We have a strict no awards policy but somehow big Marco always convinces me to take part in this one. Good thing we kept our record clean and did not win. Lots of glamorous and stylish people at the event. I went with my dad, the most stylish of all. More images here.

Today we spotted this mysterious object that did not quite fit in the bin just outside the studio. Is it a new piece of street art? Someones failed attempt to design a stylish bin cover? An early Christmas tree gone wrong? The artist may contact and enlighten us.

Its the beginning of term at the University of Applied Science, Düsseldorf again. I am only teaching part time this term but gave a short talk on the the ten commandments of graphic design to the newly arrived first year students. This time via skype from the studio.

To everyone who applied for the job at the studio: Please be patient. My sincere apologies that it takes me so long. I will get back to the people I saw or been in touch with. I am just incredibly busy. Basically too busy to make up my mind who will be helping me to be less busy (if you know what I mean).

For some reason it always gives me great pleasure to design toilet signs and coming up with some little variation on the classic Otl Aicher male and female pictograms. Today I installed some cute simple wooden signs at The Life Centre.

Today we all went for Korean food as it was Thaos and Stewarts last day at the studio. Thao is going back to Germany and Stewart is chilling out for a while. Thanks for your hard work, you will always be part of the extended Mind Design Family. It feels a bit empty in the studio but also a good time to build a new super team.

Well, that rare event which only occurs once in a million years is happening again: we actually have a real job to offer, properly paid, no internship, serious responsibility. However, we have to be very, very, very picky. (The position has been filled)

The redesign of Belle Epoque is coming along although nothing has been produced yet we made lots of dummies. The key element of the overall design will be the Art Nouveau inspired packaging which is going into production next week. Next week we are also shooting the images for the new website which we are working on.

Yesterday we went to the soft-opening of Belle Epoque, a new Patisserie we are designing. Their beautiful cakes will be available from today on Upper Street in Angel but our design, especially all the different cake boxes, needs a bit longer to arrive. It will be ready for the official opening. So far there is only a simple logo in the window and even that needs to be replaced. The lamps we picked look good though.

The Werkshau (degree show) at the FH Düsseldorf, where Holger is teaching takes place again. The poster and exhibition graphics were designed by Holgers student Tobias Textor. Its on from the 10th to the 12th of July. If you are in Düsseldorf come and see it.

Holger went to the LCC degree show where he helped one of the students, Lara Cecile a bit with her project on Peter Hardwicke, one of the last remaining proper London sign writers. Also good to go back to the RCA and see show there. Difficult to find any graphic design in a more traditional sense though.

Holger just came back from a workshop at the University in Düsseldorf which he run together with his friend, the Swiss designer, Martin Stoecklin. Over 3 days and 3 nights a group of 25 students worked on a book of abstract designs inspired by brutalist architecture.

Today Holger gave a small talk in Bielefeld, Germany on the subject of Storytelling in Corporate Design. It look place in a really nice location, Haus Wellensiek which is connected to the university. It was also nice to see some old friends and former fellow students from the University of Essen which is not too far away.

This week a group of Holgers students came over to London on a university field trip. There were no visits to any design studios, in fact no graphic design at all on the agenda this time. Instead we looked at brutalist and high-tech buildings in London. Personal highlight of the week was to see Thomas Heatherwicks Rolling Bridge in Action. It only curls up once a week on a Fridaty at 12 o clock sharp.

It has become a long standing studio tradition to meet once a year with our Swiss friends, ex-colleagues, interns and collaborators at the Rheinfelder Bierhalle in Zurich to battle with their local speciality the gigantic Jumbo Jumbo cordon bleu. This years winner, who finished the gigantic piece of meat (plus chips and salad) in the fastest time was Martin (who took over the title from Alex). Congratulations Martin! Since great work usually pays badly, you must have been starving.

I flew over to Zurich for just one evening to see a panel discussion with Wolfgang Weingart at the Museum für Gestaltung. So far I only knew his work and design approach from books and interviews but he has always been one of my biggest inspirations. Great to meet the design legend in person.

