So far this year, it is apparent that products and companies are getting on the ‘British’ band wagon to further promote their products & boost sales. I feel that products that have longevity and have been established for a very long time are more likely to be successful at using the Great Britain angle that is very current this year with the Jubilee and Olympics.

Hovis has been established for 125 years & the brand has always been known for its heritage & strength. So this year, they are celebrating their heritage & the work they have done with British Farmers, by making a 100% British wheat loaf.

Chief executive of Premier Foods, the company that makes Hovis said: “In this year of British celebration we believe more and more of our retail customers and consumers will be choosing to buy British brands like ours, made in Britain, supporting British jobs”.

(Interesting that Hovis did not plaster the Union Jack all over the packaging…)

To promote this product, they have created a new TV advert. I always quite like the Hovis ads but this one really struck me. This advert shows a heart warming relationship between father and son. The advert shows the farmers daily routine and the hard work that goes into farming.

You see the boy toil and work hard determined to make his father proud until he eventually earns his respect through overcoming the challenges his father faces. The advert reinforces the hard work that goes into every Hovis 100% British Farmers Loaf. The adverts always seem quite meaningful compared to some other adverts we are bombarded with.

To view the video see below

Design Bridge have created new tins for Tate & Lyle’s Golden Syrup, rebranding it as ‘Happy and Glorious’. Apparently their brief was to create ‘non-specific national celebratory imagery without being too kitsch or jingoistic’

The brand was originally founded in the 19th Century during the reign of Queen Victoria and is one of a number of products to carry a royal warrant so the challenge was to create something that still retained a sense of heritage. I think the final design has worked really well, especially the way all the key elements of the original brand have been incorporated. The project followed on from the work Design Bridge carried out for Tate & Lyle last year in celebration of the Royal Wedding.

Marmite have also rebranded. In celebration they shall now be known as Ma’amite; toasting the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

The new label feature red, white and blue and has a specially commissioned illustration of a crown. This had to be created in a Marmite style as it is actually illegal to use the Queen’s crowns, face or coat of arms in any way and this is rigorously enforced by The Lord Chamberlain’s office. The work was carried out by branding agency Hornall Anderson.

There are a lot of  examples of badly rebranded products with Union Jacks in abundance, but here’s a small selection of some of the better examples I came across whilst researching this blog.

Even if you are tight for time, as I know we all are, try and find time to visit his website and watch the video of the making of a screw art piece – it is amazing and gives you even more appreciation for his work. Below are some pictures from his website to give you a flavour. Some of the best ones are from the side angle showing the depth. The backdrop to each painting are pages from a telephone book, heavily died in ink. I did not get this at first but after further research I found out these are really cool, as they are only pages from the subjects local area.

I feel so inspired by work and artists such as Andrew, not just because of the end result, but also by his ability to think beyond the boundaries of what we already know. To push your mind, think and create things that are still innovative and fresh is truly amazing, but also one of the best feelings when you achieve it. Such opportunities are not just available to artists but designers as well, in all mediums, for all sectors, for any client. At least that’s what I believe.

Until I read an article in the Evening Standard a couple of weeks ago I had no idea it was the work of Stik. His really is a rags to riches tale. 18 months ago Stik was homeless and struggling to make ends meet. Today his work sells for thousands and hangs in the homes of celebrities like Sir Elton John, Bono and Tinie Tempah.

He is now one of London’s most influential street artists who has managed to turn his life around through his art in a very short space of time. Just last year he was living in a hostel for the homeless whilst preparing for his first gallery show. This month he has his own exhibition entitled ‘Walk’ at the Imitate Modern in Marylebone. He has also been commissioned by the likes of the NHS and the British Council to create murals. His next big commission is for the Dulwich Festival where he will be creating his own interpretation of works by artist like Rembrandt and Gainsborough. I am intrigued to see how these are going to work. Despite his recent success, Stik still goes out and tidies up his original works on the streets of Hackney a couple of times a week.

In all the images I managed to find of his work, what really draws me in is the slick yet almost child-like charm of the figures. With just 6 lines and a couple of dots for eyes he has managed to convey real character.

Take a look at some more of his work on the Imitate Modern gallery website.
http://imitatemodern.com/exhibitions/walk-by-stik/

As a fan of typography, this image caught my eye recently. Making beautiful type from hand crafted elements rather than digitally is an interesting idea.

The creator, Dominique Falla used thousands of pins and hundreds of metres of string to create this large-scale typographic design. The type was hand drawn, then scanned in and redrawn in Illustrator before hammering in pins and winding around with thread. Falla obviously has a lot of illustration skills as the actual hand drawn type is well balanced and flowing.

It took Falla 7 hours to hammer in the pins and 18 more to wind all that string. As you can see, this is a very detailed piece. So, quite a labour of love!

Here is the video of how it was made.

So as you guessed it I took that p***y home. An while I was savouring my first taste of p***y, which was fruitier than I had anticipated, I thought how far is too far?

Clearly we all know what the missing letters are here. I was even more surprised to see that cancer research were associating their name to this product.

While some may scowl, I suspect people who like the idea of p***y in a can will be willing to indulge and support something they otherwise wouldn’t. Clever name choice, I think so, it usually takes more than p***y for me to part with my hard earned cash and I bought it.

Of course for those who weren’t sure, we believe ‘pansy’ is the full word. Why they would censor it is beyond us…damn copyrighters!

The unique style of Maurice has inspired many other artists.

You can see more of their creations here.

The background to the exhibition is to realise London 2012’s legacy promise to enrich the lives of 12 million children in 20 countries in time for this year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games. I have to put my hand up and say that I was not aware of this promise, and wonder how many other members of the public are also unaware? The London Olympics have had some criticism along the way and I also wonder if this commitment would have changed any of those criticisms. It has also crossed my mind, if Britain is going further than previous host countries in establishing a worldwide legacy? Without making a political speech it would not surprise me to find Britain is leading the way and makes me feel proud.

The theme of the exhibition according to the Museum of London is: “the inspirational power of sport and demonstrates how International Inspiration is harnessing it to address issues such as gender equality, lack of educational opportunities, gang violence, life skills development and HIV / AIDS education, through the power of inclusive physical education, sport and play”. This is further conveyed through a 3 minute video shown below. To be honest this feels a little amateurish, full of stars but the overall production is average, however you do get a greater flavour and insight to the campaign.

I really like the dynamic images with blurred colouring of the union flag against a black background. I hope the exhibition also gives some idea of how the pictures were taken. Perhaps that could have been added to the video; a behind the scenes part would have been great?

Inspired by Sport runs from 2-13 May 2012 and entry is FREE. I will certainly be going along so look out for my follow up blog. I am a sport nut so find this really exciting but it will be interesting to see if it has a mainstream attraction as well.

I noticed this on the web and thought… WOW! Although I have seen this kind of thing before I have never seen it used so well. Using this finishing method to create the face of the person who the book is about makes it more than just a unique finish, it makes it a really good creative idea.

Find out more here