Designthusiast

London tube & Shakespeare

A colleague and friend of mine works at INC Design which has a fairly new blog. I checked it out today and came across this interesting blog post about the Royal Shakespeare Company’s campaign which uses the London Underground system map as an illustration of Shakespeare’s characters, archetypes and their intertwining relationships. This reminding me of my journey to London which was around this time last year. I think the use of a map or other means than a map constitutes thinking outside the box. Please check out the full post on Royal Shakespeare Company’s campaign.

via INC Design

Finally Back!

I transferred my host to Media Temple (which I am very excited about!) and things took a little longer than expected. I came across this design studio, Pearlfisher in New York and London which designed both Jordan’s Cereal and This Water two of my beginning posts from London!

The Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising

So I came across The Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising in one of travel books of London and thought it would be something different to check out while in London especially since I’m a designer. Well I never made it there as the bus had many diversions as the Londoners would say and I was led in the wrong direction several times, and my map was useless. This was something I really wanted to check out so I may have to take another trip out there. However it lead me to Portobello Road which had a whole bunch of antique shops, trinkets, art work and food.

Hare & Tortoise

The restaurant Hare & Tortoise was across the street from my hotel in London. I really liked the logo design/signage of this restaurant. Then when I checked out there website I really loved the web design of the site.

OJ in London

Believe it or not this was the beginning of my discoveries in London of packaging that I liked.
I can’t say there is anything really extraordinary about this but I thought it was fun and quirky.
Not to mention it tasted fresh squeezed and delicious.

EAT.

During my undergraduate studies EAT was a branding system which was studied and discussed in many of my classes. So when I was in London and able to see the signage/interior design as well as the packaging it was much more fufilling then seeing it in a textbook. EAT’s branding system was designed by Pentagram .

Scribbler

While in London before getting onto the Tube my friend Kristen and I came across Scribbler, a card and stationery store. The Love From me cards is what Kristen was after. I however enjoyed the beautiful typography and design of many of their cards and notebooks.

Snow + Rock

While in London on the bus I passed this sporting goods store Snow+Rock. I like the type treatment of the logo and the signage.

Spaghetti House

During my travels in London one day I was riding on the bus and saw this restaurant front and my first thought was wow awesome typography! So at the next stop I got off the bus and proceeded to go to the Spaghetti House and take a picture of it all because of it’s unique type solution.  Again two great things great signage and great Italian food.  Once I was home I looked at there website and was happy to see the branding was consistent from the store front, the interior of the restaurant, menu design and also the website. The typographic solution to there branding is what makes this Spaghetti House far from ordinary.

This Water

Decisions. We are all faced with them on any given day. A simple decision such as what to type of water or beverage to purchase (especially in another country). Some would buy the cheapest, others would base it off of prior experience, brand reputation and personally I  based my decision on which one I found most appealing. In this instance I chose This Water. This Water a UK based refreshment drinks company which re-branded their current refreshment drinks and gave them their own identity This Water. It’s a pretty interesting to see how giving a product it’s own identity really makes and sells the brand. Decisions. We are all faced with them on any given day. A simple decison such as what to type of water or beverage to purchase (especially in another country). Some would buy the cheapest, others would base it off of prior experience, brand reputation and personally I  based my decision on which one I found most appealing. In this instance I chose This Water. This Water a UK based refreshment drinks company which rebranded their current refreshment drinks and gave them their own identity This Water. It’s a pretty interesting to see how giving a product it’s own identity really makes and sells the brand. Click here to read the story.