April 2010

‘You+Me’ by Nick Schmitz (http://00one.com) or available online to buy at http://bit.ly/NSchmitz

Dear Reader,With the exception of Nick Schmitz (cover design) this issue is wholly dedicated to the ones who apparently come from Venus. Although having watched Professor Brian Cox’s ‘Wonders of the Solar System’ I am left with little doubt that we probably all come from Earth.

I chose to do an all-female issue because I believe that there are a distinct lack of female voices at the sharp end of the design industry. I might be wrong, maybe they are just more subtle, but it certainly feels like a male orientated world. You only need to watch ‘Madmen’ to realise that it’s always been this way.

In a recent interview I cited that the biggest creative influence on my career has been surrounding myself with people that are more intelligent than me. I also explained that I owe my career to Mrs Everest, my art teacher when I was aged 15. So toegther with my mother (and father), girlfriend and friends, women have had a great influence on my own professional life.

I have been fortunate enough to know, and be great friends with a great many (brilliant) designers, creative directors, strategists, planners, producers, illustrators, etc. Some of whom have, thankfully, been female who’ve been good enough to offer their time, resources, energy and skills to making this issue.

So make a cuppa, or sneak off to the toilet and enjoy

The ones I can’t talk aboutThere are three Project10 projects that I cannot talk about for fear that their very revelation would cause your eyes to burn from their sockets, your ears to melt, and your tongue fall out. That, and the other people involved would be well upset.

The *** Club This project involves a Badger, a monster muncher, myself and a few other key people as well as a panel of carefully selected judges. Things are ticking along nicely including a very comprehensive collaboration with an entire architectural school and RIBA. Like I said, if the talk becomes the walk, it will be like our very own moonwalk.

Meeting SpacesA collaboration with the intelligent, and inspirational mind of Matthew Knight, who has an existing project that myself, Lea Simpson and Jakob Nyland are all working on together. Memories, George Webster by Steve PriceGarrwick Webster invited me to create a piece for a beautiful book called ‘Memories’. The 300mm x 400mm canvas is here, top middle and a video showing the whole process of me making the canvas can be seen on Vimeo at: www.vimeo.com/10009333

Nyksund Ti (ten): Near and Far FestivalAs part of our continuing support and collaboration with our White Wharf (Hvitbryggen) building on the remote island of Nyksund in the North Norwegian Arctic I’ve designed a new web site for this years music/art/culture festival called ‘Near and Far’ (‘Fjorn og Naer’).With an impressive line-up and a pre-sale of over half the tickets sold already, this years festival is going to be mighty. The new site is not yet live but you can follow the developments on the Facebook group: http://bit.ly/b3F5NK

There are a host of other projects that I am in discussions with that I cannot yet talk about, but needless to say they will be right here.

May’s Project10 Newspaper is going to be the Graduate Issue. Ten graduates selected to interview their desired agency/designer. The theme is still collaboration, but will promote the new graduates and there work.

To apply: project10@plan-bstudio.com

pieces from the likes of Fanny Khoo discussing (with me) the merits (or not) of doing a PhD in Design. We have a twitter interview from Camilla Grey (Moving Brands) with Panja Gobel (Panjapop). There is insider information from Claire Selby on the new and improved Ravensbourne.

You have an insight into two brilliant designers from Poke; Nicky Gibson who talks about ten critical things she wished she’d known at University. And Katie Marcus on being a ‘hobbywhore’.

There is a special feature interview from Design Week’s very own Emily Pacey with the brilliant Jody Elphick, a.k.a. ‘Guardian Girl’, on how she’s decided to adapt her life using the Guardian’s Weekend supplements as her ‘bible’.

Taragh Bissett and Nicola Rowsell are the RadioGirls and tell us all about how they’ve gone from design and illustration to broaden their skills to presenting and producing their very own radio show.

Lea Simpson goes boldly insearch of the plural for Genius. Finally a wonderful, if not brief, interview with a rising star of the art scene, Alexa Meade.

Overall a busy edition to Project10’s newspaper celebrating collaboration, but a satisfying selection of brilliant people doing brilliant work brilliantly. And that’s alot of <capital ‘B’>Brilliant.

