The Empire Collective

Hi Tumblr support

2013-01-29T15:39:00.002+02:00

Hi this is just a quick post to confirm that I am the owner of http://empire.tumblr.com but I cant log in to change anything and forgot my email address so im kinda screwed.

Please Tumblr help me get my tumblr back.

A long time coming

2010-04-14T18:12:00.004+02:00

Ive been working on my project 'iliketext.com' in every spare moment I've gotten, so I've not managed to add any posts here for a while. Above is a experiment I did with outputting stats collected from the service I'm building, and while I was trying to look at ways of displaying data and statistics such that they are easily accessible and interesting, I quite like the above beyond-basic result, I find it quite interesting in a very minimalist abstract sense, though its not helpful at all. It quite reminds me of a train departure board.

On a more productive note, Ive been working on the User Interface of Iliketext.com and think I'm almost there, heres a preview of the work in progress:
Things are going along well.

working-title('TXTface');

2010-01-04T14:41:00.002+02:00

Ok, so I'm quite motivated about this new project I'm working on, as I've mentioned in my last post. Here's a snippet of what the post on the website would look like (so far).
I am still looking for people to collaborate with me though, as I'm pretty sure my server-side/programming skills are seriously lacking.
The Empire Collective > TXTface

TXTface

2009-12-28T17:52:00.004+02:00

A new project I'm working on.
TXTface would essentially be a purly text-based faux-social bookmarking tool, based on the internet. Drawing inspiration from great sites like FFFFound.com by Yugo Nakamura and with the obvious tip of the hat to Facebook.com by Mark Zuckerberg, but with the focus being given to purely literary examples. As a project, I'd like to find a Developer to collaborate with, but hey I could just do it myself.

UK's Best Handheld Advert

2009-12-01T17:27:00.003+02:00

The MD at my new work, Line Digital (in Edinburgh) forwarded this charmingly witty advert, for The Sun newspaper, to me earlier. I think it's great. All the more so because I dislike The Sun (with a reasonable amount of passion) - so an advertisement that get me thinking positively about it, has obviously covered at of ground.

Not sure which agency produced this gem, but I hope to find out.

Bullshit!

2009-07-18T03:28:00.003+02:00

Only recently read yet another great piece of design criticism over at Design Observer, called: On (design) Bullshit, its well worth a read. The following are just snippets:

"In discussing design work with their clients, designers are direct about the functional parts of their solutions and obfuscate like mad about the intuitive parts, having learned early on that telling the simple truth — "I don't know, I just like it that way" — simply won't do."

"... it's beside the point whether bullshit is true or false: 'It is impossible for someone to lie unless he thinks he knows the truth. Producing bullshit requires no such conviction.' There must only be the desire to conceal one's private intentions in the service of a larger goal: getting your client it to do it the way you like it."

"Calling bullshit on a designer, then, stings all the more because it contains an element of accuracy." - Michael Bierut

"I believe he used the term finesse to mean bullshit." - Niti Bhan

I've been working on some stuff for a local magazine here in Edinburgh, called Muckle Sandwich, with another designer that stays at the same hostel, I'll post some of it soon.

of rhyme or verse

2009-03-29T20:19:00.004+02:00

~~of rhyme or verse i know none,~~
~~aside from perhaps~~
~~the taste of my thumb;~~

~~as for satire or wit,~~
~~of neither have i ever writ;~~

~~i know not why i write,~~
~~or even if it amounts to nothing~~
~~but trite.~~

this is my heart

2009-03-29T19:47:00.008+02:00

Its quite coincidental, that (since I'm traveling and haven't been able to do much graphic work) I've started writing, and happen to have come across a great blog 'this is my heart. it is a good heart' thanks to my friend back in South Africa - Fathima.
The image (from love notes) also caught my attention seeing as I'm away from home at the moment. Hopefully I'll give my writings a graphic treatment and post them here soon. via Fathima

Light, angels & a short film concept

2009-02-13T17:09:00.004+02:00

It's been quite difficult staying creatively active away from home, in a foreign county and totally out of the local creative culture loop. But recently I've been brooding over a number of projects. The above series of images was just a quick gap filler in my day full of applying for and getting no response from design agencies and recruiters in London.

