German agency Jung Von Matt has produced the ‘Imagine’ campaign for Lego. Using only the most basic stones by Lego, the agency has constructed your favorite cartoon characters. With a little bit of imagination you get it and understand the genius behind the campaign.Amongst many, our favourites are The Simpsons, the South Park gang, The Ninja Turtles, Donald Duck and nephews and finally Asterix and Obelix. The Turtles had me guessing for a while.

One joy of the Internet is the way in which you can stumble upon interesting work whilst looking for something else. Shaun Kardinal is a Seattle-based creative who uses found imagery and then creates embroidered icons on top of them. By using the postacrd colours as his palette, a beautiful mesh of 60s inspired imagery is created. http://shaunkardinal.com

Fo so many years, Advertising agencies have tried and fallen when trying to jump between great advertising and great design. The boat usually moves, and they fall head first into the water. I am very pleased to see that old colleagues BBH, have managed to create a wonderful TV campaign for The Guardian.With this commercial, they have managed to back up a very simple Communication message about the Brand with some lovely print adverts. Super minimal in typography, copy and illustration, these deserve the accolades that they will receive.

“I don’t give a damn if the client thinks it’s worth anything, or whether it IS worth anything — it’s worth it to me. It’s the way I wanna live my life. I wanna make beautiful things, even if nobody cares.” ~ Saul Bass

Money v Good Work. The eternal problem. So often neither go hand in hand. Howcome?

Look at the drawings below…In order, They are London, New York and Moscow subway tube maps with a difference.Did you ever wonder how subway and tube stations looked on a map when drawn to scale? Neil Freeman thought about and set out to draw them like they really are. The results are wonderfully naive but have a charm to them. If one was to adopt these instead of our iconic Johnson designed London Underground map, I dare say so many people would take alot longer to find their way. http://fakeisthenewreal.org/subway/

In conjunction with the US launch of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, we have produced a second edition of limited edition posters designed by Sir Paul Smith celebrating his association with the film. Uniquely, they will only be sold at his US stores in LA, New York, San Fran and Las Vegas. All proceeds go to AMFAR, the American AIDS foundation. The American launch of the film is December 9th.

By assembling paper cutouts into the wheels of bicycles, london-based graphic designer Katy Beveridge, creates a zoetrope– the spinning devices that typically produce the illusion of a moving animation from a series of static pictures. Interestingly, this zoetrope effect can only captured on film; to the naked eye, the movement of the wheels occurs too quickly and is perceived as a blur. captured frame by frame, however, beveridge’s snowflake-like designs produce captivating animated visual effects that mimic bobbling gears, growing plumes, and other abstract forms.www.katybeveridge.com

Many of you may already know of our love of all things by Robert Brownjohn at this office. The Maverick’s artwork for the Rolling Stones’ 1969 album Let it Bleed goes on sale at Bonham’s auction house next month with an estimate of anything from£30-£40,000, and anyone who would like to give me an early Christmas gift can readily bid for it. The lot includes two felt pen concept sketches on envelopes, together with two colour positives and two colour negatives of the final front and back covers; a US pressing of the album; a photo of Keith and Mick checking the cover proofs; five British postage stamps featuring the cover; and a copy of ‘Keith Richards: Satisfaction’, by Christopher Sandford, Carroll & Graf, 2004″. It will be included in Bonhams’ Entertainment Memorabilia sale on December 15th in London.

Keith Richards asked Brownjohn to work on the sleeve – the pair were friends at the time. The working title of the album was ‘Automatic Changer’, hence Brownjohn’s approach referencing the way that old-fashioned record players allowed users to pile up records so that they played one after the other as they each dropped down in turn. But instead of records, Brownjohn stacked up a dinner plate with a magnetic tape/film reel cannister, a clock face, a pizza and a bicycle tyre. This little lot was topped off by a garish cake made, trivia fans have delighted in informing people over the years, by a young Delia Smith.