Alexa Meade: alexameade.comNicky Gibson: monster-munch.comKatie Marcus: whatkatiedoes.netFanny Khoo: meandmisterjones.beClaire Selby: c.selby@rave.ac.ukTaragh Basset & Nicola Rowsell: radiogirls.co.ukNick Schmitz: 00one.comCamilla Grey: camillas-store.blogspot.comPanja Gobel: panjapop.comEmma Jane Barrett: emmabarratt.comEmily Pacey: designweek.co.uk

Would you like to contribute to next months instalment, or perhaps you want to discuss a project, or a feature in your lovely magazine? Use any of the following: email: project10@plan-bstudio.comtwitter: @planbstudiophone: +44 (0)7971 207 276 - Steve Price

Design&Art direction: Steve Price (www.plan-bstudio.com)Editing: Claire Selby

10 yeArs / 10 projects / 10 projects

contributors, thAnk-you:

contribute/contAct:

credits:

April updAte

produced by:

www.plan-bstudio.com

printed by:

www.newspaperclub.co.uk

words + photogrAphy: kAtie MArcus

By day, I’m a designer at Poke. I work with layouts, grids and web standards. I agonise over whether to use Avenir or Avant Garde, and spend hours primping and polishing photography. But at 6.30 I snap out of design mode and, every Tuesday, cross the road to the Albion cafe and sit with my knitting group for a chat, tea and scone and a chance to at last make something tangible - something real - again. And if it isn’t Tuesday, you’ll catch me dashing home to finish an embroidery project, or update my blog about the amazing photographer whose work I found on Flickr earlier, or cook some Japanese food. Yes, I do a lot outside work hours that has nothing to do with my day job. I’m a hobbywhore, in plain terms.

My interests in the Internet and in crafting sprung up fairly simultaneously, but web design won out, as a career at least. The sewing machine stayed at home when I went to university. But crafty influence has crept back into my life since graduating and starting to work. I took up knitting towards the end of Uni as a distraction from dissertation-writing, and up until last year I ran an Etsy shop selling prints and greeting cards of my illustrations. More recently I’ve taken weekend and evening craft classes at The Make Lounge, a fantastic space where you can learn a new skill in a relaxed class of like-minded people. I started blogging a year or two ago and my little site - where I ramble about anything that takes my fancy - has gained a small but loyal following. Quite a step from my day job, building rich sites for clients including Honda, EA Games and Virgin F1 Racing (despite my girly pretensions, I always seem to get put on the most masculine clients!).

Luckily Poke are a good enabler for siphoning my many hobbies into my job. They even have a contingency of like-minded people called Stuff Club who create things like our V&A Village Fete stall - a Wild West Quick Draw Saloon, for which I produced graphics and posters. Stuff

I am not a designer, a creative or an illustrator. But I am a serial collaborator.

You might not have heard of Ravensbourne. But oh boy, you won’t be able to move for us soon. Glinting in the spring sunshine on Greenwich Peninsula, just next to the O2, lies our new home and a host of new opportunities. Get ready.

Our students are the next generation of graphic designers, animators, broadcasters, fashion designers, product designers and architects. Collaboration with them is getting the freshest ideas from your next target audience.

And before you think – oh god, no, PLEASE anything but STUDENTS, read on.

Marks and Spencer recently set our product design students a brief to redesign their food packaging - culminating in a winner being chosen and spending the next six months on a paid placement at M&S and their eco-consultancy Giraffe Innovation. They got to present their concepts at the Head Office in front of the category heads - real heart-in-the-mouth stuff. I don’t know who was more

nervous, me or them. It was fascinating to see the change in confidence from these students and they really did us proud. The project worked because the students listened to the brief, developed their ideas then accepted feedback from the client. Not much different to a professional really....

The one I’m really excited about is a project with BusTops, the brainchild of Alfie Dennen and part of London’s Cultural Olympiad to give bus tops around London a new lease of life. We’ve put the call out for students to work on early stage prototyping alongside Panasonic Innovation and the team to define what the screens will look like. They chose Ravensbourne because they were struck by the collaborative nature of our disciplines and students. Nice eh? The important thing is that we’ve developed a great relationship already – something that lies at the heart of any collaboration.

