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Interconnected - Matt's blog is back

This is a picture of Matt Webb and Matt Jones. Nope, I have no idea either.

Matt Webb has started blogging again, pretty much daily, and it's great.

I've never liked science fiction (sorry) and I mostly only like movies that are set right now. Again, very sorry about that. Sorry.

Matt writes about a near future, let's say tomorrow, in a science fiction way. If that's science fiction then I guess I'm into that now.

Some examples.

"There are a bunch of ersatz foods that were invented out of scarcity and necessity, but have somehow stuck around. Salad cream. Canonical substitute food done good. Basically a bit like tangy mayonaisse but with less expensive mayonaisse and more oil and vinegar."

also

"If I were WeWork, I'd roll out their exact setup to office buildings right by commuter belt railway stations. Sell package deals to city-based firms for separate 3-4 person offices in 20 different towns, for all the employees that live in those places; sweat the details about integrating with I.T. department and make sure there's secure internet."

also

"Next: discos, probably. Music is massive UK export. Eurovision aside we're really good at it. Drop nightclubs in shipping containers, stream in all the good stuff. Good sound system, good lights. Hearts, minds, and banging techno."

Anyway. Read Interconnected.

 

Cars, pies and design

Hashtag goals as some of you would say.

Cars at the V&A by Brendan Cormier

Brendan Cormier, senior design curator at the V&A has posted an immense 146 tweet thread walking you through the Cars: Accelerating the Modern World exhibition. It's brilliant.

I always find lots of text in exhibitions difficult, I like to keep moving. So this commentary is just the right length for me. And it's fascinating, much more about society, changes to the workforce and technology's influence on design than just automobiles.

Well worth 20 minutes of your time. Thanks Brendan.

Full thread starts here.

Royal Academy are winning brand twitter right now

Let's not over think it. Good stuff.

Two for them, one for you.

“Most of the playlists I make are for passionate music fans who have an appetite that leans toward discovery rather than songs they already know,” Mr. Vener continued. “However, this seems to backfire on me a lot with casual music fans. They want the hits. If you’re trying to make a playlist for everyone, I subscribe to something I heard from George Clooney on how he chooses which movies to make: ‘Two for them (his fans), one for you.’”

From How to Make the Perfect Playlist in the New York Times.

Actual book review – Mad Men & Bad Men: What Happened When British Politics Met Advertising

This is a book of frustratingly unresolved thoughts right from the cover. Mad Men is obviously a reference to the HBO tv series about advertising, so what is Bad Men a reference to? Are politicians bad men? Or are the ad men bad men?

Small point because I get that the author is punning Mad Men, but half the book is about the Saatchis and Thatcher who was obviously not a man…

It’s an interesting read but it relies too much on anecdote and the author’s closeness to advertising.

In the blurb it says, "How did a bunch of unelected, unaccountable admen end up running British politics?". That appears to be saying that admen are running the country, yet the book says nothing of the sort.

It tries to make the point that advertising sways elections when all the politicians and all the advertising people say it doesn’t. Admittedly there is some weird double bluffing here especially from the Saatchis who are still keen to promote their client, Thatcher especially, and attribute all electoral success to her and the Conservatives.

But the evidence points to ads having little or no effect. The most interesting bits of the book are when the elections were the most interesting - 1979 and 1997. They produced great ads, but obviously they would have been significant elections regardless of the ads. And Thatcher and Blair would have won regardless of any advertising.

Delaney tries to make this point at the end but seems constantly drawn back to the case for advertising.

At best the ads come across as useful artefacts, especially for the media. They give a rich visual image for intangible subjects such as tax policy. Making an ad is also a useful process for making politicians focus on a particular topic. Nothing wrong with that. But not “unaccountable admen end up running British politics”.

Anyway. Register to vote. 

Stacked Gioconda

Was hoping this might get into the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition but that’s now the RA Autumn Exhibition. Posting here so you get some joyful amateur art to keep you going in the meantime.

Previously here and here and here.

