Atmosphere

Further to yesterday's post and image about space and our place in the universe is this little drawing showing the layers of atmosphere which act as a shield and make our Earth a Goldilocks planet on which life can thrive - not too hot and not too cold, its just right.

Though in the Goldilocks tales its at that point in the story that the bears turn up and everything goes a bit pear shaped so hopefully not a very accurate analogy.

The Planets

Work continues a pace on our new exhibition at the Arches.

Thinking about religion, the Gods, fate etc always makes me think about a series of lectures I went to at the Science Centre Planetarium in Glasgow. Five weeks of two levtures conducted under the amazing planetarium dome where all the stars of the universe were hanging above our heads. At the end of the lecture series the tutor got us all to close our eyes. Dutifully we did so only to reopen them to see - the exact same starry night we'd been looking at just a few seconds before?

After allowing us a couple of seconds of disapointment the lecturer said we didn't look very impressed. He then said that we just taken the biggest trip any of us would ever take. The planetarium projector had just been reconfigured, instead of showing us the nights sky as it looks from Earth it had switched to showing the universe from several hundred light years to one side. Using his laser indicator he pointed out the four stars of a consteallation he had previously explained to us 1, 2, 3, 4 . . . . and now 5.

This new fifth star which had joined the end of the consteallation was actually our own sun viewed from outside our solar system. All of human history, all our great works and all our failures, all the dreams, hopes, achievements, sorrow and joy of our race's existance was encompassed on just one tiny little dot of light on the domed roof. Makes you feel pretty small.

Scottish Posters

St Andrews Day (Yesterday)

I had meant to make something for St Andrews Day yesterday, but Scott and I spent the day at our old uni giving a quick talk to the students. It was weird being back there but it was a lot of fun and hopefully we didn't bore them all to death to much. We also gave them a quick workshop project to carry out in the streets of Glasgow, in which they had to define various "spaces" by means of a set of tag cards. The results were really good, with some very interesting images, which the students then had to present and explain under a strict time limit of 10secs. We'll post the results to our site in the next week or so.

Anyway, the above poster was inspired by the classic WWII poster. See here for more details Keep Calm and Carry On poster site.

[Text by Annie.]

Superhuman

Just made this poster for SPID's latest theatrical extravaganza in London. Anyone in the area should take a look. The hardest part of the project was holding the camera far enough away with my left hand to get a good photo of my right arm.

Southside Festival

I've been asked to design the main festival poster, the map and all the internal navigation signage for the Southside Festival taking place in Queen Park in Glasgow at the end of the month. Should be good fun - but I'd better get my design skates on, the festival is on in only 12 days!!

Above is my colour mock up for the main poster - containing some of the symbols I've designed for the navigation signage.

Southside Festival

The Southside festival is coming up again soon and Ann is again on the steering group helping orginise it. She is a very busy bee and has just finished making the festival a brand spanking new website. - www.southsidefestival.co.uk.

I have also tried to help out a bit by mocking up a couple of posters for two of the mini local events taking place during the festival - a silent film night and a tea dance taking place at the local church hall. My two posters are above - I am pretty please with them but they might require a redesign due to image rights.

Keep calm and spend more

Taking inspiration from the classic WWII posters instructing the populace to "Keep calm and carry on" in the face of possible Nazi invasion these new badges imagine the motivational propaganda today's governments might issue to get us through the credit crunch. Sprouting the seemingly illogical message that we can "spend" our way out of a recession, the design has been updated for the naughties - the crown is replaced with the bowler hat as a symbol of the banking elite who have run the country into the ground and available in Dollar Green, Sterling red, Yen blue and Euro yellow.

ECHO

A wee flyer I designed for the SPID Theatre Company for their new show in London - details above, sounds like it will be really good so worth a visit.

fresh and hot

Wee colour sketch idea for a poster for an heating company who get their heat from the earth. Trying to capture the same kind of style/ language that is currently popular for fruit drink / healthy food adverts.

Couple of sketch idea options I mocked up for SPID theatre for their upcoming play in London

stop me and buy one

New just off the blocks - anyone want one? Going cheap.

My own take on the classic "Keep calm and carry on" posters from the second world war.

16

Poster for new show above - and more info on Spids current show below.

THE GARDEN

An apocalyptic morality tale is unfolding all around …
Press night – Friday 15th AugustFar at the edge of time, a boy and a girl have outlived the end of the world. But a stranger in the undergrowth seems hell-bent on tempting them to self-destruction. When only the ruthless survive, can anyone afford to be good?
Site specific location:

Little Wormwood Scrubs, Dalgarno Gardens, London W10 6AD

Dates: Fri Aug 8th to Sun 31st August (no shows Mon to Wed)
Time: 8pm (show lasts 70 mins)
Ticket prices: FREE
Riverside Studios box office: 020 8237 1111Directions: Take bus 70 or 316 from Ladbroke Grove tube; get off near North Pole Road then turn right off Dalgarno
Gardens and head diagonally across the park
Background:Step into the midst of this grisly future as the story plays out around a council estate park for which the show has been especially created. It follows S.P.I.D.'s four month program of events including resident lead walks, promenade puppetry and installation work – all developed with local people as a way of bringing the neglected community space back into use. The Garden is a professional collaboration with Riverside Studios, commissioned by Kensington and Chelsea Arts Service as part of the In Transit Festival and the Arts Council Taking Part Place Project.
Further information and photos available from:
The Social Enterprise PR Tel: 020 7617 7063 / 07851 729 078Email: spid@thesocialenterprise.org

"A rare and original theatrical treat," Time Out **** on S.P.I.D.'s critic's choice, Open House"A fantastical love story, beautifully written and directed," Edinburgh Evening News **** on S.P.I.D.'s Bluebeard's Wives
ABOUT S.P.I.D.

Happy Slap

The other commission for Spid - a poster, flyer and trailer for her interesting little mystery noir Happyslap.

The Garden

Just finished this poster for the lovely Helena Thompson, who goes by the name of Spid. She's a busy bee who production company has worked on a host of interesting projects over the last wee while. I design a DVD cover and poster for her film Happyslap which I'll try and remember to post in the future and completed the above for a performance that she has been working on about a post-apocolyptic future where the peace of two survivours is shattered by the arrival of a stranger. All sounds very errie and will be on from the end of July in London town.

Southside Festival

There is a festival taking place in the Southside of the Glasgow this summer and I put together a few ideas as a pitch for the posters/ map/ flyer. Sadly, I lost out on the final vote. Looking forward to the festival though and to seeing the poster I lost out too.

*(Bottom image is a sketch suggesting a tone and was not drawn)

Tchai Ovna Poster - colour sketch

I'm begining to sketch up some ideas for posters for the Southside Festival which is happening in Glasgow in the summer. The above is a colour sketch for a poster for Shawlands highlighting Tchai Ovna one of my favourite places in the area.

Still not working

My computer is still in the doctors and so I therefore haven't been able to sort out the server problems. Fingers crossed it comes back on Thursday and I can get back to work.

post of a poster

Colour sketch for a second poster

posters

Hmmm - still not worked out how to fix the links above - i will I'm sure eventually get it sorted. Meanwhile here is a sketch I made working out a colour layout for a poster for our local farmers market. Think I'm going to do it in an old British Rail poster style.