The new building we move to in September offers a massive opportunity for us to redefine how we learn and teach. There are no fixed departments, everything is open plan and from each floor you can see what’s going on at

every level. It’s going to be experimental and things probably won’t work on the first day but I’m really intrigued to see how it will change things and how students from different disciplines will start working together – mirroring what’s already going on in industry.

Have you ever wanted to use a 3D printer ? Now you can in our prototyping labs. Need a studio hire at short notice? Come to us.

We’ve already identified the need for learners to engage differently - our new home will be open at least 18 hours a day with the model of part college part hub part lab. Students, adult learners, business and industry will all work together alongside our incubation businesses and postgraduates. The most interesting stuff will happen in the places you least expect – on the stairs, over a coffee and in the spaces between.

The possibilities for collaboration with Ravensbourne are endless. What do you want to do?

Club’s members variously create sock monsters, horror shows in their Essex home and Arduino tweet-boxes, all for the joy of making something real. Asked why we do it, I’m sure we’d all answer the same - it’s a different, unique kind of satisfaction actually making something tangible - actual, touchable, interact-able - rather than a site that only exists on a lonely server somewhere.

My crafty hobbies and design sensibilities frequently overlap and influence each other. Last year I was invited to design a page for the Travelling Moleskine project and decided to combine my twin loves of typography and embroidery to make a paper-stitched page in a Herb Lubalin-inspired script. I chart out fair-isle knitting patterns in Photoshop and design my own vector embroidery patterns. Likewise, an appreciation for craft brings a tactile nature to my design work. I like to use a lot of real-world textures and a certain level of ‘imperfection’ in my designs which stems from my love of the handmade. But, like knitting and so many other crafts, the rules of grids and standards have to remain in place, or the whole thing unravels before your eyes.

I’m not alone in realising the joy in a multi-disciplinary approach. A trip through my Twitter contacts or RSS reader shows a healthy dose of crafters, illustrators and fashionistas ulitising the Internet to further their hobbies or careers. As well as satisfying my interest in these areas, I think this extended network and obsessive bookmarking makes me a better designer. I have a huge pool of inspiration to draw on, and not just from within the traditional design boundaries. If someone needs an illustrator for a work project, I can provide a huge list of options, plucked from my Tumblr and Delicious accounts. I can relate to clients easier, from fashion to Formula 1. I could take inspiration for a new project from just as easily from the knitting community Ravelry as from Creative Review. It’s the next best thing to being a full-time hobbywhore, I suppose.

rAve on

words: clAire selbyrAve.Ac.ukc.selby@rAve.Ac.uk

Top, One of Katies knitted patterns.

Bottom, Katies paper-stitched page in a Herb Lubalin-inspired script for the Travelling Moleskin project.

Left, The new Ravensbourne logo designed by Jonson Banks. Bottom, The new school design by Foreign Office Architects.

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To kickstart Fanny’s contribution to my blog (www.designweak.com) we had a discussion about PhD’s or rather a debate about over-contextualising and philosophising design. I was asked recently if I would consider doing a PhD by a very well known school. I declined because I cannot understand the point in doing such a thing. I got to talking to Fanny about this and in response to my otherwise ragged tale her wise words of wisdom dropped like a clean paper cut; ‘The best PhD in design is by working’!

FannyKhoo: Steve and I got to chatting on Facebook and occasionally we run into interesting topics. One day, Steve mentioned that he was offered to do a PhD in Design. I was frankly, quite taken aback because this was the first I’ve heard of something like that. Sure, they were degree courses in Graphic Design but wasn’t PhD something of a doctorate nature. Quick Google reveals ‘in many English-speaking countries, the PhD is the highest degree one can earn and applies to graduates in a wide array of disciplines in the sciences and humanities. The PhD or equivalent has become a requirement for a career as a university professor or researcher in most fields.’

In other words, isn’t doing a PhD ‘theorizing’ the subject at hand and often requires submissions of theses as part of the advanced courses relevant to his or her area of specialization? If getting a PhD is mostly theory, is it even relevant or necessary especially when Design is something to be honed (obviously after grasping the basics!) through practical lessons? Aren’t we meant as design practitioners or fellow professionals to build up our ‘on-the-ground’ experience and count our every last chip before being awarded our eventual merits?

