Sunday 18 December 2011
Thursday 6 October 2011
RIP Steve Jobs
We were both very saddened to hear the news today that Steve Jobs, known the world over for his pioneering work at Apple, passed away after battling against pancreatic cancer.
The Apple website and it's tribute to Steve Jobs
He had resigned as CEO of Apple earlier this year due to his ill health but had continued to persevere despite this. A creative visionary, inventor and innovator whose products have transformed the way we see the world. He leaves behind a great legacy.
Rest in Peace Steve and thank you.
He had resigned as CEO of Apple earlier this year due to his ill health but had continued to persevere despite this. A creative visionary, inventor and innovator whose products have transformed the way we see the world. He leaves behind a great legacy.
Rest in Peace Steve and thank you.
Sunday 21 August 2011
Coffee & Cigarettes
Our Kooji Collective buddy Kelly Birg (a talented Fine Artist, Graphic Designer and Photographer to boot!) got in touch with us recently and sent us a link to her amazing sketch book:
http://www.arthousecoop.com/users/kbirg/artwork
She submitted it to the Art House Co-op's traveling sketchbook project and it's crammed full of beautiful sketches, photos and groovy patterns all based around the theme of coffee and cigarettes.
Kelly graduated with a BFA in Graphic Design from Western Michigan University in 2005, then went on to make a name for herself as a multi-disciplinary artist. We were lucky enough to meet her at SIGGRAPH (a massive conference held in the USA) the following year and we've been in touch with her ever since.
Check out her artwork on Art House Co-op and be inspired!
http://www.arthousecoop.com/users/kbirg/artwork
She submitted it to the Art House Co-op's traveling sketchbook project and it's crammed full of beautiful sketches, photos and groovy patterns all based around the theme of coffee and cigarettes.
Kelly graduated with a BFA in Graphic Design from Western Michigan University in 2005, then went on to make a name for herself as a multi-disciplinary artist. We were lucky enough to meet her at SIGGRAPH (a massive conference held in the USA) the following year and we've been in touch with her ever since.
Check out her artwork on Art House Co-op and be inspired!
Saturday 6 August 2011
Kooji Creative Emporium
We've both been busying away to bring you some new products on our Zazzle Store. The Kooji Creative Emporium stocks the finest T-shirts, posters, fabric bags and pretty much anything else we can stick our artwork onto!
Take a look here: http://www.zazzle.com/koojicreative and be astounded by our feats of creativity and imagination :D
Take a look here: http://www.zazzle.com/koojicreative and be astounded by our feats of creativity and imagination :D
Thursday 23 June 2011
Ready Or Not Here We Come
This year's Graphic Design degree show 'Ready Or Not Here We Come' at Leeds College of Art wasn't to be missed and so we both dashed from one display to the next grabbing business cards and taking photos. We're always pleased to see such creativity and come away feeling inspired.
Image © Charlotte Riley www.helloimcharlotte.com
Image © Nichola Tiffany www.nicholatiffany.co.uk
Image © Mille Haugnaess http://millehaugnaess.co.uk/
Image © Ollie Saward www.olliesaward.co.uk
Image © Leigh Wortley www.leighwortley.co.uk
Image © Jonny Packham www.jonnypackham.co.uk
Read our blog posts from previous year's degree shows here:
http://koojicreative.blogspot.com/search/label/EndofYearShow
For more tasty morsels of inspiration:
Check out our bookmarks of links found on business cards from the degree show: http://www.delicious.com/KoojiCreative/EndofYearShow+2011
Graduate shows - What is the point?
Target Print is a Leeds based digital and litho printer. It's owner, Peter Biggins, wrote a blog post about his experiences at this year's shows. Read it here: http://leedsprinter.blogspot.com/
What was really interesting for us was the hand-drawn element we found recurring in several graduating student's work. We both seem to gravitate towards the more illustrative design work when we attend shows like this. It adds a touch of magic to a design and gives you a hint at the personality behind the work.
