Downstairs People

I just came across this old publication by Scarecrow Records from the late 1980s featuring a write up about a band I was once in called 'Downstairs People'. The publication features a plug for our first EP - 'a set of green boats' and also some nice words about our singer being much sought after by Paul Weller! The logo for Downstairs People was not the correct one - Scarecrow Records exercised some artistic license - it was just wrong!

The strange thing is, on the front cover of Scarecrow Records mag is a photo of Phil Littler who was in a band called 'Ole Veradi'. I had the pleasure of working on a CD cover for Phil last year and had no idea that we had a connection from the past. Phil is a bit of a guitar legend back in Stoke and also an accomplished sign writer.

Subliminal Learning

Who says learning can’t be fun?
This is a response to a brief set by Oasis Academy, Immingham. I had the pleasure of working on this project whilst freelancing at Transmission Creative Ltd in Manchester. Our brief was to transform the 44 metre long, Science department corridor into a new and exciting learning environment.

We were asked to visually interpret and display the Solar System together with three science subject areas in a fresh, dynamic and exciting way to engage with the pupils at key stages three, four and five. Our key challenges were how to transform a sometimes dry technical subject matter, combined with the large scale of the corridor.

Our response was to mix strong typography with striking images and graphic elements to produce a series of wall graphics that would totally transform the corridor. Everyday items were mixed in with historical images and references, so that the pupils could relate to and learn about the subject matter whilst walking through the corridors.

The first section of corridor was completed on 17 February 2012, and is already proving to be a huge hit with the pupils and staff at Oasis Academy.