Printed Matters

Smokefree England 2007

Sun, 24 Nov 2024 00:17:50 GMT

Pure souvenir of when this happened. Something that was unthinkable 10 years prior. 10 years later, it was unimaginable that people used to actually smoke in pubs and clubs.

I remember the fear being that the smoke was good for masking the reality of everyones body odour. Or maybe that was a news/rumour from friends in New York where the ban happened before the UK.

Always funny how perception of time changes with age. When I think of the 20 year bracket of 1997 to 2017, it’s a lifetime. Encompassing being basically a kid to being a Dad of two. But 2004 to 2024 for me feels tiny in comparison. A few-ish years before being a Dad to now. Wonder if 2024 to 2044 will feel longer if it includes Dad to Granddad, if I’m lucky. And the passive smoking I was part of up to 2007 wasn’t enough to do the dirty on me.

Smoking. So bonkers.

YES NO VOTE!

Sun, 24 Nov 2024 00:17:44 GMT

This piece is really old. A 1999/2000 Millennium Dome Marconi Vote card. Not sure how it ended up in a box with mostly 2005-2009 bits and bobs, but here it is.

If you didn’t know, the Dome, now The O2, was a big odd flop. Most people went to it with the same impulse as looking at a road accident. I did. And in that sense it was as expected. And thinking about it now brings the Glasgow Willy Wonka Experience to mind. See for yourself.

I don’t really remember what this card was for. I think there was a large interactive experience inside that it let you contribute to when you got home (this being many years before an internet connected cel network). But the rear suggests it gave you a certificate of some sort. I half remember thinking the front of the card looked kind of cool though. Cool enough at least to keep as my only souvenir.

The middle of it has the look of a QR code which makes the design feel curiously younger than its 25 years. In fact, looking closer at it, I wonder if it was some kind of early version. I could only find one other poor quality image of another one, and it has a slightly different arrangement of dots.

The yellow rear of the card has such a 90s feel to it that I find it slightly painful to look at. The fact that graphic design can look so inarguably cool and current and amazing at one point, then sad and naive and awkward years later, has always made me distrust it slightly. Revealing how it’s more about trend than truth.

That’s partly why I never felt at ease with commercial graphic design as a career path, and why my favourite design tends to be timeless, like anything by Alexey Brodovitch or Reid Miles. Or capable of fitting in and feeling pleasing in almost any period, like De Stijl or Bauhaus. Which is perhaps where the front of this card fits in.

Thrash Washed

Sun, 24 Nov 2024 00:17:42 GMT

I think this is another very old piece that somehow made it into a box with less old things. It’s possibly from the early to mid 90s. Back in my BMX days, when I was more of a Vision person than Vans. Always with the underdog. Cutting off my nose to spite my face and all that. Some fairly poor decisions were made back then.

Vision rather than Vans. Sega rather than Nintendo. Mac rather than PC. Hip Hop rather than Indie. Star Trek the Next Generation rather than anything else that other people around me actually liked. I blame by Dad because he made us a Betamax house rather than VHS, and I felt determined to say it was better.

I’m actually quite pleased with these decisions though if I’m honest. Other than maybe Sega. I loved my Vision deck shoes, even though I got teased for looking like a Teddy Boy during an early non-uniform day. Before Vans and Airwalk were known outside of Skate and BMX culture.

Mine were a low top version of these…

Hang on, it’s just hit me. I’ve written all that above though so I’m not deleting it. I remembered that this label came from a mid 2000s 30th birthday party with an ‘old school’ theme, to which I wore this top…

Not this exact one. This one is from here (a link that will no doubt die quite quickly, sorry). I was looking for Vision clothes and found one on ebay. It was hideous. Still is. Somehow eade me look really ill and pale.

Anyway. I kept the top for ages but never wore it again. Got rid of it somewhere, but kept the label. Now looking for an affordable pair of those shoes again though. Loved them.

I clean the sink

Sun, 24 Nov 2024 00:17:39 GMT

I do. And I did. Back in Studio 100. Pretty sure Ian Wright made these badges after a period of people not properly cleaning up after themselves. I wore mine proudly.

Communal kitchens are tricky. Tragedy of the commons and all that.

Cyclists. Stay awesome

Sun, 24 Nov 2024 00:17:32 GMT

I had to check if road.cc still existed. I’m pleased to see it does. When I got this it felt like a dominant force of London cycle culture. Around the time that fixies were everything, and all the cool kids played cycle polo in the ‘Shacklewell Street Ball Games Area‘ (as I learned it’s called, via this Google Maps link).

It’s an almost A4 sicker. The sort of thing I’d never use. But exactly the sort of thing I keep.

Esther’s people

Thu, 14 Nov 2024 13:17:35 GMT

I love these illustrations and the abstract world they conjure in my head. They have such a precise nature to them and feel oddly familiar. Almost like ancient illustrations or some kind of religious iconography.

As with many of these old graduate show cards, the leeesther.com address is sadly no longer active. As shame as I would have loved to have seen more of Esther’s work.

Also, while writing the alt text for the last image, I learned that the hand signal is often called the “I love you” sign in American Sign Language (ASL). It combines the ASL letters I, L, and Y to represent “I Love You.” I feel more familiar with it as a sign that surfer types pulled in 90s Devon and Cornwall. I love ‘I love you’ more though.

Laura’s shapes

Thu, 14 Nov 2024 13:02:23 GMT

Nice and bright. Packs a punch. Pairs well with Shaheena’s patterns.

Shaheena’s patterns

Thu, 14 Nov 2024 12:58:01 GMT

Gotta love some abstract monotone graphic screen printed shapes. Pairs nicely with Laura’s shapes (I wonder if Shaheena and Laura were friends?).

Screenprints like this really remind me of how I treasure really printed things. Not just idea on screen, or Control+P pushed out of a desktop printer. But actually (likely) ink, pulled by hand through a screen onto paper. I remember going to hatchshowprint.com and feeling how every single piece of paper was special. There are pieces from that trip in a box somewhere actually. Looking forward to finding them.

Ciara’s cloud

Thu, 14 Nov 2024 12:50:15 GMT

Confidence to make something clean, simple and considered rather than trying to shout and fill every millimetre of a card with noise. Nice.

Adam’s snakes

Thu, 14 Nov 2024 12:48:36 GMT

I reckon this is a jigsaw like piece of a larger screenprint. I would have liked to see the whole thing as Adam had a lovely style of illustration. I reckon it’s a Medusa head.

I remember picking this one up in appreciation of coloured and textured card strategy. Using an unusual stock is one of my favourite ways to make a card or hand out feel more special.