New York

24.03.15 — New York

Feeling as I did on Saturday en route home, I assumed that this post would never see the light of day due to jet lag, but here it is, in all it’s American glory. For the less observant amongst you, I have just returned from a four day stay in the great city that is New York, and I bring back a host of anecdotes and photos for your pleasure. It’s garuanteed to be a long one, so grab some popcorn or ~~sweets~~ candy and have a jolly old scroll down.

Our trip started with us (myself, Luisa, Izzy and Em) landing (precariously due to some feisty turbulence) in New York JFK. Pumped up on orange juice and tea courtesy of BA, we boarded a coach and passed through Queens to land at our hotel in the centre of Manhattan – just across the road from Maddison Square Garden!

New York was initially all I expected it to be – busy streets stretching traffic police to breaking point, pedestrians treading on each others’ toes and unidentified smoke billowing from every other manhole cover. Wasting no time, we dropped our bags in the hotel and headed north up 7th Street to the infamous Times Square.

Hungry and tired, we headed to Ruby Tuesday and enjoyed a delicious dinner accompanied by bottomless raspberry flat lemonade. It was heaven. Anyway, after our very filling American-sized meal, we decided to dance it off as we headed back to the hotel…

The next day we decided to dedicate to a whirlwind tour of all the good ol’ tourist traps, and so we headed off with a plan to visit the top of the Empire State Building, the infamous NY Apple Store, Central Park, Paul Rand’s “Everything is Design” exhibition, and even brave a ride on the city’s infamous subway system.

First up, then, we visited the 84th floor of the Empire State Building, which was located just around the back of our hotel after crossing Broadway. Here are a few photos of our journey…

The Empire State towering above the surrounding buildings

The four of us at the top of the Empire State

After soaking in the breathtaking views, we headed uptown along 5th Avenue and soon arrived at the corner of Central Park to see the infamous glass cube of the Apple Store. I spent a while admiring the architecture, the girls spent a while making good and proper use of the free WiFi, and then we headed on our way once more…

Once we’d crossed to another corner of Central Park, we grabbed the northbound Subway to further north along the edge of the park. I have to admit that I felt a lot safer down in the Subway than I would have thought, however the NY Subway map ain’t got nothing on Harry Beck’s masterpiece that is the London Underground Map.

Once we’d resurfaced we headed into the depths of Central Park, where I found a strange looking seed-type thing, and Em assumed role of Statue of Liberty as we knew we’d have no time to grab a boat out to see her in person. I think she did an astounding job. Felt like the real thing. You go, Em.

After a leisurely stroll through a rather barren Central Park we arrived at the other side, and wasted no time in heading into the Museum of the City of New York to see the Paul Rand (yes, the Paul Rand) “Everything is Design” exhibition. I leave you with this teaser photo, as I shall soon upload a blog post dedicated solely to the exhibitions we encountered in New York and link it back here. Watch this space…

After an inspiring few hours spent in the museum, we headed back downtown once more and then headed out for an evening meal, for which we’d decided to head to Little Italy or Chinatown. We ended up in Little Italy, where we darted into a lovely little family-run Italian with a gorgeous garden room, and nearly ended up as extras in a film which was being shot there!

The next day we had two design studio visits lined up, firstly Vault49 and then Exposure – however before we headed downtown for these, we headed east and climbed up onto the High Line, a once-abandoned stretch of arial train line which has been converted into a beautiful urban garden-cum-walkway which winds its way down the east side of Manhattan.

A beautiful message as seen from the High Line

After this we headed back west and encountered another landmark, the Flatiron building, before heading up a manually operated lift to the Vault49 studio. Here was held a presentation and talk from an ex-Leeds student from our very course, who talked about Vault49’s culture and work, all of which inspired many ideas for my placement search for my Year In Industry!

After this, and a huge burrito and a play in the LEGO store, we headed further downtown and onto south Broadway to find Exposure’s studio and offices. Here we were delivered another talk and engaged in a discussion, in which the Creative Director Tom sat down with us for a while and gave us some top tips on how best to approach studios when looking for placements. It was another great visit, tainted only by the fact that Steven (an Exposure employee and ex Leeds student) supports Blackburn FC. You win some, you lose some I guess.

At this point in the day it had begun to snow quite heavily across New York, but we, undeterred, soldiered on with our plan to cross the Brooklyn Bridge and sit down for tea in Brooklyn. As we (eventually) found our way up onto the famed bridge, however, the blizzard picked up and we had to battle through one rather treacherous crossing…

Izzy and Lu land in a whitewashed Brooklyn

We eventually made it in one piece, however the freezing weather and our lack of local knowledge meant that we struggled to find even a place to grab a coffee, and so we eventually had to admit defeat and took the subway back under the river and towards the centre of Manhattan. There were smiles, though!

On our final day in NYC, we headed out to the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA), where we saw many of the greats (to be detailed in the aforementioned and forthcoming exhibitions blog post) before spending a good long stint browsing round their two gift shops. I ended up spending $100+ on a new phone case, lunch box (a beautiful Bento Box) and a present for Danni… oops! I was, however, pleased to find that Dan Flavin had a piece in MoMA!