Everybody says great design can only come out of New York, London, Paris, Milan and other capital cities around the world. Crap. DIVISION OF LABOR come from Sausalito, California, and what they do is great. I don’t know alot about these guys, but I certainly love their output, and their love of craft. Their store is particularly inspiring, especially in the run up to Christmas. Their use of typography, their observations on Design, and their witty approach to the business of design is inspiring. Take a look at great design, and enjoy the ride. (I also can never resist a good diagram) http://divisionoflabor.com

It’s not often that we get opportunities to commission illustration, which is a shame, but in this age of austerity, perhaps we may be seeing some sort of resurgence in the medium.These illustrations caught my eye. Gianmarco Magnani operates under the name of Silence Television. His work is super clean, crisp, graphic and very eye catching. The images shown here are pieces that have been released as a series self promotion posters. A large selection of his work is available to purchase as limited edition prints. Well worth a look.

http://silencetv.com/blog/

The association between Manchester United and The Stone Roses is well known. Just before United walk out onto Old Trafford, ‘This Is The One’ is always played. My happiness at securing a ticket to the Rose’s reformation was dented by my presence at yesterday’s game. It was a nice touch that ‘I am the Resurrection’ was also played with somewhat prophesy.

Football aside, it is great to see the partnership of Ian Brown and John Squire is back together again, not only for music, but also for John Squire’s graphic input on the band’s original design work. However, one can’t but help remember his painting from 2009 which is slightly at odds with what is happening now. God forbid the word ‘Money’ is uttered. Let’s hope next Summer’s event is a true spectacle for all of the right reasons.

‘Some people believe football is a matter of life and death, I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.’ This is the famous quote from legendary Liverpool manager Bill Shankly. Quite frankly, the word Football has always been replaced by the word Rugby in Wales. After the Welsh team’s untimely exit last weekend at the hands of The French, the outpouring of emotions there has been immense. From a graphic perspective, I feel so reassured in the power of print after seeing the front page of yesterday’s regional Welsh paper, The Western Mail. It summed up a Nation’s mood, at the same time, creating a beautifully clean, typographic statement that no ipad could ever offer. Congratulations are due this publisher and his/her bravery.

Great to see that the public reaction to the Paul Smith limited edition prints has been so positive. Here are the 4 in the first series. We have been lucky enough to have been part of the production process on Paul’s behalf. His creative direction and designs have been realised by our team to produce the resultant images. The fourth below, is one where you need to avert your gaze, for fear of giving away the endgame. It has been an amazing project to be part of, and the film forms the top of the pyramid. It is a incredibly well made film, directed by someone who will become a great, and realised by an ensemble cast that will probably be talked about for years to come. Good luck to all. We will shortly post some images of the screenprints in production.

Teaser campaigns are often used in film pre-publicity. Stark black and white images have been appearing all over London in the last few weeks that have really caught my eye. The one for new British film KILL-LIST succeeded where may fail…I remembered the website and went to see what it was all about. On first sight, it looked like new publicity for a band, as the imagery and it’s simplicity was not one usually associated with film marketing. Often, the politics dictate a diluted graphic direction and simplicity. Congratulations to Optimum Releasing on a great campaign. Oh, and the film is supposed to be excellent too. www.kill-list.com

Don’t totally agree, but the speed at which new work or objects appear, people, myself included, do seem to scramble to get the story on as quickly as possible. The point of this, and many other Blogs, is not just to highlight unseen work, but more importantly to show people what our taste is and where our interests lie.

You can stop being one of those people who judges a book by it’s cover. Spineless classics produce wall posters of classic novels. Typographically illustrated to look great in rooms without bookcases. The modern way to display your intellectual ability.   www.www.spinelessclassics.com

Looking through the recent graduate shows in London, I came across one designer whose work stood out for originality and humour. Doug Stewart is a recent graduate from Kingston University. He graduated with a First Class degree in Design. Amongst some of his innovative projects, one called ‘Old Flames’ stood out. It is a personal address book, that makes the ritual process of letting go a whole lot easier. When a romance has burnt out, simply strike them out and move on. Simple, poignant and very very clever. www.doug-stewart.co.uk

www.behance.net/gallery/Honest-logos/1222137 This site recreates famous world brand identities and shows us their interpretation of the company’s ethos and end benefits. Great re-invention, and most come close, with the exception of the Porsche one, trust me.

Home from home in NY, ACE Hotel has a different mural in each room. I really love their anti-corporate approach. This film of artist Dana Tanamachi is particularly lovely. http://www.vimeo.com/23186260

In this day and age where record companies are dumbing down music and spending less and less on quality imagery, it is refreshing to see one consistent label who have creative integrity in all ways. XL Recordings continually release wonderful music accompanied with admirable Design and Photography. Friendly Fires new album ‘Pala’ is a great example. Beautiful Bird Imagery from Solve Sundsbo and great understated design by Phil Lee. Also worth mentioning the music is wonderful.