BYVM Burton Design Contest

This week I’ve married together the two things I love the most by entering the Blank You Very Much contest to design two top sheets for Burton Snowboards. You can view my design properly by clicking HERE.

I wanted to create designs which are loosely connected to the board names given: ‘Speakeasy’ and ‘Moonshine’.

Speakeasy establishments thrived in the 1920's – a time at which the Art Deco movement began. I took influence from the fluid interwoven lines of this design era and implemented a colour scheme which targets a female audience. The Speakeasy ‘Deco’ was born.

My second design features minimal colour, similar to the famous Moonshine whiskey. It is simply inspired by the channel-cut patterns on traditional lead crystal glassware, hence the name ‘Leaded’ (fuel connotations are definitely a bonus).

In addition to the subtle themes above, I thought about the way the boards would look in contrast to their surroundings when shredding down a mountain, as well as when stationary. I also wanted the designs to be clean and uncomplicated, giving consideration to how the imagery would vary in appearance being in the distance, as well as close-up.

Slouchy Pom-Pom Beanie

A couple of Saturdays ago, I headed to Freeze Festival 2012 at Battersea Power Station to catch some exhilarating snowboarding action. The Big Air Competition was won by Brit snowboarder Billy Morgan which was a great way to see the day close. However, as I stood shivering in my jacket with my hood up, marvelling at all the talent before me and cheering along with the rest of the crowd, I actually felt a little left out. 

Why? Well, nearly everyone around me was wearing the most super-cool (and conveniently super-snug) woolly hats! THEY ARE EVERYWHERE! I know winter’s here and it’s cold outside but I've seen people wearing them indoors and even in clubs. These head-cosies are surely one of the must-have fashion accessories this fall – even better if they come with a pom-pom the size of a grapefruit attached to the end.

Sporty skate-snow brands like O’neill, Billabong (above) and Roxy have some great beanies in their Autumn 2012 ranges, although these retail for around £25 and as I've just spent all my pennies booking a week in the French Alps this January, I decided to knock 100% off the price and make my own. I say 100% off because I didn't even need to buy any new materials – small items like hats, especially multi-coloured striped variations, are brilliant for using up all those messy dregs of wool leftover from previous projects. So, below is the result of my crocheted slouchy pom-pom beanie!

Sam's Birthday Card

My brother turned 15 earlier this month and we decided to go snowboarding at Sno!Zone, Milton Keynes to celebrate the day. I'm not the best when it comes to designing for boys, but here's a glimpse of the artwork I created for his birthday card, using a combination of Photoshop and Illustrator.

 

 

The photography I used is available at depositphotos.com.