In the morning me and Izzy had also found a secret hidden within the floors of our hotel – two completely abandoned floors between the lobby and the working floors above! We headed down a stairway and went exploring the eerily still-lit corridors.

And then, what trip to New York would be complete without a huge-ass pastrami deli sandwich with customary huge-ass pickle?

In brief, New York for me was huge portions of food, darting between rushed pedestrians along the overcrowded ~~footpaths~~ sidewalks and generally wandering around and soaking up the lively atmosphere and culture. I had set off with the belief that I’d hate the place, being a bit of a country bumpkin and claustrophobe, but I found the city surprisingly fresh and pleasant.

I have many other trips lined up for this summer, including both Berlin and Barcelona (bank account permitting), but I have a feeling that me and New York will be meeting again someday…

A Wireless Future Now?

09.03.15 — Leeds

Is the world ready to go truly wireless?

Given Apple’s history of pushing new trends forward, in particularly the drive to remove physical interfaces from their laptops (remember the sharp intake of air when the Retina MacBook came out without a CD drive?), today’s announcement of a MacBook with only one port wasn’t exactly a complete surprise.

I have never been naïve to the eventual downfall of physical transfers: be it data transfer/synchronisation, physical drive storage or wired charging – however some reflex in my gut seems to be telling me that the reduction of everything to one single port is too much too soon. With a retina display and other promoted features of importance only to tech-savvy users, such as fan-less operation, it begs the question – exactly who is Apple trying to target with it’s latest MacBook?

Power users will struggle, that’s for sure – how can one be expected to transfer HD imagery, connect an external monitor and charge the laptop simultaneously? Sure, a range of (expensive) adaptors will be available to accompany the machine, but surely power users do not want to carry an array of adaptors which they will have to swap out depending on the task at hand? And it cannot be argued that the new MacBook is geared towards light use – the hi-spec display and accompanying £1,050 (minimum) price tag make sure of that.

The leap to a MacBook Pro without a CD drive was wholly justifiable I believe, a sleeker profile coupled with the decline of disk media made it an obvious evolution – however to do away with USB Type A (the standard USB we all know) ports completely seems like a pointless and frankly idiotic sacrifice for a frivolous means: a wafer thin laptop.

Lighting and Thunderbolt are two recent port standards that Apple have developed, being promoted for their unrivalled speeds of transfer and multi-functionality (think the Lightening port being used as a headphone jack). How could Apple eschew these technologies so readily and so soon after their introduction and typical overzealous justification? It’s hardly surprising, though – their standardised MiniDisplay port and FireWire ports have been unceremoniously ripped from their product ranges in the past, always to an initial uproar.

The addition of an extra 2mm or so of bulk to the new MacBook’s profile, or the removal of the taper altogether, would have allowed Apple not only more space for battery capacity, but also to include more than one USB C ports, as well as retaining one or two USB A ports. I believe that a number (4 or 5) of USB C ports spread across the two sides of the MacBook’s body would have been a brilliant addition – allowing a user the same flexibility of using the ports for whatever they may desire (charging, data transfer or video/audio output) whilst still allowing users to complete multiple tasks simultaneously.

So with Apple’s latest MacBook I feel a frustration similar to that I experienced upon the release of the iPhone 6, a frustration that a company like Apple would sacrifice function (power in the MacBook and battery life in the iPhone) for form. I would even argue that such devices are now getting too thin, the race for thinness exercising an overpowering grip on tech companies, meaning important factors such as ergonomics and strength mostly overlooked. And how long is it until ‘bendgate’ grips the MacBook?

But all this said, maybe this MacBook is just another Apple Watch. Maybe it is just another way of coercing users into buying more of Apple’s infrastructure. The reveal presentation showed a new MacBook user streaming content to their Apple TV, which coincides rather nicely with the price reduction of their TV product. Much like the Apple Watch necessitates the purchase of an iPhone, it would seem the new MacBook necessitates the need for an Apple TV, an array of adaptors, and lord knows what else.

So a beautifully thin wireless laptop of the future, or a tactical marketing concoction? You decide.

Blackpool & IKEA

04.03.15 — Blackpool

Another quick and strange hybrid blog post now, which will outline two events in the space of a weekend on the opposite sides of the country but which happened in two consecutive days. I’ve been on a lot of trains recently…

But do disregard my moaning, because I’ve actually had a great weekend.

Firstly, me and the usual design gang grouped up and, after a last minute rush to get everyone fed and out the door, rolled up at IKEA in Leeds. Nothing says ‘design student’ like an organised day trip to IKEA which was not initiated in any way by anyone actually needing to buy anything; however it was a shame that Izzy opted not to purchase this delightful seasonal bonnet…

After a long day on our feet, we returned home and everyone scattered and wandered back to their respective houses. However, there’s no rest for the wicked! I quickly made myself a smoked salmon salad and then headed back off out again, Burnley bound and ready for an early start.

