Blue River

Design for an Icon

2009-09-16T09:53:00.004+01:00

Blue River has created the identity for The Lubetkin Theatre, the much anticipated 220 seat theatre within the new £36m East Durham College, Peterlee.

Named in honour of the Russian born Architect Berthhold Lubetkin, a leading influence in modernism and who established the highly regarded Tecton movement. From 1947 to 1949 Berthhold was chief architect for Peterlee New Town and the naming pays tribute to his pioneering vision for the town.

Sasha Lubetkin, daughter of Berthold will officially open the theatre on 5th October 2009.

Politics & Play

2009-08-12T14:58:00.002+01:00

Design Event communications 2009, created by Blue River have just hit our streets! Check out the Apathy image (above) appearing on the front cover of the latest issue of The Drum. The North East’s fifth annual design festival celebrates design in the North East, with this year’s festival following the theme of politics and play. Design Event 2009 offers a series of exhibitions, talks, tours and events from 16th-26th October 2009. For further info see design-event.co.uk

An angelic award!

2009-07-15T14:35:00.002+01:00

The Angel of the North’s 10th Birthday campaign, for which Blue River developed the creative, has won a major national award for Gateshead Council. The 10th Birthday campaign celebrated the making of the regional icon and how it has impacted on the local community since it’s launch in 1998. The ‘Good Communications Award’ recognises the campaign’s excellence in communicating with the public and in promoting public sector efforts towards effective communication.

Inhabit goes live!

2009-07-10T13:34:00.002+01:00

This week has seen the finishing touches added to our recent work for Arts Council England, with the launch of their Inhabit website. The Inhabit project aims to enhance knowledge, promote best practice and ultimately contribute to increasing the availability of sustainable, creative workspaces across the UK. To view the work in action check out creativeworkspace.info/

Evolutionary Thinking

2009-04-07T13:23:00.003+01:00

If you have a little spare time on your hands this Easter, why not take a trip to see our friends at Baltic? Their latest offer exploring evolutionary thinking and the Theory of Natural Selection is definitely one not to miss! A few of the Blue River team will certainly be heading along to check out the artists and their work. A Duck for Mr. Darwin is a group exhibition focusing on the legacy of Charles Darwin’s ideas and runs from 10th April – 20th September 2009 and admission is free. For further info see balticmill.com

Design Week

2009-04-03T15:32:00.003+01:00

Blue River has been hitting the headlines this week, with work we produced for Baltic. Design Week asked us to submit some of our work for a section they have put together on effective design for collectible exhibition brochures. There are even a few words from our very own Mr Cantwell in there! Take a look at the full article here

Design Event Talk

2009-03-13T13:58:00.002Z

The Blue River team is very excited about this month’s educational office outing. We will be heading to a Design Event talk to gain some wisdom from the self taught graphic designer and author of How To Be A Graphic Designer Without Losing Your Soul, Adrian Shaughnessy and Michael C Place of the Build graphic design studios in London.

The talk will take place here in Newcastle at DanceCity, Temple Street on 25th March, 6pm. If you would like to join us tickets are available from dancecity.co.uk or see design-event.co.uk for further info. See you there!

Who done it?

2009-02-26T12:06:00.001Z

The team at Blue River is trying to solve the mystery behind the billboard, down our road at Forth Banks. Can you help us? We would like to find out the name behind the work. So if you have any information that could help us in our mission then please contact hello@blueriver.co.uk.

Chav Master!

2009-02-26T12:02:00.003Z

Well we never thought it would happen but Chav mania has taken over the Blue River Office! Friend of Blue River, Simon Zimmerman, Arts Management supremo, sent us a copy of his new Chav Master game last month. Chav Master is a new kind of gaming experience built around classic party games that we all know and love. The idea is you get your mates together to fight it out to gain the most A.S.B.O’s and quite literally, the biggest loser wins! Everything you need is in the box. So what are you waiting for? Get yourself to chavmaster.com to secure your copy and see what it’s like to be a real Chav!

Business Collectors Network Exhibition

2009-02-23T15:06:00.001Z

The first exhibition of the Business Collectors Network Collection hits Newcastle next month, showcasing contemporary art created by emerging artists living and working in the North East. The event is a great opportunity to both view and purchase works from regional artists and galleries. The exhibition is with us from 16th – 27th March 2009 and located at Coopers Building, Westgate Road.

Fluxus finale

2009-02-17T09:09:00.002Z

Baltic’s Fluxus exhibition came to a grand finale last weekend with a rare performance of Knud Pedersen’s Three Star a La Carte. Guests were invited to compose their own Fluxus meal from the menu-card and were then served performance-pieces at small tables. The event was a complete sell out, not to be missed! For more information on Fluxus or other Baltic activities see Balticmill.com

Uncommon ground for Vane

2009-02-03T16:52:00.002Z

Our friends at the Vane gallery, downstairs from Blue River, are launching their latest exhibition this week. The Uncommon Ground exhibition comprises the work of seven artists exploring the ways in which our environmental conditions affect and reflect our lives. The exhibition is with us until Saturday 14th February. Find out more about this and other Vane exhibitions at vane.org.uk

mima up for a gong!

