Dane Lovett [danelovett.com] is a painter whose work I was introduced to by a friend in Melbourne a few months back. Dane’s subject matter to date, has largely been made up of still-lifes of home taped cassette piles, record sleeves and random domestic plant life, presented in a semi photorealistic manner. Not majorly challenging conceptually or in their execution but super easy on the eye and a thoroughly modern way to inject energy into the age of subject of still life painting.

One of the (many) realisations I’ve had since coming to Amsterdam this time around is that those Dutch masters of design that were drilled into our heads whilst studying had sort of dropped out of my head over the years. In a way it was kind of nice because I started discovering their work a-fresh. I also felt like a bit of a doofus for being amazed by the work of these guys, whose greatness everyone else around seemed to take as godspel.

By way of example may I introduce to you Mr Dick Bruna. Before Miffy (or Nijntje as she’s known in Holland) eclipsed everything else, Mr Bruna was/is a serious (and seriously good) book jacket designer. Did you know this? I felt a bit naive when I worked that out.

Anyways, I stumbled across Boekennacht [boekennacht.nl] whilst loitering about Spui (a public square know for it’s bookstores and open air book fairs) and noticed a few series of boldly graphic book jackets, namely Dutch versions of The Saint and a series of detective novels by Dutch author, Havank. After checking out his signature on the cover (and a little bit of help from Hiyoko Imai [hiyokoimai.com]) I eventually worked out that they were by the guy behind Miffy. I also just found out that Mr Bruna and I share a birthdate. I heart that. :)

Further Reading
If, like me, you feel like you need to find out more about Dick Bruna there’s an excellent profile over at [iconofgraphics.com/Dick-Bruna]. If you are anywhere near Utrecht you might want to check out the Dick Bruna Huis at the Centraal Museum [centraalmuseum.nl/en/visit/locations/dick-bruna-house]. It’s on my list for next time!

Linefeed has travelled, once again, to Amsterdam to spend some more time with the fine folk at Good Inc HQ [goodinc.nl], including editorial design and illustration supremo, Mr Luis Mendo [luismendo.com]. Then we’ll be at the Facing Pages 2012 event in Arnhem from April 20–22 [facingpages.org] (if you’re coming along be sure to come say ‘Hi!’). Before Facing Pages tho, we’ve got a whole brainful of design and Dutch culture orientated stuff to share with you. Hopefully I’ll start getting more and more up here on Linefeed in the coming days for you to peruse.

Postcard #1:
City Guides produced and collected by Luis Mendo on the wall inside Good Inc HQ [luismendo.com/city-reporter].

Lawrence of Belgravia [mubi.com] finally gets a trailer and a vague sort of release date. Yays! A surprise hit at the recent London Film Festival (extra screenings had to be added), it’s a documentary about Felt/Denim/Go-Kart Mozart frontman, Lawrence, directed by Paul Kelly who is best known for his series of films produced with Saint Etienne such as Finisterre and What have you done today, Mervyn Day? [linefeed.me/1660]. Keep an eye on Heavenly Films [heavenlyfilms.net] for more news and details plus you can find out about a few other gems from their collection such as a little series on disappearing cafés in London.

If you’re in London at the mo you could do no better than venturing into Somerset House for Contemporary Graphic Art (ahem… Illustration) Fair, Pick Me Up [somersethouse.org.uk]. Now it’s it’s 3rd year, the fair seems to get fuller and fuller everytime. This year’s Pick Me Up is jam packed (the app is lush too [itunes/pick-me-up]). Seriously, you’ll need to have a bit of a rest half way through and maybe look at a blank wall for a while or something. We’ll definitely be going back for seconds. One of my many, many personal highlights came shoppy bit at the end, and in particular, a collection of publications produced by German indie publishers, Lubok [lubok-books.com] presented by Beach London [beachlondon.co.uk]. A celebration of the raw quality of ink or paper as much as a collectable series of artists monographs, you’ll literally want to pick some of these up to have a bit of a marvel at.