Here's the snaps we took this year as we buzzed around from one honey pot to the next:
Image © Chris Matthews www.immunityfromdestruction.com
Read our blog posts from previous year's degree shows here:
http://koojicreative.blogspot.com/search/label/EndofYearShow
For more tasty morsels of inspiration:
Check out our bookmarks of links found on business cards from the degree show: http://www.delicious.com/KoojiCreative/EndofYearShow+2011
Graduate shows - What is the point?
Target Print is a Leeds based digital and litho printer. It's owner, Peter Biggins, wrote a blog post about his experiences at this year's shows. Read it here: http://leedsprinter.blogspot.com/
Monday 30 May 2011
Save Babies UK
We got chatting with one of our neighbours recently, Pat Roberts, a lovely lady who runs a charity called Save Babies Through Screening Foundation UK. We're always keen to blow the trumpet for charitable causes and show our support so we're asking you all to do the same.
Save Babies Through Screening Foundation UK is a non-profitmaking organization run by volunteers. Our mission is to improve and save the lives of children by working to prevent disabilities or early death resulting from diseases that are detectable and treatable through newborn screening.
Visit the website here:
Visit the website here:
Join them on Facebook here
Saturday 7 May 2011
Free Comic Book Day 2011
WooHoo! It's here again! Free Comic Book Day. We realised that we'd forgotten but we're glad we remembered, yay! Lots of free comics (well a few, we'd slept in and a lot of them had gone by the time we got there - hey it's Saturday :P)
One of our favourites was 'The Dark Crystal: The Origin of the Dark Crystal' as it had lots of character design and illustration by Brian Froud (who created our precious Pressed Fairies books) - a flippable comic too as the other side was called 'Mouse Guard' by David Petersen.
Thanks to the guys at Travelling Man in Leeds: www.travellingman.com for the free comics and sweeties too :D
Visit the Free Comic Book Day website: www.freecomicbookday.com
Sunday 24 April 2011
Happy Easter and Picnic Fun from Kooji!
Happy Easter everyone! The sun is shining and it looks like we're set for a gorgeous Summer. Go get yaself set up with a picnic and some Easter eggs, yum!
Check out our previous Kooji Cards here - we've done some goodies :D
Check out our previous Kooji Cards here - we've done some goodies :D
Thursday 21 April 2011
CF Studio Launch and The Blank Showcase
Amy and Bek A.K.A Lord Whitney invited us both to attend the launch of CF Studios, their new collaborative workspace and the exhibition 'The Blank Showcase'. They asked their guests to bring along items in response to the initials CF and the collected or created pieces were then added to the exhibition wall.
Here are a few photos from the evening:
Here's some amusing wordplay from Johnny
and here's Katherine's feathery fancy
It was great to see the creative duo in action once more and to check out their fun social experiment. The pieces on display were really quirky and imaginative and we look forward to seeing what they come up with next!
Visit Lord Whitney here: www.lordwhitney.co.uk
Find out more about the studio: www.cfstudios.co.uk
Here are a few photos from the evening:
...and here was our submission: Crappy Film (Plan 9 from Outer Space directed by Ed Wood)
It was great to see the creative duo in action once more and to check out their fun social experiment. The pieces on display were really quirky and imaginative and we look forward to seeing what they come up with next!
Visit Lord Whitney here: www.lordwhitney.co.uk
Find out more about the studio: www.cfstudios.co.uk
Tuesday 19 April 2011
Miss You - Stuart Menzies Farrant
Check out this beautiful new song "Miss You" by our Kooji buddy, Stuart Menzies Farrant. Stuart's got himself a new profile set up on ReverbNation: http://www.reverbnation.com/stuartmenziesfarrant and Miss You is one of his most recent releases.
Stuart Menzies Farrant
Stuart's portfolio, including the mini album: Le Mal D’Afrique can be accessed at: www.myspace.com/visionlandmusic
Singer/songwriter stuff and last album can be found here:
www.myspace.com/stuartmenziesfarrantuk
We've been chillin' to his music for years, this new track in particular has a real reggae feel to it - fantastic! We love Stuart's music and you will too!
