From Adbusters (#90) via Stu Buchanan

“The commercial media are to the mental environment what factories are to the physical environment. A factory dumps pollution into the water or air because that’s the most efficient way to produce plastic or wood pulp or steel. A TV station or web site pollutes the cultural environment because that’s the most efficient way to produce audiences. It pays to pollute. The psychic fallout is just the cost of putting on the show.”

High Rotation—

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Eluvium – Indoor Swimming At The Space Station

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Eluvium – Prelude For Time Feelers

Are these not the most beautiful songs (and song titles) you’ve ever heard?

On a related note, could this be why we listen to music when we’re sad? And is this what’s wrong with the music industry today?

Continuing on from the apocalyptic themes of the previous Roundup – here’s a rather fascinating look at bomb shelters from around the world.

Photographer Richard Ross says of his project – “Some of these people thought they were going to be the new inhabitants of the Garden of Eden. I can’t believe that. But when you think back to the illogic of the Bush/Cheney administration, and the world around you is so devolved, the idea of going underground doesn’t seem so crazy.”

These almost seem like tombs. Homely tombs – but tombs all the same.

It’s interesting to think about a scenario where the inhabitants of the world all exist underground. What would they do to pass the time? When would they come up to explore the surface? How long could you really physically and mentally survive in a shelter?

So Max Headroom is coming to DVD courtesy of the Shout Factory.

I didn’t realize this till today – but interestingly enough, Max Headroom was not computer generated at all. In truth, actor Matt Frewer was hidden disguised behind latex makeup, foam prosthetics and a fiberglass suit. The geometric neon patterns displayed behind him were all hand-drawn cel animations too.

You can see shots of Frewer having his costume applied here.

One of the absolute best design blogs around is back in business. If you haven’t already – subscribe to Michael Bojkowski’s Linefeed and then make your way back through the archives.

Another great blog has popped up courtesy of Suzanne Boccalatte, as a part of her lovely new site. Lots of fabulous work and some fantastic articles about process, inspiration and music.

I feel as though Australian designers are becoming particularly good at building blogs that cover a wide range of topics and provide some literate and insightful commentary. Pip & Co are another great example, and a personal favourite.

This has been around for a couple of years now – but is the Orion Galaxy not the most amazing synthesizer around? A truly beautiful piece of retro-futuristic design.

In other news, two of my favourite designers – Mat Cook & Julian House of Intro have collaborated with artists Hannah Galvin-Horne & Marianne Keating for a exhibition of new works called Super Impose. Screen-printed brilliance.

In response to my own post from a few weeks ago, I’ve discovered that the individual behind one of my favourite pieces of design from 2010 – the artwork for Robyn’s Body Talk – is by the rather obscure and extremely talented Bodil Gustafsson Fürst

Stone cold amazing.

And finally, I’ll leave you with some thoughts from Neville Brody & Co, and their Anti-Design Festival manifesto—

We are living in an age where millions of colours became 256. Difference is the enemy. Generic culture hypnotises us all into generic patterns, where control is visibly invisible. Danger is replaced by fear. New means upgrade. Risk is obsolete. Art made money stupid, and money made us fools. We welcome no_use, no_function and no_fear. Anarchy, crash and burn, the new awaits.

We have managed to create for our children, perhaps for the first time in history, a future which is less hopeful than the one we live in today.

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When was the last time you encountered any culture that you can say was really dangerous, that actually challenged anything?

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Wherever you are, have a great week.

Working on it has been an extremely rewarding experience. It began with the vague plan of simply documenting my life and work over 2010, and it has since slowly expanded into something richer and more diverse. Over just the last few weeks, I’ve met some incredible people, discovered some amazing design artifacts, and I’ve started to think more deeply about the aesthetic and cultural value of design.

In order to keep things growing, and to provide content that is interesting and relevant, I’m going to modify things ever so slightly. So far I’ve structured my blog so that I update daily, and that each day has its own category. I’m going to continue to try and update daily, but the daily category will be based on what content I have available, and what I’m feeling particularly passionate about at the time. Some weeks will see multiple entries in the same category, other weeks will see certain categories entirely omitted. The only exception to this will be Monday’s Roundup and this Wednesday’s Discography entry. Beyond that— anything goes.