Before ‘the new twee’, before House Industries—at a time in the early 90s, when the word ‘vernacular’ was frequently bantered about—the Charles S Anderson Design Co. [csadesign.com] led the way in a freshly ‘reinvented’ form of distinctly American graphic design. Making a break from the sleek corporatism of the 80s and mired in innumerable discussions about ‘Learning from Las Vegas’ [mitpress.mit.edu] this was a loud and proud celebration of America’s graphic past, in all it’s incarnations, be they lurid or conservative (or an amalgamation of the two, as is what often happened).

Roughly 20 years later, now the dust has settled, CSA Design have built up a massive archive of ephemera and imagery which continues to inform their work as well as allowing them to license artwork for a wide range of products and applications. Their approach hasn’t changed loads over the years, but does continue to evolve, through their long-held association with the French Paper Company [frenchpaper.com] (CSA’s first proper client). Chalres S Anderson Design Co. has also spawned offshoot brands such as CSA Images [csaimages.com] and PopInk [frenchpaper.com/popink]. Most recently they have helped launched the 140th anniversary of the French Paper Company with a series of illustrated portraits of various members of the company.

If this renewed interest in the ‘vernacular’ (see [hipsterbranding.tumblr.com]—and that’s the first and last time I use the ‘H’ word on this here blog) continues, there’s a good chance CSA will be in the spotlight once again. After all, they are the real(ish) deal.

BTW CSA Images & French Paper have an ace Tumblog up at [csaflatfile.com].

In this second edition of the Linefeed Reading List for 2012, I’m ‘on me tod’, prattling on about magazines and what they look like (in case you weren’t sure). Plus there’s a plug for the Facing Pages 2012 magazine event taking place from April 20–22 in Arnhem—more info via [facingpages.org]. Mags perused in this here video include Dazed & Confused [dazeddigital.com] / Archivist [archivist.cc] / Oh Comely [ohcomely.co.uk] / Vogue U.K. [vogue.co.uk] / Monocle [monocle.com] / The Ride Journal [theridejournal.com] / Anorak‘s Happy Book [anorakmagazine.com] / Crack [crackmagazine.net] / Garage [garagemag.com] / and Ken Isaacs’ How to Build your own Living Structures (I kid you not) [via Issuu].

Sean Pruen aka Seanographic [seanographic.co.uk] has just completed a new video for indie band, Fever Dream‘s debut single, This Waste [feverdream.co.uk], and it’s rather rad. Taking the band’s 90s psychedelia influences (I’m not going to say shoegaze okay, you can’t make me) he has crafted a video that’s modern but references all manner of psychedelic imagery from as far back as the 60s (note the, for want of a better phrase, ‘lava lamp’-esque swirly blobby bits). On Sean’s site you’ll not only find more ace videos but also details of an amazing interactive project called ‘Eels’ which was an experiment in projection mapping an interactive game onto a series of white boxes (crappy description I know, you just have to check it out really).

Yesterday I went to visit Mother [motherlondon.com], after being invited in to meet the head of their design department, Jim Bletsas. While I was there I was lucky enough to grab a copy of Operation Alphabet, a new children’s book produced by Jim (and fellow Mother creative, Al MacCuish) under the banner of the The Ministry of Letters [ministryofletters.com]. Jim also gave me a bit of insight into the creative process behind the book which included getting illustrator Luciano Lozano [ilustrista.com] to thoroughly investigate illustration techniques from the 50s and 60s (to many the golden age of children’s illustration) to come up with the pretty gosh-darn, authentic-looking aesthetic employed on said pages. If you remember Mother’s foraey into comic books a few years ago you’ll also find this a curious glimpse of the warmer, fuzzier side of the agency.

Operation Alphabet is published by Thames & Hudson [thamesandhudson.com] and available from all proper, decent bookshops. Don’t forget to take a peek at the inside of the book jacket to reveal the Ministry in full effect.

On young, emerging designers…

“It’s the only time you’re allowed to fail without direct commercial consequences.”

On future designer’s portfolios…

“I think we’ll see emerging designers happy to display both their failures and their successes as part of their ever-evolving portfolios.”

On ‘Retro Chaos’…

“This seems to be based on unearthing the mistakes of the past and turning them into graphic motifs.”

To read the article in full and to check out other pieces by a vast array of ace graphic design practioners pick up a copy of CA Collection #1 on sale now [computerarts.co.uk].

