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”
Author Archives: Nigel Ball
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…”
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”
Graphic commons: End of year dérive
Date: 29.12.2020Distance: 5 milesSteps: 10,812Start: 13:34Ground covered: Residential to industrial area to dockside, return via town centre side-streets and residential areas As the end of the year looms I felt it was appropriate to head out into Tier 4 territory for one last dérive of 2020. Fearing a Tier 5 being implemented, given the dramaticContinue reading “Graphic commons: End of year dérive”
200 2020 days
As we head towards the end of 2020, I predict many write-ups will state it was a year like no other. I’ll hold judgement on that—we haven’t had 2021 yet, after all. December is, however, the time of year when annual round-ups happen, and for me, one of the most interesting projects I have seenContinue reading “200 2020 days”
Graphic commons: an unexpected drift
Date: 10.12.2020Distance: 2.4 milesSteps: 5271Start: 07:37Ground covered: Residential area to dockside, return via university campus What started as simple exercise, to try to stave off a bad back from sitting at a desk for far too many hours, turned into a drift; the first one proper since my Lockdown 1.0 Constitutionals side project back inContinue reading “Graphic commons: an unexpected drift”
We are type—125 years of St Bride Library
I have been fortunate enough to visit St Bride Library a number of times. I’ve mostly been for graphic design conferences or evening talks hosted by Eye Magazine. For the uninitiated, St Bride Library, just off Fleet Street in London, includes an events hall, a large archive of typographic, graphic design and publishing related books,Continue reading “We are type—125 years of St Bride Library”
Fluff and nonsense
Recently on Facebook I posted the following video by Mike Rich from the Steering YouTube channel. In it he discusses whether Graphic Design could be considered art. This is an often discussed topic, particularly amongst design students. I certainly have very firm views on the subject, and contend that they are different disciplines. As aContinue reading “Fluff and nonsense”
Nigel Ball 