At Boccalatte we surprise audiences with concept-driven, research based design ideas. We explore projects with a playful style and a sense of humour. More than mouth.
New Boccalatte business cards
Bling-meets-boxboard, Boccalatte’s new business card.
Collect your limited edtion card, if you see us on the street ask us for one!
posted by: alex
Making of The River Project illustration
As part of Boccalatte’s creative process, we often investigate hand made, hand drawn, hand painted options as well as making artwork directly on the computer.
The River Project illustration began with the data associated with the lengths of the rivers. Martin crunched the numbers in open-office’s spreadsheet app to create the basic chart.
crunch
The basis of the illustration created with open office 'spreadsheet' app
After outputting the chart to PDF, Lou worked her Illustrator magic and created the final illustration using Adobe Illustrator.
Lou's conversion from open office output to final Illustration
From Lou’s computer-based illustration, Martin proposed a watercolour option.
Back to basics using a pair of compasses, technical drawing pencils and paint.
Was Martin only doing this watercolour option so he could justify making dozens of perfect little prussian blue swatches?
The final watercolour palette
the final pencil and watercolour illustration
posted by: martin
Photo Essay: Living the Campbelltown Dream
Recently myself and Lou ventured out to the Campbelltown Arts Centre for the launch of the River Project exhibition and book, designed by Boccalatte. Since I am a native from the area I thought I should give Lou a tour of what Campbelltown and South West Sydney is all about. Below is our trip documented in sequential order.
The train trip in
*AMAZING SHOPPING*
Hipster outfits
Real aussie men
$3 Beers at the 'Catho' a.k.a Campbelltown Catholic Club
…and the reason for all this, the River Project exhibition… (the book will be posted on our site shortly!)
posted by: alex
Digitalpress Poster Project
Boccalatte was asked to design a poster using the letter B. The brief was to define what it means it relation to Digitalpress, we decided to do B for Books.
posted by: alex
The hunter gets captured by the game
Metalab kindly invited me to exhibit in Designer Sushi. This is the premise for the exhibition:
Designer Sushi invited a diverse range of designers across different disciplines to participate in an exciting collaborative project using the contents of a sushi box filled with diverse, everyday materials as the basis for creating fresh ideas and concepts resulting in a completed work that will be exhibited at metalab during Sydney Design ‘10.
In my little random box, I received a strip of upholstery tape, cotton reels, copper balls, carpet, plastic numbers and bits that go around a champagne cork. 
The copper balls reminded me of a weird experience I had in a McSweeney’s bookshop in Brooklyn, I had a few years ago. Before Dave Eggers created his now pretty famous Pirate Supply Shop and Super Hero Supply Shop he has an even smaller, Taxidermy supply shop just outside Parks Slope in Brooklyn. As expected it was full of taxidermy supplies, sprinkled with books and other McSweeney fare (I will write more about this if anyone shows interest).
This is what happened and was the inspiration for the piece:
‘The sign on the drawer said, Please do not open’. It was a small drawer among many. The label which said ‘please do not open’ was a card encased by black painted metal. It doubled as a handle. ‘Please do not open’ was a simple message. Friendly and to the point. A polite request, nothing more and definitely nothing less. But still an urge to open it. A universal urge? An urge is an urge, collective or not. After studying the piece of card with that message, the urge seemed more intense. ‘Just a peak’, one thinks to oneself, surveying the environment. Person on the left, busy, ensconced in a task. No one to the right. Hand on handle. A quick and sneaky tug.
And with it 196 tiny metal balls released simultaneously onto the wooden floor, bouncing in all directions. Hands and knees scrambling to stop the cascading spheres, bouncing and jumping in all directions. Too many, too noisy. Fingers too big for tiny copper balls. A collection takes place. Finally quiet. Smiling knowing nods all round.’
Initial idea on beer coaster
Here’s the finished results it’s called The hunter gets captured by the game. Based on a Grace Jones cover of a Marvette song, as written by Smokey Robinson no less.
Finish results
And the song is here.
posted by: suzanne
Books: “Basically sex” say Boccalatte (Evenbooks Interview)
Great to speak with you Even Books.
