Craig and his team of vis/ressers have gone and done it again, made an awesome little publication that showcases the best in upcoming talent. If you haven’t got one, I strongly recommend you go and buy one right now, they won’t be around for long, and they will form a nice collection when future issues come out.

That guy is Noel. He was at VS. We think he enjoyed it.

On Tuesday the 16th of February, a day that will live in infamy, We, ShellsuitZombie, hosted a silly evening. Braving wind rain and puddles, a krunkload of people came along to enjoy what we had promised would be a night of competition, intrigue, industry and graduates. And against all odds, we think we just about pulled it off…

With creatives from agencies like AMVBBDO, Fallon, W+K, Profero, BCL etc, designers from beautiful boutique agencies like A+B, The Plant, Morph, Magpie and DRY as well as some lush prizes on offer, a couple of cracking bands, beats by DJ and Designer David Rudnick and a lovely bunch o’ students and grads, that made for a fun-ass time. (and the longest sentence in the world. care.)

The Point

We believe that your first contact with industry shouldn’t be in the reception of a design agency, nervously clutching your portfolio. Job interviews are so forced and you have such a short time to get your personality across, yet personality is a vital part of teamwork and the creative process.  Fortunately, the majority of design professionals are joke-loving booze-hounds and somehow they seem a lot less daunting with a beer in their paw.  Our intention was to create a social atmosphere where grads and pros meet not as potential colleagues, but as co-humans; connecting through humorous anecdotes, not relevant work experience; flipping beermats, not pages of the (immaculately formatted) CV.

The Competition

We really wanted to avoid a school disco situation with grads on one side and pros on the other, nervously eyeing each other, dreading that first dance.  So we came up with a strategy to skip the small talk and escalate to full-on flirting.  The theme of the night was VS, and so a competitive spirit was encouraged throughout the night.  Guests were instructed to pick mini-duels with each other in whatever form they deemed appropriate.  These nano-challenges could be anything from drawing the best willy, to a dance-off, to the best magic trick. The winners of the most impressive micro-tasks won some awesome geek-out prizes kindly donated by our friends - including mugs by A+B Studio, t-shirts and posters from Magpie Studio and the limited edition Firetrap gnome from DRY (thank you all for donating these prizes).  Most importantly everyone got involved, the air was thick with challenges, and these led to real dialogues between new acquaintances.

Meanwhile we had music from the awesome Keston Cobblers Club and the smooth sounds of Harrison Hope.  Later on designer and DJ Dave Rudnick laid down his eclectic beats (So Solid anyone?) and the boozy chat continued.

The Future

More of the same innit?  We love organising events like this and will keep on doing more.  If you have suggestions for themes or locations, definitely get in touch.  Check out our flickr and Facebook pages for more pics and make sure you come along to the next one!

Peace out playerz. One Love.

Living in or around Nottingham? Love Screenprinting? Then you’re gonna love cheesy peas Screen fiends, a screenprinting event being held by Nottingham Trent Design students. Thing is (and sorry guys for being so crap) it’s in 2 days!

Anyway, find a crappy old tee, bring it along and get a one-off design that will rival any of the wang* that the Shoreditch kids are rocking currently. Find out all the deets here.

*wang = mildly derogatory term (not as rude as wank).

Grey Matter is an online super store created by 3rd year Graphic Design and Illustration students over at Staffordshire University. They have all produced designs around the theme of Black & White, and most are available to buy on a shirt, as a tote bag or as a print! Get over there and buy something. Now. They need funds for their degree show! Keep your eyes peeled for new designs being added everyday.

James Sanderson, a Bradford-based designer, found this carrot, took a picture and posted it to his blog. Clearly following the Dadaist route of Readymades, Like the great Duchamp Jim has a playful attitude to his work, spicing his blog up with carefully crafted bits of nonsense as well as some slick branding, illustration and type. And just like a few people we met last week he’s not afraid to make a nob gag.