Yesterday I went over to the RCA to attend their Research Design Publish Symposium (which was brilliant). In a slightly nostalgic mood I took the opportunity to visit the studios in the Stevens Building and my old desk where I worked 17 years ago. At the time I was living in a pretty shabby flat and worked almost non-stop, so most of the time I slept under my desk in the college. It was a big surprise to see that the student who works on my desk now (greetings!) seems to do exactly the same.

Its been a while since we designed a book. Recently we designed one on collaboration with Taschen and the Restaurant and Bar Design Awards. It may be not quite our choice of cover but overall a very nice and substantial book. The launch was yesterday at Tramshed in Shoreditch. Against our usual principles we even entered the awards.

We are proud to be part of the 100/100 project. 100 beer labels designed by 100 contributors in aid of Art Fund. Among them my all-time favorite design hero Lance Wyman.
→ 100/100

Its getting worse. Recently teeny band One Direction filmed their latest video on Broadway Market, now Kanye West’s car parks right under our studio window. No wonder our rent has gone up. I wish Throbbing Gristle would still run the Death Factory at the side of London Fields. They might scare away some of those people. The cross on the door in 50 Beck road where they used to live is still there.

Yesterday the whole studio went to the design museum to find out What Next for Communication Design?. The discussion panel included some of the most influential graphic designers such as Neville Brody and the brilliant Morag Myerscough. A very interesting evening but somehow we felt nobody really had a clear vision where design is heading in the next 50 years or really addressed the problems of an industry that is becoming more and more dominated by marketing and social media. So if the big guys don’t know I guess we have to figure it out ourselves.

Our sign for the The Life Centre has been installed. For a long time we have been working on identities without a traditional logo, so its nice to see a sign that is just text.
The website still needs lots of work though…

Today we received a big box with tea from Japan. It contained our first little project for Askul, a large Japanese company that provides everything you could possibly need in your office. Obviously there is a lot of tea drinking in Japanese offices. Also the prize for last years nicest client has to go to Askul as they are a pleasure to work with, very respectful, highly efficient and organised. A few more images here: → Askul

If you are interested in magazines (the rare and obscure kind) check out a new website by three of Holger’s students. Eins Eins Eins, regularly features new magazines, looks back into the history of magazines and speaks to their makers.

Oh no, it seems they are removing one of my favorite pieces of local public art on Regents Canal. The advert for Ron’s Eel and Shelfish van by the artist Bob and Roberta Smith was the worst example of justified text I have ever seen. So bad that it was brilliant. If we talk of ‘rivers’ in justified text – this were oceans, perfectly in tune with the subject. I will miss this piece on my way to work.

On the occasion of Valentine’s Day I thought it might be nice to show some very old and very personal work. My wedding invite from 14 years ago. Probably one of the best pieces of work I ever did and most certainly the best decision I ever made. (posted by Holger)

Ever wanted to know what designers do all day and more interestingly what non-designers think they might do? Our ex-intern Karin Fisch(k)naller asked a lot of designers (including us) and non-designers. You can get all the answers here.

AUFI, the agency which represents us and all the best small design agencies has a new website. Designed by the brilliant Bibliotheque. Small is big! Check it out!

Nobody in the studio watches much TV so we were surprised when we received an email from Sean, a fellow designer who saw our logo for Circus on Made in Chelsea. I guess the reason why we never go back to the places we designed is that we don’t like hanging out with the posh people. This design was ‘Made in Hackney’!

Its coming to the end of the university term. In case someone is interested in Holger’s teaching, we have just updated the teaching section and brought it up to date.
→ teaching

One thing can be said for sure about 2013. The gentrification of Broadway Market and its transformation into a hipster theme park has been completed. Today they ripped out the last greasy spoon of the neighborhood. For sure it will become another overpriced skinny soya latte organic giant couscous cafe. Fuck that. Where the hell will I eat my soggy cheese mushroom omelette with chips from now on? But then again who are we to complain? Seven years ago when we moved here we were desperate for alternatives.

Our studio is now closed for Christmas and New Year. Back on the 6th of January. We like to thank all our clients, friends and interns for their support in 2013 and wish everyone a very nice Christmas and a Happy New Year!