(Even books combines books, booze & brains for special one-off parties)
http://evenbooks.tumblr.com/post/877826403/books-sex-basically-sex
posted by: martin
fastbreak 30 July @syddes
As promised — Suzanne’s presentation from @syddes @vibewire #fastbreak at the Powerhouse Museum this morning.
posted by: martin
A few thoughts about editing
Raymond Carver with ciggie from New Yorker Magazine, Photograph by Bob Adelman
Designers often talk about the importance of ’style’ and ‘concepts’ but rarely do they speak of the merits of editing. We forget that a conscientious ‘nip and tuck’ of work can make all the difference to good and bad design, or in fact, anything. When I work with design, editing is probably one of the most important things, I’m not just talking of editing words per se, but the way the design hangs together, so it can be read and measured by the audiences. Cutting to the chase, less is more and all that.
I was recently thinking about this after reading pretty much every single thing Raymond Carver has ever written. You could call me Carver obsessed. His short stories are a true mark of genius, anyone that can write about domestic violence in three pages and send shivers down your spine (with what is left out) is truly gifted. His twisted tales of suburban America, need no more than a few pages to stay with you for a lifetime. When I love someone as much as Raymond Carver, who I stumbled on by chance I might add, I became obsessed about his life. His was an edited version—dead by age 50—his life too, epitomising a short story.
Delving into his life, I discovered he was late to writing—which gives us all hope and a drunk (which doesn’t). His most prolific period—ten years to his final death—were sober and with his second wife Tess Gallagher. Now that’s interesting, but where it gets really interesting is when you delve into the editing of his works, more to the point, what his editor Gordon Lish did to his work. So one night in a mad frenzy of finding out more about Carver, I stumbled on this amazing article in New Yorker Magazine.
It’s an article about one of Carver’s most famous pieces in his classic collection, “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, the story Beginners. According to Wikipedia, ‘where his earlier tutor John Gardner had advised Carver to use fifteen words instead of twenty-five, Lish instructed Carver to use five in place of fifteen. When editing Carver’s work he apparently would change and remove at least 70% of the content. Have a look for yourself. And you tell me which you prefer?
http://www.newyorker.com/online/2007/12/24/071224on_onlineonly_carver#ixzz0thK1GoSs
Short stories writers have always been given the rough end of the pencil. When I was at university it’s equivalent in art terms to doing printmaking as opposed to painting. It just wasn’t taken seriously. People always argued that printmaking wasn’t a really art (remember you can produce multiples and a painting is a one-off for example), and it just isn’t bought and sold as ’serious’ art. (This argument is seen in contemporary thinking about design and art , but that’s another story, check out http://www.amazon.com/Language-Things-Understanding-Desirable-Objects/dp/0393070816 for more on that.)
People often complain of the short story as not long enough to be satisfying, or just as you start getting into it, it finishes. But I don’t agree. The short story is a good example of good editing. Pithy, intense nuggets. So I insist you read Raymond Carver, A.H Holmes and even dip into some Annie Proulx. In a time where 140 words in Twitter can seem trivial, why would people are whinge about short stories?
Bring it on, I say, more editing and more short stories.
posted by: suzanne
Sydney Design Storytelling
Hot off the boccalatte press…
In the style of an old-school penguin classic, Sydney Design’s Storytelling book transcends the regular festival program.
Find Storytelling in all good bookshops from Monday or visit the Powerhouse Museum this weekend if you can’t wait.
posted by: martin
52 Girls and songs for a future generation
Influences are funny things. I recall going to the B52s concert at the Capital Theatre in 1980 (yes, I was very young). I dressed in a weird 1960s frock, sans wig.
People only tend to remember the B52s and that hit in the 80s ‘Love Shack’ but let me tell you that’s not how I remember them…
They came from Athens, Georgia USA and were destined for big things. I am always grateful for Angela Catterns from 2JJ playing Rock Lobster in 1979. They were more to me than a mere crustacean. They played songs about Private Idahos, Wigs, Wild Planets, Lovelands and Danced this mess around. They had Party out of bounds and they wrote songs to dogs called Quiche Lorraine. Their sense of humour and rawness have influenced so many bands from Le Tigre to King Khan (I’m sure of it).
And they always make me smile.
Watch Cindy’s mike drop at 1:03 in
posted by: suzanne
what is wrong with tootin’?
In response to Ms Lou’s XX blog comment—Ming, Martin and I have been relegated to ‘oldie status’ for liking jazz. More to the point the youth of today in the Studio (you know who are), are concerned that there has been far too much ‘tootin’ in the studio.
Let me explain, ‘tootin’ is the sound of trumpet or sax that might get a tad freewheeling or improv in a song. While we don’t all love every-single-bit-of-jazz ever produced, we do think it’s a acquired taste. Now to stop Miles rolling in his proverbial grave, I am thinking of playing at least one jazz album a day, to build the Studio jazz stamina. Mind you, scatting, fusion and Kenny G are formally forbidden. So is tapping feet, whistling and humming to the XXs.