Why, You may ask? Because it’s that time of year again: the time when me and Danni spend the day eating hot dogs, riding coasters and generally making a nuisance of ourselves at Blackpool Pleasure Beach! (See last year’s trip here.)

The weather wasn’t in our favour unfortunately, with near-zero temperatures and some nasty rain plaguing the day and causing the Big One to shut down (aww) – but a bit of water never stopped Ollie and Danni. We trekked around the park, which after six years worth of annual trips we know like the back of our hand, and rode everything we could.

The weather and our busy schedule meant I only managed to snap one single photo from the day, so here it is, in all its vain selfie glory!

So what am I up to now? Well I’ve just this afternoon been in the School of Design, assisting with an open day and taking prospective students and their families on a guided tour of the campus. It’s great to speak to all the attendees and spread the word about how great Leeds is, not only as a university but as a place to spend three or more years of your life!

After this I met up with Kishore, my scholarship tutor, and we discussed how I am to develop and share my research so far with the public. This will be realised via the Leeds Design Lab website, which I’m currently working on updating, and will be published pretty soon. I’ll be back with updates and a link to my own little corner of the University of Leeds website – exciting!

That’s it for now I believe. I leave you with this song. I’m not sure why. Just enjoy.

Eating Food & Catching Trains

27.02.15 — Leeds

So let’s begin the most important thing: food. The other day, as many of you will know, was Pancake Day, and so I decided to eat nothing but pancakes after midday. After about six pancakes, however, I decided to wave a white flag and invite my housemates to join in and help.

Luisa, meanwhile, was delivered some obviously hilarious news, and ended up on the floor alongside the kettle she was using. I only mention this as I found the resulting picture to be a work of art. Check it out:

What was so hilarious that this happened?

This week in uni I have been finishing off and submitting my Principles Of Typography essay plan as well as creating a series of stripe designs for my Design Theory module. As obscure as some found this task, I understood it’s importance in the exploration of design theory, which I am sure to bear in mind whilst I create designs.

Anyway, after a lecture in the infamous Roger Stevens building, I wandered out the wrong door and found myself on a balcony I’d never encountered before, but which offered a lovely view back towards the city.

In less academically demanding news, me and Danni met up for a Laynes Espresso and a lunch date at Trinity Kitchen, and I opted for something a little different – vegetarian steamed buns. These had shiitake mushrooms, cheese and spinach in them, and were served with noodles and tonnes of delicious vegetables. They were delicious. Just take a look how colourful it was!

In a feeble attempt to replicate the deliciousness of this exotic food, I decided to use up some of my taco shells and lettuce, and cooked up a batch of vegetarian chilli using Quorn. Stuffed with this chilli, I added cheese, onion, lettuce and sour cream to create a couple of crunchy tacos.

Okay – so as you have probably gathered I have been eating many things as of late, but I am still keeping to my pescatarian diet. But that’s not all I’ve been up to – I also headed back to Burnley for another research trip (see my first here) to take some more photos to be used in my final outcomes. I’ll leave you with a triad of photos of my town…

Galentines & Other Adventures

22.02.15 — Leeds

In between all this uni work and typography research, I believe it’s time to kick back, grab a mug of Horlicks and reflect on the more relaxed events of the past week or so.

First thing’s first – Galentines Day. Inspired by Parks & Recreation, Galentines Day is celebrated the day before Valentines Day, and is a chance for all us singletons to come together and celebrate being single. Some keen YouTuber has put together this beautifully concise video in which Amy Poehler explains the concept more eloquently than I ever could. I have a huge crush on Amy Poehler.

Getting away from the point, we headed down to Nation Of Shopkeepers and ordered a plethora of burgers. Beth had been so kind to bring along a Galentines Day gift for us all, which turned out to be tubes of Swizzles Matlow Love Hearts. We exchanged them, sending sarcastic messages to each other in the process…

To my despair I awoke the next day to the prospect of a Valentines Day stuck in my room all day, but for the first time ever me and my housemates arranged to sit together in the living room (which we often forget that we actually have) and watch a film. The Notebook was suggested, and I agreed, presuming it would be a tacky rom com to lift our spirits.

It’s not.

The day after I decided to finally address an issue which I had sat on since I returned to Leeds after Christmas, which is that the coldness of our uninhabited house had caused most of my posters/flyers/ephemera to fall off my wall. I took the opportunity to take them all down and give the walls a good scrub. I don’t know why I felt like I needed to clean my walls. I just did. I can’t explain. Leave me be.

My room looked weird and sad without walls full of examples of graphic design…

Before long, however, I had gotten all my stuff back up and now my room is back to it’s bright, colourful self. Check out this picture from a previous post.

I also managed a trip back home to visit my doctors, but the most important part of the trip was naturally sitting for a hot chocolate with my mother and stroking the resident cat at Todmorden train station. He/she featured in a post from a while back, check it out here. Anyway, I leave you with photos of these two very important events.

The beautiful cat at Todmorden train station