Serif vs Sans Serif

In my latest blog entry for Ohh Deer I explore the typographic crux that is Serif and Sans Serif with a little help from some illustrations by Studio Velardi. Everyday font wars play out on products and propaganda, each one battling for attention; for a moment of our appreciation or disdain. Typeface plays a significant role across our cultural landscape in both creative and commercial industries such as technology, fashion and entertainment. In an age of online publishing, the question 'to serif or sans serif' is carefully considered when deciding how we wish to project ourselves through as much as what our words say, as how they look.  

Decisions, decisions...

Typeface now gets physical thanks to Japanese design studio TYPE who invite us to wear our taste in typeface as part of our personal style. Inspired by how ‘the design of a typeface affects how a message is communicated’ TYPE launches an ingenious collection of eyewear designed around the anatomical characteristics of Helvetica and Garamond families to represent their respective 'universality and individuality' for its inaugural collection.

Helvetica’s solid sans serif lines are lifted off the page to create spectacle arms as are Garamond’s serif accents that are incorporated onto the bridge of a classic keyhole frame. Each model is available in Light, Regular and Bold weights; finished in Black, Tortoise or Clear colourways and can be made as eyeglasses or sunglasses. 

TYPE is currently only available in Japan and will be expanding their typeface catalogue in the coming seasons - explore the entire collection  here to see what typeface suits you. 

Read my full Serif vs Sans Serif feature on the Ohh Deer blog.

To view a selection of my published writing visit jonathanvelardi.com/writing; follow @JMVELARDI on Twitter for my take on the latest art, culture and lifestyle news and view more illustrations by Studio Velardi at studiovelardi.tumblr.com

Illustration by Studio Velardi | Images courtesy of TYPE

Special Delivery: It's A Prince

Congratulations to Their Royal Highnesses 

The Duke & Duchess of Cambridge 

on the birth of their son 

from Studio Velardi

Happy Easter

Happy Easter from Studio Velardi 

What's The Time Angelina Jolie?

When the big leg strikes the small knight... it's Oscars night!

Good luck to all the Brits nominated at tonight's 

85th Academy Awards - have a great night everyone! 

If you're lucky enough to be in Los Angeles check out the latest art events and exhibits across the city in my Oscars Art Diary. 

Jonathan Velardi Dot Com

After much tweaking here, there and everywhere; agonising over alignment to the nearest pixel (I kid you not) and surpassing limits of obsessive compulsion that even I had previously been unaware of, my journey through the (literally) unspoken land of HTML bares the conclusion of the last phase of mission-relaunch at jonathanvelardi.com

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Having introduced the first phase of redesign last year with a single homepage to access all my online activity, jonathanvelardi.com now offers all strands of my creative output to explore, bookmark and share with three distinctive 'V' identities. This final phase sees the launch of my dedicated writing site on Arts, Culture & Lifestyle with a curated selection of posts and articles that have been featured in online publications. Sample Portfolios are available to download and will be regularly updated with the latest reports on global creative activity.

In addition, my Contemporary Art site has had a fresh lick of pixels and the commercial arm of my practice under Studio Velardi now includes products and projects that have been developed and are evolving since its launch in 2012. Follow Studio Velardi on Twitter and Tumblr and help us celebrate our 1st Birthday in a few months time!

Last but by no means least, Pinterest joins @JMVELARDI and this very blog to cover high and low culture with the #highlife and #lowlife in glorious word and image. I hope you enjoy the new sites and I would love to hear what you think – get in touch #culturecomrades...

Happy Valentine's Day

Love from @studiovelardi XOXO

10 Ideas

My annual Christmas gift guide is back for another year and there's no better day than 10th December to drop my ten gift ideas that will get you some culture points under the tree this Holiday season. Taken from the worlds of art and design over the year from both my twitter and pinterest boards as well as this very blog, here's my curated countdown to the big two-five. Merry shopping to one and all...

1. Crème de la crème 

Contemporary artist, Kenny Scharf's Squirt character explodes onto this year's annual philanthropic art customisation of several product lines at Kiehl's

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2. Cellar envy

Power of Creation - limited edition 750ml from 2003 - by David Lynch for Dom Perignon

3. Ladies who lunch

Prêt-à-porter versus prêt-à-manger - Saco de Papel by ADAISM

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4. Men who munch

Something to put inside your missus's lunch bag - Band of Outsiders cookie cutters at Neiman Marcus X Target Holiday24   

5. Smooth operator
Hand-painted tortoiseshell case for iPhone 5 at Case-Mate

6. That's amore

My favourite childhood Christmas treats - Amaretti Di Saronno at I Camisa & Son

7. Globetrotting gin

Heritage tipple from British eccentric, Wing Commander 'Monty' Collins via India and Germany's Black Forest - Monkey 47 Dry Gin available at Manufactum

8. Diamond Queen

Stencil or thread to connect all sixty dots to create a silhouette of Queen Elizabeth II  - Queen's Head Stencil, limited edition of 100 by Studio Velardi

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9. Trompe l'oeil tablet

2012's brand comeback kid gets tech-appeal with this iPad case from Kenzo

10. Plastic Fantastic
Kartell - The Culture of Plastics at Taschen

Thank You Cards

The curtains are beginning to be drawn on another year and with the chorus of Christmas now very much in the air, I thought it timely to share a personal seasonal message of my own before the clock strikes festive-mayhem and panic in a few weeks. I have been looking forward to the end of this year for some time and I may finally share with you, after a year in the making, news of the launch of my latest design collaboration with the charity, Thames Hospicecare.

