Nikki Farquharson

via Nikki Farquharson

Nikki Farquharson is a young, exciting, London-based graphic designer and illustrator. Her bold, sharp illustrations really caught my eye and after a quick Google I found her website. She has several fascinating projects on there, including a book of updated proverbs, simply set and bound. Another project sees her taking pictures of people taking pictures with a great set series of image the result. My favourite idea of hers would have to be Random Got Beautiful.

It’s an ongoing online photo project she began March 2007, with people sending in pictures containing dominant colours which are then placed together to create a new one. My explanation is a bit terrible, but give it a visit, it’s definately worth a look. Her quirky ideas mixed with her bold style make her an refreshing, interesting artist and one to watch.

Love Weather, Love Britain Animation

For the second part of my Britishness project, I was required to produce an animation to again describe what I think Britishness is. Continuing on for my poster, I decided to animate it in Flash. My original idea was to create a stop motion film to show 4 seasons of weather in one British day, but this was too ambitious considering the timeframe I had in which to do it. So I went back to my poster and decided to take it into Flash and have a play and this is what I got;

Click here to view

There are still a few things to change and I might redraw the rain. The sound also doesn’t seem to be syncing properly, perhaps it’s to do with the hosting. Either way, enjoy!

Xbox Controller Stop Motion

For my latest project, I’m creating a 15 second animation, carrying on the theme of Britishness from my previous project. I’m going to use stop motion as it’s something I have always wanted to try. I made this short clip in 10 minutes, just to get a feel for stop motion. It was fun and I think I’m really going to enjoy this project. Check out my first ever stop motion video below.

What is Britishness?

For my latest project at university, I have to produce a printed typographic piece about Britishness and what I perceive it to me. I focused on the weather, and combined it with language as they were both things that interested me about British culture. After a few experiments I started developing this idea (click to view full size), showing an excerpt of a conversation regarding the weather. It incorporates both the weather and the way we talk about it (“pour” is a colloquial way of saying it’s raining and a phrase that we use alot). Inspired by work I’ve seen by graphic designers Illmatic and MediaOne, I chose to lay it out in a way that would be interesting and varied, to show the variety of culture and styles we have in Britain. This isn’t the final version, I’m not yet happy with the box at the bottom and it’ll be changed by my deadline on Thursday. Overall though I am quite pleased with it.

Helvetica Cookie Cutters

via Beverly Hsu

Font fanatic Beverly Hsu has created a contemporary cookie cutter that carves out one of the best known fonts of all time, Helvetica. The Helvetica Cookie Cutters produce cookies that faithfully replicate the form of the Helvetica font, making tasty treats for the design minded. While Hsu’s cookie cutters are not yet in production, she’s looking for options to bring them to the market.

How Many Can You Recognize?

I got 18, not too bad I guess. They’re mainly from American companies, at least that’s my excuse for not getting them all!

Moon Striker

via Design You Trust

JAM Adelaide designed this creative billboard for the Adelaide United Football Club to promote their night games. The ad cleverly reinforces the night aspect of the game by having a player on the billboard interact with the “moon,” which was attached above the poster with a pole, painted black. When I first saw this, I didn’t realise the moon was part of the billboard and wondered what they would do when it changed position in the sky. I like the advert, it’s clever and fun, and combines two of my loves; football and creative graphic design.

Langara College: Rethink Scholarship

My friend showed me this video today, saying he thought I would like it, which turned out to be a bit of an understatement. It’s a artistic, fun advert, and quite inspiring at the same time. I didn’t realise it was advertising anything until the last few seconds, which I think in this instance helps the advert. Can we have better adverts like this for our universities please?

On To The Next One

Jay-Z’s newest video caught my eye recently for its black and white imagery. A combination bleeding sneakers, flaming basketballs, high-flying kung fu ghosts and a wild range of quickly-chopped images make this a big departure to the current crop of hip-hop videos. This contemporary video was directed by Sam Brown

C’était un Rendez-vous

C’était un Rendez-vous is a short film by French director Claude Lelouch, filmed in Paris in 1976. It features a Ferrari 275 being driven at high speed at 5.30am, past several landmarks in Paris. The film attracted criticisim at the time of its release due to the recklessness of the driver. Well-known landmarks such as the Arc de Triomphe, Opéra Garnier, and Place de la Concorde with its obelisk are passed, as well as the Champs-Élysées. Pedestrians are passed, pigeons sitting on the streets are scattered, red lights are ignored, one-way streets are driven up the wrong way, center lines are crossed, the car drives on the sidewalk to avoid a garbage truck. The car is never seen as the camera seems to be attached below the front bumper. The final shot shows the car is parked in front of a curb on Montmartre, with the famous Sacré Cœur Basilica behind. Here, the driver gets out and embraces a young blonde woman as bells ring in the background, with the famous backdrop of Paris. I love this short film for the rush it gives me whilst watching it. The sound of the engine is so engrossing, and watching the car dance through the awakening Parisian streets is like poetry in motion. I can’t help but have the hairs on the back of my neck stand up whilst watching this.