Filter entries:
Shoes designed in Leicester U.K. and made in Northamptonshire U.K. and Italy
Due to the recent worldwide events between 2020–2021 (Covid-19), it has given us time in the office to consider what we have been doing, well doing with ease and not really thinking about… We have bought 2 pairs of shoes, but these are not any-old-shoes like you find in local highstreet mass-market shops though.
The 1st pair are Leicester Tigers Icon (Espresso) smart leather shoes, designed in Leicester U.K., then crafted and manufactured by hand and people in Northamptonshire U.K. The yellow leather lining inside the shoe is really soft and feels like a luxurious leather glove. The rubber soles are made from recycled material, the carbon footprint is much smaller than shoes imported from outside the U.K., and we are supporting a local business in a very competitive industry.
The 2nd pair are Pace Bi-Colour (Off White/Black) and are not even on sale to the public yet, that are more of a trainer, and less of a formal shoe. Once again designed in Leicester U.K. and then handcrafted by people and manufactured in Italy, using Italian materials with rubber soles that use recycled material, use suede, are fully calf lined, soft, durable and breathable.
Leicester used to be well-known for its shoe manufacturing and shoe factories, a notable example was British United Shoe Machinery (BUSM) Ltd in the 1960s, it was Leicester’s biggest employer, employing more than 4500 people locally and 9500 people worldwide. All that changed because U.K. companies outsourced work and manufacturing to Asia, to take advantage of cost cutting and cheaper labour to maximise profits. ‘The raw shoe materials and machines (engineering) that made the shoes, were also cheaper in low‑wage economies’ as BU History Group was telling us. Why can we not make a much higher percentage of goods here in the U.K. supporting local people, why is that so impossible? This strategy affected, and pretty much destroyed not just the shoe industry but many other U.K. industries like book and journal typesetting, printing, textiles, electronics and footwear (and many more), over the years and decades, and is still very much utilised today… What do we have left and where are we now in 2022?
The Covid-19 lockdowns have made us think that maybe we need to try to look closer to home for the things we need, even if it requires a bit more effort and money, in order to support the local community and local businesses, because if things are not working well around you, they could get a lot worse or finish altogether… then what? Are you aware of what goes on behind the seams of the products you buy? This is the extra we are doing, to support our local community and industries in these challenging times.
For more information visit the Marcus De website, shoes are available until stocks run-out. June 2022.
British United Shoe Machinery Company (BUSM) Ltd on Belgrave Road, Leicester, U.K. Photograph dated 1984 from Nigel Tout (CC BY-SA 4.0, changes made).
Old Mac Pro
As part of our concern for the environment, the future, and our corporate environmental sustainability duties, we have recycled our old Mac Pro (Early 2009) back to Apple using their Apple Recycling Programme. May 2022.
A new pictogram for disability and accessibility..?
We have submitted a pictogram design into the International Accessibility Symbol Design Competition 2022 organised by The International Union of Architects (UIA) and Rehabilitation International (RI). They invited submissions for a 21st century symbol of accessibility to represent their core values of rights and inclusion, equity and independence, diversity, physical and virtual accessibility for all, including people with disabilities. The person in a wheelchair is a somewhat aged and old‑fashioned view of people with disabilities, not great hey? We wonder if Otl Aicher would agree? We would like to say thanks to the people and organisations that took part in user testing, we could not have done this project without you. Winners are announced on the 18th April 2022. There is a financial prize, but also if successful, the design will be adopted by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and used internationally, like in airports and on official signs. If you are in need of a new pictogram to represent people with disabilities, and of issues of accessibility and inclusion, contact us we have what you need. More about this project will be announced after the 18th April 2022. March 2022.
After a delay of 3 weeks after the original winners announcement date, our submission did not get an award. What would we say about the top-3 pictogram designs awarded? ‘not good’. Here are the winning entries. More about our work on this project can be seen on our Information Design webpage. May 2022.
Interview with Joanna Suau in the Information Design Journal, 26(2), 2021
The rise of APIs… We are delighted to announce An Interview With Joanna Suau From Infobip on the Design of Application Programming Interface (API) Documentation in the Information Design Journal, 26(2), 2021. March 2022.
2 new typefaces and Typotheque’s new typeface specimen book
We were going to mention we have 2 new typefaces in the office, Arnhem Greek and Fedra Serif B, and now have reason to do so. Arnhem Greek by Type By is a good typeface for books and documents of many kinds, designed by Fred Smeijers from Belgium, then Fedra Serif B by Peter Biľak founder of Typotheque, is especially good for academic journals, and features an extensive character and symbol support, even for complex maths.