This is baffling to us because we feel the general design education is not even optimised for honing the skills that we find so lacking in today’s young designers. Granted that they are more savvy with the computer and have a keen aesthetic eye, but good designers or rather communicators who have been around the block will know what I mean when I say experience is key to getting a real education.

SP: Completely, without banging on about education been the root of all evil I will just say that… It reminds me of a workshop I ran once which focused on the presentation and communication skills required to be a designer; from presenting work, to communication with clients. Only afterward were there comments from the faculty that the project was too ‘commercial’. Which I found confusing; without the commercial sector there is no graphic design. We work for a service industry. Period.

A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) is too much, so too is an MA in many respects, and I have one. I’m sorry, you do not need to philosophise design. I’d rather they scrap these expensive, unnecessary programmes and invest in the education faculties that exist and help develop programmes that will inevitably aid the more resourceful, realistic, practical side to design; thus making the course more valuable. That is not to say that this would be the only focus; conceptual thinking and development is crucial. But they could scrap the 10,000 word dissertation that no-one upon graduated ever reads or enquires about.

I am not suggesting that the contextual part of a BA should be scrapped, but refined. It is there to prove they can read, write, produce a sentence, paragraph

10 things i wish i’d known At uni

and formulate a written opinion. Rather than a lengthy dissertation what about five, two-thousand word reviews/commentaries on the chosen topics that interest them; these could be reviews of books, web sites, technology. These would be set between tutor and student. Each essay would also need to be presented to an audience – maybe their fellow students, maybe industry heads… Create a student design summit whereby the best ones get to present their ideas and findings to the people that might want to employ them.

The design education has to evolve and right now it doesn’t appear to be. Examples of schools who are breaking this mould are few and far between. For example, Ravensbourne have developed B2B programmes, CPD and support for start ups. A way for businesses to make use of the facilities and expertise. Which is a great idea.

Interestingly… Asked which school they prefer to see/employ graduates from recently and most Creative Director’s I spoke too came back with Huddersfield or Hyper Island!

FK: I totally agree with you that design education in general is lacking in what I call ‘reality bites’. In Belgium, for instance art schools greatly disparage the use of computers or any talk of design business. It’s like what you said – far too commercial! How dare we tar the integrity of ‘creativity’? These so-called educators believe in ‘out of the box and non-commercial’ crafting which basically translates ‘do what you want now because you’re in art school’. This mentality has produced tons of students upon graduation who find themselves strapped without essential must-have design skills, such as creating a decent layout and at least some typographical knowledge. Talent bounty hunters like myself are hard-pressed for potential talent to walk through our doors, well in this case, through my in-box… Even more rare, if you should find gems, quickly snap up the ones who are actually equipped to communicate a basic idea!

In Singapore, however students more savvy with their Macs but unfortunately sorely lacking in design thinking. It’s also largely due to the incongruous educational system whereby one cannot be expected to think beyond what’s taught.

More often than not, connecting the dots in design thinking is that missing creative link that stumbles the ones who subscribe quickly to a style that can carry them through and glaze over their inadequacies. It’s such a common fallacy that most people make the mistake of assuming design is just an adaptation of a style. I find that unforgivably stupid that we are not educated better to correct the view, even amongst our fellow designers! We cannot fault the layman and general public to know better unless we get it right in our system.

In all things that we do, experience is the key to getting it right. Or at least more right. Education, in theory (literally) can only do so much, without the practical every day usage of that knowledge, it’s only as limited as the next barrier.

I am all for a design education that can accelerate experience, but first let’s get the programme right.

words: fAnny khoo / steve priceMeAndMisterjones.be

Fanny Khoo is Creative director at Equus Design Consultants in Singapore with husband Tom Merckx. I came across their work somehow, some way (as one does these days) online. We got chatting and frequently discuss design issues, with Fanny recently contributing to my blog with the entry above.We plan to collaborate together on some project work in the very near future regarding Project10.

