Just a quick one here, ex Wednesday regular now Wednesday-dodger-coming-close-to-his-second-written-warning Johann has had a little coverage on the well respected (probably coming close to this blog in terms of respectability) Creative Review blog. Johanns recently resurrected company Emer is now making cruiser frames as well as shit hot t-shirts and his first one, the swift, has graphics by ex BMXer Seb Lester which are quite obviously shit hot. Check out the post here, Emer's site here, and Seb Lester site here.

Lord love a duck, see you all tomo...

I'm a big fan of aerial photography. Alright, we ain't talking a C-18 level fan here, but I do like it a fair bit. If we were comparing this fan level to my cow flavoured crisp rankings, I'd say I like it as much as T-Bone Steak flavoured Roysters crisps, where as a Combat 18 level correllation of fan to crisp would probably amount to Brannigans Roast Beef & Mustard crisps. If that makes any sense? If it doesn't, you need to eat more crisps. Waffle.

Anyroad, this guys photo's are good; Alex MacLean is a pilot and a photographer, which means he can take photos from really high up, of interesting things, which he has done. Many of them focusing on natural tessellation or patterns and it's easy to get lost in the details of the more busy shots, in the same way you would when staring a map for ages, or searching around on google maps satellite view for interesting stuff. Which I am pretty sure everyone does. Yes.

There is a selection of shots up there which I liked, but do check out his website for more aerial interestingness.

I have a great big bundle of photos that I have taken at exhibitions and the likes with the intent of a blog but I never really manage to get round to it until its too late and it becomes irrelevant so I will start this with a lie of no real consequence but makes me look far less incompetent...

LAST NIGHT was Tinhead's (who does the art work for the Foals) exhibition with a few other artists in a gallery next to the Foundry. It might of been the first actual "private view" that was semi private with names being on lists and everything official like, mine was down right under Screech and Cardiff giant's. As ever there was free alcohol aplenty and a good few folks mad an appearance including Ed Salter, Joe Smalley, Grumpy street crew, Fresher, Bowlhead and some ginger lad... the highlight for me was art work that actually featured Giggsy, but you'll have to hunt though this blog or on a couch at Spooks to find out why that's so awesome... There were also some great photos that I thought were meant to be at the Tate?

After the gallery kicked out we cruised Shoreditch for a bit and I watched Tinhead shout at and wrestle girls, at one point we turned a corner and ended up in Madrid during a 90's R n' B video shoot with Eternal's didn't-quite-make-it-members. It all came to a close in Cargo, I think Tin was meeting someone their, and its about the 100th time I have gone there, paid to get in (who the hell does that? where are we? Southampton?) and then left after 5 mins. due to the realisation that it's shit. Seriously, Cargo, never, ever, go...

If I had to make a list of things that I am really really into the top 5 would include bikes, alcohol, design, typography and boobs. I'm not sure what order but that would pretty much be it. So you can imagine how pumped I was when I found the work of Danilo Rodrigues which hits 3 nails on the head with work featuring great image making featuring nice type and ropey tarts with cracking racks. The rest of his stuff is a bit of a mixed bag, but to be honest I always have a soft spot for montages, reminds me of my uni days and placement days being a poor mans Mat Maitland. Here's a wee selection of some of his best montages. Shit hot™, as some may say....

I never thought anything good could come out of Portsmouth, I went to uni there and it's a shit hole filled with basics and retards, the BMXer's I met while down there were all from small towns outside of Portsmouth so they don't fall into the previous catergories and made my stay bearable. Maybe I am being too harsh, maybe it was just the students that were a bunch of pricks, but either way I wasn't too keen on the place...

There is always an exception to the rule and here is a massive excepetion - ilovedust They're lads who were on the same course as me and decided to stay in Portsmouth and start up their own studio, I remember their first ever tiny ad in creative review 5 or so years back, some sort of Yeti illustration and their name Now, after a few missed deadlines they have finally launched their new site. As I already suspected heavily influenced by Vintage typography inspired by their new offices that are based in an old butchers. There is also a huge range of different styles and work in there, as to be honest, all their stuff is shit hot.

