Anosmia

Anosmia is the loss of smell and taste - the senses that we know the least about. Curiously we are all familiar with the words regarding loss of sight, hearing and speech but loss of smell - anosmia - is something relatively few people are familiar with. The May conference at the Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona is something of a first - not only the science of anosmia will be discussed but also the social and philosophical implications of the condition. If you would like to know more about the conference or anosmia contact Marta Tafalla (marta.tafalla@uab.es).

I designed the posters, the final Scent, Science and Aesthetics poster is based on a combination of abstract photographs taken in Barcelona yet the image appears to be a kind of mysterious molecular structure. The original image was actually a worn section of underground pavement in the Metro of Passeig de Gracia - a spot marking a stand for buskers. Below, the first poster is more historic with reference to the development of science, Europe's demand for herbs and spices and Columbus' enterprise to discover a sea route to India. Bottom is a working concept for an alternative poster based simply on taste and smell.

New posters for LEAP lectures in Barcelona

Leap - the Barcelona-based Law, Ethics and Philosophy group have been organising more lectures for which I did the posters. You can see the earlier posters here.

Cafepolitan

Logo with promotional materials for a new German cafe/coffee company. The company actually has a different name. They were pooling ideas from creatives but for reasons of confidentiality would not permit me to display the work publicly with their name on it. So the name Cafepolitan is something that I came up with and surprisingly the name is yet to be used. I think it sounds a lot better than many existing cafe chains, so watch this space.

The square version of the black and white logo in reversed out and standard form.

As well as the logo, I used the universally recognised pedestrian icon as part of the company's identity because he's fun, pro-active, cosmopolitan and above all loves good cafes with great coffee.  

This is the a play on the I HEART NY graphic but with a more passionate heart, as if to say: I LEERVE COFFEE. 

Above and below are two promotional shirt designs that could be worn by staff, or sold directly by the company. The Cafepolitan walker works well reversed out on black and below the Cafepolitan logo is stamped on the side of the cup.

New Designs for Laptop Cases

New designs for laptop cases for a US company. These are concepts only and it is uncertain if they will produced.

Covers for Meadowside Books

Two of three cover designs I produced with Sarah Andrews at Meadowside Books, they are part of a series of youth adventure novels set in the south of England.

UFOs over BCN

An illustration of flying saucers over Poblenou in Barcelona. The image was created for Mattolo Sports for their Barcelona range of polartec sport scarves.

Ambrosia

It's been great working with my sister and brother-in-law in Melbourne, revamping the brand of the family business. This ongoing job including design work across the board: logo, product labels, business cards and website. We are not quite finished yet but getting there.

CELPA Logo

This week I created a new logo for the Centre for Ethics, Law and Public Affairs at The University of Warwick in the UK.

Easywheel Logo

A local inventor came up with an ingenious device to make loaded trolleys more manageable, anyone who has struggled trying to manoevre a loaded shopping or luggage trolley will know the difficulties.

Easywheel is a small wheel that can be lowered when the trolley is loaded and it makes it much easier to handle. The logo had to reflect technological innovation, cutting edge design and be salient in the market place.

Season's Greetings etc

These are my 2011 Christmas and new year ecards. Christmas was about surrealism and new year was about the personal future. 2011 had been a tough one and looking out on December's horizon, well, it didn't look very promising. The new year card was sent to clients as well as friends - it was about putting a brave face on (however feeble that face might seem). In hindsight, perhaps my new year's message of face the future and just get on with it was a tad unorthodox.

Fairground Workers

This is an ongoing personal project. I am fascinated by fairground workers, some remind me of the larger-than-life characters from a Tom Waits song. While all of the punters around them are having a great time, these workers seem bored out of their minds.

Urban School Folders

The language centre Urban School in Poblenou commissioned me to design this year's school folder. First, I provided them with three concepts; urban map, urban connections and urban communications. In the end, they went with urban map.

Technology, Art and Mira Energia

Laura Siso from Mira Energia commissioned some illustrations of heating and cooling systems, she wanted imagery that would stand out from the standard technological diagrams. The challenge was to communicate the specific information in an expressive and personal way.

Launching Passivehouse in Spain

Over the last year I have been working for the German Barcelona-based company Energiehaus who are pioneering passivehouse building standards in Spain.

Passivehouse uses environmental conditions combined with design and technology to create or convert buildings that consume low levels of energy. The idea makes economic and environmental sense as it not only reduces carbon emissions but greatly saves on heating and cooling costs.

To launch passivehouse in Spain, Energiehaus came up with the idea Apuesta Por El Clima or Bet for the Climate, where 1000 litres of ice was encased in a passivehouse box. After the container had been exposed for 2 weeks to the summer sun of Barcelona, the public were then invited to guess how much ice would be left. The winner guessed that 20% of the ice had melted.

Below: The Apuesta container in front of the College of Architecture in Plaza Nueva, Barcelona.

I designed the container which was also served as a passivehouse exhibition. The project also required leaflets, posters and invitations and an exhibition for the College of Architecture where a conference was held on passivehouse.

Below: One of the sides portrays a cutaway section showing the interior, with the block of ice and insulation materials.

Below: A poster illustrating the idea and the event, the organisers entered the project into the FAD architectural competition.