I have had the pleasure of knowing Nicky Gibson for many years, since Poke was first formed from the ashes of Deepend/Oven. She’s a truly talented individual in design, craft and all things creative it seems.I’ve been lucky enough to involve her on one of the most exciting projects for Project10. A collaboration of many talents for the benefit, we hope of the masses. Watch. This. Space.

working lAte does not get you A pAy riseAsking for a pay rise gets you a pay rise)Contrary to popular belief, working late does not get you a pay rise. It mostly just wears you out and stops you being as sharp as you could have been the next day. It may get you an occasional pat on the back. But some people view constant working late not as a sign of dedication, but of a failure in time management, or overconfidence in your own abilities. They may even assume you’re a bad communicator, that you don’t ask for help, or you’re someone who can’t share their thoughts with people. On the other hand - if you do want to work late and you produce something amazing, then that’s valuable additional learning time for you. But just don’t kill yourself !Don’t kill yourself with perfectionism. “Fail fast, fail better.” (someone smart said that once ). The wider you go with your initial ideas the more likely you are to find the target in the long run. Swift iteration and experimentation will get you further quicker on a project. You can’t afford to treat any idea as your perfectly crafted baby, as chances are it’ll get given up for adoption at some point during the process. Keep going. The more ideas the better. Empty your head onto the paper.

never be AfrAid to Ask for helpPeople love helping other people. If you ask them for help they’ll feel special ;) And you’ll get the benefit of a fresh pair of eyes and their experience.There’s something to learn from almost everyone you meet. ( Even if that turns out to be, what not to do. Everyone has had an experience you can learn from. You just haven’t had the right conversation with them yet. Sometimes the most unlikely person has a perfect nugget of information or inspiration that will help you think differently about the ideas you’re mulling over.Talking over your ideas with others helps you come at them from a new angle and can quickly spot where you can make improvements. Which means of course... Always share your learning with others. If you share, people will share with you. I think it was Paul Arden who said “To be Interesting - Be Interested”Blogging is one of the best things you can do. It’s a great discipline - it makes you hunt, gather, examine, ponder, criticise, understand, articulate, and link together ideas. All this can only help you. In the longer term you’ll meet interesting people, and create opportunities for collaboration projects. It will help you demonstrate your thought processes. Potential employers will easily be able to see inside your head and grasp the way you think, and imagine how you might fit within their team. Helping people understand your potential beyond the skills and tools evident in your portfolio is 90% of getting a job.

curiosity is one of the best trAits you could hAveIn general - asking yourself ‘Why?’ is almost always more fruitful than asking ‘How?’.

don’t tAke on too Much workThat’s the road to pain. It’s better to do what you’re doing well, than try and do everything.Calm and happy is the best mode to be creative in.

don’t beAt yourself up If you want to do good work don’t compare yourself to other designers and beat yourself up. What they are doing doesn’t matter. If you have a clear head to focus and enjoy what you’re doing, your work will turn out it’s own brand of awesome.

weAr other peoples shoes (soMetiMes)Being able to put yourself in other peoples shoes will always help you win. Even if you are asked to design Trainspotters Weekly magazine... Everyone has a passion. You have to really get stuck in and dirty to understand what the roots of their passion are. You have to look out at the world from inside their heads. If you can do that you can design things they’ll truly love and appreciate.Taking content and dressing it up in a nice outfit just doesn’t cut the mustard.

cArefully choose A personAl creAtive hobbyMaking things for yourself, that have no point or purpose other than to expand your imagination will help keep you fresh. It’s liberating to be free of the scrutiny of evaluation against a brief. And helps your brain become quicker and snappier at thinking broadly. I find having a tight starting point, with the aim to take it in a new direction everytime helps. It doesn’t matter what it is as long as it’s lighthearted and non-self critical. I make stuffed characters out of socks. On the surface this sounds retarded. But it’s a brilliant example of an exercise to open you up and challenge your imagination. This is good medicine.

leArn froM every project no MAtter how dullSometimes the seemingly shittest projects teach you the most.And if nothing else it’ll teach you how to stage a good comedy rant in the pub.All clients will be less than perfect in some aspect or another. Recycle this as an opportunity to bond with your team mates ;) A sense of humour will get you through!

sleep is generAlly underrAtedA goods nights sleep makes you happy. A happy designer is an effective one; a simple, but very easily forgotten gem.

the eAsy/hArd wAySome of these I learned the easy way. Some of these I learned the hard way.But I’ve found there’s no better way to learn than from your own experiences.

words+picture: nicky gibsonMonster-Munch.coM

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Left, One of Nicky’s monster characters called ‘Jack Monster’.

