The Reeperbhan

I'll let this picture tell the story of my recent trip to the Reeperban in Hamburg. It sums it up the vibe of the place nicely.

The Eszett

My gut reaction to the eszett (the German ‘ss’ or more particularly ß) has always been one of discomfort. Its shape, size, proportions seem typographically clumsy. While I was in Germany over Christmas I have attempted to get a greater understanding of this peculiar character, and it’s variations I saw day-to-day. Here’s the first set: street signs.

iPod TriPod

The crew at Out of the Blue have released their latest Christmas must-have accessory, advising us to “warm up before trying this at home. Pull the curtains, not a hamstring.” Sound advice as usual from the Kiwis.

The buterfly that stamped

A composition created a few weeks ago while I had some time up my sleeve. An alternative seasonal image; no sign of a snowflake or a reindeer… So have yourself a flamingood Christmas y'hear.
© 2006 Smoothfluid.

New Look

Some of you may have noticed something different this time. Yup, after years I've changed the template, but this one is off-the-shelf and is like a poke in the eye with a dirty stick. Why Blogger won't let me customise it like before I just don't know. If anyone wants to help me modify the css so my links can be magenta I'd be most grateful. Pesky code is slipperier than a Hungarian jelly-wrestler. Why the change after so long? Well, I've decided to merge my blogs into something altogether more coherent, documenting what floats my boat as I skip about on my merry way.(Up North © 2006 Smoothfluid Ltd.)

Blue Carpet

Blue Carpet. Now this is the kind of stuff that I get off on. Brilliantly playful and what you’d least expect. Outside the Laing Gallery in Newcastle.

The Ford Ka. Oberservation

Ka. I saw the Ford Ka logo in a new light the other day, so thought I’d share it with you; it just popped up and now makes sense. Nice when your mind takes you by surprise.

7 Stories

Seven Stories. The more I look at this logo the more I like it. The centre is just as entertaining, and if I was seven it would be even better. This centre for children's books, whose aim, as far as I can tell, is to inject the magic and adventure into children's stories in a number of ways. They also have a feline theme playfully hidden about the building. It could have been so tacky, but as it happens I think it is brilliant (especially with the subtlety of clear gloss footprints).

Play nice

Play nice. Consider yourself told. Street art in Edinburgh.

Thing

A prediction: Despite what you may have heard, “Thing” will be OK. It isn’t right now, but in the future things will change for Thing. Is this a reference to The Musters or something more sinister?