On Thursday 30th June, a very excited pair of designers embarked on a journey east, to the big smoke. The purpose of this adventure was to hunt down and capture some fresh, raw talent for BOS: from the D&AD New Blood show. This show highlights the best design degree courses from around the UK.
Arriving into Paddington station, Dan and I joined the herd of people migrating towards the underground. This once again reminded me why I had chosen Cheltenham over London as a career base. However, taking a deep breath we moved with the flow of commuters and boarded the Circle Line. First stop of the day trip was to the Design Museum where we were mesmerised and intrigued by Wim Crouwel’s exhibition. His work is especially well known for the use of grid-based layouts and typography and I was personally drawn in by the striking use of colour in his posters. Crouwel was definitely ahead of his time on so many levels!
We then moved upstairs to explore the Brit Insurance Designs of the year. There were a number of individual and creative products on display at the museum, such as the new Dyson air multiplier fan, which has no blades cutting through the air (Dan wanted to buy each of his 3 children one for their rooms, but decided that at a price of £300 per unit – maybe not!) Other items included the in-between clock, where the digits morph into the next number. We found ourselves staring at this clock, unable to pull ourselves away, until I commented that we were simply watching our lives tick away! Another exhibit was a chair built by a robot which uses old refrigerator plastic to create the piece, this was stunning in its simplicity. These objects and some other striking designs made it onto our shopping list for the directors of BOS: to buy for the company. Here’s to hoping!
After a brief pit stop at The Book Club (where the shopping list for BOS: continued to grow!) we moved towards the The Old Truman Brewery, Brick Lane, the hunting ground, in pursuit of young design bucks. Armed with our checklist of requirements we entered the show, ready to pounce and attack on any talent that caught our eye. Unfortunately Dan and I had to move into cheetah mode in order to catch the train home. However, on the journey back we were able to reflect on the show and how overwhelmingly impressive it was, a definite 9 out of 10! A shame we could not have stayed longer on our quest for prey. As it was, we snared a number of possible game. I look forward to welcoming the chosen few through the BOS: doors, with open jaws!
Emma (S)
