Masters Allen News » Illustration

Cinemagraphs, a stunning yet simple way to create an impression

jon — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 23:20:44 +0000

You may not have heard of cinemagraphs before. That would make sense as they have not been well publicised. They are appearing subtly in advertising and marketing campaign across a wide range of sectors and are being used in some clever ways to gain attention. One such example is the recent campaign for the Citroen DS5.

They are also the first of their kind produced by an automotive manufacturer. In line with the fact that the new model looks like nothing else on the road, Citroën UK wanted to convey DS5’s personality and presence with a fresh application of digital technology.

Photo: Citroën’s ‘créative technologie cinemagraphs’

Made popular by New York-based photographer Jamie Beck and motion graphics artist Kevin Burg, cinemagraphs use the animated gif file format to combine the composition of still photography with the movement of film. A captured moment in time; at first glance the image appears as still-life, then the movement reveals itself, injecting a whisper of dynamism into each shot.

Here are some other stunning examples:

Picture perfect

aidan — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 15:28:06 +0000

Christmas has come early. To coincide with Masters Allen creating the identity for this years Cinderella panto at the Loughborough Town Hall, the team were involved in the photo shoot for the panto promotional pictures. We met the full cast including Cinderella, Prince Charming, the Fairy Godmother and the Ugly Sister Halitosia, played by Martin Ballard, of BBC Radio Leicester.

The shots will be used on billboard advertisements, standees and various marketing materials to promote the up coming panto, beginning in November.

More exciting panto updates to follow.

Have a typographic Christmas

aidan — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 08:42:45 +0000

It’s that time of year again, the festive season is upon us. For those of you with ‘typographic’ loving friends, family or colleagues, (mustn’t forget the secret santa) a solution is at hand! Below are a few items we have stumbled across that may appeal to the discerning graphic design lover or you may even want to add to your own wish-list.

Checking the time just got interesting. The font clock designed by Sebastian Wrong is a 21st century take on the British 24 hour clock design icon. Twelve different fonts are printed within the mechanism of the clock providing a random, mixed display of graphic language within a single time piece. Available in three sizes.

These typographic pillows would look great in any type lover’s interior. The eclectic designs that make up the collection of Bonjour Mon Coussin are inspired by found vintage documents, postcards or drawn from the creators’ own world.

The latest in the popular series of typography based calendars from Japan. The new Typeface calendar 2010 edition features the Calson 540 typeface, a 1902 variation of the original William Caslon design, considered to be one of the first English typefaces.

If design isn’t your cup of tea, (excuse the pun) this mug might not be for you! The kerning mug is an ideal gift if you want to impress your colleagues on your return from the christmas break, at least for a day or so.

Royal Mail collection

sean — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:24:50 +0000

January next year, the Royal Mail will be issuing a collection of stamps depicting 10 classic British album covers as shown below. The stamps will be uniquely shaped to accommodate a vinyl disc poking out of each record sleeve.

They are (clockwise from top left): Pink Floyd’s The Division Bell / Coldplay’s A Rush of Blood to the Head / Blur’s Parklife / New Order’s Power Corruption & Lies / the Rolling Stones’ Let It Bleed / David Bowie’s The Rise and Fall Of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders From Mars / Primal Scream’s Screamadelica / Led Zeppelin’s IV / Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells / the Clash’s London Calling.

It’s a shame that the classic first album ‘Step One’ from Steps didn’t make it into the final cut …maybe next time.

Music to our ears

dan — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 09:14:02 +0000

Masters Allen have recently been given the opportunity to produce album artwork for talented musician Jamie Kane.

We were very excited to work along side Jamie, after all album covers are a great area to stretch those creative legs! Think Factory records, Joy Division, New Order, Peter Saville etc.

The album entitled ‘On Bended Knees’ was recorded in the winter of 2007 and has proved to be very personal to Jamie. This is due to the fact that for the first time Jamie produced and played everything on the album with a little help from pedal steel players and gospel singers. This provided an excellent starting point for us to throw around some ideas.

Working from Jamie’s inspiration for the album, namely religion and it’s negative connotations we explored many different avenues. The final artwork was reached through a mixture of the original inspiration and the birth of Jamie’s second son.

Jamie has uploaded the tracks onto his myspace page; www.myspace.com/jamiekane
The page also contains further details of Jamie’s influences and other projects, so take a look.