Basically Dust are on my list of all time bezzie designers and I have been pretty excited to see their new site, here is a few random pieces of their work, have a browse, go look at their other work and wonder how one of the worst areas of the country has harbored and inspired such talent....

Now then, now then.. as Ben would say... I have just got back from Amsterdam where I smoked a doobie until the guy next to me fitted and puked (from his joint, not mine...) and watched a peep show (that was about as sexy as paint drying but with less purpose) like a true punter.

Just took a few snaps on my phone (and then photoshoped them within and inch of their life) of some great typography. It's all signage from now defunct Butchers and I'm really into it, this era of vintage type is pretty much so hot right with designers like Caleb Everit (Mutiny's awesome designer) and ilovedust using it everywhere, I'll get on it in 6 months once I have finished the Wednesday Barca video.

Also: Currently the Jam is on, and supported by Volt BMX and Union.

This video is pretty wild, the new single Grindin’ by Nobody Beats the Drum. Rogier van der Zwaag’s 6 months worth of sprayed wooden blocks, stop-framed to within an inch of their life make for an pretty insane visual treat.

The track ain't half bad either - although I suspect that I'm pretty much the only one of you lot who will think so. Especially Country Picnic Chris.

Plus, weather is actually looking pretty good this week for once, so im calling out a Wednesday bowl session right now. Who's in?

This site is amazing!!! A colleague showed me it about 18 months ago, but I managed completely forgot what it was called... Until today, when a completely different work colleague was browsing Paperrad and it's neon flashing depths.

I have literally no clue what the hell it's all suppose to be about, except that it's possibly the purposefully bad, but completely awesome website, of some kind of animation collective / crew / gaggle.

Get involved, there is so much stuff in there that it'd take you an age to get through all the content, watch all the animations and work out what hallucinogenic drug they were on when they made this behemoth. Obviously a number of people, other than myself, are into what Paperrad are doing, as they have been nominated for a number of highly prestigious awards.

Oh, lastly, if you are susceptible to bouts of epilepsy, then you should definitely bang this site up as your browsers homepage.

Alliteration alert! Awesome, ambient, addictive and... er... ace. I Found this, linked to, from a pretty rad design and what-not blog. It had me hooked for at least and hour (although I was at work, so wind that in to about 20 mins of normal time).

It's a basic sinewave synth type affair, which, unlike most other "press a few things and make a loop up" type deals, actually makes really pretty sounding loops without an ounce of effort. Judging by the feedback on the site, I wasn't the only one drawn in by it's sound flashing square shaped charms.

This is neat. Kind of the same ilk as the 389 blog post that Easty Ross posted over on Sticks & Stones the other day (go look if you haven't already seen that). This is a pong game (always a good office time waster, especially during wind down week before Christmas)... but with a twist, as it uses browser windows for the pong and pongers (yes, that is what they're called). God knows how though, defo some sort of technical witch craft jiggery pokery going on. Fun.

There are two reasons for this post:

1. It's dry for once, so club night will be on if this weather holds... And

2. I just received a newsletter from POW, with the above thumb's image which is the best thing I have seen in months. A just released print by Paul Insect, who is mentioned in this previous post. Available to buy for a mere 300 odd quid at POW

Also to note is that there are a ton of Insect "baby heads" around my office, not in the office, but outside, Farringdon, you see....

Holy f*cking shit I just popped a full on nerd boner. Just out today, this second, right now (The Beak and myself already have it installed), is Photoshop for iPhone.

Yep, you read that right, Photoshop for the iPhone... Ok so its a very "Lite" version of it, but it does all the basic things the Punter snapper will ever need, bypassing the need to give em a tickle once you are home in RAW editor before wacking up the vignette, grain and dropping the sat to upload to the blog.

Now all we need is a new blog back-end and we can do blogs direct from the pub (a week late as per usual...)

Here's a link to the iTunes store. What? You don't have an iPhone? Grow the fuck up!