GENIUS PLURAL

My life is strewn with abandoned artistic collaborations, nary a one having made it to completion. And yet I’ve finished quite a few of my own projects. I don’t know why, but the women I know are all highly independent in their creative pursuits, while our men folk regularly and successfully collaborate together on music and writing projects and five-aside football teams.

‘This might sound like sexist bullshit, but I think women have a different attitude towards ownership than men, and when we approach a collaboration we need to know how it is going to reflect on us,’ says Jody Elphick, sub-editor by day, blogger by night.

Jody is doing the nearest thing to collaboration of any woman I know. But rather than working with a person, Jody has chosen as her collaborator The Guardian’s Saturday supplement Weekend. Through her character Guardian Girl, Jody hilariously reproduces the recipes, fashion shoots and interiors ideas on a shoestring budget. But why?

‘When you go out to the pub in Dalston on a Saturday lunchtime, there are all these couples sitting around, virtually all of them reading The Guardian,’ says Jody. ‘Everyone is quietly soaking up what Weekend is telling them to think and do…That magazine has a tyrannical tone to it.’

Instead of letting Weekend insidiously inform her taste and opinions, last year Jody chose to follow the magazine’s lifestyle dictates with religious devotion. She let go of control over most parts of her everyday life.

We seem to have some sort of love affair with the lone genius. Intellectual heroes, who lock themselves away in darkened rooms to unpick the workings of the world or create objects of beauty. Truth is though, I can’t seem to find a single case in which this perceived lonesome act of brilliance is accurate.

Einstein had a whole gang of thinkers around him. In addition to long time collaborators Leopold Infield, Peter Bergman and Nathan Rosen, he also had some one-shot collaborations with various scientists.

Darwin’s relationship with Alfred Russel Wallace, though often seen as competitive, is collaborative in the purest sense: something is shared, it is improved upon and then shared again. In Darwin’s case, his friend’s work, inspired his Theory of Natural Selection.

As a society, we clearly struggle to see the team as heroic. Even when faced quite unarguably with a team, we still revere a single hero. Don’t think so? Ask Buzz Aldrin what he thinks.

Hell, we even feel put out if a chef ’s presence is in the name above the door, but not in the kitchen.

We just seem to really, really like attaching one, single name to brilliant work. In fact, I can’t find a word that describes brilliant work by a group of people. What is the plural of genius? (Geniuses just doesn’t cut it, because it doesn’t describe the act of being brilliant together.)

So, in the spirit of collaboration, I’d like us to work together to coin that phrase. Visit, GeniusPlural.com and toss your suggestion into the virtual hat. You know the theory, snowy places have more words for snow. I wonder what places with more words for collective genius end up having more of ?

‘If The Measure said nude colours were in, I would buy nude, whether I liked it or not’. She cooked all the recipes, dressed as she was told, rearranged her furniture on a weekly basis and documented it all.

Not being loaded with cash, Jody often has to improvise: ‘I once went out with red lip gloss on my eyelids because I don’t possess red eye shadow.’

For Guardian Girl, Weekend’s mango, avocado and steak salad becomes ‘mangled avocado and steak salad’. Fig, wine and honey cake is ‘fug, whine and hurry cake’.

Jody says, ‘When I am feeling good, hanging bizarre outfits on myself and copying the poses and seeing what an idiot I look like compared to the model is endlessly funny and stops me taking life too seriously. It’s definitely a good lesson in not being too self-conscious’.

Jody’s attentions are now expanding to other, perhaps weightier, subjects, and her next project is altogether more collaborative than Guardian Girl.

She hopes to inspire people to join her in an experiment to live as closely in line with Tory, Labour, Lib Dem and Green Party dogma as possible, dedicating one week to each party until the election. The party that gives her the best week wins her vote.

I encourage all you swing voting women to get on and collaborate with Jody on this project. It’ll be mad fun. I would, but knowing me I’d probably give up half way through Tory week, just as the wind changed.

guArdiAn Angel

words: eMily pAcey of design weekpictures: jody elphick / guArdiAngirl.wordpress.coM

words: leA siMpsongeniusplurAl.coM / leAsiMpson.wordpress.coM

Jody, a.k.a. Guardian Girl, following the Guardian’s Weekend supplements advice. Not only reading the fashion/interiors/food/music advice, but physically acting them out.

