Images available at
http://www.containerplus.co.uk/
Container Plus are a concept creation art and design team who offer commercial services of 2D
Container Plus are a concept creation art and design team who offer commercial services of 2D
and 3D designs that vary from illustration, photography and hand created set design. They devote their time and energy into personal projects which enable them to be experimental and explore new ideas, their illustrative work has been recognised as having similarities to the work of Aubrey Beardsley and Art Nouveau, admittedly they have been influenced by them but say they don't spend a lot of their time studying the work.
Containers was set up by Nicola Carter and Luise Vormittage in 2002, they met at Camberwell University of Arts and was working separately at the time, even though their work was distinctive they both had similarities in mind of how they wanted to express their work. Their first exhibition was at Notting Hill Arts club 2003 and they were nominated as best creative futures, from this they were offered a wide range of commissions ranging form interior design, book covers, collaborating with fashion photographers, animation, street art, product design and they even created an identity for a new MTV show.
After an exciting few years Nicola and Luise started to experiment with 3D art, working with set design and instillation's. Collaborating with set designers and photographer Patricia Niven who became the third member of the team, helped push their unique art into third dimension. Their work started to really take off and the company began to grow. Inspiring each other Nicola Luise and Patricia became container Plus in 2008.
Containers was set up by Nicola Carter and Luise Vormittage in 2002, they met at Camberwell University of Arts and was working separately at the time, even though their work was distinctive they both had similarities in mind of how they wanted to express their work. Their first exhibition was at Notting Hill Arts club 2003 and they were nominated as best creative futures, from this they were offered a wide range of commissions ranging form interior design, book covers, collaborating with fashion photographers, animation, street art, product design and they even created an identity for a new MTV show.
After an exciting few years Nicola and Luise started to experiment with 3D art, working with set design and instillation's. Collaborating with set designers and photographer Patricia Niven who became the third member of the team, helped push their unique art into third dimension. Their work started to really take off and the company began to grow. Inspiring each other Nicola Luise and Patricia became container Plus in 2008.
Container Plus have commissioned work for BAFTAs, Charles Worthington, Diesel, Grazia magazine, Topshop and Selfridges, just to name a few of their well known clients, Containers have a massive clientele throughout Europe.
Paper Salad are designers and publishers of contemporary stationary designs, the products they sell range from greeting cards to other stationary like gift wrap bows and social stationary.
Claire and Karen met at Stockport College whilst studying a HND in Art and Design, after graduation in 2000 Claire and Karen set up a small studio space where they began to freelance their work.
With no commercial knowledge and no business skills Claire and Karen carried on regardless persistent to make the business work. Materials were expensive, but luckily the rent on the studio in an old converted mill wasn't too high.
Claire and Karen met at Stockport College whilst studying a HND in Art and Design, after graduation in 2000 Claire and Karen set up a small studio space where they began to freelance their work.
With no commercial knowledge and no business skills Claire and Karen carried on regardless persistent to make the business work. Materials were expensive, but luckily the rent on the studio in an old converted mill wasn't too high.
With their art and design experience Claire and Karen were able to create commercial designs to suit the market with there simple elements of butterflies, flora and balloons being some of there art work, they have kept it niche with quirky lines and playful colour from trendy colour pallets.
After a few years of selling to major publishers Paper Salad decided to move from designers to publishers and in 2005 they invested in attending the Harrogate Home and Gift fair. They designed 32 designs and Paper Salad proved themselves to be a success, they now have a large clientele in the UK and overseas especially in the U.S.A.
After a few years of selling to major publishers Paper Salad decided to move from designers to publishers and in 2005 they invested in attending the Harrogate Home and Gift fair. They designed 32 designs and Paper Salad proved themselves to be a success, they now have a large clientele in the UK and overseas especially in the U.S.A.
Image available at
Having attended both lectures, I feel there are lots of elements and ideas within each company that I enjoyed and can relate too.
Container Plus are so eclectic, I really admire the way they work, there love of learning new approaches to design and collaborating with other designers has had such a positive reflect on there clientele, also the excitement of each project being different . There not afraid of any opportunity thrown there way, working out the solution and and getting the help needed to make the perfect design set, illustration, advertisement window display or three dimensional sketch books.
Paper Salad stick to what they no best, there designs may vary slightly but they have a certain style and every day to them is probably more routine. I admire what Paper Salad have achieved to become successful they have a simple but quirky style, and after meeting Claire and Karen I think they work well as a team and there personality suits the way that they work. The Birthday card just above is an obvious design by paper salad. After listening to how Paper Salad worked as a team, taking on board how hard they push them selves and the obstacles they have tackled there business seemed a nice, neat and simple way to work which is sometimes not so bad when your making money and not to bothered about hectic challenges. Unlike Container Plus with there crazy demands that sometimes there not sure themselves if there going to be able to achieve, but some how they just do because by collaborating with other designers they know so many people who can help them.
The Image at the top of the page is commissioned by Container Plus for Selfridges department store cafe, Oxford St London in 2004, the art shown is a typical illustrative style by them.
I love these illustrations by container Plus with the heavy black outline contrasted with flashes of washy colour, expressing these strong lines and soft colour is a style I can relate too myself mixing soft and sutlel shades with heavy texture within my own work. I like the quirkiness and comedy within the drawings along with Art Nauveau style. Their work sometimes has a beauty and the beast approach with beautiful art, but if looking closely there are strange stories and concepts behind them such as human beings with animal heads and three dimensional stories about the evil twins, their unique imagination throughout is endless.
Evil twins,Image available at,
http://www.containerplus.co.uk/
All of Containers work is hand rendered, they begin their projects by mixing their ideas of the latest gossip, what magazines their reading adding to this a sense of humour until they come up with an idea which begins to grow into a form of its own. Containers describe their work as imperfect, and can sometimes start out a big mess, I like this idea because sometimes in my own work I collect research which ends up a big pile of mess but when I break it down and work through it, this can result into some really exciting stuff.
Paper Salads work is neat and tidy throughout their construction of stationary but most of their illustrations are fun and scribble like, like the work of containers even though their aiming at different markets. Paper Salad have their own clientele like Containers and on occasion have worked on personalised commissions, so there are similar aspects to both company's even though they are so far from being alike, obviously one being solely publishers of stationary and the other collaborating and covering a wide range of design.
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