Monthly Archives: April 2014

23.04.14 — Journal

Working And Shopping

Recently I’ve been doing a tonne of work, so the blog had fallen a touch behind again, but here’s some updates on some stuff I’ve been doing!

First up I’ve been working on expanding on the Blaze Festival 2013 designs ready for Blaze Festival 2014! The three existing icons were given a fresh lick of paint and another two added – one for Culture On A Shoestring and the other for Masquerade, a mysterious new theatre project by my good friend Shona T (check our her O2 Think Big blog here and her YouTube channel here).

My five Blaze Festival 2014 icons

The icons will first debut on the promotional “postcards” that will be distributed across Preston and Lancashire. I created these as a simple set of five colours which, it’s hoped, will look beautiful when they’re all distributed as a set.

The front of the postcards

I’ve also been working on the new design for Culture On A Shoestring, Issue 5 of which will be released this summer! Here’s a sneak peek at the cover…

Culture On A Shoestring Issue 5 Cover

Now from Blaze Arts to Burnley Arts Centre, where I’ve been busy polishing off the finishing touches on their design guidelines…

The Burnley Arts Centre design guidelines (sample)

I’m currently also working on their new website, which should be up and running next year!

And now from working hard to playing hard – I went out and plundered Manchester city centre yesterday, and returned with this horde of design books and a pack of Puffin Book Cover Postcards. Mischief managed!

My hoard of new books

We also went to the Trafford Centre the day before (shopaholics anonymous or what), where we celebrated the news that Burnley FC (my hometown) have been promoted to the premier league! I’ll have to come back to celebrate when they players come and ride the bus through the town centre. Football isn’t usually my thing, but I’m really happy for the club, and my sister is adamant that Sean Dyche is king!

My mum bought this to celebrate
16.04.14 — Journal

Signing Contracts And Wandering

I write this whilst on the train zipping through the Yorkshire countryside, as with my current schedule I can find no other time to keep my blog up to date! As you may be aware, I’m currently partaking in a whole host of projects for both Burnley Arts Centre, Blaze Arts, my course at university and now my scholarship – which I’m very excited about!

The Roger Stevens building looking pretty in the springtime sun
A view from the Edward Boyle Library

I’m returning from Leeds, where I’ve been to sign my project contract and do a spot of shopping (because Leeds is my favourite place to shop!). I had a meeting with my project leader, Dr Kishore Budha, and then a chilled out chat with my mentor and PhD student Martin Hendry on the grass outside the union about the research we’ll be doing over summer. It’s all sounding very exciting and I wish I could disclose more, but due to the nature of the project I’ve to keep most things under wraps.

I have some exciting news about travelling abroad, bit I’ll wait until all the details are finalised before I tell you about that just yet! Speak of travelling, I’ve just arrived in Todmorden, and there’s a cat in the waiting room… Only in Yorkshire!

Ginger cat in the waiting room

In other news, yesterday me and my mum and sister went on a much needed trek over the countryside just behind my house. As much as I adore Leeds, I do miss being on the doorstep of landscape like this…

A view on our walk

Before this we agreed to take my neighbours dog, as we saw him in passing on the way up towards the fields, and so my sister Ellie took good care of ‘Eric’ as we traversed the countryside!

Ellie and Eric

My mum also made a friend, an unusually tame and forthcoming little lamb which poked its head through a gate as we passed by.

My mum and a friendly lamb

Also, in one of my moments of madness, I decided that the fact that orange can signify both a colour and a fruit is too confusing – especially when my cordial was both orange coloured and orange flavoured. I hence declared that it was too much orange and took to dying the cordial blue.

And with that little insight into my mind, I’ll leave you with photographic evidence, and the promise of another blog post on the redesign of Culture On A Shoestring which I’m currently working on.

12.04.14 — Journal

Blaze Forum

Today I was in Preston for a much needed catch up with the Blaze Arts team, at one of the periodical Blaze Forum events which are open to all young people who’d like to get involved – check out the Blaze website here or get in touch with Laura for more info. Today we met at a new location – The Lancashire Archives, a strange concrete box which sits on stilts, almost as though the architects were preemptive of some future flooding in Preston…

The LCC crest

The interior was old but still nice – almost like stepping in a time machine, with the abundance of wooden veneer and period fittings…

An old sink
Welcome back to the 1900s

But less about decor, today we discussed the three existing projects from Blaze Festival 2013; Blaze Lounge, Level Up and Portable Projection, and how we were going to keep these projects going and include them as part of Blaze Festival 2014.

We then discussed one of my pet projects, Culture On A Shoestring, focusing primarily on how to widen its distribution across the north west. As designer of the publication (the latest issue of which can be found here), I spent time discussing my planned design overhaul for Issue 5 which will be released this summer. I’ve yet to start work on it, but I have already made a few preliminary sketches on my iPad.

Sketches for the design of Culture On A Shoestring Issue #5

We also spoke with Paul Kelly from LCC regarding Blaze as an organisation, and getting membership passes and other goodies for members and staff.

Some of the team gathered for the forum

Overall it was really nice to see everyone again – especially Shona who runs her own blogs which you should definitely go and check out. Also be sure to check out Shona’s project on O2 Think Big! Anyway, I also ended up nosing through some of the archive’s books (from 1789 no less!) and found the beautiful old graphics…

Archive book graphic

I also snuck into Lush on my way back home and picked up a little Easter Bunny for my sister… It’s really cute and smells great too. One day I will walk past a Lush shop without buying anything, but that day is not today. I am going to go and eat more snacks and poke around typography.com for a while longer.

