Iconic Thinking

Fischer HRM website goes live

2010-04-20T10:03:00.003+01:00

Fischer HRM, which is a human resources management firm based in Berlin, asked Iconic to design a website that would provide clear, concise information for both their clients and candidates.

You can view the new site here

New homes for rent section on the NHL website

2010-04-08T10:55:00.003+01:00

Iconic has just completed the new 'homes for rent' section on the Notting Hill London website.

This new addition includes an updated navigation bar, interactive map and property viewing gallery, plus beautiful illustrations in the 'renting guide' from Ekaterina Erschowa.

http://www.nottinghill-london.co.uk/

Being mobile

2010-03-31T11:17:00.005+01:00

We're currently in talks with a mobile home insurance company, who are looking for a rebrand. It got us thinking about the characteristics of transportable homes and how the recent growth in mobile housing design is making them an attractive and relevant model for modern day living.

Mobile homes have been around for centuries, with the earliest example tracing back to roaming bands of gypsies, who traveled with their horse drawn caravans as far back as the 1500s. With no fixed residence and freedom to move from place to place, there is an appealing quality to the nomadic nature of mobile homes.

In the past mobile homes have also been seen as way of providing more economical but flexible housing solutions. Such as modernist architect, Wells Coates who designed a modular housing system based on movable units, which could be transported to other locations. These RUP's (Room Unit Production) sit in a metal frame structure that could be replicated all over the country, providing multiple living locations. The vision was that dwellings could be 'ordered off the shelf' and added to or moved over the years if required, it was the Ikea of modernist architecture but sadly, was never built.

Recently there's been a bit of a mobile home revival, attributed to people searching for a solution to the global problem of over-crowded cities. Architectural practices are coming up with contemporary versions, such as Werner Aisslinger of Studio Aisslinger who recently completed a small mountainside mobile living unit in Ritten, Italy.

Or Hangar Design Group's beautiful portable cabins, 'for wandering travelers and those who love exploring and staying in nature without giving up the comforts of home.'

This new approach to an iconic form of architecture will hopefully start to challenge the notion that home is the piece of land it sits on.

Villa Caviciana

2010-03-19T16:35:00.005Z

We're currently working with Villa Caviciana, an independent luxury food company based in Italy, helping to redesign their entire product line and communication material.

Here are some of the designs we presented:

Clever workstation

2010-03-19T14:09:00.003Z

The Globus has a cast aluminium base on wheels supporting a moulded plastic globe with two sections. Once it is opened, the wheels are blocked. One half of the globe is a comfortable seat. The seat’s swivel action makes sitting down and standing up very simple. The other half of the globe hides a small table that can be easily adjusted for height.

This personal mobile workstation is made by Dutch designer Michiel van der Kley for Gispen and Artifort

via minimalissimo

Fiat's 'The Office' spoof

2010-03-19T11:34:00.004Z

Fiat has created a series of short mockumentaries inspired by the office to advertise their UK van business. The films follow the daily activities of a fake company called Lightfoot Logistics. Surprisingly the series is actually pretty funny.

Videos after the jump.

via psfk

Christoph Niemann's Map Illustrations

2010-03-16T11:24:00.003Z

For his latest work Christoph Niemann has used Google maps to create witty illustrations.

via New York Times

The process of designing a logo

2010-03-15T12:52:00.001Z

When Herbert Matter got the job to design a new logo for the New Haven Railroad he literally went through hundreds of sketches before arriving at the final logo.

Dunhill brings London to New York

2010-03-10T12:59:00.011Z

During New York fashion week Dunhill created this installation “Recreating, in a beautifully ghostly manner, Bourdon House – the London home of Alfred Dunhill – Campaign’s unique installation played host to dunhill’s Autumn/Winter 2010 collection in a fascinatingly unique interpretation of London’s buzzing Mayfair.”

Allianz Deutscher Klimapreis

2010-03-04T10:30:00.004Z

The 2010 Allianz Deutscher Klimapreis award ceremony took place in Berlin on tuesday and we were there to capture the highlights of the evening. Allianz worked with Iconic to create the full design concept.

The invisible man

2010-02-24T13:15:00.004Z

Creative procrastination results in an invisible employee

An iconic approach to food design

2010-02-16T09:51:00.004Z

Chocolate pencils, which was created by the Japanese design agency Nendo, combines two things we love in this office: food and design.

Everything has been cleverly designed to create a gastronomic experience from the plate's ceramic ridges to hold the chocolate 'pencils', to the sharpener that can be used to grate chocolate onto the desert. Each stage of the eating process is considered, while retaining a sense of fun and playfulness.

Oscar nominated logos

2010-02-03T17:53:00.002Z

Logorama, an animated short film that features over 2500 logos have been nominated for an Oscar in the Best Short Film category.
Created by H5 who also created the typographic New York in the musicvideo for Alex Gophers – The Child.

Twitter from the South Pole 99 years ago.

