Eye Magazine

A few weeks ago, the Dutch Prime Minister announced a new identity for the national government, which aims to rationalise the identities of its thirteen ministries and more than 200 departments under a single mark. The ‘1 Logo’ project is by Studio Dumbar, and has two main parts: a logo that recycles the Netherlands coat of arms on a kind of metaphorical ribbon, and a new typeface by Peter Verheul. Somehow the project’s ideals of clarity and unity of communication come across more naturally in the type than the logo, which seems burdened by history.

As The Guardian newspaper and websites move into their new offices in London’s Kings Place, Mark Porter, the paper’s creative director, has had the opportunity to commission new signage for the building from Cartlidge Levene, noted for their wayfinding design for the Barbican, Selfridges and the Oval.

British pubs close down all the time. But few of these closures are marked by the publication of a beautiful, limited-edition book of photographs. John Ross’s The Wheatsheaf RIP, designed by Browns and printed by Moore, on paper by G. F. Smith, is a paean to the Wheatsheaf, a Young’s boozer in Borough Market near London Bridge, writes John L. Walters.

Eye no. 70 is on the way,with features about ‘digital craft’, DixonBaxi, theatre programmes and the importance of ‘making it real’. Here’s Jay’s snap of the covers on press at Beacon, above.

A reminder that Studio8’s seasonal exhibition, featuring new, specially commissioned greeting cards on the theme of the twelve days of Christmas, takes place tonight at the Poke Gallery at 10 Redchurch Street, London E2 7DD.

The rolls of Eye parcel tape have arrived, looking almost Christmassy.

What is it about the last Thursday in November in London, asks John L. Walters? There were at least half a dozen events competing for our attention: Sanky doing a D&AD lecture; the launch of the AR’s Emerging Architecture at RIBA; Jost Hochuli at St Bride; the ‘Deface Value’ view at Mutate Britain; and so on . . . The one I opted for was a specially commissioned presentation of live audio-visual work at the Upper Gulbenkian Gallery at the Royal College of Art.

‘Books are at the core of what we do,’ says David Goodman, who with his work /life partner Zoe Miller, is half of Silence, a Brighton-based visual research consultancy that provides creative inspiration to clients in advertising, fashion and the media, writes Liz Farrelly.

Occasionally, a comedy show will enter the public consciousness to the point where it becomes a ‘cultural resource’ for people to draw upon. It happened in the 1960s and 70s with Monty Python and it’s happened recently with The Mighty Boosh.

In a self-initiated project, Matt Willey from London’s Studio8 (see ‘Wanted: self-images’, Eye no. 66) has given the charity Christmas card some much-needed art direction.