What do John Milton, Salman Rusdie and Frank Zappa have in common? They’ve all written adverts.
Yep. It might come as a surprise to the purists amongst you, but there’s a whole raft of notable novelists, poets, scriptwriters and lyricists who cut their literary teeth as copywriters. So what could advertising have offered these talented writers, aside from a steady income?
There is a theory that John Milton, author of the epic poem, Paradise Lost, was also the writer of the first ever trade advertisement to appear in the UK press. In September 1658 in Mercurius Politicus, the progovernment newsbook of which he was editor from 1650, there was an advertisement for a ‘China Drink’ with purported health properties:
Barbara Kruger was the first truly postmodern artist that I discovered as an art student. Being a fan of thought-provoking art and literature and having experimented with text and image collages I was immediately struck by the power of her work. Barbara Kruger is a conceptual artist known for her stark photo-and-text collages that appropriate the language of consumer culture to comment on it. She became an artist in the early 80’s after working as head art director on Conde Nast magazines. Her art continues to speak the language of magazines and advertising, and, in addition to appearing in galleries and museums, it can be found on billboards, T–shirts, and shopping bags. She used the skills she gained as a commercial art director to stunning effect with her provocative ‘found’ black and white photographic images, slashed with red stripes of text bearing now instantly recognisable slogans such as “I shop therefore I am” and “Your body is a battleground” delivered in her trademark Futura Bold Italic typeface. These iconic works masterfully employ the look and feel of propaganda, but directly raise questions with the viewer about values, taste, stereoypes and materialism.
What do you think of when you hear the words YouTube? How about, the good, the bad, and the ugly? Sometimes it’s really ugly, sometimes confusingly, you get all 3 in one movie. While YouTube is undoubtedly the place to go to get as many eyeballs on your video as possible, I’m sure I’m not the only one who wishes there was a magical button to filter out the mobile phone uploads of last nights party, the offensive comments and get straight to the really good stuff. Well, there isn’t. But there is Vimeo, a place where you can find a community of passionate filmmakers, along with the likes of Moby, Royksopp, Kanye West, film director Michael Bay, and even the White House, uploading their stuff in high definition.
Last edited by Andrew Campbell on October 7, 2009 at 11:40 am
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It’s not very often that I see a graphic design book that really amazes me with the levels of inventiveness contained on every page. Tactile, however, is certainly a book that does that.
Tactile shows how graphic design is moving into three-dimensional objects and products and presents graphic design that works with space or the perception of space. The book focuses less on murals than on products, objects, installations and collage that demonstrate how designers are developing and implementing their ideas spatially from the very outset of a given project. Tactile proves that spatial innovation in graphic design is not limited to personal work or artistic endeavours for exhibition, but is being sought out more and more often by commercial clients, for example in store design.
Long hair, stubble, drives a fast car… no it’s not a rock star, it’s one of Manchester’s coolest and nicest Photographer’s, Tim Ainsworth. It’s been a while since he’s done some work for us… probably a few years, but we’re pleased to say he’s delivered a fantastic looking job for us for Swinton’s Cashback Plus.
The concept for Cashback Plus involved creating a clean graphic world populated by all the things Swinton can get you insurance for… the main idea being that the more insurance you take out with Swinton… the more Cashback you’ll get.
It’s a sad truth about advertising that we’re not always able to justify having a young woman walk around our office in her delicates. Although we were selling the same kind of service in this advert, Grattan customers are a little different to Freemans’ – so, bearing in mind this new target audience, we came up with a more ‘sensible’ concept that explained the practicalities and benefits of Flex in greater detail. And, believe it or not, I found this testimonial route the more enjoyable of the two ads to write… after all, it’s incredibly satisfying when you manage to explain an extremely sophisticated service like Grattan Flex in a concise and engaging way.
Abram Games was one of the most influential Graphic Designers that this country has ever seen. He created some of the most memorable designs of the 20th Century by following his own personal belief of: Maximum Meaning, Minimum Means… and back in the early 90s, maybe ’92 or ’93, I had the pleasure of attending a talk by this true great of design at Icograda (the International Council of Graphic Design Associations) Conference.
