Shop Talk

I was laying in bed last night trawling through a days worth of twitter I had missed and realised I am now following quite a few a football players. How this has happened I’m not sure? Despite being a pretty mad football fan, I like many, have no time for the ‘pro’ footballer. A feeling amplified by the media, especially following the impeccable and humble media performances of the majority of London 2012 athletes (even the showboating/arrogance of a certain...

Before I spoil the surprise for you all take a look at these wonderful illustrations. Can you work them out? They are in fact Food App Icons for the iPhone. Created by Dutch illustrator and designer Julian Burford, the mini illustrations showcase a piece of design at its very best. Simple, well crafted and charming – blooming marvelous. 8 in total, my standout is definitely the baked beans. You could really imagine these working across a variety of food and drink...

A little light relief this balmy Monday courtesy of Daily Mail Online. Brussels, Belgium now hosts the world’s deepest swimming pool, Nemo 33. At 113 feet (34.5 metres) deep and containing 2.5 million litres of water it’s not your average liesure-centre-haunt. Nemo 33 was designed by Belgian diving expert John Beernaerts as a multi-purpose diving instruction, recreational and film production facility (no doubt we’ll see some snaps of James Cameron in his wet suit before long). Some of the photos are pretty...

Bit of a design ‘geek off’ but I’m absolutely loving these vibrant and beautiful gradient photos from Eric Cahan. Eric’s ‘Sky Series’ documents the sunrise and sunsets from different locations around the world, including California and New York. Unfortunately, our London sunsets don’t cut the mustard. I’ve been struggling to recreate these gradients in photoshop – just look at that colour! Check out a few of my favourites below or jump on over to Eric’s site to see the...

Quick one today! This morning I opened Creative Review on the Editorial page from Patrick Burgoyne. Patrick’s short piece exactly (I mean exactly) sums up my thoughts on the London 2012 Olympic logo. Whilst I admire the ambition, the overall theme, the vibrant colour palette, the attention to detail – at the end of the day I just don’t like the logo. As a piece of visual craft it disappoints me. That said, as the games go on, I feel I’m warming...

Friends of STL and art curators, Goddard Harlech, host their very first exhibition next week. Formed by two friends and Central Saint Martins grads, Joe Goddard and Jasset Harlech, their aim is simple – “find and nurture talented emerging artists through exhibitions, private shows and commissioned work.” They work with artists across painting, illustration, printmaking and photography. Their opening exhibition, Good Hunting: Season One, is a topical exploration of social attitudes and British culture within urban environments. The artists have been selected based on their chosen...

Following on from the Shooting Arena last week, another temporary, reusable*  and sustainable venue has been constructed this summer. The new Basketball Arena is one of the largest temporary structures ever built for a Games. Like the shooting venue, the tent-like structure is made from a kit of parts, containing 20,000 square metres of a recyclable white PVC fabric that forms individual curved shapes creating an overall canvas. The membrane will also host spectacular lighting displays throughout the Games. The 12,000-seat stadium was designed by Sinclair...

Over the next couple of weeks I’ll be taking a look at a selection of venues, stadiums, parks and spaces that have been upgraded or created for the London 2012 Olympics. The LOCOG committee have commissioned some truly breathtaking pieces of architecture that not only demonstrates the wonderful talent we have here in the UK, but what the rest of the world has to offer. Up first – shooting. One of the biggest concerns raised throughout the buildup to London 2012 has been...