The project I'm tossing backward and forward in my mind the most, is a short film project called 'The Runner', a short film about anxiety, frustration, and perseverance. At the moment I'm still working on the script, and looking for interested parties to collaborate with; you can see a vague outline of the idea on the Facebook group I created for organizing it.

Edinburgh, is awesome

2009-01-25T14:25:00.002+02:00

I've been out of the loop. Traveling is awesome, and Edinburgh is so far my favorite city in the mini version of the world that I've seen. It's very difficult to stay in the design loop, whilst backpacking around with non-designer/creatives. But. When I ran into this A6 flyer/poster on the streets of Old Town in Edinburgh, it injected we with some new vigor.

Well... I'm back in London, looking for work, working on my portfolio/book. The economy sucks right now, and with the whole fact that 70% of advertising jobs go unadvertised (go figure) it makes it really hard to find work for a creative who isn't part of the "design culture" of a city. But I'll keep going. Hopefully I find something/anything soon.

London Towne

2008-11-14T00:37:00.003+02:00

I'm in London, at last. The last 3 months organising Visa's and such like, and now I'm finally hereI arrived on Saturday the 8th of November, and have as yet only done 1 day of freelance design work (for a company called Velvet). But so far so good.

I had told myself that I wasnt going to do the whole touristy thing, but really its hard to avoid. The pic above is what seems to be a Shepherd Fairley poster that I past on my way to my interview in Battersea. I'm not sure if its the real deal or not (and I suppose it doesnt really mean much to people who pass stuff like that all the time), but I was quite chuffed. Especially since (via the interwebs) I hear the Smithsonian Institute is planning on buying Fairley's portrait of US President Elect Mr Obama, for $75,000.00. Thats pretty awesome.

I did manage to let my batteries run flat on the one day I happened across a SpaceInvader tile installation (near Westminster Bridge) whilst sightseeing with fellow South Africans Tammy and Jason (dunno what their surnames are), but oh well, I'll take a pic of it soon enough.

Anyway London is awesome so far, and I look forward to meeting tonnes of people.

The Remnant

2008-10-14T12:59:00.003+02:00

Well, I tried to organise an exhibition... It was due to be called "Share & Share Alike" but due to participation issues, the name has had to be changed, I think it's quite apt.

Title: The Remnant
Time: 6pm (The Evening) 17th Oct
Place: The Corner Cafe (Durban)

I'll take pics of my work once it's all up, I was quite chuffed with my contribution in the end, It's just a pity so many of the original participants pulled out at the last moment.

Graphic Finger-wear

2008-10-07T10:03:00.002+02:00

I'm by no means a jewelery designer, but I'm busy with this at the moment a quick project before a leave RSA to try my luck in London-town. I'm doing it more as a gift idea than anything else, I have yet to source the right kind of resin to seal them with though, but I should get my hands on that pretty soon.
Its quite funny actually I was at movies with a friend of mine and my girlfriend and we saw something similar at a shop for R300 (only way uglier), and I declared then that it was a total ripoff and than I could do that myself anyday. So here I am proving a point (If only to myself).

Chokolate Mmm

2008-09-30T10:32:00.005+02:00

I've been getting very weary of those "lists" that seem to be flying around the internet, especially those that claim such extravagances as "top 50 business card ideas". For me that roughly translates into "How to get out of doing anything even remotely creative for your 1st year Corporate ID project", or "Idiots guide to copying and plagiarism."
This on the other had I found over at Graphics-Exchange. And I have to say I think its awesome, not in the sense that makes one think "Oh gee wiz, I gotta try that", rather in the sense that it makes ones heart race and thoughts fly through your head like "Fucking hell! I wish I'd done something that cool. Ever!" ... I think you get the idea.
The comprehensive identity entitled "Chokolate Mmm" was done by Bunch Design, for dance studio and agency Chokolate.
[via Graphic-Exchange]

Data Representation, US Tax Cut (proposal)

2008-09-20T10:46:00.004+02:00

I have recently found, or come to the realization that, my interest in design is constantly shifting it's preferred specialization and of late I've been rather taken by Information-Design, it could be due to my rather geeky background, or just my programming background mixed with design. Either way I really liked the above graph/chart redrawn by Viveka Weiley of Chartjunk.

