Working among mighty pine trees may appeal to your inner lumberjack but it sure doesn’t help the garden grow. So to spruce (geddit) up our threadbare lawn around the studio we asked http://www.namgrass.co.uk to install artificial grass and its all gone a bit Florida golf course glam. The days of straggly tinselly greengrocer’s plastic grass are long gone so we’re leaving the lawnmower in the shed, waving goodbye to the weeding and stretching out on the (fake) green grass of home – even Flea the studio dog’s loving the new plastic fantastic greensward.
One trend we’re picking up on is that of ‘austerity’ in graphic design. When times are tougher do we look backwards to design that’s simpler to make, cheaper to produce and where good typography sits front and centre rather than overblown big budget photography and presentation? We’re seeing a revival in letterpress techniques, hand drawn signage and the call for more craft, less flash. And until George Osborne finds some cash stuffed down the back of the sofa, this fashion for all things nostalgic’s bound to roll on.
And to celebrate 20 odd years of colouring in we’ve built a shiny new website and, as you can see, added a blog here to write, rant and wonder at all that’s good in design.
From advertising boat companies, designing care charity websites to branding hotels we’ve proved time and time again we know what makes a brand tick, how best to say what when and look good saying it.
If your brand needs a spring clean, your online presence could do with some TLC or your brochures just don’t cut it anymore then get in touch and see how we can help.
Our studio’s based on the edge of the New Forest, on the south coast of England, but we have passports and love to travel!
We’re super proud of our new website. It’s an online portfolio, a selection of our work from the last twenty one years. The work covers all aspects of what we do, from logos to lorry liveries and annual reports to advertising campaigns, with loads inbetween.
We think our clients will love to see their company showcased this way and have a good ol’ nose through what we do for other clients – and see what we do all day! We hope to inspire new projects, freshen up old ones and of course, woo some new clients too!
We’ll keep you up to date with anything design led that’s totes amaze-balls – so follow.
Friends of the studio know how seriously we take our coffee, religiously brewed at 11:15 am and 3:30 pm (so drop by if you’re passing).
It was always made on a Bialetti stovetop but last year I bought Al one of these for his birthday, never thinking it would take the place of the Bialetti but the darn thing is such a hit that we use it in the studio too, the old machines are now neatly stacked in the cupboard getting dusty.
The whole procedure of making coffee becomes a ritual you’ll look forward to for your daily caffeine fix.
If you care about your coffee and are as seduced by the amazing design of the Presso, as we are, then here is where you can buy one www.presso.co.uk (now called the ROK Expresso machine)
Stone Design now has a photographic studio, which we use for client work and cataloguing projects for our portfolio.
Our model above is Buffalo Bob, who usually sits on a very smart Italian sideboard overlooking Al’s mid century living room. We found him at http://www.lassco.co.uk/ which is full of architectural antiques, salvage and antiquities. It’s a very addictive experience, browsing through their delights, be warned!
Stone Design Studio 