PATTERNITY Wavescape from Patternity on Vimeo.

Tove Jansson is a Finnish painter, illustrator and author most famous for the creation of the Moomins. However it was some of her earlier work on display at at Dulwich Picture Gallery that really caught my attention. In particular her self portraits, always capturing herself as a self assured and strong figure. Throughout her career she was torn between the two worlds of painting and illustrating, often criticised for the graphic style and considered composition in her paintings rather than having a spontaneous approach (something I can’t comprehend!). Her illustrations carry themes of dreamlike fairytale and the wilderness and in contrast, politics, the condemnation of world war II. Something evident in all of the work on display is her incredible ability for story telling, with so much atmospheric detail in each picture. It is unsurprising as the daughter of artistic parents and having a rather bohemian upbringing, that she has had such an inspirational career, never holding back her imagination, creativity or opinions.    

Christmas relief printing with my favourite collaborators @missdomm & @priyjahpara 

At October’s Nicer Tuesdays, I got to hear more about one of my favourite re-brands of the year from Smorogasbord. Steering away from Welsh cliches, and by breathing life back into the dragon, they have successfully represented Wales’ true personality with what seems to be an instinctive design solution. I really love the bespoke typeface Cymru Sans that takes inspiration from Welsh heritage and includes 8 diagraphs unique to the Welsh language. The use of the flags horizon line in the art direction and colours from the landscape were also really nice details. 

Images via It’s Nice That & Smorogasbord

Great to see our Glenfiddich Experimental Series ad and identity all over London billboards and in the weekend’s Times whisky supplement. 

(Designed at Purple Creative)

Triple B #bansky #barbican #basquiat (at Barbican Centre)

Autumn garden #hauserandwirthsomerset #pietoudolf #serpentinepavilion #radic pavilion (at Hauser & Wirth Somerset)

Awesome talks tonight on bursting social bubbles, fabric made of pineapples, nomadic working...and we came away smelling of the future #tedxclerkenwell #blurredboundaries #inspiringtalks with @beccacmitchell @purplecreative 🍍 (at The Goldsmiths' Centre)

A weekend trip to the seaside to check out the Willem Sandburg exhibition at De La Warr Pavilion and explore Hastings coast

A fruitful afternoon workshop with @patternity @missdomm #mindfulmarbling #workshop #patternity #flow (at Ace Hotel London Shoreditch)

Donna Karan New York logo - the topic of Dal Chodha’s Letterform Live presentation. feeling nostalgic about the elegance of the original logo and traditional fashion logos alike. Concerned about the homogenisation of todays DKNY logo and design in a wider context, loosing quirks and character for a broader appeal. Personally I am looking forward to seeing how the new DKNY identity develops! 

Pleats Please’s swashed E - topic of last nights Letterform Live presentation by Sean Murphy. Some beautiful campaign work also & a mesmerising production video. Logo designed by Tokujin Yoshioka in the 80′s, certainly stands out against Fashion logo conventions. 

Pastels, neon & copper - my kind of palette #vanillaandconcrete #artnow #tatebritain (at Tate Britain)

An arty afternoon with @priyjahpara @missdomm #champagnelife #saatchigallery (at Saatchi Gallery)

The Cyanometer - a 225-Year-Old Tool for Measuring the Blueness of the Sky

What a lovely object.

#purplegoestopilsen brewery tour (at Pilsner Urquell)

#purplegoestopilsen brewery tour (at Pilsner Urquell)