Design stuff that's happened in 2006

In the spirit of the end of year Top 10's and despite saying I wouldn't do a Top 10, here's a Top 10 of design stuff that's happened in 2006. Except that it's a Top 15.  In absolutely no order whatsoever.

1. Pearlfisher
One of our direct rivals, we've pitched against them several times this year. They've been doing some good work. Crap name though.

2. WMH/Loewy
In an industry of mediocrity Williams Murray Hamm have always stood out. Anyone with a bit of design business knowledge will know that they're very profitable and that they are very well run. Not many design businesses can say that. Add in their massive awards tally (they topped the effectiveness and creativity league tables this year) and they've been ripe for a sale for sometime. Loewy have been saying they want to build a design services network and this is the most high profile (and probably most important) acquisition on the road to that goal. A brilliant addition to their stable.

3. CR Blog
For me Creative Review has years when it's good and years when it's bad, usually correlated with to the amount of inserts that fall out of the mag. The more inserts, the worse the issue. The newly launched CR Blog is completely different. Consistently good, no inserts. It looks good, the writing style is the right mix between blog and magazine and it's updated at a nice pace. Top marks. And it gets far more of my eyeball time the the magazine ever does.

4. Alan Fletcher
Can't finish without mentioning him, of course. Enough has been said already, but this was the year we realised how much we appreciated him.

5. Design Museum
The Design Museum has been under a resurgence of late. Fletcher aside, the F1 show was brilliant. When Rawsthron left many people thought it would lose it's way, instead it's continued along the same path. The 2007 exhibitions look good too.

6. Apple iPhone
I keep waiting for Apple to fuck up, but it never seems to happen. 2006 has been the year of the internet iPhone rumour. It's a testament to Apple's current talents that almost everyone thinks, unquestionably, it will be brilliant.

Personally I don't think it will anything at all like these. Or even like a phone. And yes, I'll be in the queue to get one.

7. Web Typography
Was 2006 the year people finally started to think about this? Let's bloody hope so.

8. User Generated Content and the effect on Graphic Design
City of Sound touched on this brilliantly here and we've had lots of discussions about it in the studio. What does it mean for the world's designers when the top websites (Google, eBay, Amazon, YouTube, MySpace) all look so bloody awful? How can you design for content that's not generated by you? It can be done and it can be done well. We're right back to function over form (thank God) and only the best will succeed.

9. Lippa Pearce
Lippa and Pearce are two very good designers. This year they left the hassle of their own firm and joined the relative safety of Pentagram. A decent year in anyone's book. But I question whether it's a good move for Pentagram. Do they really need two more middle aged male print designers? Probably not. They need some more people who instinctively understand digital. Digital naturals. Someone who can bring an element of wit to the web (to wit to web) that's been sorely lacking. Someone a little younger wouldn't go amiss too. That's my opinion anyway.

10. johnsonbanks

Another year of great work (check out the Beatles stamps), but it's the website that's impressed me this year. All design agency websites are shit so it's nice to come across one that isn't. When I first saw that the new website was designed in Flash my heart sank. But this site has proved easy to use, interesting, constantly updated and it looks lovely. I imagine Michael hates blogs but his Thought For The Week does the same sort of job nicely.

11. Ace Jet 170
Blog find of the year for me. Richard's website is a fantastic collection of design manna. All beautifully photographed. It's an amazing resource. If you haven't looked yet (why the fuck not?) then go now. One look is all it takes.

12. Macmilllian Cancer
I love this stuff by Wolff Olins (Marketing's design agency of the year). It feels different and right. I suspect it isn't right and it won't last long, but I liked it.

13. Cunt poster
So simple, so brilliant.

14. Spin
Again another one of our direct competitors who have been doing some great work. Particularly their stuff for The Hospital.

15. Us
And last but not least, us. We've had a really good year. But rather than me bore you about it why don't you pop over here and download The Design Conspiracy Annual 2006.

Anyone else got anything to add?

Comments

[Richard]

Cheers Ben!

Can't sleep tonight due to too much booze and chinese food so forgive me if I go on a bit here: For me 2006 has been the year of the blog. I've got so much out of Ace Jet, NDG, Design Observer, Russell's stuff and all his connections (really enjoyed Perfect Pitch and have been recommending it to everyone).

I love my blog. Really LOVE it. But the unexpected positive feedback I've had has been inspiring. Who'd have thought this time last year I'd be doing something that was being seen by people all around the world. Pentagram's Michael Bierut has linked to Ace Jet twice for god's sake! (Although I note he hasn't responded to my less than subtle suggestion that he add me to his "Recommended Sites" list. So much for my campaign of flagrant self-promotion). In many ways I feel that, although I really like my work, my blog is probably the second best thing I've ever done, it's certainly been the second most exciting (the "firsts" being marrying my brilliant wife and having two brilliant boys).

What I absolutely love about beng a designer is how there's always something new to learn (even now as I approach the big four zero) and although I may continue to minus track a little, I'll now do it even more carefully than I did before. I'll also keep my clumsy mouth shut when I find myself in a compromising position with a famous designer type (actually, I bet I don't).

The connections I've made have been brilliant too. I've met some lovely and talented people since moving to NI and the design "scene" here is much healthier than it was in the East Midlands but I do miss old Blighty so being able to tap into what's happening over there has been both welcome and enriching.

I'm also pleased with my extensive use of the word "brilliant". One day I'll count up just how many times I've used it on on Ace Jet. Few other words fit the bill.

Thanks Ben for the support and the short but very positive comments. Your's is the first blog I visit every working day and I'm looking forward to another great (no, make that "brilliant") year on Noisy Decent Graphics.

Happy New Year!

(Just as I click the "Post" button, the words of my old boss Roger Goodyear come back to me, "Richard", he would say, "use fewer words.")

[Ben]

Brilliant.

[Willie]

Ben, just found your blog and love it. Am sending you an email separately as well. Fyi, the Cunt poster is an exact ripoff of the same idea (done much better) in the 70s or so that featured the word shit. Though in the first one the word was harder to read (which added to its brilliance). Keep up the good work. :-)

[Richard]

Whoo (and may I add) Hoo! Contrary to what my previous comment suggested, those lovely people on Design Observer HAVE added me to their "Recommended Sites" list after all. What a brilliant way to start '07.

[mofe]

Happy new year!
For me, like Richard, 2006 also was the year I started keeping read blog, Although I found this blog in the end of 2005. and without doubt, this one is the top one design blog I ever read. Good job, Ben! CR's blog is a nice one too, some of article even been put into there printed magazines. That's really a good combination.
I'm looking forward to see what's going on in 2007.

[Jim Holt]

Alison Carmichael's Cunt poster reminds me of a piece by Sam Taylor-Wood which I saw hanging in Damien Hirst's offices a while back. It provoked an interesting range of emotions when I noticed it hanging behind the receptionist while I chatted with her.

I had a 'Withnail and I' moment similar to the scene when Marwood pees in a pub toilets and reads some graffiti that says 'I fuck arses' to which he comments internally 'Who fucks arses?', 'maybe he fucks arses' referring to a big abusive bloke he had encountered outside the toilets.

The internal conversation I had was similarly quizzical. Who's a cunt?', 'I've just read it, maybe I'm the cunt?'.

There's a whole load of info about how the C word has been used in art and reappropriated accompanied by a photo of Sam's screenprint here: http://www.matthewhunt.com/cunt/reappropriation.html

The best use of vulgar frilly lettering that I ever saw was one of my dad's old ties which had a symmetrical pattern down the centre which spelled the word 'Bullshit' in ornate engraved lettering. Apparently it was an ideal device for keeping meetings on track.