2010-01-28T13:08:00.006Z

The diary of Captain Robert Falcon Scott

Follow the Terra Nova Expedition expedition's progress day by day, over many months, beginning with its departure from New Zealand, and ending with its tragic and heroic conclusion.

http://twitter.com/scottslastexp

Dangerously Beautiful

2010-01-22T13:57:00.004Z

The MO 93 Swiss Army Bicycle, as used by the Swiss Bicycle Infantry. The current seven-gear model has attachments for machine guns, bazookas, grenade launchers and basic army kits. The bike weighs 48 pounds and can carry up to 330 pounds.

white canvas

2010-01-07T20:53:00.001Z

The coldest night. Great Britain has never been so beautiful.

'Beware of the Judderman my dear, when the moon is fat'

2009-12-16T17:45:00.005Z

This sudden arrival of icy weather reminded me of the Metz advert directed by Enda McCallion. Stylistically based around classic vampire films and shot in an old castle in Budapest using a hand-cranked camera, this eerie advert seems perfect for these darth winter months.

Berlin Design Book features Iconic

2009-11-30T16:48:00.003Z

Iconic's work has been featured in this years design annual for Berlin, focusing on the Stifterland Bayern initiative, where 'Iconic was responsible for brand development and all means of communication, as well as the concept and design of the show'.

http://www.iconic.com/clients-and-cases/stifterland-bayern.html

Sleeping with the fishes

2009-11-18T15:10:00.005Z

Architecture firm Matharoo associates, built 'House with balls' outside Ahmedabad (India), for an aquarium shop owner to function as a place to breed fish as well as a weekend retreat.

The concrete balls were used as inexpensive counterweights for the continuous row of push-up shutters on either side of the linear living area give the house its name. These counterweights hold the shutters in place at any angle, but when the shutters are fully opened they totally disappear from view as they are submerged into the pond or lie upon the grass, both of which lie adjacent to the house on either side.

A clever design solution that combines functionality with aesthetic beauty.

20 years and counting

2009-11-11T17:30:00.004Z

9.11.09. Berlin. It was raining. I watched the celebration on TV at home. Home is in East Berlin, right next to the church, the home of the opposition some 20 years ago.

The majority of events we remember are unhappy ones, 1914, 1939, 1961, September 11... but this one is different. The event meant a lot to people across the world and still does. It stands for something, a peaceful liberation from a totalitarian regime, the idea that hope prevails and that liberty is a human right. A journalist friend of mine who had worked all day and night capturing people's impressions met people who had travelled from China, Korea and Palestine to witness the celebrations and to confirm their belief that change is possible.

Then I went to the scene myself against the stream of people leaving. Right in front of the Brandenburger Gate I met an old man who was playing the trumpet. He had lived in East Berlin when the wall was built and was unable to get out in time, leaving his father on the other side of the wall in the West. He then produced some pictures from the early 80s with him standing right there, where we were standing now, then a younger man.

I took an imge of the empty seats where the celebrities sat during the event and saw two familiar names of relatives of American presidents, Kennedy and Reagan. It was turning back the clock for a moment. The heroes of the revolution had mostly gone home by then, as had the symbolic wall which collapsed like domino stones. Audi advertising on big screens next to the Brandenburger gate, guess the celebration needed some funding. No idea why Bon Jovi played though earlier, a bit embarrassing.

As I was leaving I heard a German police officer saying: "You won't be able to walk through the gate tonight, please use alternative routes." At least this time there were some.

Recycled loveliness

2009-11-03T22:20:00.001Z

Super Nova

2009-11-02T15:07:00.003Z

Last week I had an impromptu cup of tea with Oliver Williams – an old family friend from my parent’s bohemian past. We chatted about family memories mainly. What I hadn’t realised was that he was responsible for some of the most iconic illustrations of the 1960s – some were featured in Nova magazine.

Olly was just a student at the time when his work appeared on the cover of Nova in October 1968. His illustrations took famous icons like Twiggy and the Queen and played with the idea of what they might look like in private. True to Nova style the images provoked debate. They could be seen as the precursor to those featured in Colours magazine in the 80s and 90s.

Later that evening I went to pick up my kids from my step-mum. We got talking about Olly’s visit and his talents. She then told me she had the entire collection of Nova magazines stored in her loft. After much begging, it seems they’ll not remain up there for long!

Notting Hill London has a lovely new website

2009-10-26T10:25:00.006Z

Our friends at Notting Hill London have just launched their new website - with a little help from Iconic.

The site is designed to be friendly, simple to navigate and a helpful guide to buying a home with Notting Hill London, a socially responsible private housing developer. Take a look!

www.nottinghill-london.co.uk

It's Posh in Shoreditch

2009-09-28T16:58:00.009+01:00

Our studio is just across the road from Giles Deacon's (the famous fashion designer). Last week we spotted the very glamorous Victoria Beckham chatting with Giles D and drooled over the sparkling rock on her left hand (we could see it even from this distance). Her departure was heralded by a dozen paps scrambling for their mopeds and car keys and making some terrible 7-point turns as she sped off gracefully in her car.

It made for marvelous viewing!

1000 Melting People

2009-09-14T14:47:00.011+01:00

I love this image, this event. One thousand tiny ice sculptures were placed on the steps of Berlin's Gendarmenmarkt "to symbolize what will happen if governments continue to sit on their hands and watch as Arctic ice melts and sea levels rise."

Take a look at more info here.