Archive for Design

Logorama Wins Best Animated Short Oscar – and Rightly So

// March 8th, 2010 // No Comments » // Design, Movies

Watch the full 16 minute version below. Be aware there is some NSFW language.

Visit the creator’s site H5 or the Logorama site itself.

Did Ian Simpson Watch 1984 Before Designing The Beetham Tower?

// March 8th, 2010 // No Comments » // Design, Movies

Manchester’s Beetham Tower is a building that I love.  I know many of the City’s inhabitants aren’t fans, but I love the sharp impact that it has on our skyline.  Without wanting to sound too Kevin McCloud, the juxtaposition of this huge ultra-modern shard of glass rising up from the red brick, industrial revolution buildings is stark and impressive.  As a former resident I may be slightly biased, but still – it’s a great building in my opinion.

Anyway, whilst watching the movie adaptation of George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four I couldn’t help but notice what appears to be a clear render of the tower through Winston’s apartment.  It is especially clear at the point where Winston and Julia are arrested.

Manchester's Beetham Tower in the film 1984

Is Ian Simpson a fan of the 1984 film Nineteen Eighty-Four?  I think so.

Beetham Tower Image by David F Morton from Flickr

Another Short Post – Revisiting Nathan Barley

// August 22nd, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Design, General, Movies

Nathan Barley - Sugar Ape Magazine coverSo, I’ve just spent a couple of days working freelance on-site for a “trendy” London (Shoreditch) design agency and for some reason I was reminded of the brief glimmer of brilliance that was the TV series: Nathan Barley.

I’m not saying who I it was that I was working for that reminded me of Nathan Barley and “Sugar Ape” in particular; because that would do them a great disservice. In all honesty they were an outstanding agency, with a sterling client list and a lot of talented creative people on their staff. But something in that office, little things here and there screamed “Sugar Ape” to me.  Perhaps it was the background ping-pong, maybe something else; what I can say though is that at least there were no games of “cock, muff, bumhole” going on – that I could see anyway.

Anyway, it was the perfect excuse/reminder for me to go home and revisit this great series. Watching it again I still find it funny, and even more relevant today than it was in 2005. I even had trouble working out whether your typical “new-media-hipster” saw the series and adopted the attitude and mannerisms in an “oh-so-cool” ironic fashion or whether it was just a genuine parody of it’s time and people haven’t changed that much. Either way it strikes a chord and makes me laugh.

It’s yet another true gem from Charlie Brooker and Chris Morris – everything they touch seems to turn to laughter. So if you haven’t seen this series yet then please go out and acquire the DVD, it’s funny, incisive and daft and therefore worth a few hours of anybodies time.

Hello Camden. I’m Andy the Mancunian Digital Freelancer.

// June 8th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Design, General

After what seems like years and years I’ve finally completed my move to Camden. I’ve been here since Saturday and so far, I’m very enjoying it very much, despite a few little traumas.

Most notable is the distinct lack of furniture in this house, meaning I’m currently experiencing an unintentional extreme minimalist existence, with just two large bean bags being my only options for work and rest. Working on a bean bag all day is not an experience I recommend in case you were considering it. The only other ‘furniture’ is a stereo and a TV (I’ve got my priorities straight as you can see). I’m just hoping that’s not where the parallels with Steve Jobs’ late 20’s end; I’d quite like some of his entrepreneurial success too.

Hopefully I’ll not be without a desk for much longer, and the addition of a sofa and somewhere to sit and eat will be most welcome later this week.

Since my last post all those weeks ago, I’ve been working on an exciting new venture which I’ll go in to greater detail on in the upcoming weeks. I’m also now working on a few freelance projects here in my new home town which are shaping up quite well. Somehow I managed to continue functioning during my own little internet ‘prohibition’.

I’m looking forward to making the most of all that Camden has to offer, especially the pubs and places to eat. Even as a born and bred Mancunian, I’m very excited about living in Camden, so far it seems like a great place. Fellow Mancunians might liken it to a giant Northern Quarter, with large parts of it being a giant Affleck’s Palace. It’s creative, diverse, vibrant and in the right places warm and welcoming.

Now I’m back to full strength again I’ll endeavour to post more often again. Afterall, I’m sure you’ve missed my wittering this past few weeks.

iPhone Application Development and Google

// May 13th, 2009 // No Comments » // Design

First of all, I’d just like to give a warm hello to the swathes of new visitors to my little corner of the web visiting via Google searches for “iphone app development london”. I wasn’t targeting such a good Google result for that at the moment, but seeing as its there now I thought I’d say something about it. (PS I’m also available for SEO work ;) )

The most pertinent point is yes, I do offer iPhone app development services on either contract or freelance terms. I work on a case by case basis with iPhone app development rather than my usual hourly rate as app dev projects tend to be less predictable when it comes to intensive development time. Seemingly simple things can end up swallowing days of tinkering and experiments without actually being able to justify my high (but valuable) hourly rate and some of the most difficult processes often end up being a sync! So, if you are looking for an iphone app developer in either Manchester, London or anywhere in the UK for anything from simple apps to games or blue-chip business applications then get in touch.

I should also mention I do not work alone on iPhone app projects, my good friend and genius-code-wizard Ric Morton works alongside me.

To my regular readers who have been missing my musings recently, I apologise for the lack of recent content, I’ve been ridiculously busy moving house and suffering from the previously mentioned connection issues. I’ll also add to that an apology for making my first “back in action” post a shameless self-promotional piece. To make up for that; I promise both a new exciting post from myself asap and also a guest post from the aforementioned Ric Morton on the fun, frolics and frustrations of making and selling an iPhone app.

