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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

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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Design research urls #16

77. Pictures of colourful pigeons. Beautiful. On Instagram too for a more regular fix. Ornithurae by Leila Jeffreys Leila Jeffreys Instagram 78. Man puts a huge poster of himself up in McDonalds and no-one notices There’s a serious point here,... Continue reading

Posted Sep 9, 2018 at Noisy Decent Graphics

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The London Mastaba by Christo and Jeanne-Claude

Went to see the London Mastaba the other day. I liked it, you should make the effort to go. It's dead easy, you can just walk past. It's on until Sunday 23 September and then they will probably spend a... Continue reading

Posted Aug 22, 2018 at Noisy Decent Graphics

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Design research urls #15

74. Now That's What I Call Music series reached 100. If you're my age this is the biggest thing to happen in music ever. The Now series were playlists you could buy from Woolworths twice a year. The BBC have... Continue reading

Posted Aug 21, 2018 at Noisy Decent Graphics

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We should have made a Monet scarf

I grew up in a small village in Wiltshire. There used to be a goat tied to the phone box and there was one bus a week to the nearest town. Today the population is 600 and they’ve built a... Continue reading

Posted Jul 25, 2018 at Noisy Decent Graphics

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Half and Half Art - Summer Exhibition 2018

Russell and I have made it into the Royal Academy's Summer Exhibition this year. Half and half scarves are a modern phenomenon. Football scarves normally show your allegiance for your team, but the half and half scarf is more like... Continue reading

Posted Jun 12, 2018 at Noisy Decent Graphics

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The beermat in its next largest context

This is a wonderful sign. It's in a cafe called Beans love Greens on Calvert Ave in Shoreditch. The simplicity of the 'strapline' is nice and I guess it was once above a newsagent in Hackney. These days I'm sceptical... Continue reading

Posted May 28, 2018 at Noisy Decent Graphics

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Design research urls #14

68. This is a train that looks like a plane. The Schienenzeppelin or rail zeppelin. 69. A lesson in non-compete agreements Martin Sorrell has vowed to “start again”, weeks after his departure from WPP. A few weeks ago (para 64)... Continue reading

Posted May 16, 2018 at Noisy Decent Graphics

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Of all the silly things agencies do this is one of the silliest and the best For w+k London's 20th anniversary they had a massive cake made of all their best ads. Utter nonsense. Brilliant. Continue reading

Posted Apr 28, 2018 at Noisy Decent Graphics

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All the news that's fitted to print

Richard Turley and friends have launched a newspaper in New York. It looks great, you should buy a copy. But the best bit, the bit that's the most fun and the most clever is this. Genius. Continue reading

Posted Apr 27, 2018 at Noisy Decent Graphics

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Design research urls #13

63. Jon Marshall co-founder of MAP joined Pentagram Always a frisson on the forums when Pentagram appoint a new partner. I’m excited by this one, Marshall is exactly who Pentagram should be appointing. The mix of classic product design with... Continue reading

Posted Apr 22, 2018 at Noisy Decent Graphics

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The state of communications today

So much of modern communication is like this. Badly written, poorly designed, unclear, confusing, multi-layered ideas that look like phishing. Here's the rational behind using Arnie, “He’s like a fitness instructor for decision making, he is only a head because... Continue reading

Posted Apr 19, 2018 at Noisy Decent Graphics

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Good Windows Is as Little Windows as Possible

Here’s a picture of the Apple Store in Bluewater, a shopping mall in Kent. It could be any Apple Store anywhere. Notice that it has nothing in the windows. No marketing collateral, no promotional offers, no posters, no displays, no... Continue reading

Posted Apr 16, 2018 at Noisy Decent Graphics

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It's like the old days

I have absolutely no idea what caused this spike or where these visitors came from, but welcome newcomers! Continue reading

Posted Apr 11, 2018 at Noisy Decent Graphics

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Design research urls #12

55. Not one mention of London's Ark But this is still good, 13 stunning buildings that look like boats 56. Citymapper made a bus but the bus isn’t the important bit, obvs Citymapper started a bus route age ago. And... Continue reading

Posted Apr 8, 2018 at Noisy Decent Graphics

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The Design Museum’s Hope to Nope is good, you should go

I went to the Design Museum’s Hope to Nope exhibition at the weekend. It was good, I enjoyed it, Russell you should go and then you can look at the screens and the Ferrari exhibition. More about the screens later.... Continue reading

Posted Apr 4, 2018 at Noisy Decent Graphics

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