For this first edition of the Linefeed Reading List for 2012 we’re joined by, special guest, Steven Gregor from Gym Class Magazine [gymclassmagazine.com]. Together we try not to giggle our way through mag reviews of Collect [collectmag.com.au] / Desktop [desktopmag.com.au] / Dumbo Feather [dumbofeather.com] / Framer [frame-fund.fi] / Dor [decatorevista.ro] / Bloomberg Businessweek [businessweek.com] / Paris Vogue [vogue.fr] / The Good Times [goodtimes.thechurchoflondon.com] / Coverjunkie magazine [coverjunkie.com]. Posh!

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In the upper echelons of Linefeed’s all time fave record labels sits Teen-beat. One of their ‘seminal’ releases — Unrest‘s ‘Perfect Teeth‘ (produced by Simon Le Bon, doncha know) — gets a reissue this spring as a series of 7″s plus associated goodies. Check out the vid above for the official speil and to take a peek at the actual produce and/or visit [teenbeat.net] for all the deets and more.

We received a New Year’s greeting just now, via email, so cheery we had to share it with you. The email in question was from Simon Wald-Lasowski [simonwaldlasowski.com], a Frenchman in Amsterdam with a curious surname (not unlike my own). Of course it takes more than a cheery email and curious surname to qualify for a Linefeed ‘What’s Up’. Mr Wald-Lasowski is also the holder of an ace portfolio of photography and art direction for clients such as Amsterdam Weekly, Time Out [amsterdamweekly.nl] and Blend magazine [blend.nl]. He’s was even invited to exhibit at one of the world’s premiere photographic institutions, Foam in Amsterdam [foam.org] back in 2010.

First up is Third Drawer Down [thirddrawerdown.com], and thanks to Ms. Crompton for giving me a sneak peak at some exciting forthcoming product designs even though it was just before christmas and every person and their dog was wandering off the street to do some last minute filling of various Chrimbo stockings. If you’ve been to see the Postmodernism exhibition at London’s V&A (which closes today — eek!) or, indeed just like awesome nick nacks, Third Drawer Down is of particular interest.

In the store and on their website you can not only get yer mitts on ace stuff like a Day of the Dead woollen blankie [here] or a ‘Fries’ shaped beanbag [here] or one of Vuk Vidor‘s awesome Art History posters [and here], they are also selling a selection of objects by original Memphis Milano [memphis-milano.it] members Peter Shire [echoparkpottery.com] and Nathalie Du Pasquier [nathaliedupasquier.com] who is continuing to work with the fine folk at Third Drawer Down with some new, never before released prints being issued at some point later this year. Exciting stuff!

Shown above—Original Nathalie Du Pasquier ‘revival’ prints on placemats produced exclusively by Third Drawer Down. Also available from the V&A.

 015 A Marvellous Concept  Through the diminishing fog of jetlag comes this first poddie for the new year. In this edition you’ll hear the eclectic strains of Echo Park (with Thurston Moore) / Atlas Sound [deerhuntertheband.blogspot.com] / The Penetrators / Dead Man’s Bones / Desire [vivaitalians.blogspot.com] / Denim [bfi.org.uk] / The Drums / Portishead [via YouTube] / GusGus [via YouTube] / ABC plus a special bonus track we’ve hunted down from 1988 that takes a poke at the Iron (she ain’t no) Lady by Nick Sample. Don’t forget to grab yer tres exclusive Linda Jackson influenced artwork from above too. It’s beaut!

It’s a jumbo bumper Chrimbo! edition of the Reading List for December. Chock full of ace mags for your holiday reading pleasure including Wired (US) [wired.com] / Foam [foam.org] / Pin—Up [pinupmagazine.org] / C20 Magazine [c20society.org.uk] / Midcentury [midcenturymagazine.co.uk] / Head Full of Snakes [headfullofsnakes.com] / Response [agda.com.au] / Smith Journal [smithjournal.com.au] / KnockBack [knockback.co.uk] / Wrap [thewrappaper.com] / Little Joe [littlejoemagazine.com] / It’s Nice That [itsnicethat.com] / Gym Class Magazine [gymclassmagazine.com] / Loud & Quiet [loudandquiet.com] plus Graphic Design: Now in Production [shop.walkerart.org]. Phew!