Stuart's portfolio, including the mini album: Le Mal D’Afrique can be accessed at: www.myspace.com/visionlandmusic
Singer/songwriter stuff and last album can be found here:
www.myspace.com/stuartmenziesfarrantuk
We've been chillin' to his music for years, this new track in particular has a real reggae feel to it - fantastic! We love Stuart's music and you will too!
Thursday 7 April 2011
Introducing NU:VO
Bukkie Dos Santos, one of our Kooji Buddies and long-time collective member, got in touch to show us this groovy showreel for her new venture NU:VO take a look:
ART meets COMMERCE - A contemporary approach to Brand Vision by Nu:vo
The delivering of creative excitement and contemporary visual ideas to lifestyle and fashion clientelle.
The NU:VO CREED:
Be daring, be different, be impractical, be anything that will assert integrity of purpose and imaginative vision against the play-it-safers, the creatures of the commonplace, the slaves of the ordinary.
-Christian Dior
What a tantalising visual feast! We can't wait to see more :D
Friday 1 April 2011
Target Print
It's not often you get the opportunity to fully appreciate the work involved for those you might deal with on a daily basis. For me, getting a chance to take a look around a local printer's workshop and better understand their side of things in the whole creative production process, was too good to pass up! I met a great guy at last night's Creative Networks: Peter Biggins, the owner of Target Print, a Leeds based digital and litho printer. As we were chatting, it slowly dawned on me that I should probably ask if I could come visit his print workshop (as I'd always intended to do that at some point, as part of my ongoing learning) and Peter kindly agreed.
This was as great a time as any to swot up on my print knowledge and so I headed out today eager to learn! Peter spent the best part of the morning (and into the early afternoon too!) showing me around his workshop. It was a real eye-opener to see the scale of the printing presses and machinery that printers use.
Peter even took the time to explain Lithography and Offset Lithographic Printing to me. To see the lithographic printing process in action was incredible! Sheet-fed presses chugging away, tubs of Pantone process colour inks, Font Furniture - it was all just fantastic!
Huge Heidelberg presses churning out thousands upon thousands of prints!
We know it as CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black) but did you realise that it's printed in this order: Black, Cyan, Magenta and Yellow? The darkest ink, black, goes on first (although this used to be the last to go on years ago!)
The inks come in large pots
All the colours of the rainbow!
I never considered that some inks took time to dry (although now it seems obvious) or that printer's often work night shifts to get a print run completed! I think many people just don't realise what it takes to print their work and expect instant results.
How do they achieve that perfect alignment every time you ask? With Lays! (Read the print terminology below)
Spray powder (starch) is applied to help separate the sheets
The console desk - check out all the buttons! :O
...and here's where all the prints come out
All the off cuts are taken away and pulped down for recycling. How eco-friendly!
Heidelberg Cylinder
Font Furniture!
Forme Cutting
Shelves packed with Formes
Heidelberg Cylinder
Heidelberg Platen
...and here's how they do all those Z-Folds! (and to think, I used to believe it was all done by hand, yup)
I asked what problems they encountered the most from Graphic Designers when they send their files in for print and I was a bit shocked to hear that designs with no bleed area was a common one. Files being sent over as RGB instead of CMYK was another! I've been reading up on colour workspaces/ colour calibration so as to avoid unrealistic expectations when you send your work to print (and that of your client when they look at your beautifully designed PDF on their RGB monitors) so I was really surprised by that one. I know there's still much to learn but if I can steer clear of these obviously amateurish mistakes I think I'll be well on track :)
Understanding the history behind our craft (and it is a craft, no matter how much it evolves over time) really helps me to appreciate our beginnings. I can see how Graphic Design has changed with the introduction of the Macintosh computer and I can see how the Print Industry has gone from Letterpress to Lithographics, Repro and Digital (and much, much more!). So, it's good to know that there are still those out there who care deeply about their craft. I will continue to care deeply about mine.
Many thanks again to Peter Biggins and his team from Target Print for spending so much time showing me around and answering my questions!
Target Print Leeds Ltd… …print that targets your needs
Target Print is a Leeds based digital and litho printer producing a wide range of work including flyers, company brochures, stationery, folders, posters, leaflets and much more.