So to the reason of this news entry, indeed we did buy Fedra Serif B, however I got an SMS to say that something was coming in the post from Typotheque in the Netherlands, even though we did not order anything to come in the post, what could it be? A few days later Here: A World Poem, Typotheque’s latest typeface specimen book arrived, and we were more than delighted. It features 560 pages of typeface samples, specimens, essays, poems and much more. The cover is especially nice and the large text ‘HERE’ in capitals, is printed in a multi-coloured foiled ink or something?, that ripples and catches the light. The binding is also especially nice and precise. The book feels like 1 of the old Edition Suhrkamp Verlag books made and printed in the 1960s from Germany. Print has qualities that electronic information does not have. There are pros and cons to both printed and electronic communications… Although we still love print, even more so now because of the amount of digital pollution that is out there, and the majority of website users only use a webpage for a matter seconds, whereas a printed book is typically used for much longer lengths of time.
Thanks again Typotheque, they are doing some amazing stuff in typeface design, utilising technology and language coverage not easily found elsewhere. We really like the Manu Informal typeface from them, that is basically a handwritten typeface and not only supports Greek but has small capitals, very hard to find or maybe not available anywhere else. Bedankt (thank you in Dutch). February 2022.
New photographs from our 2 documentary projects
We have made available 155 photographs, mainly from our back‑catalogue from the Leicester City Centre, United Kingdom From Far Away, 2020 Onwards, and the New Walk, Leicester, United Kingdom 2020 Onwards documentary projects, covering all 4 seasons (spring, summer, autumn and winter). February 2022.
Interview with Paul Jerome in the Information Design Journal, 26(1), 2021
We are delighted to announce that our interview An Interview With Paul Jerome From Kent County Council on Easy Read has been published in the Information Design Journal, 26(1), 2021.
Easy read is essentially information designed for people with learning difficulties, that is typically made larger in size and more blatant than typical information is, as well as making the text content easy‑to‑understand. Thanks to Paul, Patricia and Francisco. August 2021.
Photographs of New Walk, Leicester, United Kingdom 2020 Onwards project
You can view a short press release and information about this photographic documentary project on our Medium. You can view all the photos in this documentary project on our album on Alamy, and also view our main portfolio on Alamy. July 2021.
Photographs of Leicester City Centre, United Kingdom From Far Away, 2020 Onwards project
You can view a short press release and information about this photographic documentary project on our Medium. This project features unique, unusual and hard‑to‑photograph views of Leicester, we do hope you enjoy them. You can view all the photos on our project album on Alamy, and view our main portfolio also on Alamy. July 2021.
Slanted Magazine #36 — COEXIST
COEXIST: to live or exist together, in peace, at the same time, or in the same place. The 1st time in our lives the world is changing fundamentally. We need to rethink what all this is about. Higher, faster and further at the expense of others cannot point the way to the future. We need to question ourselves, how we want to coexist, show consideration and take a step back. The book questions topics such as climate change, political power, human rights, freedom of speech, wars and many other global issues.
Our Ban Public Smoking (Factories) environmental poster (that you can see on our Graphic Design webpage) has been showcased in Slanted Magazine #36 – COEXIST, on page 269. November 2020.
Interview with Chris Hackley on advertising and marketing
We have done a new self-initiated interview called an Interview With Professor Chris Hackley (Professor of Marketing, Royal Holloway, University of London) on the Past, Present and Future of Advertising and Marketing that is on our Medium, enjoy. November 2020.
London Design Festival 2020
We have been showcased on the London Design Festival 2020 freelancer portal. August 2020.
2 interviews for the Information Design Journal, 25(2), 2019
We are delighted to announce that we have done 2 interviews for the Information Design Journal, 25(2), 2019.
The 1st interview is An Interview With Barbra Kingsley From Kleimann Communication Group on Information Design on all things information design and financial statement design.
The 2nd interview is An Interview With Anne-Marie Chisnall From Write on Plain English and Information Design on all things clear writing. Thanks again to Carla, Barbra and Anne-Marie. August 2020.
The Best Dutch Book Designs 2017 book review
We have reviewed the interesting The Best Dutch Book Designs 2017 yearly printed annual on our Medium. For more information about the competition visit The Best Dutch Book Designs Competition website. August 2020.
Shortlisted in the International Institute for Information Design (IIID) Awards
Our Landmark Planning 2019 Website Redesign project was shortlisted in the Corporate Design and Communications category (in the top 10 entries within this category) in the International Institute for Information Design (IIID) Awards 2020. You can read the full case study PDF. June 2020.
Micro-Typography: How to Space and Kern Punctuation Marks and Other Symbols paper
We have researched and written a paper called Micro‑Typography: How to Space and Kern Punctuation Marks and Other Symbols for Smashing Magazine. The paper expands on the issue within micro‑typography, and is a gathering of ideas and issues from past years. It is slightly technical and is of interest to typographers, typesetters, typeface designers, font engineers and software developers. There is also a live real-time micro‑typography example (see Figure 5 within the paper), so you can see exactly what the micro‑typographic spacing of punctuation marks and other associated symbols actually is. Thanks to Rachel, Iris, Erik, Roland and Jost. May 2020.
