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Ben

London

I am Group Design Director at the Co-operative Group. I am also Governor of University of the Arts London, an advisor to the London Design Festival and an angel investor in Bowndling and Cavendish Keble. I founded and recently sold Newspaper Club. I have won numerous awards including the Design Museum's Design of the Year and a D&AD Black Pencil.

Interests: design

Recent Activity

More Light, More Power

Our office building in Old Street has this shield outside. It's even better inside. The words say 'More Light, More Power' which is a good phrase for many things. I'd always assumed it was a strapline for an old power... Continue reading

Posted 5 days ago at Noisy Decent Graphics

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It's rare we do a typography post these days

But here we are. I saw this at the Wellcome Collection and thought it was nice. Clear and simple with a little added depth when you look closer. No clever ideas getting in the way. I have no idea who... Continue reading

Posted Sep 16, 2019 at Noisy Decent Graphics

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Unpackaged 10 years on

10 years ago as-near-as-is-good-enough-for-blogging I visited the Unpackaged store in Islington. I wrote a glowing review. I was very taken with the concept and the store. It looked like this. More pictures here on Flickr which everyone used then because... Continue reading

Posted Sep 15, 2019 at Noisy Decent Graphics

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Continue reading

Posted Sep 14, 2019 at Noisy Decent Graphics

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I stayed in a hotel the other day and it had a music theme. Every floor had these big pictures of dead singers. Hotels often have pictures of dead people. I wonder if it's to help you sleep. Anyway. Continue reading

Posted Sep 13, 2019 at Noisy Decent Graphics

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Celebrating 26 years of my shirt

I wrote about this shirt in 2007. I'm writing about it again. Yes blogging is so bad I am now writing the same blog post about the same thing just twelve years later. Think of this as the reboot. Same... Continue reading

Posted Sep 12, 2019 at Noisy Decent Graphics

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Here's the latest on the water fountains

First the designers, now it looks like Account Management have got involved. Continue reading

Posted Sep 12, 2019 at Noisy Decent Graphics

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Undoubtably a good idea

These water fountains have caused a stir on the design forums. They've been called "hideous" and "naff". I'm not a fan of them visually, but I think "naff" is an extremely patronising way to critique public design. But anyway, there's... Continue reading

Posted Aug 25, 2019 at Noisy Decent Graphics

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Cindy Sherman at the National Portrait Gallery

I love Cindy Sherman. Actually I don't. I don't like the photos that much. They're good, but I don't find them amazing. I absolutely love the fact that all her pictures are self-portraits. 40 years of that, that's brilliant. What... Continue reading

Posted Aug 20, 2019 at Noisy Decent Graphics

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Cutting Edge: Modernist British Printmaking at Dulwich Picture Gallery

Very good. I enjoyed it way more than I expected. You should go. Dulwich Picture Gallery continues to have surprisingly good, though small, exhibitions. Russell, worth a look if you happen to be in Dulwich. I'm sure Modernist is the... Continue reading

Posted Aug 18, 2019 at Noisy Decent Graphics

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Evening.

Commented Aug 15, 2019 on Week 834 at rodcorp

They've repainted the bollards

This is what they looked like in 2014. And this is what they look like now, freshly painted in 2019. Splendid. I've written about this before in 2016, 2015 and 2014. Fascinating stuff. Continue reading

Posted Aug 13, 2019 at Noisy Decent Graphics

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More Amazon painting

Having some fun with this project. Still not as good as Alan. @eyesonamazon over on Insta. Continue reading

Posted Aug 1, 2019 at Noisy Decent Graphics

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No Borders. No Carbon.

James has a point in this tweet the other day. NASA image AS08-14-2383, taken from lunar orbit by astronaut William Anders on December 24, 1968, during the Apollo 8 mission. Image commonly known as Earthrise. Continue reading

Posted Jul 7, 2019 at Noisy Decent Graphics

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Eyes On Amazon: one last thing before the recycling bin

The other day I was looking at the recycling pile and I wondered what Alan Fletcher would have done with all that cardboard. Remember that he made these incredible animals out of rubbish he found with his grandson Tobia. Mike... Continue reading

Posted Jun 19, 2019 at Noisy Decent Graphics

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The graphic language of cows

Giles and I were talking about cows because he wrote about how he had a nice chat with some the other day. I've always been a fan of cows partly because they are easy to talk to and partly because... Continue reading

Posted May 30, 2019 at Noisy Decent Graphics

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Van Gogh and Britain review

You should go. Book in advance but beware it is still very busy. Russell only go if you can find a quiet time. Maybe first thing on a Tuesday. Some of the classics. The blockbusters. Which is always nice to... Continue reading

Posted May 29, 2019 at Noisy Decent Graphics

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The story of my RSA Student Award win - a short film

Last year the RSA made a film about when I won the RSA Student Design award and the impact it had on my career. It's a nice film and I don't look or sound too stupid so I'm sharing it... Continue reading

Posted May 20, 2019 at Noisy Decent Graphics

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Too Fast to Live, Too Young to Die: Punk Graphics

Over in New York the other day I was kindly invited by Malcolm Garrett to the opening of Too Fast to Live, Too Young to Die: Punk Graphics at MAD. If you're in New York you should go. It's a... Continue reading

Posted Apr 18, 2019 at Noisy Decent Graphics

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The only good use for nostalgia

I liked this quote from Henry Ford. Only refer to the past if it helps future progress. Ignore nostalgia, learn from history. No-one ever does that of course. Not designers, nor politicians. Too many people hark back to a rose... Continue reading

Posted Feb 28, 2019 at Noisy Decent Graphics

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Good advice for this year and any year. From a campaign we did at w+k with Anthony Burrill for The Guardian many, many rainbows ago. Continue reading

Posted Jan 1, 2019 at Noisy Decent Graphics

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Design research urls #18

88. There’s a movie made entirely of Russian Dash Cam footage found on YouTube. Of course there is. Yet another thing you’ve never thought of but is startlingly obvious. The Road Movie trailer. 89. Tide designed some new washing liquid... Continue reading

Posted Dec 16, 2018 at Noisy Decent Graphics

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Design research urls #17

83. Good advice about email Let's start with this excellent article in the New York Times. Detailed and accurate. When I’m Mistakenly Put on an Email Chain, Should I Hit ‘Reply All’ Asking to Be Removed? 84. Design Principles There... Continue reading

Posted Oct 21, 2018 at Noisy Decent Graphics

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The design of To Do lists

I think Richard Pope once asked Twitter if anyone had tried writing down things to do in a way that reflects the size of each task. I used to do that. I went through a period of writing a To... Continue reading

Posted Sep 25, 2018 at Noisy Decent Graphics

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Jasper Morrison Penguin Huddle

I like Jasper Morrison's work. I like how Penguin covers look in an interior design setting. Therefore I like this. It's called the Jasper Morrison Penguin Huddle. It's a neat little invention that clasps your books together so you can... Continue reading

Posted Sep 24, 2018 at Noisy Decent Graphics

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