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design

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https://www.designweek.co.uk/issues/22-28-august-2016/remembering-designer-michael-thompson-27-march-1958-15-august-2016/
Remembering designer Michael Thompson (27 March 1958 15 August 2016)

It is with a heavy, heavy heart that I write these words today.

The renowned Jamaican born designer, illustrator, social activist and artist, Michael Thompson aka “Freestylee” has passed away at the age of 57 from a heart attack.

Although I never met Michael in the flesh, we certainly connected spiritually as fellow African diaspora creatives, and virtually through a wonderful, long Skype conversation we shared in the Spring of 2013 just after I had interviewed him for my Design Week “Four Corners” column.

I was extremely excited to discover Michael's work, which was so accomplished in every way. Excelling specifically in the medium of poster design, he represented the roots culture of his Caribbean island birthplace with an artistic flair and design sensibility that stands up against the work of any of his more celebrated European counterparts.

International Reggae Hall of Fame Museum

It was an incredible talent that was equally matched by his ambition to realise an International Reggae Hall of Fame Museum in Kingston Jamaica, designed by the visionary architect, Frank Gehry.

Using an international reggae poster design competition, as a creative vehicle to publicise and to engage with audiences from all over the world in his bold vision, the competition has gone from strength to strength and is now in its 6^th year.

In that time, Michael himself designed over 500 posters representing Jamaican musical and cultural icons while highlighting the many social and humanitarian causes that touched his heart and fuelled his creative passions.

The lifeblood of his work will live on

Though his heart may have stopped beating, I have no doubt that the lifeblood of his work will live on through his creative compatriot, Maria; the many artists and designers around the world who were inspired by his actions; and his talented son, Dane Thompson, who is an illustrator and designer in his own right.

It is a sentiment that is echoed by those who knew and worked with him such as Patricia Chin, co-founder of VP Records, the world's premier reggae and Caribbean music label and distributor, whose beautiful words I leave with you now.

“Michael, your heart was overflowing with love for all mankind. You may have left us but your spirit lives on through your beautiful work,” she says.

The post Remembering designer Michael Thompson (27 March 1958 15 August 2016) appeared first on Design Week.

design

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design

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https://www.designweek.co.uk/issues/22-28-august-2016/new-designs-jkr-wkd-aim-gender-inclusive-look-feel/
JKR's WKD redesign aims for “gender inclusive” look and feel

JKR has designed new branding for alcopop brand WKD, featuring an entirely redrawn logo and showing a marked departure since the most recent redesign unveiled in May 2015.

The new identity is centred around an exclamation concept to represent the brand's “sense of fun and excitement,” according to JKR, and is launching to coincide with the vodka-based drink's 20th birthday.

WKD parent company SHS Drinks brought in several consultancies to pitch for the project, aiming for a new look that better reflects the attitudes of the brand's 18 to 24-year-old target audience. JKR was appointed in April this year, and reinvented the brand across all visual touchpoints and packaging.

“Big gap in consumer interests and demands”

JKR says, “Research revealed a big gap in consumer interests and demands since the brand launched in 1996, so a revitalised brand design and visual identity was required in order to engage this audience.”

The exclamation mark concept was chosen as a subtle reference to the previous WKD branding's rectangular device, which now appears elongated down the bottle above a circle. This new dot shape is used across the identity, acting as a holding divide for flavour information or as a flexible icon across other channels.

Adam Swan, design director at JKR, says, “Vibrancy and bright colours have always been part of the WKD story but this reinvented design unlocks that vibrancy and takes it one step further, bringing the passion, fun and excitement of the brand to life.”

“Inspired by oil-painting”

New bolder typography is used, appearing as transparent to show the drink colour on Blue and Iron Brew variants, and acts as a holding device for a brushstroke pattern “inspired by oil-painting,” according to JKR, on the Berry and Passion Fruit flavours.

Bottle caps in bright contrasting colours feature simple icons and designs such as smiley faces, winking faces and hearts, aiming to “further emphasise the element of fun,” says JKR.

The redesigned bottles will roll out in October this year with a range of four flavours Blue, Iron Brew, Berry and Passion Fruit, renamed from Blush. The brand is also set to launch two new low-calorie variants at the end of this year.

The post JKR's WKD redesign aims for “gender inclusive” look and feel appeared first on Design Week.

design

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technology

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http://thenextweb.com/insider/2016/08/27/study-trumps-supporters-use-profanity-135-percent-more-than-clintons/
Study: Liberals suck at spelling, conservatives love profanity

We're just over 70 days from the presidential election and things are heating up. In heated conversation and debate, it's not uncommon to drop the occasional four-letter word. It seems, however, that Trump supporters are dropping a lot more of them than Clinton supporters. To conduct the study, Grammarly analyzed comments in the largest Reddit communities for both candidates. Overall, there were a lot of similarities, save for one major difference — Trump supporters are more apt to use profanity. In fact, Trump's supporters dropped four-letter words 135 percent more often than Clinton supporters. While the latter used the word “shit”…

