Projector

We recently completed a brand refresh project for one of our longest running clients - Positive Solutions. The fruits of several months labour can be seen across all elements of communication, ranging from printed items to online media and various marketing materials. A new colour scheme, design style and guidelines were the result of an extensive research and development process which involved close collaboration with our friend; brand guru Mark Johnson (themanwith3heads). We talked to all facets of the company in order to pave the correct route for the brands strategic aims. We were also commissioned to do a nationwide photo shoot of PS clients to show the personal service the companies 1700 IFA’s offer. We captured a range of personalities from various backgrounds and occupations that could convey the variety and breadth of the companies reach and ‘positive’ effect. Big thanks go out to Mark Westerby for the fantastic photography! Keep your eye’s peeled for more details of this and more of our latest work on the Case Study pages of our main website which we’ll be updating soon!

Projector are currently: Enjoying the fact Calvin Harris “Ready for the Weekend” hasn’t come on the Squeezebox first thing on Monday, as it has for the previous three weeks.

Almost fun-day friday! Continuing on with the theme of the Screenprint, I decided to round up my own top 10 Desert Island designer screenprints to (if continuing the hypothetical situation) frame with bamboo and adorn the wall of my makeshift shack to make it that little bit more hospitable. To avoid favouritism, the designers/artists are bereft of a number. Well, I just couldn’t decide which was best, as they’re all winners in my book and I wrote that one.

Sara Ogilvie

Sara Ogilvie is one of my former tutors at Northumbria University and unfortunately during my time there, I didnt quite realise what an amazing talent she has for print-making. With a quite frightening C.V and list of awards Sara’s work is on display at Northern Print, where she is a resident artist.

Michael Leon

Coming from a background heavily based in skateboarding, working with brands such as New Deal and Girl Skateboards Michael Leon has a distinct and very graphic style, his success in design propelling him to working with some great brands, such as Stussy, the art magazine Arkitip and Nike. I’m going to have to save up the Benjamin Franklin’s to get the above print, it’s a beauty.

Hammerpress

Kansas based Hammerpress combine screenprinting with letterpress to produce some really aesthetically pleasing prints. Started initially in 1994, with only one printing press, the good ship Hammerpress have grown considerably into an efficiently run crack print unit with an apparent love for beer and 80s music.

Aesthetic Apparatus

Adding to the list, another talented bunch from over the pond, Aesthetic Apparatus are seasoned screenprinters, very much in the vein of the gig poster, whilst also operating it seems as a design studio.

Jay Ryan

Jay Ryan (also bassist of the band Dianogah, who are pretty pretty good) has a nice distinctive illustrative style and has graced the cover of Shellac’s “Excellent Italian Greyhound” album cover. Jay runs a printshop in Chicago. 

Rob Ryan

No blood relation of my previous entry, Rob-o-cop Ryan as a side to his painstakingly intricate cut outs does also dabbles in screenprinting from time to time. I’m sure you can see that the results are quite beautiful, showing that Rob’s style is just as effective in print as in paper cut out. Currently Rob’s work can be seen in a special solo exhibition at the Yorkshire Sculpture Park.

Rose Blake

Rose is a recent graduate from Kingston University in “Lahndan Tahhhn”. Obviously very talented, according to her website she’s also currently doing a masters at the RCA which only the very best get into. Quite a client list also!

Duke Press

The Duke Press are a new and upcoming independent publisher, producing some lovely printwork and collating it in purchase enticingly priced handmade zines. Pictures is “Another Way” by Ryan Todd

Small Stakes

The Small Stakes are what originally got me interested in Screenprinting as a medium. Producing simple, yet effective work for bands I love, they are one of the more design blog popular of the designers/artists I’ve selected.

Brian Chippendale

Brian Chippendale, also ridiculous drumming powerhouse in the band “Lightning Bolt” (who are a true spectacle to witness live) moonlights as an artist. Luckily I was able to catch come of Brian’s work at the Reg Vardy Gallery in Sunderland and it was a neon treat. A very unique colour palette and way of drawing.

Well there you go. Feel free to add your own top 10 screenprints, your top 5, top 3 or even just one below. We always want to know about more great design. So get some comments in!

Projector are currently: Are considerably more streamline after one employee barnet chop.

And now for the concluding part of last week’s screenprint blog epic. After much enjoyable and laborious work at the North’s finest screenprinting studio, Northern Print, over the weekends of the and the 30th of Jan & 6th Feb a final 3 colour screenprint was produced! The character conjured up can only be described as a gene splicing experiment between Jeremy Beadle, a monkey and a Mexican Lucho wrestler gone terribly, terribly wrong. Next time I think I’ll prepare a design in advance! I can’t recommmend the course enough to anyone who wants to dabble in screenprinting as this is an excellent crash course, or a great refresher to get you back into hand printing your work. Hopefully this will be start of a fruitful printing career.

Projector are currently: Having a bit of a desk reshuffle.

Over Christmas time, Dom at the studio was given a lovely present of a screenprinting refresher course by “Mumsy Taylor” to rekindle the desire to do some more hands on work. The course took place at the North’s finest printmaking establishment and gallery Northern Print. Some amazing print work was seen on the walls by some prolific print makers one of particular note being the obviously very talented illustrator Sara Ogilvie.

The course allows each person to design and produce a 3 colour screenprint, which will hopefully give the person enough impetus to then become a fully fledged member of Northern Print. Dom is quite determined to make a go of this and we’re looking forward to seeing his hopefully half decent final piece on Monday of next week. So interweb, keep those peepers peeled for some updates!

Projector are currently: Trying to get a milllion things done at once.