This year we celebrated our studio Christmas party in our local pub The Dove again. No experiments with fancy unknown restaurants. Quality food, Guinness and red wine in familiar surroundings served by our favorite bossy restaurant manageress.

Yesterday we went to the opening party of the new (Villandry) branch in St. James. Seriously posh but certainly perfect for that part of town (which we normally never go to). Lots of free drinks.

Our identity for the Paris based restaurant Eclectic is taking shape. All the design of various applications for this Paris restaurant are finished, now we are busy producing some of them for the opening early next month. It will be a race against the clock again as we’ve been fiddling with curvy lines for a little bit too long. If anyone wonders why all our recent logos are shown as animations, the simple reason is we stopped designing singular logos a while ago and this is just a convenient way to show how a slightly more complex identity works.

Today, almost exactly to the day one year later, another group of French students from La Martiniere Diderot in Lyon came to visit our studio. Always nice to have visitors from the other side of the channel.

The 2014 Tom Dixon catalogue arrived from the printers last week. It came out well but we will not put it up on the website anymore as we have done quite a few now over the years. It can be viewed online here.

Holger’s students from Germany came to London for a one week excursion. We visited museums, galleries, the St. Bride Library and studios of good friends such as Hato Press, Modern Activity, Julia, Hudson Powell and Fraser Muggeridge. Personal highlight was the visit at Why Not Associates where Andy Altman explained their Blackpool mega project The Comedy Carpet in all detail. Thanks to everyone who took the time to show their work and hopefully inspire the students not to end up in some boring advertising agency.

Holger and former long term Mind Design partner Craig just came back from the 20plusX Summer School in Munich, Germany where we did a talk and run a workshop. Together with students we built a ‘big corporate design machine’. Every student picked a common adjective from an average corporate identity brief and then build a segment of the machine which in some mechanical way produces a visual expression of the word. Good fun, great results. We might put the documentation into the teaching section at some point.

Holger just came back from Bilbao, Spain where he was talking at the Select D conference. Quite a big audience of super nice people. The conference was held at the Alhondiga Bilbao Cultural and Leisure Centre designed by Philippe Starck who decided to put a big golden frame around the stage. Quite funny. Great to meet lots of other designers from Europe as well and to exchange ideas. The general consensus among all graphic designers concerned with identity was that the traditional logo is dead. However, that conclusion has not quite arrived with most clients yet. Great food in Bilbao as well.

We are currently designing a new restaurant in Paris called ‘Eclectic’. Not easy when nobody in the studio speaks any proper French but today our clint sent us the first images of the temporary window covering (while there is building work going on inside). Its seemed to have turned out as well. Making up for the language barrier the French seem to be really efficient in producing things.

The brilliant guys from Jail Make installed our sign for Lock Studios today. It moves up and down on a heavy chain very similar to the mechanism the locks on the canal use. Very pleased with how it came out. However, the simple vinyl stencils we needed for the same place we messed up by getting the measurements wrong.

Beginning of the year we designed the lettering to go on top of the newly refurbished Sea Containers House at the embankment. Probably the largest letters we ever did. Recently they tested if they can be seen from the other side of the river when illuminated. Quite funny to see a single letter ‘T’ on top of the building.

As every year we designed the identity for ‘The Dock’ at Tom Dixon’s headquarters which is part of the London Design Festival. More info on the Tom Dixon Blog. After a few different variations in recent years our design went back to the original concept of ships docking onto the logo.

Today we launched the new website and identity we have designed for the established furniture and industrial design design company PearsonLloyd. The new website coincides with their exhibition 1:1 Inside Design which is part of the London Design Festival.

We have a new job at the studio for anyone who is up for a real challenge and tough enough to take it. Important: please read the full description first before applying.

It may not be big news for the rest of the world, but it is for us. After 7 years of borrowing the hoover from the studio next door we finally bought our own. He arrived today. Welcome to the team, Henry!

We are taking part in Type Tasting, an exhibition of words that describe London. The show will be at the V&A as part of the London Design Festival. Our chosen word is ‘Sexy’. London is Sexy. A good excuse to experiment a bit with digital 3d printing. Luckily our intern knows how to use the 3d software. We opted for a super shiny gloss surface.