To find out more visit their website here: www.targetprint.co.uk
If all that wasn't enough for you have a read through this handy, nifty list of Print Terminology that'll have all your peers pantone green with envy!
Work-and-Turn and Work-and-Tumble
"Sheetwise, work-and-turn, and work-and tumble sound like just so much gibberish, but grasping their meaning can save you money buying printing". Read more here:
http://www.printindustry.com/Newsletters/Newsletter-45.aspx
Dot Gain
"Dot gain (also known as Tonal Value Increase) is a phenomenon in offset lithography and some other forms of printing which causes printed material to look darker than intended. It is caused by halftone dots growing in area between the original printing film and the final printed result. In practice, this means that an image that has not been adjusted to account for dot gain will appear too dark when it is printed". Read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dot_gain
NB: Avoid serif fonts at small point sizes, or pinch and swell type (e.g. the Loki Cola typeface) when using reverse type (e.g. white type on a black background) as you run the risk of the copy becoming unreadable. It might look sharp on screen but the ink may spread!
Lay Edges
"The two edges of a sheet which are placed flush with the side and front lays on a printing machine when feeding". Read more here: http://www.twpg.com.au/Retail/glossary.htm
Lay Mark
"An area of ink on the edge of a sheet to make the lay corner easily identifiable. It appears on the side lay edge and is closer to the gripper edge than the trailing edge". Read more here: http://www.twpg.com.au/Retail/glossary.htm
UV (Spot) Varnish
A varnish applied after printing, either as an overall finish to give a high gloss finish, or applied as a 'spot' varnish to certain previously printed images, then cured using ultra violet light. Read more here: http://www.encyclo.co.uk/define/UV%20varnish
NB: Ultraviolet Inks - Set instantly, by light! Read more about UV inks and Flexographic printing here: http://www.flexoexchange.com/gorilla/uvink1.html
or check out this useful tutorial from Computer Arts Magazine about using spot colours and varnishes here.
Forme Cutting
"A process of bending a knife's edge to the desired shape and punching out the form in the required material – just like a cookie cutter". Read more here: http://www.conceptforum.com.au/formeCutting.php
Die Cutting
"A "forme" or "die" is pressed onto a flat material to cut, score, punch and otherwise shape the material". Read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_industrial_processes
Letterpress
"Letterpress printing is relief printing of text and image using a press with a "type-high bed" printing press and movable type, in which a reversed, raised surface is inked and then pressed into a sheet of paper to obtain a positive right-reading image". Read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letterpress_printing
This was as great a time as any to swot up on my print knowledge and so I headed out today eager to learn! Peter spent the best part of the morning (and into the early afternoon too!) showing me around his workshop. It was a real eye-opener to see the scale of the printing presses and machinery that printers use.
Peter even took the time to explain Lithography and Offset Lithographic Printing to me. To see the lithographic printing process in action was incredible! Sheet-fed presses chugging away, tubs of Pantone process colour inks, Font Furniture - it was all just fantastic!
Huge Heidelberg presses churning out thousands upon thousands of prints!
We know it as CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black) but did you realise that it's printed in this order: Black, Cyan, Magenta and Yellow? The darkest ink, black, goes on first (although this used to be the last to go on years ago!)
The inks come in large pots
All the colours of the rainbow!
I never considered that some inks took time to dry (although now it seems obvious) or that printer's often work night shifts to get a print run completed! I think many people just don't realise what it takes to print their work and expect instant results.
How do they achieve that perfect alignment every time you ask? With Lays! (Read the print terminology below)
Spray powder (starch) is applied to help separate the sheets
The console desk - check out all the buttons! :O
...and here's where all the prints come out
All the off cuts are taken away and pulped down for recycling. How eco-friendly!
Heidelberg Cylinder
Font Furniture!
