It was 2002 and I picked up a copy of this strange bilingual Japanese magazine which does not seem to have a genre…but what drew me to it was the cafés that were featured in it – small, cosy little establishments – where you can go grab a cuppa and read and feel like you’re in someone else’s apartment – in unexpected places like under the train tracks and away from the commercial areas. I fell in love with the concept of these small businesses and have ever since.
Continuing my obsession with nicely designed cafés (I have posted a few on here previously)…we finally have a contender in our shores (to rival our Singaporean neighbours).
Finally. I haven’t personally checked it out yet, but I am stealing some photos off Chelle’s post.
Newly opened in Empire Shopping Gallery (yes, that nice glass building adorned with the hideously huge signage that probably can be viewed from the skies) in Subang, the café is called Whisk –
Now, I have been meaning to post this other café I came across some few months back last year (before Monocle featured them in their Singapore Survey). Love the simplicity.
Met up with former boss from VWBS the and he gave me a copy of their book and a set of Them There postcards, designed by Bravo Charlie Mike Hotel (BCMH).
I love receiving leaflets, brochures, books from London and Europe…love the quality of work that comes out from that continent.
Photographs never do justice to the subject, always best to view in actual and to touch and feel in your hands. But here are some pics anyway.
Bravo Charlie Mike Hotel is a London-based graphic design and branding consultancy. We work across various media from posters, books, brand identities, stationery and typefaces to exhibition and installation design, signage and websites, as well as having a wealth of experience in a wide scope of platforms and disciplines from interface and icon design to environmental and experiential design.
“Because anyone with a computer can call themselves a graphic designer. As a result our field has become oversaturated with hacks who undercut the value of what we do and make it harder for people to recognise the worth of competent graphic graphic design.” – via September Industry
Off to Singapore on Nov 7. Be back on Nov 17. Looking forward to spending time away from gritty smog city I call home.
Pic above is taken during work in progress on a wayfinding/signage project, Oct 2009.
When I was little, I would browse for hours at the bookstore or supermarket and then choose to buy something, be it a notebook, or a pen, or pencil, which design appeals to me. Even if I don’t need it, I just had this urge and pleasure from buying and then owning something that looks great.
I still do it to this day, from buying shampoo, cereal, pails, biscuits to books - first thing I scan the racks for is the design that appeals to me first. I choose form over function most of the time, although sometimes I still weigh on the function bit depending on item.
Anyways, though I’ve seen this quite some time ago already, but the above are selected images of ASKUL products, done by the magnificent Stockholm Design Lab, who designed the IKEA FOOD packaging as well (which chocolate I had bought because the design was so simple and striking, I just had to buy it…the chocolate has remain untouched in the freezer for more than a year…)
“We created a branding strategy that would give the store a unique voice, garnering attention and setting it apart from its competitors. The voice came through in a literal manner with text as the focus of the brand rather than imagery. We used our most excellent copywriting skills to achieve the right tone; one with the edgy humor that New Yorkers welcome.”