The beauty of it is more evident when its viewed with the chart it would be replacing, or improving upon but, I figured for both the reason that it disagreed with my aesthetic predispositions (and so didn't want it on my blog), and that viewing both together in the context of the article written by Viveka Weiley is probably a better idea,

Global Warming, by McCann Erickson

2008-09-19T10:29:00.007+02:00

It has to be one of the most heart wrenching anti-global warming campaigns I've seen to date. I got shivers as I watched the brilliantly executed spot unfold.

Done by McCann Erickson (Portugal), for the Quercus (National Association of Preservation of the Nature). Directed by, FlavioMac and post-production by Seagulls Fly.

The first time I watched it, after a friend emailed the link to me, I didn't bother putting on earphones (not knowing what to expect) it still tugged at my emotions, watching the second and third time with sound only made it that much more effective (Though I suppose that's obvious). [via a friend]

The Flow of Communication

2008-09-18T13:10:00.009+02:00

Thanks to my following the happenings at The Diagram, who have just published version 8.4. I've started experimenting with diagrams to communicate poems, prose, and found text. I'm still in the process of developing the execution, but I'm rather pleased with it so far.
Like the one above, that's still in sketch form, based on the children's rhyme "Georgie Porgie Pudding And Pie".

I hope to produce a series of limited run screen prints, for my up coming collaborative exhibition "Share & share alike", so any criticism (good or bad) would be much appreciated.
[Inspiration via The Diagram]

Mr Moustache Tote Bag

2008-09-03T08:56:00.005+02:00

Possibly because I've been cultivating my own crop of stache, but I really liked this tote bag I found over at Monster Munch. Very much like the Mr Mr series that I also happened to really enjoy.
[via Monster Munch]

2008-08-25T17:06:00.004+02:00

I came across this quote on ffffound, and although (due to it being on ffffound) everyone has probably seen it, it struck such a chord with me, that I just had to re-post it. And along with this one, I found another great quote, via WikiQuote.

"Is graffiti art or vandalism? That word has a lot of negative connotations and it alienates people, so no, I don't like to use the word 'art' at all" Banksy

Milk gone bad

2008-08-20T11:58:00.005+02:00

Though I think the milk carton with with that particular stye of illustration isnt quite my cup of tea, the presentation, and technique for showing artwork and illustration is beyond awesome, thats what I find most intregueing about this work by Anatomic Factory.

"The Milk Gone Bad table lamp by AnAtomic Factory with illustrations by Bombo is a follow-up to the earlier Long Life Light. When the Milk Gone Bad light is off, it resembles a simple white milk carton. When switched on, the light reveals the mold that grows unseen inside. The imaginary cartoon-like mold happens to be a lot more pleasant than the real life version and is available in 8 colourways, each with a different personality. The lamp comes flat and is constructed much the way a milk carton would be." moco loco

I'm going to be looking into doing light box like displays for my own work, but most likely will be wall mounted rectangles as apposed to table top objects.

[via mocoloco ]

White Winter Hymnal, Grandchildren

2008-08-08T08:54:00.011+02:00

I can't really remember how I found the work of Grandchildren (Sean Pecknold), but I was asstonished at what I found. This stop motion music video, for the song 'White Winter Hymnal' by Fleet Foxes is utterly brilliant.
What I find so unbelievable and what only adds to the brilliance of the video is the fact that it took only 2 months to produce. Amazing.
Based on the music video, I went and got the albumn Fleet Foxes - Ragged Wood, now if thats not the point of a good video, then I dont know what is. I've posted some stills from the video, but you can click on the images, or here; to view the video.

It's easy to see how Grandchildren produced such a brilliant video, when you look at his portfolio, awesome photography and good design. Well worth a perusing.