I can’t find a word that describes brilliant work by a group of people. What is the plural of genius?

I’ve never actually met Lea. She’s a good friend of Matthew Knight, whom I have met. I plan to change this, more than likely before this paper is printed. Lea is one of those people who seems to actively and wantonly get her fingers in lots of pies; in a good way. One of three founding partners in unchainedguide.com working together along with Jakob Nyland on a project with Mr Knight. She’s clearly a gluten for punishment, but brilliant with it.

rAdio gA!gA! girlswords + pictures: tArAgh bAssitt / nicolA rowsellrAdiogirls.co.uk inspireddAy.co.ukdrAwdeAdthings,coM

tweets: @cAMillAstore / @pAnjApopillustrAtion: eMMA bArrett / eMMAbArrAtt.coM

Camillastore Hi @panjapop know the rules? ready for the girl-on-girl tweet-off? #unPandC

panjapop Sure am @Camillastore !!! Will this be harder than scrabble? Is this tweetle? #unPandC

Camillastore @panjapop Tweetle? Twabble? What is this modern-day obsession with merging words? #unPandC

panjapop Is it sloppy or just another layer of intellectuality? @Camillastore Is it cultural dumbing down or intellectual AR? #unPandC

Camillastore It’s just linguistic gymnastics!

panjapop Oh sorry, versteh nix... I only speak 3 languages, German, English and Body

Camillastore nice! So, how does your dual nationality translate into your design work?

panjapop I like the word “duality” in the context of design. Making all the ingredients talk together...that’s how you get substance

Camillastore I love to watch things influence each other - how a feeling, colour, shape, word trickles thru design and forms a trend.

Camillastore At the @thefuturelab they said Think Tanks are out, Do Tanks are in. Are you a thinker or a do-er, and do women ‘do’ it better?

panjapop I’m both. Women tend to be Do Tanks but should start being their own Think Tanks more

Camillastore Opportunity knocks for every man, but you have to give a woman a ring. Until then, we tend to just get on with it (and look hot!)

panjapop that’s a little old fashioned by my standards - a dame that knows the ropes isn’t likely to get tied up

Camillastore I’ve been things and seen places - but never met anyone like @panjapop. I challenge you to do a potted bio in 140c including #unPandC

panjapop Part animal with professional ambition? Look, I’m no model lady. A model’s just an imitation of the real thing! #unPandC

Camillastore And how is that animal ambition shaping the future?panjapop I like the little knock on reactions..who would have thought that one day we only think in chunks of 140 characters?

Camillastore I’ve gone beyond that - the other day I lost a pair of earrings and tried to Google them!

panjapop haha nice! This should be easy now with shape (earring) recognition software... or just tag them in future

Camillastore last day tomorrow! Better be on your game!

panjapop Are you provoking my competitive streak? I generally avoid temptation unless of course I can’t resist it.

Camillastore when it comes to design temptation, what’s the one thing you can’t resist?

Camillastore Any time you’ve got nothing to do and lots of time to do it send me a tweet

panjapop haha, nice one! When it comes to design temptation I like shaking up the sea of sameness.

Camillastore You’re so out there @panjapop, I prefer to cultivate anonymous anarchy in a renegade fashion from behind my screen.

Camillastore Or... keep a blog and someday it’ll keep you!

panjapop so, from chained to the kitchen sink to chained to your blog?

Camillastore doing the washing up? There’s an app for that! Feminism 3.0 in action.

panjapop yes, its called a dish washer! talking about apps though, we’ll all get apps-titis 3.0 if we are not careful

Camillastore haha I used to be Snow White but I drifted (and got appstitis 3.0!)

panjapop gee! You wanna be careful with that. I see you spreading the love. You’ve been in more laps than a napkin!

Camillastore Great chatting w/ you! Have a good weekend and remember - look your best , who said love is blind?

Women! Know your (140 character) limits! a collaborative Twitter challenge as part of the women's only edition of Project10.

Digital strategist, Camilla Grey, and designer, Panja Göbel, set themselves the challenge to discuss women in design and technology within a 140 character field on Twitter. Under the hashtag #unPandC, they ranted at each other for 3 days. To spice things up a bit they added the extra challenge to include five quotes each from their feisty heroine, Mae West, in their tweeted dialogue. They decided that they had so much fun that they might just carry on. To follow the thread or enter their banter check out #unPandC on Twitter.