Not sure what this is but it's cute and smells lush
11.04.14 — Travel

Liverpool

Before we begin, click this link (which will open in another tab) and get the music playing. It is the official soundtrack to this post. Done? Yes? Now you may continue.

Yesterday I, along with the parents, hopped on the M62 and visited the other end of the Leeds Liverpool canal to explore and do a bit of shopping in the 2008 City of Culture.

Liverpool from the docks

We began by wandering down the high street and nipping into a few shops (I ended up buying yet another pair of sunglasses, so I’ll add those to the pile), but then I ended up wandering down a side street and finding a little museum and cafe, so I took a few photos and explored the area…

A petite handmade sign outside one of the studios
A museum-cum-craft shop
A view from the courtyard, with my dad taking photos

We wandered thorough the archways and ended up in a cute little courtyard, where people were just lounging around eating and reading. The architecture was quite quirky and made for some interesting photos…

A cooky little corner
We're missing a drainpipe here

Then, after a bit more shopping, me and my dad headed down towards the docks, where I took about a thousand photos. I’ve picked out a few of the key ones to save you a few hours of your life…

Soaring above the cellars
The museum by the river
A view across the docks

We also encountered some of the infamous Superlambananas along the front by the Liverpool Museum. I was reminded of a fabulous talk by Paul Kelly of Lancashire County Council on the history of the sculpture as part of a larger talk on public art in general, which was part of a Blaze Arts Forum last year – how time has flown! Which reminds me, after a large spell of minimal contact with Blaze, I’m heading over there tomorrow morning for the latest Blaze Forum. I’ll be sure to report back with another blog post!

A Superlambanana on the dock

Now I know I’ve mentioned this before, but seeing as this is a photography-heavy post, all my photos are taken on an iPhone 5S and then edited with an VSCO Cam, an iOS app that I’ve made mention of before here. I’ve considered buying a proper DSLR quite a bit recently, but my photography knowledge is rudimental at best, and so I’d have no idea where to start. If anyone has any suggestions be sure to leave a comment or get in touch via Twitter, Email or on Facebook.

My latest purchase, however, was made yesterday in Liverpool, I popped into the Apple Store and picked myself up am iPad. I’ve been eying them up ever since they released the Mini and have now finally taken the plunge! I couldn’t justify buying one after the splurge on my MacBook in 2012, but now I’m more mobile in regular travels around the country, I thought it’d be beneficial. Also, after my recent excitement of receiving the paid scholarship from university, I thought I’d treat myself – it may also be a useful research tool, you never know!

But veering off topic slightly there, back to Liverpool. After a snoop around Liverpool One, me and my dad wandered off once more to the Cavern Club area, birthplace of The Beatles! You will, of course, have the brilliant “Lovely Rita” playing already as I requested demanded at the start of the post. If you haven’t, then shame on you, and here’s the link again.

The birthplace of The Beatles
Looking up in The Cavern

In other recent news, I took a few hours out on Tuesday afternoon to indulge in a spot of baking, assisted for a while by my mum. She mixed and baked the basic plain buns, which I then turned into butterfly buns (after a bit of a buttercream disaster), and then I went on to create some delicious triple chocolate buns with a peanut butter core. They were good. Here’s a few photos from my Paul Hollywood-esque adventure…

My organised chaos
Et voilà!
Delicious chocolate and peanut butter bun

But for now I’m going to grab my iPad and set off on a quest to find some killer apps for it. Currently really sad that FiftyThree’s Pencil isn’t yet available in the UK, so for now I’ll just play Solitaire and Tetris until I fall asleep.

04.04.14 — Journal

Research Scholarship

So I start my latest blog post with some exciting news – I’ve been awarded the University Of Leeds Undergraduate Research & Leadership Scholarship for the School Of Design!

I quietly applied a few weeks ago, and never expected to be given this fabulous opportunity. Over the next two years I’ll be working alongside Dr. Kishore Budha and Martin Hendry and other researchers from the university on a piece of research that I’m not allowed to disclose. I’ll begin my work fully this June and will have completed and published my research findings and design concepts by the end of Summer 2015.

Some of the details have yet to be finalised but I’ll be engaging in all sorts of activities, from fundamental research skills such as literary reviews and holding focus groups, to exciting trips overseas to visit international conferences. I’ve to document and publish my findings, so I’ll be sure to keep you in the loop. You can find me on Twitter and Facebook if you want to stay informed on your timeline too.

I mention all this as I was back in Leeds yesterday for a scholarship meeting, after which I met up with Izzy to have a catch up over lunch. I then met back up with my mum in the city centre to do a spot of shopping, during which I also had a quick catch up with Emily, who I was lucky enough to catch passing through!

A very quiet Millennium Square
A lovely little street of shops which I don't normally visit

I also introduced my mum to one of my favourite spots in Leeds, Trinity Kitchen! She seemed a bit skeptical first, but after some tacos and a delicious vegetarian Sri-Lankan curry, she was a total convert!

Our freshly made Sri-Lankan curry

But now I’m back home, and it’s cold. It was really nice a few days ago, and I managed to sneak in my first iced tea of the year! I’ll leave you with it, because I feel like it’s quite a nice photo.

A delicious iced tea to kick off summer