Saturday, July 30, 2011

The Tube Reinterpreted & Celebrated

Visiting London this year was amazing! One thing I found particularly amazing was the Tube. It was amazing to see that trains would stop at the station every 5 minutes! That and the different character of each station – I really enjoyed Baker Street’s etched posters!




To celebrate my love for the Tube, I thought I’d share some awesomeness I stumbled upon on the interwebs, some of which you may have seen, nonetheless, still cool :).


Ø Line Colours by Leon Wilkinson



A few weeks ago I stumbled upon Leon Wilkinson’s series of “Line Colours” posters. Each station is represented by the colours of the lines that connect at that station, resulting in a beautifully simple and clever print! Definitely something I wish I had thought to do!


From left: Waterloo, Euston, Knightsbridge and Baker Street.


You can buy the posters at http://print-process.com/product/?product-id=542.


Ø Vintage posters discovered at Notting Hill Gate Station



Some pictures taken by Mikey Ashworth,  ‘Design and Heritage Manager’ for London Underground, after vintage posters were found dating back to the 50’s in the old non-public passageways of Notting Hill Gate Station after an upgrade of the station in 2010.

Aren’t they just stunning?! A beautiful time capsule of time long past. Click and zoom to view larger.

You can find the full set here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/36844288@N00/sets/72157624079183751/with/4669837848/.

Ø Michael Landy’s Acts of Kindness Project



Michael Landy’s Acts of Kindness calls for tube travelers to send in stories in which they encountered some kindness on the tube.

Here’s one of my favourite stories submitted:

“I was in the pit of a severe depression, sitting on the tube, staring at my knees, trying not to cry. I could just see the man opposite me, folding a piece of paper. The train stopped and in my lap the man placed the piece of paper, which he had folded into a beautiful little white horse. He smiled and left the train. A light appeared in the pit.”


Read more touching stories at http://art.tfl.gov.uk/actsofkindness.


Ø Tube or False?


Background texture - seat cover design, Piccadilly line, 1940s.



Background texture - seat cover design, Metropolitan line, 1990s


Also in 2010, Transport for London celebrated the tubes’ existence for over 150 years with a series of engaging posters entitled ‘Tube or False?”. Each poster headlined an unusual or interesting ‘fact’ set against a backdrop of seat cover design from a certain period and the reader was challenged to guess if it was true or false. A bit like Balderdash I guess?  Very nice idea.


Find out all the answers at http://www.tfl.gov.uk/tfl/corporate/modesoftransport/tube/history/.


Ø Johnny Cupcakes' Tube Tee



One of the tees in Johnny Cupcakes' exclusive London range only available at their London Carnaby location. Sadly seems like this tee is not longer available :( Clever idea. See the full London range here: http://www.johnnycupcakes.com/blog/2011/04/jc-london-exclusives/

And speaking of cupcakes..

Ø Tube Cupcakes


Awesome cupcakes Jessica Wilson made for a farewell party. Read more about it here: http://fushmush.net/n/1005.

Friday, July 29, 2011

Illustration Friday - Perennial


This is Sylvester on his day off. He likes to fly kites. And talk to birds.

Quick illustration for this week's topic 'perennial'. The word 'perennial' led me to think of fynbos - very strong and resilient shrubs and plants indigenous to my hometown, Cape Town :) So you can spot some proteas and ericas dotted around.

Some process work..

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

London: Land of Pints, Pubs & Pounds


It's been a while since I last blogged but I promise I have a good excuse! I've been furiously busy making this map for They Draw and Travel :) I have such a new-found respect for map illustrators - it really is quite an art! It was a lot of fun to do and really made me dream of walking the streets of London again!! (Click to see the map infinitely bigger!)


Here are some process pics..




A lot of the typography I hand drew and designed, 
like this 'London' and 'Buckingham Palace'





I also had a typeface I made a while ago, knocking around that I hadn't quite found a good place to use yet. That was, until this map :) I'm still trying to find a good name for it; in the meantime I've entitled it "Primrose" as it has really come to remind me a lot of London - the modern, minimalist lines versus the old fashioned, almost Victorian ligatures - London being very modern while at the same time having a lot of really old, beautiful buildings. :) You can see it dotted around on the map.




Work in progress..I quite like this crop :)




You can check out the map at They Draw and Travel:
http://www.theydrawandtravel.com/maps/london-land-of-pints-pubs-and-pounds-robyn-mitchell

And while you're there, take a looksee at the gorgeous map my wonderful sister did of Venice :) http://www.theydrawandtravel.com/maps/venezia-italy-kerri-jane-mitchell

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Map featured here:

LanaLou Style, 27 July, 2012
http://lanaloustyle.com/2012/07/london-love.html

Travel Between the Pages, 23 January 2012
http://travelbetweenthepages.com/2012/01/23/cartography-can-be-fun/

UOL Antena, 2011
http://entretenimento.uol.com.br/antena-uol/album/2012/03/08/site-reune-mapas-pessoais-feitos-por-ilustradores-ao-redor-do-mundo.htm#fotoNav=5

Dannykitty.com, 14 September 2011
http://dannykitty.com/2011/09/ilustracoes-they-draw-travel/

The Travel Eater, 1 December 2011
http://www.thetraveleater.com/2011/12/when-traveling-is-art-they-draw-and.html

We Heart It, 2011
http://weheartit.com/entry/14464725/via/beelenruiz

Monday, July 4, 2011

Illustration Friday - Remedy




























Problem: No bookends. Remedy: Two identical cats with a fondness for snuggling on bookshelves :) Inspired by a true story.


Some details of the illustration.

Friday, July 1, 2011

Illustration Friday - Midsummer Night


On a beautiful midsummer's night, Lola loves to cycle around town on her squeaky penny farthing, affectionately known as "Mr. Chuckles". With one eye on the road and the other on the twinkling night sky, she dreams of the day she will make it into the space cadet program and fly to the moon!