David Foldvari : I think I love you

I discovered David Foldvari when I was in college over four years ago now and I still adore his work just as much as I did when I first exposed myself to it.

His work is direct and has a hint of dark humour to it; he definitely has a strong opinion. He turns the quintessentially British ‘stiff upper lip’ on its head and expresses his attitude to life and design wonderfully through his work.

Lil bit ‘o’ background for you:

He was born in Budapest, and has been living in the UK since 1986. Since graduating from the Royal College in London in 2001, his work has gained international recognition. His Eastern European roots influence 
He, his work often suggests alienation, identity and belonging

 "Dealing with negative issues in my work helps to keep me balanced in real life"

Recently his work has become more monochromatic, stark and melancholy whilst still managing to retain its humanity and humour.

David Foldvari has exhibited widely in London, New York, Japan, France, Italy, Germany, Slovenia and Hungary. Some of his recent commercial clients include Nike, Penguin Books, Random House, Mercury, Levis, Greenpeace and Arena. In 2007 he earned a D&AD award for involvement on Nike Run London and for his input on Beck’s The Information.

taaa darrr

 If you wanna see any of my work, have a gander at my flickr or my website 

www.abimilnes.com

www.flickr.com/photos/abimilnes

mmm Tat

I really want a tattoo, I wish I had the balls to 

get this but I don't think I could pull it off. Shame.

I was going to be an A0 poster with gold foil block & embossing but times are hard

I don't remember where I found this but I just love it. 

Its what we all are thinking. And yet it still looks gorgeous.

Superhero Smoothie

Superhero Smoothie

Soo you have probably seen the advert by now but I thought I would share it anyway. The new Innocent Smoothie advert. Where a cute little bottle flies around saving people from hunger and bad food. The idea is witty and really works for the time of year, because of all the binging at Christmas people will probably take this into account and watch, as well as it being hilarious and immediately appealing with the choice of soundtrack and direction of the advert. Using a famous Queen song written by Brian May, Innocent have done a switcheroo with the words and instead of “FLASHH AHH AHHHH Saviour of the Universe” they have cleverly said “FRUIT AHH AHHHH Saviour of the Universe”

With the bottles being whooshed around by straws and with little capes on ( I soo want a cape now) I think this advert is brilliant and appeals to all ages, and each time its on, I have to stop what Im doing and watch it. Not only do I love the song but I love the smoothies so its ticks all round from me.

Copy from their website:

“We've made a new advert for the telly, featuring a superhero smoothie bottle, who flies around saving people from those perilously peckish moments between meals (especially relevant in January, with all of its resolutions).

http://www.innocentdrinks.co.uk/

Merry Christmas

Santa Champers

Merry Christmas everyone 

xxx

Belvedere Vodka

My sister got a promotion last week (well done Sal) and to celebrate this, she got a present in the form of Belvedere Vodka. If you haven’t tasted this vodka before then your missing out and I’m not even a vodka lady. 

But anyway, I just want to share the lovely form of the bottle itself, its just gorgeous. With its long neck similar to a vino bottle but elongated and more elegant. With frosted glass and its white creeping tree pattern this spirit has it all, no wonder this Polish sensation costs around thirty English pounds. 

The thought and attention to detail of this design is splendid, even the clear glass on the front of the bottle so that you can look through to the  vodka to the illustration on the inside of the bottle is clever and rousing the consideration to round off the design is beautiful.

let it snow let it snow let it snoowww

Got a bit snow happy the other day, oh and I put my christmas tree up in November :)

Creative Boom

Check me out, I am now in the Creative Boom Directory for the North West.

I just love their website, its so informative about the creative industry - ranging from graphic design to film production to jewelry design.

"About Us

Welcome to Creative Boom, an online magazine and network community that aims to celebrate, inspire and support the creative industries throughout the UK and the rest of the world.

Launched on the 24th July 2009, the site is run on a completely voluntary basis, covering everything from music, design, photography and fashion to film, PR, marketing, media and animation.