Simon will hate this post, Chris will call me a nerd and The Poof will wince a bit and eat some more flowers, but I don't care. This site gives two tips on how to make your (least) favourite computer software package, (that's Photoshop) run faster.

I followed these steps, and to be perfectly honest I'm not sure if it has made the blindest ounce of difference, because I haven't done any work since. The website does have a very pretty background though.

[Edited] It has been brought to my attention that the site also features fake sponsorship logo's in the footer... cheeky. Most amusingly (to me) is the addition of a tongue in cheek, cliche, fashionable designer web hosting platform companies logo. Brilliant.

Games on the iPhone are a wonderful thing, especially for blissfully dwindling away the minutes of a mid morning, coffee induced, work dump.

Personally, I'm not into the overly complicated, pointlessly plot heavy, gives you RSI from tapping too much, adventure, 3rd person, shoot every caunt going type game. It's all a bit much. So, thankfully, Blockee is right up my street; Cute, multi-coloured blocks, with roaming eyes, slide about and disappear when you have positioned them in their correct, colour-centric places. A friend of mine made this game, his first attempt at an iPhone app, and I reckon he did pretty good job.

70 levels of 2D pixel-pushing are yours for less than the price of a tin of pop.

Now then, yep we have been taking blogging to new levels of slackness, but bear with us, Wednesday regulars have been away for a week in Barca, dragging our knuckles down flights of stairs.

Well, no, not really, more drinking beer and and kicking back on the beach. More on all of that later, including a whole new set of phrases which border on a new language and Wednesdays first web edit, yes, web edit, no poofy bar spins though, and all filmed on Super 8, in the meantime here is a font I have made recently...

I had kinda resisted the Super slab display font craze for a year or so but if you cant beat them, suck it up like a man and do your own. So here it is, Heavy handed V1 , only caps atm and still needs some work but i'm pretty pumped on it at the moment...

Shit hot.

Just a quick one here to point you in the direction of an awesome blog done by new(ish) Wednesday gang (I am today referring to Wednesday club as a gang in an attempt to gain us the street cred my supposedly "posh" accent denies us) members and brothers from different mothers Rob and Ross.

The blog is defgrip - hip hop + awesome x UK (or in Ben's words – "shit hot") and they produce a magazine/book from it every 6 months too which pops it on the next rung up on the awesome ladder.

"Read a book" is one of my favourite put downs, it's a great way to make fun of someone when they pipe up with their daft opinions, the one exception where it doesn't work is with Simon, as he reads far too many books, but they are daft ones about being a hippy and living off the land/outside of the system/beating the machine read on the balcony of the massive West London town house he house sits in (remember his 'fuck the system but keep benefits' plaque?).

Coming from me "Read a book" is also quite an ironic insult as I don't actually read that many books myself, so I kinda have a little chuckle to myself in my head when I say it because I'm basically playing a game of intellectual chicken.

So, to try and lend a bit more legitimacy to the insult here is a top 5 books I have read...

1. The Catcher in the Rye - J D Salinger
Everyone should read this book, I think I read it 3 times in a row on a family holiday when I was 15. It was the most I have ever been into a book.

2. The Art of Travel - Alain de Botton
I was made to read this one years ago at Uni as it related to my major project. Alain is a French lad and writes philosophy which is actually useful in everyday life. He is a bit of a pisser and whiner, and obviously has a slight aversion to actual travel itself but it is a good antidote to those god shit awful holiday adverts you see on tv... "Australia- where the bloody hell are ya?" well, we are in Europe, enjoying some ancient culture and history you thick back packer killing racist jock convicts.

3. Dancer - Colum McCann
Zoe gave me this book to read as it wasn't like the books I usually read, and I did resist reading it for a while seeing as I had no interest in big gay Russian ballet dancers, but it did in fact turn out to be pretty good. Its all about a big hotshot ballet dancer in the 60's called Rudolf Nureyev who was pretty much ballets rock star and a raging homo, two things that didn't go down too well in communist Russia. There are bits in it when talking about rebellion and passion for dance that kinda remind me a bit what it was like riding BMX 10 years ago when it wasn't such an easy choice and saturated with kids in daft new era hats, plastic pedals and Nike trainers. Also to note, one entire chapter is written as in one long multipage sentence, which is pretty good going.