Forme Cutting
Shelves packed with Formes
Heidelberg Cylinder
Heidelberg Platen
...and here's how they do all those Z-Folds! (and to think, I used to believe it was all done by hand, yup)I asked what problems they encountered the most from Graphic Designers when they send their files in for print and I was a bit shocked to hear that designs with no bleed area was a common one. Files being sent over as RGB instead of CMYK was another! I've been reading up on colour workspaces/ colour calibration so as to avoid unrealistic expectations when you send your work to print (and that of your client when they look at your beautifully designed PDF on their RGB monitors) so I was really surprised by that one. I know there's still much to learn but if I can steer clear of these obviously amateurish mistakes I think I'll be well on track :)
Understanding the history behind our craft (and it is a craft, no matter how much it evolves over time) really helps me to appreciate our beginnings. I can see how Graphic Design has changed with the introduction of the Macintosh computer and I can see how the Print Industry has gone from Letterpress to Lithographics, Repro and Digital (and much, much more!). So, it's good to know that there are still those out there who care deeply about their craft. I will continue to care deeply about mine.
Many thanks again to Peter Biggins and his team from Target Print for spending so much time showing me around and answering my questions!
Target Print Leeds Ltd… …print that targets your needs
Target Print is a Leeds based digital and litho printer producing a wide range of work including flyers, company brochures, stationery, folders, posters, leaflets and much more.
To find out more visit their website here: www.targetprint.co.uk
If all that wasn't enough for you have a read through this handy, nifty list of Print Terminology that'll have all your peers pantone green with envy!
Work-and-Turn and Work-and-Tumble
"Sheetwise, work-and-turn, and work-and tumble sound like just so much gibberish, but grasping their meaning can save you money buying printing". Read more here:
http://www.printindustry.com/Newsletters/Newsletter-45.aspx
Dot Gain
"Dot gain (also known as Tonal Value Increase) is a phenomenon in offset lithography and some other forms of printing which causes printed material to look darker than intended. It is caused by halftone dots growing in area between the original printing film and the final printed result. In practice, this means that an image that has not been adjusted to account for dot gain will appear too dark when it is printed". Read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dot_gain
NB: Avoid serif fonts at small point sizes, or pinch and swell type (e.g. the Loki Cola typeface) when using reverse type (e.g. white type on a black background) as you run the risk of the copy becoming unreadable. It might look sharp on screen but the ink may spread!
Lay Edges
"The two edges of a sheet which are placed flush with the side and front lays on a printing machine when feeding". Read more here: http://www.twpg.com.au/Retail/glossary.htm
Lay Mark
"An area of ink on the edge of a sheet to make the lay corner easily identifiable. It appears on the side lay edge and is closer to the gripper edge than the trailing edge". Read more here: http://www.twpg.com.au/Retail/glossary.htm
UV (Spot) Varnish
A varnish applied after printing, either as an overall finish to give a high gloss finish, or applied as a 'spot' varnish to certain previously printed images, then cured using ultra violet light. Read more here: http://www.encyclo.co.uk/define/UV%20varnish
NB: Ultraviolet Inks - Set instantly, by light! Read more about UV inks and Flexographic printing here: http://www.flexoexchange.com/gorilla/uvink1.html
or check out this useful tutorial from Computer Arts Magazine about using spot colours and varnishes here.
Forme Cutting
"A process of bending a knife's edge to the desired shape and punching out the form in the required material – just like a cookie cutter". Read more here: http://www.conceptforum.com.au/formeCutting.php
Die Cutting
"A "forme" or "die" is pressed onto a flat material to cut, score, punch and otherwise shape the material". Read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_industrial_processes
Letterpress
"Letterpress printing is relief printing of text and image using a press with a "type-high bed" printing press and movable type, in which a reversed, raised surface is inked and then pressed into a sheet of paper to obtain a positive right-reading image". Read more here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Letterpress_printing
Thursday 31 March 2011
Lizzie Mary Cullen: Off the Wall!
What a great talk we went to tonight at Creative Networks and this time it wasn't from someone who has been in the industry for many years, it was by an emerging star, Lizzie Mary Cullen. Lizzie is a multi award-winning designer specialising in illustration and graphic design and was described as one of the industry’s ‘leading lights’ by Design Week. Her work has a real Mucha-esque feel to it which we really love especially when it's carried off as well as this!
