Tinder & Sparks blogs

How Good Design can save the World from Nuclear Holocaust and total annihilation

mike — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 06:57:45 +0000

How Good Design can save the World from Nuclear Holocaust and total annihilation

For those who think design doesn't matter, let this be your Morality Tale.

What convicts can teach us about branding

emily — Tue, 29 May 2012 09:58:06 +0000

What convicts can teach us about branding

I wrote this article for David Airey's blog in April 2012 and it got a very good reaction so I thought I'd repost part of it it here:

In September 2009, Neil Stansfield of Northamptonshire was jailed for over two years for buying own-brand, non-organic supermarket food, repackaging it as well-sourced organic produce and selling it on at a huge markup to highly reputable food retailers. On the one hand what he did was a shameful act of manipulation that undermined an already beleaguered organic market and the honest work of a lot of passionate food producers. On the other hand it was a hilarious example of how branding can increase the perceived value of a product. Read the full blog on David Airey's website

What would the Union Jack look like if Scotland votes independence?

mike — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 06:49:22 +0000

What would the Union Jack look like if Scotland votes independence?

I thought I'd have a play with a remixed flag.

In fact this wouldn't happen as the Union Jack signifies a union of crowns and not governments, the only way it would be redrawn would be if Scotland becomes a republic. However it does look quite sleek, though it's a shame to lose the St Andrew blue.

As an addendum, I remember seeing a piece years ago in the Big Issue where artists redrew the flag of Britain. I remember Damien Hirst chose to put egg and chips on the flag. Now that's a flag I would fight under.

The Tinder & Sparks Print Shop Launches!

mike — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 11:00:17 +0000

The Tinder & Sparks Print Shop Launches!

Hello everyone. It's my pleasure to announce that the Tinder & Sparks Print Shop is now open. These are all typographical prints done by myself that I think would look rather good on anyone's wall. There's a variety of subjects including the greatest line in all of popular culture - "If it Wasn't for the Music, I Don't Know What I'd Do" Last Night a DJ Saved My Life - and the first line of Homer's Odyssey - "Sing in Me Muse", as well as a Yiddish aphorism, some DH Lawrence, some basic swearing and a print imploring you to have a HAPPY DAY.

How to Create Amazing Abstract Wireframes in Adobe Illustrator

mike — Fri, 08 Jul 2011 10:24:20 +0000

How to Create Amazing Abstract Wireframes in Adobe Illustrator

A quick one from me today, just thought I'd post a tip on how to achieve pretty amazing abstract wireframed objects very easily using Adobe Illustrator.

Since the first edition of the Creative Suite, Illustrator has had a 3D rendering capability and of particular interest was the 3D revolve feature. With this you could lathe any object to create some quite amazing shapes.

MadeThought: Ten Years Yesterday

mike — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 03:27:48 +0000

MadeThought: Ten Years Yesterday

Yesterday I went to see the MadeThought retrospective at Woodbridge and Rees in Clerkenwell. A finer collection of graphic design you couldn't hope to see.

How to Make Your Bio More Interesting

mike — Fri, 24 Jun 2011 14:39:15 +0000

How to Make Your Bio More Interesting

The answer to this is easy. Be honest.

Having read this article on the 99 percent, I decided that the bio on my website was quite amazingly boring and rather than jazzing it up by listing what I'm capable of, I decided that I would be better off writing about how I got here.

You can read the new About page here. I would be delighted and thrilled to hear your comments.

Why the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company Logo Will Do Your Head In

mike — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 16:33:19 +0000

Why the Dunder Mifflin Paper Company Logo Will Do Your Head In

I have been rinsing series 1, 2 and 3 of the American Office in the last few weeks and it's been hugely enjoyable, but there's one thing that has been bothering me. The Dunder Mifflin logo is just not quite right. Bits of it jut out from itself and my eye wants to bring it in line on all sides and make it one solid, standalone logo without the sticky-out bits. So I tried my hand at shaving it even and I have to say it's a challenge.

The first and most obvious place that needs to be brought in is on the far left, the D sits inset from the M below. This is the easy bit.

Mirrored Treehouse? Yes please

mike — Wed, 01 Jun 2011 10:28:00 +0000

Mirrored Treehouse? Yes please

Just stumbled upon these images of a mirrored treehouse situated about 60km south of the arctic circle in Sweden.

My my, how fantastically beautiful. The architects have even coated the surface with a lacquer that is visible to birds to prevent them from flying into it.

I then went feverishly looking for more cool ones and I'm now nostalgic for a treehouse that I never even had. The best I could muster when I was a kid was a scaggy piece of rope and hidden multi-bag of Twixes. Enjoy.

Creative Amnesty: The Horror

mike — Thu, 26 May 2011 15:53:42 +0000

Creative Amnesty: The Horror

Yesterday there was a Creative Amnesty over at checkthis.com. The idea was that, for one day, you could share your worst creative projects with impunity. It's a brilliant idea and there are some reall humdingers on there, I particularly like the Wet Lemon website posted on the Creative Review site. As the designer Jonathan Ogden says: "I'm sorry internet."