http://www.supercooldesign.co.uk/index.php en katie@supercooldesign.co.uk Copyright 2008 2008-05-11T10:42:00+00:00 http://www.supercooldesign.co.uk/index.php/site/calling_all_philatelists_and_photographers/ http://www.supercooldesign.co.uk/index.php/site/calling_all_philatelists_and_photographers/#When:09:42:00Z Tuesday 13th May sees the launch of a new collection of Royal Mail stamps focusing on some of Britain’s cathedrals – the First Class version of which features local three-spired beauty, Lichfield Cathedral. So, if you’re in or around Lichfield on Tuesday, perhaps you could get some commemorative photos of the cathedral then upload them to the Big Picture website? Big pictures ... tiny stamps! 2008-05-11T09:42:00+00:00 http://www.supercooldesign.co.uk/index.php/site/sounds_of_supercool1/ http://www.supercooldesign.co.uk/index.php/site/sounds_of_supercool1/#When:08:20:00Z Today we’re celebrating the welcome return of the sunshine by listening to the summery, toe-tapping tunes of Manu Chao. 2008-05-06T08:20:00+00:00 http://www.supercooldesign.co.uk/index.php/site/picture_perfect/ http://www.supercooldesign.co.uk/index.php/site/picture_perfect/#When:08:17:00Z The other week I got a beautiful booklet delivered in the post. It’s a cute little handmade portfolio from , a locally-based illustrator who, as well as producing some lovely work, has the best handwriting I’ve ever seen! Winnie came to Supercool HQ yesterday to go through her portfolio with us and it’s great - she’s done loads of different stuff, from TV animation to magazine illustrations. And she’s even won an Emmy (for an animated TV sequence she did when working in San Francisco) - how many Birmingham folk can say that?! 2008-05-02T08:17:00+00:00 http://www.supercooldesign.co.uk/index.php/site/a_teatime_treat/ http://www.supercooldesign.co.uk/index.php/site/a_teatime_treat/#When:08:14:00Z Here at Supercool we’ve been working exceptionally hard recently (yes, even harder than usual if you can believe it?!) on some really exciting projects - which has been fun but very tiring. So, we decided to reward ourselves with this beautiful framed print from Keep Calm Gallery. I just thought it was the perfect sentiment for those hectic days when your head’s in a spin ... but a nice cuppa really does the trick. Anyway, if you like screenprinted, kind of retro-looking stuff and have some empty wall space, I’d heartily recommend a visit to the Keep Calm website: www.keepcalmgallery.com 2008-04-30T08:14:00+00:00 http://www.supercooldesign.co.uk/index.php/site/package_deals/ http://www.supercooldesign.co.uk/index.php/site/package_deals/#When:08:09:00Z We’ve just got printed copies of the Membership document we designed for Audiences Central (the region’s audience development agency for the arts); it’s the first of a whole raft of documents we’re producing for them - along with a bit of brand refreshment - and it’s turned out grand! This one needed to be an easy-to-understand showcase of Audiences Central’s newly structured membership packages, highlighting the many benefits of each as plainly and as clearly as possible; which we did using a simple, consistent layout with carefully planned typography. This meticulous design plus swanky yet subtle use of spot uv on the cover has resulted in a very attractive document ... so come on West Midlands arts organisations! Request your copy from Audiences Central today! 2008-04-29T08:09:00+00:00 http://www.supercooldesign.co.uk/index.php/site/presenting/ http://www.supercooldesign.co.uk/index.php/site/presenting/#When:13:40:00Z Mr David Osbaldestin, designer and BCU lecturer extraordinaire, informs me that my Birmingham ward map has just been used in “a rather brilliant L6 student presentation about the use of typography in information graphics” - and I was mentioned just after Paula Scher (a very talented designer lady) and everything. Oooh, how flattering! 2008-04-17T13:40:00+00:00 http://www.supercooldesign.co.uk/index.php/site/the_birth_of_print/ http://www.supercooldesign.co.uk/index.php/site/the_birth_of_print/#When:11:42:01Z I watched a compelling programme on BBC Four last night in which Stephen Fry learnt about the Gutenberg printing press, and some very enthusiastic history and carpentry chaps recreated the first press itself. The way this machine was constructed is truly incredible - and the method used to make the twin thread for the screw, ingenious. Did you see it?! If you missed it on the TV, with the very latest in modern technology, for the next six days you can watch it here on BBC iPlayer. Genius. 2008-04-15T11:42:01+00:00 http://www.supercooldesign.co.uk/index.php/site/creativity_in_the_city/ http://www.supercooldesign.co.uk/index.php/site/creativity_in_the_city/#When:10:44:00Z We’ve just received finished copies of a brochure we designed for the Creative Compass campaign. An EU-funded initiative, the campaign was run by Audiences Central and Birmingham City Council to help under-represented people get into the creative industries. The brochure features a selection of stories about how some of the people who took part have now kick-started their creative careers; as well as facts and figures about how the creative industries are thriving here in Birmingham. (We understand the brochure’s going to be inserted into the Birmingham Post this Monday 14 April, so then’s the time to head on down to a newsagent’s near you ...!) Find out more about the project in our work section or on the campaign website: www.creativecompass.co.uk 2008-04-09T10:44:00+00:00 http://www.supercooldesign.co.uk/index.php/site/clever_google/ http://www.supercooldesign.co.uk/index.php/site/clever_google/#When:08:47:00Z I love checking the statistics for our website. Okay, I know it doesn’t cast me in the coolest of lights ... but it’s seriously addictive. We use Google’s Analytics package for web stats and it’s pretty useful - we get up-to-date and fairly detailed information about how many new visitors we have each day, how they find us, whereabouts in the world they are; that sort of thing. My favourite thing to check up on is the section detailing the words and phrases that people have used to find us through search engines. Mostly it’ll be a string of keywords, but it’s interesting to see that some folk use search terms as if Google has an innate understanding of their actual meaning. An example: yesterday someone came upon our website by googling the phrase ‘highly creative design agency’. Whilst (illogically!) being chuffed to have been found through this particular search phrase, it’s bizarre that this person seemed under the impression that Google would sift through millions upon millions of websites, in this case picking out those design agencies it ‘thinks’ of as highly creative, in order to return results which leave out any companies whose work it didn’t really rate! Still, it did manage to find us, so who knows ...?! 2008-04-09T08:47:00+00:00 http://www.supercooldesign.co.uk/index.php/site/birmingham_young_professional_of_the_year_2008/ http://www.supercooldesign.co.uk/index.php/site/birmingham_young_professional_of_the_year_2008/#When:18:20:00Z I’ve been short-listed for Birmingham Future’s Young Professional of the Year 2008. I’m down to the last three of my category, but we won’t get to know the winner until on the night of the awards which is in May – so keep your fingers crossed for me! 2008-04-07T18:20:00+00:00