This* makes for a nice way to say something about yourself as well as your work with your web presence - people want to see a person as well as a portfolio.

*His whole site, not specifically the carrot.

UGBOT, aka Gavin Edwards, is an illustrator with a strange imagination and a real talent with vector-based doodles. On browsing through his website one gets the impression that everything is in some way linked to a grand narrative that you will never truly comprehend (a bit like star-wars but more bubbly).

That said, his chock-a-block website is proof that ignorance can be bliss.

3rd year Graphic Design student Matt Whiteley has updated his already brilliant portfolio. I’d best step my game up if I’ve got to compete with the likes of this chap in 5 months time!

I just came across this video for a Lexus concept car. I’m not really a car nut, and don’t even like this car. Although I do like a lot of classic and top end models, particularly the ones I’ve no chance of ever owning. But it’s the design process that really fascinates me, it’s the same for anything, cars, buildings, gadgets etc. Seeing how it begins with the early ideas/sketches/modeling, it always gets me excited. Especially when they are brought to life with some great motion graphics.

Having listened to/watched this for the eighth time today, I felt the desire to share.

Please if at all possible watch in HD full screen with your PC speakers turned to 11 and enjoy my nomination for track of 2009.

My god that drop.

Are you guys as nerdy as I am when it comes to a nice bit of typography? Do you have another person in your life who would just love a type-led compliment this Valentines day? Head over to the newly opened HmBM shop and pick yourself up a card, or four, for that special person, part of the Just My Type range. Also keep your eyes peeled for more splendid graphic ephemera in the coming months!

Spotted on visual culture publisher: Gestalten, this video features the illustrator Niemann, who has done illustration blog work for the New York Times and a number of nice covers for the New Yorker.  I just like listening to his accent as he chats sincerely and articulately about data visualisation.

In between sorting out crap for you guys to do (cue shameless plug for our BIG EVENT) and picking our noses, us here at ShellsuitZombie occasionally venture into the chasm of BS that is Twitter. It’s the tool you love and hate, like that potato-peeler with an uncomfortable grip that cuts so damn good*. And sometimes while sneaking around trying to tweet unnoticed we stumble upon a talented designer/illustrator like Shane.

This guy graduated only this year but his work shows a maturity beyond his years. With influences from Build to Non-Format, the Horndog** clearly knows his design, and we look forward to encountering him further in the future.

*note to self, never attempt another analogy. Ever.
** This name is Unapproved by Shane, but we like it.

If you weren’t lucky enough to see the Design Museum exhibition of the late great Alan Fletcher a couple of years ago, you are in luck. The Cube gallery in Manchester is holding a ‘major retrospective’ of 50 years of his work. The show was opened last week by a fashionably late Peter Saville, who worked with him briefly at Pentagram, and there’s a curatorial talk by Emily King at the University of Salford on March 5th.

If you’re a student get yourself (and your class) there, especially to the talk. If you aren’t, the exhibition is open on a Saturday, so get a weekend trip to Manchester planned in.

Alan Fletcher: Fifty Years of Graphic Work and Play
22 January—03 April 2010
Cube Gallery, Portland Street, Manchester, M1 6DW

Nanami Cowdroy is an Australian artist, with Japanese and European roots.  She has created these beautifully detailed and expressive drawings in mixed media, and is now exhibiting around the world.  For me, the inky style adds depth and movement to her subjects, and many of her creations provide a fresh take on traditional Japanese imagery.

The Designers Society in Plymouth is a project organised by the students who (among other things) have invited design luminaries to talk at their university. They have bagged some huge names including Harry Pearce, a partner at Pentagram, who is speaking this Tuesday 19th of January at a dirt cheap £5 a head.

In addition their inaugural exhibition based on a brief based on the theme of Plymouth kicks off on the 20th. If you’re local to Plymouth go along, if not just look at what a determined and driven bunch of students can do. Let’s hope this kind of thing carries on and other design courses take up the mantle.