The magazine includes 12 main regions - also known as 'Hubs' - as well as a national UK home page, to bring you creative industry news, features and events no matter where you're based.

Our entire ethos for Creative Boom is to offer free support and help freelancers and businesses both large and small to be inspired, raise their profiles, attract new business and effectively cause a creative industry boom across the UK.

So if you're keen to collaborate, network, get noticed, attract business, learn new things, be inspired or find out what's happening in your creative field, Creative Boom is an organic e-zine that has been designed especially for you and will continue to adapt and improve to suit your needs. Thanks for stopping by!"

Beards - aint they just lavvvely

I dont remember where I found this but by god it is good, just puts a smile on my cold cold face in these frosty times Brrrrrr-illiant 

Pink Pigeon

Just look at this gorgeous bottle design!

I’m a fan of Rum, any rum for that matter, but this really floats my boat.

The Pink Pigeon Rum is new on the market and has an attractive design to boot.

Bit of copy from their website:

‘Some of the world’s finest sugar cane is grown on the
 Medine Estate in Mauritius. 
It is from this natural source that we make our rare,
 golden rum.

Uniquely, we add hand-picked vanilla from orchids
 that grow in the rainforest canopy of nearby Madagascar. 
Combined with the exotic, tropical flavours of spice 
and nutmeg, this makes our rum as exquisite and rare
 as the Pink Pigeon itself.

The Pink Pigeon can be enjoyed on its own, over ice,
 or as part of a distinctive cocktail …”

The bottle itself is matt black with a white logo design stretching the length of the bottle, with a classic bold font and thick simple traditional ‘emblem’ design. It really stands out within the crowd of competing Rum bottle designs.

illustration Xmas ideas

here are some christmasy Russian doll illustrations, ideas for xmas cards and wrapping paper etc..  just playing with colours and outlines at the mo.

175 years of Kendals

Today I came across a gorgeous Kendals plastic bag. If you don’t know what Kendals is, it’s a department store in Manchester, probably the oldest one. This year it marks their 175^th Birthday.

1796 was the year John Watts a Didsbury Farmer opened the family business on the corner of Deansgate in the centre of Manchester. And in aid of this celebration, there have been giveaways, live music, competitions and complimentary gifts as well as Russell hobbs collaborating with Coronation Street to celebrate 50 years of the famous street.

This is not what I wanted to blog about though; I want to share their gorgeous plastic bag they have produced for this occasion.

It’s a collage design of iconic buildings of Manchester, not to mention Coronation Street, the Hacienda classic yellow and black stripes, LS Lowry’s illustrious people and Manchester United and City scarves.

With Kendals the prominent figure of the design to show how far Manchester has come since Kendals was built.

The design is simple in colour and in design but it is so striking and edifying. The type itself is laid out like old Victorian typographical posters, which is fitting for the age of Kendals itself. 

I cannot find out who designed this bag, which I’m gutted about because I do love this design, it reminds me of my collage design style which I adopted for my Manchester guide project.The design mixes vintage with modern but makes it work and flow.

David Fullarton

I was looking for some inspiration the other day and I came across the work of David Fullarton. His journal style illustrations are hilarious and really well executed in a doodle style but still convey his feelings amazingly.  He uses a Moleskine notebook to create his art, doing doodles, sketches and typography to document this odd thoughts and feelings. Sort of like a map of his day to day life.

“I was never a big fan of Moleskine notebooks. They always seemed so damn precious and overpriced with their pretentious history printed inside and that fancy-dan knicker elastic to keep your place. But someone gave me one for nothing a couple of years ago, and since it was free I used it. A lot. And I have to admit I ended up liking it. Almost enough to actually pay for the next one”

My new business cards have come!!

ooooo I don't half love MOO.com
When I first started making business cards last year I always wanted a selection of different business cards. But that wasn't possible until recently, now you can choose up to 50 different designs for one pack of business cards. Brilliant. Now I just wish my phone had a better mega pixel.