COY Blog

We’ve finally got around to producing business cards for A Large Evil Corporation.

Of course, they’re not normal business cards.

They look like filthy lucre and they feature portraits of Guy Thomson and Seth Watkins (the bosses of A.L.E.C).

If you’d like a closer look send them over an animation script and they’ll send you a bundle in a plain brown envelope.

Design – M Denton Esq, Photographer – Oli Carver, Typographer – Andy Dymock

Internet porn is moving to a new XXX domain according to a new print and press campaign by M&C Saatchi.

That’s important information if you’re an aficionado of the arts of Venus, so obviously we were really fluffed up when Sean was asked to snap the required (money) shots.

Agency – M&C Saatchi, Art Director – Dan McCormack, Copy Writer – Luke Boggins, Photographer – Sean de Sparengo, Chief Fluffer – Sara Cummins

… but not quite as good as La Chapelle.

That’s according to Campaign’s Top 10 photographers chart.

We’re not complaining.  We’ve never been so pleased with 3rd place.

Happy New Year!

We got a call a few weeks ago from our mates at ‘A Large Evil Corporation’ and it turned out that they wanted to expand their graphic identity with a new range of postcards and other bits of collateral.

It occurred to us that it might be mildly amusing if we created some made up evil products from a fictional evil trade catalogue.

They concurred.

So first of all we selected various objects from valves and microprocessors to plungers, and we gave them evil names and catalogue numbers.

…and then we shot them. Or rather our Oli did.

The most popular seems to be the nut and bolt duo (or Imelda and Ferdinand to use their correct titles)…then again, we like them all.

Photography and image manipulation – Oliver Carver, Concept/Design – M. Denton Esq, Production – Miss Fern Berresford, Typography – Andy Dymock.

Not much to say about this one really, except it was the best shoot I’ve worked on since 1979. M Denton Esq

Director – M Denton Esq. Producer – Miss Sara Cummins. (Brilliant) Creative Team – Naz Nazli & Rob Welch. (Fantastic) Agency Producer – Carley Reynolds. (Amazing) Client – Ashley Knight. (Sensational) Post Production – Paul O’Brien at Framestore.

I really like making telly adverts and I really like making posters.. so when I was asked to help with the new Rice Krispies Squares TV and print campaign I felt my trousers move in a most positive fashion. M Denton Esq.

Agency – Leo Burnett, Art Director – Caroline Rawlings, Writer – Chris Birch, Director – M Denton Esq, Designer – M Denton Esq, Producer – Sara Cummins, Agency Producer – Lou Pegg.

 
Director – Sean de Sparengo. Design – M Denton Esq. Prod – Sara Cummins. Creatives – Rick Cant & Barney Hobson. Agency Prod – Ross Plummer. Agency – Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam.

From drainpipes to DMs, Budgie jackets, to Beetle Crushers, Oxford bags, Rupert strides and cheese cloth shirts, Bondage trousers with accompanying nappy attached, (handy if you bumped into a gang of Teds down the Kings Road), highly polished Royals, Seersucker slacks, and Slazenger cardies to simple V neck Pringles. Once you shop you just can’t stop, cos in the minefield that is the youth cult what you think is the latest garb is very soon the latest garbage.

Here at Coy! Communications we’re in the process of producing a major exhibition and documentary that will help to shed some light on a uniquely British phenomenon.

Why did Skinheads carry combs? Was it really necessary for Teds to slap half a tub of Brylcreem on a Ducks arse every night and most importantly, were Plastic Sandals ever really cool. Dust off the dressing up box, it’s the incredible journey of the Youthcult.

Watch this space!

I’m still up to my elbows sorting out my personal photos and unearthing stuff I’d long forgotten about.

I came across these the other day.  It’s me and the family sporting blow-up trousers.

The story is, Dave Dye was designing the 2004 D&AD annual and he’d opted for a record sleeve theme.

Of course he designed the cover and all the important bumpf at the front of the book and then he cleverly commissioned lots of well-known designers and art directors to come up with the jury pages for the different sections.

Every spread had to be in the form of the front and back of an album cover and each one had to feature a different genre.

He very flatteringly asked me to do one and I volunteered to do the Art Direction section.

I guessed that someone else would cover Blues, Rock ‘n’ Roll, Punk, Heavy Metal, Easy Listening, Classical, Country & Western, Reggae, Soul, Folk etc, etc, etc.

So in an effort to do something a bit more unexpected I thought I’d do the instructional disc you get free with a pair of inflatable exercise pants.

The front had to feature all of the members of the Art Direction jury, but as you might have guessed, once I presented them with the concept and a pair of custom made ‘Trousertone’ strides, a few of them became a bit camera shy.

So I recruited some happy helpers (my Missus and Step Daughter) plus a chubby model, a skinny model and a bodybuilder to act as body doubles.

…and naturally I volunteered myself as well.

The shoot was a right laugh and after a nifty bit of photo-shopping we had the required images.

The only hiccup came when I presented the finished design to Dave…He liked it all but one small detail…Could I stick his head on the Bodybuilder’s body and not on the fat bloke’s.

The lovely Nicole Yershon tweeted us a couple of days back with this image.

It’s top copywriter Jerry Gallaher (www.cliveandjerry.com) sporting a 16 year old Sprote T-Shirt.

Sprote was a short-lived company formed back in the 90s and made up of me and my old mate Chris Palmer.  Our logo was an amalgam of both our faces (the handsome bits supplied by yours truly).

It just reminded me how much I like designing T-Shirts.  I’ve done tons over the years, even for rival production companies.

Here’s a selection from the archives as well as our latest creation (available from the Coy! shop, when we get round to opening it…we’ve been a bit busy lately).