Things, Things, Things: the best creative bits and bobs delivered to the studio

Date
12 July 2017

As we experience a heatwave in London and everyone gradually skips off on holiday, the postman continues to deliver a wealth of postal talent to our studio.

Over the past month we’ve been lucky enough to receive some gifts from creatives that’s had members of our team huddled round, playing with flick books, admiring new talent from publications and guessing logos featured on alphabets.

Below is a little more about the bits and bobs that caught our eye.

Dorothy: Alphabet of Rock and Alternative Music

Studio Dorothy is known for the plethora of conceptual prints, products and artworks it produces, from the inside of Moogs to a film map of cinema classics.

A recent piece from Dorothy had the It’s Nice That team huddled round a desk trying to work out the mentioned bands on its Alphabet of Alternative Music and Alphabet of Rock. Made up of letters from classic band logos, “These alphabet prints are for people, like us, who spent their formative years obsessively doodling band logos onto the front of any exercise book not covered in their mum’s wallpaper,” says the studio.

Andy Barron: Tantra

Illustrator Andy Barron sent us his plush pink new Risograph printed book, Tantra. Debuting at this year’s ELCAF, the 20-page comic “is a creation myth from the world of OM,” says the illustrator. The space-like publication is bursting with curved illustrations of a faceless figure moulding what appears to be a female version of its kind. The contrasting pink and deep blue of the book gives the zine an otherworldly edge.

Bosslady: Food, Noodles and Doodles

Bosslady Noodle Bar, a Hong Kong style noodle shop in Peckham served its last bowl of noodles back in October, 2016. Those involved with the noodle shop each came from a different design background and so, “during the time off as we look and consider our next venture, we returned to pen, paper and camera”. The result is a publication of “food, noodles and doodles” that looks back on their memories and inspirations.

Included are incredible recipes for won tons and how to make your own chilli oil, each taken from the Bosslady menu. Written and illustrated by Henry Chung, with design by Joe Prytherch, Archie McLeish (who does photography alongside Henry too) the whole issue is a friendly collaboration over mutual interests and really, really delicious looking food.

Kus!

Last month Latvian illustration publishers Kus!, paid a visit to the It’s Nice That studio ahead of ELCAF and gave us some of its sweetly curated anthologies which we’ve admired from far away. A constant source of inspiration, Kus! publishes multiple mini anthologies on some of our favourite illustrators many times a year – and there is only two of them! From Samplerman to Tara Booth, the publishers have a wealth of illustration styles covered, always printing exciting upcoming talent. Celebrating its tenth birthday this year, Kus! is putting out a Latvian special anthology also.

Zeit Leo: Sommer Spezial 2017

The cover of the most recent issue of Zeit Leo is host to one of our favourite illustrators, Kate Prior. The illustrated children’s magazine shows the coolest dawg, classically hanging its head out the window, drawn in Kate’s signature pop-colour, curvy style, and there’s hand-drawn type to match! As always, the mag has commissioned some brilliant illustration talent and is forever making us wish we were younger (and could speak German).

Boys Magazine: Issue No.4

The sheer size of Boys Magazine always means you know it’s going to be packed with big prints and big talent. This issue includes It’s Nice That Graduate 2017 Maxwell Conrad Granger’s sweet portraits of teenage boys, a beautiful series by Scott Gallagher titled Band Practice where the photographer “documents members of the Orange Order marching bands and their youth,” and much much more. It’s great to see Boys Magazine also include John Myers’ series The Middle of England, featuring “images of garages, substations and new builds” as a “record of their time and gain in relevance as the suburban landscape changes,” adding an extra narrative to the publication.

Antonio Ladrillo: This Way That Way

Master of shape and colour, illustrator Antonio Ladrillo, has a new book published by Tate. This Way That Way is described as “fun and endlessly surprising” a statement we agree with! A foldable flick book, This Way, That Way is an amalgamation of bright shapes each with a cheeky smile which changes in content as you turn each page. “Rendered in bold colours and with clean lines, Antonio Ladrillo’s playful artwork is an ideal way to introduce young children to the building blocks of art,” describes the blurb, but as a studio of grown adults we enjoyed it too.

Twofold: Brighton Graphic Design and Illustration 2017 Degree Show Catalogue

As graduates of Brighton University’s Graphic Design and Illustration courses prepare to bring their degree show to London this week (opening 13 June 2017), they popped in to drop off their mammoth catalogue featuring a range of exciting newbies.

“The exhibition promotes and celebrates the unique nature of a group of creatives that have an indefinable set of practices,” says TwoFold. As a publication the catalogue displays the close relationship between graphic design and illustration and the joy when the two practices combine and influence one another. An example of two courses “brought together by both their collective ambition and a strong sense of community”.

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About the Author

Lucy Bourton

Lucy (she/her) is the senior editor at Insights, a research-driven department with It's Nice That. Get in contact with her for potential Insights collaborations or to discuss Insights' fortnightly column, POV. Lucy has been a part of the team at It's Nice That since 2016, first joining as a staff writer after graduating from Chelsea College of Art with a degree in Graphic Design Communication.

lb@itsnicethat.com

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