Design Manchester - Adidas Spezial Exhibition

Adidas Spezial Exhibition


Today I visited the Adidas Spezial exhibition, part of Design Manchester 14, which showcased 650 pairs of rare, vintage, deadstock, re-issues and collaboration styles from personal collections of numerous adidas collectors. The exhbition was a chance to literally walk through the adidas archives and experience adidas history first hand.

After a tip off about a store stacked high with vintage adidas products Aspden put together a team of fellow adidas fanatics to travel to Buenos Aires. Invitees were musician Ian Brown, notorious adidas collector Robert Brooks and adidas enthusiast Mike Chetcuti – whilst photographer Neil Bedford and film maker Greg Bond documented the trip. The objective was to find rare archive pieces for research purposes as well as vintage footwear to exhibit in this SPEZIAL exhibition which forms part of Design Manchester 14.

I loved the vinyl lettering that had been used for various adidas relevant quotes on the walls around the exhibition. The fact each letter was individual it made everything feel so authentic and showed at lot of thought had gone into the exhibition.

 

Study Task 1 - Kontrastika

Today we were placed into 5 different groups and asked to research a specific design studio, which we would then research and present to the rest of the groups. We were asked to look at 'Kontrastika'. 

Kontrastika is a Slovenia based design studio run by Moja Janzelj-tomazic a winner of several awards in design and photography, and Matjaz tomazicl, graphic designer, illustrator and information architect with many years of experience in the most renowned advertising, design and web agencies.

The sort of categories Kontrastika work within are:

- identity & branding

- graphic design

- interaction design

- spatial & product design

- photography & illustration

- studies & experiments

Although, I really like the custom typefaces Kontrastika create, I think they are a bit vague and don't portray what the company offers or does. As a whole Kontrastika are a bit vague even with there own logo the green submarine, however, their typeface logo does portray there logo for illustration work with the use of a hand drawn typeface, although I'm not much of a fan of this logo either unfortunately. On the other hand, I really like their publication work, especially the Si.mobil's Good idea pad due to the creative experimental work they have used within the pages and front cover.

Submarine?
As of now the green submarine logo's meaning has not been explained they just state it has a profound meaning from marketing, as well as sociological, religious and even numerological perspective.

The meaning will be revealed at the gala event on the 50th anniversary Kontrastika is founding. The event will begin in 376733 hours.

Study Task 1 - Icebreaker

Identify and explain 5 reasons why you chose to study on this course?

• I feel Leeds is extremely similar to Manchester in terms of what it has to offer as a city. It also isn't very far from Manchester which I liked the idea of.
• My sister attended Leeds Metropolitan so I had an idea of what was to be expected of Leeds as a whole. She also stayed in the same accommodation and highly recommended it.
• One of the main reasons I chose the course was based on my interview. It was completely different to any of the others I attended and was definitely the most enjoyable.
• The reason I chose Graphic Design in particular is because I've always wanted to do something different to my friends and have always had a keen eye for things that are visually pleasing.

Identify and explain 5 things that you want to learn during your time on the course

• How to present my work in a professional manner.
• I have a strong passion for screen printing however have only experimented with it once. I would also like to try other forms of printing with typography.
• I wish to further and develope skills within different Adobe programes especially Dreamweaver.
• I would like to get an idea for the sort of prices you should be charging when designing independantly
• Outside of the course I hope to learn how to manage money and cook for myself.

Identify and explain 5 things that inspire you 

• I keep up to date with various Graphic Design blogs such as; Behance, New Grids and Its Nice That.
• I love trainer design and the stories behind especially the work of Tinker Hatfield who designed the Air Max 1.
• I have a strong passion for collecting Vinyl records and I am inspired by the individuality of the sleeve artwork.
• Street Art
• I-D Magazine, The Gentlewoman, GQ and various independent publications

Identify and explain 5 things that you think are your strengths

• I constantly write lists of the tasks I need to do and always try to stay as organised as possible.
• I am interested in layout design and typography which Is a strong aspect in Graphic Design.
• Connecting with other creatives on a daily basis is something I enjoy and helps my own personal creative process.
• Experimenting with new creative processes is something I thoroughly enjoy and I think will help me to acquire my own unique design style.