Havelock Walk Open Studios 2016

This year's Open Studios were the best yet, with a great turnout and sunny weather both weekends. Over the course of the weekend we showed our wares, and had a string of interesting conversations with people from the local area. The day played out to a warming background of live music and barbecued food.

At the end of the day we brought out the 'Tuber' installation - and the kids piled on!
We noticed how the children knew instinctively how to play with the installation - by jumping on it, crawling on it, lying on it, and then manipulating it - tying it in knots, or interweaving strands.

Lionbeat Logo

Beep Studio works with companies to produce simple, strikingly memorable, and highly relevant branding, such as the logo for production company Lionbeat LTD.

The work of production company ‘Lionbeat’ spans music, culture and media, so they asked for a logo that was versatile enough to work in multiple contexts. This meant the design had to be simple, memorable, and meaningful.

Reference images: The Lion of Judah, Star of David, and Djembe

After preparatory research, Beep Studio led an ideation session at Lionbeat HQ, where thoughts were shared, ideas were blended, and concepts were sketched and refined.

Developmental sketches

The finished logo contains symbols associated with Dub Reggae culture; the Lion of Judah and its crown, the Djembe drum, and the Star of David. These have been combined and abstracted into a distinctive image that fits the crisp Lionbeat aesthetic.

The three-word company motto and recurring 'Trinity' concept are referred to in the triangular motifs of the lion's mane, which carry through into the logotype.

The design continues a relationship with Lionbeat which stretches back to the Tangled Roots stage at Boomtown Festival 2014. We look forward to joining the team on the next steps of their journey.

www.lionbeat.com
Research - Development - Gumption

Creative Design Workshop: 'RIBA Free Zone'

Beep Studio designed and ran a creative evening of design, role-play, and subterfuge for the Royal Institute of British Architects in London.

The setting: a parallel now, in which the RIBA HQ at 66 Portland Place has been declared an Urban Enterprise Zone, ripe for redevelopment. Attendees joined one of four 'shortlisted' teams, and entered into competition for the opportunity to redevelop the site. Who would succeed? 

The imposing central London location of RIBA and the beautiful setting of the Aston Webb room  presented a challenge: how to relax and design freely, uninhibited by the weight of the historic surroundings and watchful eyes of fellow professionals?

Our answer: Role play. Each team was assigned the characteristics of a specific development group, stepping into their shoes and setting personal tastes and priorities aside for the evening. 

Team A: Conservationist Excavators
Team B: Hipster Retailers
Team C: Office-Culture Culture-Vultures
Team D: Dense Dwellers

Within each team, individuals were given personality traits; pragmatist, artist, optimist, pessimist and so on. As we hoped, playing a role freed people up to articulate ideas they might not otherwise have put forward if they were playing themselves.

Soon things were humming, an excited chatter spread through the room, and drawings began to appear. Then, once everything seemed to be running smoothly - teams were hit by a curve ball. Teams chose a card at random, each of which changed their brief in a fundamental way. Add a nightclub? An extensive roof garden? More discussions. Plans changed, developed, and evolved.

At the end of the evening, teams presented their ideas to a panel drawn from the fictional ‘Lesser London Authority’, and a vote was taken to decide the winning team. The prizes... were waiting for them at the bar.

The event was held at RIBA London's 'Tuesday Late' event as part of the exhibition 'Creation from Catastrophe'. Special thanks to Alex Marinescu from the University of Kent for co-facilitating.

European Pavilions - revealed!

Concept designs for a series of buildings representing various European countries have been unveiled by Beep Studio. Each 'pavilion' incorporates retail, dining and housing. The project is part of a wider 'global' development split into American, Asian, African, and European zones - where the Studio's designs are located .

For the full story, click here.

National Opera Studio

Beep has been commissioned by the National Opera studio to produce a proposal for a programme of refurbishment works, to be undertaken in Summer 2016.
 

The project aims:

• To encourage a culture of creativity within NOS
• To open up spaces for wider use
• To create a good working environment in order to attract and retain the best staff and students.
• To reflect and enhance the way the organisation works.

The National Opera Studio plays an essential role at the heart of British opera.
Arts Council England and the UK’s leading Opera Companies support NOS so that it can provide professional training of the highest quality for singers and répétiteurs. Places are highly contested, with 16 successful candidates selected from hundreds of applicants. An intense training programme is designed to create a working environment that reflects the professional opera world, and many NOS-trained artists have gone on to build successful careers at an international level.

Read more about the National Opera Studio here.

NOS students for 2015