Thames Hospicecare provides a palliative care service to those suffering from a terminal or life-limiting illness in my hometown of Windsor and Ascot in the Royal county of Berkshire. In 2009 my Mother, Lilli received the specialist care and support at the Hospice towards the end of her life after battling cancer for several years. I was guilty of projecting the stereotypes that many formulate around hospice care; it was not until my family had to access the support of the Hospice that I realised the overwhelming compassion and treatment that was received by all and how I am now deeply fortunate to hold what is a painful memory in a positive light.

I am eternally grateful to the Hospice's dedicated team of doctors and nurses as well as the bereavement support I received in the wake of my loss and at the realisation I no longer had family in Britain. I will never forget this time in my life and after much brainstorming on what I could do to say thank you, I approached Thames Hospicecare last year offering my design services. It therefore brings me great pleasure to announce a series of fundraising Christmas cards now available at Thames Hospicecare sites, shops across Berkshire and online. 

Fall In © 2012 - PURCHASE

Inspired by local and iconic scenes in this special year of both the Diamond Jubilee and Olympic and Paralympic Games as well as the Hospice's very own twenty-fifth anniversary, three contemporary designs depict Windsor Castle, the Copper Horse in Windsor Great Park and the serving soldiers that are synonymous with the town. I hope residents of Windsor and beyond will support Thames Hospicecare's invaluable work and ability to provide palliative care in East Berkshire through my exclusive designs during what is a vital source of income for the charity over the Christmas period. 

 Windsor Castle Christmas Presents & Let It Snow © 2012 (Twin Pack) - PURCHASE

If you have been bitten by the British bug this year, please look to independent charities this Holiday season such as Thames Hospicecare by visiting their Christmas catalogue - 100% proceeds from sales go directly to the Hospice.
  

View the Press Release for more on the collaboration and my personal story with Thames Hospicecare. 

Thank you very much for your support. 

Studio Velardi Joins Tumblr

Studio Velardi has officially joined the visual realm of Tumblr! As many of my readers will know I launched Studio Velardi - the commercial arm of my practice - earlier this year to offer a digital, traditional and bespoke creative design service (Introducing… March 2012). To mark my first leap into commercial product design, I created an exclusive collection of environmentally friendly stationery that explored British stereotype and illustrative paraphernalia that has been well received in Windsor, where the enterprise is based, in the heart of Royal Berkshire.

Complementing the enterprise’s online activity in both word and image, studiovelardi.tumblr.com will present a visual archive of product, projects and events as well as a comprehensive online portfolio of both identity and inspiration of an emerging brand; focusing on accessible, high quality design production that employs local manufacturers in the Royal county wherever possible and is resolutely made in England.

This weekend Studio Velardi returns to the Windsor Emporium on Sunday 7th October at The Guildhall, Windsor.

Visit studiovelardi.tumblr.com and follow @studiovelardi on Twitter for the latest news and updates on my whereabouts over the coming festive season. 

Diamond Jubilee X Studio Velardi

The countdown to The Queen's Diamond Jubilee has officially begun across the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth and it's no different here in Windsor at Studio Velardi. In what is the same year I conceived the creative design enterprise, Studio Velardi marks Queen Elizabeth II's sixty year reign in 2012 with a new red, white and blue Twitter background and witty homepage design that goes live from today and for the duration of the Jubilee celebrations. 

This weekend Studio Velardi will be at a special Jubilee Windsor Emporium with my exclusive collection of environmentally friendly stationery on Sunday 3rd June at The Guildhall, Windsor - visit Windsor Emporium for more details and follow twitter.com/studiovelardi for the latest news on my whereabouts around Windsor and Berkshire. 

Connect the dots with the new homepage design at studiovelardi.com

All rights reserved © studiovelardi 2012

Introducing... Jonathan Velardi X Studio Velardi

Dear readers, Winter in Britain is firmly behind us and I think the saying ‘coming out of hibernation’ is rather appropriate given the recent Spring heat here on the Isles as well as the fact I have neglected my trusty blog of late. But I assure you there is good reason and I am therefore very excited to announce the redesign of my website jonathanvelardi.com  where all my online activity may now be found in one place. Art, Culture & Lifestyle Writing, Contemporary Art and my #highlife and #lowlife Blog and Twitter accounts are all represented in a new and fresh homepage design.

In addition, I have been working very hard over the last few months in setting up my own creative design enterprise under my personal direction. I have wanted to create a commercial arm of my professional practice for some time and I am very proud to introduce you all to this new line of design-based production that will evolve from commercial and private commissions and projects to merchandise and limited edition product under STUDIO VELARDI.

New logo for a new brand: Studio Velardi

A collection of environmentally friendly stationery will inaugurate the launch of Studio Velardi and will hopefully be available at a stockist near you in 2012. While it is too early to divulge details, I am particularly happy to say Studio Velardi is working on several projects later in the year and I look forward to sharing this news in the near future. So until then, please join the mailing list and follow @studiovelardi on Twitter for the latest updates or get in touch for all enquiries about my design services and products at info@studiovelardi.com