At last it’s here. Never be bored on the bus again.

The D4 design Blog is now available on your phone and pad – so you can blog + run anytime, anywhere. Just search for www.d4online.com and bookmark us. Go on. Hit it.

‘Gold E’ is the latest release from Nik Colk Void of ‘post industrial’ techno noise makers Factory Floor – so expect dark swirling guitar and plenty of feedback.

The idea behind the 7″ sleeve really grabbed my attention, a polyurethane cast of the record itself which can also be played, and over time the sound will alter as the polymer degrades, so on every listen the track changes creating a living evolving sound.

For me, this is just another great example of the symbiotic relationship between music and design, and is really pushing the boundaries of sleeve design.

Im a culprit sometimes for ease buying MP3′s, but im a sucker for a well designed sleeve (I still love reading sleeves notes like I did when 16!)

So, next time you’re on itunes, think what you could have had.

We are over the moon to announce that top brand designer Andy Richards is joining our team in March. Andy has been the Senior Creative at Omnia Dubai for a good few years, working on huge international projects, whilst also founding the inspirational design blog Derive. It is an absolute coup for D4 that he has decided to come and work with us here in Sheffield.

I’m not a hoarder, I travel light as best as I can, when I can. But for those of you who are guilty of hoarding and don’t know what to with all that ‘stuff’ – then take a look at these images. They’re a great example of what to do with all the crap you may have hoarded over the years… Just pile it up!

But in a considered, beautiful way though. But be warned – you’ll need to put aside a few months to get them built and just right. Oh… and don’t forget to get yourself a team of technicians and students to help with the build (fetch sandwiches and make drinks). This is the intriguing work of Dutch artist Marjan Teeuwen, named the Archief Series. All these fantastic images were photographed from the ceiling to create photographs that at first glance appear to be symmetrical and / or geometric patterns. But on closer inspection you’ll see thousands of random items in all kinds of materials are put together in a very considered and ordered manner.

Teeuwen has won awards for this work in both the photography and art communities. And I’m sure you’ll agree, rightly so…

…And, if anyone out there has enough hoarded stuff and the patience to pull off something like this then I’d love to hear from you – despite the fact you more than likely have issues.

We’ve had a studio chat and we are all in agreement that currently the best deep house DJ’s are all female. Not sure why. It’s just fact. We’re eagerly looking forward to Maya Jane Coles forthcoming DJ Kicks release. Anyone else excited… or is it just us?

View Video

Now we might think we’re hot on confidentiality here at D4, but nowhere near as much as these women. Feminist Russian punk band Pussy Riot are sworn to anonymity, hence the colourful balaclavas members use to hide their faces. And for good reason…

As Russia’s increasingly creative protest movement against Vladimir Putin rises Pussy Riot have catapaulted to become a symbol for Russian youth’s discontent. Their provocative anti-Putin performance this week outside Saint Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow saw all eight members arrested and face 15 days in jail.

Whether you love or hate the music you gotta love the courage. As band member Garazhda says, “The revolution should be done by women. For now, they don’t beat or jail us as much.” Flippin heck, these women have balls!

A campaign for “Solidarity with Pussy Riot” has already started on Tumblr. We’re in.

Are you?

When you think of Sheffield, what first springs to mind?

Richard Hawley? Arctic Monkeys? Pulp?

How about that bloomin’ great building that overlooks the city? When you enter Sheffield via the Parkway, one of the first things to greet you is Park Hill. Whether you arrive by bus, tram, car or train, it’s right there, towering over you.

As much as I love Sheffield, I’ve driven past that eyesore over the last 25 years, and never liked it one bit. If you’re not familiar with Park Hill, then I suggest you watch this cracking short video from the BBC to set the scene.

Watched it? Okay, on we go…

So I decided as part of my Saturday that I should finally go and have a look around the ongoing regeneration project by Urban Splash at the Grade 2 listed building. I went armed with my boyfriend and we put on our best “potential house/flat buyer” heads so as not to be busted for the nosey parkers we were.

The closest I’d ever gotten to Park Hill before was on an A level geography field trip with 15 other kids and our teacher Mrs Coggins. We sat outside in the school minibus with the windows wound up, the doors locked and the engine running for a quick getaway, whilst we discussed the history of the building and how horrible it must be to live there.

Almost 9 years later, I walked towards the flats via the train station to make our 1pm appointment feeling less like I needed an emergency escape route out of there. Just one thing caught our attention as we climbed the hill:

“Park Hill is yuppieville”

A priceless piece of graffiti that highlights the division between the old and soon to be new occupiers of Park Hill.

With roughly 100 people still living in the flats, I began to wonder just how this project was going to successfully merge the yuppies and the current occupiers. Is the dream of improving the area already shattered by the buildings lingering past? Only one block will be ready by November 2012, and the rest over the coming years. The projections of the finished site look fantastic – contemporary flats, bars, restuarants, galleries, shops – but it’s whether or not this vision can become a reality and a positive community can grow around it.

Anyway, we approached the sales office and were greeted by two lovely ladies who showed us around 3 different flats, and I can honestly tell you that I was surprised by what I saw.

It was bloody fantastic.

The layout. The balcony.  The crazy doors that hide in walls….no, really they do! The under floor heating. The two levels. The VIEW. The floor to ceiling windows. The exposed concrete walls. The VIEW.

Hats off to the designers. I am well and truly sold. I’d never before looked at this building as anything more than a conrete prison. An architectural marvel it truly is.

Whilst I couldn’t imagine living there with a family, I sure as hell could picture myself with a glass of wine on that balcony looking out over Sheffield for the next few years.

I’m glad that our curiosity led me to book a viewing, and see what a truly great place Park Hill was and can be again. By the time we left, we’d already started planning on what wallpaper we’d want in the bedroom and how much stuff I’d need to eBay to fit in our perfect city apartment.

What are your thoughts on the development?

Call us sad but we love a bit of manufacturing here at the Steel City. The Global Manufacturing Festival is being held in Sheffield this March and D4 will be first in the door. Designing for the engineering and technology industry may not be glamorous but it’s where our passion lies. 

People like to trot out the old line that “we don’t make anything anymore.” Well we fervently disagree. It’s all about how you consider ‘making’. Britain ‘makes’ some of the best films, television, music, buildings, fashion, advertising and design work in the world.

Whilst these creative industries may not fit into a traditional view of manufacturing, the cross-overs are massive. New products need tooling, structures have to be to be built, ideas brought to life. On the flip side our established industries need to find new ways to communicate in tomorrow’s restart economy, to embrace digital as a media to find new global opportunities. And when they find new audiences they need to present themselves as the world beating brands they truly are.

That’s where D4 come in. We have one mission. To make brands fit for a digital world. If your business is facing a digital challenge let’s meet up at the Global Manufacturing Festival 2012. Maybe together we’ll make something better.

Call Paul Herron on +44 (0)7802 500 707 or email him at paul.herron@d4online.com to hook up.

If you don’t know what PIPA or SOPA stands for (and you love the Internet as much as we do), you need to educate yourself fast.

http://americancensorship.org/

http://americancensorship.org/

“If your type’s not working, translate it into German. As everything looks better in German”

@d4online // D4 Studio Tweet _w/c 09/01/12