2009-02-02T10:48:00.004Z

Blue River client mima (Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art) is celebrating after being short listed for an award for Best Event Tees Valley, in the Journal Culture Awards 2008. The Bauhaus 1919-1933 exhibition was hosted by mima in 2008 and showcased the infamous Bauhaus approach to design, which combines crafts with fine art. Voting is currently underway but we think for attracting more than 45,000 visitors alone, mima is already a winner. Let's raise our glasses to mima!

Pick up a penguin

2009-01-26T13:23:00.002Z

We had a nostalgic team outing last week to experience a little piece of graphic design history, through the iconic and distinctive design of the Penguin book cover. The Penguin Exhibition hosted by Shipley Art Gallery celebrates 70 years of Penguin’s distinctive approach to cover design and typography with a selection of hand-drawn roughs, corrected proofs and intriguing in-house notes bringing the finished designs to life. The exhibition will be with us until the end of May. So why not take a trip down memory lane and see the exhibition yourself? For more info see twmuseums.org.uk/shipley/

Toot toot!

2009-01-16T14:54:00.002Z

Not one to blow our own trumpet but after 6 long months, several intensive rounds (worse than Tyson) and a hair raising dash to London and back we have reached the finish line and are pleased to say we have been selected for the Art's Council marketing & design roster.

As England's only agency north of Manchester to be included in the 3 year roster, we are feeling rather proud of our little selves! We will join agencies from around the UK, handling national design and marketing projects. So watch this space for exciting arts stuff.

We will survive!

2009-01-16T09:35:00.003Z

With the New Year comes, New Year resolutions, exercise regimes and a review of just about everything. So as not to buck the trend we have reviewed our office survival guide and have given each member of the team a shiny new elastic band handgun. Don’t try this at home, trained personnel only.

Leading the way in fair trade

2009-01-13T13:23:00.006Z

Fair trade banking makes good financial sense, with every penny you invest addressing global poverty whilst guaranteeing a return in your pocket. So we are assisting the world’s leading fair trade lender with the repositioning of their brand, encouraging a wider audience to invest in its worthy cause. It’s the way forward in banking and investment. What better place to put your cash than in the hands of those reducing global poverty? Shared Interest's national campaign, including print and online advertising, direct marketing and a website will develop throughout the year so watch this space for updates. In the meantime check out their blog here

Live goes live!

2009-01-12T16:10:00.002Z

Live Theatre’s new website goes live this week. Complete with a bespoke content management system, the new site allows the Theatre to work endless magic with their site information. See the magic in action at live.org.uk

Design Event 09

2008-12-19T16:06:00.003Z

After the success of Design Event 2008 Blue River have been asked by Design Event to deliver a creative for their 2009 promotions. In light of the current credit crunch the theme of Politics was chosen along with Play to represent creative innovation and the event’s 5th birthday. Design Even 09 will be with us autumn/winter 2009. For updates see design-event.co.uk

Yoko comes to town

2008-12-18T15:41:00.003Z

Yoko Ono’s new exhibition ‘between the sky and my head’ rolled into town last Sunday, hosted by the Baltic. Blue River worked in collaboration with Yoko to produce a monochromatic national and international campaign including press ads, exhibition materials and building banners. Yoko’s work will be at the Baltic until March 2009. For more info check out Balticmill.com

A Deadgood project!

2008-12-18T11:30:00.005Z

We have just started working with the design supremos at Deadgood on their new website, which is to be launched in Milan (no less) in Feb 09. See their current site for more info deadgoodltd.co.uk

Fastest in the west!

2008-12-18T10:53:00.002Z

The Eastern Airways campaign is starting to role out around the UK, with billboards, press, online marketing, and a new website following in 2009.

Anth got hitched!

2008-12-16T16:46:00.001Z

Yes we never thought he would but he has! Our Anthony finally succumbed to the dreaded ball and chain last month and got married! Congratulations Anth. Your life will never be the same again. Beautiful photographs though!

The adventures of Neil

2008-12-10T12:31:00.003Z

We've seen him dance, we've heard him sing (unfortunately) and he's even been Eco'd but now it seems our Neil has embarked on a new adventure... he finally did get a tattoo! If you find anymore Neil look-alikes on your travels please send your photos to hello@blueriver.co.uk

Printing masterclass!

2008-12-04T10:19:00.001Z

As members of the Arts & Business Network, Blue River had the opportunity to meet with Master Printer of Hole Editions Lee Turner. Last night Simon, Alex and Phil went to see Lee in action and even got the chance to turn their hands to a little lithography themselves! You can find out more about Hole Editions at holeeditions.co.uk