So my answer to those in descent is Lette Mbulu. But more later.
posted by: suzanne
Sydney Design conceptually speaking
Recently we were asked ‘what the hell, is the Sydney Design design then, and what does it all mean?’
This year the Sydney Design theme is story telling. So every design has a story, in case you were wondering. Or we believe it should. So as part of a design process, conversations take place between the designer and the audience—connecting ideas, desire and needs.
Sydney Design is self described as a series of events, activities, discussions and lectures—creating a convergence of designers, photographers, stylists, craftspeople, designers, curators and artists.
So we plotted the events from around and about Sydney Design with a starting point from Powerhouse Museum, using a Google map reference, with events branching out and connecting to each other with drawn lines.
These are playing with notions of social relationships, networks and narrative pathways. The overlapping lines and colours representing the depth, movement and connections that storytelling creates.
An anatomy of a network. These connections create virtual spaces. But it could represent the wonderful variety of design whether it be graphics, architecture, industrial or fashion or even origami.
And because we have a penchant for books, this year we really did encourage something we think is quite unique for a Festival… we designed the pocketbook. With a Penguin classic paperback in mind, we organised a book printer to produce a black & white book. This made sense, after all this year’s theme is storytelling.
Hopefully people will pick up and keep the book and not dispose of it like so much festival ephemera.
Will keep you posted.
weird playground paper thingy
Sydney Design 2010 campaign in the process of being derived from a series of Google Map tiles
Stay tuned: we’ll post-up the full campaign imagery once it goes live.
posted by: suzanne
What the XX?
Despite an award winning album in 2009 The XX have been banned in the studio today by Suzanne and Alex. There is no justice in this decision and I for one will be sneaking their lyrics into everyday conversation without them knowing!
These 20 year old Londoners who have been knob twiddling in their bedrooms for the past few years and who finally hit the big time (albeit on a small scale) last year deserve better than this!
Take a stand and listen to the brilliant XX
posted by: lou
Come to your senses
John Maeda once described the Japanese Designer Kenya Hara as a ‘complex man’. ‘He views the world through his many lenses of seeing, tasting, smelling, erasing, evaporating, and all the forms of construction and deconstruction.’ (Introduction in Designing Design: Kenya Hara)
We like see design in the same way—a good designer not only needs a sense of place in the world, but a good grasp of the senses—to see things as fresh, be prepared to edit, construct and deconstruct again.
With this in mind, during Sydney Design, we are organising a panel of self-confessed tactility-freaks who will be talking about their love of publishing beautiful printed matter. Hear them talk— then touch, see and smell these old-school books and while you are at it, consume a glass of wine and a tasting plate thanks to Berta.
You’re in for a sensual night.
All publications are lovingly self-published and available for sale too.
2nd August, Monday 7:30pm at Berta $25 (includes tasting plate a glass of wine).
Bookings essential as numbers are limited info@berta.com.au
Forum includes Joseph Allen Shea (Izrock Pressing/Monster Children Gallery), Kernow Craig (Blood & Thunder Publishing Concern / founding member of the Rizzeria), Robert Milne & Sinisa Markovic (Rainoff Publishing) and Johanna Featherstone (The Red Room co.) and me from Boccalatte.
http://urbanwalkabout.com/sydney/just-opened/
posted by: suzanne
Boccalatte win Graphis Gold Award
Today, Graphis announced their Design Annual 2011 Winners and we’re very proud to be among them.
Boccalatte received a Gold Award for the Edge of Elsewhere exhibition catalogue.
posted by: martin
Tags: Award
SFF10 Opening Night
The 2010 Sydney Film Festival is Unleashed on the Sydney public at the beautiful State Theatre.
The Boccalatte team attend and manage to get through the front door despite everything.
The EXACT moment when Alex realises that all of our tickets are still in the long-departed taxi.
posted by: martin
ReelDance Festival Opening Night
Huge projections in the Carriageworks' Track 12
After an exhilarating, confronting and beautiful evening with Daniel Askill’s We have decided not to die and Eve Sussman’s The Rape of the Sabine Women, the Festival crowd descended into the dark hangers of Track 12, Carriageworks to gorge on a banquet of cheese and wine under huge projections of reels from the Reeldance Program.
