 'Oop North'

2008-01-31T11:51:00.000Z

Every now and then we travel to our cottage 'Oop North' in the North Yorkshire Dales. It is a 'still life' there. A quiet village, huge skies and a wonderful cool light for photography (okay, cold light). The artichokes in the garden had just gone over for Autumn and the heads looked stunning. The window sill on the cottage stairs worked as a light box, perfect for a photo using diffused daylight - even only with my 2 megapixels mobile phone camera.

http://www.acottageinyorkshire.co.uk/

Chubbs nursery logo

2008-01-31T11:10:00.000Z

Inspired by the typographer Eric Gill and the charming but often overlooked bookplates that he would design and illustrate, this logo uses a pear, a green shoot and a plate. Gill Sans is the secondary font.

For more information about Eric Gill have a look at Ditchling Museum's website at http://www.ditchling-museum.com or the Eric Gill website http://www.ericgill.org.uk

Cricket score

2008-01-31T09:38:00.000Z

It was impossible not to walk past these in a skip last week. So I cleaned them up and gave them a good home.

Lovely illustration

2008-01-30T23:06:00.000Z

After designing the two logos below, I came across a beautiful book a couple of weeks ago called 'Follow the Line' by Laura Ljundgkvist. Her website is delightful - see the link below:

http://www.followtheline.com/home.html

I love it for the simplicity, colour and the fantastic illustrations.

Housing Association - Logo design ideas

2008-01-30T22:47:00.001Z

These are a series of visuals for a logo. The brief required reference to various elements within the scope of the Gallions projects - a river, a bridge, eco housing, 60's tower blocks and family homes.

Using a continuous line to create an image containing elements significant to Gallions Housing Association was fun.

Yummy

2008-01-30T20:44:00.001Z

Today I am simply setting up this blog and finding my way around using images. More will come.

This is a logo design for a catering company. I really wanted to show the stirring, swirling action of mixing ingredients. The client was keen to see a reference to the passion that she has for food and the love that she puts in to making food for people.