To be honest, when I attended Icograda that year, I had absolutely no idea who Abram Games was. In fact as far as I was concerned he was just a warm-up to the main attraction… Neville Brody. Yet as I entered the Odeon Cinema where Icograda was being held that year and was greeted by his work… it soon became clear that even though I did not know the name Abram Games… I certainly knew his work.
Do you want to have revealed to you the work and wisdom of some of the most influential advertising creatives of our time — people who’ve profoundly impacted our culture, yet are virtually unknown outside their industry? Do you want to meet the artists and writers who brought a rebellious spirit to their work in a business more often associated with mediocrity or manipulation?
Well thanks to a new documentary called ‘Art & Copy’, now you can. This insightful film gives a basic overview of the history of American advertising since the 1960s, which is when a major shift brought the copywriters and artists together for the first time.
I’ve always been interested in the creations of Stefan Sagmeister. I describe his work as creations not design nor art because I feel his work can’t be classified in one particular category. His conceptions and application of graphic design go beyond traditional notions of the practice, taking it into the field of performance and conceptual art, painting and sculpture.
However Sagmeister himself feels like the borders between art and design do not blur and that they are still quite separate. He mentions that one of his favourite quotes is by Donald Judd the American minimalist: “Design has to work. Art does not.”
There’s a lovely quote by John Masefield from his poem ‘Sea Fever’ that I’m incredibly fond of. It goes ‘And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by’. Every time I hear it, it reminds me of my own thoughts with regards Creativity. In my case it’s ‘And all I ask for is a pad and a pen’. Or to be more specific… a Pentel N50 Marker and Goldline Layout Pad.
Computers are wonderful things. They have given the masses the power to be creative in ways that we never dreamed. Yet without an idea, all that technology simply goes to waste. And where does that idea start… for me it starts with that pad and a pen, locked in a room with my Creative Partner giving birth to seemingly endless ideas.
Barbara Kruger was the first truly postmodern artist that I discovered as an art student. Being a fan of thought-provoking art and literature and having experimented with text and image collages I was immediately struck by the power of her work. Barbara Kruger is a conceptual artist known for her stark photo-and-text collages that appropriate the language of consumer culture to comment on it. She became an artist in the early 80’s after working as head art director on Conde Nast magazines. Her art continues to speak the language of magazines and advertising, and, in addition to appearing in galleries and museums, it can be found on billboards, T–shirts, and shopping bags. She used the skills she gained as a commercial art director to stunning effect with her provocative ‘found’ black and white photographic images, slashed with red stripes of text bearing now instantly recognisable slogans such as “I shop therefore I am” and “Your body is a battleground” delivered in her trademark Futura Bold Italic typeface. These iconic works masterfully employ the look and feel of propaganda, but directly raise questions with the viewer about values, taste, stereoypes and materialism.
What do you think of when you hear the words YouTube? How about, the good, the bad, and the ugly? Sometimes it’s really ugly, sometimes confusingly, you get 
It’s not very often that I see a graphic design book that really amazes me with the levels of inventiveness contained on every page. 
Long hair, stubble, drives a fast car… no it’s not a rock star, it’s one of Manchester’s coolest and nicest Photographer’s, Tim Ainsworth. It’s been a while since he’s done some work for us… probably a few years, but we’re pleased to say he’s delivered a fantastic looking job for us for Swinton’s Cashback Plus.
It’s a sad truth about advertising that we’re not always able to justify having a 
Abram Games was one of the most influential Graphic Designers that this country has ever seen. He created some of the most memorable designs of the 20th Century by following his own personal belief of: Maximum Meaning, Minimum Means… and back in the early 90s, maybe ’92 or ’93, I had the pleasure of attending a talk by this true great of design at Icograda (the International Council of Graphic Design Associations) Conference.
Do you want to have revealed to you the work and wisdom of some of the most influential advertising creatives of our time — people who’ve profoundly impacted our culture, yet are virtually unknown outside their industry? Do you want to meet the artists and writers who brought a rebellious spirit to their work in a business more often associated with mediocrity or manipulation?
I’ve always been interested in the creations of Stefan Sagmeister. I describe his work as creations not design nor art because I feel his work can’t be classified in one particular category. His conceptions and application of graphic design go beyond traditional notions of the practice, taking it into the field of performance and conceptual art, painting and sculpture.
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