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technology

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technology

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http://thenextweb.com/shareables/2016/08/26/the-eggplant-emoji-wants-you-to-go-fuck-yourself-literally/
The eggplant emoji wants you to go fuck yourself — literally

From its modest start as a lowly edible to its meteoric rise as a phallic symbol, the eggplant is undoubtedly a the star of the emoji world. And now it's going places few emoji (presumably) have ever seen… literally. What started as a joke eventually led creator Jaime Jandler to create the ‘Emojibator' — a real-life representation of the beloved emoji in vibrator form. Janderl told Cosmopolitan: I wanted to create a culturally relevant and classic product, and this really hit the mark on both. It's also a great way to add a touch of humor to anyone's sex toy collection. According to the website,…

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technology

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technology

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http://thenextweb.com/insider/2016/08/26/apple-facebook-microsoft-and-other-industry-giants-sign-pledge-to-pay-women-equally/
Apple, Facebook, Microsoft and other industry giants sign pledge to pay women equally

Two months ago, the White House first announced its Equal Play Pledge — a plan to end the salary gap between men and women in the private sector. Today, on Women's Equality Day, 29 new signatures were added to a growing chorus of companies who demand equal pay for both sexes. A total of 29 companies signed the pledge — as announced by the White House today — and committed to conducting company-wide pay analyses annually and review hiring and promotion practices within their respective companies. Facebook, Apple, IBM and Microsoft have all signed the pledge, bringing the number of signatories to 57.…

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technology

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technology

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http://thenextweb.com/apple/2016/08/26/apple-facing-supply-shortages-ahead-iphone-7-launch/
Apple facing supply shortages ahead of iPhone 7 launch

If it seems like we're saying the same thing every year, it's because we are. Again, Apple is weeks away from releasing a new phone without the supply to meet the expected demand. At this point, it's tradition. This year's supply shortage is more of the same as recent years and it directly boils down to shortages in the supply chain. Citing sources familiar with the matter, Asian publication Nikkei also details a fair number of “faulty components” that could impact availability at launch. According to an industry source: If Apple sticks to its launch schedule from last year, there…

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technology

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technology

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http://thenextweb.com/insider/2016/08/26/spotify-is-punishing-artists-with-apple-exclusives-by-decreasing-their-visibility/
Spotify is punishing artists with Apple exclusives by decreasing their visibility

The fight between Spotify and Apple Music has been heating up for some time, but today things just got ugly — childish even. Citing sources familiar with Spotify strategy, Bloomberg today detailed Spotify's push to punish artists that release music as an Apple exclusive. Lately, the “exclusive” game has been heating up as popular artists like Kanye West and Taylor Swift release music on other platforms with an exclusivity window. Once the window expires, it comes to Spotify. Now, Spotify is biting back by making these musicians harder to find on its own platform. In the pay-per-play world of online streaming, this…

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technology

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technology

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Here's how to skip iOS 9.3.5 and just upgrade to iOS 10

Yesterday Apple released an emergency fix to try to stamp out the so-called ‘Trident' vulnerabilities. The multiple-headed monster exposed your device through not one, but three distinct vulnerabilities. Once accessed, these sensitive areas of iOS acted as an opportunity to remotely jailbreak an iOS device through a program called ‘Pegasus.' Created by NSO Group — an Israeli cyberwarfare firm — the Pegasus vulnerability could potentially affect any iOS device running iOS 9.3.4 or older. Worse, the exploit has been in the wild for at least a month, so we're really not sure how many iPhones and iPads were infected. While you're probably…

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technology

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art

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https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/aug/26/lines-of-thought-michelangelo-the-tanks-tate-zanele-muholi-week-in-art
Mavericks, guano and the London that could have been the week in art

A treasury of small wonders at the British Museum, multi-screen interactives to do your head in and a Michelangelo cartoon all in your weekly art dispatch

Lines of Thought: Drawing from Michelangelo to now
Powerful designs and suggestive sketches by artists including Cézanne and Bridget Riley as well as the Renaissance masters make this touring exhibition from the British Museum a treasury of small wonders.
• Lines of Thought: Drawing from Michelangelo to now, Poole Museum and Art Gallery, Dorset, 3 September - 6 November.

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art

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art

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https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2016/aug/26/lines-of-thought-michelangelo-the-tanks-tate-zanele-muholi-week-in-art
Mavericks, guano and the London that could have been the week in art

A treasury of small wonders at the British Museum, multi-screen interactives to do your head in and a Michelangelo cartoon all in your weekly art dispatch

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art

International Reggae Hall of Fame Museum

The lifeblood of his work will live on

“Big gap in consumer interests and demands”

“Inspired by oil-painting”

IMG by Noemie Lang

© chicheri by raquel lopez-chicheri

raquelchicheri.com

Express by Gughan Bose

You can express a lot of things, a lot of action without speaking. - Catherine Deneuve - https://goo.gl/zW97ds