Sainsbury Archive and the JS Journal

Just spent an enjoyable 20 minutes looking through this. You could do the same.

Sainsbury Archive.

Relevant to this, thanks to Lauren I've learned how to do single window screenshots without loads of potatoshopping.

 

The tiger who came via DPD

If you've been following along for the last six months (here and here) I've finally made one I would feel ok about showing to Alan. Pleased with this.

Do you remember the Lonsdale shop in Soho?

No, you probably don't. 

Since the 60s they had a small shop just off Carnaby Street in Soho. When I was much younger, in the very early Nineties, my brother and I used to visit. My brother was into boxing. There wasn't much room in the shop, barely room to swing a punch. Once inside you'd stare at the walls for a bit, nod at the intimidating men with broken noses behind the counter and walk out. But it was an evocative place, full of history, passion, and honesty. I used to like the brand, big, simple and powerful.

In 2002 Lonsdale got bought by Mike Ashley and it's now a corner behind a corner on the top floor of (what used to be) Lillywhites. 

Same with taps amirite?

Tweet from Tom Albrighton

How to scale agile

We made a website to help you with this, it's called scalingagile.net.

Civil Service Supply Association

Never noticed this before. Which is odd because it's the sort of thing me and Russell would have noticed. It was a Co-operative too. More here.

More buildings should have clocks outside. In fact, planning laws should state that one in every ten public buildings must have a large exterior clock.

Anyway.

Bridget Riley at the Hayward Gallery

It's closed now, but it was brilliant. Her paintings look great when they're big in a gallery. The slight texture of the paint and canvas adds just enough to make it much more rewarding than looking at pictures.

There's obviously a graphic quality that appeals to graphic designers. She must have influenced hundreds of album covers and logos and tshirts. But in real life they feel more "painterly" and better for it.

Her early sketches and college paintings were lovely. A reminder of everyone's days at art college, except she was obviously better than you and me. 

The best bit was her planning sketches, showing the way she works out the geometric patterns. Lots of graph paper. Graph paper! Wonderful stuff from a wonderful, timeless, artist.

Taps: a reminder

Must do a post about the decline of everything via the design of taps this year. Seeing as I'm the only person that reads this, this is a reminder for me.

Hello me.

 

There should be more statues to good sportsmanship

"Landy is remembered for his performance in the one mile final at the 1956 Australian National Championships prior to the Melbourne Olympic Games.

In the race, Landy stopped and doubled back to check on fellow runner Ron Clarke after another runner clipped Clarke's heel, causing him to fall early in the third lap of the race. Clarke, the then-junior mile world record holder, who had been leading the race, got back to his feet and started running again; Landy followed.

Incredibly, in the final two laps Landy made up a large deficit to win the race, something considered one of the greatest moments in Australian sporting history. Said the National Centre for History and Education in Australia, 'It was a spontaneous gesture of sportsmanship and it has never been forgotten.'

Sculptor Mitch Mitchell created a bronze sculpture of the moment when Landy helps Clarke to his feet."

More here.

 

 

10 years

BERG and RIG doorbells. Taken at the BRIG January 2010.

 

That was a good decade. Here's to the 20s. Have a good one everyone.

Special shout out to the RSS crew.

Rembrandt's Light lit by Peter Suschitzky

The Dulwich Picture Gallery have an exhibition of Rembrandt that focuses on how he illustrated light. It's good you should go. Russell, not you.

The most interesting thing about the exhibition is that it's specifically lit by Peter Suschitzky who's an actual cinematographer and photographer who worked on The Empire Strikes Back, Crash and many others.  That fact made me notice the lighting and I thought it was good. Obviously all exhibitions are lit, but I've never noticed it before.

Anyway.

 

 

Basquiat and Keith Haring exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria

Really enjoyed this. On until April. Go if you happen to be in Melbourne, Australia.

 

KAWS exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria

Really enjoyed this. On until April. Go if you happen to be in Melbourne, Australia.