I can't read the label...

The government has this week announced that they are planning to add information to the labels of alcoholic drinks, indicating how many 'units' they contain.

Consumers have demanded more nutritional information on their food, and graphics indicating the levels of fat, sugar and salt are are now commonplace within the supermarket chains. There is also a small graphic to remind us to eat five items of fruit a day. With the stark warnings on cigarette boxes (how can you miss them), maybe it was only a matter of time until the same thinking was applied to another of our vices.

Obviously drinks of different strengths will contain different levels of alcohol units, and successfully conveying this information to someone who may already be seeing double will obviously be a challenge - how can you subtly evoke the climate on the hills of tuscany with a rainbow-coloured pie-chart on the label? And what if I drink it by the glass, so never coming in contact with the bottle itself? I await the outcome with interest.

There is still much confusion with the unit measurement of alcohol amongst consumers, essentially because most of us are in denial about the quantity we drink. Apparently (as some bloke down the pub informed me) there is a general rule of thumb which ensures you can drink virtually as much as you want if you pace yourselves - about one unit per half hour. But we all should know that there are many factors that determine the effects of alcohol, and some clarity of information at the point of consumption can only be a good thing.

Anonymous birthday

Helvetica is celebrating it's 50th birthday. The typeface, inspired by the 1896 font Akzidenz Grotesk, was designed by Max Miedinger in 1957 in conjunction with Eduard Hoffmann for the Haas Type Foundry, in Muenchenstein, Switzerland. It is now synonymous with the Swiss style of graphic design that emerged in the 60s - thoroughly modern, with a lack of flourishes or even character that could predjudice the message in the words.

It was probably one of the most famous fonts prior to the rise of the personal computer, but since Microsoft chose to include Arial over Helvetica in their system fonts (probably to save on licensing costs) it has lost some of it's glamour. I have always felt a little self conscious when specifying Helvetica, and if i have been forced to use it to fulfil brand requirements, I have generally felt it wasn't the right occasion - there is rarely a project where I need to communicate 'uniform' or 'austere'. But since I love Swiss typography, I always have a sneaky admiration when it's used well.

What's the fuss?

After months of media hype, yesterday saw the launch of Kate Moss' range of Clothes at Top Shop in Oxford Street, London.

Gauged by the long queues out of the shop, and the lengthy discussion on Radio 1 (yawn) the range is a success, though I fail to see the attraction myself. I use a Mac every day, but that doesn't make me an Industrial designer.

Belatedly (IMHO) recognising the brand potential, her model agency Storm commisioned a logo by by Peter Saville and typographer Paul Barnes. “Storm realised that the graphic responsibility of the brand was theirs, that we must bring it in house and then licence it to our partners, there must not be different representations of an identity of Kate Moss,” said Saville. In other words let's get in there quick so we can slap her name on anything that teenage girls buy.

Saville originally experimented with variations of Moss’ signature, but then abandoned this strategy and approached Barnes to discuss fonts. “He’s a wonderful guide to letters and was able to fast-track us to the suspects. ‘Kate’ was really easy - there were lots of fonts that worked with that. But ‘Moss’ was difficult, it kept slipping into National Trust territory or and that was completely off-message.”

Barnes then suggested a variation on Brodovitch Albro, a typeface by Alexey Brodovitch, the legendary art director of Harper’s Bazaar from 1934-58.

First impressions? Not impressed. I like the origins and that it links back to to magazines and fashion through Brodovitch's work, but that doesn't make a great logo. I generally love Saville's work, from the New Order covers to the Design Museum's web site identity, but to me this harks back to late 80s typography, all style and no substance (maybe that's the point?). It just looks clunky. Admittedly I haven't seen it in context on a size zero Mini Dress but I like to leave that type of research to my wife. Michael Johnson from Johnson Banks isn't sure either and the version they created is still available. A great alternative.

The branding of people, or people as commodities will only increase in these celebrity and ego obsessed times. Madonna has always treated herself as a brand, though without the need of a 'logo'. If there is any commercial mileage to be made from a personal badge, then it will be made. So I guess The Church will be next...

Press the delete button

As is common with most design agencies, we all use Apple Mac's (though we do also have the one lonely PC) and are therefore generally iFans. We own ipods, computers at home and no doubt someone will own an iPhone by the end of the year. Being one of the 23 million people who own an ipod, I have been fascinated with how the designers have tinkered with the product to improve the user Brand experience – through deletion.

With the earlier iPod models, Apple redesigned the user interface in their quest for the most efficient way of controlling all those 20,000 tunes we optimistically own. In essence it is a single button that ingeniously incorporates all the different functions we require, from the standard play/stop to a back button, menu and of course the scrolling selection mechanism. Well, actually there is no stop, just a pause button. Apple think you don't need both, which is true. The controls on the first model in 2001 satisfyingly clicked when pressed, a physical sensation that helped us overcome our fears of no longer being able to open our music player and fiddle about with a pen.

They moved to a touch sensitive set of five(?) controls for the third generation but unsurprisingly moved back to one(!) button, the 'click wheel' for more recent models. The next stage in Apple's user interface development is with the iPhone - there are no traditional number buttons, or any button at all, just a touch sensitive panel that adapts according to the selection.

This drive for simplicity, in just the process of playing a song, is crucial to Apple's success - they eschew any elements that they deem unecessary (hey, they even got rid of the computer in the iMac and put it in the monitor). This emphasis on consumer useability, innovation and of course great looking products has put Apple at 39 in the world's top 100 Brands. Microsoft recognise this is Apple's strength (and their weakness), and even went so far as to create a brilliant video parodying Microsoft's inability to leave well alone with an Ipod box. The video can be seen here. In Apple's case, Less really is More. And we are buying More and More...

The Art of Fletcher

The Alan Fletcher exhibition at Design Museum in London finishes on 18 February 2007. I would recommend in the strongest possible terms that anyone connected with visual communications visit this outstanding show. I think it was organhttp://www.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gifised before his death in September 2006 but it has become a more poignant reflection on his career, his time in Spain, Italy and New York and indirectly the rise of the Design Agency.

As one of the Godfathers of graphic design in the UK, being a founding father of Pentagram, he has been responsible for some timeless work over the past 40 years. (The Reuters logo looks like it was produced yesterday, not in 1965). He always maintained a at the world around him, often using a pen or a pencil in the final artwork, and his work retains an authenticity which seems to be missing from much graphic design in this century. The calendars he designed, often with little more than a few lines and a dash of colour, were indicative of the simple wordplay (and fun) he reveled in.

As a lazy father I was extremely envious of the models he created with his grandson whilst on holiday, and it was fascinating to see his studio/home in Notting Hill so full of energy and ideas. We spent our journey home discussing open plan live/work apartments....

Other than the work, his legacy includes the book 'The Art of looking Sideways' which was published in 2001 by Phaidon. A book with out any linear structure, it groups quotes, emphemera and ideas in broad categories such as Noise, Mutation and Taste. Possibly the ultimate volume of inspiration, it is initially difficult to get to grips with the informal structure. But once you understand that you don't start at the beginning, it slowly unfolds it's treats - questioning the notion of Europe and America being positioned geographically 'higher' than Africa, and therefore creating a visual representation of the world upside down.

Be quick, it may change your life.