A night to celebrate with the ReelDance team after producing their campaign collateral.
posted by: martin
Sydney Film Festival TVC Shoot
Freakin' me out...
Incredible SFF10 photographer, Helen White, shoots 6 dogs for the campaign in a single day
The star of the 'Love me' pathway, reclining on the chaise-longue.
Boccalatte collaborated with Photoplay to create the 2010 Sydney Film Festival TVC.
posted by: martin
Proof to Gen Y
To prove to the Gen Ys of the world, that nothing is new, check out http://www.whosampled.com/ and be surprised by the originals and then there will be no more arguments. OK.
posted by: suzanne
(There’s) Always Something There to Remind Me
I love music. I collect music and I think music and design have very strong links. In a similar way, Haruki Murakami believes his writing is inspired by music:
‘Practically everything I know about writing, then, I learned from music. It may sound paradoxical to say so, but if I had not been so obsessed with music, I might not have become a novelist. Even now, almost 30 years later, I continue to learn a great deal about writing from good music. My style is as deeply influenced by Charlie Parker’s repeated freewheeling riffs, say, as by F. Scott Fitzgerald’s elegantly flowing prose. And I still take the quality of continual self-renewal in Miles Davis’s music as a literary model.’
I too would argue, that my love of music means I am a better designer. I think they are intrinsically linked. The rhythm of design, the movement, the flow is very similar. When designing books or campaigns you use hooks, beats and need contrasting keys to help the chorus of the design. ’Take me to the bridge’ as James Brown once said.
My very first album my Mum bought me from Coles New World rotating record rack, was a compilation Burt Bacharach hits, a record I never tire of and has inspired me ever since. I’d like to think that my design work has been influenced by Burt’s unusual chord progressions, striking syncopated rhythmic patterns, irregular phrasing, frequent modulation, and odd, changing meters. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burt_Bacharach)
Dionne Warwick – Walk On By (Stereo)
I just wish my record collection looked as big as Murakami’s.
Haruki Murakami at his jazz bar, Peter Cat, in Sendagaya, Tokyo, 1978.
posted by: suzanne
Mindsight and the creative process
I’ve become obsessed with Dr Daniel Seigel, who has recently released the best seller Mindsight: The New Science of Transformation. Which he describes as a potent skill that is the basis for both emotional and social intelligence. Also known as meditation. Some people might think meditation is a bit airy fairy, a tad ooga booga, but Dan dispels the biggest critics, by demystifying and simplifying the notions of meditation by using science and facts. Seigel says that by having a simple meditation practice of a mere five or ten minutes per day, you can transform and rewire your mind. Literally. He also explores how our emotions are not as hardwired as we have been led to believe and that we are capable of change even in old age.
As designers, I think we need to get into ‘a zone’ to be creative and often we are most creative in times when we are not ‘thinking’ when we solve big design issues. My big ‘ah hahs’ often come at the weirdest times, just before getting into bed, the ubiquitous shower and while walking the dog. I like to think of them as the space between. But where does it come from? Deep with in the mind or and outside force?
I recently saw a lovely TedTV with Elizabeth Gilbert talking about a new ways of thinking about creativity and she describes the process for a 90 year old poet, Ruth Stone who would feel a poem coming over the landscape that was like a thunderous train of air. She would ‘run like hell’ to get home to capture the poem or it would barrel through her and she would lose it. And while my process is certainly not that dramatic, I do get it. I actually think the more we practice and keep open, the more ideas and solutions appear. And I don’t mind where they come from, but the learn ways to harness them would an added bonus. Photographer Helen White, who worked on our Sydney Film Festival 2010 campaign recently said, that often her best ideas have little conscious thought and often just appear. And I believe that too. You almost have to sit with it, trust and see what emerges. I’ve always likened this to cooking a good stock. A good stock needs quality ingredients in a pot that is simmered for a long time. But that stock becomes the basis of all good food.
So can focussing our attention on the internal world help us become better designers? I think yes. So I’ve decided to challenge myself with the help of Dr Seigel and I have begun practicing his 10 minutes Mindsight daily practice with my yoga regime to see what happens. Will it improve my process? Will I be more relaxed and creative? Will I be more aware of my emotions?
I will keep you posted on progress. Anyone who wishes to join me in the challenge is welcome.
In the meantime, check Dan out on TED TV events where he wants to change the education system to include Mindsight as a daily practice. It sounds good to me.
Also a great podcast on http://www.abc.net.au/rn/summer/0910/features/stillpoint.htm
posted by: suzanne