There Are Many Reasons to be Rich, The Hotelicopter is Not One of Them

// March 31st, 2009 // No Comments » // Design, General, Technology and Gadgets

Like many others before me I have often pondered what amazing and exclusive doors would be opened should I happen to find an extra million pounds in my pocket.  Should I find myself in that position I might for instance buy myself a Lamborghini Gallardo, this house and perhaps if I was feeling particularly flush a nice Rothko to adorn my huge new pristine walls.

I’ve also often thought about the benefits of owning one of the ridiculously impractical, but jaw-droppingly beautiful WallyPower boats.  But even during my most extravagant travel fantasies I can’t recall imagining cruising in a flying machine such as this thing…

No, no, no, no no.

No, no, no, no no.

Not only is it obscenely ugly it’s based on a 40 year old design that was rejected by the old Soviet Military which leaves a lot to be desired when it comes to feeling reassured by the latest technology and highest build quality.

The makers of the Hotelicopter are promising to take up to 18 “lucky” (they’d probably have to be if they expected to survive the trip) passengers on short stop cruises across the US beginning on June 26th.

Thankfully though, this abomination is just a clever hoax.  It’s actually part of a little viral campaign to generate buzz around the new Yotel chain.  This imaginary sasquatch of the skies gained coverage on all of the leading tech and lux blogs picking up thousands of comments, a few hundred Twitter followers and a couple of thousand Facebook Fans along the way.

The clever part of this campaign is that the first time people saw pictures of the Hotelicopter rooms, they did so expecting to see rooms fit for the rich and famous, the fact they were in a helicopter explained why you were only seeing a plasticy, but funky little cabin.

By looking at these exclusive but tiny rooms you were unconsciously convincing yourself that these rooms were cool and luxurious despite their small size.

Now the news has broken that this was just a hoax, the real Yotel cabins don’t look so bad all of a sudden, in fact they look positively inviting.

Overall, this is an amazingly well thought out and executed viral campaign that goes well beyond the typical and run-of-the-mill loopy advertising that is the norm for less creative agencies.  Maximum kudos to the creators.  One small suggestion though…  the Yotel site itself should be next on the agenda.

Tesla Model S Electric Saloon Prototype is Sexy

// March 27th, 2009 // No Comments » // Design, Do Want

I think it’s quite hard to express just how much I want one of the Tesla Roadsters, let’s just say it’s quite a lot.  I have a bit of a problem now though as today Tesla unveiled their first saloon prototype and it is gorgeous – and half the price of the roadster!

A beautiful car, with obvious nods to the Maserati Quattroporte, Lexus IS250 and the new Jaguar XF.  Whereever they are picking up their influence, they have got it completely right and I want one, now.

Gizmodo has the full scoop.

Stars & Stripes: The White Stripes Remixes

// March 26th, 2009 // 1 Comment » // Design, Music

White Stripes Remix

White Stripes Remix


Found on Uncrate today:

With their signature bluesy sound, it’s not too surprising that The White Stripes’ music is ripe for remixing. Stars & Stripes: The White Stripes Reimagined (Free) is exactly that: a free 13-track album created by Adrian Champion, mixing classic songs and rhymes from artists including Outkast, Kanye, Biggie, Jay-Z, and more, over beats and samples from The White Stripes. A perfect party album. (Uncrate Post)

Even if you are not a White Stripes fan (what’s wrong with you?) or a lover of hip hop this is an exquisitely produced album and it’s worth a look just for the promo video (below) and site design.

Get it for free here

Hello, I’m Andy and I’m a Nerd

// March 25th, 2009 // 2 Comments » // Design, General

One of those cool nerds though, at least that’s what I hope I am anyway, and this is my new blog and portfolio site.

The first blog post on any new site is always the hardest one.  It’s always tempting to simply jibber on about how I’ll use a blog and what you can expect from it just to fill up a page.  I’m going to try and stay away from that, unless I run out of things to say of course.  The truth regarding the future of this blog’s content is that I actually don’t have any firm plans for it’s future content.  What I do know is that it will be updated on at least a daily basis and I’ll try to cover anything I think you’ll find interesting.  Good and bad days at work, shiny new things I like, good and bad days at home, what I’m listening to and anything else that might catch your eye.

Anyway, here’s a little bit about me to get us started.  As you can probably guess from the blog title, I’m from Manchester, UK where I currently reside.  I’ll not be there for much longer though as in mid-April, I’m relocating with my fiancé (and our 3 dogs – who I’m sure you’ll also get to know sooner or later) down to that there London.  I’ll mainly be doing freelance and contract work in London, but I am willing to listen to full time opportunities from great companies too.

I’ve worked on the internet for over 10 years on all kinds of projects for all kinds of companies including big names like Apple, The Guardian and Christian Dior.  I like to dabble in a bit of design, a bit of development and a whole load of user experience and product development.

Outside of work I occupy my time with all manner of things from partying to cooking along with an almost obscene obsession for new music and gadgets.

I hope you’ll subscribe and of course I hope that the next time your internet needs a polish, you’ll pick up the phone and hire me!

Addict+ iPhone Application Development Video Demo

// March 22nd, 2009 // No Comments » // Design, General, Technology and Gadgets

Not got an iPhone, but want to know more about how the Addict+ iPhone app looks in real life?  Simply watch the video on this page!

If you’ve been wanting to “dip your toe” into the iPhone application water, but don’t know where to start or if you are just looking for a competitive quote then get in touch and I’ll hopefully be able to help you.

Addict+ was developed in collaboration with fellow genius and code monkey Richard Morton. We are available as a team for any iPhone Application development projects.