Cannon Hill Lectures 2.0

As a new dawning of the Cannon Hill Collective approaches, I think it's about time I posted the new designs to accompany CHC's sister project; the Cannon Hill Lectures. A shorter sharper season of fortnightly sessions this time around, I drew on some of my particularly ballsy Two Word Pep-Talks to visually provoke a sense the adventure, discovery, and wonder these lectures conjure: a sense that anything was possible.

   

    

This time I focused on making the typography into a stronger part of the project's identity, opting for a 3-D block text that emphasises and places value on each word as an individual unit, even amidst such a playful multi-coloured palette. For me the postcards essentially almost designed themselves, each session linking to a different childhood dream occupation tucked away in my little noodle:

Getting You Creative Project Off The Ground - Tue 8th Oct

Knowing Your Audience - Tue 22nd Oct

Build Your Own Festival - Tue 5th Nov

How to not Give Up on your Creative Career - Tue 19th Nov

Skills for the 21st Century - Tue 3rd Dec

I would also like to cite Mr. Benn as a direct influence on this series, as each day when stepping out of his house he could be anyone he wanted, in any time or place, be it a medieval knight, lion tamer or an intergalactic space traveller dressed in purple. Like him we can choose our own path, and heaven forbid it should be a well-trodden or dull one.

Bostin Fittle: Eating Out In Birmingham

As lots of fresh faces enter Birmingham to be quickly transformed from P.Y.T.s into fantastically grotesque student beings, Area Guide invited me to form part of the welcome committee by writing an article about where Brum's best bites to eat can be obtained. This was an easy one for me and rather handily justified a year of plentiful eating out (score). Priding myself on rediscovering my city a fair bit since moving back from Bournemouth, it was nice to highlight some of the amazing independent eateries I've come across as well as relishing (chortle) the opportunity to draw one of my most beloved foods of all: the burger.

Burgers & Buns

I was asked by a lovely fellow AUB graduate to create a lavish poster for her upcoming burlesque night down Bournemouth way. Entitled The Great Exhibitionists of Boscombe the event is part of The Great Exhibition of Boscombe weekender, in association with Bournemouth Arts by the Sea festival.

Featuring quirky story-led burlesque performances such as Felicity Future's Dr. Furore's Laboratory and The Matador by Luna Peach, my first few design ideas didn't really hit the mark. Wanting to suggest burlesque in general rather than depicting an individual act, I inadvertently showcased a more traditional strand of feather-fan burlesque that the event was keen to shake up. Easily solved with the right image of the headliner and a vicious all-nighter, the response to the poster has been great, but I'll always have a soft spot for the faceless anti-venus and other fleshy casualties that I created along the way.

via instagram

Rude Food Fiesta: A Bit Of A Mouthful

This weekend I offered my services to a food festival with a difference. The latest event from Companis, Rude Food Fiesta invaded Edible Eastside promising lots of naughty treats and tricks to get taste buds in a twist. Granted, allotments are normally quite filthy places, but this weekend's antics definitely got a few hands and minds dirty, taking the site's seedy and soiled ratings right up to 'X'.

AAA

Today I started a new job.

That may not sound like so much of a big of deal, but as someone who has hopelessly sent out a silly amount of applications for innumerable professions since graduating a year ago, to be invited to join the good ship mac was pretty darn tooting glorious. I started a new notebook on the day of my interview and not only did that unavoidably feel like a new chapter or a new term, but now perhaps it turns out that between the lines, lies some bloody great luck.

Lary, Hairy, Legendary

My love affair with mac birmingham continues as they presented me with their Brief of the Year; to design an eye-catching flyer for local legend Jack Parker's upcoming gig. Having seen him (and his hair) hyping amiably at One Beat Saturday I knew straight away what I wanted to do with the design :¬) By playing around with showing part of his face yet keeping him wholly recognisable, I feel I have captured Jacky P as a character - the alien-like whip-haired Brummie icon that the people know and love.

Jack is a big advocate for midlands-based bands, so if you want to hear what my homeland has to offer these days check out his radio show, yo!