The List Book

Lately I've been working on Dublin Dance Festival (box office open today btw....ahem....) and one of the perks of the job has to be the present that each of us got from our designers, Aad. "The List Book" is an organiser designed to keep track of everything from shopping lists to long term goals, split into four categories: To Remember, To Do: Now, To Do: Soon and To Do: Someday. It's a really clever notebook, but it'll be a little while before I put it into use - it's too pretty for me to feel comfortable scrawling all over it just yet...

Ligatures

At the no longer very recent NCAD Graduate Show, it was Ronan Horan's work in the Visual Communication show that most impressed me. Horan noted that as our modes of communication are changing, and indeed shortening, the way we use language needs to change also. Already we've developed text chat as a modern shorthand, but that's rotten looking, so Horan's designed some ligatures to join the ampersand and make abbreviated type a lot more attractive. They're elegant, but more importantly quite easy to understand, making you wonder why nobody came up with them before.

Portobello

Portobello has to be one of the nicest parts of Dublin city, and I would very much like to live there. I had a wander around there the other day, soaking up the prettiness and the sunshine (shortlived as the latter was...) and, among other things, found the following:



Dolls is a clothes shop on the corner of Ovoca Road and Emorville Avenue. There was a great pair of brogues (I thought I took a photo on my new phone, but apparently not. Still coming to grips the phone and and coming to terms with the loss of the photo of the great brogues...) and they were playing Lykke Li when I went in. Dreamy. Also, through the door on the right of the shop is a cafe with seating just outside. I must check out the coffee another day, and will keep you posted on that.

Studio Aad

Studio Aad is a graphic design studio located just upstairs from where the guys from Arms do their thing. In fact, they're responsible for the logo and lookbooks of the same fashion label (pictured below). Among a lot of other high profile and/or trendy clients, they've done the branding for the Absolut Fringe Festival and one of i like local*s favourite Dublin eateries, Green 19. Their portfolio's well worth a browse, and you'll also find their work in Victionary's By Invitation Only

Talks on National Identity

As mentioned in the I Like local* guide to Design Week, the work of iconic British post-war graphic designer Abram Games is being exhibited in NCAD Gallery until January 2010. Although Games is probably best known for his work in Britain, creating identities for the London transport system and the Festival of London, the exhibition on Thomas Street puts an emphasis on Games' work for Irish companies such as Guinness (above, picture via The Small Print) and Aer Lingus.

To Arlene

When not exhibiting at Generation at the National Craft Gallery, Kilkenny, eating biscuits and drinking tea, Arlene Caffrey is flying the flag for the Togher, Co.Louth graphic design scene. In fact, Arlene might be the Togher graphic design scene in its entirety... A recent graduate of DIT's BA in Visual Communication, it's her collection of bespoke beer mats that caught I Like Local*s eye.

This Weekend

This weekend for a mere €40 you can treat yourself to 100 bands in 6 venues over 3 days as Dublin's Hard Working Class Heroes is back for it's seventh year. Things kick off today with acts including Dark Room Notes and Heritage Centre, and continue until well into the night of Sunday 18th October with Funeral Suits, Robotnik and more.

Above is the poster for the festival, designed by Pete Reddy at Redman AKA. I'm a big fan of all the work Pete's done for HWCH this year, as is Angela Dornan, creator of HWCH. She's been hiring him for the graphics since the start of the festival, and reckons he's a genius. What do you think?

Last Weekend

So spoiled are we for cultural events here in Dublin (pictured above from the roof of Liberty Hall) that right now, every weekend is jampacked with exhibitions, events, screenings and gigs, and last weekend was no exception. Busy as it was (Open House was pretty hectic, but excellent nonetheless), I still managed to fit in some Darklight events (below is their awesome poster, but they haven't emailed me back yet to tell me who designed it). Kudos must go to the artists of the Dodo Collective for their excellent exhibition, Utopia, in Smithfield. Also on the bill was Synth Eastwood Present New Animation Shorts in Lighthouse, a really enjoyable collection of ...well... new animation shorts..

Enjoying Dublin Immensely

As you may have gathered from the last couple of posts, I'm brimming with enthusiasm for Dublin city right now. The last week or two has been a true testament to the time-honoured phrase "absence makes the heart grow fonder" because these days my heart is fonder than it's ever been of Europe's sixth most visited city. Friday night was particularly appropriate, with music from David Kitt at Whelans (two thumbs up for Kittser) sandwiched in between burgers and milkshakes at Bóbós next door. Pictured above is my ticket for the gig, and might I say, tickets from WAV ticket office are way tasty, especially when you compare them to the ugly ones you get from Ticketmaster. Well done WAV.

Oh! Fringe

In keeping with the 'enjoying Dublin' theme, as that's what I've been doing lately, here's a nod to Absolut Fringe. Now in its fifteenth year, Dublin's Fringe Festival is going from strength to strength, and is fast becoming one of my favourite events here. One of the best additions to this year's line-up has to be Oh! Fringe, published daily over the course of the festival by the people who bring you Oh Francis. Not only have they got great taste in typefaces, but it's a great way of getting up-to-date information, reviews etc AND you can collect all twelve to make a giant Killian Dunne poster. Pictured above is an illustration by Tom Moore for the Oh!Fringe Theatre quarter (also four quarters to collect).

SuperJam

I Like Local*, contrary to the initial premise of this blog (to report on local, Irish design)is on the move once again. This time I'm visiting family in Scotland, so this week you'll be getting the lowdown on some likeable Scottish design. At breakfast this morning I came across SuperJam, a naturally sweetened, healthy jam created by Scottish teenager Fraser Doherty. Not only does it come in four tasty varieties (two of which I've tasted and enjoyed on toast with peanut butter), but it's also got super sweet label designs coutesy of IAS Smarts in Edinburgh. Photos via Foodie Boxes:

Danish Epilogue

i like local* returns to Denmark for a brief spell (I can never seem to leave for very long...), this time for partying, camping, chocolate consumption (in both bar and milk form) and sock shopping. Below are images of Toms chocolate, a Danish chocolate company with packaging as delicious as each packs' contents:

Learn Danish

This is my second summer in Denmark, but beyond ordering beers, understanding basic food names and the days of the week, I can't speak Danish. It's a pretty baffling language, but Gyldendal's Røde Ordboger/Red Dictionaries make learning the language seem altogether more attractive.

Copy Me Happy

Vester Kopi is a copy shop on Østergade in Århus and I'm a huge fan of their window display. I think the picture says it all.

A Feast For The Senses

Since arriving in DK this summer I've had not one but two visits to NRGi Stadion to see the local football team AGF Århus play. They're sponsored by Faxe Kondi, a super tasty Danish version of 7up. And not only does Faxe Kondi taste good, it's also got the most nafftastic logo I've seen in a while. I heart it.

Denmark's The Spot

Like I said in manifesto I'm in Denmark right now, in Århus, to be exact. Århus is Denmark's second biggest city, situated in East Jutland (the bit that's stuck to Germany, if you're not familiar). It's got a population of about 300,000 people (lots of those are students), a university famed for its architecture and landscaping, an Architecture school, a charming city centre and an Arne Jacobsen-designed City Hall. It's about 50km south of Ebeltoft, Denmark's glassmaking Mecca, and about 100km north of Legoland, possibly one of my favourite places on earth.