Public Art

2008-07-23T11:07:00.005+02:00

Following my own progress into critically considering the roll of graphic design, be it commercial or expressive, individual or collaborative, I found the above work entitled "Public Art", by designer Chris Clarke, his own words describe it best;

"The notion of ‘public art’ is an awkward idea to resolve. By definition, it encompasses any artwork which is publicly accessible, typically situated in outdoor spaces. It is expected that ‘public art’ somehow exists for the public, but typically does not involve them in its making. Its record suggests that the majority of ‘public art’ is not so different from the ‘art’ which occupies the gallery spaces of the ‘art world’, and is often taken by artists as a chance simply to try out bigger and more adventurous, weather tolerant projects. This canvas, entitled ‘Public Art’, is a proposed reality check on the term from which it derives. The piece comprises a collection of marks made in, and extracted from, the public domain. Sampling from a collection of pen tester sheets found in stationers and art shops around the city of Bristol over a four month period, the composition bears true public authorship in its form, capturing directly the voices of a random cross-section of Bristolians.

The result of this incidental public collaboration is a pseudo abstract-expressionist composition, essentially concerned with colour, mark and vocalisation. Both as a display of public identity and a record of the visual musings of the public unconscious, ‘Public Art’ brings value to the overlooked output of the Bristolian public, in documentation of the assumed banality of everyday public history." Chris Clarke

Design Education Criticism

2008-07-03T09:11:00.007+02:00

My father recently bought me a book, Looking Closer Five: Critical writings on graphic design, to help with my critical thining on design, especially since I've decided I want to do my MA in graphic design.

While I'm nowhere near finished the book, I came across an article by Jessica Helfand entitled "Method Designing: The paradox of modern design education", and it really stuck home, especially since I've just completed my B.tech Degree and have been looking at my contemporaries and I, and analysing how we each dealt with our "design education" at DUT (Durban). The Article draws lines of similarity between the technique of acting introduced by Stanislavsky called "Method Acting" and graphic design. The quotes below particualarly stuck home.

"The good news is that in an effort to produce designers who can think for themselves, we ask our students to identify a method which becomes evident through the work that they produce. Such an emphasis on authorship is, by and large, a way to train young designers as thinkers — and not merely as service providers. (So far, so good.) At the same time, we encourage them to seek references beyond the obvious: the richness of their sources testifies to an ability to engage a larger universe, and their work benefits from locating itself along a trajectory they've chosen and defined for themselves.

The bad news is that as a consequence of seeking validation elsewhere, there is an unusual bias toward false identity: so the design student, after looking at so much art, believes that s/he is making art. The design student, after considering so deeply the intangible forces framing the interpretation of visual form, comes to believe that the very act of interpretation is itself the form. This is where the method backfires so paradoxically: in being true to ourselves, we distance ourselves from a more universal truth, the kind that designers, in making messages clear, are so naturally predisposed to understand."

Though I'm not really affiliated with the university that I studied at, beyond being a student, I wish I could pin this article up on the notice boards, but I know (havning only too recently been a student) that most of the people that would most bennifit from it, will mostly likely not read past the first paragraph. Its a Shame,really.

The article, although from the book Looking Closer Five, can also be found in it's entirety at DesignObserver where the author is an Editor. The site is in my opinion one of the leading Critical Design blogs, and well worth being read often.
I'm hoping (counting on the fact) that I'll find more articles like the one above that with influence me, no end, and hopefully help me flesh out my Masters proposal.

Share & Share alike

2008-06-25T15:59:00.003+02:00

Here's a quick and oh so vague preview of the stuff I'm working on for an upcoming exhibition I'm taking part in. It'll hopefully be at the Corner Café (Durban) in August.

Sole Porn

2008-06-11T17:00:00.004+02:00

I quite like the play with colour and transparency, this piece of work by graphic designer Peter Bruce, of Badly Spelt.

He describes it as "A collaborative project for an exhibition undertaken early in the second year which explored the hypothesis that the character of a person could be identified by looking at the sole of their shoes."