I’m also introducing a couple of new categories, which are Ephemera and Things. Ephemera will contain found design objects, scanned or photographed, and presented here for your viewing pleasure. Things will be similar although it will have a broader focus, incorporating industrial design, signage and architecture. Ultimately it’s all about helping to preserve our design heritage, and contributing content to the infinite archives of the internet. I will also aim to provide as much historical information and critical analysis as I can.

As much as I enjoy writing and researching, I am extremely motivated to get stuck into new, commissioned graphic design work. I’ve experienced a bit of a lull in this area over the last few months, and so I am now actively seeking new clients, collaborators and studios. I am particularly interested in meeting those who are open to new ideas and experimental processes, and who appreciate the value of honest design.

This blog has helped me to reconsider how I approach the act of design. In the past few years I’ve been focused on being prolific, pumping out large volumes of work at great speed. Now I’m far more interested in slowing things down, and producing more thoughtful work, with a strong emphasis on craft and cultural relevance. It’s about quality not quantity. If this sounds like something you can get on board with, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

I’d also like to extend a huge, warm and genuine Thank You to everyone who has visited, looked, read, browsed, clicked, downloaded, commented, tweeted and/or subscribed.

Have a fantastic week.

To avoid spending too much time trying to come up with new daily topics, I’m going to dedicate one to each day of the week. Of course there are bound to be days when I’m too busy to write and likewise days where I have more than one thing to say. Additionally topics may change over time, and if I really start to exhaust the idea I’ll revise the whole thing.

Without any further ado, here are my daily topics.

Monday— Roundup.
What’s on & what’s coming up for the working week ahead.

Tuesday— Process.
What I do and how I do it, as well as new techniques and ideas I’m exploring.

Wednesday— Discography.
I always have music on while I work, so here i’ll be talking about the artists I love as well as posting reviews of new stuff I’m listening to.

Thursday— Inspiration.
From the people that have inspired me to recent work that’s caught my eye.

Friday— Randomness.
Rants, raves, candid photos… anything goes!

Saturday— Recreation.
Usually on a Saturday my wife and I are out in the wild, so this will be dedicated to documenting where we go and what we get up to. Be warned though, it’s not uncommon for us to spend the day on the couch watching movies.

Sunday— Experimenta.
I’m often working on a personal project or experimenting with materials on a Sunday, and in 2010 I intend to do even more of this, so Experimenta will focus on documenting what I get up to, or just showing off the fruits of my labour.

Enjoy!

2009, while not always an easy year, was definitely a landmark year for me as a designer and artist.

My work was recognized internationally by a variety of blogs, websites, books and magazines, which was a great thrill.

2009 was the year where I dropped my Illumination Ink pseudonym and started working under my real name.

From October to November I worked on my largest project to date, producing the artwork, design and marketing materials for Tantrum Theatre’s 2010 campaign.

Throughout the year I was invited to contribute work to numerous projects from around the world, including Spot The Tiger, a debate series in London which uses design and illustration to stimulate discussion on important issues. 

Overall it was an extremely prolific year, where in addition to my client work I produced numerous personal projects, many of which you can check out here.

While i’m incredibly proud of my achievements over 2009 (and the three years of freelancing before it) I find myself wanting to explore new ideas and techniques. I’m drawn to sculpture, video art, music and non-digital processes such as painting and print-making. I’m also drawn to new areas of inspiration, and I find myself thinking differently about what design is and what it can be.

Ultimately I see 2010 as a year of contemplation and experimentation, and so I’ve decided to morph this website into a blog in order to document what happens over the next 12 months and beyond.

You can expect to see insights into my process, works in progress, thoughts, rants and interesting items I find along the way. Please feel free to contribute feedback, thoughts, suggestions and expressions of your own.

Of course this site is also a portal for my professional work, and I am always looking to meet new clients and collaborators – particularly those who are similarly minded, and wish to push their design needs in new, exciting and unknown directions. You can still see samples of work highlights from the last 4 years here, and even more on my Flickr stream.

I look forward to sharing my year with you.

Heath.