A chance for a good chat - that’s probably the main reason Nikki (Nicola Rowsell) and I enjoy collaborating to make our radio show. Working with Nikki hasn’t surprised me but choosing a radio show as our project has. You see we are both artists with a passion for visual work. Nikki and I met over 20 years ago on a graphic design degree course. I currently work in graphic and web design and Nikki illustrates.

I have only recently started calling myself an artist. Over the last four years I have taken on less paid work and started many of my own projects These include making electronic music, learning to sing, a 100-day video project and some acting. I keep a blog at inspiredday.co.uk on things that I do or experience that might inspire others. My latest inspiration is life drawing.

The Radiogirls show came about quite by chance last summer. I am a big live music fan and Nikki’s local radio station MarlowFM was looking for someone to interview a local band. It just so happened I had seen, enjoyed and met the band (Temposhark) the week before in London. The interview went well the station asked us to return and then to do a regular weekly show.

I believe our collaboration is essentially what makes the show a success. There was one show I made on my own; Nikki was away. It was a much bigger challenge and it felt totally different; it didn’t flow as well.

One of our major motivators is the fact that we get total freedom on the show content. We have similar tastes in music and play mostly electronic and acoustic bands old and very new. However most of the show is talk. We often

discuss our attitudes to life, and don’t always agree, and that’s a good thing. I’ve certainly learnt some new ideas talking to Nikki during the show. The whole thing feels very genuine, it’s really us being us. We’re typically quite playful with subjects such as taxidermy, monogamy, the art market, creativity and Ladies Luxuries (our spot on unnecessary or ridiculous products targeted at women).

One regular Radiogirls feature is drawdeadthings.com. We encourage listeners to draw dead things while listening to the show and share the drawings with us on Flickr. The idea came from Nikki; she collects bones and roadkill animals to draw, but dead can also mean a leaf or an apple. In contrast I draw live things; I post my life drawings on our website.

We’ve enjoyed many guests including local singer, songwriter Nick Heyward who shares his very charming views on living life to the full. He’s contributed a jingle too. Designer Jonathan Barnbrook has agreed to be on an upcoming show.

Mark Stevenson, the optimist on tour, is a regular and favourite guest. We chat to him about his meetings with inspirational people in technology and science; people that are going to change our lives for the better. He is big into collaboration.

In a way the show, and Nikki have saved me a little. I live and work alone, and it’s challenging; I often feel I get too wrapped up in my own ideas and crave company. Collaborating on the show has been a tonic, a regular commitment both share, listen and laugh.

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interview with: AlexA MeAde AlexAMeAde.coM

Alexa Meade is a 23-year-old artist based in the Washington, DC area. She spent four summers interning on Capitol Hill and in 2008 was a press staffer on the Obama Campaign. After graduating from Vassar College with a degree in Political Science in May 2009, Alexa decided to pursue her passion for art. Her political past has taught her that what one experiences cannot always be interpreted at face value; seeing is not necessarily believing.

The reverse trompe l’oeil series is Alexa Meade’s spin on reality. Alexa has invented a painting technique that makes 3 dimensional space look flat, blurring the lines between illusion and reality.

Typically a painting is an artist’s interpretation of the subject painted onto another surface. In Alexa’s paintings, she creates her artistic interpretation of the subject directly on top of the subject itself. Essentially, her art imitates life - on top of life.

By wrapping her subject in a mask of paint, she skews the way that the core of the subject is perceived.

Could you tell us about you and your work? I’m a 23-year-old, self-taught painter-photographer who comes from the DC political scene. I have innovated a special technique for painting in three dimensional space that when photographed makes the scene look like a 2D plane. It’s almost like trompe l’oeil, but in reverse. What inspires you to paint and how do you keep motivated when things get tough in the studio? I set aside time each week for “playtime” in the studio. I meander through little experiments to keep my brain limber and get the creative juices flowing. One of my staples of playtime is to squeeze out entire tubes of Aquafresh toothpaste. My studio is offensively minty. As an artist you presumably like to be paid for your work, but I’m guessing that your work comes with ‘Model not included’? How do you sell your work? I sell limited edition prints and commissioned portraits.