unashamed self promotion

Grillust operative has fun with a brush & a big bottle of ink shocker!

Dwayne Bell (33) here. There's some new work on my site as well as a shop where you can part with cash and a new sketchbook section. Maybe tonight you don't bother with that wee bit at the end of Hollyoaks (you know, the bit after the credits have gone and they 'surprise' you with a little more 'drama') and you take a look at this instead. 

(This is not because I'm in a web stats battle with another illustrator. Nope, not at all)

beauty in the making

On Monday, Grillust™operative Jim (33) spent an enjoyable time being treated like a VIP guest, at the Beauty in the Making event run by paper supremos, GF Smith in Bloomsbury.

As well as the main exhibition featuring lots of information and technology associated with paper-making, craft printing and the type design of Eric Gill; there were hands-on elements - e.g. make your own envelopes, letterpress printing on some beautiful Adana 5' x 8" Presses - and an enticing range of  5 x 8 minute (see what they did there?) evening talks curated by It's Nice That and headlined by Pentagram's Angus Hyland. However, the stand-out talk for me (and many others in the audience) was Jane Stockdale's presentation on the Lake Victoria Disability Project. Sorry Angus ;-)

Photo's courtesy of Eye Magazine Blog

Business concluded, heavily bearded Grillust™secret agent, Craig Jackson(33), escorted Jim to The Perseverance on the wonderfully named Lamb's Conduit Street, for a 'knees-up' with the GF Smith/It's Nice That! crowd. Apparently a 'small quantity' of alcohol may have been consumed and rebel-rousing might have ensued.

The event runs 'til the end of this week - get to it if you can. And do visit the Lake Victoria Disability Project website :-)

Many thanks to James Groves and everyone at GF Smith, Craig Jackson, It's Nice That! and The Perseverance... you're my best mates you are.

GRILLUST™ Self-Certifies

Everywhere we look people seem to be winning certificates from acronym driven charities, NGO's and training providers that we've never heard of and to be quite frank, we've been feeling left out.

With that in mind we decided that the easiest solution would be to issue ourselves with our own certificates of achievement.

GRILLUST™ operative Jim Millington (33) judged himself 'excellent' whereas Tony Peart (also 33) who has been having a bad day since he discovered that today's crumble  was rhubarb, judged himself merely 'acceptable'. 

They are pictured below receiving their awards from 'The Queen of Typography™', H.R.H. Rhiannon Robinson (also, also 33).

HANDLE WITH CARE...

It's that time of year again when we at the Grillust empire begin to plan the exhibition of work by the graduating students. Various concepts have been considered in an endeavour to top last year's 'design in a strong breeze' installation and we have at last settled on something which we hope will be equally engaging. More will be revealed about this in the coming weeks but, suffice to say, it involves considerable quantities of cardboard. Grillust operative Tony Peart (33) has been taking his research into the matter very seriously, so much so that we're getting a bit worried about his mental state.

Tom softley Singletrack magazine

Singletrack is an independently run, UK based Mountain Bike magazine. Recently their design team (Sim Mainey) instigated a design overhaul. The covers are now super simple and clean, and I think you'll agree, this makes a very pleasant change to our design aware eyes.
We were approached by Sim with an illustration brief which was given to all 2nd and 3rd year illustrators. Yr 3 student, Tom Softley's (21), piece was selected for it's humour and humanity. The issue is out tomorrow but this Grillust operative got a sneak peek (he subscribes to the mag).

Well done Tom on a great piece and well done Sim on a gorgeous magazine that chooses quality over trend. 

Claire's T Shirt gets BBC exposure!

We recently shared the exciting news that 3rd year illustrator Claire Wood (21) won a national competition to design the 2012 Race for Life 'T' Shirt. Thousands of Race for Life runners will be wearing Claire's design. The BBC picked up the story with a news article on Claire's story. Read it here

How Many Performers Can You Get on Stage at Once?

Let's see...


A plucky attempt by the Welsh (based) septet...

... easily trumped by this Texas quad sextet (24 piece)


Now you're just being silly.

 

NEW ILLUSTRATION WITH TYPE - MARTIN DAWBER

 

Crammed with illustrative typefaces from designers in Europe, Asia and the Americas, Dawber's collation of typography has a disctinctly global flavour. The book covers an impressive range of styles, materials, media and settings using everything from Illustrator to silk screen to the plain ole pencil. Plenty to get your typographical tastebuds a-tingling! I apologise for the lack of quality images people, I suppose it's better if you take a look at it yourself...

Scenes From the Life Room

'Rickaaay!' (21)


'Gnasher' (21)


'Rickaaay!' (21)


'Gnasher' (21)


'Rickaaay!' (21)


'Gnasher' (21)


'Foggy!' (21)

Why the World Needs Designers

Here's the back of a Ford Transit van owned by a successful, medium to large, North Western construction company...



Now let's think about what it actually communicates...





Tasty!

Here's a Useful Branding Resource

Your honorary GRILLUST™ Middle East operative Christopher Hunt (of the Dubai massive) has recently sent over his despatches.

You'll be pleased to know that Turkish Delight production is up five fold and it's been a bumper year for Dabbes. Anyway, we digress...

What we really wanted to do was pass on this link to a branding resource website that the ever thoughtful Mr Hunt sent to us.



How-to-Branding.com isn't the most attractive site (as you can see) but it's the links and content that make it well worth a feature.

Spend some time exploring and linking (you won't regret it) - there's lots to look at and learn here.

GRILLUST™ Gets Bored Very Easily

The GRILLUST™ operatives were recently required to undertake some quality, online staff development. This was designed to make them aware of the I.T. related, life threatening hazards, that they face on a daily basis.

After a few pages our minds began to wander as new, more interesting and exciting scenarios, presented themselves.

What follows are genuine screen grabs (on the left) from the online training package accompanied by their alter egos from the GRILLUST™ universe...

ISTD - NO NOT AN UNPLEASANT DISEASE BUT A PRESTIGIOUS AWARD

Grillust are delighted to announce more student success! Four Third Years have this week been awarded membership of The International Society of Typographic Designers. Working closely with graphic design educationalists and the professional community, the Society establishes, maintains and promotes typographic standards through the forum of debate and design practice. Membership is awarded to practicing designers, educators and students who demonstrate, through the quality of their work, their commitment to achieving the highest possible quality of visual communication. In order to pass the rigorous assessment and be offered membership of the Society, Ben Barrow, Kelcey Braine, Gary Nicholson and Sarah Swanton all undertook challenging project briefs which tested their typographic interpretation, concept development and production skills.
Kelcey's work can be seen here
and Gary's work can be seen here

Upside down, left to right: A letterpress film