As a sucker for cartography I could not resist buying a new compilation of live folk music with an accompanying map. Titled From Here: English Folk Field Recordings, the record is a modern take on Alan Lomax’s field recordings in the 1930s and ’40s and seeks to look at contemporary English folk music and its reference to place. A projectContinue reading “Map folk”
Category Archives: Graphic Design
Graphic commons: north-east of Ipswich
Distance: 4.2 miles Steps taken: 9,687 Start time: 09:37 Ground covered: Small town centre, surrounding residential areas and seaside promenade Any talk of Southwold and psychogeography is duty bound to include a mention of W.G. Sebald’s Rings Of Saturn. My drift around Southwold yesterday, as part of my continuing Graphic Commons project, did take me upContinue reading “Graphic commons: north-east of Ipswich”
With apologies, (there’s nothing new)
“There’s nothing new in this world…” is a phrase attributed to Harry S Truman on the Brainyquote.com website. In this post-truth world, who knows whether this was actually said by him or not. I do, however, know the content of the phrase itself to be true, post-truth or not. In June last year I madeContinue reading “With apologies, (there’s nothing new)”
Graphic commons: dérive of convenience
After fog stopped two previous attempts at more walks for my Graphic Commons project, I finally managed to get out again today. Thankfully, despite weather reports of fog in this region, Ipswich seemed to be unaffected. The project has moved on somewhat since I did the Easternmost onshore drift walk, as I have now categorised manyContinue reading “Graphic commons: dérive of convenience”
Uncomfortable post-truths
In discussing 2016 election campaigns with a student recently, I mentioned that to have a true understanding of the topic, it was necessary to research publications that they might not agree with—the Daily Mail, the Express et al. It has to be said that most of the critiques I’ve read of both the EU referendum andContinue reading “Uncomfortable post-truths”
The museum of things
Today I visited the Design Museum in its new Kensington home. Primarily going to see the Design of the Year 2016 show with students, being a big fan of the museum, I was also keen to see how the relocation from Shad Thames had been managed. There is much in the move to the formerContinue reading “The museum of things”
Survival guide
I’ve just written a review of the excellent Gee Vaucher exhibition, Introspective, at Colchester’s Firstsite gallery for Eye Magazine’s blog. Read it here.
Graphic commons: easternmost onshore drift
I completed another Graphic Commons walk this week, and I chose a location I’m not overly familiar with: Lowestoft—the Easternmost point in Britain. Like other Graphic Commons posts here, this serves as an immediate document of my drift, and the photos, (only crudely edited at this stage), will feed into a write-up of the walk I plan toContinue reading “Graphic commons: easternmost onshore drift”
Graphic commons: peripheral visions
Continuing my research into our Graphic Commons and how graphic design inserts itself into shared environments, this morning I set out on a traverse around Ipswich town centre, deliberately avoiding its main thoroughfares. I was very much keeping to its peripheries. The photos I took will feed into later writings for this ongoing project, but for now, I’mContinue reading “Graphic commons: peripheral visions”
Context is everything
There is a feature on It’s Nice That about a supposed trend of nostalgic rebranding in graphic design at the moment. Invited designers discuss the recent Co-op and Natwest make-overs, which both revive previous incarnations of their graphic identities. AceJet 170 picks up the story, declaring that in the case of the Co-op it isn’t about nostalgia, butContinue reading “Context is everything”
Nigel Ball 