4. On the Road - Jack Kerouac
The beatnik bible, the story of bumming round America, hitting the road and living footloose and fancy free, basically living Team 2000's dream (Check out that link as it looks like they are having a pretty good time on the Rally and seeing some amazing places). Will make you want to pack up your belongings in a ruck sack and just jack it all in, but then you realise your 23 inch Apple cinema display wont fit in your rucksack, there wont be a place to charge your iPhone every night, you cant take a rucksack and a hamper and it won't look that great on your CV.

5. A Million Little Pieces - James Frey
Guest review from Ben: "Shit hot!"

I almost forgot that the arrival of summer also heralds the start of the Uni "private shows" which are of course open to every single member of the general public and usually feature a decent supply of free alcohol. This weekend saw the opening of Tinheads show along with the rest of his course from Brighton Uni. Some predictably good work from one of the best art schools in the country and always goo to see the big man...

However, like a good soap opera or bmx scene (same thing?) it wasn't without a little bit of controversy or drama, namely- where was Daisy and Redbull? The fat lad arranged all sorts of free drinks and a DJ in their name but after years being promised a full time job at Redbull upon graduation he, well, wasn't, and seeing as he was no longer a student he couldn't well be the student rep anymore so they had to cut him loose... and the stuff he arranged for the show evaporated with his job offer...

Hmmmm... oh well, enjoy the work in a double image update.

More photos from the Brighton University art show...

So last week Jere went back to Finland, not before giving us his contact details inc. website for a future trip to Finland.

I had seen him lurking about with a camera a few times but I always thought he just took a few "snaps" on a decent (ish?) DSLR, its an easy assumption to make when the person in question is pretty quiet and modest (A bit like Chris Hill-Scott but without the slight possible-serial-killer-experimenting-on-the-bodies kinda vibe).

Anyway, long story short, the photos on his site are really good – capturing some beautiful ephemeral moments. Here is a selection of them, in the words of Susan Sontag, "heroic copulations with the material world" , or, in the words of Ben and Pete, "Shit hot".

I know blogs have been a bit thin on the ground recently but the snipers have been out so I have had to keep my head down, the coast is momentarily clear so here we go...

If this was some other blog this post would probably go along the lines of - "found this stuff I like". Which pretty much means the author sits on the internet all day trawling random sites for something that catches their eye like a peado in a playground, but its not, and it wont be after any "jump" because no one on here is hip hop, thank god.

On a recent browse of my favorite fashion photography blog I came to some photos that caught my eye, so I checked out the guy's website and saw some people I recognised... From what I can gather this guy lives a few doors down from Spazz Tom (I think), is good friends with some pretty attractive girls who are alllllways kicking about Brick Lane, loves suspect fixed gear bikes (oh oh, another mention!) and knows ex metal bikes super star Ross Tanner

I had a good long trawl through his site and in between tits and arse and stopping till it gets hard again, I found pics of Ross 'throwing down" massive street drops and pics of an exhibition that I blogged a few weeks ago, including a photo of Zoe, doing what she does best, consuming alcohol.

"Shithot", "small world" and "isn't this shit kinda over?" Ahh who cares if you get to see some tits and arse.

I was cruising my usual sites and checking out some work from various people, including Merlin Gary Mason and noticed these folks he is doing some work with atm: Wyld stallyons. They actually work just round the corner from me and do some really good motion work including a piece on their Facebook which is basically posh porn. (Or here for those of you without a Facebook account.)

Hit the links, watch two Merlins in one film, then settle back to watch half naked girls and if anyone says anything just don't register it, just turn round in all seriousness and say to them "The art direction in this piece is fantastic, not to mention the grading, what skin tones!"

