The Three Horseshoes & River Colne

Our local pub is currently undergoing a makeover. It has had a new lick of paint to convert it from pink to white and driving past on Monday I noticed the name of the pub has been painted onto the walls. The previous signage consisted of bulky gold lettering stuck to the walls. This hand painted serif typeface is much more welcoming and traditional.

I spoke to one of the refurbishers and he told me that the name had been stencilled with carbon paper and hand painted. I imagine this took a while, but I am glad to have something down my road that has a properly considered identity to it.

My only issue with this design is that I hope the upside down horseshoes do not spell bad luck for the pub's new owners. The upside down horseshoes create a smoother line than the jagged peaks of upright ones would, although I hope this does not bring them misfortune. Perhaps they are challenging superstition. Perhaps they were challenged by design.

This is the scene of the River Colne just 5 minutes by foot from my front door. Whatever time of the year it is, the sun picks up on the season's colours.

The water is shallow, still and crystal clear at this part of the bank. However, you can watch the current gently carry fallen leaves and twigs along on their journey from the comfort of a nearby bench. It is the most relaxing thing I can think of to do and that's why it has to be one of my favourite places.

Boom boom boom boom

The latest addition to my room comes in the form of a cushion. They also had ones with London buses on. I think they are meant to be retrospective, although this one is more of a classic that is lesser seen these days. The illustration is simple and it uses the colour blocking trend of the season.

During London Design Festival, I went along to the Birdwatching graphic design walk. I picked up this poster from the base camp. It doesn't seem to want to stay on my wardrobe, but it will.

Madeira

In July, I went on holiday to Madeira. We had a hotel with a gorgeous sea view in the heart of Funchal. Although there are not many graphic-related places I know of in Madeira, I managed to spot a few sights I found interesting.

This building caught my eye because it reminds me of some of the 3D paper engineering in Sophia Vyzoviti's Superstructures. The staircases and balconies look like paper that has been wrapped around a pencil or made into napkin holders or rings for paper chains.

This shop sign reminded me of the raw graphic styles we looked at in the first year such a pixao. It is bold and constructed of minimal lines with only 3 colours. It is interesting to see the shadows of the type being cast upwards as this is something that isn't that common.

The reflection of the parasol (below) in my sunglasses looks like quirky little eyes, almost like those of owls. It reminds me of a Tim Burton film and the sweets with strawberry and cream flavours swirled into each other. The red and white stripes make a pleasant patchwork with the green gingham print of my sunglasses.

On closer inspection, the parasol has yellow in between the stripes. This looks like such a typical umbrella one might find on the beach, possibly in Britain. My postcard photo of the holiday perhaps?!

I love the angle of the chair in this shot. Although they're not the most comfortable chairs and the metal scrapes on the ground a lot, the decorative white metal looks more creamy next to the rich burgundy cushions and tablecloths. The tiled pavement is welcome as it looks just like the pavements abroad.

Walking through the old town I found the artistic quarter; I think there was an art college/university nearby. We walked down a road that had painted doors. Each door was different and some of them were beautifully and imaginatively adorned.

This was the most elaborate front door. They had actually come outside of their door and adorned the doorway with giant lace curtains!

One of the more 'graphic' door designs, even if this style is quite a typical one. I really enjoyed finding somewhere with personal home comforts in a foreign place.