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I’ve started off a bit ranty here I know but seriously, how is this current rash of brash, negative, ‘boy racer’ types helping an industry that, you have to admit, needs all the help it can get at the moment, as it makes the move from traditionally relying on mostly print based work to tackling all manner of new, mostly digital, media.

Over the past 12 months we’ve seen more ‘networks’ of designers and developers forming. As well as a renewed clamour to dissect and crit the business of graphic design slowly growing in volume. Is it just that were been constantly told there are less jobs out there so, boys being the way they are, have grouped together, at the same time switching to competitive mode, in an attempt to starve off whatever circumstance lies ahead? Or is this a sign of the rise of the designer developer, coming from an industry that was moulded, it’s fair to say, mostly by men, who are now finding a new voice in the elder industry of graphic design that they haven’t expected to have before.

Whatever the reason, the need for fellow designers to squabble and generate negative comments, tweets or whatever on the subject of graphic design does the industry, and all those that reside in it, a dis-service. Our industry, like most other modern, media-based industries, is shrinking. It has happened to publishing, to music, to cinema and it’s now happening to graphic design. To stem the tide of clients turning away from using traditional graphic designers, to welcoming the idea of being ‘undesigned’, we need to provide a united front. We need to support creative endeavours of merit, not just the ones that a handful of our mates happen to have come up with in their ‘spare time’.

There is a danger that designers will only end up discussing design with other designers. That graphic design will become a niche thing for wannabe artisans. We are already loosing our relevance, and therefore influence, in the eyes of many potential clients so how about we all start pulling our heads out of our arses and celebrating the fact that we are all fortunate enough to work in one of the most amazing industries around. An industry that, when successful, touches the lives of everyone, not just other designers, and stop the ugly bickering, one-ups-man-ship and infighting.

Graphic design deserves better than that and you know it.

End Rant /

'Will I Ever See You Again' poster available now via Society6

We’ve had a whole heap of linefeed related products on the boil here at Linefeed HQ. Most of them remain under wraps until next year but we thought we’d share the first of a few print-on-demand experiments with you now. Namely a set of 3 prints available via Society6 [society6.com]. Two of the prints, ‘I’m a Monster’ and ‘Kite No.1′ are also available as tshirt designs and iPhone cases (fancy, huh). Artwork is available as Poster prints, up to A1 size, as archival quality Giclée prints or canvases. Society6 also offer to frame ‘em up for you too. The imagery on all three posters come from original photos taken by yours truly, made all graphic like. Visit [society6.com/okinterrupt] to see more.

'I'm a Monster' poster available via Society6

'Kite No.1' poster available via Society6

Jonas Damon [jonasdamon.blogspot.com] is a product designer, creating new and ultra slick takes on every products as well as devising a few quirky new concepts, still in keeping with his smooth, pared down aesthetic. His cork bricks, in particular, stacked Jenga style, wouldn’t look out of place in a exhibition on the theme of modern Minimalism. His early work for Habitat in the early to mid 2000s cemented many of the themes he has carried through to his most recent work for clients such as Areaware [areaware.com], who whom he has developed a number of novel iPhone and iPad docks in the shapes of televisions, transistor and clock radios. Serious wantage.

Inspired by the V&A exhibition, Postmodernism, on from now until 15 January [vam.ac.uk], comes PoMoRadio. Don’t worry, does not contain any posthumous picking over of the theorem that underpinned this ‘movement’. Instead it’s approx. 40 minutes of 1980s pop protagonists warbling away amongst a sea of synth, strings and samples. Ahh, the 80s. Included in this special edition of the Antimix podcast series are Spandau Ballet [spandauballet.com] / Devo [clubdevo.com] / Grace Jones [via YouTube] / ABC [abcmartinfry.com] / Laurie Anderson [laurieanderson.com] / Talking Heads [davidbyrne.com] / Bomb the Bass [bombthebass.com] / Erik B & Rakim [via YouTube] / Neneh Cherry [via YouTube] / The The [thethe.com]. Got a fave PoMo track from the 80s? Then leave a comment or tweet at [@linefeed] and let us know what it is. Oh, and bubble-sloshy-massive-massive-face, ok?