Good news, the suns out, deadlines have been met, fancy road bike frames have been purchased and a big beast crawls back out from the dark...

Luke, from the previously mentioned Insect, has his new site and work online including stuff for Volvo and The Prodigy in his usual amazing dark weird sinister illustrative style. This guy is probably in my top 5 people to work for/with but the chances of that ever happening are pretty much slim as fuck.

Oh, and need I even say, with the sun shining down on Cantelowes park as I type and the extra hour of daylight, who's in?

Another week another "private view". Private views are much like public schools - no, not in that they are the best way for children to be educated in the ways of being an English gentleman, without the fear of run-ins with toe-rags and "urban yoofs" (you are at a higher risk of sodomy from the head boys after they steal the headmasters fine scotch collection) - but in fact they have contradictory names. Public schools (wot oh!) are very much not for the public, and private views, are in fact a free for all that any scruffian can waltz into and get a round of beers for free. So with that in mind we headed off to the Stolenspace gallery on the corner at the other end of the street where the bbq is on Brick lane, for the work of an artist who goes by the name "Word to Mother" whom I have a feeling resides in Brighton (his/her graffiti can be seen there).

As it was down Brick Lane there was the usual array of suspect fixed gear bikes knocking about and a couple of BMX's. I think i saw Ross Tanner in there but didn't go over for the usual slightly uncomfortable small talk which only ever ends in the realization that we dont know each other and dont actually have much to say. There may of also been a Ratcatchher sighting, but I stay far far away from anyone over the age of 20 who wears New Era hats, so I couldn't be sure. One person who is always a pleasure to bump into is a chap (and believe me that is the most fitting word for him) called "Super Ted" who is pretty much the physical embodiment of a classic Boys Own comic - and even though he chooses his fixed gear over his BMX to do tricks on, you can't but help let it slide because you know its just another plucky adventure for him...

Enough waffle, on with the pics, enjoy the work, its good...

Do you know you times tables? I sure as hell don't, nor did i take much notice of the periodic table at school either. Although, what with having mild OCD and being obbessed with things lining up, I did think it looked quite pretty.

This 'Periodic Table of Typefaces' is a bit more up my street, it takes the idea of type based novelty items like this or this and runs with it to a whole new, er.. page? Probably the geekiest thing i have seen for some time.

That said, I trying hard to resist the urge to print it out for my wall. Looser.

Through Shorditchs’ sea of private views, free booze guzzlers, scultures made from fluff, tied to a shoelace tied to a coat hanger - You might come across an amazing design exhibition.

Thursday saw the opening of the first British solo MWM show at the Concrete Hermit gallery. MWM Graphics is a design and illustration studio based in Portland, USA. Matt W Moore’s distinctive sharp vector style has drawn a very impressive client list from The Guardian, to Burton and Nike. He’s progressive style branches out of client based digital design work to handmade non comercial personal artwork.

Was good to see such an established designer remain a humble and well grounded chap.

www.mwmgraphics.com

On one of my frequent trawls through the world of the internet, these few design / geek / type based games where brought to my attention. I'm pretty sure this post is only gonna appeal to a select few of you, and I know it's another post about "marketing" and shit rather than riding (Simon) - but if you hadn't noticed it's winter and the last 3 Wednesdays have been rained out, so riding posts are inevitably a little thin on the ground.

First up we have two iPhone / iTouch games. Kern, is a bit like tetris but with words and letters, with your score being worked out with some relation to font weight, size, leading and other design jargon. Geek central. Eye vs Eye is another game from the same US design company, FORMation, in which you have to match colours using only RGB sliders, you can even play this one as a two player contest, but best not to pit yourself against your colourblind dad, that'd be cheating. Both are only 59p and available in the Apple App store, that's less than a Snickers bar nowadays, and those things a f*cking disgusting anyway.

For those of you who are stuck in the 20th century who prefer paying money for actual real life things rather than lines of code and pixels, you might like this (unless your from Grimsby, then you wont get it what-so-ever). It's that that childhood playground favourite, Top Trumps, with a typographical twist.

