This project began over the Christmas break in 2017. Frustrated by graphic design’s seeming inability to react quickly to events in an increasingly turbulent world we hatched a plan to react in real time to events around us.
Our thought was this: what if we decided what was interesting on any one day, designed something to match, and pushed it out into the world through social media?
In early January 2018, we took the plunge. We chose a straightforward name, yet one seemingly unused by others: Picture the News. And on January the 10th, the project began. Over the course of 2018 we designed hundreds, averaging at least five a week.
Originally we gave ourselves restrictions: the image must be square, ideally monochrome, and any typography could only come from one type family. We intended them all to be ‘graphic’ – and of course many of them were – but sometimes a photograph seemed to communicate far quicker. And gradually colour started to seep in.
The other working rule that did hold for most of the year was this: if it’s taking more than 15 minutes to design, it’s too complicated. And, bar a few that took longer, this proved to be a very durable rule.
After signing up to multiple daily news emails and scouring the papers we were soon up, running, and picturing. It became a useful early morning ‘workout’ for the brain, jump-starting the design process for other projects on multiple occasions.
Two clear themes emerged throughout the year: Trump and Brexit. (Although there was a slight diversion over the summer months for the World Cup). And on certain days, something would happen in the world that just HAD to be pictured – such as the purchase of Costa Coffee by Coca-Cola in September that begins this case study.
The hashtag #picturethenews continues to be the online record of a year’s work, but during the first two months of 2019 we formally archived the project in two ways.
First a small book dedicated to the best two hundred or so, in roughly chronological order. Second, we designed a set of 12 monthly posters which we are distributing to colleges and interested parties.
Picture The News provided us – and now you – with a visual record of one year, and it makes for fascinating, entertaining and occasionally disturbing reading about 12 months of all of our lives.
Awards
- 2019 Design Week Awards | Self-Promotional Projects | Winner
- 2019 D&AD | Graphic Design | Self-promotion | Wood Pencil
- 2019 Brand Impact Awards | Self-branding | Shortlisted