Image 'Specials' © Lizzie Mary Cullan
Merry Doodle: 2010 - Blue Hive Agency Christmas Card
Blue Hive needed an Xmas card to generate buzz for their new agency. Lizzie filled a 12m x 3m 'Doodle Wall' in their office with tweeted messages all live on webcam. All this was uploaded to Flickr and in just 3 days they "received thousands of tweets, logged over 2,800 live viewer hours and saw a 632% increase in traffic" to their website. Amazing!
To see more of Lizzie's work visit her website here:
www.lizziemarycullen.com
Image 'Specials' © Lizzie Mary CullanLizzie's First Solo Show at Artefact at the Framers Gallery
All proceeds went to the Big Issue Foundation. Dan Radcliffe (of Harry Potter fame) and John Bird (founder of The Big Issue) were there to show their support. Be sure to check out her joke at 1:14 - it'll have ya in stitches :D
Lizzie drawing for Zizzi, Covent Garden
This stop motion creation of 'Bow Street Zizzi' was filmed over three days. What a beautiful large-scale mural and absolutely stunning to see it being produced start to finish.
We've both been really inspired and it definitely goes to show that you can learn from creative people at every stage in their career, not just the well seasoned professionals (although there's plenty to learn from them too!) A really entertaining night, packed full of funny anecdotes and giggles. Thanks Lizzie!
www.lizziemarycullen.com
Or, if you're into bird seed follow her tweets on twitter:
Thursday 17 March 2011
RIP Doyald Young
We were very saddened to hear of the passing of Doyald Young, prolific lettering artist and logotype designer. It was by chance that we discovered the news as we were watching a very interesting documentary about him on Lynda.com. In it Doyald was discussing the work of other typographers which he admires, in particular that of Frank Blokland and his foundry the Dutch Type Library. We visited the site and that's when we read that he passed away last month. A great loss to us all.
I only wish we'd been able to meet him in person, but we can remember him through his work and his words. For example, he described his book 'Dangeous Curves' as an attempt ‘to show both emerging and expert designers how, in an age of computer-dominated design, the designer can turn to their very own hands for both inspiration and solution’. This really makes us smile :)
Image taken from the Dutch Type Library - a still from Lynda.com's documentary
A master craftsman and educator who we will continue to learn from. Rest in Peace Doyald and thank you.
Find out more about Doyald Young here:
http://doyaldyoung.com/
I only wish we'd been able to meet him in person, but we can remember him through his work and his words. For example, he described his book 'Dangeous Curves' as an attempt ‘to show both emerging and expert designers how, in an age of computer-dominated design, the designer can turn to their very own hands for both inspiration and solution’. This really makes us smile :)
Image taken from the Dutch Type Library - a still from Lynda.com's documentaryA master craftsman and educator who we will continue to learn from. Rest in Peace Doyald and thank you.
Find out more about Doyald Young here:
http://doyaldyoung.com/
Saturday 12 March 2011
We've Joined Vimeo!
That's right! We've got ourselves an account on Vimeo (YouTube's cooler cousin). We thought...well we're on YouTube sharing all our faves, so why not get on Vimeo and share there too!!? So we have.
Head on over and check out our faves. It's so sleek and cool - Oh Vimeo, you're so dreamy!
Hmm, interesting post comparing Vimeo and YouTube:
5 reasons why Youtube is better than Vimeo | Vincent Rozenberg
We think they're BOTH cool :P but what we like about Vimeo is the 'Album' feature. We can organise our video 'likes' into albums and thus find stuff more easily. Niiice :D Ooo Ooo, it says here you can share your albums with a widget! Gonna go play!
Head on over and check out our faves. It's so sleek and cool - Oh Vimeo, you're so dreamy!
Hmm, interesting post comparing Vimeo and YouTube:
5 reasons why Youtube is better than Vimeo | Vincent Rozenberg
We think they're BOTH cool :P but what we like about Vimeo is the 'Album' feature. We can organise our video 'likes' into albums and thus find stuff more easily. Niiice :D Ooo Ooo, it says here you can share your albums with a widget! Gonna go play!
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