Professional Organisation - Design Council

The Design Council is an independent charity, established by Winston Churchill in 1944. They work with a variety of people. By woking with professional designers they aim to tackle major issues such as community cohesion and health issues. They give people practical tools, professional advice and knowledge that can help improve their business.

They have a collection of helpful resources on their website for many kinds of designers, from landscape designers to product designers.

At first, their website is a little hard to figure out who they are and what they do, but after a while of browsing you soon get the idea. One part that really interested me is their projects tab. The style they are in is somewhat like the style I wish to work in; clean, simple and minimalistic yet still effective.

You can take a look yourself here if you wish.

A Nose for Type - Eye Magazine Autumn 2010

This article from eye magazine features a fresh, new company that have revamped an old book cover (originally printed in nine pocket size volumes between 1759-67), giving it a new lease of life. The article begins by describing how they've refreshed the old book, by adding 'garnish fluorescent ink' on what is described as 'white stock'. 
The article then goes on to talk about how the new designers got to know the book to begin with, and how different they feel about it now that it has been redesigned. They state that they try to make the visual aspects part of the text itself, rather than illustrations. Some of the new and improved features include folded pages, perforated pages to show the missing paragraph, and spot varnish. 

To me, this article shows that a little bit of a redesign can't hurt, and sometimes it improves things drastically, almost making it seem like a completely new book with all the old aspects. I'm quite interested in redesigning book covers, as well as creating them, as its all about the saying 'you shouldn't judge a book by its cover' even though we all do and we can't help it. If I'm walking in a book store and I see a really interesting cover, I go to that first, rather than the book I was originally looking for. I feel as though it's the key to not only getting the reader to notice the book, but also to giving first impressions and maybe kick-starting their imagination when reading the book. 

Eye Magazine

Eye Magazine describes itself as 'the world's most beautiful and collectable graphic design journal'. This is published 4 times a year for students, professional designers, and anyone who has a general interest in design and culture. The magazine is available from many arts bookshops, but is also available online at the Eye Shop where subscriptions can be purchases, as well as older issues.

Eye magazine also have a blog online hat you can follow, where they publish reviews and articles about books, designers, and photographers. This is a great blog to refer to when you're needing a bit of influence, or just want to expire further into the creative world. 
On their website, they also have a section called 'Education', which has a list of links to useful university websites and you could say it even suggests the best arts universities and institutes to study at.

This magazine has always been an influence during my studies, on my previous course there was a box of these at the side of the room that we could always refer to if we needed some inspiration or even some research. Now if I'd like to seed them, I'd have to subscribe for a year at £34.00 (student price) or buy older copies from auction sites where they'll be cheaper for students, or visit the library where I study as they have recent issues. The problem with this is that you do have limited access, and they aren't your own for you to use.

The site also offers a 'try before you buy' feature, which links you to a video featuring the latest copy of the magazine, allowing you to look through briefly online so you can decide whether to purchase the magazine. I find this really handy, as sometimes when purchasing something expensive, you can feel as though you've wasted your money as you don't find the magazine useful or interesting.