Getting out and about in recent weeks has bought a renewed attention on my part to the graphic commons, and in particular, road markings. I noticed a few ‘make do and mend’ type repairs to road markings over the last year on some of my constitutionals, but their prevalence has only really struck me recently.Continue reading “Graphic commons: make do and mend”
Author Archives: Nigel Ball
New old content
I am pleased to be able to add links to pdfs of two of my previously out-of-print publications to this website. My first foray into publishing took the form of a self-published photobook and essay titled McJunk in 2011. This documented an eight year obsession of photographing McDonald’s litter when ever I came across it.Continue reading “New old content”
Notes on a no show—12 months on
12 months ago, on 11 June 2020, I wrote the words below on my iPhone on the occasion of not being able to have an End of Year Show exhibition of student Graphic Design and Illustration work due to the Covid-19 lockdown. I left the words sitting on my phone, not quite able to publishContinue reading “Notes on a no show—12 months on”
Repetition repetition repetition
After a tutorial with a student who spoke of having what they thought might be RSI last year, I decided to deliver a lecture on the subject. It isn’t untypical for students to start to develop RSI symptoms in their final year of study, as they cram for their dissertations and towards their last assignments.Continue reading “Repetition repetition repetition”
In a de boomtown
Almost 40 years ago to the day, Ghost Town by The Specials was released. It came at a time when uprisings were tearing through Brixton and other major towns and cities in Britain. At the time, watching the video for the single on TV as it went to Number 1 in the charts, with theContinue reading “In a de boomtown”
And the answer is…
On Monday evening I went to an online design talk, and for the first time ever of attending such things, the organiser put us into break-out groups for 5 minutes at the start. I wasn’t quite sure why this was happening, and couldn’t see a connection to the talk, but I went with it. InContinue reading “And the answer is…”
Move on, nothing to see here
The regular and the eagle-eyed of Field Readings readers may have noticed some tinkering happening around these parts recently. This is because I’ve been rethinking what Field Readings is, and specifically that I wanted this online space of mine to be more of a website than just a blog. Messing with it helped me makeContinue reading “Move on, nothing to see here”
Virtually speaking, part 2
Today at 12 noon I watched a talk by Malcolm Garrett, the graphic designer famous for his work with Buzzcocks, Magazine and Duran Duran, amongst many others. Hosted by designer Patrick Thomas under the title Icons, this was part of a series of online talks held on Saturdays for art and design students during theContinue reading “Virtually speaking, part 2”
Griffics—Play for today
Past the age of 13, what does the word ‘play’ mean to most people? As a teenager advancing towards adulthood, there is the temptation to reject the word, seeing play as too childish as one desperately tries to appear ‘grown-up’. For many adults, I suspect, the word remains associated with their pre-teen life. For me,Continue reading “Griffics—Play for today”
Question answered
I attended an online talk last night about the Festival of Britain, hosted by the Twentieth Century Society. Delivered by Geoffrey Hollis and supported by Elain Harwood, there were some fascinating photographs shown of London’s South Bank, and background information given on many of the architectural details of the structures and buildings constructed for theContinue reading “Question answered”
