Ruskin Square website goes live

Ruskin Square is a huge new development in the heart of Croydon, designed by Foster + Partners and FaulkerBrowns. Design consultancy Figtree created the identity and communications for the development, and asked me to work on the copy.

I was delighted to accept, of course, especially as this was my first job with Figtree. It all went very well, and I ended up writing a teaser brochure, the website, and a range of lines for the construction hoardings and nearby billboards.

Click here for the website. And I'll be adding more of the materials to my Portfolio section soon.

My 26 poster goes up

This month saw the posters in the 26/JC Decaux 48-sheet project finally appear at their various sites. Here's mine, on a suitably grotty corner of the Purley Way, shot on a suitably grey day. (If you know Purley Way, it's just by the big Pets At Home store.)

It was nice to see the project sparking some spiky opinions in Design Week from Quentin Newark (subscribers read it here) (followed by an admirable defence from Jim Davies). As I said in a recent letter to DW (on a separate issue), this sort of knockabout debate always seems conspicuously absent from its pages. I do hope it's a sign of things to come.

There's no doubt this was a difficult project. The brief called for posters inspired very specifically by their local area - and even local dialects or accents. (Hence my sort of chav portmanteau, 'Croydinnit?' What you can't really see in the picture is the follow-up line: 'You're talking the Purley Way.')

It also insisted we use only six words – no more, and no less. I'm afraid I have to break ranks at this point, and admit that I never understood the reason for this restriction. It felt like an escapee from a separate brief, and helped make what would always have been rather esoteric posters even more obscure to a general audience.

But still, we have to tip a hat to JC Decaux for giving us pretty much free rein on their poster sites. (Although I know of at least one concept shot down for infringing the rather impenetrable advertising code.) And to Margaret Oscar of 26, who made an enormous rod for her own back with this project, and still managed to make it all work.

Haunted by Croydon

"I can't seem to escape from Croydon."

No doubt this cry has been raised before, but never by me. And yet, in the past weeks, Croydon has become a looming presence in my life, thanks to one of those bizarre work synchronicities that come along now and then.

The first project came from writers' association 26. They'd wangled a deal with media owners JC Decaux, allowing a bunch of writers and designers to create 48-sheet posters celebrating the written word. (And the power of outdoor advertising.)

Each poster had to relate to its location, and for some rather obscure reason, had to include exactly six words. I've included a sneak preview of my solution above. (Some of the other posters are on p16 of September's Creative Review.)

Due to a rather surprising turn of events, I ended up designing my poster as well as writing it. Although I did, thank heavens, have some invaluable emergency aid from Sue Rogers - a proper (freelance) designer and good friend who was quite busy enough already on her own poster. So thanks again, Sue.

On the heels of this project came two more - and from two new clients, at that. First, design consultancy Figtree got in touch to ask if I'd help with the website, literature and hoardings for a huge new development in Croydon. Naturally I said yes, and it's all going very well. Watch this space for more in due course.

Then I had a call from another new contact: Mark Studio in Manchester. (Thank you, 300million.) They had a little project they wanted my help with - for Croydon College. Quite how such a job managed to find its way up to Manchester, I'm not sure, but together Mark and I have done some nice posters and postcards to promote the College.

There hasn't been a new Croydon project for a couple of weeks now, so I think the storm may have passed. But I shall soon be visiting the Gateway to the South, armed with my digital camera - I'm assuming the whole place will be crawling with my copy.