Class Commentary- April 16th

Wasnt in class this day.

I.D.-International Design Magazine
March/April 2008- “Little shop of Wonders” by: Hugh Pearman. pg 64-69

MadeThought a low profile graphics studio in London handles such clients as Nike Basketball, Design Miami, etc. You would think one would need to be immersed in the culture to understand that kind of thing, but you don’t. They have transcended national stereotypes stylishly and intelligently with striking poise and modesty.
MadeThought created by Ben Parker and Paul Austin, began as a very small practice working out of Ben’s bedroom. They had one project that started it all. An identity, book, and exhibition graphics for “Jam:Tokyo-Lodon”. This was an exhibition of urban creative culture from the two cities. They had worked at a previous company (North) together and also attended school together in college before starting MadeThought. They just wanted to find their own niche. Their Jam book with typographical patterning as the design driver, was further step into the unorthodox, but proved to be an efficient calling card. Many of their projects took on some of the same attributes. “You could call it Modernism with a twist. To some extent that’s a characteristic of British design. It has something that gives it an edge. We like to think of our working having graphic infection, an ability to spread our design into all aspects of a company’s business”, says Ben Parker “Everyone has praised their work for it’s simplicity and use of bold color. So much work out there is overloaded and over-labored, their work is just very accessible yet creative. For me that’s the essence of good graphic design”, says Ed Barber (Established & Sons), one of their most prized clients.