Shit hot.

Also, if the weather holds out, who is in for a Wed Club night tonight??

Now, if you are from up north or work with your hands, you probably think that Londons east-end art scene is all about "cunts with daft hair in pointy shoes" - well jokes on you, because it isn't, it's all about free alcohol and penny sweets. Oh, and some art stuff.

There was a recent exhibition just off Broadway Market (good place for cheese, olives and various other picnic hamper fillers on the weekend) in what wasn't far off an abandoned squat, which featured various photographers work - including Wednesday clubs very own Rupert Bear; George "Teddy bear, Moonface (etc.)" Marshalls' pics.

Most Wednesday club regulars went, and there was a near endless supply of free alcohol and all the penny sweets you knew as a nipper 'til closing time. Flying sauces? Damn right there were!

Anyway, have some snaps, good times...

I got an email from Merlin the other day, which simply read - Out of date typography, pretentious copy and a shed load of slappers, deadorred.com

Fair call all round, but I don't think he was saying it in a negative way. They probably started that flash site when that daft font was en vogue... Oh the fickly world of design!

Boom! With all this snow and a deadline out the way, there is nothing else to do but sit at home and have a pot noodle and a wank. Oh, and that thing they call the internet... In slight reference to Merlins email here are 'youworkforthems' choices for best font of 2008.

We all know Black Slabbath is the hot shit atm, good to go bat shit wild with this one for another 6 months until we all start playing with wild negatively tracked wide lightweight serifs (maybe). Dubby is also a killer in my eyes, have wethepeople used it? If not then they should....

Check it out at http://www.youworkforthem.com/blog/2009/02/01/best-fonts-of-2008/

This ones a bit late but i was damn busy yesterday so i will have to have that as my excuse.

This generations design rock stars, Designers Republic, have gone down the pan. Now this is my second post on design agencies going bust, and I dont mean to do it as I hate grumbling old negative blogs (except Union of course) but both of these companies (Insect and tDR) are/were big deals and its definately worth mentioning. tDR were solely responsible for every damn art schools design wing to be filled with images of abstract architecture and wacky typography at the start of this decade.

For a better written and more informed report on this check out this post on the Creative Review Blog

Doff you caps and bowlers for another big man down (but not out).

Insect were one of the first design companies I really looked up to, I think I found their work in the first Ubersee book in magma on a trip to London in the first year of uni. Their illustrations were pretty much insane, crazy dark vector based montages of man beast and machine. they were the hot shit and were in all the relevent publications. They were definatly an influence through and after uni, so much so I contacted them seeking a work placement, and to my surprise, and from what I remember, they were into my illustrations and the idea. As it turned out I ended up on a placement closer to home so stopped chasing that one.

Recently the two main guys at insect (Paul and Luke) split the studio and went their seperate ways (online) but still use insect as a surname - paulinsect.com / lukeinsect.com. Today the old insect site has "exceeded its bandwith" which is pretty much a nail in the coffin for any site.

It's weird to see something you looked up to for so long go, something you thought was far too good to end, gives you a bit of a shake and makes you worry, might be time to get up off those laurels you've been resting on for a little too long.

Here is a selection of Paul's work from his site. (click the thumbnail).

New eightarmedpet site at the end of the month.

Ok, so in between facebook/need for speed sessions I managed to read about 4 books last year so what are the chances of one of them being made into a film? Well turns out one of them has been, Yates' tale of the death of a dream- Revolutionary Road, and it looks pretty shit hot (although not a patch on the book no doubt).

I'm not going to harp on too much because most of you are just thinking "why do I want to watch a gay film with that fat guy from titanic in like" while dreaming of trouncing 9 year olds in colouring contests but it really might be worth checking out. See this as a "date" tip, take a date to this, say you have read the book (chances are she hasn't) and when you get back to hers and slip your hand up her top to cop a feel she will think you are an uninhibited intellectual rather than a sex pest and just go with the flow.

Out at the end of the month.

Click the thumb or just here to view the trailer.